Tommy had lucked out on the draw of things to do - he got to spend most of his time scouting and committing the area to memory.  If they'd had papers to write on he'd have begun making maps.  Still, he helped around as best he could - he had done quite a bit of work on the shrine, although he hadn't made any progress on building himself anything more substantial than the tent for shelter.  Every day he usually worked further and further from camp, but he was getting to the point of overnight trips - he wasn't about to do that alone.<br/><br/>He just barely glanced down at her hand as she took his, fighting the urge to squeeze it, but there was something about touch - anyone's touch - that made the world easier to handle.  He didn't want to admit that Valla's made things brighter as well.  Unlike the day before, he led them to the main road and from there down to the beach and Hope's Reach.  He thought the name was hokey, but its what they had decided.<br/><br/>He knew it well - they'd all lived there for about a month before strains began to form in the survivors.  Edgar - a rough man who looked like he belonged as a pirate rather than a colonist - was a live-and-let-live sort of follow.  Don't harm someone else, I don't care what you do.  The camp grew haphazardly and akwardly, but it was doing fine, at least in Tommy's mind.  Julian, though... well, he was just of a different built.  He had to respect them both - both settlements were doing well, but in different ways.<br/><br/>Julian had killed the hog - Hope's Reach had a crude cattle pen and, from the looks of it, were still trying to cultivate local plants along with the seeds taken for the colony.  The already had some potatoes and grain was starting to sprout, some of which was sent to Petre for his own attempts at making the accidental-colony better off.  They also had the milking cows, even though they were still recovering from the stress of the accident.  Then there was the bull - most were waiting for one of the milking cows to give birth of another male so they could slaughter this bull - he was big and mean, but he did what he needed to for the cows.  One was already pregnant, the other two hopefully soon.<br/><br/>Unlike Glendowne, Hope's Reach was built with nearly every building facing the water.  If it were a different world, Hope's Reach would be built with seaside villas, cool breezes allowing its residents to relax by the ocean.  Much to Julian's dismay, they had even cleared off part of the beach to use for recreation.  Things were progressing, just not as fast.  Tommy didn't like Hope's Reach for other reasons - he didn't like Julian's camp because of the structure but he refused to stay at Hope's Reach - but he never explained to anyone why.  Although he never did refuse a visit...<br/><br/>He finally succumbed and squeezed her hand as they got closer to the settlement, his thumb softly rubbing over the back of her hand before he pulled it away slowly.  It was obvious he didn't want to, but he also knew that the last thing they'd need were confirmation to gossip that he had to assume was already moving through the survivors.  He and Valla were the only magicians and worked close enough to generate rumors... he wasn't ready to give those rumors fire until... well, not now.  Not until he knew for sure what she felt.