Re-l mouth may have hung open for the slightest fraction of a second before she remembered to close it, snapping her teeth together and grinding them.

"I want to get to the city," she said, "so unless we run into problems, straight up it is."

She set off without a glance backwards, letting her legs swallow up the distance. She did not look back. If he was determined to follow her, he would have to keep up himself.

She was stiff and tired, and her muscles screamed in protest, but Re-l ignored them. It felt good to be walking, good to be using all of herself. The rocky and barren floor of the ravine disappeared beneath her feet, and the other side loomed closer and closer. Re-l began searching for a route up, and at last she spotted a narrow trail, suitable for little more than animals, veering sharply up the cliff. It was hard, but it looked managable, especially if there were two people for the difficult bits. Reconsidering her previous estimation, Re-l slowed and waited for Gabriel to catch up.

"Do you think you can climb that? If I help you?"