Valla smiled, pleased that the secret gnawed at him, just the effect she had hoped for.<br/><em><br/>There you go, Secret Boy, take that!</em><br/><br/>The beach sounded lovely, but she had work to do. Of course, there was work every day: clothes and equipment to mend, wood to collect, the fire to attend, food to find and cook, shelters to build, not to mention magical tasks like checking food and water for poisons and setting up magical lighting when necessary. All this, for a camp of just six people; Valla wondered how the other camps did it. She was no stranger to labor, she often worked as hard as her brothers did on the family farm, but this was a different kind of work because their survival depended on it.<br/><br/>But, the beach did sound lovely.<br/><br/>"Alright, let's go to the beach. This is a nice day," she said. "And you can teach me all about lying."<br/><br/>She had felt a little thrill when he put his arm around her, the contact nice. As they walked together, without looking at him, Valla took hold of Tommy's hand and held it all the way to the beach.