Duren walked briskly down the hill and lead her off to the side of the hill and aways through the
crops. Lufta kept pace with his easily and didn't stumble over the unfamiliar ground. She examined the
crop circles they passed with apparent interest. Duren couldn't understand why they interested her, just
assumed that they were far different from what she normally saw.

“Here.” He finally motioned to a section of the ground that was cleared of crops. An outline of
the twenty foot circle was left in the dirt. He bent to smooth out of section of the ground that'd been
marked by mistake and glanced up at Lufta.

She cocked her head and folded her arms in front of her, waiting for him to speak. He hesitated
a moment longer, gazing wonderingly into her gray eyes, then shook his head and straightened up.

“This ground was part of the land we used a few years ago. When we took the last harvest out,
the nutrients were used up. Now the ground's pliable nutritious again, so we can plant crops on it again.”

She nodded and smiled, trying to show him that she wasn't bored. His brow furrowed in worry
anyway and he turned and placed his foot on a section of the circle.

Lufta reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. “May I?”

“Sure…” He watched her carefully as she stood before the circle and breathed in and out slowly,
arms held out to her sides as if to balance her. Then she turned with her foot on the circle and pushed
forward, sliding the dirt from around the imprint down to the rock. Duren watched amazed as she
jumped forward, flipped in midair, and landed on the circle again.

Lufta shot him an unfathomable look and rocketed herself across the circle, throwing her arms
out to balance herself, but she never faltered. As he watched her dancing around the circle, laughing
ecstatically, he smiled at her in amazement. He saw now how she'd gotten her muscles and why she her
skirt was partitioned. Sidetracked slightly, he blushed, glad that as he watched her skirt swirling around
her that she wore pants underneath it.

He could clearly sense that she was enjoying herself, but what he couldn't sense that see was
clamping her eyes shut and using her mind to guide her. She spread out her awareness, watching the
ground loom up in her mind and carefully guiding herself to land on the circle. She relished the exercise
after being cramped up in the carriage with her uncle and sisters.

Cautiously, she held part of her awareness in the circle and spread the edges out father, trying
to find her sisters. She thought she senses them faintly, but drew back quickly, needing to focus on the
circle.

Breathing deeply, she landed in front of him. The circle completed she carefully stepped out of it
and bowed as if to a trainer, forcing herself to breathe deeply.

Duren backed up to give her space and clapped, marveling at the perfect circle she'd dug with
her feet. Then, trying not to look challenging, he bent and dug his hand carefully into her circle, feeling that the
rock hadn't been touched.

“That was amazing, Lufta, but the circle needs to be deeper.”

Lufta looked at him in surprise and shook her head. “I can't make it any deeper.”

Almost laughing, he looked at her and it came to him suddenly. “Oh- you're Mien. I'm sorry, I
forgot for a second watching you.”

She smiled knowingly. “It's good not to have to label people. But I think you'd better finish the
job, tunneler.”

He laughed slightly at the use of one of the Agrean nicknames and dutifully placed his foot in the
circle while she sat crossed legged, breathing in and out controllably.

Duren worked at a slower pace then she had, but he worked steadily, and soon the inside of the circle became a raised platform. When he was done
marking the outside, he stepped up into the center of the circle and began smoothing it down, deepening parts of the outline when needed.

Duren glanced over at Lufta, who was still sitting on the ground. Taking it as a signal, she began asking him questions his work.

Duren dropped down from the raised circle and cupped his hands into the ditch. It began filling with water. He stopped it when the water was still
shallow and splashed his handful on his face. Then he turned and, a little weary, sat beside Lufta.

“What about you? Coming back from the war, I suppose.”

Lufta thought for a moment, then leaned back and stared at the sky. “Yes, but my life's not all about violence.”

Duren blinked and leaned back next to her. “I didn't mean to sound like---“

“Lufta!”

Lufta and Duren guiltily sat up and looked toward the hill.

“My uncle,” Lufta said, and smiled at her uncle. “We better hurry.”

Duren stood and offered her his hand. She took it hesitantly and let him pull her up.

Lufta started back toward her uncle, but Duren stopped her. “My way's much faster.” He gathered wind around him and rose a few centimeters off the
ground.

Lufta shivered. “I prefer to take the ground route, thank you.”

Duren shrugged, dropped, and matched pace with her as they ran through the crops. Lufta closed her eyes and threw her awareness out, laughing with
pleasure when she felt Duren's power surging out in front of them, leveling their path. Duren laughed with her and looked over to her, marveling at her closed
eyes. His spine tingled and looked back over to see that she was smiling at him now.

They ran fast and didn't stop till they reached the hill. At the bottom of the hill Lufta threw her arm in front of Duren. He waited as she gathered herself,
then watched with wide eyes as she ran onto the hill, seemed to bounce off, landed on her hands, and bounced again landing on her feet. Two more long jumps
and she was at the top.

Duren smiled up at her and bowed respectively. She waited expectantly and he thoughts for a moment and laughed. He kicked his heel down and a
column of earth shot into the air. He kicked himself off of it and turned in the air, laughing, then gathered wind around him to cushion his fall and landed agily.
Lufta bowed respectively, laughed, and nudged him conspiratorially.

Lufta's uncle coughed and she glanced at him, frowning for a second. The two adults stared at them, wondering at their show of friendship. Lufta sighed
and started to say something, then bowed to Duren instead. Duren bowed back and smiled sadly at her, unwilling, for some reason, to see her go. Lufta bowed
to his father, who bowed back and Lufta's uncle ushered her back to their carriage.

“Safe journey, Villi, Prima Lufta.”

“Safe journey,” Duren said softly after his father.

Lufta climbed easily into the carriage and leaned up against the window, staring at Duren until he was out of sight.