A Shadow in the Sun (Closed)

[Lion]

"I'm not talking fast," he snapped.  "Maybe you're just thinking slow!  Ugh, this is no time to argue.  And keep your voice down.  Do you want to wake them over there?  No, I thought not!  Now just calm down."  High talk for someone who was feeling the dregs of his temper begin to rise, Hysaeda thought with a frown.  He sighed and looked over his shoulder again, and caught a glimpse of a sheath in her blade.  "Wait I think I can get it," he said.  Hysaeda scooted forward, keeping his wrists back and rolled to one side, though it strained his shoulder to do so.  He twisted in an odd way, a way only a person who'd maintained flexibility for all their lives would be able to manage.  It strained his neck and he squashed his shoulder, but he shoved his head toward the belt at her waist until he felt the hilt of the small knife by his lips and pulled the weapon out of the sheath with his teeth.

"Okay," he muttered in a funny way with the knife in his teeth.  "I'm 'onna d'op de knife in yo' han'.  An' schta't cuttin'!"  Hysaeda turned his head even more, and he was starting to feel light headed by now, and dropped the knife between them.

[Anonymous]

Panya almost didn't get the knife, the blade cutting into her palm. She made a soft hiss of pain, but held on, carefully adjusting her grip so she wasn't holding the blade. Blood dripped down her hand, but the cut was shallow, "Got it."

In order to cut the ropes, Panya had to hold the knife awkwardly, unable to put much force behind it. Keeping a nervous eye on the men, Panya worked the knife back and forth and the rope began to split, "Almost there."

[Lion]

Hysaeda did his best to remain steady despite his heart nearly jumping up into his throat.  He glanced at the men.  The one standing watch jerked his head up and a little at the sound of a night bird squawking loudly from somewhere far away, but he didn't glance in their direction.  But that close was too close and he turned his head back a little.  "Hurry," he hissed.

[Anonymous]

Panya nodded, working as fast as she could, though it was still frighteningly slow. Then her wrists were free and Panya pulled her arms forward with a sigh of relief. Glancing over at the men, she slowly turned and started to quickly sawed through Hysaeda's ropes, her voice a rough whisper, "There. Come on!"

[Lion]

Hysaeda put tension on the rope as she sawed away.  The blade seemed dull for it took too many strokes before he broke free and rubbed his wrists in relief.  Then his eyes cut to the horses...  That'd certainly be a lot faster than walking.  "Give me that knife," he said.  "The fewer horses they have, the better, I think.  To hell with them."  Hysaeda cut the tethers that bound the horses, who, with a few words were becalmed by the Umbraeon's native tongue.  He saddled them with the light leather saddles that were there.  He grabbed as many supplies as he could just and strapped them to the saddle just before he hopped on and galloped away.  It had been so long since he rode a horse, but muscle memory quickly took over and soon he nudged the beast to ride off into the dark, towards the moonlight.

[Anonymous]

It all happened quite fast, but Panya did her best to help gather supplies. She almost never rode, only having been on a horse or camel a few times. Luckily for her, the horse she had was passive and she held on for dear life as she followed after Hysaeda, biting down on her lip to keep from squealing.

[Lion]

The moon was high and gusts of cold desert wind whipped his back and breath.  He always hated the way horses jounced everywhere and he was not a skilled rider.  He preferred to walk, always, if he could.  But time was of the essence and horses were faster for now.  His body would need time still to recover from all the running he'd done and he would need to go back to find the sword he'd lost in the sand, if it could be found at all.

When they were far enough away, Hysaeda pulled on the reins of the horse to slow it to a stop and looked back only to see that the girl was still following him.  Where in the hell did she come from and why did she not leave him alone?  He grimaced and waited until she came up beside him.  "I think there are some things you need to talk to me about before we go any further," Hysaeda said slowly, making sure she got every word.  "I don't even know you're name, or what you're even doing here in the desert.  Who are you?"

[Anonymous]

Still hanging on, Panya was startled by the venom in the man's voice. She frowned over at him, "You are very mean, you know that? You don't say thank you and you keep poison on your tongue. I am Panya. What about you? You have not said your name or why you were being chased or anything but how I've someone caused your misfortune."

[Lion]

"I suppose I should thank you for getting me into this mess in the first place," Hysaeda muttered bitterly, but he sighed and gazed at her.  "I am sorry you had to be dragged into this Panya.  Call me Hysaeda.  And I was running because they were slavers and gave chase.  What the heck would you have done in a situation like that?"

[Anonymous]

"So nasty! Would it hurt you to be nice? The gods have sent us this meeting, but I am thinking that maybe they aren't smiling on it today." Panya sighed and brushed her thick hair back from her face, "I'm sorry. That was unkind. It is good to meet you Hysaeda. I am sorry you were in such a bad place."

[Lion]

"If you expect a gentleman, I'm  not sorry to disappoint you," he said.  "But don't be sorry for me.  Sorries never helped anyone when it really counted.  Your gods might not be smiling on you, but only they would know why."  He nudged the horse to walk.  "What are you doing out here?  Where did you come from?"

[Anonymous]

"I'm seeing the world. I grew up in a very small place with very small walls. So now, I want to see what is beyond them." Panya grinned, still shaky in her saddle, but they were moving slow enough that she was doing alright, "What about you? Why are you out here?"

[Lion]

Her answer was satisfactory for a stranger.  He didn't know what he expected to hear, but she didn't seem to be from one of the tribes that lingered out here.  She said she was seeing the world and he wasn't going to stop her but he found it odd that she seemed to act with such little good sense.  Or maybe it was simply because her actions were against his good senses.  He was a survivalist and naturally did his best to avoid sticky situations and, when caught up in them, he had skills and the mindset to get out of them in the quickest most efficient way possible.  He frowned when she asked him and his face grew somber.  "I'm traveling too," he lied in a solemn tone.  "I've come up with a lot of time on my hands recently and I'm going to use it to see this...this....Outland.  You're from the Outland.  Why don't you show me around, since you seem to be so keen on sticking around.  Take me to the nearest oasis...if there is one at all around here."

[Anonymous]

"Outland? What's the inside land then?" Panya cocked her head, curious, "And sure! Um...give me a moment, I have to figure out where we are." She had been knocked out when the slavers took her and navigating the desert was tricky.

"It's hard to tell with so much sand. I'm used to jungles and trees. But...uh...this way!" Panya beamed, pointing slightly to the southeast, "Now I just have to figure out how to make the horse go there..."

[Lion]

"You don't need to know," Hysaeda remarked.  They were already in the Outland, as he called it, any land that wasn't his home.  But he wouldn't explain it to her, she was a stranger.  "Don't worry.  She'll follow mine.  Come."  Hysaeda started off in the direction that she indicated.  "You said jungles and trees, right?  How far away from here is that?"

[Anonymous]

"So angry! How can you expect to get along with anyone when you are so guarded?" Panya wrinkled her nose and shook her head. When her horse turned, she gave a squeal and gripped tighter, the placid mare just snorting and tossing it's mane.

"Oh, it's a long way away. Across the sands! I've been traveling for a while, but I wanted to head back soon. Adventure can be so exciting, but sometimes home is best."

[Lion]

Hysaeda sighed and tried to turn his thoughts away from this infuriating stranger.  Was he so angry?  Was it anger born of the frustrating thought that he was bound to never see his home again.  Her words depressed him and even though he knew she was right, that very fact only made him feel upset further.  Why did she have to be right!?  Why did the fates turn on him?  But these were questions one of his training could tell would have no answers.  Hysaeda only nodded to her words and said nothing, for there was nothing to say.

He slowed his pace as he watched her mare try and keep up.  Perhaps it was better to stay behind with her while he could.  The loner in him wanted to shy away but he knew he could very well die out here alone and no one would give a damn.  Just another corpse to be swallowed by the sands.  "You're awfully far away from home then," he tried.  "How did you survive out here for so long?  I suppose there are other strangers out here wandering to help, tired, worthless travelers like myself are there?  Or are you the only one?"

[Anonymous]

"Oh, not as far as I could be. I've never gotten all the way to Ketra yet." Panya smiled, gesturing to the desert, "I always seem to get stuck somewhere in the desert. Hard to escape all the sand I suppose."

With a shrug, Panya shook her head, "I think I'm just lucky I guess. I haven't had much problems with slavers, that was the first band I've run into. I seem to meet lots of nice people and they help me out." Generally they were a little more pleasant than Hysaeda was, but he was probably just a little grumpy.

[Lion]

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't bother past it.  Nothing but a bunch of sorry ingrates that like to stuff you in cold, dank cells even though you did absolutely nothing wrong," Hysaeda remarked, finally finding words with which to speak.

Hysaeda tilted his head to her and lifted a brow.  "You think people help you out because your lucky?"  He let out a laugh, a dry one and he coughed sand, but he kept a small grin on his face anyway.  "I think thinks it's luck.  I think it's just 'cause of your, you know."  Hysaeda let go of the reins and spread his hands over invisible balloons over his chest, in an imitation of breasts.  After that he let out a loud laugh, a taunting laugh that definitely lightened his mood.  A poor attempt a joke, but it certainly made him feel better.  Hysaeda grinned at her and nudged the horse with his heels to trot across the sand.

[Anonymous]

"My breasts? Why would anyone want to help because of my breasts?" Panya looked down at her ample chest and found it was still normal. Nothing there she could imagine inspiring acts of kindness and bravery over.

"That's too bad about Adela. So many people can be so cruel." Panya reached for her waterskin to offer it to him again, but paused, remembering that it had been emptied already, "Maybe I wont visit then. Though Essyrn is very beautiful and I've always wanted to see the plains. So much wide space and no trees or sand."