A/N: I wanted to make this a longer chapter, but it ended up shorter! ack... hope you still like it! I can't wait for Tamsin to come back! All patience is gone now.

As days passed, Bo grew more and more contented with just simply being with Tamsin. She welcomed the ranger's wisdom in the day and her smell in the evening. She could feel Tamsin relaxing into their conversations and her genuine interest in Usne's teachings. Having spent all of her time away from home, Tamsin especially enjoyed Bo's stories of local personalities and the path that others their age took: who they loved and how they spent their time.

They traveled in haste, but Tamsin was sensitive to Bo's newly formed blisters. They were stopped so Bo could give herself a salve treatment when she witnessed Tamsin in her true ranger form.

Tamsin had heard something beyond Bo's sphere of hearing, immediately climbed the closest tree at a great speed, and then climbed down even quicker. All the while making hardly a sound. The ranger then said quietly "Time to go. There are Council riders close."

Tamsin jumped on her horse and waited for Bo, who had been applying salve on her thighs. It all happened so fast that there was no time to be embarrassed. Bo quickly pulled up her pants and mounted her horse.

Tamsin became a different being to Bo. Her ranger was all sharp edges now; predator and prey at the same time. Tamsin's eyes were lit with focus and intensity, using all their power for the task at hand. Bo followed her through the woods at a breakneck speed she had not attempted before. Tamsin and her horse found paths where there were none. Bo felt very viscerally why Tamsin was chosen to take her to the Binding. She was amazed by the ranger's wild precision.

When it was finally safe, Tamsin turned and delivered an accomplished smile. The ranger's smile sent an unfamiliar wave of energy from Bo's chest downward, followed by a burning in her cheeks. Bo was quite caught up in these sensations.

Tamsin didn't show that she noticed Bo's change. She took her horse towards a creek. Bo followed behind her, now aware of Tamsin's attributes in a very different way than before. Watching her arms, she remembered the muscles she had seen earlier and her cheeks started to flush again. "Tamsin," She called out. Tamsin turned to face her, but Bo hesitated to explain what she felt and fell silent.

"Yes?" Tamsin said, her brow furrowing at Bo's strange expression.

"Nothing...never mind. " Bo tried to occupy herself with her horse, all the while these new sensations made it difficult to not place her attentions on Tamsin.

From then on Bo's new attraction filled her with a near constant current of energy when she was close to Tamsin. The cord Bo initially felt at their meeting had grown in size and content as each day passed, but now the physical space between them had its own dimension; as if the air it occupied had mass which relentlessly pressed against her.

At night lying near Tamsin, it was strongest. Bo contemplated if it disturbed Tamsin's sleep. She was, as of late tossing more.

Many times she wanted to tell Tamsin how she felt, but each time she couldn't say the words.

On the eve before they were to reach an Eastern township, Bo stared at Tamsin from across their campfire and suddenly had the courage. "Tamsin, I've been wanting to tell you that," Bo paused and smiled. "You are beautiful. Your presence affects my body. I—"

Tamsin interrupted with a raised palm, her face almost stern. "Bo, I appreciate the compliment. It's normal to have certain reactions to others, but trust me when I say that it is best left unspoken."

Bo, embarrassed by Tamsin's reaction, replied, "I'm used to expressing my feelings, even if I don't understand what I'm feeling. That's how it always was with Usne. Bo felt a gloom creeping into her. "I —didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"I know you didn't." Tamsin's face softened. "Listen, it's just unsettling to be..." Tamsin looked down, then back up into Bo's eyes. "It's unsettling to be noticed that way, but I do want you to feel free. It's what I want for myself also."

Feeling better now, Bo said, "Alright, well, I can temper my words on this, um…subject." Bo smiled awkwardly then pretended to organize her collection of herbs for something to do. The energy between them now felt weighted down. Or at least that's how her chest felt.

Tamsin had told Bo their next stop would be a good place to hear stories hidden from her by the Council. She spoke of a friend that would share such an account. Bo looked forward to hearing the story. Most of all, she was hoping to disperse the new heaviness between them.