Spirits of the Earth

She decided when she woke up that her name for the day would be Coca, named after the chocolate she had forgotten the taste of. Actually, she thought as she stroked the cheek of her 1000 year old preserved prince, I've forgotten the taste of all food.
"Good morning," the woman sang as she kissed his cold face.
Coca looked around the tomb with a frown as she sat next to his body.
There wasn't much to clean; she had made sure it was clean yesterday. No use going over that again  today. She yawned and shuddered; it was kind of cold in their Tomb and she was naked. With a sigh, Coca put on her robes, thankful it had sleeves.

Next, she started to comb out the kinks in her hair. Many, many years have passed, and many times had she brushed it, yet it still had tangles. As she  worked, she  day dreamed. Coca imagined that a traveler, tall, dark , and handsome (though no one was as handsome as her prince)  would come and take her away. They would go and...What would they do?

Coca frowned. Last time they had fought underwater dragons and she had won the affections of the Merpeople Queen, her Master's mother. The day before they had fought the Giant Monstrous Snakes of the jungle....

Her fantasies were the only thing that kept her going. Eternal life was quite a drag in a tomb lit only with the light of the hot sun from a window in the roof. Oh, the tomb door was always open, and she enjoyed taking walks outside, but Coca had found within her first year that she couldn't travel past a certain distance away. Didn't mean she didn't try- often she would try, hoping the spell would wane over the years, but it was no use. Still, Coca wasn't discouraged, so she braved the tangles and the loneliness and the pestering pixies in her new, far away dream.

It seemed like the sun and heat and sand was endless.  How could anything survive out here? He wondered as he viewed the expanse of dunes.  It had been miles between the last settlement he'd come across.  They had offered water and food, and he took what they gave him, though it was very little.  He'd sleep, or try to, and time and again sleep would not come.  He longed for the mountains, for the trees and the smell of dragonfire, of blackened soil and streams that he could leap across with a single bound.  But he could not go back.  His home was gone and all that embraced him were the desert sands.

Hysaeda would stop and stay for no more than a night before he had to venture off yet again.  He was restless, no matter what he tried to do and though his heart ached for home, he could not return.  Not when there was nothing for him to return to.  Hysaeda clasped his half-empty waterskin and wondered through sweat-drenched eyes if he could make it across the sands to that distant, flickering mirage beyond the dunes ahead.  His sandal-boots provided no support as he tread along, and they were worn from years of use.  The sun was almost more than he could bear, but he was an Umbraeon and he was built to endure, to survive in any condition.  He drank sparingly and kept his eyes on the sand, endless sand that threatened each long, dire day, to serve him on a platter as a feast for the buzzards.

He did not wear the cloth coverings of the desert-dwellers here.  His hide-shirt, sleeveless for ease of movement, was soaked through with sweat, and his leather pants did not help stave off the heat either, but they were simple clothes and did not hinder his movement any.  Most of his gear had been left behind, he brought nothing but his curved sword, and carried the supply belt given to him by those that had been generous.

Then something else caught his eye.  The building he was more than sure was a mirage seemed to come closer into view and he saw the slit of darkness of a door beyond.  Something in him pressed forward and he broke out into a run when he reached the crest of a dune.  He leapt over the sands, tripping slightly here and there until he reached the bottom of it.  There was a place to rest, there was sanctuary at least for a moment.  He could wait until night, wait until darkness and travel on then.

He reached the building and stopped a hundred yards just abreast the place.  It looked so peculiar, so desolate amidst the dunes, and he wondered then if his enthusiasm had been misplaced.  The door had been open. This place, it had the very semblance of a tomb and why should the door of a tomb be open?  There could be all sorts of dangers in there, there was no telling what lurked in that darkness.  But Hysaeda was not unaccustomed to facing the unknown, and it called out to his curious nature.  He might not have been armed, but he was sure he could handle whatever might come his way.  Taking careful steps he approached the door and soon stood at the threshold, a darkened silhouette and he looked inside with great caution.  "Hel-," he was hesitant, "Hello?  Is there someone in here?"

Coca dropped her comb at the sound of the voice, frozen cold at the sound of a voice.  It was...It was a man's voice, right? Their voices were lower, it had to be a man's voice. So, so long...The woman opened her mouth to speak, but found herself too overwhelmed to speak. Her eyes were blurring and her head was whirling. In her fantasies she knew exactly what to do but suddenly she felt lost.

"W-who is he that dares enter the thresh hold of the Guardian's Tomb?" she replied, as majestically as she possibly could.
Yes, that's how it should be done.
She stood up slowly. Her long hair, which had been over her shoulder, was now rippling down her back as she slowly sashayed towards the door. Coca had been practicing for a long while, and was quite pleased with the result- mysterious, yet luring.  (Actually, it probably was over done but she didn't know that.)

Her eyes were used to seeing in the dim tomb, but Coca could not make out all the details of the man that stood by the door.
Be brave, be brave, be brave,  she thought, over and over.
Why was she so bashful at a time like this?
Was it just her imagination, or were his ears pointed?
Coca took in a deep breath and reached out for the figure.
"Come!" she demanded sharply, and pulled him towards  where the sun's light could reach him better.


Unless Hyssaeda knew the language of the ancient desert people, her language would have been hard to understand, just random babbling, though it was one of the origins of the modern Essyrn tongue.

As the light bathed over their figures, giving them both a rustic golden glow, the queer woman gave a gasp of awe. Casting away her 'mystery', manners, and shyness,  she began to touch things, starting with his ears.
"Master has pointed ears!" she exclaimed as she gently touched the edges of them, her brown eyes widening. Next, they traveled to his hair, his snow-white hair.  Only old people had white hair.
"But you're not old," she continued, "You look so young."
His eyes...were red?
"Are you cursed?" Coca said, her voice stern as she stared at the elf deep into the eyes, trying to look for signs of any devils.
"You're not possessed,  are you? You shan't touch the prince!"
To emphasize her point, the woman outstretched her arms, as if to protect the corpse behind her, when she got distracted by his chest.

Coca had never met an elf before in her kingdom- perhaps humans had changed so much since the time of her enslavement.   Her awed expression turned one to one mixed of disgust and amusement. His chest was so hairy! Like a monkeys! She preferred the chest of her prince, the tomb guardian thought as she reached out for it. It took the woman a while to figure out that it was a shirt.
"But that's silly," she thought out loud as her eyes and fingers were gently tracing some of the tattoos on his body.
"What are these pictures," she muttered, captivated.
As if in a trance, this calmed her a little, some how.

Hysaeda was silent and shocked by this strange creature that dared to be so bold.  Fear set in him, but he was too surprised to panic as he might have at any other time.  This strangest of women—was it a woman—inspected him like he was some kind of prized cattle to be sold at the market and the words she spoke, he didn't understand them at first.  Hysaeda wasn't used to being manhandled...or woman-handled and the very thought of being touched made him freeze in defense.  He said nothing, could do nothing.

He yelped when she yanked him in and stumbled on tired, hot, sticky legs that did their best to hold him up when she pulled him into the light.  So spoke so fast, so strangely and of all the languages that he'd learned over the course of his seemingly short life, hers registered in the barest of ways.  "Wait....wait a moment!" he said in Common.  Hysaeda pulled away when he through her inspection was done and he curled up in a corner at the base of the light.  "What are you doing!?  Why did you call me 'Master'?"

He put a hand on his chest and stared at her with his amber red eyes, his hair matted with sweat and dirt and his braids tangled and unkempt.  "Who are you?" he asked lightly, unsure if he should feel threatened just yet.  His right hand fingered the hilt of his sword, in case she was so bold again, but he did not unsheathe it.  He understood the words of prince, of tomb, but only vaguely and most of what she said had not registered.  If only it occurred to him at that moment that if he didn't understand what she said, what made him think she would understand him.

The nameless tomb guardian watched as the man retaliated a bit, stumbling in the corner. She was a little amused and sad by his shock, but also in awe of his tongue. He spoke a different language!
A rush of energy flowing through her.  A stranger from a distant land, here to free her from the tomb! Oh, but it sounded romantic...Only, she never imagined that he'd have had red eyes and pointed ears.  
The man brought up a word she did know , and spoke- Master.
She nodded eagerly at this and was about to say something when he posed a new question in a gentle voice.

Coca watched as a hand moved to his side- the guards of the palace ages ago used to do that when they felt a little threatened. Did he feel threatened by her? The woman bowed her head.
She didn't like swords, much. A vague memory, like a dream was in the back of her mind, of a time when the guards dragged her into the tomb, doomed for what seemed eternity.
"Does being called 'master' displease you?," she humbily asked, taking her right hand and pushed down on air a little, gesturing for him to loosen his grip.

From where she stood, Coca knelt in order to see him eye to eye, again.
Her eyes, filled with a thousand questions, boldly stared.
Now that she thought about it, he knew one word...Did he know any others?
A feeling of dread swept over her body.
How am I going to speak to him? she wondered, her worries getting worse.
In all of her fantasies, she had imagined some language barriers, but some how they'd find a way to communicate.This, too seemed easier.  His language was so strange...Yet some of it seemed familiar. And there was something about his voice that let her know that he was very knowledgeable.

Determined to please her guest, her eyes fell upon his hair. The woman smiled, suddenly getting an idea. She held up a finger before turning around and stumbling to her feet, her skirts twirling around gracefully as she ran the short distance towards the bed.  
"Where is it, where is it?" Coca hissed to herself as she examined the floor.
She found the comb, picked it up, and rubbed it against her robe. Satisfied, she eagerly approached Hysaeda and stopped to kneel a couple of feet away from him. The woman made note to be out of reach of his blade, if he dared to pull it out. Humbly, she held the thing in her hands, her palms face up. Coca pointed to his dirtied hair, and mimicked brushing her own.
"I can fix it up again for you," she offered, "And get you water."
At this she gestured drinking from  a cup.

Water wasn't too far away. There was a small spring not too far from the tomb, which she was grateful for; it was a small change of scenery from the stony room, but one she welcomed on occasion.

What was she?  A corpse?  A mummy?  A ghost?  Hysaeda was convinced he was seeing things again, convinced that all this heat was finally getting to his head.  His training as an apprentice required that he keep his mind open to things beyond this world, to other places and things that might hold danger.  There were no weapons that he saw on her person, and so he loosened the grip he had on his sword and just listened to the beating of his heart, that thu-thumped with anxiety of the situation.

He couldn't see through her, so she couldn't be a spirit.  She touched him, felt him with such a gentility that he felt no need in him to be aggressive.  Hysaeda sat up against the wall and just watched her approach with the brush, looking at her with wonderment, eyes wide and curious.  He furrowed his brows when she knelt beside him.  "Brush?  My hair?" he asked, gesturing to his head.  "Fix, right?  Clean?  Um...Yes."  How to tell her, how to tell her.  Hysaeda instead nodded his head fiercely and visibly relaxed his position.

Since the time he'd first entered into the desert, his hair hadn't been properly cleaned or cared for in several weeks.  He blushed hotly, feeling ashamed for having been so neglectful, but the blame didn't last long.  Slowly he took his hands away from his body and reached up to undo the braids in his hair, only four of them, and held the bands in his hand.  "Klatch'u," he said in Sevic and pointed to the comb.  "Comb."  He knew it was a far-fetched idea for no one outside the tribelands could possibly speak Sevic, but it was worth a shot.  Sevic was such an ancient language, close-knit amongst those that spoke it and sacred, far too sacred to be spoken to strangers.

But Hysaeda did not see her as an enemy, nor even as an outsider.  He was the outsider here and she seemed to live here in this tomb.  He should have been honored to be dragged into a perfect stranger's home, shouldn't he?  "Um..." he began softly.  "Live....live here, how long have you lived here?" he tried to gesture to the tomb and show some way of letting her know what he meant.

OOC: I just realized this should have been made in the Moraki Desert...Whoops. >< Oh, and his last sentence is in Sevic, too?

IC:

     The woman watched patiently as the stranger undid the braids in his white, white hair. It still fascinated her as to why one so young had such fair hair. Maybe he dyed it as a way to respect his elders? She was about to phase out into a daydream when he spoke again, this time in an odd tongue. Luckily, the woman understood his intentions and gladly handed over the comb, perhaps with too much zest.

"Klat-e-who?" she repeated with a giggle. What sort of word was that?

 She watched as he gestured towards the place. Was he asking her if this was where she lived?
"I live here!" she exclaimed as she rose to her feet again.
This time, she approached a shelf, and delicately pulled out a scroll before heading over to Hysaeda. This time, she sat next to him, and gently opened the document on the floor. Even if he couldn't read the ancient letters, no doubt he could tell it was very old. It was actually part of a diary that the prince had written, keeping tabs on his adventures, dealings, and every day life. Unfortunately, she couldn't read it. The woman didn't know how to read in the language of the court, only in the more common language of the people. Never the less, that didn't stop her from  making up the stories as she went in a desperate attempt to read the documents.

"For a thousand years," she replied in a quiet, almost sorrowful voice, "Maybe longer."

[You can ask an admin to move it for you if you want.  But I don't mind though.  It's not that big of a deal.  And his last sentence was not in Sevic.]

Hysaeda burned with some shame at having the word questioned for it was not a language many would have understood in the first place.  It was forbidden to share such a sacred thing with someone from the Outland, the lands that existed beyond the mountains of the Thunderblacks.  He ran a hand through his dirty, unkempt hair and tried to register what she was saying.  It sounded like Essyrnian, for he'd traveled to Essyrn sometime in the past, but the words she used were not like the one's he'd used to barter with stubborn merchants.  They resembled some things, but not all things, but a small thought creeped into mind.

Perhaps she might understand some words if he tried to speak them.  He understood live, vaguely but related it back to the modern day version of the word as it bore a similarity.  Hysaeda peered with more than just curiosity and there was a fleeting fascination that came when she returned with the scroll.  He sat cross-legged like a small child receiving a tutoring lesson.

She spoke again and he tried to get a catch on what she said and he blinked at her.  Something about years.  And the word long, or something like longer.  With the way she spoke, perhaps she'd been talking about being here in this tomb.  Certainly if he was here for such a long time, he too would speak in the same tone about being in such a dismal place.

Hysaeda looked at the contents of the scroll though most of it made absolutely no sense to him.  "If you were here for so long," he began in the scant Essyrnian that he knew.  "Why...er..don't you go...leave?  Do you want.....to leave....to go?"

OOC: btw, the whole 'knots' theme in this post is coincidental (see title). XD
IC:

Coca raised eyebrows as the man, who was now sitting cross legged, spoke again. The language he was talking in was starting to sound a little more familiar, but almost as if it was a butchered version of the tongue she spoke in.
Of course, she realized, Languages change over time...Could this be the modern version of my own? How queer.
Amused by this obvious fact, the woman let out a giggle, shaking her head.

But she was struck with a ray of hope at his question. To leave! The woman pointed towards the preserved corpse of the prince.
"Master," she said, "I'm bound to him until I get a new one. Ah..."
She frowned  as her eyes searched the stranger's. Perhaps it would be better if she demonstrated?  The woman touched the elf lightly on the arm.
"I'll show you," she said, gesturing for him to follow her.

Coca walked to the side of the prince.
Cloth...or rope,she thought until finally she found one of her small veils.
On two opposing ends, she made slip knots, and slid one of the prince's hands into it, and one of hers in the other.
"I can't," she said as she slowly stepped away from the corpse until she could walk no further because of the  knots on their hands. The veil, a faded purple with sliver linings, glittered in the sun light.
What was that word the stranger had used before?

"To leave," she repeated, this time in modern Essyrn.
She pointed to him, and then to the corpse, and gestured for him to remove the knot from the corpse.
"I need a new master....to leave," she said, slowly, repeating the last two words in modern Essyrn.

The words, they were so broken and Hysaeda would fear that he would be at a loss with her.  Miscommunication was often the cause of problems between parties that led to things that could have easily been solved if only each party took the time to listen.  Hysaeda kept this in mind and did his best to comprehend what she was saying.  He was not a man of many complex words, but he could understand what she meant through her body language for his eyes had looked her over for signs of weapons, aggression, or anything that would give him reason to judge her negatively.

Then there was that word again: Master.  He frowned.  He wasn't sure why she was calling him that and he wasn't entirely sure he was comfortable with the title.  It made him seem as if he were more powerful than he felt.  He didn't want to be anyone's master, for he was not worthy to hold such power over anyone.  Slavery was a common practice back home, for Umbraeons were harsh with their slaves and the business was lucrative.  He thought nothing of it then for it was so common, it was a part of life.  But here he was not home, he was alone with a strange woman that called him Master, though he did not know why.

He was just about to find out.  Hysaeda looked at her like a child and stood when she commanded, and watched when she knotted the rope with her hands to that of the corpse and exemplifying that she was apparently bound to this body, through he could not tell why.  Hysaeda understood then when she meant and his mouth hung open, unsure what to make of this.  She needed a new master to leave, she had said and he stepped back a little.  "You don't mean for me to be your master, certainly!" he exclaimed in Essyrn.  His eyes became wide and he shut his jaw, a little alarmed at all of this.  "You do!"

Hysaeda walked around and stared at the corpse for several speechless minutes.  But his eyes softened and he looked at her with understanding at her plight.  It wasn't right or fair that she should be stuck here when there was so much out there.  In some convoluted way she seemed a slave to this tomb.  He might have asked her just why she wouldn't be able to leave, but he couldn't find the words he wanted to say.  Perhaps it was wrong to feel a little bit of pity for her, for it was so unlike him to do so, but he did not like to see others suffer when there was no reason for them to do so. So Hysaeda stepped back to where she was bound and slipped the knot from the corpse' hand.  He fingered the knotted veil for a second before he slipped his own wrist into it and pulled the knot a little snugly.  "Leave," he said in modern Essyrnian.  "You can leave with me.  But I am no 'Master.'"  He paused and considered best how to say it.  "Name...my name," he pointed to his chest, "is Hysaeda."

The tomb guardian gave a weak smile as the man became alarmed by her statements. She was a bit relieved. She had feared that her metaphor would be lost unto him, that he wouldn't understand his plight. Of course, some of the words that he had exclaimed had been lost to her, but his expression of disbelief and realization and the repetition of the word 'master' was enough for her to understand that he knew.

This is it.
The woman felt weak and heavy as she unconsciously held her breath and listened to the pounding of her heart beat. She watched anxiously as the man slowly approached the corpse, deep in thought. For a moment, she feared that he would somehow damage the corpse; she was the prince's guardian, after all.
If I leave, I'll probably never see him again, she realized. Coca didn't know how to feel about this. She wanted to move on and find her name, maybe. But he was all she ever knew the past thousand years. She felt scared and vulnerable.

And this stranger. What if he decides to leave her? After all, he was just a traveler; perhaps he wasn't her new prince at all and would leave her here for who knows how long...
He's removing the knot, she thought.
Her eyes widened as she watched his every movement.  
All was still when he adjusted it onto his wrist and proclaimed his name.  
Hysaeda. Her new master's name was...No, wait.
She had to break her previous bond with the prince before it could be official.  

Her head bowed, the woman  slowly walked past Hysaeda and leaned over the face of the corpse prince, giving it one last loving kiss.
"Undo these bonds that tie us both. No longer are we master and servant," she whispered into the dead man's ear. Yes, she remembered those ancient words. Those and the rules of her curse. The priest years and years ago had surely driven them into her mind, the only true memories she had.

The woman gave a gasp as she could feel the bonds undo them self; suddenly, she knew that she could run anywhere she wanted, without any pain or possession to bring her back. However, she knew this feeling of utopia were short lived; in agony she would be if she didn't redo the spell quickly.
"Farewell," she lamented as she ran her hand through the prince's hair. She realized she wasn't going to miss him, much; yes, she had loved him, but he had been long dead and she had been bored.

Coca- though she quickly disregarded the name as it didn't seem suiting, anymore- turned around to face Hysaeda and grasped his larger hands with her trembling smaller ones.
"It is done, Hysaeda," she solemnly declared, sealing their bond.
Now there was a name, she couldn't help but to think, that was suited for her new benefactor! Hysaeda...It sounded mysterious and foreign and good. The woman liked that. The ex-tomb guardian could feel the spell redoing itself, could feel Hysaeda's presence.  For now, it seemed unnecessary, but she knew that no matter if she could see him or not, she'd always be able to find him.

The lady let out a sigh of relief; the ritual was over. Her breath and heart beat returned to normal, and she felt weightless.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed with excitement, smiling brightly him as she undid the veil that tied them together and wrapped it around herself. This wasn't how she imagined for her meeting with her savior ever went, but those fantasies were trifle, now.

"Mmm," she muttered as she surveyed the tomb. Without stopping to give an explanation, the woman quickly gathered her things. She grabbed her jewelry box and shoved it into a satchel along with a gourd for water and her comb. The woman then  put on her straw sandals with  haste. She packed nothing else, for these were her sole possessions; the rest belonged to the prince, and it was bad to steal from the dead.

The nameless woman laughed as she practically ran to the entrance of the tomb, the satchel slung over her shoulder.
"Water!" she exclaimed, mimicking drinking, "Let's go find water for you!"

[From now on, any Essyrnian he's speaking will be italicized, just to make it easier to know when he is and isn't]

This was all happening so fast that it seemed hard to take in all at once.  Hysaeda, at this moment, did not quite realize exactly what he'd done now that he'd done it. It was so rare to welcome another in his presence that did not involve but a few seconds of interaction before they parted ways.  Hysaeda was not always comfortable to stick around another for longer than necessary, but there was a slow creeping feeling that this woman, whoever she was, was going to be around him for a while.  He felt strange after she'd murmured her parting words to her prince.  He felt heavier somehow, but this sensation was quickly overshadowed by another feeling.

The way she said her good bye, it made him feel solemn and his homesickness came back to haunt him with a vengeance.  Hysaeda turned his head down to keep the tears from falling, and his eyes would have been misty if it weren't for the dry heat of the desert.  He saw, to some extent, a part of himself in her, the way she said goodbye, and he slowly realized that perhaps this was the only home she knew and she was going to leave it behind.  It seemed she didn't mind that much to even consider leaving, but it still made him a little regretful at having even suggested the concept.

But soon she grabbed his hands into her hers and she soon sealed the bond between them.  He held his breath for a moment and waited for something epic to happen.  The earth to shake, the sun to fall, the sands to shift into oasis....yet nothing.  But suddenly he did find himself much more aware of her than before and he looked at her with wider, speculative eyes.  The way her hands felt in his was so strange and he furrowed his brows when his eyes glanced on them.

Before he knew it, they were ready to go and he dusted off his hands before he followed her like a dog, though in a much less degrading manner.  "Water sounds like a very good idea right now," he murmured in Essyrnian, though stepped outside with some reluctance.  "Um...where," he motioned out towards the vast expanse, "is this water?  Lead..." he nudged for her to walk.  "Lead the way. I will follow."

OOC: Ok. I'll do the same too. I suppose I'll bold  her Old-Essyrn speech, too XD  

IC:

     The nameless woman nodded at Hysaeda's instructions and secured the veil so that it covered her mouth, nose, and hair properly before starting the short journey.
The spring was south-westward. It used to be a large lake years and years ago, but now it was reduced to a  spring, seven feet wide and thirty feet long. The walk normally took the lady anywhere between fifteen minutes to half an hour, but today she walked with a faster pace. She was so ecstatic that the woman didn't even want to talk. She couldn't feel the prince's presence, anymore. In a way, it felt empty and strange, not being able to  feel his direction, but she welcomed the presence of her stranger and the prospect of finally being able to live.

     When they finally reached the shore of the spring, she plopped herself down at the shore and began to wash her face. The water was fresh and cool, a pleasant contrast to the scorching heat of the desert.  She idly splashed water up her arms before rummaging in her satchel for the gourd and placed it under the water. The woman didn't really need it though  she liked drinking and eating. However, the extra water was going to be necessary for Hysaeda.

    The woman turned to the man to see how he was doing. She bit her bottom lip, a little impatient. She had so many things to ask him!
"How is it?" she shyly asked.

Hysaeda was not happy with being back in the heat, but with the secure promise of water in mind, he had no choice and followed the woman, whose name he remembered he didn't even bother to ask for!  He'd have to ask as soon as he could...  If she had a name at all.  What if she didn't?  Would that make communication even harder than it was before?  The language barrier was enough and though they barely understood what the other meant, the issue of names was something he didn't consider before.  He did not explain the meaning behind his name, nor it's origin, but that couldn't possibly be interesting to her could it?  No, that was absolutely absurd.

Before he knew it they reached the water and he stared at it as if it were nothing more than a figment of his dreams.  It was not the running, cold, clear streams of the mountains of the Thunderblacks, but it was water.  And he sweated underneath the sun and looked at it longingly.  Hysaeda then grinned widely, like a young boy that gained his father's approval for the first time.  He almost didn't hear her question, but he didn't have time to answer it before he plucked off his shirt and dashed toward the spring.

He dove for the water, though he was sure it wasn't very deep and he landed on his belly with a small splash.  This was a dream!  Oh, it was the most beautiful dream he'd had in weeks!  He cooled off tremendously from the heat.  His stomach hurt from the landing, but the sensation of actual moisture other than sweat did wonders to pale away the pain.  "Amazing!" he exclaimed and rolled around on the other side of the spring.  When his reverie was over, he got out of the water, dripping wet and grabbed his shirt off from the ground.  He knelt beside her and dunked the hide shirt in the water to make it wet.  He threw that over his shoulder before he grabbed his nearly empty water-skin and filled it.

"I am sorry for being foolish," he apologized momentarily.  "Thank you...thank you.  But I would like to know something.  Your name, what's your name?  You do have one, don't you?"

Her question was answered with the animal-pelt shirt flung aside as the man dove into the water. Startled, the woman covered her face with her hands and gave a delighted squeal.  
"Hey!" she exclaimed with a laugh.
Her robes were now soaked in parts; she could feel the coolness of the water reach her skin and shuddered. It felt nice, though, and the lady welcomed it. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and watched as Hysaeda splashed around in the water, like a child. The lady felt something inside her churn as she observed his bare torso.

He's beautiful, she couldn't help but to shamelessly think. Not only that, but he was so new to her, that it was fascinating. The only other human like being she had ever seen was her prince, a corpse. Yes, she knew what men look like  but to see someone new after such a long period of time was overwhelming, as if she had never known these things before. If a woman were to pop up right then and there too, she mused, she'd be just as overwhelmed. It felt new, but oddly nostalgic, to be able to sit and play , or observe others play, like this.  The woman had forgotten how much she missed it.

The woman curled up  a little more as he knelt beside her, almost as if afraid that he knew what she was thinking about. She shyly glanced over at him as he knelt beside her when she took in a sharp breath at the sight of the scars. She hadn't noticed them before when he was in the water, but now they were clearly visible. The sight of them didn't frighten her. However, what ever could have given those to him did. It made her a little sad, too, but she was now  even more curious as to what his tale was.
He must be an explorer or a treasure hunter or a warrior or a hero of some sort, she mused, coming up with all sorts of explanations and trials as of to why he possessed such scars.

She watched attentively as he filled his own water skin and frowned at his question.
"Name?" she repeated, trying to remember those words she had learned before.
"To leave...name. I lost mine. I go by many, now."
She said this as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and perhaps it was. The woman had gotten used to being nameless, and didn't find it so peculiar after a while.
The woman paused before continuing.
The man spoke some version of the Essyrn tongue, but was he really from there? She knew that people must have changed over time, but this much?
"Is Hysaeda from Essyrn? Or are you from far away? "she asked, curiously, waving her hand as she indicated  'far away'.

Hysaeda tilted his head as he listened and nodded when he put her words together.  She lost her name.  To any other, they might have wondered just how or why a person could lose their own name.  But Hysaeda was not like so many others and he saw measured that she had been in that tomb for far longer than he guessed at first.  Whatever it was that kept her from leaving most likely left her in a position where she didn't need to say her name to people, didn't need to become acquainted on a regular basis.  With the excitement and strange welcome she'd given, he considered that it was possible those that came by were too few and far between.  And most likely, they didn't bother to stay for too long.

But he just smiled at her, wondering if now he'd done some good for another.  The world was a hard thing to bear enough alone; at least she wouldn't be so much anymore.  Though for how long exactly, well even he didn't have enough foresight to tell for sure.  He nodded and then thought up names of what he might call her for it wouldn't be wise to call her a crazy woman for longer than the first day.  He took a deep drink from the water skin, then dousing his entire head with the rest of it before refilling it again.  He brushed out the grime that had built up, leaving his head cool and cleansed and soft once again.

He started retying his braids once again when she asked him a question.  Far away, he got that.  And Essyrn.  Was Essyrn far away?  He didn't know from here and might have answered so if he didn't catch the words 'you' and 'from'.  She wanted to know where he was from, then.  Slowly his head sank as his thoughts immediately went back to his home and images of fire and smoke flashed before his mind's eye.  He clenched them tightly and looked at her again with a weakened smile before he shook his head.  "No, he answered.  "I am from very...very far away.  There is a place where mountains grow tall and dragonfire burns the sky.  Sometimes, clouds are black because of it.  I am from a secluded place, hidden from the world.  More people...um, others that look like me, live there.  I called it home once, but no longer.  There is no more home...for me."  He was quiet afterwards and did not want to think any more of it, but he knew that no doubt she had questions and he did not know if he had the strength to answer them.

"If you have no name now, I will give you one," he urged, trying to slowly change the subject.  "Issen.  Call you...um, that is what I'll call you.  Another language.  My language.  Issen means 'the waking dreamer'.  The way you look at me, like I am from a dream.  I think it suits you.  Er, is it a good name?  "  He cursed himself for not having spoken Essyrnian in so long; the way he spoke it was shameful, broken and battered, and he wondered if she would understand him at all.

The nameless one was tempted to reach out and help Hysaeda with his braids, but resisted the urge to do so as he seemed to be deep in thought. Her eyes widened as he spoke. She found if she listened very, very carefully to the modern tongue, she could understand him, more or less. Most of the words sounded funny, and the grammar was a little off, but the woman picked up most of what he said and her eyes widened at his tale. Mountains? Dragon fire? Black  clouds? Her body shivered a bit in anticipation as of to what life there would be like. It sounded great and awful, a land straight out of a fairy tale.


However, what he said made her feel very sympathetic. He, too, was homeless, then? The woman reached her hand out and touched his shoulder.  Her hand trailed up to his ear.
So there are others with pointed ears and premature white hair?, she thought, in awe. If the woman heard right, the man had said that the place was hidden.

She blinked blankly as he named her and described it to her.
"The waking dreamer," she said with an amused smile as she removed her hand from his ear and placed both of her hands in her lap.
Yes that sounded just about right. She appreciated his talent.
"Issen," she also repeated, testing it out.
It sounded wonderful and new. It was not her real name, she knew, but it'd have to do until she found it.
Yes, she liked the name.
From now on, I'll be Issen.
Issen smiled.
"Thank you," she said.

She bit her lip before continuing to ask something that she'd been meaning to, for a while. The man looked like he had traveled long and hard but where was his destination?
"Where are we going, and why do you want to go there, Hyseada?" she asked, eagerly.

She was pretty odd herself with the way she dressed, spoke, and acted.  He wasn't sure what was keeping her alive if she'd really been in that tomb for as long as she claimed.  To be so isolated wasn't always a bad thing in his mind; sometimes it gave you a privacy not often found in places more civilized than the desert.  Not that Hysaeda would know anything about that.  For loners often found sanctum with the lonely.  Like drew like did it not?

She fingered his pointed ears and he stared awkwardly down at the water, his head tilted as she held on.  What the hell?  Hysaeda couldn't have been more confused and wondered why she acted that way.  Hadn't she ever seen an elf before?  What was wrong with her?  But he quickly shoved it aside and just figured it was a part of that which was yet to be explained about this strange woman who'd only recently been named.

Hysaeda paused and stared at her with incredulous eyes as he nearly understood every word she said next.  He didn't even begin to know how to answer that.  Why?  Because he didn't know where he was going, didn't know if there was a place for him.  His whole life he'd been wandering, and now that wandering had taken him into the desert.  Perhaps he'd go to Essyrn....  And for the moment that seemed like the most logical destination in mind.  "To a city in the desert.  Called Essyrn.  Have you heard of it, Issen?

Issen's eyes widened in delight at his question.
"City in the desert? Called Essyrn?" she repeated, excitedly.
"Yes! That's where it is, isn't it?"
The woman pointed to the general direction to where the city of her past was, in a north-eastward direction.
She frowned, hoping she was correct. Her memory was rather spotty; she had even forgotten how long of a walk it was. More than just a few miles, she knew, but that was it.
"That's where it was when I was confined in that tomb with the prince, at least," she  sheepishly added.

The woman felt ecstatic as she brushed a curl behind her ear. They were finally going back to her home city! Actually, she was a bit disappointed. Issen was hoping that they would leave the desert for she was a bit sick of seeing sand everywhere, but if that's where Hyaeda wanted to go, then she wanted to go, too. Besides, a lot of things were bound to have changed and things to learn; it would be easiest to start from where she began.

She realized that he still didn't explain why, but she didn't bug him about it. She looked down at her clothes, suddenly very self aware. The cloth of her robes were horrendously thin; she realized that she didn't care much if  the  silluete of her figure could be seen if in the right light, not anymore, but she didn't suppose people would find it appropriate.
I'm going to have to get new clothes once we get to the city, she realized.
Issen didn't mind. She had been craving for new fabric for centuries, and now here was her chance.

Hysaeda gave her a twisted, perplexed expression, but he found himself grinning nonetheless.  Even if he found her strange company, he at least thought she'd keep things interesting.  He looked off in the direction she pointed in and noted in his head, and remembered the familiarity of the path, though it wasn't concrete.  He could make it there.  Only a few miles more in the hot sun and he'd have a bath.  A real bath!  The spring was nice but, he needed more water than he realized to make himself feel like a man again, and not some lost desert creature practically starving in this expanse.

He'd threw his wet hide shirt back on his back and rubbed water over his face again, though it seemed the water evaporated far too quickly.  "If that's the way it is, then let's get started," he murmured and patted her on the shoulder.  He started off in the direction, slowly at first and turned behind him to make sure she was keeping up.  "When we get there, we'll go shopping for new supplies.  I have some money on me.  Not much, but it should help.  Is there anything specific that you need...or want?"

Issen eagerly rose to her feet when Hyaeda suggested that they get moving. She followed closely behind Hysaeda. She could keep up with his pace well enough; though she had been confined in her radius, the woman had traveled within the bounds of her tiny desert home. Because she had some sort of homing instinct to always know where her prince was, the desert creature was never afraid of getting lost.

Issen gave a  sheepish smile at his thoughtful question.
"Clothes, please," she said.
However, she didn't want to bother him too much about paying. Besides, he said he didn't have a lot of money.
I should show him the bangles, the woman thought, and began to fumble with her satchel.

"One moment," she pleaded, and sank to her knees as she delicately brought out the jewelry box and opened it. Issen turned the box around so that the man knew just what exactly what splendor he was looking at;  the box was filled with bangles, a few necklaces,  a tiara, and anklets. Most were made with precious metals, others with glass or wood. The vast value of them rather escaped the woman; yes, some were very precious to the woman, but she was sure that two silver bangles would hopefully be enough to cover the expense of  new clothes and supplies. Besides, she felt it just to share with this man.

She offered up two such bangles to Hysaeda. One was thin and had a twisted, rope design. The other was a few millimeters in width and had an ancient, detailed Essryn pattern on it.
"Use this," she said, with a determination in her voice that clearly wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Clothes it is then," he made a mental note to keep that mind.  Though what she was wearing wasn't bad, he had to admit.  He wondered if that's what she'd been wearing for a thousand years, or however long she'd been down in that dark, dusky, tomb.  If they found any animals, no doubt he could crafter clothing of a higher quality himself, for free.

When she paused, he almost went on without her.  He looked back and saw that she was kneeling and he came and knelt beside her.  Jewels and bangles and articles of value that he figured had been collected over the years.  When she offered up the two bangles he grasped them gently in his raw, dry hands.  "You can't be serious.  These are far too valuable to just waste on clothes, from the looks of it.  Are you absolutely sure?"  He held them as if they were made of porcelain.

Issen tilted her head, a bit confused at the man's bewilderment. She knew  two silver bangles would be somewhat expensive, but not  as valuable as he was making them out to be.
"Then use them to buy, how did you say it... New supplies, as well," she  suggested.
Without any further ado, the woman promptly shut the box and carefully placed it back into her satchel before she slung it over her shoulder.

Issen giggled as she readjusted her veil, watching as Hysaeda held the jewelry as if they were made out of delicate glass. She touched his arm, gently as she looked at him in the eye.
"They won't break," the woman said as she playfully walked in, around, and beyond the footprints that Hysaeda had left.

Hysaeda frowned visibly and nearly grimaced because of it.  It didn't please him for her to give him those bangles though he was sure she meant well by it.  Taking things that he did not earn did not bode well with him, but she seemed she did not care to take them back or make any more of it.  She stood up and walked away.  He grunted and placed the bangles in his belt.

"Thank you," he murmured but shook his head as he did so. "It's just that.  They are personal things, it seems, yours.  But because you have freely surrendered them, I'll make sure that what I buy with them will be well worth their weight."  He nodded and continued on.

Soon the sun was reaching the nadir of its path and he saw the flickering image of Essyrn in the distance.  He was not enthusiastic about being among more people, but perhaps it would be a favor of some sort for Issen to see more than himself.  She could see how so much had changed in such time.  "Race you there," he said shortly before he started off in a run.

Issen smiled at the man's words about giving things up, but she said nothing. There was nothing to say- it was hers, and hers to freely give; that was that. They marched steadily on, not saying much of anything. Now and then the woman would find herself humming a made up tune, but for the most part, she was concentrating on her journey and getting lost in her day dreams.

She started to grow weary as the sun began to set, but lo and behold in the distance was a glimpse of the city. The woman gasped at the image, and stood fixated on the hill. So lost was she that she didn't hear or register Hyseada's words until he started running.
"Huh?" she muttered, confused. Why was he running? There wasn't anything following them.
"Wait!" she protested as she hitched up her robes and her veil as she, too, began to sprint. Downhill did Issen flew, though it was clear that her companion was the faster and stronger runner. She caught up with him moments later at the entrance  of the great city.

Issen was speechless and overwhelmed at the view of the city.  Like a trapped wild beast did she look around ,trying to find anything that resembled what life had looked like, years and years ago. Yes, people were still wearing veils and long robes, but they looked...different. And nothing was where it had been before; these streets looked utterly foreign. In the distance, Issen saw a tall structure that she hoped was the remains of the palace. She didn't realize how lost she would be. And all the people! And the animals. Her life had been so silent up to this point that the noise was startling and began to hurt her head.  The next thing she noticed were the smells. There were so many! Some smelt hot and spicy, others sweeter, other almost sticky...

It was all so beautiful, and yet frightening to the woman. She didn't quite know what to keep her eyes on, whether it was on the children playing or the merchants yelling and selling their wares or a person playing a queer instrument. The woman noticed that though she could pick up bits and pieces of their modern Essyrn  tongue, people were also speaking another queer language.

The people were queer, too. The Essyrn people in traditional look didn't seem to have change much, but there were foreigners in the city, too. Issen was pretty sure she had noticed a pale skin woman with blue hair, though it had seemed too bizarre to be true.
The woman was a stranger to her own city and the sense overload was almost too much for Issen. She touched Hyseada lightly on the shoulder, like a child not wanting to stray from their mother.  She placed her free hand over one of her ears.
Be brave.
"Let's go?" she weakly suggested.

The city was an amazing sight once he'd reached it and it was still very much like he'd remembered it so many years ago.  The first few visits were merely to trade for Hysaeda didn't have much interest in staying in hubs of civilization for longer than he had to.  But after being in the desert for so long, it was a wonderful, relieving change of scenery.  Hysaeda stood beside her as she took in the sights and knew he'd chosen the right name for her with the way she stood out in awe at everything.  It seemed as if she was seeing it all again for the first time.  And perhaps she was.  But at least he was here to help her along.

The city buzzed with activity and the market was not far from here.  He did indeed stand out amongst the crowd, but no more than anyone else.  Hysaeda reached out and clasped Issen's hand in his own and pulled her along toward a moving bunch that led towards the market district.  The day may have been dying, but the activity only seemed to heighten because of it.  There was still so much left to do that the buying and selling of wares was going at a rapid pace.

They reached a stand where a series of clothing lay on the counter and hung on the rafters.  The robes weren't particularly fancy but they appeared to be well made and he knew that if that was what she wanted, here seemed like a good a place as any to buy something to wear.  "Pick whatever you like," he said and gestured toward the clothing.

OOC: FYI, I'm basing her new clothes on  Morrocan caftan, just to give you a better mental picture. Like it matters? I'm totally not biased -cough- (guess where my mom is from? -shifty eyes-)

IC:

Issen was briefly surprised when Hysaeda held onto her hand firmly, though she welcomed it. The woman gladly followed his lead as she tried to take in every wondrous detail. She gasped and her stares lingered on some things more then others. The woman wanted to ask her partner about these items as they came, but then came a new fascination, and her mind was distracted once  more. After a while in this fashion her stride became more confident, her stance taller, though her hand still stayed on her ear, the sound still overwhelmingly loud.

Finally, they stopped in front of what appeared to be a clothing vendor. Issen's wide brown eyes looked hungrily at Hysaeda's red ones, and she laughed gleefully at his command. She was free to choose! The last time that happened...Well, she couldn't remember, and the woman doubted it mattered. However, as the woman's fingers traced  satin and silks, she knew that they wouldn't be fit for the road. Hysaeda was a traveler, right?  She needed to find clothes that were made to be worn into.

At first, Issen only was doing this with her free hand. However, frustrated at the lack of mobility of this, she gathered enough courage to remove her other hand from her ear. The woman gritted her teeth and shuddered at the sound, but her discomfort was quickly distracted from by the clothes.

She fussed to  herself as she  rummaged through the selections. Some were too short, others too long, others not the right color, others made of the wrong material...The vendor stared at her, with a look of puzzlement as Issen exclaimed in her version of the tongue several times, but he took little notice of it, simply discarding it as another foreign language; the poor man only spoke Common.

Finally, after a while of careful selection, Issen found a complete outfit. The material was sturdy, though still felt rather soft. It was a three set outfit with an over dress, an under dress, and a headscarf. The under dress was a  plain long sleeved brown dress with a scoop neck that reached to her feet, with a skirt that flowed a little in the wind. The over dress was like a vest that was just as long as its companion piece. It was rusty red with wide short sleeves. The edges were joined together from the neck down to just above her navel, where the cut opened up to reveal the brown dress underneath. Designs of flowers in the same brown as the dress were lined at the sleeve, collar, and edges. The headscarf was the same red color as the over dress.

Yes, the fashions have defiantly changed plenty. However, instead of feeling offhanded by this, the woman felt rather excited; it was rather fetching.

Issen turned around to face Hysaeda, holding the clothes in her hands.
"How's this?" she shyly asked.
A little bit uncomfortable about this little spree being on her, she added, "Are you getting anything?"
She was getting used to the market place noise, now. It at least didn't throb and pound in her ear, though it was still slightly unnerving.

[Cool!  XD Hysaeda's not so fancy.  He stands out like sore thumb!  You're mom's from Morocco?  That's pretty awesome.  I'm American, a mix of a bunch of different stuff!]

Hysaeda was content with just watching Issen curiously peruse the wares of the clothing vendor.  The man kept busy speaking to Hysaeda, though the Umbraeon Exile only half-listened.  He prattled on and on about the quality of his goods, and pointed and referenced towards things that Hysaeda did not care about.  The very way he was addressed made Hysaeda feel aged, though not nearly as aged as he suspected Issen truly was.  He'd learned it wasn't nice to ask a woman her age, though to him it was only a number.  Even if she might have been older than him, perhaps significantly so, the world was opening up to her and he smiled at the fascination by which she looked through the clothes.  A look of wonder; he'd almost forgotten that a person could feel that way about things.  Anything for that matter!  And for a moment, Hysaeda felt a little more alive again.

For him, his foremost expression seemed outwardly forlorn and after a few minutes of clearly talking to himself, the vendor shut his trap and just sat back, waiting for these potential customers to make their first move.  When Issen finally picked out something she liked, Hysaeda smiled widely, his eyes brightening and his expression turning upward.   "Wonderful!  Just wonderful!  You will look very good in it," he nodded in ascent.  His twisted his expression in thought for a moment and wondered if he would get anything for himself.  He'd been wearing the same clothes for a the past weeks, since he'd first entered the desert and no doubt reaching the city had given him an opportunity to acquire new supplies.

Yet, that didn't stop his hand from fingering a fine, red cotton shirt with a gold, embroidered collar.  The sleeves were cut short at the elbows and it was just his size.  It was a fine piece of craftsmanship.  And red was his father's favorite color...  He had to tear his eyes away to keep from shedding a tear.  Yet he thanked the dry heat around them for stealing the moisture from his eyes before he had to wipe them away.  He gave a trying smile at the shirt and shook his head.

"No," he shook his head.  "I think the money will best served for more pressing things.  I'm all right.  I'm more hungry and thirsty than in need of new clothes.  Maybe....maybe another time.  Let's get food.  When was the last time you ate?"  Hysaeda paid the vendor what he owed them, offering one silver bangle that the vendor looked at hungrily than nodded in ascent before shooing them away.

Issen smiled at Hysaeda's approval, hugging the clothes tightly to her chest. The shop vender motioned for Issen to give him the clothing so he could wrap them up and put them in a bag. Silently, the woman handed over the garments as she observed her companion eyeing a beautifully made shirt. She flew to his side, touching the material, her eyes gleaming. It would suit him well, but...He didn't want it?
Why? she thought with a puzzled expression as he spoke.

The vendor handed her back the parcel as he accepted the bangle. Issen noted that he seemed to like it, which was good; she hoped he'd keep it save. She tried to focus on Hyseada's question, but her eyes kept on trailing back to the shirt that he had refused to buy.
Maybe later? she thought.
"The last time I ate?" she repeated, trying to keep up with the man's pace.
"A thousand years," she said in a dreamy tone, "I've forgotten what food tastes like."
"It really...wasn't that bad, once I got used to it," she continued. Her pause was due to her reaching out for Hyseada's arm as they paved their way through the crowd.

Her nose began to twitch as the two approached the food vendors. She began to pick up smells of spices and sweets. Issen felt a little frustrated; some of it smelt all so familiar and yet she had forgotten the names  of things.  
I've forgotten a lot of things. How sad.
She smiled wearily and clung onto her purchases. So much food! She turned to her companion.
"What do you want to eat?" she asked, politely.
Issen decided that she'd just have anything he did.

Hysaeda tore his eyes away from the shirt lest he feel the overwhelming desire to buy the garb with the money that he didn't have.  No doubt the vendor would find a way to barter on the price.  But maybe...maybe he'd come back later and buy the shirt.  For now, getting something to eat sounded like the best plan.

"A thousand years, huh?" Hysaeda looked at her and grinned.  So, she wasn't bound by the mortal coil then was she?  Perhaps she really was a spirit in a more corporeal form.  His apprenticeship made him familiar with many different forms of a spiritual state.  Yet, it was always possible that he merely was trying too hard to define something that didn't need to be defined.  He wondered then if after a thousand years, she would have one hell of an appetite.

He sighed at her question, out of thought rather than exasperation. "To eat?  My, there's so much to choose from!  Back home, I would hunt and prepare food myself.  I don't really have the tools to do that here and now, but perhaps later I can show you how, if you want."  Hysaeda's eyes surveyed the vendors that each bragged of their food.  He saw the gleaming skins of cooked chickens and geese  and pigs and his stomach rumbled viciously in complaint.  "Why don't we have some duck!  Let's go!"  Hysaeda stalked off quickly, drawn by the call of his stomach.

He reached the stand and couldn't swipe the eager grin on his face.  He wiped his mouth with a free hand to clean the drool that had seeped through.  "Two please," he said to the cook, a stout woman with a burnt black face.  She smiled nodded and proceeded to hack off two large hunks of a bird that glistened with juices and steam.

OOC: Other random fact- I'm a vegetarian. So I really have no idea what these foods taste like lol XD

IC:

    Issen brushed a tangle of hair behind her ear as she listened to Hysaeda speak about his home land. Show her how to hunt? That sounded both brutal and exciting. She didn't recall ever having hunting before, though maybe she did. The woman knew she had been a servant, but maybe she had been a shield maiden, somehow? It was oh so long ago, it certainly was plausible.  however, she couldn't imagine how to go about this sort of thing, where he was from. Certainly it wasn't like in the desert.  If she  put it in a rose tinted light, it seemed rather romantic,  being independent and free, one with the wilderness.
"Perhaps," she agreed dreamily as she followed the man.

The woman giggled at the man's obvious hunger and satisfaction at  the looks of the food. It smelled strong, but pleasant and arousing to her senses. Issen's eyes observed the cook with wide, bewildered eyes she accepted the food, careful not to drop it.
"Is she from where you are?" she asked Hysaeda as  she observed the steaming food. Was it safe to eat?
"Her skin is dark, like yours, except her ears aren't pointed so.."
The woman stuck out her tongue to the food, unsure how to react to it.

She drew it back with a hiss. It was rather hot! Her eyes turned towards her companions, as if searching for answers. She licked her lips. Even with that one taste she could taste the juices and the spices, and it sent a jolt to her senses, as if re awakening them from a long, long slumber.

[Lol.  S'all right!  It's pretty good though.]

The duck was scalding hot!  Hysaeda blew on it eagerly, his stomach tightening with very second it did not have food tumbling down into it.  One bit dripped with juice and he sucked on it until finally taking a bite.  He closed his eyes to savor the flavor, to savor the skin and he tore at it like an animal.  He never hunted ducks.  He left water fowl to be taken by those that lived in the water.  Occasionally he fished, but he couldn't be sure of the quality of fish that was sold here.  Perhaps he could show her how to fish as well!  There was an idea he could work with.

Hysaeda eyed her widely at her question.  She was referring to the vendor wasn't she?  He cast a glance back at the woman, and then remembered to pay her.  He pulled out a copper, then another with his free hand before taking a bite.    He moved off to the side, away from the counter and other customers and leaned against the enclosed the side of the stall.   "I do not think so. Essyrnians are dark-skinned.  All that time in the sun will do that to you.  As for me, I'm an Umbraeon, a dark elf.  That's why my ears are pointy.  Haven't you seen an elf before?  Are my ears so very strange to you?"  Hysaeda grinned at her in amusement, teasingly, and took another bite of the duck.

Issen gasped in wonder at her companion's statement as she followed his example by leaning against the wall.
"Umbraeon?,"she slowly repeated, flabbergasted. She didn't really understand the meaning of this word, but she understood that he had said another- elf.
It was true that she had forgotten that the sun could dye one's skin like that, but elves? She didn't remember ever meeting one.
Perhaps, she mused, They had only been the stuff of legends and rumors in the past. Not many traveled through these parts long ago, after all.
This almost made her glad that she had lived so long- she finally got to meet a creature out of one of her fantasies!

Realizing that she had been staring too long, Issen's face flushed.
"No...I'm sorry. I've never met an elf before and I quite like your ears," she said quite honestly. They were a bit oddly shaped, but there was something quite elegant about it. Her eyes scanned Hysaeda's actions as he ate before she, too, tried to mimic his actions.
The woman chewed her food thoughtfully, eagerly taking each bite and swallow. Issen tried to take in as much as she could from the food- it was delicious and so overwhelmingly refreshing!- but the thought of travelling with an elf was beyond her.
She was overjoyed, though she supposed she shouldn't be so surprised- after all, he seemed so startled with her. There wasn't a surplus of a thousand year old women living in tombs, after all.

Slowly his hunger was sated.  Hysaeda made the meat shrink with every bite and though his funds were low, he was eager to try everything each of these stalls had at least once.  He considered using the other bangle than his new companion had given him but he knew that the bracelet could be used for more important and precious things.  His mind wandered back to the shirt that he'd eyed with wonder.  No, no, no, he told himself.

Hysaeda turned and looked at her with incredulous eyes when she spoke.  He almost wanted to echo her question but knew that'd get them nowhere.  But it seemed almost beyond him that she had never met an elf before.  They were some of the oldest creatures in the land.  Well, according to the legends they were.  Umbraeons generally did not have long life expectancies so it wasn't that much of a surprise to learn that she'd never met one, and they usually didn't stray from the homelands.  But at least now there was a first for everything and he only glanced to see the wonderment in Issen's face.  He quirked a brow at her as she ate and he grinned.  She kept looking at him in that strange way and her face looked darker beneath the bronze of her skin.

"Have you really been locked away in the tomb for so long?  Is there something you're looking for?  Maybe an answer, a reason why you were locked away?  Can I help you find it?"  Hysaeda didn't know why exactly he'd asked that, but his smile had faded away and he looked at her like a lost traveling finally finding someone else in an expanse of what seemed to be nothingness.  He didn't know what it was that made him want to help her; that part of him that welcomed her company in the first place.  He was never so quick to let another follow, or to follow another for that matter.  Yet he knew he'd had his own plights were there were few that were quick to help him, that few certainly dwarfed by the others that preferred to beat and bully him as if he were the scum of the earth.  And in that he found reason plenty to offer his hand to her in aid, should she want it.

Issen smiled at Hysaeda's question, though did not answer for a few moments because her mouth was full. As he had wolfed down his food, she ate hers with slow caution. Each bite was a new experience, and the woman was enthralled.  Was this what it was like to eat, again? Oh, she didn't really experience hunger anymore, so perhaps not, but it was something. So when he asked, she still had a decent sized chunk of it left.
"Yes," she started to say, trying to conjure up the answer.

"Normally," she continued, as if in a dream, "I would come up with something a bit more fascinating, but since Hysaeda is to be my constant companion, I suppose I'll keep the tale as true as possible. Simply put, the prince and I were in love, but the High Priest got jealous. So when the prince died in war, he saw to it that I was buried alive to be in servitude forever. But there are some loop holes , which is why I was able to go with you."
Issen paused to to take another bite, and  took another moment to swallow properly.

She then looked up to her benefactor and frowned.
"Does that really bother you so? It's nothing you ought to trouble yourself with," she asked, rather amazed by his empathy.
"I am missing something, but not even you could find my true name, at this point of time. It's the only thing that can free me, you know. "
She smiled.
"Besides, I like Issen."
The woman paused. She was rather curious about Hyseada's background. After all, she knew almost next to nothing about him.
"Where are we off to, next?" she asked, eating the last of her duck.

Hysaeda stopped mid-chew when she told him her tale.  It was quick and honest and he couldn't have asked anything more of her when she finally finished.  So that was how she ended up in that tomb and for so long.  He'd heard of priests with such power but couldn't help but feel angry at the thought of abusing it simply because of jealousy.  It was a poor justification for anything, and Hysaeda looked at Issen in a brighter light.

Hysaeda smiled because it was the nice thing to do, but he frowned at the thought of not being able to help her.  So she was missing her name was it?  It was a little hard to believe that one could easily lose something as simple as a name.  But perhaps it wasn't so farfetched in her case, and Hysaeda ate the rest duck in his hand before carefully disposing the bones in a bin the vendor kept on the side of her stall.

"It doesn't bother me...but I suppose as my companion, I feel I ought to have some amount of concern for you.  Even though we just met,"  Hysaeda smiled shyly and looked around them as he continued.  "As for me, I don't know where we're going.  I came into the desert at least two months ago...  I don't know how long it's really been, time seems so irrelevant.  I came here to escape my home.  It was destroyed by someone I thought I trusted.  And there's really nothing left to return to.  I'm sorry.  I'm not trying to burden you with my troubles."

Issen smiled gently at Hysaeda's tale, trying not to cry as she ate the rest of her duck. Suddenly, it seemed to lose its' flavor. The woman couldn't help it; she had a natural dramatic flare and being locked up for a thousand years only seemed to amplify this trait. She was quite moved by his words, though she still was having a little trouble understanding everything.
I'm going to have to learn this modern tongue, she thought, determined, Or, at least, whatever it is most people in this world speak.

The woman thought about his words. She agreed with him about time. It meant nothing to her; she had plenty. In fact, Issen could live forever more until she discovered her true name. And his home....destroyed? She had questions, but his tale reminded her of her own...Betrayed by a trusted person doomed to forever roam...Or stay within the range of a master.
"I could've easily mistaken them for being mine," she solemnly replied, "Besides, I was the one who added to them because of the curse."

The woman's eyes followed three pale skinned travelers with oddly colored hair and spoke rapidly in Common, a even queerer thing to her ears.
"Maybe we could pass by through their country," she suggested, "What is that language that they speak? It sounds similar to what a lot of people out here are speaking in..."
Issen smiled. Yes, she was frustrated for awaken to this odd new world but she was excited about the promise it brought. Boldly, she reached out for Hysaeda's hand.
"Come!" she exclaimed, "Pro-vis-ee-ons. Pro-vin-ee-yons?"

Hysaeda's mind did not want to linger on the events that caused him to come here, there was so much he'd lost and he knew that it was best for now to put it away somewhere safe, as he'd done many a time with any other hurt he'd endured.  He may very well be the last of his tribe, but the here and now called to him and Issen was here to help him remember that.

Yet he had barely seconds to recognize her question before she grabbed his hand and yanked him off in the direction she wanted to go.  "Provisions!?" Hysaeda yelled, confused.  Right, they needed provisions, loads and loads of water especially.  And more importantly, Hysaeda needed a bath.   When he caught up with her Hysaeda walked at her side and motioned back toward the strangers that she took notice of.

"I believe this is their country.  And if it isn't, they brought their language with them," Hysaeda guessed.  "What I mean is, they're speaking what is called Common.  It is a language shared among many nations.  It makes trade and communication a lot easier than having to translate between different tongues.  I speak it....  Would you like to learn how to speak it?"

Issen nodded  thoughtfully at her companions statement. It seemed very logical, to have a common tongue to use for convince sake. As a bonus, it would be the only language she would really have to learn in order to get along in this new world. Yes, she could do it.
"If you don't mind teaching me," she humbly replied.

Issen watched as the strangers slipped into the crowd and out of site. Now with nothing to be  distracted by, her eyes began to scan again the stalls. They were looking for things to travel with...So that meant food, right? The woman pointed to a near by fruit stand with an array of things she barely remembered, some she was sure she had forgotten, and others she knew she had never seen before.
"What exactly do you need to get?" she asked as she found a jeweler, who had set up shop next to a weapan store.
Maybe he didn't need the fruit...After all, he said he was a hunter; he could get his own.
He probably was also in need of new clothes, but he was so reluctant earlier... Issen frowned. She had offered to pay, after all. So what was the fuss?

He didn't teach many people before, so that in itself would be a new experience for him.  One that he could say he was looking forward to, even if he didn't know exactly where to start.  It sure beat the hell out of having to break apart every other word that came out of her mouth.  Hysaeda wasn't a linguist, he knew different languages, but just enough to get by.  If they could find something that could make communicating that much easier, that all the more power to it.

Hysaeda nodded and took a moment to think about her question.  He had a feeling he was going to be attached to Issen for far longer than a few days.  Not that he minded it, but he didn't know where he was going, or what they would even need.  He didn't even know how much money he had.  He had his sword on him and the ragged shirt he wore, and not much else but the water skin he'd only recently filled.   It was all so strange for the years he had all he needed from the land.  But in the desert, with opportunities for supplies so far apart, he had to think hard and fast about what to do.

"Now that we're fed, we ought to pick up some materials that'll help us when we travel.  I don't suppose you use too many weapons do you?  I think I can buy something to fashion a bow out of and they should have some arrows here.  I think we ought to have enough for that. C'mon, we have some shopping to do."  Hysaeda grinned and stepped toward the weapons vendor.  He didn't buy too many of these, and most of the better looking ones were too high priced.   The vendor was a burly man, a barrel for a stomach with a round hairy face with whiskers that stuck out in all directions.

"Whatcha need, youngin'?"

"A dagger if you got one.  Simple but functional," Hysaeda nodded, pointing to a good steel one he spotted in the back.  "And some sinew, if you have it as well, along with some reinforced wood."  The vendor had everything he asked and placed them on the counter with a nod.  He named the price, Hysaeda counted what coins he had left.  He had the last bangle and held it in his hand for a moment before handing it over to the vendor who looked at it with much confusion.  "That ought to cover it," he said before taking the things they'd bought underneath his arm.

"It's dangerous out there in the desert," he said matter-of-factly even though it was something they both already knew. "I don't think you like weapons very much.  I saw the way you looked at me when I almost pulled my sword out, but I think maybe you should learn how to at least use a dagger.  Where I come from it's important to learn how to fight, if you don't you die.  Maybe you won't die so easily, but it could be something both of us can learn how to polish up on."

Issen nodded at his answer to her question, though she was not nearly satisfied with it. She didn't know the first thing about weapon building, so the woman felt that she would be useless with such a search. However, she knew what arrows looked like. At least, if her memory didn't fail her.
Those are the sticks with pointed edges, I think.

As Hysaeda lead her to the weapon stand, Issen shyly  observed the display. She didn't like weapons, much, and the woman frowned as she tried to recall the names of each and every one.
Axe...Dagger...Sword...
They were plainly made, with little to no elaborate detail. Because of this, they looked rather harsh and barbaric, as opposed to the more expensive vendors with more elegant and beautiful weapons.
In the end, they'll both kill you, she thought, a little disdainfully.

The owner  looked just as rough as his weapons, but more kindly.  Issen watched silently as he exchanged words with Hysaeda, understanding none of it.  
"Oh," she exclaimed, as she watched the burly man hand over what looked like wood and a dagger to Hysaeda. In return, her companion handed him the second bangle. The woman had caught a quick glance at her new friend's coin purse; he didn't look like he beared much.

Issen took in a sharp breath when he addressed her. It was true she didn't like weapons and never dreamed of ever learning to use one, but he looked serious. She pierced her lips together- it was true. Her heart could be teared out at that moment, but she'd still live a life in pain until she could undo that curse.

This is the world you live in now, she thought as she boldly reached out for the dagger. Besides, he was her companion and savior; it was only fair that she at least learn to not be so helpless.
"Alright, then," she said, "Thank you. Um...Do you need another bangle? You ran out, and I don't want you to not being able to get anything you need, especially not because of me."
She paused, fiddling with her bag with her other hand.
"Do...I put the dagger in here?" the woman asked, sheepishly.

The dagger in hand came with a thin leather sheath, if a little flimsy, worn and scratched up, but it would work for the purpose it served.  He knew she'd be uncomfortable with the whole idea, but for now it was necessary.  He cringed at the idea of her being vulnerable, or anyone for that manner.  What if there was a time he couldn't be there to help or protect her, she should at least be able to defend herself.  Weapons were a fact of life where he came from.  Death grasped the weak and the vulnerable, and only the strong survived.  It was normal for him, but his mind was not her own.  It would take time for her to get used to the whole idea to be sure.

Hysaeda slipped the blade into the sheath and handed it over to her with a nod.  "It should be fine in the bag," Hysaeda nodded.  "No, I can't take anymore of your jewelry.  It feels wrong taking it from you, Issen.  It is yours and you should protect what is yours."  Hysaeda smiled, but he meant what he said.

There was some chatter behind him and he looked around, the talk was sounded eager, frightened even, and went on and on about a nest of sandworms that appeared a few miles nearby, or something that looked like sandworms.  Hysaeda looked up at Issen with a peculiar grin on his face.  "Anytime, I've ever traveled to the desert, I've never seen a sandworm.  I think maybe I'll take this opportunity to get up close and personal with one.  Just the thought is thrilling, exciting.  C'mon it'll be an adventure!"

Issen felt tense as she held the blade in her hand. It was sheathed, but she didn't much like the feel of it. She thankfully practically shoved it away in her bag (but had tried to be gentle because it had been a gift from Hysaeda) and quickly placed her bag over her shoulder, again. The woman gave a solemn, quiet nod at his reply about her jewelry.  On one hand, she was pleased and relieved she was allowed to keep them, but on the other, she was still concerned on how she could be helpful. Still, the elf-man's words rang true to her, and she knew she had to obey him.

Suddenly, her companion seemed distracted by a couple of people talking excitedly among themselves. They were talking in Common, so she could not catch a word of what they were saying. Issen mused it must have been something important or exciting, for they talked with wild gestures and with bright glints in their faces. She practically held her breath as Hysaeda spoke.
"Sandworms?" she thought, quizzically, the word lost on her.
The woman actually knew the subject matter, for she had seen some before, passing by like waves far, far away from her tomb. Still, she had known them by a different name. The creatures had fascinated her, though her fantasies of taking a ride on them and exploring the dunes was limited ,for they were hideous creatures.  

So Issen ignorantly nodded at his suggestion. It did sound thrilling, to go up close to such a creature as a ..sandworm.
"All right, then," she said.

Hysaeda had never seen a sandworm either, though he'd heard of them, in anecdotes and stories in his travels.  But to see one up close, now that would be a sight he'd see.  And if he died in the process, well, at least he died doing something that he'd never done before.  And there was excitement enough in that.  Hysaeda was eager and excited to get to the site of the sandworms.  Or so he assumed it was.  It was also possible that it was just another creature entirely.  And the mystery was enough to draw him in like a curious child.

It was his turn to grab Issen's hand and drag her off toward the city gates, he didn't even want to stay and rest.  They'd have enough of that when the blood of sandworms was on his hands...if the worms didn't eat him first that was.  But what was the big deal really?  He'd killed a basilisk in the Draconi Forest once.  What was the difference?  Besides there just being more sand this time.

"Creatures," he explained as he walked toward the gate, filled waterskins on his shoulders.  "That dwell in the sands.  I hear they're huge.  As big as mountains....maybe bigger.  I've killed basilisks...I wonder if this is just as simple.  And when I kill one, I'll make you a necklace out of it's teeth.  At least I think they have teeth.  You've been here a long time.  Have you ever seen a sandworm?"

Issen found her hand grabbed in excitement and let out a cry of alarm as Hyseada began to lead her to the city gates. He wanted to leave now? She was immensely disappointed; there was so much to do and see here, after all!  So much to do; it had been so long. Why were they leaving now? As they passed by stalls, Issen eyed them with fierce hunger and a glint of sorrow.
Maybe we'll come back, she thought, trying to cheer herself up.

The woman tried her best to keep up and listen at the same time. He was well informed, though the part about basilisks  captivated her. He had killed basilisks? More than one? Whatever sort of adventure was he on? She had so many questions! However, she cringed at the thought of having a necklace made out of teeth.
"I...don't want that," she whispered.
Was it customary for elves to make things out of teeth? It sounded  a little barbaric.
And why did he want to kill one? They were dangerous creatures not meant to be toyed with unless absolutely necessary.

Issen was starting to feel nervous, developing doubts about her new companion. He was rather courteous and brave but...
Perhaps this is what men do, she thought, a bit uncertain.
After all, in stories, heroes often do..This sort of...thing.
She was starting to wonder if the sand worms he spoke of matched the creatures she had seen.
"I...don't know," she replied, holding tightly to her thin veil.
"I've seen creatures huge, worm like creatures that funnel their way through the dunes...Never been up close to them. They're quite ugly, though they move quick and gracefully. Are these your sandworms? I've forgotten my time's name for them. "

Hysaeda paused and frowned despite his former excitement.  She seemed sad a little and despite her whispered tone, his sensitive ears heard her and flicked at the tone she used.  He turned to her, softening his features before looking down.  She didn't want it.  Well, he couldn't blame her it.  It wasn't like everyday that somebody offered to make you something out of teeth.  Back home, or what now remained of home, such jewelry was prized.  It showed bravery and to receive a gift from someone who'd performed the feat dangerous enough to make it was considered a sign of affection.  He didn't know Issen for as long as he'd liked and she surely was strange to him, but he took her kindness to heart and wanted to show her a gift of appreciation, something more than new clothes.

"Perhaps you'll like it once I make it for you.  I'll make it nice.  And ...if you really don't want it, you can sell it anyway," he murmured, smiling and nodding to her.  He continued to walk away from the oasis of a city, determined to return when their task was done.

"Yes, I think those are the ones," he replied to her, finding the words she used almost too difficult to decipher and recalled what he could to understand what she meant.  "They're large, I think.  I've never actually seen one.  But I've heard stories.  They're very dangerous, and they can eat anything they come across.  I wonder if they could eat a dragon..."  Hysaeda took a moment and blushed in his ramblings and wiped his face, hoping she wouldn't see.   "I don't talk this much, ever...really.  I'm sorry.  I'm just...I'm excited to see something new.   And even though we only just met, I think I am glad I am sharing it with you....my friend."

Issen frowned in objection to Hyseada's suggestion.
"I wouldn't sell anything you made for me," she argued,  a little confused. Hyseada seemed kind of sad...Had what she said hurt his feelings? It was true she wasn't fond of the image of a necklace laced with teeth, but if he went through the trouble of making one, the woman was determined to keep it. However, she put thoughts of teeth and presents out of her head as she listened to his description of the so called sand worms.
Some of the phrases were hard to translate from new to old speech, but she understood most of it.  Issen had never seen them eat anything other than sand in the vast desert. However, that didn't mean that was all they ate;  she did  witness one chase a herd of camels, before. At least, she think she did. Memories had a way of blurring with reality...

It took a moment for Issen to decipher the word 'friend', but when she did, she smiled.
"Yes; it's alright," she replied as they exited the city and stepped into the sea of sand once more, "Let's go find your sandworm."
But there was one problem: where did you find one, anyway? They were in the near by desert, it was true, but she didn't know where they lived. Issen had always assumed that they traveled the desert in packs. As they trudged their way through the dunes, it seemed almost impossible to the woman. However, a faint, low groan could be heard in the distance, followed by another. Issen kept he eyes pasted on the dunes by the horizon. Sure enough, two sandworms bolted out of the sand and then back in again in  graceful arcs. They tunneled a bit underneath the dune they were in before emerging into the sun light again. The woman didn't say anything; instead, she watched, both captivated in excitement and fear. They were going to hunt down one of those?
"Well?" she asked Hyseada, nervously.
Issen didn't really like the prospect of doing this. She didn't understand the purpose of it , but, again, she reassured herself of their purpose.
Maybe I ought to bring out my new  knife, just in case, she thought. The woman didn't really want to do the hunting, but she would do all she could to help ensure the safety of both  her new friend and herself.

Hysaeda only nodded toward the horizon and tried to smile.  A smile that quickly faded when he saw the sandworms for himself up in the distance.  He paused and was silent for a long while, not even registering that Issen had said anything.  His breath caught in his throat and he waited for his body to finally react to the returning heat of the sun  and blinked when a droplet of sweat beaded down into his eyes.   "Those...those are sandworms huh?" he asked rhetorically, hoping she didn't hear much of the trepidation in his voice but it was unmistakable and stupid to deny it any longer.  He was surprised to find they were so big.  This was going to be nothing like slaying a basilisk at all.  And with the sun as high as it was, there was no doubt that that was going to be another factor that would only add to the odds against him.

He looked over at Issen with great worry in his eyes.   "Maybe...um, maybe you should stay here," he suggested.  She certainly didn't look like much of a fighter and he wondered if she would only slow him down, or worse yet, get eaten herself.  He looked out again at the graceful way the sandworms danced in the sand.  They moved so quickly, so deftly.  He didn't know if he could kill such a thing.  But he wanted an adventure, now he was going to get one.

He began to march out toward them, unknowing if Issen followed or stayed behind.  He prayed to Umbra, prayed to his dead god that would grant him courage and strength in the face of the swirling jaws of death before him.  Hysaeda didn't know why he was going to do this.  Was there any sense in slaying these creatures other than to rid a bunch of traveling caravaners as a nuisance to the sands?  And not only that, there were two of them.  Could he possibly face both of them at once?  He didn't know.  He didn't know why he was in the desert.  He didn't know why his home was destroyed.  He didn't know why he was going to kill something that only wanted to live like everything else.  He only knew that he had to.  For whatever reasons his god set before him, he had to.

Hysaeda was already out in the desert beyond by the time he came face to face with the first one.  It was larger than large, it was massive, collosal, the most gargantuan thing he'd ever seen in his life.  It was easily three or four basilisks in one and he stared up at the great worm as it paused in the sand, sensing a disturbance nearby.  Hysaeda gazed up at it, taking it all in and finally pulled out his sword when the great worm opened it's swirling jaws  of teeth, it's open beak plunging down on him in that moment, swallowing him hole for he was so small.

"Yes, they are, " replied Issen, ignorant to his fear. "They are quite gigantic."
There was a tint of fear in her voice, but now as they were so close,  she was overcome with excitement. The woman couldn't help herself;  her mind and imagination were racing to the point where the challenge was starting to present itself to be fantastical and bold slowly, but surely.  Did Hyseada really wanted to battle these creatures?
If he can be that brave, then...
"I'll go with you," she said with fierce determination.
With a little clumsiness, she reached for the sheathed knife in her bag.
She kept it that way, clamped firmly in her hand as she practically marched after her companion, stopping only twenty feet behind him.

The woman watched as he stood, sword in hand, facing the monster. She figured basilisks were massive, probably just as big as these were, right? So..he would be fine, right? She shuddered as the sand worm opened its rows of teeth. Suddenly, any desire she had for wanting to ride one EVER was gone.
"Hyseada..." she whined, her right hand holding the hilt of the dagger, ready to draw it out. However, he probably didn't hear her as he was swallowed whole.

Issen's body froze as her eyes widened. She couldn't scream, she couldn't speak. All she could do was gap at the monster in front of her who had swallowed her companion, shattering almost every image, every ideology in her head. It was supposed to be a daring adventure, and...
He was supposed to win.
No...He wasn't lost yet. She could still feel that bond between them, there. He couldn't leave her, not just yet! Not again; she didn't want to be alone, not like this...
Please don't be dead.
The woman took in a deep breath.
"I knew you can do it! Hyseada!" she bellowed, allowing her hopes to rise.
It was at this point that the sand worm was interested in her and let out a loud screech.
"Oh, no," she said, and squeled as she barely ducked out of the way as the sand worm came down for her, too.

Who knew death could feel so slimy?  Who knew death could be so damned dark too!  Once Hysaeda got swallowed by the gigantic sandworm, he thought it was over, thought this was the end, that he was finally finished to join Umbra in the spirit world.  If he'd been honorable enough, he would fight by his side.  But something in his gut told him he would only be hounded by the creatures and demons that prowled the dark shades of the Spirit World.  No, no....not like that.  Hysaeda sucked in breath sharply as he slipped down into the cold gullet of the worm that thrust through the sands.

He could not die like that, not like this.  Not like fodder for these beasts to sate their hunger on.  Something burned inside the apprentice and it was a fire he hadn't felt before.  Only tasted when he killed Radek, the bane of his life since he'd been born.  And now he was surrounded by a will to survive that surged through him and he took the blade in his hands and thrust it against the sides within the sandworm.  From the outside, he doubted it would have been so easy to tear through the hide of the creature but they were soft within and he cut again as he heard the shrill cry of the worm as it began to writhe within.  He slashed repetitively and stabbed barbarically, cutting away at the insides that held him and a greenish slime that he took for blood coated him as he cut his way through the animal that had attempted to digest him.  The sandworm roared whatever scream it could, a cry that shook the heavens and the dunes that had been its home.

Hysaeda pulled the blade out and held it with both hands, the blade toward the wounds and, with all the strength he could muster, he stabbed upward and cried out as he arced the blade downward, tearing through the worm in one clean swipe, opening up the worm at last.  He was nearly exhausted and he stepped outside the dying worm in the gore his attacks had made, stepped out in a sweating, slimy heap.  But at least he was a live.  He fell to his knees immediately, burrowing his arms in the hot sand.  Wait, where was Issen!?   "Issen!"  he cried out, eyes scanning around him searching for her.

The sand worm missed, but barely. Issen had feel to her knees, tripping over her dress. It growled and erected itself again, ready to attack, when all of a sudden, it started to shriek. It did so loudly, too, in what seemed to be pain.
Hyseada, Issen thought, a bit relieved as she rose to her feet and started to run away from the creature, least she was crushed under its' weight. However, the sand underneath her feet began to quake, causing her to fall once more.
It's friend, the woman realized as she unsheathed her dagger.

The sandworm rose from the ground, as sudden as a geyser. Poor Issen could only cling to a segment near its head for her dear life as it arched into the air and screeched as its' friend did, alarmed. The sandworm's companion was dying, and it didn't understand why.  Issen would have otherwise been aware, if not sympathetic of her stead's plight had she not been so caught up in the moment; so her fantasy  to ride one had came true, some what. Though her situation was dire and Hyseada's life was in danger, she couldn't help but to find this one moment fun. But it was just for one moment, for the creature dove for the sand again. With a yell, Issen jumped off before she could be dragged under,  herself.
If I was to truly ride one of those, I'd never be able to survive, she realized, disappointed.

However, the creature wasn't gone completely yet, for her body shook and began to get buried in sand as its' body violently tore through the desert, scared off. Issen couldn't move properly, so she covered her face with her hands, careful not to stab herself with the dagger, and shut her eyes. She only opened them again when the earth beneath her was still and  she could hear the violent ripping of flesh and the watched as the sandworm bleed its' guts out. Issen scrambled to her feet as it came crashing down, a few  yards away from her. When it was perfectly still, she rushed by the dead beast's side, searching for her triumphant companion. Again, she was sure he wasn't dead, but she was now starting to wonder if he had been injured by the deed, or even poisoned. There were tales of animals with poisonous blood, right?

She shuddered at the stench of the sandworm, suddenly feeling quite ill. The woman touched its' exterior, curiously ; it was hard, though it was clear its' insides look squishy. It oozed of slime. Issen slowly moved towards the face, to get a better look, when she heard Hyseada calling for her. A bright smile spread across her face as she peeked her head towards the other side of the creator; there he was, on his knees. She sheathed her dagger and flew to his side.
"Are you alright?" she asked as she removed her veil and used it to start  cleaning him up.  He looked fine, thank goodness.

Hysaeda's mind was a blur, everything had happened so damned fast, that he couldn't even be sure that the person that had done it all had been him.  His mind was in another place, another plane even if that was possible.  But for a moment he felt like was invincible, immortal even.  Though his elven blood would allow him to live well into his years if he took care of himself, he'd never felt so alive before and the thrill of living.

Hysaeda looked up at Issen when she cleaned his face and his eyes were wide and wild.  Before he knew it, he threw himself at her and pressed his mouth hard against hers in a deep kiss.  After a long moment he pulled away and continued to stare at her.  "I'm ALIVE!"

Issen gasped as she observed Hyseada's bright red eyes. She was captivated by the light of them, by how energetic and wild they were. The woman couldn't help but to smile along with him. Issen was about to say something about riding the sand worms as she continued to clean her companion when, all off a sudden, the elf lunged at her. The two fell into the sand sideways, their lips locked.  Issen's cry of alarm was muffled by his lips against hers. He was kissing her. Hyseada! This was...This was...Oh.

Blissfully caught up in the romantic moment, Issen wrapped her arms around the elf  as she felt something through her that she never had for many, many years. It was delightful, odd, and scary, all rolled into one but she didn't want to let this moment go. Was it love? Issen gave a kind, shocked smile as the elf proclaimed that he was alive.
"Yes," she replied lamely as she felt her face flush. "You...you are. I knew you would be."
She bowed her head, puzzled.

The woman knew she wasn't fully alive, not in the way that he was. In fact, she wanted to pass on. But then, all of a sudden, the sand worms, and this...She was learning how to be alive, again, and it hit her hard in the chest. Besides, that was all that was, right? The kiss. Issen got back up and started to brush the sand off of her skirt, hair, and body. She dropped the veil to the ground as  she walked towards the defeated sand worms mouth.
"Let's..get some teeth," she boldly suggested, "Then we should head back to the city. You need a bath!"

Hysaeda's whole body was filled with wild lightning and he still stared at Issen even though she stood up.  His heart was racing in his chest and his lips still burned from the kiss.  It was a good kiss and it was so unlike his reclusive self to ever kiss another like he kissed her and he couldn't help but admit that he liked it.  Loved it even.

He didn't even hear what she said about the teeth.  Why did he kill this thing in the first place?  Oh who cared!  Hysaeda stood up and watched her walk around toward the mouth.  "....YOU'RE ALIVE TOO!"  And with that he dashed toward her, with all the energy in his body and lunged at her, tackling her to the ground before he kissed her longer and harder than before, wrapping his arms around her and rolling in the sand.

Oh he didn't want the thrill to end, to feel beyond the mortal coil, to go above and beyond what life expected and if he didn't know any better he would have wanted to take her then and there.  He was possessed and he only kissed her more fervently.  For once, in the first time in his life, Hysaeda felt like a god.

"I am!?" asked a surprised and confused Issen as Hyseada lunched towards her again. This time, as they fell to the ground, her knack sack got knocked off of her shoulder as they rolled in the sand. His energy and excitement merged with hers and she responded with passion just as strong. Issen clung to whatever she could hold onto Hyseada- his hair, his arms, his slime covered vest. Oh, it was true he reeked and the sand was kind of itchy and sometimes they were in really awkward positions. Furthermore, they only had just met that day... but the ever romantic Issen was so full of happiness that she couldn't care less.

Tears welded up on her eyes as she lightly kissed him again on the lips. She couldn't help it; she was so overwhelmed and pained, though the woman couldn't fully understand all her reasons. All Issen knew was that she felt so happy...and yet a part of her was enveloped in sorrow.  Despite the messy sand worm blood that now covered the both of them,  Issen hugged her companion, who was now underneath her, tightly.
"N-no, really," she stuttered, "We...we really ought to."

Hysaeda felt himself draining now of the fire that drove him before.  He slowly realized now that yes he was filthy and smelled of sweat, blood, and sand, and his lips were burning with a fire he'd almost forgotten that he laughed and laughed loudly when she responded.  She was right, oh by Umbra, she was right.  Hysaeda nodded and hugged her back tightly, just happy to be alive and that he'd rejoiced in it with someone he cared about, even if it was so fleeting.  Hysaed leaned back in the sand and looked up at the sky that was quickly fading into darkness.

"Yes.  Yes!  Let's get the goddamned teeth and head back to the city.  Oh, we'll just pay for the room with the teeth!  These Essyrnians are traders!  They'll take anything they think they can make a gold coin on!  Oh, get up Issen and help me pull these teeth out.  That's right, there you go, tug!  TUUUUUUUG!"  Hysaeda yanked out three teeth with all the remaining strength he had.  They were large, sharp teeth, about the size of his head and there must have been a million of them, all put in rows and columns that could grind anything big enough.

It didn't even occur to him then that he could have been grinded up just the same.  He just pulled out another three before he set them all in his belt.  "There, that should be enough for now.  Let's just get back to the city.  I'm exhausted!"

"Mmm," Issen groaned in agreement as Hyseada energetically got up to his feet. She didn't want to let go, not really, but she did as she was told. Issen found it pleasant, listening to him laugh; it was nice having someone to laugh with. The woman watched as Hyseada instructed her on how to remove the teeth. He was talking fast enough that she didn't really catch everything he ways saying, but she giggled at it, anyway. Issen pondered on the mouth and boldly reached for one of the bottom ones. She gave it a good yank,  but it was stuck firmly in place.
How did he rip out three? the woman wondered as she planted her feet firmly into the sand and tugged as hard as she could. With a wild cry, she pulled a tooth out with enough force to send her back tumbling. a little. She hissed and dropped the thing, as if it were hot, for she poked herself; those things were sharp! Leaving the tooth where it was, the woman repeated the process for a second, and then third time when her companion declared that they had enough.

Issen gave a delighted nod, satisfied at their work. She still found what they had done rather barbaric, but she didn't regret a moment of it. That didn't make it alright, but as the woman ran off ways to fetch her discarded knack sack before returning to  collect the teeth she had won, she felt...proud. Humming a nonsensical melody to herself, the woman  walked back to the city with her companion by her side.

They arrived as the sun was going down. Again, Issen shuddered at how loud it was, though she tried not to drop the teeth to cover her ears. The woman didn't want to put the things in her bag, where she kept possessions, including her new clothes, in. She was slowly getting used to the sound of the city, she realized, as the woman walked into the city. Issen's eyes tried to take in every stand, every item, and every person she could.
It looks beautiful in gold, she thought; the sun set only made the place all the more spectacular.  
The woman knew that they needed a place to stay, but it suddenly occurred to her that she did not know where the inns or baths were. Did they look the same as they did in the past? She turned towards Hyseada, hugging the teeth closer to her body. She nodded her head towards the streets where buildings in which shop owners ran their business and lived as well as bars were lined up.
"Do we go there?" she asked.

When they returned to the city, Hysaeda was well and thoroughly over his 'god' status he'd experienced only moments ago.  If anything he was more tired than he thought he would be.  He was kind of in shock, really, after the whole endeavor of killing that sandworm.  The whole shock of it came to him all at once and he said nothing the entire walk back to the city.  By the time they made it through the gates, Hysaeda only looked at her as he registered that she asked a question.

He looked to where she pointed and saw the word Inn scrawled in Common over a building across from the vendors where they bought their stuff.  "Yes, let's go there," he nodded and led the way.  The establishment was quaint and homely, and the clerk at the desk was a plump woman with a sweet look to her despite all the paint to her face.  She made a face when Hysaeda approached, looking to rent a room.  At first he knew she was going to be difficult, but after he presented a sandworm tooth to her, her jaw dropped and eyes glowed and gave them a key to one of the better rooms upstairs.

"And where are your baths?" he said.

"Down the hall, dear."  Hysaeda nodded and headed up to the room first, to put all his things away.  It was a large room, comfortable with all the furnishings and with two beds instead of just one.  He took the bed on the right, setting his things down, unsheathing his sword as well and looking at Issen.  "I guess now I'll take that bath, you thought I so desperately needed," he murmured with a grin and a laugh.

Issen followed Hyseada into the inn quietly, her eyes taking in as much as they could. She especially stared at the inn keeper (at least, she thought that woman was the inn keeper). The woman found her to be quite beautiful, if not interesting. Issen wondered what the blotches of color on her face were from, and was amused by her shift of expressions from kind, to questioning, to quite enchanted at the presentation of the tooth.
"Thank you!" Issen exclaimed, cheerfully, before closely following Hyseada to their quarters. The clerk gave Issen a bewildered look, though the woman had missed it.

Issen gasped at the room. It looked cozy and warm, so unlike the tomb. She hadn't have slept in a real bed in forever. With something close to a squeal, she rushed towards the bed to the left, dropped her things carefully on it  before slowly sitting down on it herself. Overjoyed, Issen bounced a little on it; it was so soft! She laid down, and spread her arms out as she laughed, a little embarrassed at Hyseada's comment.
"I need one, too," she replied, not moving, "Where are they?"
The woman was a bit sad; she wanted to go and discover what the baths were like, but this bed was so divine.
With a sigh, Issen turned towards her bag and carefully removed her new clothes before  practically skipping towards Hyseada's side, again.

Hysaeda shook his head at her.  "They just down the hall, on ground level probably.  She said something about the building being built under a spring, so it'll be fresh.  C'mon follow me."

Hysaeda led her down the hallway where the baths were indicated.  He didn't know if it was one large room, or many smaller baths where they could take one individually.  He wandered into the room and just as he'd feared it was but a single pool.  "I hope they clean the water out regularly," Hysaeda remarked as he wandered in the room.  

"Um...shall we take turns?  I'll take the other side of the pool and you take this one.  Or do you want to be alone?  I'll gladly go back in the room.  You deserve your privacy," Hysaeda said quickly.

Issen  observed the now empty pool, though there was a bored assistant who stood by the door near them. . It looked wonderful; a hot bath was hard to come by, out in the open. Not to mention the place had...That thing people used to clean themselves. Oil! And then there was that...other thing that was used to scrape it off. It had been ages since the woman seen such stuff. Hyseada seemed to be flustered by something, though she didn't understand what was the reason.
"If you...say so?," she replied with a confused grin.
"But I do not understand; I don't see any problem with using it at the same time."
The assistant, a young woman who was plain in both features and dress, pointed towards the vases of oils, scrapers, and towels that were shelved neatly.
"You may use those," she said in Common.

The poor woman (who really had quite beautiful brown eyes) couldn't help but to stare at the elf a bit too long;it wasn't all that common for this establishment to harbor elves of his kind, if at all. Issen gave her a nod, and carefully walked over to the shelves, and pulled out three towels; one for her to sit on, one to wrap around her body, later, and one for her hair. Next, she carefully set her new clothes in a place where she wouldn't get them wet before beginning to strip out of her old dress. The woman was nude in a matter of seconds and carefully stepped into the warm pool, leaving those clothes in a messy pile. Issen laughed in delight at the touch of the water as she took in a deep breath and sank into it, her hair flowing out behind her like waves.

Hysaeda looked Issen, wondering if she herself knew just how dense she was.  But he said nothing as she walked away and took towels for herself, and stared back at the poor attendant that looked both bored and fascinated all at the same time.  She looked at him until he was starting to feel very uncomfortable.  Hysaeda said nothing and turned away, grabbing one towel for himself and moving to the opposite end of the pool.

He was careful to undress, hiding behind one of the supporting pillars that held the roof of the inn and took off his boots first, flopping them to the side.  Unfortunately the pillar was a little thin and didn't hide all of him.  Hysaeda did watch fleetingly as Issen undressed herself and sank into the water.  She really was beautiful, strange, but he could appreciate beauty though it was strange.

He angled his head as he took off his trousers and caught the eyes of the attendant again.  "Looking for something?" he said irritatedly and the woman blushed and looked away, going back to reading in a chair in the corner.  He dropped himself into the warm water quickly and glanced at Issen out of the corner of his eye.

"Enjoying the water?" he said, pretending he hadn't been looking at all.

Issen popped back up to the surface again, panting as she tried to regain her breath. Her hair had matted down and covered her face, so the woman swept them aside with her hands. She smiled mischievously as she noticed that Hyseada was in the pool as well; the woman would have splashed him a bit, but she calculated that he was too far away.
"Yes," she replied as she leaned her hair back, trying to get her hair as wet as possible.
Issen was proud of her long locks, but they sure were heavy. She debated if she needed a hair cut as she sank into the water, once more. The pool was quite shallow on the outer edges, but it got deeper and deeper in the middle. The woman swam  there just for fun before turning around towards her end of the pool and getting down to work.

Her hair streaming down behind her back, the woman popped herself on the ledge and kicked her legs in the water as she began to bathe herself.  Issen started with her arms, as they were the easiest, and then her legs. As she worked, the woman was rather serene and steady. She bit her lip.
He...would like this , if he were alive.
Issen gave a little sigh; it was no use thinking about the prince. She stole a glimpse of the bare chested Hyseada, and gave him a smile. Her eyes rested upon the tattoos, the lovely pictures she had noticed before.
"Where did you get those?" she asked, "Those circles on your skin."

Hysaeda peeled off the thick, dried layers of sandworm blood that clung to him.  He even took his clothes that were covered with the grime and focused on cleaning them.  The crud came off in the water after much effort and he flopped his clothes back up on the semi-dry floor.  He scrubbed at his skin semi-violently, trying to get as clean as possible while he had the chance.  After his body was primarily scrubbed, he undid his braids and dipped his head in the water and poured oils through is his hair, restoring it back to it's snow-white nature.

Hysaeda turned to her and glanced down at his chest.  "Those?  Those are my tattoos...every one of my kind as them...well except the ones that never had them first applied.  My...em, my father gave me mine..."  He paused for a good long moment, suddenly feeling sad and unable to contain his sorrow any longer.

For the first time in a long time, Hysaeda actually shed a tear and he tried to hide his face away from Issen.  He wiped it away but it was quickly followed by another and he moved far to the corner to sit and cool off.  How could he think of such a thing?  And why this moment of all moments would his defenses fail him and break down?  He couldn't let her see him like this, but already that was too late.

He's fast, Issen couldn't help to notice as Hyseada vigorously  washed himself as well as his clothes. Her, on the other hand, had been fooling around and taking her time. The woman wasn't bothered by this fact, however; it wasn't a race, and she wanted to enjoy every single second of this. However, what she was bothered  by was the response the elf had given to her question. The information delighted her. So they were called tattoos? Given by his father? It had sparked so many questions.
I wonder what his family is like, Issen wondered as she, too, begin to scrub the rest of her body as hard as she could without being too rough. The woman noticed he had fell silent and had turned his head away. She didn't see the tear, but she could sense that he was quite somber about something.

"Huh?" she exclaimed as she quietly waded in the pool. When it got deep enough to swim in, she swam until she was a few inches behind him. Issen brushed her unwashed hair away from her face, letting it drape over her body. She didn't say anything at first, but instead reached out and began to play with his hair, making a new braid.
"Remember the tomb?," Issen asked lightly as she worked, "It got boring after time had passed. I can't remember the prince's name, either.  Maybe it's my curse or maybe it was memory. Though, sometimes..."
Her voice grew quiet as she finished it.
"Sometimes I pretend that he's somehow still with me."
Impulsively, the woman gently splashed him, fulfilling her wish, before quickly swimming off to her end of the pool to get started on her hair. It would probably take an hour or more, but Issen didn't care. She had time....

Hysaeda was actually soothed by her words.  He found it peculiar that she was braiding his hair though.  Well, now that it was clean and fresh he was actually okay to touch and handle and he wiped away any remaining warmth under his eyes.  Hysaeda didn't like thinking of the man he called father for all those years.  The weight of it was still heavy and yet when Issen said she pretend her own prince was still with her he found comfort in that.

He only nodded.  Sometimes I think my father is still with me as well...  Makes the pain easier to take that way, he thought before she slunked away.  She splashed him and he snapped out of his thought.  "You little!"  And he splashed her back.  How dare she!?

He grinned through and slunk back to his side of the pool.  "What did you do all that time?  While you were in there?  Could you just...slink the body of your prince over your shoulder and leave that way?  Did you really need someone else to come and unbind you?"

"Mmm?" Issen replied as she started to pour oil into her hands to rub through her hair. She combed through it thoughtfully as she pondered over Hyseada's question. It was a good question- in a sense, the woman could have had. Though....
"That's not how it works," she quietly said.
That's all Issen could think up to say, really. She was, after all, appointed to the prince and the tomb- really, they were one and the same. She was it's servant; it was really her way of life's rhyme and rhythm. The thought to travel that way never had occurred to her- at least, not that she remembered.
Though, I think, she mused, it would have been disrespectful...somehow.

It was at that point Issen observed that she was in need of a comb. She rose  to her feet, and walked towards the shelves. The assistant, observing the queer lady, quickly rose from her chair and approached the woman.
"Do you... need anything?" she asked in Common.
Issen blankly stared back at the lady, and brushed through her hair with her fingers.
"Um...A comb...please?" she asked in Old Essyrn.
The assistant made a questioning face.
"You don't speak Common?" she asked, interested. Her eyes started to shift towards Hyseada, again, but her flash flushed as she immanently turned her attention back towards Issen. She didn't want to face his (potential) annoyance, again.  However, despite the miscommunication, the girl managed to figure out what Issen wanted, opened a drawer, and handed over a wooden comb.
"Don't break it," she muttered, eyeing Issen's long locks.  

Issen smiled brightly at the presentation of the comb.
"Thank you!" she said, gratefully, and carefully sat by the pool's side, again as she began to vigorously work through her hair. It wasn't as tangled as it could have been, but  every time she hit one, Issen had to practically fight and yank at her locks to get them out. After she was done with a little section, Issen moved on to the next, rubbing the section with oil.
"You're...welcome?" replied the assistant, a little dumbfounded. She would have offered Issen for help, but the lady seemed so sucked into her own world and rhythm  that she gave up and went back to her chair.

As she worked, Issen's leg's gently kicked in the pool, the woman triumphant at her small victory. Issen gave Hyseada a small grin.
Is he going to stay? she wondered.
After all, she was going to take a while; if he was tired, she didn't want him to accompany her for all the while. Though, if she was in his shoes, she would stay. Not necessarily to wait, but because the pool's waters were so welcoming.

Hysaeda let the waters calm him as they so often did.  He wondered how long he'd forgotten his training since the day of his own exile.  It had been too long, and though it seemed as if it didn't matter anymore with his father no longer able to complete his training, it was intrinsic to his very being and he knew he couldn't be without it for very long.  He felt the ebb and flow of the energy of the pool, for his training taught him to be communion with the power of life, with the way it flowed and moved through everything, no matter if it had a heart beat or not.

He breathed and centered himself, hands strayly rebraiding his hair where they'd been loose before for the washing.  Hysaeda's pain would not go away, and though he was calm outside, he was hurting deeply within.  He felt for many then, for the culmination of his own losses, that he was now to suffer alone as he knew he was meant to, and also for Issen, his companion who he knew next to nothing about other than her own admittances and the curse apparent in her visage.  He did not know what it meant to be eternally bound to someone, even in death, to always live for them and never or oneself.  While he would never say that he was a selfish man, he knew it couldn't he healthy for her to eternally living indebted to someone.  Was it possible at all for her to be free?  To teach her how to be strong in the event that she might never have her prince to return to?

He couldn't count on his ponderings, only that the cooling and relaxing sensation of the water disappeared when he knew that he might be unable to help her.  She would follow him...for what?  Nothing, he thought.  And it angered him inside in a small part.  But a part large enough to make him sit up in his full form and climb out of the pool without a word.  He threw his own towel over his shoulder and picked up his clothes, holding them  under one arm as he silently, solemnly, made his way back to their room.

As Issen combed through her hair, she started to day dream. The woman thought about the new places she would finally be able to go to. She would have to get used to living again, and she was more than ready to experience it all.  Issen. She had already grown used to her new name; it fit so perfectly. And all these years she had been nameless, choosing a new name each day. Of course, the name could be shed any time she wised, but the woman liked it- it was like being a step closer to being whole.
And that language, she thought, Common...
It wasn't as lyrical sounding as her own, but rougher, more rhythmic, rather.  And everybody spoke it...How did that come to be?  It was a rather curious notion and puzzled the woman so much that she looked up to ask Hyseada about it.

"Oh," she whispered to herself as she watched the elf, now suddenly solemn and gloomy leave the pool. The woman frowned as she watched him leave. Now she would have to wait for an answer to her question.  With a sigh, she  went back to washing her hair and being lost in her dreams.

An hour later, the fully bathed Issen with her hair neatly braided and glistening emerged from the pool room, clothes in her arms. She wore only the brown dress that was part of the new ensemble she had bought and her old shoes. The material was new to her, after all these times, and it felt pleasant against the skin.  Quietly, she made her way back towards the room and opened the door, which creaked.
"Hyeada?" she asked as she did so.
Was he asleep?
It occurred to Issen that it made no sense rousing a sleeping person like that.

Hysaeda had not been asleep, but he did get dressed and his hair was no longer as sopping wet as it once was.  He laid on his bed, head propped up on a pillow and he was looking down at his hands that were entwined with one another, laying on his belly.  His feet were bare, cold for it being evening and this far south, but remained bare nonetheless.

"Come in, Issen," he said with a welcoming note despite his mood only moments ago.  Hysaeda sat up further on the bed and looked at her with a sincere glance of apology.  "I am sorry for stalking off like that.  But you look good.  Clean.  Better than how I found you...er, no offense.  He smiled and sat cross-legged.

"I was just thinking about the whole reason I am here in the desert.  You see, though I'm here in this massive expanse of sand and dust and massive worms, I am not alone.  I don't mean just you...you've been a trusty friend thus far.  And it is not like me to trust others so easily.  I thought maybe my god was punishing me for something for sending me out here...my home destroyed and with nothing to go back to, no one.  But I realize that my god teaches fundamentals through ones experiences.  One cannot learn to survive in stagnancy and prosperity if there is nothing more to gain.  I am here to learn a lesson.  What that is...I do not know, but I think you have something to do with that," he explained slowly, making sure she got all that.

"I think we have many things to teach each other.  And if you'd like, we can start now.  Perhaps you'd like to learn more and more about the world as it is today."

Issen smiled to see that Hyseada was awake, and eagerly shut the door behind her and placed her things carefully by her bed. The woman sat down on her own bed, but then  quickly sat by her companion, as there was room near his feet. She practically glowed with happiness at his compliment, taking no offensive whatsoever.
"Thank you!" she replied with a  laugh.
She did feel so much cleaner now, and her old clothes had worn out so thin...Issen looked down foundly at her new dress.
It's a lovely thing to know that some one else thinks you look nice, she thought.
Her thoughts would have indulged her vanity more, except Hyseada  continued to speak, so of course, she listened.

The woman gave a pleased, shy smile at being called a trusty friend, and nodded every now and then as he spoke, her expression growing more and more somber, especially when he mentioned his home was destroyed.  What trials had he been through? Issen's thoughts went back towards his scars and the red shirt, and she felt and overwhelming wave of sympathy over taking her as she reached out to touch his ankle, as it was the closest bit of him that  was next to her.  She understood being alone. And then he brought up religion. Lessons? Gods? By this point she had almost forgotten entirely about religion. It wasn't that she didn't have a god or didn't believe in them; Issen found that she did. Or ought to. It was just that she hadn't thought about them in so long. She supposed that was sinful, and ought to  consider it more.  

The woman didn't catch some of his words, them being too different from her version of Essryn, but she nodded eagerly when he mentioned teaching and learning.
"Please!" she exclaimed as she leaned forward, supporting herself by pressing against the edge of the bed with her arms.  
"Tell me about other countries," she continued, becoming more and more enthusiastic. The woman spent the next thirty seconds reeling off question after question, such as if all elves looked like Hyseada, where did they come from, what  sort of people live in other places, what did they look like, and how far were they from the desert, these strange places and peoples.
Finally, she paused and gave him smile, quite out of breath and playfully poked him in the ribs.

Hysaeda flinched at being poked, staring at her with wide eyes.  It was clear he was unprepared for such apparent enthusiasm.  In addition the rapid-fire question also was enough to cut him off from even considering that she was at all tired from the day's events.  They hadn't known each other very long, but Hysaeda was starting to understand her a little better.

The apprentice sat up more and crossed his legs in front of him, rubbing his ankle and  tilting his head, wondering how to answer her without sounding to far-fetched.  "Um, well, there are three main nations that are stacked up on each other.  The Northern-most is known as Connlaoth.  I have never been there, but I have heard strange stories of people there with abilities that strip people of their magical powers.  To the south of that is a land known as Serenidipity that seems to be just the opposite of this Connlaoth.  There magic flourishes, and runs in the blood and veins of its citizens.  It is a beautiful land, if a little strange from my eyes.  They are ruled by a queen and each province is ruled by its own High Lord or Lady.  I do not know much else other than their prison cells are very cold.   And the people...as strang as they are, some can prove to be reliable...and honorable friends."

Hysaeda stopped and thought about Adalia for a while.  He would have been ashamed of himself of the fact that he could not remember where last he'd seen her, where he'd last held her hand and held her.  Perhaps it had a sense of sadness to it but she was his only friend outside of family, and what was left of that was little more than ashes and dirt.

"South of there is a country much closer to where I'm from, though I do not belong their either.  It is called Adela.  In some ways it might be like a combination of the two above.  They have many capable warriors and mages alike, perhaps not as inclined as Serenians though.  There are other elves I'm sure, though I suppose you could say I'm a rare breed.  I am not a drow, though I may look like one.  The tattoos on my face are the tattoos of my people.  They do not care much for the open cities and laws of other nations.  They prefer to live by their own faith, their own traditions.  We worhip our god Umbra, he made us, and though he lives no longer, his spirit does, and every Umbraeon lives until his dying breath, in hopes that he may die with enough bravery to fight by his side in the Spirit Realm.  We're a separate breed.  I'm sure there are others like me, plenty more, but they like to remain hidden and choose no king or queen to rule over them, but they're own."

Hysaeda paused, knowing all that information was a lot to take in and he sighed.  "All this talk makes me want to go home.  But I can't, really.  In any event, I'm sure there are more nations and places that I've  yet to discover, I haven't traveled the whole world or continent yet.  All the nations I've told you about are bound by a language called Common.  It is the one everyone speaks, though maybe they have their own traditional tongues that they use as well.  What kind of world do you come from, Issen?  What do you remember about your past?"[/i]

Issen giggled at Hyseada's reaction. It was clear she had caught him unaware, which came across as quite funny to her. Her good humor only grew as the elf sat up and sat crossed legged on his bed, clearly thinking about her question. The woman, too, sat up straighter and crossed her legs, determined to memorize every single word he said. She listened hard, though she often didn't look at the story teller. Instead, her eyes strayed towards the ceiling or to her hands as she tried to map out these countries. Connlaoth...the magic stripping country. Maybe she could find answers there? Then there was  Serenidipity...The woman smiled at the thought of this country. It sounded  wonderful, like straight out of a story she could only dream about. However, her mood turned somber as Hyseada's did. How did he know about how cold the cells were? Was he ever held captive? What was his crime? Issen thought, though she  felt this wasn't something to be asked, just now.

However, there was another thing, about a friend, though she held her tongue still as he finished his summery of the world with Adela and of elves, though she had no idea what a "drow" was. She payed close attention as Hyseada described details of his people, such as the tattooes and his religion.  It made sense, though it only opened up more questions. So there were different breeds of elves...All of this information fascinated her. It was a lot to take in, and perhaps she didn't quite understand it all as she thought she did, but she felt a little more confident about things, now.
"I see," she said, nodding her head.

The woman hesitated to bring up her question, which was when Hyseada continued to speak. Again, he brought up not being able to go home, and it sort of saddened her. Issen had to practically bite her tongue to keep herself from interrupting, so, instead, she reached for his hands, which were warm. The woman shrugged at his question, and drew her knees up close to her chest as she hugged them close.
"I remember..." she wistfully started, "Essyrn wasn't this big of a city. It was a city of caravans, of colorful tents. There were very few buildings, because the people tended to travel... The royal family, however, had a beautiful palace, with spacious halls full of art and music."

Issen smiled fondly at the memory and turned her head to face Hyseada, gesturing lively as she spoke, in hopes that he caught every word.
"I was a servant there, see. Been since I was a girl. Well, more like a slave, really. I had the honor of serving the prince, and tending to his needs, like running errands, retelling gossip, or reading tales aloud. I sometimes wrote my own, you know."
The woman gave a shy grin.
"Over time, we fell in love," she said, "Of course, we kept it a secret, but..."
Her voice faltered. The next bit was were her memory got really fuzzy, but it all ended up to the same place, so what did it matter if a detail or two was wrong? Besides, it was all truth to her, and that was what mattered.
"His younger brother was the head priest, you see," she continued, "And he knew his brother better than anyone. I didn't like him, much , but he...he liked me. And he could sense something was going on between his elder brother and I...Anyway, when the king died, he killed his elder brother  by using an assassin from an enemy tribe. Poor thing... My love trusted him dearly. Knowing I probably would rat him out, he had sent guards to imprison me. Every day, he would visit, but I refused him. He got mad, of course, and called me all sorts of rude names. Now, he was a powerful magician, so after his brother's tomb was built and filled with riches, he forced me to  become the guardian of the tomb so that his dear brother would be well attended to in the after life, and that I may have suffer a fate worse then death. So he thought, anyway," she thoughtfully, "No matter how powerful a mage is, their magic wares down after a while. And that's all I can recall."


Issen gave her companion a carefree smile, glad she could grant him a simple wish as to recall her story.
"Anyway," she said, "What is this about your friend? You mentioned you had one in Serendipity. Why aren't they travelling with you?"

Hysaeda listened to her recite her tale and the more he listened the more he began to feel as if he was being more and more selfish.  Here he was wallowing in his own problems, making himself miserable by useless thoughts of suffering on his own, but little did he realize that his own problems were so miniscule compared to her own.  How could he have known unless he asked?  She always seemed so cheery, so godforsakenly happy that it didn't seem to matter what had hurt her in the past, she seemed to live more in the now than he did.

He didn't understand everything she said, certainly not word for word, but he understood enough that the plight she'd been sentenced to would have never ended until another stranger came along.  And there was no telling whether that stranger would have been better than him or worse.

"I-I had no idea," Hysaeda said after a while, giving her a thoughtful gaze.  "Maybe you're luckier than you think.  Maybe now you can finally be free for good.  Do you even want to be free, I mean really have a chance to experience the world for yourself?  Would that even be possible for someone in your condition?"

Issen smiled and nodded at Hyseada's question.
"Of course I'm lucky," she cheerfully said, "You came along, right?"
The woman paused and looked up towards the ceiling, deep in thought.
"And I have. I've thought of it often," she softly said, "Maybe there is a way to just undo the bit about having a master. I don't mind having you as one!"
The woman said this last bit rather rushed, realizing that her words might have been offending. She truly didn't mind. After all, she had lived her whole life that way. The woman supposed a different, independent life  free of bondage was appealing, but she was content.  

"But it won't undo the whole curse," she added, "Because if I were to be truly free...Oh..."
Issen took in a deep breath and tugged at her braid. She didn't know how to explain the next bit to him, her thoughts returning to the sand worm adventures from earlier. The woman's cheeks grew hot as she remembered their passionate kiss, but more than excited did she feel...sad. Sad at how excited and joyful Hyseada was to be alive, and at the thought that she would have to tell him what freedom from her situation really meant. What would she tell him? That she wasn't fully alive? That her head could be cut off and her soul wouldn't have departed from her body and all that she would feel would be pain?  That "to be free" meant to die? She wanted to move on properly, but at the same time, she wanted to experience the world as it was.
"Hyseada, listen to me," Issen said slowly as she reached out for for his hands.
"Don't pity me. Please. I'm happy to be on this journey, though there may be a way. To be free is one thing, but this...This is what I need now."
The woman bowed her head, a little embarrassed that she hadn't given the straightest of answers.

She was right.  When she was right she was right, and Hysaeda could find no logical outlet to contest it.  The apprentice shook his head and sighed.  He extended a hand to her, something he knew he probably wouldn't have done a few weeks earlier.  He had always been the reclusive type, a loner that knew to find solace only in himself for it was he that had to carry on.  Perhaps his burdens didn't have to be hard if he could learn to share them with others.  Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to open up a little more.

He grasped her hand in his and pulled it close to press it between his two hands that came together like in a prayer like formation and clutched it to his chest.  He bowed his head to her and waited a moment before responding.  "Okay," he said, nodding and grinning.  "You're very wise, wiser than I believed you would be.  Thank you for staying with me thus far.  And thank you for being my friend.  Where I come from, friends that are outside of the tribe, they are given a tattoo, sometimes small, sometimes big, that symbolizes a bond of camaraderie has been established between them.  If you wouldn't mind, I would like to start one on you, but only with your permission of course."

Issen patiently waited for the elf's answer. When he finally ended his silence, the woman broke into a smile, grateful that Hysaeda had accepted her answer.
"Okay," she repeated, and listened bashfully as he praised her. Really; she should be the one praising him, but the woman politely listened and  bowed her head. However, her eyes looked back at his in curiosity as he  mentioned tattoos again. He wanted to give her one? As a symbol of friendship?  
"Y-yes, please!" she stuttered,a little flabbergasted.
She had never heard of such an inquiry before, but she wasn't about to turn down his request, not if it meant that much to him.

Of course, many questions instantly flooded her mind.
"Will they be like the ones you have? Where will it be? " she asked, her eyes tracing the swirls on his face, then looking at her own body. Issen didn't really want one on hers, though his were unarguably pretty.
"How does one make them?" she continued. The woman had a vague idea it had something to do with ink. Were they sealed into the skin with magic?

It was an extreme rarity to give a symbol of friendship and camaraderie to anyone outside the tribe, outside of the Umbraeon race even.  So rare that the very concept itself was almost inconceivable.  But Hysaeda wanted to bestow this honor to Issen for her loyalty, and for helping him learn that the world was so much bigger than himself.  Perhaps that was something that could have been realized all on his own, but it took the explanation of her plight to make the revelation as bright as the dawn.  It was the highest honor any Outlander, as his people called them, could receive.

Hysaeda patted her hand and shook his head. "No, it will likely not be on your face.  In fact in can be wherever you would like it to be.  On your shoulder, your arm, perhaps.  Even your back if you prefer.  On your back, I can make a great big one.  Where I come from, it is not very common to receive these things.  My people don't like to commune much with outsiders.  It will symbolize a bond has been made between us almost as strong as the blood itself.  You see, my people value blood above all else.  It is the stuff of life, vitality, survival.  Much stronger than even the bonds of a clan or tribe, called Me'gecht-kinhe.  Clankin."

"Actually...the process can be quite painful if you are not mentally prepared.  I must insert the ink into your skin by puncturing it.  It can be a long process, so I will only start little by little and put more detail when you are ready.  But if this is something you don't want to do now, we don't have to.  I'll respect your wishes.

Issen giggled, almost out of releif, as Hyaeda explained that the tattoo didn't have to be on her face. Her attention immanently turned towards her back. She liked his suggestion of doing it there. The woman had a flare for the dramatic, and a big, beautiful picture was very appealing. Her expression grew thoughtful as the elf mentioned the gravity of such a symbol. She realized it would be an honor, though her heart sank as he continued to talk about blood. The woman didn't mind to take the pain, not that much, but...if she didn't have blood, then she wasn't alive? And if it wasn't there, then would their  connection be weak? Faulty? They had only just met that day...Even so she was sure about a lot of  things, Issen was suddenly worried he would be horrified, even revolted at her state of being. It wasn't natural- she knew it wasn't.

"You're not doing this idly," Issen solemnly replied, "As I won't be in accepting your offer, but..."
The woman paused, trying to find the right words.
"I'm not alive," she said, carefully picking her words, "Not the way you are. Is that still...okay? Would it still mean as much? To you, I mean."

Hysaeda knew what he was getting into the moment they left the tomb where she had found him.  He knew there was something special keeping her alive, something that made her different from others.  Perhaps he had a strange habit of attracting the abnormal to him.  He himself wasn't completely normal either or else he would have been born with a differing hair color than the one that spurned amongst his own tribe.  He might have been a warrior or a slaver, instead of a priest's apprentice.

He pursed his lips in thought and cast his eyes away to his leg.  "I know that whatever circumstances you endured, that made you the way you are at this moment, are something I'll have to accept.  I know you're not normal.  Maybe not alive like me, but the magic that keeps you alive doesn't make you any less of a person.  I've learned that the hard way.  My life has never been easy.  So for me to judge solely on that would make me a monster.

"The bond from this symbol is not a bond just of the flesh.  It goes deeper than that.  A spirit bond even.  That is what it symbolizes.  I was raised to the study the vagaries of the spirit, so it would mean even more to me than you think."

Issen broke into a relieved smile, her eyes looking like they were about to cry. She rubbed her cheeks with one hand, while squeezing his with the one he held. In a way she was startled. Maybe he knew more about her condition and she didn't have to say what she dreaded to? It was also nice to know that she wasn't being thought less of, though his grave words again spiked her curiosity.  
"Spirit bond," she repeated in a whisper, "Soul?"
A connection combining souls....Yes, she could understand that. It would be arrogant to proclaim she knew exactly what he was talking about, but she could relate. Issen understood, at the least , the meaning of such symbols and the weight of words.

His speech was enough for her to make up her mind. Silently, Issen climbed to the middle of the bed and turned her back to her companion. She pulled her heavy braid so that it fell across her chest, and slowly did she start to pull her arms free from her garment, so that it fell down to her waist, leaving her bare.  The woman flashed him a grin before she looked at his things, wondering what the ink looked like and the pen that would insert it into her skin, as he had said.
"Tell me what you drawing as you're doing it, okay?" she asked, growing excited.

Hysaeda was a little surprised that she suddenly expected him to do it right then and there. Hysaeda bit his lip and nodded.  "Now's as good a time as any I suppose," he said as she took down her garment to reach past her shoulders.  She had a lovely back from the looks of it and whatever magic made her stay this way, she certainly was beautiful in any sense of the word.  Hysaeda nodded and moved around her to search through his things.

He didn't think he had the necessary materials to actually do it.  Tattooing somebody was something only full-fledged Ankuman did for newborns and to complete the tattoos of the young until they were adults.  He'd done it only a few times in the past and though he was no expert, he did show considerable skill in the trade.  He had a proper needle-point pen with him, a tool fashioned from finely rolled steel and there was a small container of ink in the room already.  It was special ink that his kind used, but being so far from the mountains rendered him able to use only what was immediately around him.

Hysaeda put the pen on the bedside table and took the room lantern lighted near him and opened it.  He moved around to a wash room that contained a pitcher of water and a ceramic cup.  That would have to do.  He filled the cup with water and placed the flame underneath it, channeling himself so that he could resist the heat until the water came to a boil before placing the pen inside.  He took a roll of parchment and placed it into the flame as well, placing it into a bowl to allow it to burn into ashes.  Taking the ink container, he dumped that into the bowl as well before placing more burning paper as well, letting it turn into ash.  He mixed it all together before he took the pen in hand.  Having all the necessary materials close by him, Hysaeda was ready to begin.

Hysaeda looked around her as she waited before he climbed back onto the bed and spread his legs so that she was sitting in between them, allowing him to get as close as possible.  "Okay.  I think a tree would suit you nicely.  A filled tree with thick branches and a wide trunk with spread out roots.  I'll tell more as I go.  Hold your breath now, this might hurt a bit..."  And with the ink readied at the tip of the needle-pen, he poked into her back, starting with the trunk, poking little by little in small, sharp stings to ensure the ink mixture got inside her skin.

Issen watched him, a little confused.
I thought he meant now, she thought, a little embarrassed by his confusion, but she happily move out of his way as she watched him work. She watched as he pulled out a pen and waited as he went into a wash room. She took in a breath as she watched as he light a flame and burned parchment into ashes. Throughout the whole process, she observed and wondered the function of every little thing, wonder how it all worked together. The woman wasn't particularly worried about the process being dangerous; she had the liberty of forgetting about things like that.

Issen wiggled a little in excitement as Hysaeda positioned himself behind her.
She nodded at his choice. It sounded beautiful, fitting, and hopeful.
"Okay," the woman said.
She closed her eyes and took in a breath as the pen pricked her back. The woman flinched; it really did sting and hurt a bit. However, Issen knew she could handle it; she wouldn't complain. She closed her eyes, letting her mind wonder off. She wasn't really thinking of anything in particular, just of colors and dreams and of the places they might travel to.

Hysaeda began tentatively at first, more careful than he could have been.  He poked quickly to keep the stings as short as possible but because the increments were so short and close together, he needed to stab into her a little more to keep the line consistent.  But was patient and held his breath, talking to her about the tree and why he chose it, saying things that would keep her mind off the pain.  He spoke of the tree that it was an everlasting thing, especially when the roots were ground deep into the soil, that she was just as everlasting as the tree.

He finished the basic outline by this time, starting on the branches, dipping the needle back into the ink bowl and starting on the great boughs and branches of the tree, spreading them out evenly before poking in the designs of leaves, using more of a dotted formation than tracing each individual shape.

"People that are given these designs," Hysaeda went on, "Each one is special, depicting an image that bonds the giver and the given.  I will add a serpent coiling around the tree to symbolize myself.  Not that I'm a snakey kind of person, but that is my star sign: the Serpent.  Issen, if the pain is becoming too much, we can stop now if you'd like and I can finish the design at a later time.  I've got a good deal of it done already, but if I'm hurting you too much, we can stop."

Issen was grateful for Hysaeda's chatter. She listened, sometimes with her eyes closed, other times with them open as she tried to imagine the tree. He was right about the pain; the sharp stings kept on occurring over and over again, and the woman was starting to wonder when it was ever going to end. So frozen was she that she didn't have the energy to say anything. Her energy was reserved for getting lost in her thoughts, in Hysaeda's voice. An everlasting tree...Yes, that sounded about right. Though, unlike a tree, she mused, she wasn't naturally alive. Issen supposed that her 'roots' were magic, though the symbol was a metaphor; the woman didn't think it was meant to be analyzed quite so much as that. After all, it was a positive, growing thing. She liked that thought. Issen, too, wanted to grow.
His voice is soothing, she thought with a somewhat pained smile. It was nice to just listen.

Every time he stopped to dip the needle back into the bowl, the woman would take a breath and play with her hair a bit in anticipation. She imagined what part he was working on as he went along. Issen gave a smile as Hyseada explained his star sign, and slumped her shoulders in relief.
"Yes, please," she agreed, "Besides, you'd be wanting some sleep after working so hard."
The woman turned her head to give her companion a grin bigger than her last.
"Thank you so much."
The woman paused, awkwardly looking down at her lap.
"Am I allowed to clothe myself, now? I don't want to smudge anything."

Hysaeda leaned back and looked at her hole-riddled back.  They were such fine, minute holes that they were difficult to notice with the trained eye, but the design had flourished and the ink held true.  Yes, she deserved a rest more than anyone.  He could always finish another time.  It was complete for the most part and he admired his work all the more.

"In a moment.  Let's get you cleaned up first," Hysaeda said before reaching for another bowl and the pitcher again, pouring water into it.  Grabbing a rag he dampened it lightly before rubbing off any excess ink from her back as well as to stave off any irritation it may have caused her skin.

"Okay, you may get dressed now.  But you probably shouldn't lay on your back."

OOC: Day 2! XD
IC:

    Issen nodded at Hyseada's reply and watched as he filled a bowl full of water. The woman gasped when the rag touched her skin; it was a little cold, and felt so different and welcoming from the burning sensation before. When he was done with his careful work for the evening, she slowly picked up the top part of her dress and began to slide her arms back into it. The woman got off of the bed and stretched. She was good at sitting still for hours on end, despite her restless nature. And it had been hours. It was well into the night now, and the inn felt stiller, somehow. Issen, not wanting to prove useless and ungrateful, then turned her attention to the cup with whatever ink was in it,  and picked it up.
"I'll go wash this out," she offered before heading towards the wash room, knowing better than to offer to clean the pen.
 
A minute later she emerged from it. The woman placed the cup gently on a  table before approaching her own bed. Issen touched the blanket gingerly before pulling it down. Blankets had been another thing she had been deprived of, and as she climbed into bed, careful to lie on her stomach before pulling it up to her shoulders. issen blew out the candle by her own bed, giving the room a dim glow, as the others were still lit.
"Good night, Hyseada," she said and fell asleep, cradling her head in her arms.

The woman rose an hour after the sun did, finding that she had kicked off her covers in her sleep. She quietly wandered to the wash room to emerged from it a few minutes later completely dressed, having putting on the rusty red overdress. The woman didn't know how to tie the headscarf properly; it was a fashion she was not quite sure of doing, so she placed it in her bag, hoping to learn about it later. Issen looked at her sandals; she had forgotten to get replacements. The woman quietly went downstairs, where she was greeted by the pleasant innkeeper.

"Good morning," she cheerfully greeted in Common, "Would you like some breakfast?"
Issen could only smile and bob her head, not really knowing what she had agreed to. She had figured she had just been greeted, but the woman had  no clue if she had been offered food or asked if she had slept well. Thankfully, it was the first one, as she was hungry. The food, which was in various plates and bowls and were all covered nicely, was enough for two, and Issen carefully brought it upstairs to her room.

[Haha.  Finally!]

"Goodnight," Hysaeda murmured to her as he cleaned up his own things and walked around preparing to blow out the other lantern lights.  He glanced over to her and smiled gently as she laid herself down and went to sleep.  He reached the last light and turned the knob down before blowing out the flame and slept in his bed, the first real bed he'd slept in what felt like years.  Within minutes he was out.

He slept well, dreamlessly, restfully and actually did not wake upon the rising of the sun as he so often did.  He awoke with a faint start to find she was no longer there.  "Issen?" he asked.  No answer.  "Issen!?"  Nothing.  He bolted out of bed, looking around to make sure she hadn't been trying to hide on him and headed for the door, only to have it open with her on the other side.

He jumped back, clutching his chest.  "Dear Umbra, you scared me woman.  I thought you had run off.  Don't do that again," Hysaeda said with a smirk and a chuckle.  "Ah, good you brought food.  It smells good.  Set it over there."

Issen was also startled to find Hyseada by the door, but was careful enough not to let that make her spill everything. The woman was a little embarresed and ashamed that she had startled him so, though it was a little funny.
"I'm sorry for worrying you," she replied as she set the food on the table.
"You never have to worry about me too running off," the woman added cheerfully as she started uncovering bowls  to reveal flat bread, cheese, yogurt, fruit, and olives. Additionally, there was a pot of  hot coffee.
"This does look good," she said, eagerly sitting down at one side of the table and began to help herself.

Issen looked thoughtfully to the window, watching as the streets became more and more alive.
"What are we going to do, now?" she asked.
If they were going to travel to other kingdoms, they were going to have to find a mode of transportation...But how? They couldn't just walk their way across the desert. Issen supposed she was going to just have to buy them camels. They could buy camels, couldn't they?

There was quite a feast here.  A hell of a lot more food than Hysaeda could remember seeing in a long time.  His mouth actually started watering!  How embarrassing that he, who hunted his own food, his whole life, might actually feel unworthy of being presented such a gift.  Gods he was stupid because there really was no reason to feel like that.  Hysaeda smiled meekly and bowed his head.

Following her to the table, he took a seat.  He didn't know what to do with the coffee.  All he ever drank was tea, or hallucinogenic alcohol mixes.  It stung his nose, in a semi-pleasant way and he took a small clay cup for himself.  He took a sip and jumped at the bitterness.  But it jolted him upright at the heat on his tongue.

Hysaeda coughed and aired out his tongue, waving his hand on his tongue as if that would cause the burning to cease.  When it became mild he blinked up at her and grabbed a piece of fruit.  "I'm not sure.  Perhaps the next village or settlement over.  I don't really plan on staying in the city much longer.  I just want to travel.  See what this expanse of sand has in store for me...well, us, now."

Issen giggled at Hyseada's reaction to the coffee.
"Is it really that bad?" she asked, trying some herself. Immanently, she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening. The woman was also unprepared for its' bitterness and hotness, though it was a taste she knew she had been used to in the past. She took in a breath before forcing herself to take in another sip and shuddered. It wasn't that it was bad; she liked it. But Issen was bothered by the fact that she had to  learn everything again, including how to get used to things she had originally loved.  
The woman nodded at Hyseada's words. It was a good plan, though she was rather sad about leaving the city so soon.

Fifteen minutes later, a full Issen shrugged her bag over her shoulder.
"What do we do with the plates?" she asked.

Hysaeda blew on the top of his cup of coffee so that the steam drifted away, but he had a feeling that wouldn't help.  He couldn't say he liked it much, but he knew that he'd tasted worse things in his life.  He made worse concoctions so if he could endure those, he could get used to this.  He downed half of it and gasped as the liquid scalded his throat.  "GAH!" he breathed, getting scorched inside out.  He actually started to sweat a little.  "That's enough of that! BLEH!"

He took no more and prepared his own gear to get ready to go.  He ate lightly, but well and he gestured for her not to worry about the plates.  "I'm sure they will take care of it."  Once they were outside of the inn and greeted by the dawn's light, Hysaeda outstretched his hand and grasped Issen's in his own.

"We should gather as much supplies as we can before we head out.  Maybe I can finally get that shirt, I admired...and we can get you some more clothes if you'd like.  You look like you could use some new things."

Issen nodded at Hyseada's reply about the dishes.
"Okay," she agreed, and followed him quietly out of the inn.
The Essyrn market place was full of vendors setting up and chatting, as well as early buyers. Some were loud, but others more quiet, still waking up to welcome the new day. It was a pleasant noise, not so loud and frightening as the city had been the previous evening.  

The woman gave a broad grin as Hysaeda grasped her hand and told her his plans. She didn't really care much about getting her own things, though she was in need of a good pair of shoes. No, instead, she was more excited about getting him that shirt. The elf didn't seem to be the type to treat himself too often to nice things, so before he could say much else, Issen started to go off in the direction of the stall from which the bought her previous clothes, dragging him after her.

The vender greeted them with a welcoming, almost relieved smile.
"Good morning!" he exclaimed in Common, giving a chuckle at the sight of Issen in the clothes he had sold them.
"Ah, look at you! So beautiful, those clothes suit you well. My wares are the best," he boasted, loud enough for potential shoppers to hear him. Not understanding a word, Issen gave a shy smile  as she  looked up at Hysaeda for help in translation. She pointed towards the direction of the beautiful red shirt.
"That's the one you wanted?" she asked.
Observing her movements, the vendor nodded, encouragingly as he turned towards Hysaeda.
"Does she not understand Common?" he asked, "That's odd...But let me tell you, sir, I'll do anything for you."
The man paused and lowered his voice, drawing the elf near.
"I normally don't tell this to customers at all, but that bangle you paid me with, sir, is quite valuable. I'm a bargainer, not a thief, so I'll throw in whatever you want extra for free. Otherwise, my wife will have my head, but be careful. There are thieves in this city, and rumors already brewing among the merchants. Yunzel, the weapons dealer, was  bragging about the trinket you gave him at the bar. Gossip spreads quickly here. If I were you, sir, I would finish my business in this city, take the woman, and go."

Hysaeda had to keep pace with her as she dragged him along.  Damn she was fast when soon they were face to face with the vendor that sold him the clothes that he'd purchased for Issen.  Hysaeda was partially unsettled at how friendly the man was being, too friendly if you were to ask him.

"Er, no, she's from a really really really small village that doesn't get out much," he covered for Issen's lack of understanding of Common.  That would have to be remedied soon.

He made a face at the vendor clearly confused at what was going on, but his expression and tone of voice told him that the man was not kidding.  And he began to understand that there was greater risk to staying here than he thought.  There would be no rest for him would there?  He supposed not.

"But sir," Hysaeda said back to him in just as low a voice.  "I can't do that.  That wouldn't be right."

The man pat his shoulder and shook his head fiercely.  "Please, I won't accept whatever payment you would give me.  Just take what you want and leave, quickly.  We don't need any crime here than what's already present.  Don't ask for no trouble, there won't be none.  Now go on, take what you need.  No charge."

Hysaeda, feeling extremely humble and more than undeserving reached for the embroidered shirt that he had admired the day before.  He bit his lip and nodded.  "This one," he said.  The merchant nodded before taking the shirt to be wrapped.  A moment later, he returned the wrapped package to Hysaeda.  "Good day, sir."

Hysaeda nodded, his head bowed before he took Issen's hand in his again.  "We need to leave the city as soon as possible.  The merchant said it's no longer safe here."

As the two men talked, Issen observed the array of shoes the vendor hosted. Actually, it was a mix of sandals and boots. Making her mind on a pair of plain, brown boots, the woman  took off one of her worn out sandals and tried a pair on. It took her four times to find the perfect fit. They were comfortable, though felt a little rough against her bare feet; she didn't understand that she probably should have worn socks. Still, they were durable and would last her for a long while.

The men still weren't done talking, so the woman began to rack through the vendor's other wares when she found cloaks of many different colors. She pulled out a sapphire colored one. It was a bit different from her veil, but it was what travelers wore, right? The woman turned to Hyseada, about to ask, when he gave her his warning.
"Really!?" she exclaimed, looking at the vendor in alarm, "But...."
She looked down at the items she had, and back to the vendor, fumbling for her satchel, about to pay, again. However, the man held his hand out and shook her head. Confused, the woman turned back to Hyseada.
"What's going on?" she asked, dropping down to her knees to tie her laces and shove the cloak in her bag. The woman looked at the scabbed with the knife in it, and quickly put it in her belt.
Finally, Issen gave the vendor one last look, though he only smiled in return.  

The woman took in a deep breath and scanned the streets.
Hyseada was right...Here and there were eyes that were watching them.
She nodded as she pulled herself closer to her companion.
"Okay," Issen whispered, and started to head towards the city gates.
That's where they had to go towards, right?

"Apparently, we're the talk of the town," Hysaeda explained quickly.  "The man was being rather kind, but he warned us that we should leave as soon as possible.  That bangle you gave me to pay for our things was really valuable apparently, so the vendor gave us a deal and let have whatever we wanted.  In addition, we may or may not have caught the attention of the certain brigands that may or may not be interested in taking everything valuable we have by force."

Hysaeda headed towards the gate with her, keeping his head low and trying to deter attention away from him.  As the crowds thickened and thinned, Hysaeda looked ahead of them and saw a pair of rather unsavory men begin to approach him, looking at him with the look he knew of those that knew gold when they saw it.  "Um, let's take this way instead," Hysaeda said and kept his eyes on the brigands before he paused and tugged Issen to walk in another direction.

But ahead of them, he knew another pair was walking toward them.  Hysaeda stopped again, quickly turning again only to have bump into a man easily twice his size and with sun-burned skin.  He had corn-rowed black hair and his teeth were rotten as he looked down at a fallen Hysaeda.

"Well, greetings.  I've heard a lot about you, haven't we boys?" the man said, crossing his arms over his chest as six of his brigands fell in line behind him, laughing in unison.

OOC: It's all right if you say the men attacked her somehow, though they would most def. be startled by the lack of blood , if that's what they were going for haha.

IC:
Issen listened in confusion as Hyseada walked with her towards the gate. So they were being followed...by...who? What were 'brigands'? Valuables.... The woman cursed her stupidity. She knew her jewelry were precious items, though she hadn't thought terribly much of them over the years beyond pretty trinkets. Of course people would want to steal them. Issen's heart sank; she hadn't meant to bring her companion to this kind of trouble. What chaos had she caused?

"Ah!"
Issen gasped as they abruptly changed directions, their pace picking up. She tried to catch a glimpse behind her, though all she saw was a crowd of people, particularly a man in search for something.
Oh....
The woman was about to say something when they ran into another pair of tall and threatening look men. Imminently, she dropped to her knees to help pick up her companion, her eyes glaring at the gang leader with a vicious glint. The only thing betraying her fear was her shaking body.

She didn't understand a word he was saying, but the woman was a guardian first and foremost. It was true her fighting skills weren't the best, but she was willing to do anything for those who  took upon the burden of being her 'Master', like Hyseada.
"What do you want?" she snapped, a hand reaching for her dagger, "Go away!"
The rough looking man blinked, a bit confused, then chuckled.
"That idiot was right," he remarked, staring back at her, "Let's not waste our time here... Jamal. Rat. The bag."
Two shorter men with tough, mean muscles approached Issen. The one named Rat from the side, the other named Jamal from the front.

Issen's face blanched.
Everything she had to hold onto her past was in there. Her clothes, her jewelry...All her memories of the tomb, everything that she felt she needed to keep as a memento  as her past. Besides, she needed them for money; she needed to be useful to Hyseada...!
"No!" she screamed, and plunged with the knife in her hands at Jamal's gut.
Alarmed, Rat reached out for her hair, in attempt to pull her back , a knife ready. Three of the others surrounded Hyseada. One had a weapon, the other two had their fists balled up, ready to swing...

Hysaeda half reached for his sword but it was too late before the three other men attacked her and attempted to cut into her.  Hysaeda immediately alarmed by the sight of a weapon.  His own culture did make the sight of a weapon a light one, for in a place where life and death could easily take place in the same day, Hysaeda's instincts told him to fight, to fight until all of their assailants were incapacitated.

Hysaeda watched only for a brief second as Issen's blade (he mentally thanked himself for having the good sense of buying her a knife in the first place) made contact with Jamal's gut, and the man made a face, paling visibly as it did so.  But the others were already ganging up on her and him.

Hysaeda paid nearly no mind to the ones that surrounded him and attempted to assault Issen.  He felt something inside of him smolder into anger and he leapt straight at Rat with knife in hand, bashing one of his own assailants in the shoulder to get him out of the way and knocking Rat into the ground.  Hysaeda rolled away in a crouch and immediately assumed a fighting position, one that would let him take on multiple opponents at once.  In a fit of rage, he flew back at his attackers, ducking for a moment underneath a cudgel blow to his head.

Hysaeda struck with his elbows into the man's knee, twisting it to the side before giving him a good left to the gut and uppercutting him with his right.  The man gained some air before plummeting to the ground.

But the two others around him quickly jumped on him and struck him savagely in the head.  Hysaeda fell to the ground under their combined assault, moving to kicking and stomping him where they could.  Away from him, he briefly noticed Rat get up once again and retrieve the knife he dropped and slash at Issen, the other man trying to keep her still long enough.

Hysaeda was in a great deal of pain and did everything he could to push the prospect from his mind.  As a foot was coming down on him, he grabbed it and twisted it as hard as he could, hearing a cracking sound and a nasty yelp.  He pushed the man off him and twisted his legs around to wrap them around his other assailant, dropping him and locking him before kicking him hard in the face. Hysaeda felt a foot collide into his own face and someone grabbing him up, yanking him to his feet and, though his face was already bloody and bruised, a wail of fists blazed their way across his cheeks and chin, and entire body.

He felt a fist collide hard into his gut and he doubled over, heaving, falling to his knees.  He looked up with blurry eyes as they moved over to Issen.   He spat blood and grit his teeth.  "Issen, fight goddammit!  With everything you have!"

Issen gave a whimper as she watched Jamal blanched, quickly withdrawing her blade from his insides, drenched in blood. The man stumbled backwards, muttering curses, as he supported himself against a wall. The woman shuddered at the sight of him, before directing her attention at Hyseada, whom the others were ganging up on. Dismayed to see him in such distress, she began to pounce on the nearest one, when one of them grabbed her by the knife weilding  arm.

The man said something she couldn't comprehend as Rat drew in to attack. Despite the dire situation, the woman smiled, bracing herself. Thinking fast, Issen hitched up her skirts with her free hand and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. The man loosened his grip, allowing her enough time to turn around stab upwards, directly into the rib cage. She gave out a cry as something sharp jammed into her left shoulder; Rat had stabbed her. Enraged and now in pain, the woman turned around and slashed at Rat in return, though he was  more nimble than his partner and dodged her wild movements. I can't move my arm that well, Issen realized.

Rat swung a jab at her face before following it up with a hook. Issen fell the the ground, panting. Rat patiently waited for her to stumble quickly to her feet. He flinched slightly as she slashed him right across the cheek as he knocked the knife out of her hands and held her in an arm lock, the only thing separating their bodies from being too close was the bag on her back.

"You have quite a sting, little vapor," he muttered in Essyrn, examining her shoulder. Rat became alarmed; he  hadn't noticed it before because of the red color, but there was no blood. Hadn't he stabbed her...? Issen tried to break free from his grasp, kicking and flaying around as all she could do was watch in horror as Hyseada was getting beaten to the ground. He screamed at her to fight back, but the tomb guardian could do nothing as she was surrounded. Another man came forward to punch her hard in the gut, trying to get the wind out of her as Rat held a knife across her throat, holding onto one arm as another man reached for her other, so as to retrieve the goods more easily.

They commanded the woman to be still, but she didn't listen. Instead, Issen began to give wild, meaningless cries as she began to kick and struggle. Enraged and frightened at the noise, Rat slit her throat, in front of all to see. She gasped and whimpered in agony as their grip on her tightened. Panting and weak in the knees, she glared at the men who surrounded her, who seemed to be in some sort of shock. They were all quiet and still, causing their leader to become annoyed.

"Why isn't she dead?,"  he demanded, pushing one aside to approach the girl. He pointed to two of his men.
"Watch the elf," he said as he grabbed Issen by the face and slashed her cheek.
No blood came out; instead, there was just another thin, clean cut.The woman gave a cry of pain as he did so, though she tried not to cry. The two men who were instructed to 'keep an eye on the elf' were distracted this display.
"Hmm," the man thought aloud, allured by the sight that the others were horrified by.
"A ghost," they whispered among themselves. "A spirit of the desert..."
Issen could feel the grip on her body being loosened by the men holding her, so repulsed were they. Taking this distraction as an opportunity, the woman yanked herself free from the men's grasps. Her hand was close to Rat's belt, where another knife was sheathed, and she took it to stab him. The woman kicked at the wounded man before ducking another attacker as she reached for her own knife.

Hysaeda was not tired enough to quit, he was built to last longer than what might be conceivable, but the aches of his body, the heat, the traveling, the beatings he'd received were starting to take a toll on him.  Yet still he pressed to stand, despite the rawness of his hands, lungs, and throat.  He spat blood on the ground where his lip had been open deeply and he stared upward, watching with wavering eyes Issen did fight back, though no without difficulty.

But something happened, the gang around them were struck in awe and acted as if touching the woman would drag them down into some unseen hell.  Hysaeda too was still in some quiet shock as it seemed that though they wounded her, she was not aggrieved by them.  Yes, she yelped in pain, but there was no blood and slowly he found the energy to stand behind the men that were standing to watch him, but were doing a poor job of it.

Yet, Hysaeda found himself snapping out of this riveted state when he saw Issen move into action.  Hysaeda realized they too were still in the heat of a scuffle before he found strength in him enough to move as well.  He leapt for the first man on his right, wrapping his arms around his neck and catching him in momentary surprise.  He pulled hard on his neck and with enough aggression to break it and the man gagged harshly until the life was yanked out of him.  The other one only noticed in enough time to launch another assault on Hysaeda's face.

He staggered backwards from the punch as he let the other man go and regained himself in time to lean away from another fist coming his way.  Hysaeda leaned low and struck into his ribcage with a hard right before retreating and coming back again with lightning reflexes.  Before the man could recover he had him by the shoulders and drove a knee into his gut, and struck another elbow across his face and delivering a left palm strike into the center of his chest in a devastating blow.

Perhaps she had no honed fighting skill, but he knew when face with the conditions of survival, she would fight for as long and as hard as she was capable.  She took advantage of their shock and attacked what remained of their assailants and he knelt in awe of her, his gut aching from the beating it had taken, and could only watch her, feeling helpless all the while.

Issen grabbed her knife and sprung to her feet. Her shoulder ached and her throat hurt, never mind her face. The woman doubted she'd be able to speak properly for a while, at least for the rest of the day. Hyseada had managed to kill or wound a few of the men; most of the others whom they haven't collectively damaged were running away, making signs against evil as they passed. The only ones lingering now was the gang's boss and two able bodied man, holding between them one of the dead men.  Instead of trying to attack them, Issen stood boldly in front of Hyseada, glaring at the leader. He looked back at her with a somewhat amused look before spitting at her feet. The man muttered something, and harshly barked at his men as he picked up a mortally wounded thief. He pointed at Hyseada, his eyes never leaving Issen.
"You two come back here," he said in Essyrian, "And I'll kill him, personally. Right in front of you, you hear?"
He smirked and sprinted off. He knew better than to stay, though he was bitter about it; all this work for nothing.

The woman flinched at his words.
Never come back...
Her glaze didn't waver until she couldn't hear them any more before she turned and dropped on her knees, as she began to observe Hysaeda's wounds. Issen ran a hand gently through his hair and carefully hugged him.
"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry , I'm sorry," she whispered, the tears finally coming out as she tried to wipe some of the blood away from his face.
"I'm so, so sorry, Hyseada..."
 It pained her to see him, anyone, this way. She was still numb, still in shock about the terrible crimes they had also performed. She found herself whispering those words over and over, horrified.
I helped killed men.... I killed... people.... and hurt how many?

Her body was trembling  as she sobbed; they needed to leave. She had to be strong now, the woman told herself, trying to stop her tears. Right now, she needed to be Hyseada's guardian, which she figured she was doing a terrible job of doing. It was a rarity when Issen didn't have time to do anything, though she didn't find the humor in the irony during this instant. The woman touched her neck, took out her cloak, and urgently put it on, and began to help the elf with his. It was best if people didn't notice their wounds, for now...
"Can you walk?" she asked.

Hysaeda looked down at himself and saw that he'd taken one of the worse beatings in his life.  Even that bane of his existence Radek had only approached damage compared to this.  But the difference between them was that Hysaeda had been alone in his defense before, and now he had a woman that would not bleed to scare away their assailants.  Yes, it was a strange thing to behold, to see it with his own eyes, but Hysaeda was in a great deal of pain to worry about it now.  He could ask later, provided that they get out of the confines of the city as soon as possible.

Hysaeda nodded to her with a heavy head, using her for support all the while he attempted to stand, shakily doing so.  He gripped her shoulder harshly and breathed heavily.  "Let's get out of here,"he said hoarsely and in a very low tone.  And he made for the exit as fast as his aching body could.

Issen nodded in return, shifting Hyseada's weight slightly so as to help him walk better. She made haste for the exist as fast as he allowed her to. The woman tried not to look at the elf too much. He was in a frightening state, and she knew nothing about medicine. She had no reason to. And the blood. Issen had forgotten how people could bleed like that. The woman shuddered at the memory of stabbing those men.
As her thoughts wandered wildly into the art of medicine, the pair found themselves by a merchant who was selling horses.

Issen glanced at the beasts in curiosity. She had a dull memory of them, but what was most important was their ability to ride for distances quickly.
She turned to Hyseada. He could ride while she pulled the reigns. They didn't have to keep one for very long... Just until they reached the next oasis. She didn't consider the discomfort that it would probably cause, but it was a better alternative to her than walking. Without any words, she pointed towards the nearest chestnut mare. The creature wasn't as majestic as her companions, but a bit shorter, heavier, and a little bit older. To Issen, however, the creature was steady enough, and so she fiddled in her bag and box for a golden earring. It seemed to be a fair enough price, for the seller nodded and handed over the reigns.

"Let's get you on, please," she gently, but firmly coaxed Hyseada, "You're in no state to walk across the desert..."

Hysaeda could barely see through a swollen left eye.  The beating looked worse than it felt, but that wasn't to undermine the true state that he was in, because in truth, he was hurting all over.  He would walk, he determined, he would be able to press on.  He clutched his throbbing side and grabbed onto her for support.  He could take care of these wounds if they found another place soon.  But there was no telling in the desert how long it would take them to do so.

Hysaeda was not yet delirious so he was quiet aware of what was going on around him and when he saw the horses he stood straight up, and bit his lip in some agitation.  It had been so long since he'd last ridden a horse.  He said nothing in protest, as the horse had already been bought and paid for with Issen's own jewelry.  He felt terrible for suddenly becoming the burden that he was, but was he really in a position to protest?

With a great bit of difficulty, he managed to hoist himself onto the saddle, hunched over the whole time and motioned for he to get on as well.  He didn't ride very well, but if she did, who was he to take the reins from her.  But he wondered if they would have enough water for both them and the animal to make the journey, even if it was a short one.  "I can walk if I try, Issen," he urged, but the crack in his voice told him his body would not be able to make the journey.

Issen gave Hysaeda a sympathetic smile and shook her head as she grabbed the reigns. With difficultly, she managed to somehow get the merchant to point her in the direction of the nearest oasis. If they kept a good pace, it seemed they could reach there by night fall. From there, they could choose to enter the jungles in the south, or the Plains in the north. She was lucky the merchant spoke Essyrian; she couldn't understand all of his words, nor did she pay attention to most of them, but if there was an oasis near by, that was all she needed to know.

The woman promptly began to lead the horse out of the city. She didn't know how to ride, though just walking didn't seem too hard.  Still, Issen didn't want to put too much weight on the horse.
She needs a name, she thought with small grin, her eyes turned to the sun. They had time to put some distance behind them before mid day. Satisfied, Issen began their journey out into the endless sea of sand.
As she marched, her mind wandered too and fro. Issen didn't want to speak; it still hurt.
She tried not to cry, though she occasionally failed  to contain them. It was hard to erase the images of the dead men from her head, and even though they had tried to hurt them, especially her companion, it was the very act that repulsed her. Watching their lives slip...

Further, she knew nothing about medicine. The woman was keen on getting to the oasis as soon as possible if only because of that. Her wounds healed and cleaned themselves, should they occur; she knew nothing about helping others at this rate. She tried to jog her memory. It made logical sense to clean them and stop the bleeding, right?
Noon slowly crept up on them, and the heat was starting to grow almost unbearable.
Panting, Issen turned to face Hyseada.
"Should we find shade?" she asked, uncertain.

Regret slowly began to creep up on Hysaeda, and he wondered then if it had been a good idea in the first place to take Issen to the city.  It was true that they were badly in need of supplies and if they were going to travel across the desert it was imperative for them to be as well-prepared as possible, and with what little funds they had, they had managed somehow.  But Hysaeda had never been a person to take things lightly.  And though they had only been there for a short time, Hysaeda had found that their time there had made them both heavier somehow.

He could tell there was something weighing Issen down by the way she walked, the way her hand gripped the leather of the reins.  He watched her because there wasn't much else to set his eyes on, and he had long trained to notice such things, the way a person carried themselves that went beyond their norm.  He had only known her for a short time, but it was time long enough to see that she was much more light-hearted than he.  He had to take some time to get used to people like that, for there seemed to be abundance in these sandy expanses.

The farther they got from the city, and with what little supply they had already, Hysaeda knew the quicker they traveled the better.  For all they knew, it could be more than a day to reach the next oasis as Issen had in mind.  Hysaeda was ever-doubtful.  The sun was getting higher in the sky, and there wasn't a cloud in sight, not a glint of darkness.  Just the reflection of light on the sandy surfaces around them; Hysaeda had to squint his swollen eyes to look ahead.

"There isn't any to behold...unless you wish to hide underneath a dune.  Perhaps we should let the horse rest.  She's sweating an awful lot.  Look, there, up ahead," Hysaeda said, pointing weakly in front of them to the dunes grew high with sand.

Issen nodded at Hyseada's statement.
You need rest, too, she  thought, though she didn't say it out loud. Maybe there she could  try to give him some medical treatment. Water, at the least.
The dune was further than it appeared, but they got behind it before the sun was  too far over head. Issen gave a triumphant grin as she turned around to help her companion off of the horse.

"Here, drink this..." she whispered as she rummaged through her bag, pulling out a water skin. The woman thought about giving the horse water, but she didn't know if she should let it drink through the bottle or pour some on the ground or if that would even be enough. Surely not; they'd have to find the oasis for that. The one nice thing about a cursed immortality was that drinking  wasn't required for her survival; that left more for Hyseada and the horse.  Issen pulled back the hood of her cloak. The ugly cut on her neck was starting to scar.
The woman frowned as she observed wounds.
"Do you have anything for those?" she asked as she sat down on the sand.
She was used to spending hours out in the desert sun, but she was beginning to grow weary, and the shade was welcoming.

Granted, the shade from the dune would not last long, and the wind was starting to pick up a little, carrying sand every which way in tiny short gusts, but he would welcome any that came their way.  Hysaeda faltered on his way off the horse and landed on his back in the sand with a heavy grunt.  "Ouch," he murmured.

But he found strength enough to sit up.  He took the water skin she offered and took a few tiny sips.  He had to conserve water if they were going to make the journey.  Holding the water skin in his lap, Hysaeda glanced up at her and back at his things.  He did have some things, a small roll of bandages, a container of an old salve that was growing quite ripe with age.

He took them out carefully and set them out carefully in the sand.  "This could work, he muttered.  "My father before he...before he died, was something of a medicine man, where I come from.  I was his student, so I have some...experience in making things that heal.  But in the desert, such things could be hard to find."

Issen frowned when she noticed that Hyseada drank only a little bit of the water. Didn't he want more? She listened attentively as he deliberately set out bandages and a  bottle of something that looked like paste. The woman set her eyes downcast as  he talked about his father. She could tell that her companion was close to him, and was still hurt by his death, though  she had no words to offer. Instead, the woman nodded as  she picked up the container as he spoke, opened it and sniffed it. The bitter and exotic earthly smell of the foreign salve caught her by surprise and she imminently drew herself back from it, wrinkling her nose.  

This will help? she wondered, as she  gently touched the side of his face, observing his wounds. The woman tilted her head to look behind it and hissed. From under his white hair, Issen could see the furious red and purple-blue bumps with some gashes.
"Move a little, please," the woman coaxed as she positioned herself so that his back was between her legs, quite similar to the way they had been sitting the night before. She picked up the container, opened the bottle again as she held her breath, and took out a small glob of the salve and started to apply it to his wounds. Since she was starting at the back of his head, Issen tried to keep Hyseada's hair out of the way as she worked.

The salve was pungent to say the least, even Hysaeda widened his nostrils and forced air through his nose to get it out.  But he used a special ingredient to ensure the potency of the salve, that even contained for a few years would still make it as effective, if not more, than when it was first mix.  But there wasn't much of it.  He remembered he left most of this things back to the place he'd once called home.  He was sure if he could make more if he found the right ingredients, but out here, who know when and where they were to be found.

Hysaeda adjusted to her directions, though even the slightest contact made him wince in reaction, but he steeled himself for the duration of her work.  He didn't think he'd been hit much on his head but he recalled that having fallen down several times, he had slammed his head pretty hard on the ground and there was light bleeding, staining the white of his hair, in some places on the back of his head.

He leaned his head down and whimpered slightly.  After a long string of silence, he finally sprung a question that he was unsure how she might take.  "How did you know you wouldn't die when you got your throat slashed?" Hysaeda asked, sounding more disturbed than he meant to.  He knew she wouldn't die, but it was different hearing her speak of it compared to seeing it for himself.  Just when he thought he saw everything.

The two sat in silence for a while. Issen worked as gently as she could, not wiling to cause Hyseada any further pain; it took all she had not to wince or apologize every time that he did. She started with the back of his head, but then moved to other areas on his face and upper torso. At his question, she only smiled and continued to work. Issen had  been expecting him to ask this since they  had left Essyrn. She wasn't dishearted, either, when he sounded quite disturbed; the woman figured it only normal. Of course he would want to know. If anything, she was grateful he didn't run off and just leave her. At least, he didn't do that, yet.

"I am forced to serve until I can break my contract with my true and original name," she smoothly recited, as if telling a fairy tale to a child.
"Until that moment, I'm 'alive', no matter what. Besides, my body heals quickly," the woman added this  last bit cheerfully as she finished nursing the last bruise on his upper body.
"It's not the first time someone's tried, you know," she said, almost as an afterthought, "Why else do you think the tomb's been unlooted for so long?"
She looked down at her fingers with disdain. They were going to stink for a while until she could find a place to wash them.
No matter.
"Did I miss any thing?" she asked, referring to his wounds.

Hysaeda complied where she silently directed him to do so.  The salve, old as it was, stung on contact with the wounds.  It would not be pleasant, and the smell would certainly be a negative factor, but as long as it did the job it was designed to do, what did it matter.  The swelling would go down, and the risk for irritation and infection would be minimized.  It would still take some time for the wounds to heal on their own, however, as that was neither expedited nor slowed.

He didn't think Issen would need such uses for the salve and he noticed already that the cuts she had received were already healing in a way.  She was remarkably well-preserved for someone who had taken the toll of centuries.  But being untouched and unmangled, generally did that.  And his interest was more piqued than his horror.  She truly was a remarkable piece or work.

Hysaeda, though it hurt to do so, actually grinned at the prospect.  "That is quite extraordinary," his tone now more thoroughly fascinated.  "It's still creepy, but very very...extraordinary."

"No, I believe you got everything."[/i

When she was done, he was starting to feel lighter and less achy.  He paused before putting his shirt back over his head, looking at the ragged thing with some disdain.  "The wind take you," he murmured before tossing it to a sudden high gust of air, which plucked it promptly away and out towards the dunes.  He grabbed for the other tunic he'd been given and admired it again before dressing himself once more.

"You know, when we left the city, you look like something bothered you a great deal.  What was the matter?"

Issen chuckled at Hyseada's statement. She didn't fully understand the words he had used, but she had gotten the gist that he was both somewhat impressed, despite the horror if it all. She nodded when he mentioned that she had gotten everything, and began to close the container. Her smile only grew when he spontaneously  threw his shirt away in the wind, and put on the new, red one.
"You wear it well," she said, admiring the effect.
Issen frowned as she looked over her shoulder, moving aside her cloak so she could see the damage where Rat  had ripped her clothes with his dagger. Though it was a clean cut and would be easy to fix, the woman was a little annoyed that it needed mending so soon.
Her mind was taken away from the clothes when the elf asked her what had been bothering her.

Issen gave him a look as if he had asked the most obvious thing in the world. She hugged her knees to her chest, furiously clinging onto herself.
"You were hurt," she replied, "And I wounded some of those men. Most likely killed one or two. Killed them. Ugh..."
Issen buried her face in her arms, trying to erase the images of their attackers. She could have just gave them the sack, and none of this would have had happened. However, Issen knew the things turned out the way they did because it was her choice.
I don't know whose more scared of me, right now, she mused.  The thugs or myself.  The woman let out a dry laugh as she suddenly threw herself back against the dune.
"I'm a fool, Hyseada," she muttered, closing her eyes with a smile. Her voice was muffled a little as she covered her face with her hands in an attempt to hinder any incoming tears.
 "But I'm glad that you're all right."

The horror on her face was plain to see.  Hysaeda found himself frowning along with her and could comprehend the terror with which she must be processing her own actions as of now.  Perhaps to her, killing was the last thing she had wanted to do.  In his own, it was a part of everyday life.  Conflict was the very epicenter of existence, yet it differed for different people as they adapted to their own ever-changing worlds.  He imagined that taking of another life, no matter the circumstances, did not sit well with her.

Hysaeda, despite the protests of every muscle in his body, scooted next to her and put an arm around her shoulder and leaned to put his head against hers.  "I don't imagine it was easy for you to do if you had to think about it," he said.  "It never is unless that is the world one grows up in.  It was for me, but even then it is never truly easy.  But you did it for the right reasons.  Not out of hate or desire for destruction, but to defend yourself and me.  I would have done the same for you."

Issen gently placed her head on Hyseada's shoulder, grateful for his comfort. Listening to his words, she dug her fingers into her face, the only visible part of it being the lone, thin scar running down her left cheek. The woman couldn't bear it anymore; she cried and sniffled and trembled for what seemed to be like a good few minutes. A bit loudly at first, but soon she quieted down to silence, letting it all out of her system.
"I'm so sorry," she muttered again for one last time, drying her tears with a grin.
The woman felt embarrassed for having a break down when it would appear that Hyseada needed more attention than she did.

She sighed as she cleaned her face, straightening herself up. Issen felt better now, loads more than before. The woman gratefully peaked Hyseada on the cheek.
"Thank you," she said with her usual smile, tugging playfully at his white hair.
The woman wondered how long it would take for his wounds to heal.
"We still have to name the horse," she said with a chuckle as she observed the majestic creature.
Now that Issen thought about it, it was rather funny how she purchased a horse without even knowing how to ride one.

Hysaeda blushed but offered a solemn grin nonetheless when she pecked his cheek.  Even if she had committed a rather heinous act, and unforgivable in her eyes, Hysaeda wanted to convey that he would not judge her for it, nor hold it against her, though most important of all, it was up to her to judge that of herself if at all possible.  He was feeling much better now, even if nearly his whole body was still sore.

He stood up and brushed himself off and looked at the animal.  He took the waterskin Issen had offered him and poured a little water in his hand, to let the tired horse drink a bit at a time.  The sun was rising higher and the shade of the dune was getting smaller by the passing.  When the horse had enough water, he put the skin away and scratched his head.  "We have to?" he said quite uncertain.  "I mean...to be honest, I've only ever rode one horse in my entire life for any extended period of time.  I'm not very fond of horses...except perhaps to eat, but I don't want to call her Pot Roast or Dinner...  That would be rude."

"Huh?" Issen exclaimed as Hyseada talked.
Suddenly, she started to break into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
For some reason, the woman found the idea of Hyseada eating a horse, a creature twice his side, was incredibly funny. Further more, she'd have thought horses, or at least camels, would have been the preferred method of travelling through a desert, unless one had a magical device.... Dinner? Really? Issen put it off as an elf thing.
"I don't know... how to... ride... " she confessed between gasps, grasping her throat.

"Ow, ow, ow," she whimpered, shaking her head.
Her neck was burning now, though she couldn't have helped it if she had tried.
I guess we'll sell her back for money at the oasis, Issen thought as she, too rose to her feet.
The woman began to pet the rather tame creature, trying to conjure a name. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to give it serious thought, her head resting against the mare's back. Finally, once she had her answer, the woman solemnly straightened her posture.
"I name thee Tahibat! Or Hibi," she said with a triumphant grin.
She gave Hyseada a smirk.
"It doesn't really mean anything," Issen noted,"But it'll do."

Maybe she was laughing but Hysaeda just stared at her in all seriousness.  It wasn't until the end of her roll did he find himself slightly giggling along, but it was a nervous chuckle at best.  What did she find so funny about it?  From what he knew, he figured not many people would eat a horse, since their value beyond the desert was so much more than simply an animal with which one might survive on, so he could understand why her reaction would be what it was.  He merely shook his head and stalked over to her.

"I like it.  Has a nice sound to it.  Perhaps we can give it a meaning," Hysaeda offered.  "And...well, I'm not the best rider in the world, but I can show you some of what I know.  My...good friend from many months ago had taught me how.  I gathered that there was more to it, but she taught me the basics.  It is actually very easy if you let it.  C'mon get on, I'll show you...  And we should beat the sun if we can, don't want it to get away from us."

Issen gave Hyseada a questioning look.
"Are you sure?" she asked, adjusting her sack onto her back and throwing on her hood to block the sun light. However, despite her doubts, the woman obediently grabbed hold of the saddle and tried to jump onto Tahibat. Her first time was an utter failure, and her back stung. Gritting her teeth, Issen pulled herself up again, but fell off. It took her one more try to finally sit  in the saddle, digging her heels into Tahibat's sides as she held on to the horse's mane as if for her dear life.
"Whoa," she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she looked down.
Issen hadn't realized how tall the horse was until she had climbed on; the distance to the ground was almost frightening.
"Who was your friend?" Issen asked as she  slowly straightened her posture.

"I am," Hysaeda gave a confident nod and watched as she attempted to mount the horse herself.  His eyes widened when she fell off the first time but he chuckled at her nonetheless.  "Are you all right? he asked needlessly just before she tried again...and fell yet again!  He was bursting with laughter now, and held his sore sides.  But he beamed when she at last made it on Tahibat's back.

"Easy!  Easy.  You gotta relax or the horse won't relax and then she might go bolting off.  Just breathe...relax, okay?"  Hysaeda held onto the reins so the horse wouldn't move too much, but it was clear her muscles were getting tense.

Hysaeda glanced up at Issen and his smile faded.   "Someone who helped me back home.  Someone I...loved...very much.  She was a good friend.  She saved my life many times.  But I don't know where she is now, or what she's doing...or even if she's still alive."

OOC: I've been spelling his name wrong this whole time, so sorry TT_TT
IC:

"O-okay," Issen replied, trying to relax.
She returned Hysaeda's answer with a quick nod and awkward pause. The woman turned her head away and bit her lip, not really knowing how to react. It shouldn't surprise her that he had someone he had loved very, very much like that. As a friend. Issen didn't think it had to do with jealousy more than the fact that she was now bound to the elf.... Somehow, she didn't think his friend, whoever she was, was going to like that, much.
If she was still alive.
"Maybe," Issen slowly said, trying to force a grin to cheer up the gloomy mood, "Maybe she's still alive. Maybe we'll find her. Suppose she's looking for you?"

The woman reached her hand out for her companion, indicating for him to jump on.

Hysaeda peered up with squinted amber-red eyes at her.  His face was still very sore, but already he was looking better and feeling better.  The salve, as old as it was, worked like a charm and already he moved almost like normal again.  He reached for her hand and squeezed it until he was by the horse's side again.

Hysaeda vaulted on and climbed into the saddle with minimal difficulty, riding behind Issen, Tahibat grunting and chuffing at the added weight, but the mare looked like she could handle herself well enough.  "Hand over the reins will ya?"  Hysaeda gripped the reins in his hands once they were handed over holding them around Issen and he nudged the horse to start across the dunes once more, leaving the coolness of the shade and heading out toward the oasis that had been promised in this direction.

"She might be.  She might not," Hysaeda said, giving a light rumble of a laugh through his chest.  "She was a mage knight from that country of magic I told you about, Serendipity.  I suppose she defected when she saved my life...broke me out of prison.  A prison that she brought me to in the first place.  I don't know why she did that; perhaps to stave off whatever guilt she had for putting me there, maybe she wanted to help me.  I never asked.  But she was a good person, and she was alive the last I saw her.  It's felt like years since then, though.  I don't know where she is, but I do not think she is looking for me.  Certainly not all the way in the middle of the desert.  Besides, I have you here to keep me company.  Not that I don't miss her, and I certainly do hope she is well.  But I'll never know if I'll see her again.

"I try not to think so hard about the future now.  Especially since now it is so uncertain.  But at least I am in good company."

OOC: I'm planning a time skip to the oasis, next post. Unless you wanna take it, lol
IC:

Issen gave an encouraging smile as she watched her friend boost himself onto the horse and gladly handed over the reigns. However, her relaxed body instantly became tense when the horse started to move.
"Whoa," she whispered, grabbing hold of Tahibat's mane.
She listened attentively to Hysaeda as she began to relax again. The woman didn't really understand the words 'mage knight'... But his tale intreged her. She broke him out of captivy? After putting him in there in the first place? And they became close friends?
How romantic, she thought, fascinated by the idea.

Issen gave a shy smile at his positive words about her company. She didn't bother thinking about what would happen if they meet again and nodded at his words about the future.
"What got you into prison in the first place?" the woman asked, curiously.

[Nope, feel free to take us there!]

Hysaeda paused, uncomfortable with the question as he recalled how he'd been treated down in those prisons.  It wasn't that he was treated poorly on purpose, but he supposed he'd brought it on himself for resisting.  And yet, it was perhaps one of the most sobering and somber experiences in his life.  He'd never felt so disconnected from the outside world than when he was in that cell.  And not simply from the world, from people per se, but from the earthen world that he knew, and every night he recalled hearing the heartbeat of the wild beat like an echo inside of him.  And the window provided him nothing more than a view of the city of stone that surrounded him.  He had felt weakened then, for though the food was not of the greatest quality and quantity, but because he felt the connection he had slowly begin to slip away, stealing his life with it.

"She was on a routine excursion...  She was investigating a series of raids on villages in the mountains to the north.  I was not one of them, but I was one of the only ones that were caught in the battle.  I don't know why I had traveled that far north, but I suppose I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  We were not friends then.  She took me back because it was her job to do so, and if she came back empty-handed, well...I don't know what would have happened.  But, though I didn't want to at the time...we slowly bonded.  We began to trust each other.  And I thought that maybe then she would let me go, wouldn't have to take me in.  But she did anyway.  I felt betrayed then, and I hated her for it, and I did not believe that she would come back for me.  My kind do not take to believing liars can easily be redeemed.  But she did, even though I didn't want her to.  She did and even though I didn't know why, she wanted to help me.  I didn't realize until later, much later, that it was because she had—"

Hysaeda stopped then and could not finish his sentence.

"Oh, I see," replied Issen to Hysaeda's somber tale.
The woman had difficulty understanding half of what he said, but she got enough out of it to understand the gist. Though it should have damped her spirits as it appeared it did for him, the tale seemed to only excite the woman. Two enemies of circumstance become best friends, but are somehow star-crossed? Her imagination began to run wild as she played out the tale in her head. It was only the ending that was bothering her; there was no closure. He hadn't told her what had separated the two of them. Issen would have asked, but she didn't dare to; though she was taking pleasure in something she probably shouldn't have had, the woman  deeply sympathized with his plight.
"One day," she firmly repeated.

Over time, Issen grew tired of riding horseback. Her butt was beginning to hurt,  her hair was starting to become dirty start to tangle. To distract herself from the discomfort from the ride and her wounds, she began to tell stories. Some she made up, others fragments of things she remembered from long ago. For a majority of the afternoon, she remained quiet, the sun steaming against their backs. Now and then, she hummed or sang, especially as the evening came.

For a while, the woman was starting to feel that they made a mistake.
No, that man had clearly pointed in this direction, she thought; he did mention it would take a while. But night was quickly approaching, and they were all weary, especially the horse. However, as the sky began to go from red to blue, they found themselves in the outskirts of a small city of tents. The woman could see the fire lights, and could hear the sounds of laughter and drums. Confused, but also delighted, Issen straightened her posture, and gave Hyseada a broad grin.
"We're here!" she exclaimed.
Suddenly, she felt rejuvenated, wishing Tahibat would move faster.

Talking about it was abrasive to the memory he had of leaving behind one of the only friends he'd ever known.  He'd never truly been a social creature, so any friends he did make were powerful bonds that were not easily broken.  So the memory was still fresh in his mind, but in the same turn, speaking of it pulled the world from his shoulders and he became a little lighter because of the cathartic moment.

The journey was a tiring one and the heat made it all the more arduous.  Hysaeda drank sparingly from the waterskin, though every particle of his body protested and desperately wanted more.  He stopped every now and again to give the horse water, for the animal was not made for desert wandering.  At last however, as the coldness of evening wind was setting in, they saw the settlement as their guide had promised and the winds were starting to pick up.

At last, Tahibat reached the edge and chuffed tiredly, nostrils raw and red from breathing hard.  Hysaeda leapt down from the saddle and held out his arms to help Issen down from the saddle as well.  The sight of water was a welcome one and he'd never seen so much vegetation in one place outside of Essyrn. "Quick refill the waterskins.  Tahibat looks like she's going to pass out."

Issen gladly accepted Hysaeda's help, and awkwardly climbed down from the horse.
"Omph," she muttered as she almost  collapsed as she landed. A queer sensation took over her body. Why did her legs feel so boneless?
She nodded at her companion's request, and began to lead the horse to the small lake. In truth, she was a little discouraged; she had been so eager to interact with the pople at the camp, immanently. She also couldn't really tell if Tahibat was going to pass out or not, but she had walked quite a long distance with two people on her back, so Issen sympathized with the poor thing. Besides, he told her to go do this first, so she had no qualms of doing so.

As quickly as she could, Issen got on her knees and began to fill the water skins. The mare, instead of waiting for Issen to feed her through her hands, boldly got by the woman's side and began to drink straight out of the pool. A startling rustling noise drew Issen's attention to a figure of a man that she had not noticed before. He was a kindly looking man with a round belly, a clean beard, and skin the color of the desert made darker by the sun. He wore a cap and long robes. He didn't look very intimidating, but  did have a sword drawn, which did make the woman flinch at the sight of. Still, his face was  not like those of the thieves; he looked curious and a little frightened, but seemed delighted at the prospects of travelers, should they be kindly.
"Who are you?" the sanctuary asked in rough Common, his light brown eyes going back and forth from Issen to Hysaeda.

His body was achy and tired all over.  Another fact about horse-riding that didn't sit well with him, having just as much wear on your body as you would from walking, and nearly your entire bottom went numb in the process.  Maybe it was just his own lack of significant experience with it that led his buttcheeks to feel like they had a swarm of bees over them, that tingling feeling that blood was returning to its proper place.  But they were here at the oasis now, and with results like that, Hysaeda had no room to complain.

He was about to help Issen with the water when a voice distracted him.  He was taken aback by the sudden reaction and all instincts in him told him to reach for his own weapon.  And his thoughts shot back to their departure of Essyrn only earlier that morning.  He didn't want any more unnecessary violence –Umbra spare him from shame at the thought—and he instead put his hands up and shook his head.  "We did not come here to disturb your camp.  We're just travelers passing through," Hysaeda said carefully.  "I am Hysaeda, and this is my companion Issen.  She doesn't speak much Common, at all really, being from a very...isolated location.  But I assure we both come in peace."

The man stared at them long and hard before opening his arms and smiling broadly.
"Welcome to our camp, guests! Please, come in," the man beckoned, "My name is Mir. You have come on a festive night..."
Issen smiled broadly at the man's welcoming gesture and quickly got up, picked up her things, and gently lead the horse into the camp as she walked by Hysaeda's side.
The man's expression darkened when he noticed  the scar on Issen's cheek, the most obvious and visual sign of their prior fight, though said nothing. Instead, Miir proudly explained that their tribe's leader's wife had given birth to a healthy set of twins a week prior, and they were throwing celebrations in honor of the event. Actually, she was his sister, and he had only just relieved the prior sanctuary of his duties to join in the fun. Besides, though he was an easy going man and was proud for his family, he wasn't very fond of drink.

"It makes people stupid and as needy as infants in the morning," he said with a chuckle.
 He pointed towards where the other horses were stationed, tied to a post under the shade of trees. They were still out of sight of the main campfire, where most of the people were gathered, but several men and woman had seen them come in and began to call out to them. All were in good cheer and welcomed the newcomers. Some even gave flirtatious cat calls, though those voices belonged to those who were drunk more so than others.  Issen started to attempt to tie Tahibat to the post, but Miir wouldn't let her.

"No, no, let Asiha do it," he said, calling over a boy who was eating a fig.  Miir ordered the boy to take care of the horse and turned to Hysaeda.
"Come with me," he said, "I shall introduce you to my brother-in-law, and let's see if we can't feed, comfort, and entertain you two. There's plenty of room and food to go around tonight, eh?"

The man chuckled as he observed Issen's reaction, who had been staring at him the whole time like a child entranced. She noticed that he seemed a little nervous about their presence. The woman turned towards Hysaeda.
"Do you think they have medicine to heal your wounds?" she asked.

Hysaeda had never been so used to so warm a welcome.  He might have had reasons to be wary in the past, but that was in the past.  Though he'd been here before, it seemed like a new and different world and all he could really was smile at the welcome of their new guide Miir.

"Oh, don't worry about my wounds, Issen.  They'll heal on their own.  We should have fun!  I think this is a better welcome than the one we had in Essryn, don't you think?  Besides, I think I could use a good drink.  And I think you'd want to mingle with these people for a while wouldn't you?  They'd be more than happy to share with us."

"Ah, I see you  know some of the Essyrnian tongue, do you, Hiss-ah-eda?  Or High-sey-da?  How do you say your name?" Miir asked, looking at him with perplexed brows.

"However, is most convenient for you," Hysaeda laughed and put an arm to loop through Issen's.  "Do you have any food?  We haven't eaten anything all day."

"Right this way, my friends.  Right this way!"

There before them was a skewered pig hanging over a pit, juiced and steaming, already cut open and partly eaten.  "We have meat if you like.  Or berries and other fruits a plenty if you don't."  Miir laughed and slapped Hysaeda on the back, hard enough to nearly making him fall headlong into the fire, but thankfully the Umbraeon caught himself just in time, holding on to Issen.  Miir walked away for a moment to dance with a few others that were calling for his attention.

"Well, at least they know how to be welcoming.  What would you like to do first?  Eat?  Have a drink?  Dance?"

Issen giggled as Hysaeda stumbled, holding firmly onto her friend. She nodded eagerly at his suggestion as her eyes hungrily watched the dancers. However, her body was a little too sore at the moment to join in, just yet.
"Eat... Have a drink," she gleefully repeated as she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where some others were eating and drinking.

The group whooped in delight as the pair joined them. They gave cries of welcome, good health, and how they were pleased to have visitors. They wanted to know everything about them as a woman kindly passed a bowl of fruit to Issen, who took out a mango and passed the bowl to Hysaeda. As the two were given cups full of wine, a small herd of men and woman, about five to six each, surrounded the two of them and began to ask questions.
"Where are you from? Where are you going? What's your name?" one asked Issen in Essyrian, "I am Lanindi, Miir's wife. My husband says you  seem to understand this language, yes?"


Issen nodded, over joyed that she had some way of communicating with others. Still, she had to be careful using the older tongue, but this was better than nothing.
"Yes. Issen," she replied as she sipped her drink and wrinkled her nose.
The others laughed at her reaction, and encouraged her to drink up. The woman didn't dare refuse, so she took a deep breath and chugged the rest of it, to their amusement. Issen's face flushed from embarrassment.  It wasn't a wholly unpleasant drink and was kind of sweet.

"Wai, look at her! Eat up, eat up!" the woman chirped to each other, giggling as they poured her another.  However, it seemed that they had no  intentions of letting the poor woman eat, as they started chattering about themselves and pointed towards Miir's sister, who was siting in front of the fire with two bundles in her arms. They began to ask Issen questions such as what was her relationship with Hysaeda, why did she have a scar on her face, and if  she would please dance with them later. The woman chattered like birds and Issen tried her best to keep up, offering simple answers when she could. She was starting to feel a little light headed and very giddy. The fire light glowed brighter, and the dancers movement captivated her.

Hysaeda's fate was no better. The men tried to get to know him better. Some eyed his ears in curiosity and yet  one tried to stand up taller in his presence, as if trying to prove he was as much a man as the elf, if not more so. They  encouraged him to eat and drink his fill, some clapping when Issen finished her cup.

Hysaeda was as taken by these inhabitants as Issen was and he barely said a word to any of them other than Miir that did not include more than a yes or no answer or a shake or nod of his head.  He was clearly overwhelmed by everyone and all their questions, but there was no indication that it was unwelcome.  He fell in with them quickly, much quicker than he was used to.  He certainly was not accustomed to all the attention he was getting from his ears alone.  Some of them touched his ears, surprised that they flicked on contact.  Others went so far as to grab them, yanking on them a little to see if they were real.

He could understand Issen never having seen an elf before, but he expected these to be a little receptive to the thought.  But maybe this settlement was as far of the map as he suspected after all.  Whatever the case, Hysaeda humored their curiosity and when it was all done with, his ears were more than a little sore.

They offered him wine and he vigorously shook his head.  "I've drunk stronger drinks in my day.  I'm just letting you know now," he laughed, but they just laughed in return and shoved the cup in his hand anyway, without spilling a drop.  He looked at his wine cup with some caution and sniffed it.  It was quite strong and when he took it to his lips, he ended up gulping half of it down and it sent a buzz right to his head.  The look on his face was also cause for amusement and one man fell back holding sore sides.  But damn was it good wine.  He drank the rest of it and he chuckled as Issen drank hers as well.

He fraternized well with the men but did not feel the need to match muscle with them.  Once he was done with his first drink, they handed him another and another, until he felt his belly sloshing with wine and food.  All the while he kept an eye on Issen, seeing how she was with the others.  He conversed with the men as they asked him questions as well, asking where he came from, were there more like him, and how he met Issen, and where they were going, etc.  He did not relay to them all the details, for there was only so much he could tell, but he told of their journey, of meeting Issen in an isolated place, though was careful not to say 'tomb' and of Essryn and the merchants and the sandworms, and the gang that attempted to rob them.

That certainly explained the bruises, one man thought, and he sneered at Hysaeda, "I do not believe that you and her fought a gang of thieves and came out alive.  You say you possess special fighting skills, but yet you came out looking like the bad end of a sandworm.  You are a funny one, my friend.  You tell good stories.  But you also tell many lies."  And he proceeded to laugh at Hysaeda and a few others joined in with him.

Hysaeda only nodded his head and smiled.  He was used to hazing and ridicule, but the tone of this man was not very threatening and nor did he have a mind to take it as such.  "That is all right, Vinmir," he said, calling him by his name.  "Where I come from, words are not easily enough cause to come to blows.  And I have had enough fighting for one day.  But what I do feel like doing is dancing...  Where I come from, dancing can be just as dangerous as fighting."

"More lies!" the man called Vinmir roared and the other men and women that were looking over joined in with him.  "Dancing and fighting!  Why don't you show us some of this dancing and fighting!?  Go on!"  Others piped in, in agreement and began to whoop and cheer.  Hysaeda said nothing and simply got to his feet.  He carried his liquor well, and did not feel light-headed or whoozy.  He reached down and pulled up the fine shirt he'd just received as to not dirty it with more sweat and sand and grime.  He walked over and handed it off for Issen to hold.  And he then moved away from the talking group to give him space enough to demonstrate.

It is forbidden to exhibit any of the tiers of Gien-Kai'ran to any outlander, to anyone not of his kind.  Yet, there were many things that he had done that had been forbidden and though he might never do so at home, he was no longer there.  This was a new and different world, and he could make some exceptions to the rules he once lived by.  Hysaeda took his stance and breathed outwardly as he waved his arms around his head, performing the first tier of meditation, turning his arms and hands and arms into various postures and hand formations, using all the muscles in his body to go from tense to completely relaxed as he did so.  He moved with a great deal of grace, softly, smoothly.  The music players began to drum and pipe to his movements, playing in tandem to where he stepped and soon he began to move faster.

He moved into the higher tiers, kicking and striking the air in a shadow play, using all limbs and striking points.  From his elbows to his head to his knees and knuckles and toes.  And soon his movements resembled as much a dance as he'd claimed.  He crouched low and swayed from leg to leg and promptly leaping up when he peaked on the opposite leg, throwing a knee strike into the air and coming down to the ground in a roll, where he abruptly shot higher into the air in a spinning kick.  He landed beside the fire pit, and spun on his heel, putting his back to it, and vaulted over the raging fire despite its intense heat in a backflip – all in one fluid motion.  He cartwheeled back to them and somersaulted right over Vinmir's head, stealing the wine cup as he did so and somehow managed to land without spilling a single drop of it.  He downed the wine in one gulp and tossed the cup back to Vinmir as he crouched.  He looked up, and tensed all the muscles in his body once again before dashing toward Vinmir once more.  The man, surprised, ducked his head in his arms and Hysaeda again vaulted over him with such impossible grace, spinning his body as he did so to land in front of him in a bow-like crouch, realizing only then that he was covered in sweat and turning up his head to peer at the settlers, unsure of their reaction.

OOC: Eragon? :P btw, sorry for responding to these things a few days after.. Was at a con ><  

IC:
   
    Issen was offered another goblet full of wine and she consumed it a bit more slowly than last time. Her cheeks flushed, the woman gave a confused smile as Hysaeda carefully took off his tunic and handed it over to her.
"Why did you give this to me?" she asked, hugging the garment close to her as she watched him approach the fire. The dancing men and women near by had suddenly stopped and moved to make a clearing for the elf; something important was going on.
Thrilled, Issen instantly rose to her feet, her body shaking from excitement.

She watched as her companion dance in the fire light, accompanied by the sound of drums and pipes. She watched as his body swayed, how he crouched, how he kicked, how he turned... It was an odd dance of sorts, graceful and powerful and entrancing. Most of the crowd watched in silence, most captivated in the sense of awe Issen held. The woman gasped and took a step forward as Hysaeda leaped into the air and jumped higher than she had thought was possible. However, her initial shock was replaced with a loud fit of gay laughter as Vinmir ducked and as Hysaeda gulped down the rest of his wine.
Show off, she couldn't help but think as she clapped and ran over towards his side, presenting him his shirt as tears rolled down her eyes.
"That was fantastic!" she cried, the light dancing in her eyes.  Suddenly, she gave a frown of concern.
"You better had not hurt yourself further, Hysaeda!"

Some of the people nearby, including the sheepish Vinmir, shot the woman flustered or confused looks, but most of the others seemed to have shared her mirth. A very large and broad shouldered man with dreadlocks and visible scars on his face and arms approached the two. A broad grin was spread across his face, and the other settlers seemed to stand more erect in his presence. It was clear that this man was a figure of authority. He clapped and touched a hand over his heart before touching Hysaeda and Issen gently on the shoulders.
"That was delightful! We have been blessed to have you as our guests! Mir was right to have welcomed you."
The man pointed towards an amused Mir, with a young girl sitting atop of his shoulders.
The crowd of natives burst into whoops and cheers and the wild music started up again.
The Chief chuckled and drew back.
"I'll let you two be. Be rest assured you will have lodgings for the night.  Let your mind be at ease; thievery and violence is not tolerated among our kind. You two must meet my wife and children afterwards and tell us your stories in the morning! But for now, enjoy the dance. Good fortune to you two both..."
The man gave another bow and walked away.

Soon after, the men crowded around Hysaeda once more as a woman approached Issen, tugging eagerly at her sleeve, beckoning for her to come. Issen gave her elf friend one last glance before being dragged into a circle dance of the woman. They were playing a game; one woman did a dance move, and the others followed suit. Delighted, Issen mimicked each and every chest lift, snake arms, undulation, hip circles, shimmies and twirls... Though sometimes she fumbled, Issen had danced for over the span of many life times; most of this, to her surprise, wasn't new to her. Her steps a little drunken, the woman swayed and isolated her movements with the best of them.

When it came to be her turn, the woman decided to not be completely out done by Hysaeda's performance and began to move her belly so that a different part stuck out smoothly, as if something was rolling through it. The more she did it, Issen leaned backwards, holding out her arms and rolling her shoulders to the beat of the music. She tried to ignore the pain coming from her left shoulder, though the drink had helped numbed it quite a bit. She bent her knees and kept carefully going until she was on the floor and her head almost touched the ground. Slowly and carefully the woman brought herself back up again, this time doing a simpler undulation to bring herself back up as she snake armed.  Some woman were able to go a bit backwards, but no one had the strength or balance Issen had. Her body now erect, the woman tossed her hair backwards as she shimmied her hips, moved her arms, and playfully moved her chest in circles before allowing the next woman to have her turn.

Some of the men, in turn, had their own circle, and were playing a very similar  game the woman had. They danced in a similar way,  their arms interlocked as they moved around a  drummer in a circle. There was another group of dancers, in which men and women twirled and danced together in a different style; it was more of a frenzied folk dance more so than belly dancing. This group had caught Issen's attention; she wanted to join in with Hysaeda, but she would just have to wait to ask until after the last woman had finished her part in contributing to the impromptu dance.

[What about Eragon?  Sorry, I've never read the book, so I'm lost!  And no worries.  Hope you had fun!  And this (//http://youtu.be/EaB40yQKpiY) song just kept playing over in Hysaeda's head in this post.  Or at least I imagine it would xD]

Hysaeda for the moment, was busy catching his breath.  Even with extended endurance he still got tired, but he wasn't tired enough yet to retire from the festivities.  Umbraeon celebrations were very much like this, though celebrations would last for weeks on end and often had an increase in the number of pregnancies by the end of them.  And it seemed the leader of this settlement had given them the honor of gracing them with their presence.  Hysaeda bowed his head and nodded assuring the men that they would give them no problem.

Hysaeda had had enough dancing for the time being.  He stood on the sidelines, his shirt draped over his shoulder rather than putting it back on.  The air was feeling far too good to him right now and he enjoyed the moment before other men urged him to join in their dancing circle.  After the show he had just given them, they would not take no for an answer it seemed, though he certainly refused several times.  They dragged him in and showed him their own moves which, after a few demonstrations, he began to mimic with greater ease.  He swung his hips and hitched his shoulders and moved as if he'd been doing it all his life.

But as he glanced over to Issen, Hysaeda stopped and stepped back a little from the dancing crowd as he watched her dance.  His grin slowly faded and his eyes were riveted to her very movements.  They followed her everywhere, each twist and turn and undulation and shimmy and hair shake.  And suddenly he couldn't look anywhere else, and he felt his face growing flushed and his blood flowing hotly inside of him.  His heart accelerated with a heavy, echoing beat that resonated through his body like the emptiness of a cave, so much that he could hear the beating in his own ears.  He was breathless for a long time and was hard-pressed to turn his attention back to the dance at hand, as they nudged him to take his turn again.

OOC: The story has a similar elven meditation system. I'm not saying you copying anything; I just like that connection is all. xD And Hysaeda has good taste.  And lol at the pregnancies.

IC:

    It was a long while before the women's circle broke up. Exhilarated, Issen bounced back to the food and drinks. She had seen Hysaeda take a break before, and looked relaxed. The woman took pleasure in knowing her companion was having as much fun as she was. For a few minutes, Issen watched him dance with the other men, a broad grin spreading on her face. He was graceful and quick, that was for sure. As if enchanted, her eyes were on her companion as she watched him dance, her gaze drawn to the power and grace in his steps, the contour of his body, and how the light played tricks with his tattoos. The woman hugged herself, her finger tips touching the outlines of the beautiful tree on her back. She frowned and bowed her head,  suddenly feeling rather overwhelmed. Issen's break was brought to an end, however, as she was approached the join some of the others in a folk dance.

Of course, Issen agreed. She danced with both men and woman, in lines and in partners.  Now and then, she would stop to drink something someone offered. Everything was starting to become even a bigger frenzy, and Issen's mind became clouded. She laughed more loudly and began to spout words that the others could not understand, but she was pretty sure she had been carelessly been reciting lines of poetry in her language. The woman danced with a wilder pace, and become bolder in her movements. Eventually, the others from the men's circle and women's broke up so that they could all join in the joyous dance. Taking the opportunity, she flew to Hysaeda's side, before the others could nab him.
"I'm so happy you're here. Dance with me, please!" she begged with a merry laugh as she threw her arms around him.

[Haha.  Well, that's good to know.  I didn't know that. xD  And yes he does!]

Hysaeda had taken in two more cups of wine and was starting to feel warm and cold all over, a pleasant feeling that was running shivering sensations all through him.  Though he danced and smiled, all the while he kept his eyes on Issen and was pleased that she was having as good a time as he was.  In fact he couldn't think he could have more fun.  And chaos was gradually erupting from around him and suddenly everyone was dancing with everyone else.

He'd dropped his shirt somewhere in the chaos and he leaned down to pick it up when abruptly he felt arms come around him, nearly knocking him over.  "Whoa!"  He laughed though when he saw that it was Issen.  "I thought you would never ask.  You dance very well.  But don't be ashamed if you can't keep up with me," he said haughtily and with a great deal of challenge.  He held her close, hands feeling along her sides as he hugged her back.

Issen giggled even more at his surprise and hugged him tighter.
"Mmm," she hummed in agreement, giving a mischievous grin as she tugged gently at one of his white braids.  The woman would just have to show him up, then. She'd show him who was the more sure footed! Issen took in a moment to enjoy his skin pressed against her clothes, his hands sliding down her curves. In his arms she gently swayed before abruptly breaking away to spin, dragging him along with her. Her eyes fell to the tunic on the ground, which she bent down to pick up.
"You ought to take  better care of your things, Hysaeda," she playfully scolded as she handed it over to him.  

She waited for him to put his shirt on, but began to dance by herself, impatiently waiting for him to hurry up and join her.  The woman had every intention of showing him up as best as she could. To the beat of the drums and the strum of the instruments, she began to move her body, losing control over her actions. Issen didn't know what she was doing; she spun, swayed, stepped, and jump. She was more often than not graceful, but she slipped every now and then, laughing it off. It was wild and raw, and Issen grabbed hold of Hysaeda, as if he was the only thing that provided some sort of structure in the chaos of the music.

Hysaeda felt his blood warming up again and his skin was starting to perspire and he gulped when he realized he'd been staring at her for a long time.  He broke out of it when she spun away to retrieve his shirt on the ground.  He was a little distracted at first, unsure as to what she wanted him to do with it before he got the message.  He slipped it over his head, though it was quite dirty now but he dusted himself off before watching her dance all over again.  

And then suddenly, nothing else seemed real.  She pulled him close, held onto him like he was the only material thing in this crazy world.  His hands touched her intimately, feeling along her hips.  His breath shuttered as he leaned his face in close to hers and he could smell the sweetness of her skin.  If she was serious about this dance competition between them, he was losing by the minute.  He swayed to her rhythm and stepped in tandem with her.  He could hear his heart in his ears as he ground his hips against hers.

But he only smiled at her as he spoke.  "Why did you come rushing to dance with me?" he asked breathlessly.

OOC: In case you're confused of what I'm talking about later on, it would look like this: XOXOXO : all the X's would hold each others's hands, and all the Os would do the same.
 
IC:
Issen found herself holding her breath as she found Hysaeda's hands once more holding her by her hips. A rush swept over her body as he leaned in closer, and she lifted her face for  a moment so that her forehead could touch his. Though the dance was chaotic and her mind clouded, some how this was different. It was strange and had its own sense of fire,  but she felt an odd sense of peace as their bodies pressed pressed against each other.
Oh.
So this was how people embraced each other? it had been so long, too long, she had forgotten the sensation.
It feels nice to touch warmth, again, she thought as she winded her arms around Hysaeda's neck.

"Just because," she coyly replied in his ear.
She returned his smile with a bright one as she swayed in his arms. Too soon did   the song finish and a line dance was picking up, one where people held hands with the people next to the ones standing next to them.  In this way, everyone's hands were interlocked and woven. So Issen laughed and tried to get Hysaeda to come along. The crowd separated the two so that they were a bit of a ways apart, but Issen didn't mind, not too much. Her eyes could still find him, and she didn't mind joining hands with these kind and wonderful strangers. No, they were her friends now.

The dance was the last of the night, for the fires were going down and the night would soon give into the very early hours of the morning.  After the dance was finished, the oasis' leader stood at the head of the fire, with a bundle in his arms. His proud and beautiful wife stood beside him with another as he thanked everyone for the lovely celebration. He welcomed Issen and Hysaeda once more, which pleased Issen, and then playfully warned everyone that he expected them to "get back to work in the morning."
The woman was almost disappointed. She found herself exhausted, though she didn't want this night to end; Issen imagined she could keep on going, if she wanted to, though she knew that wasn't true.

As the celebrations were drawing to a close, with groups of people gaily chatting with one other as others made for their tents, Lanidi approached Issen, and beckoned Hysaeda to follow. She looked just as exhausted as Issen was, but bore a kind smile.
"Come, we have set up a tent for you two. Your things are there, and there is pitcher full of water and a bowl for washing as well as blankets and pillows for sleeping," she  said.

And suddenly Hysaeda woke up out of his daydream and found himself broken up from Issen as he was dragged away into a line dance.  His body, like an automaton followed their steps mindlessly before realizing where he was and what he was doing.  He laughed and joined in their gaiety for the time being, forgetting he had been with Issen and when he'd met her eyes, they gleamed with a newfound joy.  He forgot all about his previous troubles, his memories, and even the man he knew as his father.  Here the smoke and fire that filled the air came only from the flames and energy of dancing.

Soon the last dance was over and the chief returned to them with a child in his arms and his wife next to him.  Hysaeda nodded and thanked her for the lodgings as they were led to them.  Hysaeda bowed his head as he shook their hands, thanking them again before going inside the tent.  He slumped down on the blanket like a puppet thrown on the ground and was well and truly exhausted.

"Issen!  This must be a dream.  It must!  I can't remember having this much fun in my life!" he breathed.

Accompanying Lanidi were her brother and sister in laws. Issen thanked them every time Hysaeda did, though her eyes couldn't peel off from the babies. The drunken woman reached out to touch the one in  the Chief's wife's arms, gently on the cheek.
Issen squealed with delight as she was allowed to gently stroke the sleeping child's cheek; the rest of it's body was wrapped up firmly in blankets. She tugged at Hysaeda's sleeve and began to babble in excitement, though she was gently hushed by Lanidi.
"Sorry," Issen sheepishly replied.
Lanidi asked her in jest if there were no babies where Issen was from, but to their surprise, Issen nodded. However, there was no more questioning, and the Chief repeated that he must see the two in the morning before the three wished them a good night.

Issen watched them go for a moment before joining Hysaeda in the cozy tent. Though it was dark, she could tell that though the tent outside was made out of animal hide and thus a normal brown color, the blankets and pillows were of vibrant colors and patterns.
Not to mention warm, she thought as she clumisly sat down next to Hysaeda.
She laughed at his statement and nodded.
"Such a lovely dream," she replied with a happy sigh.
The woman yawned and began to undress so that once more, she was down to her brown dress.

The woman set her clothes  in a neat pile next to her things, including her cloak, which have been  brought there by the people of this oasis. That task done, Issen eagerly climbed under the covers and snuggled next to the elf.
She let out a happy humming noise as she closed her eyes as her body began to relax.
"I'm glad we came here," she muttered, half asleep.

Hysaeda, though quite tired, could not easily forget the sensations he'd felt earlier when he saw Issen dancing.  It had been years since he'd seen someone dance like that and though there were other women there with as much skill as she, perhaps it was because she was his companion.  He didn't know he had it in her, but frankly he was glad he found out about it.

Their hosts had provided them some thin pads to sleep on to keep them off the cold tent bottom.  It was slightly more comfortable than the floor and Hysaeda was grateful for them.  Hysaeda turned on his side to face her and he had a smile on his face.

"I think it was our only choice or else we would have died out here.  Well, one of us would have anyway," he remarked.  "But I'm glad we did too.  You look a little woozy.  How much wine did you have to drink?" He chuckled a little before leaning in to press his forehead against hers. After a while, when he was starting to get more tired, he breathed a sigh and said, "I'm glad to have met you, Issen.  Thank you for being here...with me."

Issen squirmed uncomfortably as Hysaeda mentioned that "one of us" would have died.
"Don't say that," she pouted, like a young child.
The woman couldn't stay upset at the elf for very long; his next statement and question made her chuckle as his face touched hers. Issen playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
"Some?" she replied, though this were clearly an understatement.
"It was gooood..."
In the following period of silence, Issen closed her eyes, enjoying the intimacy. Their brief exchange got her alert enough to not fall asleep as instantly as she should, so the woman tried to calm herself down once more. The sound of his breathing and the feel of his pulse was almost like a lullaby, lulling her to sleep.

Her eyes half open, Issen smiled at Hysaeda's words. She wanted to tell him that she had so much more to be grateful for, that he had freed her from what would have been an eternal prison. She could go on and on, but Issen was exhausted, and thus she was in no mood to be  as so eloquent. Instead, her eyes met his briefly as she gently touched one of his ears. She couldn't help herself; it was so close by, and so entertaining.
"Same. A thousand times over.," she said, "You gave me life."
Like those babies.
 Issen chuckled at that silly, happy thought as she closed her eyes, again. She drew her hand back to cradle her head.
"Good night," she whispered as her consciousness succumbed into the darkness.

Morning came and Hysaeda had gotten up early with the dawn as he was used to doing.  He needed a bath, after all the festivities of the night before and was careful as he could be when getting up from his spot without waking Issen.  He headed toward the pool of water too early for anyone to be up but the horses and the handler and the one that was keeping watch.  He waved in greeting and undressed carefully before heading into the pool.

The day was not yet hot and dawn was barely coming up over the horizon.  Yet the oasis was adequately lit enough for him to be aware of all his surroundings.

As Hysaeda left, Issen moaned and rolled under the covers, her body sensing the lost of heat. Still, her rest went otherwise undisturbed until an hour or so after dawn. The woman yawned as she pulled the covers over her head; for some reason, her head kind of hurt. She wanted to go back to sleep, but then suddenly realized that she really really had to use a bucket.  Now. Luckily, there had been one set up in the tent and Hysaeda wasn't there, so she quickly took care of her business before washing her hands and face. The woman felt her cheek, neck, and shoulder. Just as she suspected, the wounds were practically all gone. The one on her face was rendered to a light scar, and though the scarring on her back and on her neck were a bit more obvious, she knew that soon, too, they would be gone.

Donned in just her brown gown, Issen re braided her hair so that it fell behind her neatly and looked at the tear in her red over dress in dismay; she was going to have to fix that. But how? She had no thread or needle. With a sigh, Issen picked up the bucket and took it out side the tent so it wouldn't stink up the place. She left it outside, in the back, and began to make her way towards the horses. The day was just beginning to start for some, though most were sleeping in a little extra because of the amount of drink they had the night before. Her mare greeted her with a snort, allowing her to pet her.
"Good Morning, Hibi," she muttered, still a little sleepy as she squinted her eyes to look out towards the pool. It was glimmering under the sun's light, the waters blue and clear.

His healing did not fair nearly as well as Issen's did, but the swelling went down significantly and there was little more than light bruising and the beginning of scarring.  By the time she woke up, he was bathed and dressed in clean clothes, or as clean as is clothes could get.  He was eating fruit by the waterside and had a bit left over when he saw her emerge and walk toward the horses.

"Good Morning, my friend," he said and wandered to her side.  He offered her the rest of his meal and put an arm around her.  "You know, I've been wondering.  Even though we're travelling, I wanted to know if you would mind staying here a few days.  Unless you would mind."

Issen  turned to find Hysaeda approach from her side. He was fully dressed and clean. He seemed to be healing properly, which pleased the woman as she walked over towards him.
"Good morning!" she repeated, beaming as he offered her the fruit.
Issen picked up a piece and indulged in its sweetness as she carefully listened to his request.
Stay here? For a few more days?
Issen's eyes widened in excitement.
"Can we?" she asked in mid gasp.

This was wonderful news! Of course, had he said that they were to leave that very afternoon, she wouldn't have minded terribly, as well. The woman personally didn't see herself as having much say in the manner; whatever he decided, she was obliged to follow.
Still, it was nice that he had asked, and she did like the people here. It helped that they spoke in a language she could understand.
I need to make an effort to learn Common, she thought, determinedly.

Suddenly, she recalled her clothes, which needed fixing. She was about to ask Hysaeda about it, when they were approached by a young boy. Issen recalled his face; it was Ashiha, the child who had helped with their horses the evening prior.  
"Miss Issen! Mister Hysaeda!" he exclaimed, pronouncing their names, slowly. He looked a little surprised, as if he hadn't expected them here.
The boy had brushes  in buckets in his hands; it was clear he had come to help with the horses.

"Mama was looking for you two. She said Chief Umar wanted to see you two at his tent when it is time for the mid-day meal with his family and council."

[What happened to her clothes that made them need fixing?  And a dusk tiger is just a fictional tiger I made up the lives in the desert, nocturnal with spikes along its head and back.]

Hysaeda nodded in assent.  He was curious about these people and wished to learn more about them if he could.  And the best way he thought to do that was to live among them.  And it wouldn't hurt that issen would learn a thing or two as well.  It pleased him that she found more people with which to socialize with.  Already she was picking up language as if it had been with her whole life.

Just then the boy that tended to Tahibat the previous evening came running toward them.  Hysaeda nodded at his message and bowed his head.  "We will be there right now.  Thank you for the message.  Oh and, thank you for taking care of our horse, in case I forget to thank you later."  Hysaeda nodded and nudged Issen on the shoulder.

"We should see the Chief," Hysaeda put an arm around her and began to walk in the direction of the chief's tent.

Chief Umar's tent was the largest of all the tents in the oasis and to be honest, Hysaeda was fairly intimidated by the décor of it.  It was mounted with lizard heads and animal skins.  And Umar himself had teeth around his neck from the mouth of a dusk tiger, and wore loose cotton clothing as he welcomed Hysaeda and Issen into his tent.  Hysaeda, however, pushed Issen forward first.

OOC: It got torn through at the shoulder where she was stabbed. She's being anal about it because the garments are new and pretty. XD

IC:

Issen listened politely to the boy, though she didn't understand a word he had said. Her eyes shifted towards Hysaeda as he responded to the child's message and bowed his head.  Following along, Issen mimicked her companion's gesture before awkwardly trotting as he suddenly began to to lead her to the Chief.
"Huh? Really?" she asked as she matched her pace with his.
Issen was confused, to say the least, but she figured she'd get her answers soon enough. Besides, judging by the previous night's events, the man and his family were kind and hospitable. She was starting to like them, and was eager to get to know the people more.

As they approach the tent, Issen took in a sharp breath.
"Whoa," she muttered in awe.
The woman was captivated by the decorative tent. It looked like something out of her imagination, a home worthy of a valiant war general or even a manipulative sha-man. The tent flap was open as the Chief personally welcomed the two inside, closing it behind them. Issen exclaimed in alarm as Hysaeda nudged her to greet him first and clumsily bowed before him.
"Good morning, friends!" he boomed, "I trust you both slept well, yes?"
"G-good morning," Issen stuttered back, her eyes fixated on the teeth around his neck. She eagerly pointed at them as they walked inside.
"Hysaeda, we still have those sand worm teeth, don't we?" she exclaimed.

Ignoring her question and potentially rude gesture, the chief instead focused on the scar on her neck and on her cheek. His eyes narrowed in deep thought, but didn't comment on it. Instead, he turned towards Hysaeada, and beckoned them to sit by him on giant pillows on rugs which surrounded a small table. The man instructed for the elf to sit by his side, where as Issen was invited to sit on  the opposite side. Umar's wife poured them all glasses of juice. She then placed a tray full of hard bread and a bowl of paste on the table. Issen noted that it looked similar to the Essyrn dish that she had the morning before, but said nothing.  Finally, she took her place beside Issen, giving her a friendly smile.
"You slept well?" she asked.
Issen nodded. The two began to chatter idly for a bit about the village and the new borns, who were with Lanindi, before Issen leaned in to whisper in her ear, inquiring about something. The woman clicked her tongue as she noticed the tear, and nodded.
"After," she promised, "We have a lot  to talk about."

Meanwhile, Umar urged Hysaeda to eat and began to talk about how happy he was that the two had came to their village, how strong of a dancer Hysaeda was, and about the village and its people. However, his lighthearted tone took a more serious turn after he had drained his first glass.
"Now, tell us your story. You two are quite an enigma to the villagers," Umar said with a  cautious smile.
"What brings you on this journey? Be not afraid to speak; what is said here is confidential."

[Ah, I remember then!]

This was more than generous, even for the likes of Hysaeda.  Being of humble origins, he felt rather overwhelmed by it all and sat beside Umar as he requested.  His legs were more than a little sore from the night before and he folded them with a tense ease in a meditative style.    Hysaeda ate a little of the bread.  It was harder than he liked, but still satisfied his appetite.

Hysaeda suddenly felt defensive as Umar asked his questions.  He frowned and sighed.

"It is a long story to tell, Umar," Hysaeda began a little reluctantly.  But he began nonetheless.  He told Umar the tale of him coming to the desert, of the destruction of his village, of the betrayal of his people by the leader of his clan, and his finding of Issen in a strange tomb.  He wasn't sure what to say more about Issen, what might be believed versus what was brushed off as lies.  "She's a special girl," Hysaeda settled on saying.  But she has been with me for a while and she is very important to me.  But I think it would do her some good to stay here and learn more about your kind of people.  I am not of the desert lands, and here is a place where her heritage has been...lost to her so to speak."

Umar and his wife listened intensively to Hysaeda's tale. His wife would every so often translate breathlessly each part of the story to Issen, who soaked in as much as she could. The woman had never heard some of of these details  of her companion's history before, and it made her insides hurt, like her heart had been clutched in the claws of a beast. Up until the point about Issen, the couple had their shares of gasps and solemn nods of sympathy. However, as Hysaeda hesitantly described Issen's origins, the two began to exchange glances, their eyes shifting from Hysaeda to the woman. Umar's wife rapidly translated the last section for Issen, causing the woman to  blush at the compliments her companion bestowed upon her and bow her head.

"Is it true?" Umar's wife asked the woman.
 She seemed amused by Issen's bashfulness, but the somber tale kept her from breaking into a full grin. Issen locked her eyes with Hysaeda, as if telling him it was okay, before turning her attention towards the Chief, and then back towards his wife.
"Yes, Rinya," she softly replied, for that was the Chief's wife's name.
Issen sat up straighter, her head held high and proud.
 "It's true. I am the nameless Tomb Guardian of Essyrn Old," she declared with the air of royalty. In truth, Issen was just indulging her more dramatic flairs, but it seemed to have a positive effect.

Umar nodded, as if everything was starting to line up. He curiously did not seem to take what Hysaeda said as conjured lies, but as an undeniable fact.  
"So when you two were attacked back at Essryn," he said, his eyes focused on Issen as he made a gesture towards his own throat, "They tried to kill you but could not?"
Rinya quietly translated this for Issen, who quickly nodded.  Umar paused before continuing.
"I would normally not believe such tales," he admitted, "But those are fatal wounds, and her scars are healing quickly. Yes, I have heard tales of this woman," he said in a low voice, "Some say shes a ghost that wanders the desert in search for her lost beloved. Others say that she guards the tomb of a prince of old and kills any man that enters. Old wives' tales, of course.  Stories  passed down to our children... To think that you'd have brought the Spirit of the Desert with you."

As  Rinya  began to  translate all of this to Issen, she giggled.
"Really?" she asked with a grin.
On one hand, it pleased her greatly that she was a legend. Of course she hadn't killed anyone in the tomb; she had only scared would-be thieves off. Still, her mind turned towards the events of the day prior, and she shuddered.  
Maybe I'm not so different than my portrait, she mused.

Umar placed a hand on Hysaeda's shoulder and shook his head.
"You have certainly been through a lot, my friend," he said with grave sincerity, "The horrors you have faced are unimaginable to me.  You two have been cursed with ill fortune, yet I do not think it was of evil tidings that had brought you here."
The man broke into a wide, sunny smile.
"Indeed, we are  blessed to be able to welcome two such individuals into our tents! You are welcomed to stay as long as you need. Yes..."
He narrowed his eyes, as if thinking about something important.

This was all starting to be very difficult for Hysaeda to follow.  He knew there was something special about Issen, but he did not think it would be something that would come packaged complete with a title.  "Spirit of the Desert" huh?  He slowly followed along, trying to keep up between the different translations, but eventually, after some work, he pieced it together in his mind.

Hysaeda didn't know what to say to all this, for it was much to take in.  But he started slow and peered at Rinya as she gazed at him.  He felt a little alarmed by her gaze and scooted a little away from her.  "What?  Is there something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Rinya turned her attention towards her husband at Hysaeda's inquiry. The man nodded, which seemed to inspire the woman to rise to her feet and retreat to the corner of the tent. There, Issen turned to watch the woman unlock a large chest with multiple engravings and pull out a slender box. Umar chuckled at Hysaeda's alarm.
"There are other legends, too," he continued, "Some that are secret and are only told to those of royal blood when they are ready...Ah."

The man sighed as Rinya solemnly set the box on the table. It was carved in stone, beautifully detailed designs of the sun, moon, and stars. Issen sucked in a breath in awe. It was gorgeous, and  with permission, her fingers traced the sun's beams with delight. Somehow, the design didn't seem to fit with the culture of these people; it was old, but foreign.
"It was a gift bestowed upon my ancestors by people who were said to look very much like you, my friend. A gift given with a prophecy," Umar explained as he gently turned the box around so that it faced the elf.  
"Open it," he commanded Hysaeda.

Issen held her breath, hardly able to contain her excitement from across the table. Rinya seemed to notice the woman's tension, and gently tapped her on the shoulder.
"Are you... all right?" she whispered, to which Issen nodded vigorously.
The woman could hardly believe her good fortune; she could practically die from excitement!
It's something important; I know it!
Though her mind was whirling, Issen tried to sit still and behave, though her hands were collected in fists in her lap as her eyes anxiously danced from her friend to the thing presented before him.

Hysaeda felt his heart beating in his throat and suddenly it felt as if the day was getting so much hotter.  A soft wind ruffled the sides of the tent and he found himself suddenly uncomfortable as the center of attention.  He wasn't so last night when he was dancing, having been filled to the brim with liquid courage.  But this was different.  He had a feeling this was something that was going to get personal, and it was that dangerous prospect made him nervous.

As the box was settled before him, he swear all he could hear was his breath echoing as if from some dark, imperceptible place.  He listened in to the slender box.  There was a rattling sound coming from inside which stopped promptly when he placed a hand on the lid.  Slowly he opened it, unable to stand the anticipation any longer.  As he did so, he was surprised to find that inside was nothing more than a blade fragment, approximately eight inches in length.  And clearly had a broken edge.  It was of a darkened metal, smoky grey like from the mouth of a volcano, or as if burned by dragon fire.  And etched in the dark metal was a silver design that stopped at the edge.  It was sharpened on one side and as Hysaeda was about to hover a hand over it, the metal rattled against the box again.

He pulled his hand away and stared at the steel as it began to move all the more violently.  Suddenly the blade shot out of the box as if pulled by some invisible force and headed straight toward Hysaeda's neck.  He leaned back in time to feel the perpetually sharp edge graze against his skin, giving him an uncomfortably close shave.  He fell on his back as he saw the blade had fallen on the blanketed floor.  Immediately, he scrambled up and put his hands on the blade, leaning over it to keep it down, even as he could feel the energy vibrate through it again, as it wanted to move.

"What the hell was that!?" he yelled, throwing daggers to Umar.  "What does killing me have to do with some kind of prophecy?"

Issen gasped in surprise as she observed the fragment of a steel blade in the box. At least, she thought it was steel; she had never seen a metal quite like it before. It was so beautiful, though... was it just her, or was it moving?
She  gave a shout of alarm as the thing bolted for her companion's neck.  Issen bolted to her feet and reached out to grab the thing, which pricked her fingers. Suddenly, the blade fell to the ground. Hysaeada had been scratched, but only barely.
The woman felt as if a burden was lifted from her shoulders to see that he was at the very least for the most part unscathed.

As he reached down to keep the thing from moving, the woman grabbed the box, and held it close so that he may put it in for her to shut it close. Still shocked from the fright, she stared numbly at Umar, who held his palms up.
"Peace, Hysaeda," he instructed in a low voice, "I... didn't know that was going to happen, either."
His face was pale. His wife was covering her mouth, her body trembling in horror.
"What did the prophecy say?" Issen demanded.
Rinya stuttered as she translated.
"That blade belongs to the Reborn," Umar quietly replied, "The pieces are scattered. Where, I do not know, but it is to the Reborn they belong, and it is the second sign of his coming. My family was instructed to keep the instrument safe until his arrival."

This was all truly much to take in, and Hysaeda felt himself slipping into that whitened area of disbelief that he didn't know if he could trust anyone in this room anymore, including Issen.  He didn't cry then.  All this tears had dried up long ago, but he felt as if his heard had been wrenched from him and violated and torn to bits.  This was a revelation of epic proportions and he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"How...." Hysaeda began, grabbing the blade firmly in both hands and clutching it until it cut through his hand.  Surprisingly, the blade had not rusted in all that time despite the conditions.  This kind of steel was unheard of, ancient metal used by Umbraeon smiths centuries ago.  "How could you possibly know about the Reborn," he said hotly, angrily.  "How could you know about something as sacred as that!?  You shouldn't.  You're not Umbraeon. You wouldn't understand.  Why would you even care?"

He didn't wait for Umar to answer as he reached over to Issen and shoved the thing back into the box.  "If you were waiting for the Reborn to return, you'll be waiting until death.  There is no Reborn."  Hysaeda's face was wet now and he didn't know what to say anymore before getting up and departing the tent, excusing himself as he did so, heading to the tent provided by him.

As the hot tears fell, Issen watched in confusion as Hysaeda gripped the blade in his hands. Rinya quietly translated what her husband had just said, but Issen was too distracted to catch the whole message.She wanted to reach out and soothe his worries, but Rinya gently placed her palm overs her own and gestured for her to wait. Issen didn't understand why she should wait and was starting to grow angry. The elf had just harmed himself. He was crying and distressed over something in a foreign tongue she had no grasp on. But why? Rinya had said something about a resurrected being. "Reborn", she had said.  To connect the title with the  blade wasn't that hard; Issen only had to watch as Hysaeda observed the steel. In silence, she watched as he got angry. By this point, Rinya had stopped translating; somehow, Hysaeda's words had humbled the married couple to grim silence.
"Once, long ago, your people have done mine a favor," Umar explained  after a while as he pulled the box gingerly into his lap.
"It is time that dept be repaid."
When Hysaeda reached out for her, she gently placed her hand in his. As he silently got up, the conflicted woman followed him to the tent flap, but slowly pulled her hand out of his. She still had questions, lots of them.

---

"You're not going to follow him?" Rinya asked her in mild surprise as the woman silently rejoined them at the table.
Issen shook her head.
"Not yet. I know where he's going," she calmly replied.
She paused before continuing.
"Hysaeda... is he the 'Reborn'?" she quietly asked.
Umar shook his head and told her he didn't know in Essyrn.  
"I've only repeated what I've been told."
"So why is he angry?" Issen asked as she turned towards Rinya, who offered the woman a sad smile.
"Sometimes fate is hard to accept," she softly replied as her finger traced the tear in Issen's dress.
"You would know, right?"

Issen slowly nodded as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She did know.
The past hasn't always been kind to him , either, she mused.
It would only make such a revelation harder to accept, but still...
The woman didn't understand the function of the Reborn. She had tried asking Umar, but he said that he only had the vague understanding that he was supposed to reunite the Umbraeons, somehow. It was best to ask Hysaeda. She lingered for a while longer as Rinya pulled her aside to a more private corner of  the tent as Umar left to go elsewhere. Issen was instructed to remove it in order for Rinya to properly mend it, so Issen sat naked with her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched her new friend work.
If I was in his place, Issen thought, Would I have been happy?

Barely five minutes passed before Rinya was done. She has stitched the garment inside out, so the fix was hardly noticible. She gave Issen a spare needle and red thread.
"That's a beautiful tattoo," Rinya politely said as Issen got dressed.
"Yes, it is," Issen agreed with a smile.

----

Issen practically flew to the tent she shared with Hysaeda. She drew  to a halt at the closed flap, and slowly began to open it.
"I'm back," she announced.
The woman set the small  sewing kit Rinya had let her borrow aside before sitting across from him, cross legged. Feeling awkward and unknowable about what to do in times like this, she leaned forward and reached out for his right cheek.
"Do you want to talk?" she asked.

Hysaeda didn't believe what he'd heard.  He didn't want to.  Because he knew that if he believed it, it would make the reality of all that he'd suffered come back to him tenfold.  But the truth was he didn't know if the Reborn was coming, or why the legend had led him astray all these years.  And he certainly had no reason to believe that he was the Reborn.  Umbra had not given his people lessons to waste, and he spoke in actions, for words were never easy to interpret.  There were no texts or books of his god; history and teachings were told from birth by word of mouth.  The Ankuman was the keeper of that knowledge to teach and to guide when it was needed.

He just sat there in the tent sulking and trying to get over his feeling of betrayal.  But he knew...it wasn't anyone's fault.  If what Umar said was true, if a tribe of Umbraeons had really come this far to do something for them, then Hysaeda being here now must mean something more than he thought at first.  That blade, there was no denying in the way it reacted to him. Sure it nearly took his head off, but it was drawn to him somehow, though he didn't know what.

He jumped when Issen came into the tent and he wiped his swore, swollen eyes where he'd been crying.  He felt ashamed of doing so for once and blushed.  He didn't look at her and didn't react when she touched him, except that he was grateful she didn't curse  him for what he imagined were the descendants of her people.

"I just don't understand..." Hysaeda began, talking even though he really didn't want to.  But he knew that if he was going to purge himself of these feelings that he needed to tell someone.  And if he was going to tell anyone, he was glad it was Issen at least.  "This kind of thing, what Umar was talking about...the very knowledge of it is sacred to us, to my people.  In our ways, at least in the ways of my tribe, to share this kind of knowledge with an Outlander is a near equivalent to treason.  My god...is not the god of others.  Umbra, my lord, my god, created my people from the ashes of dragon fire to survive in a world and a land initially uninhabitable.  What I tell you now is sacred knowledge to my people, my clan.  I wouldn't tell you though...if I didn't trust you.  But if you are willing to listen, I will tell you all I can.  Are you willing to listen to me explain why this is so important to me and why it hurt me so?"

Issen tilted her head so that she could see Hysaeda's face better as he tried to avert his eyes. She pulled back her hand and placed it in her lap. The damp palm was wiped against the skirt of her dress as her companion began to speak. Issen was quiet and still as her eyes unwavering from his face. The woman soaked in every word he said, though it was sometimes difficult to follow. Treason... Yes, she understood the weight of that word and why it would be connected with knowledge.
Perhaps the ones that visited Umar's ancestors came from a different tribe, she mused.

Her eyes widened at the mention of being made from dragon fire and sucked in a breath, unable to fully contain her awe. As he asked her if she was ready to listen, Issen solemnly nodded.
"Yes," she replied, "If that is what you wish."
If he was willing to tell her, she was more than ready to listen. The woman tried to sit up as straight as she could.

[whoops! Totally forgot to italicize that, but everything Hysaeda said, he said it in Essyrnian, not Common.  Big boo-boo on my part. xD sorry.]

"In our tradition, Umbra made us to survive in any environment we found ourselves.  We were taught to survive and that war and destruction were essentials in life...   Did he teach us through words and texts?  Not thoroughly, but by example.  He was a god in the flesh, divine and untouched by time.  We do not know how he lost or if he lost his divinity, but he became flesh and stayed of the flesh until his death.  We lost our god, taken from us by some unknown force.  But when he died...we knew that he was not entirely gone from us.  He existed in a world beyond death, a Spirit Realm that consisted of terrifying forests and dangerous creatures.

"But that is a story for another time.  For centuries, we have existed in our tribes, warring amongst each other because that is our way, survival of the fittest.  But we knew...there would come a time where we would need Umbra most, there are stories of his return to the flesh, the coming of the Reborn.  The tribes, they kill and war amongst each other every day; but to truly survive, Umbra knew that we would need to be united, as a single People.  That is the purpose of the Reborn.

"To tell you these things, is difficult for me, but I think you can understand.  It is very important to us, our faith.  It is the core of all we know, our very way of life, how we live and love every day.  And to have our tenets violated is a near equivalent to having our bodies torn and trampled upon.  I do not think Umar is lying to me.  But I found it so hard to believe that one of my own kind would tell an Outlander of the legend and to give him a piece of something that would be held so sacred to us.  I confess, I do not know exactly what the shard is from...but I think I can figure it out.

"There are legends of a weapons wielded by Umbra.  A spear that he cast into the sun, and was never found again.  And a sword that he used, kept always by his side.  I do not know which weapon that fragment is from, but perhaps it is from something once touched by him."

Hysaeda sighed and shook his head.  "Should I apologize to Umar by the way I reacted...?  I have lost so much already.  The man I thought was my father, the only parent I ever knew.  And this part of my faith.  It's all so sudden.  But I think Umar means well."

OOC: No problem lol Also, I don't know if you've already read this, but I misread something, so that's why the last bit is edited. My bad ><

IC:

     Issen's eyes widened as Hysaeda talked of Umbra. Such a being existed?
Losing his divinity, she wondered, But how was that possible?
The woman nodded as the elf continued. She had known that he was a hardened warrior, and he had already revealed information of his past. However, she couldn't imagine a society so hateful and violent. Though she had been a victim of such crimes, it wasn't like the citizens of the country of her time were at each other's teeth. That was a matter of personal business. This was beyond her comprehension. What was the purpose of someone trying to teach them to live if all they did was kill each other?

The woman nodded again as Hysaeda mentioned it was difficult for him to mention these things. Faith... If anything, Issen was more spiritual than religious, but she could at least understand the importance of such rules. Rules that bounded people, that controlled their lives. The grim clouds fogging her mind cleared up at the mention of the fragmented weapon. Issen held her breath as Hysaeda described the sun blade and spear. Suddenly, she became very excited.
"You mean to say that weapon belonged to your god!?" she exclaimed, utterly amazed.

The woman  tilted her face towards the heavens, her expression filled with awe.
"A fragment of a god's weapon," she whispered, "But how did that happen?"
Issen pondered on Hysaeda's question. Umar had left his tent, and she hadn't known where he had went. She told him this much before reaching for the sewing kit and her red over dress. He could go and apologize if he wanted; she wanted to try her hand at fixing her own garments before she did anything else.
"Hysaeda..." she started to say, trying to find the best way to put her feelings into words.
"My duty is to you, now.  No matter your purpose, I'll do whatever I can to help you."
She flashed him another smile before holding up the sewing needle as she tried to thread it. Rinya had made it look so easy.

It was a difficult thing to explain the idea of a religion based nearly entirely on the need for survival.  From the beginning, Umbraeons never intended for others outside their clans to understand.  They might be warriors, barbarians, mindless savages wherever they ventured.  And it was even more difficult to understand.  Umbraeons were hardly the people to press their faith upon others, for they knew their god watched over them alone and no one else, but in the same turn there were plenty of Umbraeons who did not embrace their faith or way of life and were free to walk away and live amongst the Outlands.

Hysaeda didn't expect others to believe in what he believed in, but being raised to become an Ankuman, he was born to believe to say the least.  He was momentarily distracted from his musings by Issen's abrupt enthusiasm.

"I don't have any idea," Hysaeda answered honestly.  "That kind of metal hasn't been seen in a long time.  Longer than even I've been alive.  But Umar might have some answers."

He actually laughed and smiled back to her.  "Thank you, Issen.  You have been a good friend to me.  Even if it's only been a few days.  Thank you.   I'll go back and talk to Umar.  I think it'd be a good idea to apologize."

So he did and found him by the horses.  Hysaeda explained all he did to Issen and Umar listened as well as she did.  When  he was done, the Chief nodded to him.  "It must be hard burden to bear.  But if giving you this fragment will help lift the weight from your shoulders, it is yours.  Back where it belongs."

"Thank you," he replied.  "But before you mentioned a favor my people had done for your people.  What was that?"

Issen gave a pleased nod as Hysaeda left the tent.
"Good Bye," she called out after him.
Cheerfully, she returned to her own work. She was proud to have made him smile, to make him laugh. Of course, the compliments only boosted her ego, as well.
It's nice to be valued.
The woman pondered over his words as she carefully, though clumsily, stitched the hole shut on her red garment.
A long lost metal. It certainly did look strange. The material was even unfamiliar to her.
"I wonder where the other pieces are," she muttered, aloud.
Lost in her thoughts, the woman suddenly yelped; she had pricked her finger.

----

Umar smiled at Hysaeda's question, and patted the elf on the back.
"They saved mine from annihilation," he explained, "Back then, Essyrn was full of herds of people. Tension between them wasn't always as easy as it is now. My father told me when I was younger that a small band of ash faced elves help teach our people more diplomatic ways of living and how to make better use of the desert's resources.  They helped our tribe and some of the others thrive."
The man paused as he recalled his father's tales.
"When asked what their motives were, the eldest among their numbers gave two reasons. The first was that they had wished to help preserve us. The second was that in doing so, they'd be able to retain hope in preserving theirs by entrusting that box to us to give to the Reborn, whom it was foreseen to cross paths with this tribe."

Hysaeda bowed his head to Umar, staring at the ground as he considered what he said. It made sense and gradually the pieces started to fit together, some a little more snuggly than others.  He didn't know what tribe would have come so far south to this specific oasis.

"That is so strange," he said idly.  "But if you believe that I am the Reborn, but that can't be...  I...."  He didn't know what to add and sighed when he thought back to his father.  "My father was an Ankuman, a priest of my people.  He held all our tribe history and knowledge and was the keeper of faith for my tribe.  I was his apprentice and studied for years the history of my people and to take his place when he died.  But he did not tell me much of the Reborn.  He only said that the Reborn would come it would be when we would need him most.  But there have been many times in the past when he was needed, and why had he not come then!?  Why now when there is nothing left to save?"

Umar gave him a comforting smile, but it soon faded.  "I cannot answer that, Hysaeda.  That is not my place.  I do not know if you are the Reborn.  But I do kknow I was meant to give you the fragment of your weapon.  You will know what to do with it better than I do, and it is where it belongs.  Back to your kind."

Hysaeda bit his lip and nodded.  "I understand.  I'll take it then.  I am sorry for all this trouble I caused you.  You truly have been more than hospitable and I would like to learn more about your history.  Perhaps this evening me and Issen can eat in your tent."

"That would be wonderful my friend.  But first things first."

~~
After Hysaeda had gotten the box, which vibrated sporadically, he returned to the tent provided to them.  As he came in, he noticed Issen as she had a needle and thread in her hand.  "What happened to your fingers!?"

Issen smiled when she saw Hysaeda enter the tent.
"Oh, I- ACH!"
The woman hissed as she examined her handiwork. In her haste, she had somehow managed to bring the needle though a little bit of skin at the edge of her left index finger.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," she tearfully moaned as she undid her mistake.
The woman frowned as she examined the red garment. Her stitches were sloppy, and she hadn't really accomplished anything except to make a mess.
Defeated , the woman rose to her feet as she nursed her wounded joint.

Her expression brightened when she saw that Hysaeda had the box.  
"So you two have made peace?"  she asked as she she examined it. The woman reached out to touch the thing, feeling it vibrate softly under her fingertips.
"Does it not stop?" she wondered aloud.
I wonder if it's trying to tell us something. Maybe it contains a clue to find the other pieces, she mused.
It was a far fetched idea, and probably wouldn't be true, but it was a nice thought, as outlandish as it was.

Hysaeda let go of the box, setting it beside her as he turned his attention to her mangled fingers, poked here and there from the needle.  But he didn't worry much since she wasn't as vulnerable as he was physically.  Despite her demeanor, Hysaeda was confident she could really take care of herself.

He turned his attention back to the box and opened it again.  This time the blade fragment did not fly out at him like it first had.  He slowly picked it up and peered at it.  Just as she spoke about its vibrations, Hysaeda was taken slightly aback.  "It just did," he murmured.

"I wonder why it does that," he said musingly.  "Perhaps it's a sign."  No sooner did he speak and his finger caressed the edge of the sharpened edge did he split his finger open in a slick laceration.  He yelped and dropped the blade.  The object thumped on the floor, with a line of his blood along the edge.  He watched in awe as his blood ran down along it, but suddenly it seemed as though the shard was absorbing his blood.  The blood was separated into thin lines and began to drift into the silvery designs that traced the center.


The metal shone brighter then as the blood vanished within the traces of the steel and he gasped as it did so.  "What the...?" he breathed, before picking up the piece again.  He caressed the design and inspected it further though nothing out of the ordinary appeared again.  Suddenly the shine of the metal materialized from it and shot through the roof of the tent, tearing a whole through it in a blast of light.  Immediately he rushed out of the tent and watched as the blinding light rushed further into the sky, until it shot out toward the horizon, heading by direction southeast.

Hysaeda stood out in the oasis, peering toward the horizon.  "I don't know how it could get any clearer.  That is where we ought to go next"

Issen quietly watched as Hysaeda opened the box as she started to slip on the red over dress. Her body grew rigid as she recalled what had happened last time he had done so. Thankfully, though, nothing happened. But... why? The woman nodded eagerly at his speculation about the vibrations being a sign.
"I was thinking that, too," she said as she fumbled with her belt.
As the elf cut his finger on the blade, the woman scolded at him to be careful. The woman's eyes fell on the shard. They grew wider as the blood magically began to trace a pattern like a flowing river across the  piece. Issen brought her hands up to her mouth in shock.

Issen  gasped, a smile spreading across her face in excitement as she watched the metal shine as bright as a star. She rushed after Hysaeda out of the tent, her eyes looking out towards the horizon, dumbfounded.
"So, this is it, then?" she said, laughing, "Where ever that is, we're going! We'll find the other pieces... Does this mean we have to go soon?"
The woman said this last bit with a hint of disappointment. She had wanted to stay just a little while among these people, but this was Hysaeda's destiny...  The woman looked around the oasis, a bit alarmed. Surely the others would have seen the light, too.

They did. There were shouts and some cries of alarm as people who had seen the flash of light at the tent came to see what had happened. When they saw that everything was okay, they returned to their business with suspicious glances, but that was it.
A couple of  young boys ran up to Hysaeda, asking him what he had in his hands, what was that flash of light, and if he could show them  how to fight and tell them stories.

Issen frowned.
"I think we're the only ones that can see the trail," she muttered in awe.

Hysaeda did not know what to say aside from a few mindless murmurs to the young boys that ran up to him.  His eyes were on the horizon and he felt a cold stone fall into the pit of his stomach as he looked up.  And suddenly he felt the rush of the events come upon him like never before.  He was mindless as he excused the boys and made promises he had a feeling he could not keep...  It was not like Hysaeda to do so, but there was so much on his mind now...he didn't know what to do.

Hysaeda wandered toward Issen and noticed the look of disappointment on her face.  He felt heavier than but squared his shoulders and reached for her hand.  "I think," he began slowly, "this is something I must do.  But, I know you want to stay...  We have our direction.  I don't know how long it'll last.  But perhaps, you'd rather stay here, with these people.  Maybe it's better if you don't come with me."

"What? No!" Issen exclaimed in frantic alarm as she clasped the elf's giant hand into her smaller ones. There was a fierce determination in the woman's eyes as she lifted her head high so that her eyes could match Hysaeda's.
"I want to go with you," she pleaded in a much more softer voice.
After all, wasn't this what she was always wanted? Adventure across the desert, across the globe? Besides, even if she wanted to stay, she wouldn't be able to.  
He could just hand me over to someone else, she thought, But I don't want that.

"I won't cause any trouble, I promise," she continued, "Besides..."
The woman's eyes scanned the tents, absorbing all the sights, smells, and sounds. Issen was sad to go so soon, but she was happy to at least have what memories she did have. Besides, she had all the time in the world to come back.
"We can always return, so it's okay. This is enough."

Hysaeda felt a lump well up in his throat and he suddenly felt even heavier than before.  He didn't like the tone which Issen had to exclaim her determination to go.  It pained him to see her pained and even further to know that such a notion distressed her so.  Hysaeda might have argued with her, thinking it would probably be best if he went alone.  It was too dangerous, even though she was immortal in a way, there was no need to place her in such risk.

Hysaeda looked at the people around him, all their happiness wrapped up in one tiny bubble.  "But this is where you belong.  I mean, why wouldn't you want to stay?"

Issen shook her head at Hysaeda's argument.
"The people I've belong with died a thousand years ago," she quietly replied.
She truly adored the people here, but they weren't her own. It was hard to describe... The woman felt a connection with them, but there was years and years of culture differences and ways of thinking alienating her from the world. Even if they were from the same area, she was a foreigner, a legend from a bizarre tale.
 "I really like these people and I do want to spend more time with them, but that can wait."

The woman stood up straighter as she offered her companion an eager grin.
"In truth, I'm obliged to go with you, but it's more than that. I really want to come," she confessed, "More than anything. I want to help! I've spent hundreds of years dreaming for this opportunity. It might prove dangerous, but we've defeated the sand worms and a gang fled from us. I want to face whatever's out there."

That was that.  The decision was set and there was no need to fuss about it.  Besides it didn't seem there was any room for argument with the way she put it.  He knew that he didn't want to make her give up experiencing something new for she seemed so taken with the world as it opened up to her little by little.  But there was something more...she was his friend, his companion.  And it warmed his heart now that she was so determined not to abandon him; though really it was kind of the opposite.

Without saying a word, Hysaeda wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her shoulder.  After a long moment, he drew back and squeezed her shoulders.  "Then we can pack and leave by nightfall.  Travel will be easier then.  If this is really what you want, then I more than welcome you by my side."

"Hysaeda?" Issen muttered, a little shocked when he pulled her in for an embrace. Her lips broke into a soft smile as she wiggled an arm out of his grasp to hug him back, while the other she used to touch his white hair.  She stood there silently, her eyes surveying the tents and people that surrounded them. However, her mind seemed not to be here but to wherever that line of bright light lead to.

Issen broke in a wide smile as Hysaeda told her to pack and be ready to go by nightfall. She eagerly nodded, practically bouncing in place. The woman wasn't worried about packing; everything she owned was in that bag she kept.
"Yes. All right," she cheerfully replied, "I'll go ask Rinya about some food for you and Hibi then!"

With that, the woman turned around and began to awkwardly half walk, half run towards the Chief's tent, again.

When that was over, Hysaeda sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead with a dry, warm hand.  He was surprised to realize he was actually sweating despite the cool breeze swirling around in the oasis.  He wiped his brow and looked around him again, trying to take in all the sights and sounds and the colors and smiles.  He wanted to remember this scene now, how the sunlight came in and splayed across the faces of both adults and children alike.

He sighed and went back to their tent to pack their things, though there still wasn't much to pack.  By the time nightfall came, he had the horse saddled and ready and his wounds were feeling much better than before so that he was actually able to ride without too much trouble.

He looked back at Issen with the tiniest hint of doubt displayed on his features, but present all the same.  "Are you ready to go?" he asked her, though his attention was suddenly diverted when he saw Umar and Rinya coming out to wish them farewell, as well as a bunch of the other dwellers there.  They all wore parting grins, though some were sad and had come to see them off.

Rinya was surprised to see that Issen had returned so quickly.
"What's wrong?" she asked in alarm at the out of breath woman.
Issen waved a hand, impatiently.
"No," she replied, "No 'wrong'..."
The woman gravely looked into the eyes of her new friend as she touched her gently on the shoulders.
"Hysaeda and I are leaving by nightfall," Issen explained as Rinya reached for her hand.
"Yes," Rinya simply replied in understanding as she pulled the woman into an embrace.


The moment was quick. Though Rinya's eyes were beginning to grow red, she eagerly brought Issen to go fetch food. The two traveled through the village of tents until they reached a large, spacious one with a giant hole in the roof to let out smoke. It was hot and crowded and loud, as a flock of at least fifteen women were busy making all sorts of delicious smelling foods. The aroma was so overwhelming that Issen almost had to cover her nose, like she had in the city, because of the overload. They all greeted the two, immanently trying to get answers from Issen about herself and Hysaeda. It was difficult for Issen to follow their voices all at once, especially since not all of them were speaking in the Essyrn language, but Rinya quickly interfered and explained her situation. With cries of protest, the women agreed and got to work. For the next few hours, Issen found herself helping where she could, whether it was kneading bread, cutting raw foods, or stoking the fires.

Finally, Issen was packed with enough food to last the two of them for quite a while as well as a bag of oats for the horse. The woman was able to get one last quick tour of the village before she rejoined with Hysaeda by the mare. The other women had taught her how to properly tie a headscarf so that her hair was hidden. "To keep the sand out," they explained. Issen rather liked this style, though she found the weight at the back of her head a bit odd, though she supposed she'd grow use to it. She smiled when she saw the elf again as she helped with putting away the food. The woman nodded at his question.
"Of course," she replied, though she became distracted the moment she had saw the others. Issen gasped at the display. There were so many of them. All to see them off? But why?

The Chief and his wife approached the two. One of Rinya's twins was strapped to her back. The other was in her arms.
"Good bye. Thank you," Issen quietly said as they kissed on the cheek. The woman stroked the baby in Rinya's arms cheeks.
Rinya nodded.
"Good luck," she said as Umar helped Issen on the horse.
The couple turned their attention towards Hysaeda.
"We've been blessed to have you as our company," Umar said in a solemn tone as he pulled the elf in for a bear hug.
 "May you find what you're looking for and may your god protect you, Hysaeda, the Reborn."
"And come back to visit," Rinya added with a bright smile, "You two shall receive a warm welcome when you do, with dancing and lots of food. You'll always have a home here."

Though the two had addressed her companion, Issen couldn't help but to nod, her spirits soaring. She was sad to leave, but she couldn't wait to go on this adventure. Besides, Rinya had said they could call the place home, if they wish. Though she knew that with Hysaeda, they would always be on the move and that they  might never return, it was still nice to know that there was a place they could always return to. One that was lively and warm.
"Until then," she agreed as she motioned for Hysaeda to get on.

Truth be told, he did not expect this kind of attention either.  Instantly the shyness in Hysaeda stirred and all he wanted to do was to go back into the tent, away from the crowd that awaited them.  They waved and shouted their goodbyes and when Umar approached him, which was even more unexpected, Hysaeda felt his back crack a little from the bear hug the other man gave him.

He weakly pat the chief's back before coughing, regaining breath when he was let go.  "Thank you, my friends," Hysaeda replied and offered a hand to either one of them, bowing his head in honor.  "It has been an honor, a privilege, truly, to have been in your hospitality.  Thank you for everything."  He bowed his head again and got on behind Issen on Tahibat's back before nudging the horse and riding off into the rising moonlight.

He cast a glance backwards and felt his heart drop a little at the fading sight of fire and smoke and the warm smiles of the strangers that embraced them.  A little sullenly, he wrapped an arm around Issen and buried his face into her back before resting his chin on her shoulder.  After a while he grinned as he said, "I think I'm going to miss them more than you are."

As they rode away, Issen kept on tilting her head to look at the fading village. For some reason, she almost felt alarmed to see it disappear so quickly in such a short period of time. The woman had known she was going to miss them, but it wasn't until her heart began to sink when the reality of it kicked in. She helped hold the reigns, sitting erect and proud on the horse. Issen still found riding the horse awkward, but she found that once she got the rhythm of it, it wasn't so bad.  The woman laughed sympathetically at her companion's words and turned her head slightly so that her eyes could meet his.
"Silly," she teased as she shook her head in protest.

The woman's eyes turned towards the sky as they rode in a peaceful silence for the next few moments.
It looked even more brilliant and beautiful than it usually did, some how. She supposed the moonlight was always best when its light was shared. This musings seemed to to dawn a realization to her as she pointed dead ahead of them.
"Is this right?" she asked, referring to the path the shard illuminated for them before.

Hysaeda leaned his head tiredly against his companion's shoulder and forgot about the sorrow of leaving the only place he might have been tempted to call home in the last months.  But he had other things to look forward to:  a cold, starry night, and an uncertain future.  Issen reminded him what he was supposed to be doing and he perked up to look to the southeast.

"Indeed, you are right, I think," Hysaeda said, mesmerized as he gazed up into the sky.  Behold to the southwest was a red star, brighter than the moon and shone like a ruby in the night sky.  A star that was never there before.  "Who would think that the way would be shone so readily?  ...Can I ask you something, Issen?  Do you believe in such a thing as destiny?"

"Hmm," Issen mutttered as she observed her friend.
He seemed so fascinated by something in the  sky, fixated at a single point. It took a while for her eyes to find what he was looking for, and her eyes widened when they did. She had peered into the depths of the moonlit sky and counted the stars... What was this queer, bright red one?
"I don't know," she answered in response to his first question.  
Stars didn't usually come out of no where.
It's as if the heavens themselves wish to help us, she mused, enchanted by the wonderful thought.

Issen furrowed her brow at his second question.
"Of course, yes," she carefully, but firmly, said as she tried to get the words right. It was an obvious question to her. How could she not?
"Why?" she curiously asked.

No, stars didn't come out of nowhere.  But this one did.  And if anyone would know, Hysaeda would.  He had trained nearly his whole life to learn to read the stars, their paths, their movements, to recognize patterns when he saw them.  But that red star, he'd never see one like that before.  Not this far south anyway.  And there was something there in the sky that beguiled him, drew him unlike any other.

He almost forgot Issen had answered his question as he stared up at the light in the sky.  But remembered himself soon enough.  "Because I thought I saw that star looking at me.  At me, just me.  And I think I might have heard my name on the wind," Hysaeda replied.  "I'm not sure I believed in destiny.  I'm not sure I do even now.  But I know my mind and body is sound.  And what I saw and heard was real and true.  We must hurry."

He sat up straight and grabbed hold of the reins, nudging Hibi to ride a little faster, to not waste the night.  When the sun rose, he had a feeling that the star would not be as easy to spot.

"It spoke to you?" asked Issen in wonder as she nodded at Hysaeda's suggestion.
The stars peering, the wind beckoning... it all was very strange and curious to the woman. However, she wasn't doubtful of his words; the woman was confident that  the elf was telling the truth. Yet Hysaeda never mentioned this before now. How was it possible?
Was it that god of his? Issen thought. Umbreon... That was his name, wasn't it? How did that red star appear and what awaited them out in the world...?

Lost in the abyss of her ponders, Issen lightly leaned against Hysaeda. With the reigns in his hands, she was free to watch the sky grow darker as more stars gathered to light up their way. The woman watched silently, too, as the nocturnal desert creatures began to scatter about. It was a race to the star guided place, and Issen, being an  inexperienced  rider, was beginning to feel sore. Yet, despite these conditions, she felt at peace and didn't feel the need to speak too much, preferring to indulge in the fantasies in her mind for the most part.
"Did your people have any stories about the stars?" Issen softly asked. Her eye lids were beginning to feel heavy as sleep began to overtake her.

Hysaeda urged the horse to hurry, but they never seemed to get any closer to the star.  Yet Hysaeda knew it was probably best to conserve energy rather than waste it all at once.  So he slowed Tahibat's pace to a steady but progressive walk.

Hysaeda tilted his head at her question, and as he thought about it, in fact they did.  "There are lots of stories.  My people are lovers of lore.  There's a story on how all the creatures of the world came from the stars, born from the hands of godly things and each given a purpose.  My god did not make those creatures.  No, those are legends and stories for other people and their gods.  But he taught us how to hunt them to survive.  How to preserve them, and taught us that when we lost our way, our star sign would guide us back to the right path."

"But men, elves too, according to our stories, did not come from the stars.  We were born from the dirt, from the ground, from the very earth we live upon.  We're born from it, and when we die, we return to it.  That is the cycle of life.  Some people believe in a place in the sky, a place of peace they might call a heaven, after death where they could be free from harm and pain.  My people do not have such a place.  When we die, we do not go to the stars, but live on in the Spirit Realm, to fight eternally by the side of the Spirit of Umbra.  You see, even when Umbra died, he did not ascend into the heavens, but transferred to another place beyond our physical understanding.  A place we can feel sometimes on the wind, or with the way a tree bends, or the way the leaves rustle when a storm is brewing.  But can never really touch until we leave this mortal plane.

"People have star signs as a way to connect them to the heavens, to remind them of the beginning place of all things.  Even though mortals spring from the earth, the earth came from the stars too.  Star signs can be found in the shapes you find when stars align a certain way.  There are all kinds.  When Umbraeon children are born, the sign present above you when you are born, is the one chosen for you.  Umbraeons have a set list of signs, and there are too many to name.  But some signs are more embraced than others...  Some believe signs make a person, and that some signs are more devious than others.  My sign is The Serpentine.  A sign often believed to prey on other signs."

Issen was a bit relieved when Hysaeda slowed down Hibi's pace. Riding was much more comfortable this way, and she listened closely as he spoke as she leaned against him. She smiled at the mention of how the elves loved stories. The woman wished she remembered the tales from her people so that she may dictate them. Perhaps she did remember, but all the stories in her head were constantly being altered and changed. She loved lore, but without the ability to read and write, those ancient words were lost upon her. Creatures being born from stars... It sounded like a lovely idea. And Hysaeda's god... the more Issen heard about him, the more curious and intimated she was. 'Hunt them to survive'? To preserve them? The woman didn't really understand it much, perhaps because she had interpreted the words wrong. After all, how could you devour others only for the will to preserve them?

But she kept such thoughts to herself as he continued his tale. Dirt men, earthly born creatures... Issen supposed it made sense. Her heart fell a little when he mentioned the cycle of life, heaven, and the Spirit Realms.
"Place in wind," she muttered under her breath as she closed her eyes. Yes, she understood that, for she often felt she dwelt in a plane separate from the living, but not quite with the dead. Thinking about it too much annoyed her, so she only nodded, thankful that he continued to a more interesting topic; the star signs. The woman fluttered her eyes open to look up at his. Issen furrowed her brow as she tried to remember what 'serpentine' was. Whatever it was, it sounded strong and fierce, though 'preying' onto others didn't seem to fit Hysaeda much. Issen thought he was kind and gentle, quite the opposite. However, she had seen the way he fought, and knew that it was somehow fitting.
"What's 'serpentine'? Where is it?" she asked, pointing to the stars.

Hysaeda kept his eyes glued to the red star, bright as firebrand thrown into the sky.  He looked back at Issen, giving her an odd look before turning to look up at the sky around him.  "I never saw it this far south before.  It was supposed to be further north from here."  His eyes looked over his shoulder and he finally stopped Hibi.  The horse gave a grateful chuff and paused to catch her breath.

"Look that way.  The Serpentine is coiled in the sky, a great serpent ready to strike and devour anything across its path.  But serpents are devious.  They coil themselves to make themselves look smaller, vulnerable, but that coil unleashes like a spring when they strike, faster than lightning, on their prey.  My people are wary of those born under the Serpentine, believing they are wicked and bring no good," Hysaeda said, pointing up into the sky.  His finger traced the shape of the serpent in striking position, highlighting the coil and the trace of stars that accented the fanged head of the creature.  There were fifteen stars in the pattern total, but it was quite easy to see.

"But you see, the Serpentine is fast, decisive, and has cunning and intelligence."  Hysaeda looked at her for a long moment before leaning in and kissing her cheek.

"What's that for?" Issen asked with a pout.
Was her question really that strange? Her eyes followed where his where as they drew to a halt. Coiled in the sky? Oh, so he meant a snake! She nodded as Hysaeda spoke, mentally drawing out the picture of a giant, green, and dazzling serpent in the sky. It was magnificent, agile, and deadly, though not all were that way. The woman frowned as her attention turned back to her companion.  His people were afraid of those born under the sign of a snake? It sounded perfectly silly and rather sad.

Issen smiled as he further described the Serpentine. She didn't know so much about cunning, but the woman was confident that all those characteristics did rather describe him well. As Hysaeda looked at her, she poked him in the chest.
"You bring plenty good," she said as he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.
The woman giggled as he did, and quickly responded with a happy peck on the lips. She would have embraced him, if she could, but doing so was awkward on a horse. Instead, she sleepily returned to her previous position of leaning against him as she patted his hand and closed her eyes.
"We ought to go back to chasing that star of yours," she said with a smile on her lips.

Hysaeda couldn't help a smile at her.  He felt at ease with her, a feeling he couldn't say he experienced with most people.  She was proving to be a good friend, and he was starting to feel like he could tell her anything.  She was right and he nodded to her and started up Hibi again, nudging her to continue riding, which the horse did with a grumpy neigh.

The moon lit the way but with the air quite chill, Hysaeda covered up his neck with a scarf from the saddle bag that someone snuck in there, and pressed Hibi to go a little faster.  Hysaeda felt himself drifting off as well, but blinked hard to keep himself awake.

Hibi obliged him and picked up the pace.  But as the horse moved faster, Hysaeda kept his eyes on the star the whole time that he did not see the sandy drop-off not more than two hundred yards ahead of him.  When he did, as they neared it, he pulled Hibi to a stop and looked over, seeing a cliff drop off of more than five hundred feet.

"Um, Issen," he said, looked down at the cliff's edge.  "We might have a problem."  He looked beyond and saw the star was right across it.  There was not likely to be away around this massive hole in the ground.

Though the  temperature was dropping steadily, the weather was rather pleasant and the path relatively smooth. Issen found herself in the state between conscious and fast asleep. Sometimes, her eyes would flutter open in alarm with a particularly bumpy step done by the horse, but quickly would they shut back and her mind drifted away. The woman's attempt at rest was cut abruptly short as they arrived at.. well, something. Hysaeda seemed to be concerned by something that was right in front of them, though it took her a while in her state to figure out what.

"A... problem?" she repeated in mild confusion as she, too, looked down the cliff that laid before them. The woman's eyes opened wide as she peered down into the dark abyss.
"It's so big," she exclaimed in wonder as she survey a way around it. Her eyes could see no such path. Surely there had to be one, but it would  take them perhaps days to journey around it.

Hibi suddenly started to grow very, very unsettled. She whinnied and stomped her feet in impatience. Curious, Issen slid  off of the mare to  pet and soothe the creature as she kept an eye on the cliff, but then fell backwards startled as it began to kick its front legs and attempted to turn around and bolt away. She immanently rose to her feet to reach out for the horse.
"Calm down!" she pleaded, her tone mixed with confusion and frustration as she tried to keep the horse in place and steady.  Issen turned towards Hysaeda.
"What's spooking her?" she asked, her eyes searching in the darkness of the giant pit.

Hysaeda dismounted not long after Issen spoke to him, but he wasn't sure he could answer her question right away.  But it was safe to say that Hibi was not happy about it.  She grew antsy and whinnied as if something had pricked her behind and she was whipping her tail back and forth to get it off.  Hysaeda only gave brief attention to the horse before wandering toward the edge.

He peered out into the abyss, cold fear seeping into his gut, in anticipation of what he would see.  He shivered against the wind.  How could he possibly know what was down there without venturing himself?
The moonlight cut off at the edge and only highlighted one side, unfortunately not providing enough to give way.  Hysaeda leaned out a little, making out small rock points.  It wasn't just a gaping hole, but the start of a massive cliff-face that led down to a meandering canyon that stretched for who knew how many miles.

Hysaeda looked down into the pit again.  He could feel as if he was being watched by many eyes, perhaps those that had died falling over this very edge.  Whatever it was, there was no immediate danger and Hysaeda had a feeling the only way around it was through it.  "People died here," Hysaeda finally answered after a while.  "But I think we'll need to cross it, sooner rather than later.  What do you think?"

Issen's eyes weren't nearly as keen as Hysaeda's and could only see an eternal darkness, darker than the night sky. She shuddered as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly. This place was making her feel really uncomfortable, and Issen wanted to leave as soon as possible. But how? They were blocked... The woman fell to her knees and grasped hold of the edge of the cliff as she peered down into the giant hole. Just how deep was it? She took a deep breath and let out a cry. The sound shrilly echoed.  However, something else seemed to respond, as well. It was as if something was shifting in the earth as it emitted a loud and long hiss. The noises too much for her, Issen instinctively covered an ear with one hand as she reached for one of her knives with another. It didn't help that Hibi was wildly panicking and wanted to bolt away.  Issen stumbled to feet and ran towards the horse, though nothing she could do seemed to calm the beast down.

As she did so, something dark and looming emerged from the pit, blocking out  the moonlight with it's  awesome figure, its eyes gleaming as red as the star its pit fell under.
"Oh," Issen muttered, dumbstruck, "Oh, my goodness..."

Hysaeda's eyes were sharper and he could see more in the darkness, true.  But he saw nothing that could prepare him for this.  He literally took five giant steps backwards and lost his balance on the last one, tumbling on his behind as he saw a grand shadow rise above the edge and cross the moonlight.  Hysaeda scrambled to his feet, reaching for the hilt of his sword as the creature rose up higher and higher.  It was massive and there wasn't enough light to reveal all of it.

And suddenly in one gigantic leap, it thrust up into the sky, flying on something unseen.  As it did so, the moon returned to the sky and highlighted the creature.  It was reptilian in nature, four-legged with massive legs and lingered along its sides as it glided on the air.  Hysaeda squinted, shading his eyes to further see that it had ridges along its sides with tufts of something soft, rippling on the wind.  The creature slithered on the air like a snake on its belly, twirling here and there in an airborne loop.

After this masterful display, the reptile landed on the ground in a quaking billow of dust clouds.  The head was flat, large, and horned along its snout and the top of its head and back.  It slithered its tongue at them and suddenly took a snap at them, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth.

Hibi shrilly whinnied in horror as the reptile shot up into the sky, blocking out the starlight.  Issen had to steadfastly hold the beast still, trying desperately to calm it down while trying to stop her heart from racing and get her feet to move instead of feeling so heavy and still like stone. Somehow, she managed to find the smallest drop of courage when her eyes reluctantly swayed from the reptile to Hysaeda, whose sword appear to gleam, despite there not being anything there to give it light.

Encouraged by what just might have been a hallucination in this nightmare of circumstances, Issen grabbed steady on the reigns and Hibi's saddle and hoisted herself onto the panicking horse.
"Hang in there, Tahibat!" she encouraged as she drove the mare to start galloping towards Hysaeda. With her dagger free hand, she leaned over slightly to reach out for the elf.
"Come on!" she called out.
The woman screamed when the snake suddenly dove and snap at the two. It had missed, but barely, for before them was the giant pair of gleaming red eyes. The creature's red tongue flicked out at them, barely grazing Hibi.  Issen took a swing at it with a dagger, but the beast was too quick as it drew  back and flared out it's hood before letting out a piercing screech into the night.

The gigantic lizard was fierce and angry.  But Hysaeda didn't make a move toward it.  Rather he fell back on his ass again – and getting rather sick of it, by the by – and scrambled to his feet but found the same slipping away underneath him, losing ground as he shifted backwards.  His mind was reeling.  He saw everything and nothing all at the same time.  He held his sword in his hand like it was a piece of wood, not even thinking to use it.

But in all her desperation to rescue him, he saw something that Issen did not.  The way it's stance shifted from side to side, the way it breathed as desperately as they did.  It screamed, it snapped but it didn't charge the way he expected it too.  The way all aggressive creatures did when they were threatened.  He saw Issen flash her dagger at it and take swipe.

Getting the best of himself, Hysaeda managed to stand again and waved his hands again to her.  "Stop!  No!  Don't attack it, back off!"  Hysaeda ran towards her and reached Hibi's side in time to pull on the reins to try and control the horse.  But the frightened animal, swerved its head and bashed Hysaeda into his head, knocking him to the ground again and giving him a dizzying headache.

But his pleas had been too late. Issen watched in horror as Hibi knocked Hysaeda do the ground.
"Tahibat!" she scowled. Why did this have to happen now?
The woman wanted to jump off and help the elf, but despite the mare's bad behavior, they needed her if they wanted to survive.  The woman jerked at the reigns before giving the giant lizard a terrified, yet angry glare. The creature was glaring and hissing right at her in anger, his giant  eyes glaring at her and her dagger. Panting a little, Issen's thoughts returned to their fight with the gang. Knowing what she must do, her eyes quickly glanced over towards her companion.

If she could just avert the creatures attention for just one moment... But it seemed to want to have things done at it's own pace. It made a move to strike again, crawling in hot pursuit after the horse. The desert sand began to stir up into an almost mini storm as Hibi's hooves seemed to fly and the gigantic lizard's head and long, flickering tongue only seemed to glide closer and closer.
"Come on, come on," Issen urged through gritted teeth.
She was an idiot, she had to be an idiot to derive a plan like this.
I almost killed Hysaeda back there, she thought, grimly. What use was her to him if she was stirring up trouble? This was her time to prove her worth, and it wasn't going well at all. Then again, Issen thought, she had more pressing matters to think about, such as not getting eaten or letting the mare or Hysaeda die by it's fangs and spikes.

Besides that... where was she going? Issen was riding in a straight path, but this seemed to annoy the creature, as it turned with lightning fast speed around them, cutting off their path. The sudden swift movement caused the earth to rumble a little more as it's slithering along the sand caused the sand to stir up. It's  body served as  wall that was impossible for Hibi to jump over. Issen had no choice but to yank at the reigns of the terrified beast and turned around. The dreaded thing was mocking her, trying to catch her in it's trap.
Hopefully, this will buy Hysaeda enough time to...
The woman's thoughts were cut short as the lizard only seemed to move faster to block off their path. It let out a screech as it's hood flared out, glaring at Issen with large and horrifying eyes. The sight of it caused Issen's body to tremble horribly as her skin turned white. Stiffing a scream, Issen forced herself to stare right back at it, daggers in hand as the poor mare was forced to stay in place.

Hysaeda's head throbbed something dreadful and he felt sand cling to a moist substance along the side of his face.  He wouldn't have been in any better position than to think that he'd cut his head open on something hard at the ledge.  He couldn't make any sense of what was going on around him.  His muscles felt like noodles and his bones felt like drifting silt.  He moved but he had no feeling in his limbs, and his sight was blurred and glared by whatever light the moon provided.  His voice was hoarse when he tried to call out; he could feel the vibrations of sound in his throat but he could barely hear the words he tried to speak.  They were dulled, underwater, drowned from his senses.

Somehow, some way, he found the strength to stand, taking whatever breaths he could as he gazed up and gradually made out the shape of the lizard that stood its ground.  Slowly but surely, he felt his own feet moving, unsure of his own strength, unsure of his own stature.  He didn't know what he was saying but he felt his mouth cry out Issen's name, hoping that she might hear him, hoping that she might back away.

The creature did not make a move, did not stir as if in a stand-off between her and it.  It chuffed, forced out massive gusts of air from its nostrils that moved the sand about in giant dust clouds.  Hysaeda drew steadily closer in his disorientation.

"Don't attack!" he managed.  "It's only defending its home!  Stand down, Issen!  Come back...this way!"

Issen coughed as she drew her head scarf around her mouth and nose. It was hard to make out much of anything in this sand and past the lizard. All she could do was try to control the mare as she stared down the beast. Her mind was blank. Issen was utterly lost, and she felt foolish for pulling such a prank. Suddenly, Hysaeda's voice called out towards her from the darkness. She couldn't hear him completely, but he sounded as if he was approaching and was ordering her to come back. Finally getting the message, Issen reluctantly sheathed her daggers. She didn't want to, but it seemed to have an effect on the lizard. He seemed... a little calmer, but barely.

How to get to Hysaeda...
There was a way.  It was a small chance, but Issen knew she had to risk it. Quickly, the spirit woman galloped straight for the lizard's body. Though Tahibat wanted to absolutely refuse, Issen grasped hard to the reigns as they charged as her feet dug in deeper into the saddle. The lizard, alarmed, shot his neck down in  an attempt to snap them up in its powerful jaws, but by a stroke of luck, Tahibat screamed as she dodged the lizard, hiding behind one of it's legs. Scared and still very unknowable of how to  ride a horse properly, Issen used all of her strength in attempt to stir the mare underneath the creature's belly and towards Hysaeda. As she reached out for her companion, the woman drew the horse to a halt as the lizard quickly turned around to face them, again.

"Maybe we could offer it something?" she whispered.

Hysaeda blinked hard and long and soon his vision began to clear.  Peering out to the massive beast, Hysaeda felt strangely enthralled and took a moment before seeing the creature visibly relax.  He held onto Tahibat's reins to help himself stand up.

"Like what?" he asked.  He thought for a moment before reaching to his side and unsheathing his sword.  He gripped the leather of the handle for a moment, thinking of the blood that had often gleamed on the edge of the blood as it was used to kill, to slay, to protect.  He wondered if the offering was suitable enough, if it even matter at all.  Hell in the middle of the desert, what did he have to lose?

He stepped forth to the lizard, dizzying steps from having hit his head so hard and when he was close enough he held out the sword, handle first to the lizard.  The creature sniffed and chuffed, his horned face reaching low to inspect the item further.  Suddenly the creature's tongue shot out and wrapped around the sword and swallowed the item whole as if it were nothing at all.

"I don't know," Issen admitted as her companion asked.
It was just a desperate hope that it might work. She didn't even know what it would accomplish. She watched as Hysaeda unsheathed his sword and narrowed her eyes.
He was going to offer that?
It's a noble sacrifice, she thought grimly as he he stepped forward.

The woman awkwardly got off the horse, holding her breath as she grasped the reigns tightly. Issen watched as the creature examined the item, and flinched as its' tongue shot out. For a moment, she thought the creature was going to harm her friend, only to find that it had swallowed the sword. She drew in a deep breath, fully of relief.
It worked, she thought, baffled, For now.
The lizard was now glaring at her with cold and curious eyes as it crocked its head to the side.

"You want something from  me, too?" she asked as she reached into her bag and carefully opened her box. The woman pulled out a beautiful silver necklace. It had meant a lot to her, long ago, for it had been her favorite. It still was a precious link to her identity, she was sure of it, but if Hysaeda could give up his sword, than she could give up something of hers. Issen solemnly walked up towards the creature with one hand holding on to the reigns  as the other held the thing  up in the moonlight, so that the lizard could see how it shone in the light. As it did with the sword, it bowed its mighty head down to sniff and examine the thing before sticking its tongue out and accepting the offering. After swallowing it, the creature silently lowered its head and upper body into the sand.

Issen arched her brows in confusion  when her eyes suddenly lit up in recognition.
"Hysaeda," she said, her voice full of awe, "I think it'll help us to cross."

Hysaeda puffed and frowned bitterly at having his only sword swallowed in such a manner.  Umbraeon weapons were always kept to the sharpest degree and fashioned of a kind of metal that allowed them to easily maintain their edge whether cleaving through flesh or bone.  Few things shocked Hysaeda, but when they did, they easily made his jaw drop in astonishment.  The lizard would know doubt have a nasty stomach ache later on, or it had guts of iron.  Either way, Hysaeda couldn't say he was happy about the whole thing.

If all went well, he'd get his sword back come morning.  He wasn't sure about the creature taking the items as offerings as maybe it was simply had a weird inanimate object fetish, either way, Hysaeda was just glad it didn't eat him.  He stepped closer to the lizard, wary of it as it was of him and knelt by the creature's nose.   "I want that back," he said firmly before stepping precariously onto the reptile's head.

The lizard chuffed and blew sand out its nostrils as if in a sneer awaiting Issen to follow suit.  When they were both on the lizard, it thrust up into the air, floating on the air as if it were a fish in water, swimming amidst the brisk night sky.  It flew over the massive chasm as if nothing.

Hysaeda had ridden on his cousin's dragon before, but that was nothing compared to this.  The lizard was not a dragon in much of the traditional sense.  It was built for the harshness of the desert lands.  It showed in its movements and it's broad spiky head.  Hysaeda grabbed onto one of those spikes to hold on for dear life, wondering how the creature was flying in the first place due to its lack of wings.  He couldn't see it too well from here, but he made out tufts of feathers along the side of the lizard, hidden in a fold of skin that kept the creature afloat on the air.  It slithered like a serpent, but unlike the serpent,  Hysaeda did not fear its bite.

Issen only smiled and shook her head at Hysaeda's frustration with the creature.  Though she had viewed his gesture as noble, he was sulking It was kind of silly and funny and she couldn't help but to giggle as she mounted the lizard. It didn't seem to forget about their horse as it held it in its claws. Tahibat didn't seem to mind; in fact, she had passed out.  However, Issen didn't notice that. Instead, she was clinging onto the lizard for her dear life, looking out at the desert with the eyes of an awe struck child. It was like when she was riding the sand worm, only a lot more constant and steady.

She gasped as she observed the tufts of feathers and admired at the way the beast slithered across the sky. All this felt very surreal to the woman, and she didn't know whether if she should laugh or cry.
It's like a beautiful dream, Issen thought wistfully as she took in a deep breath.
From the skies, the night air smelled fresh and clean.  The lizard carried them across the wide ditch. It was much wider than Issen had expected it to be, and she marveled at its vastness. The bottom was impossible to see at this hour, and she tried not to look into it. The darkness seemed endless, and spooked her.

The lizard carried them a few miles beyond the other side of the trench. It gently dropped the horse to the ground before landing by it. Caught up in her moment of bliss, it was Issen's turn to sulk as she carefully climbed down from the beast.
"If only we could have flew for just a bit longer," she lamented, stumbling to get her balance back. Her eyes widened when they fell on the limp horse.
"Is she... okay?" she asked as she bent down next to the mare's face.

This creature, summoned somewhere from the darkness of the pit, lingering there for centuries pass perhaps, had somehow had it's loyalty earned for reasons Hysaeda did not know.  He wondered where it came from, if there were more like it, and why it had come to them in this particular moment of need.  Never had he been one to feel his faith dwindle, even now with the memory of his home destroyed, father slain, and his journey into this vast unknown, but never could he tell if he believed in the hand of fate, that somewhere his god was laying out his path before him.  All things had their purpose and served them well or didn't have any reason to be.  This was his adage.

He turned from his musings over to Issen as she leaned over the state of their horse.  For a moment his heart leapt into his throat and he rushed to the horse's side and as he knelt down pressing his keen ear to the horseflesh there, listening for a heart beat, he furrowed his brow.  How it could have been, he didn't know.  Perhaps it was from fear of flight, of falling, of smashing bones and bridle to the ground.  But he frowned at Issen and shook his head.

"I think she is dead," he said in Essyrni.

Issen stared blankly at Hysaeda for a moment as his words sank in.
"Hibi is what?!" she squeaked back in the same tongue.
Dead? Surely Tahibat wasn't dead. The giant lizard had been so careful with them, that Issen would have had thought that it had treated their horse with the same respect.
However, Hysaeda had no reason to lie to her, and as Issen pressed her ears against the mare's still body, she couldn't feel a pulse. 
"Oh," muttered a quite dumbfounded Issen as she staggered to her feet.

A pit had fallen in her gut somewhere, and the woman stared down at the fallen mare with a rather grim expression. Tahibat was dead, now. There hadn't been any violence that Issen was aware of, nor any illness. She was simply gone, and there was nothing more the two could do, but to keep on moving. After such a fascinating and beautiful moment, something like this happened. The same thing, she thought, happened back in Essyrn. Was this how life was? If so, it was quite jarring. Issen sighed as she tightly hugged herself, her eyes observing the heavens. Was this an omen? If it was, then it certainly wasn't a good one. They were just going to have to cross the desert by themselves, but Issen supposed that they'd have to manage.

"Let's go," she suggested ruefully in Common in an attempt to distract herself from their loss, from this horror. The woman felt her cheeks grow hot as she wiped away an incoming tear. They had a long march ahead of them; the two were going to have to walk throughout the night and find some shelter before the sun came in over head, so that they could get some rest. Issen tried to offer Hysaeda a smile, but her heart felt too heavy to allow her to. Instead, she found herself slinging her bag over her shoulders as she walked away as her mind contemplated on the stars.

Without her saying so, Hysaeda could tell the death of Tahibat had taken it's toll on his companion.  He was surprised to find her distress pained him, though it was not because of the horse.  Perhaps it was because now she had been his trusted friend for some time now and to see her like this, it broke his heart  But there was nothing he could do while she busied herself with walking away.  He glanced up at the giant lizard that had flown them to the other side and frowned.  Well, she was right.  Perhaps it was best to move on.

He started to follow her and walked on through the cold desert night.  But as he moved he herad the shuffling of sand behind him and stumbled a bit on the sand when he whirled around.  The lizard was following him.  He furrowed his brow.  "What do you want?" he called to the reptile.  "You already ate my sword and killed my horse and carried us across.  Go away.  You've done your duty."

He turned to walk away again only to be followed a few more feet.  The lizard huffed and through out furious wind from it's nostrils.  "I said go away!"  But the reptile didn't appear to want to follow orders.

Hysaeda noticed the lizard before Issen did. She didn't stop moving until he had abruptly called out to the creature, and nearly tripped over the edge of her garments in alarm.
The sight of the lizard threw her  in a bit of a panicked state. What did it want with them now? A bit of her frantically thought that perhaps its appetite for swords wasn't satisfied and that they, too, would join the pile of bones. She pursed her lips together at Hysaeda's anger with the creature, unable to comprehend his words, yet able to understand his tone. The last turn of events were unfortunate, in their own way. Especially about Tahibat. It made her feel uncomfortable; what if he made it angry?  

Uncertain of what to do, but determined to keep him from being eaten, the woman scuttled towards the elf as he turned away from the creature. Its hot breath blew into her face, stirring up some sand. Issen squinted and flinched; its breath was humid and foul. However, once she dared to look, she found the lizard staring at them with its deep dark eyes, as if waiting for something. A little creeped out, the woman took several apprehensive steps backwards. In response, the lizard took one eagerly forward. The woman tilted her head and watched his eyes follow her gaze.
Her eyes widened when she realized what it was doing. It was following them. Oh, no. No, no, no, no.... This couldn't be good. Couldn't it? Part of her was excited at the thought- they could fly, again- but the sensible side of her was cautious. After all, it was a wild beast and it (unintentionally) killed their horse!
Well, she thought, at least it's not going to eat us. I don't think. That's a good sign.

Encouraged, Issen brushed past Hysaeda and stood in front of the giant creature.
"I'm afraid you can't come with us," she said to the giant creature as she gestured her disapproval.
"Flying was fun, but we must part ways now. Good by- ah!"
The lizard ignored the woman and gently brought down its face close to hers, the air around them suddenly growing warmer. Issen could see her reflection quite clearly in its giant eyes.
"Hysaeda," she said in a barely audible whisper, unable to draw her attention away from the giant creature, "Why does it want to follow us so badly? You think it has something to do with what we fed it?"

There was a sudden rumble in the ground and the creature uttered a belch and with it flew the gleaming objects that it had taken from them, covered in internal slime. Hysaeda was repulsed by the sight and crawled back a little at the state of them.  He couldn't find it in him to glance at Issen.  The lizard only moved forward, insistent.

"I think...maybe he feels badly for what he did...killing our horse and all.  Maybe he wants to make up for it..."

Issen's hands flew up to her face as the giant lizard vomited in front of her. She had the good instinct to stumble away, but afterwords, the woman just stared at the pile of slime that was at her feet.
Hysaeda's sword, she thought, dumbfounded.
If she had a heart, Issen supposed it would be racing. The woman nearly jumped out of her skin when Hysaeda addressed her.
"Y-yes?!" she squeaked, still breathless.
He wants to make up for it...
Issen took a deep breath as she stared up at the lizard.

"Do you?" she asked in her ancient tongue.
He only stared pensively at her, flaring his nostrils.  Issen frowned, not knowing what to make of this situation. On one hand, she was rather sad that their mare had died so soon. On the other, the opportunity to fly again... Well, had Issen been in a different mood, she would've been ecstatic. As it was, she allowed herself a thin smile. Yes, this was wonderful, but didn't her companion not want the creature to follow them around? Besides, they didn't really know the best; it could easily eat them in their sleep! But the lizard had just given them their items back, a peace offering...

 Issen inspected the pile, again. The woman wrinkled her own noise; it smelled foul. She carefully crouched, rolled up her sleeves, and grimaced as she reached in for the blade.  The slime didn't hurt or sting to the touch, but with its warm temperature and stickiness, was unpleasant. She quickly dragged it out of the pile before snatching out her silver necklace, and flinging it onto clean sand.
"Hysaeda," she said, in her old tongue, not knowing the proper words in the other languages.  "Do you have anything  to clean...?"
Issen tugged at the ends of her skirt to indicate her meaning. She would use her clothes if she must,  but they had many miles to travel, and Issen wasn't keen on soiling them.

The lizard could no understand the ancient tongue which the female spoke, he didn't know what to make of the sounds that came from their maws.  They were such tiny things, the likes of which even he could not believe had been strong enough to wake him from his slumber.  There was something odd about the pair for even he could sense neither of them was remotely normal.  The male was somber, old, though not nearly as old as he, and seemed heavy, weighed.  The female had the stench of something caught in undeath.  His tongue flicked the air and could sense it all the more.  Yet there was nothing hostile about her.

Hysaeda looked up at the creature as if he didn't quite hear Issen.  Because the lizard didn't seem to understand her words.  Before he knew it he stood up and looked at the creature directly in the eye and began to speak in words even he didn't know he could.  "Why do you do this, dragon of the sands?  You lingered in your chasm tomb until we came along, why help us, where you could easily destroy us?" Hysaeda spoke in a language vastly different from the Common and Essyrian he had been speaking.  It was Draconic, a language of dragons, the sound of which seemed guttural and sharp to the ears.

The lizard seemed taken aback and looked at Hysaeda with wide eyes, surprised, and he knew then that he understood.  "You are strangers in this land..." the reptile replied, flaring his nostrils.  "There are greater things than I, to eat and destroy you, though I could as you said.  But for you know to know the language of my kind...I am surprised.  There is something...strange about you...both of you.  Neither of you belong here...or once did, but to a different era.  Why do you wander these sands?"

Hysaeda looked at Issen and shook himself, surprised at what he'd said, at what he'd heard and understood.  "He wants to know why we are here, why we wander," Hysaeda translated.

The air was hot and humid as if all the water had been sucked out of it as the giant lizard spoke.
It spoke.
Issen could only assume it was the same tongue that Hysaeda had just spoken to it to. Her companion was full of surprises and tongues, it seemed.  The woman could only wonder what was that, though she felt a ping of jealously. Issen wished that she could have spoken to the beast, too, and rouse such queer words from it.  She glanced over to the elf as he translated before turning her attention to the enigma before her.
"Oh," she dully replied.
Why they were here?

Issen frowned as she pondered on that question as she struggled to hold the sword with the blade facing downwards so that the ooze could drip off of it. Her nose wrinkled, but the woman tried not to make any further protest.
"Speak true," she suggested, as if it was the most obvious choice.
"Tell him who you are and what you seek and that you're my "mas-" that I'm bounded to you."
She offered an embarrassed grin at her mishap as she presented Hysaeda with his blade.
Still, that was the blunt truth of matters, even if he didn't like the word or that they were friends, with half finished tree on her back as proof.

Her eyes curiously turned towards the lizard.
"Perhaps he knows something of me," she muttered quietly to herself before turning towards Hysaeda. The woman felt flustered, almost hoping he didn't hear her or would translate it.
"What's his name?" she asked slowly, wondering if he was nameless.

Hysaeda nodded to her suggestions and looked at the massive lizard in the eye.  He hesitated for a moment before finding the right words to speak.  He didn't even know he could speak Draconic, it was like the language was pulled out of him.  It was something he'd never had any reason to speak before, let alone hear it spoken to him.  He'd heard his cousin converse once or twice but didn't understand the inside words spoken between him and his dragon, but this reptilian seemed different.

When he found the words, he translated, explaining how he found Issen and that they were wandering the desert with no clear direction.  He told the lizard briefly how he came into the sands, chased by slavers, and escaped into the unknown until he had found Issen and was not so suddenly alone anymore.  He didn't say much on being bound, for even the exact details of that were fuzzy to him, but he did go on to finish with, "And what is your name?"

"Name?" the lizard replied, looking at Hysaeda quizzically.  "I know not of a name.  I am of the sands and sun, that is all I know.  I have never needed a name.  Only mortals like you have needed names to identify others of your kind...  But if you have need to call me something...you may choose to do so.  But choose wisely."

Hysaead paused for a moment, wondering what to call a massive lizard found in the middle of nowhere...but no name came to him yet.  "Perhaps in the future," he replied, then turned back to Issen, translating the rest for her.  "He can guide us, he has lived these deserts for many centuries," Hysaeda added.  "Perhaps we can find more about this bond between us as well."

Issen's eyes widened at the concept of meeting another that was as nameless as she was.
Perhaps as not, she thought, I'm Issen, now.
Still, without an original name and just as old and perhaps older than she was, Issen was feeling akin to the lizard.
She mused over Hysaeda's words.
Our bond...
Though the creature was old, Issen doubted that he know of such things.  What was the plight of the Tomb Guardian to he?

"Really?" she asked in her own language.
Part of her was ecstatic with hope that this was true. Yet another was afraid. Her stomach suddenly didn't feel so good.  Uneasy, Issen felt almost dizzy by how heavy and light she felt at once. Settling for supporting her weight by clutching Hysaeda's arm, Issen somehow managed to remain standing steadily on her feet. 
"He can take us to where the sword is leading us?" she quietly asked as she looked out towards the  vast darkness of the desert. 

"If so, we then we should go now," she pointed out.
The night wasn't going to last forever; the sun would be up in a few hours, and they would be better off with shelter, then.
Though we might not need one with a giant for shade, thought Issen.

Issen posed a necessary question.  If this creature, for whatever reason, could help them reach their destination faster, then who was he to refuse it?  It didn't seem to have any ulterior motives?  Why would an ancient lizard have any in the first place?  If so, then it could have just eaten the both of them now and been done with it.  Hysaeda had no reason to trust this lizard however...and also had no reason to distrust him.  He found the strength to nod to Issen and stepped toward the massive reptile.

The creature lowered an arm to allow Hysaeda to mount on his back.  He stepped carefully, the roughened hard scales of the lizard etched with particles of sand in the spaces between.  He offered a hand to Issen to help her climb up before the lizard dug his claws into the cold sands and lunged into the evening sky.

[would it be all right to end the thread here and open it up on the glass desert?]