Steam Ch. 00-01

"Girl, you are fucking awesome," she said to herself, turning on her heel and walking down the hall.

It was a strange, strange morning, she thought as she walked out onto the gravel of the yard. She let the feel of the lines around her wash away her worries. All magic users had affinity fields, and this was hers. Heat, clockwork and forged metals, the smell of oil and hot iron, all of these things revitalized her. They made her feel at home even when she was so very far away. Standing on a single line, she could feel all of the interconnected miles of the railway, stretching out across the continent, like a single, massive collection of nerves.

She tried to push the mornings distractions out of her mind as made her way to the Bella, her little girl, sitting fat and happy on her own little platform away from the indignant hustle and bustle of the commuters. She tried not to be bothered by that weird face on the platform. She made herself ignore Bennett's strange, aggressive behavior and that parting wink. She forced herself not to fix, in her mind, Cartwright's misquote of the old rail runner's proverb.

Long arms on the Western rails end at the wrist.

Pram rubbed the spot below the band of her father's watch and tried not to think about how weird the morning had been.