Knots can be Undone and Remade

[Winters-Feather]

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.

[Lion]

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.

[Winters-Feather]

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?"

[Lion]

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..."

[Winters-Feather]

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.

[Lion]

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.

[Winters-Feather]

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.

[Lion]

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."

[Winters-Feather]

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.

[Lion]

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?]