[Sitka]

Name;
Malik
Gender;
Male
Species;
Bleached Gyrophant

Name;
Sven
Gender;
Male
Species;
Glacial Serraptor

       The heat was simply unbearable. In the vast empty landscape, no soul was insight, except for two figures in the distance, who some may mistake for a mirage.

It was an odd pair, a Glacier Serraptor and a Bleached Gyrophant, making their way slowly across the no man's land. Both seemed exhausted, with their dragging steps and bowed heads.

"Tree..." the Gyrophant said bleakly. It was a pathetic life form, it's branches scattered with a few green leaves. However, there was shade and any break from the intense heat was a welcomed sight. Putting a little more 'umph' into their step, the duo made it to the shade in minutes, panting and dehydrated.
       
The Gyrophant, being the large creature that he was, was forced to lay in order to fit under the shade. The Glacier Serraptor, however, pressed himself against the trunk, closing his eyes.

"I'm beginning to think this was a bad idea..." he grudgingly admitted. The Gyrophant opened one eye and looked at him.

"Really?" he said sarcastically, which he rarely did. The Serraptor let out a growl, signaling he wasn't in the mood to play.

After resting a few more minutes, the Serraptor stood and flexed his clawed feet. "Well, let's get going."

"Why can't you train here?" the Gyrophant said in defeat, hesitant to leave his shade. The Serraptor rolled his eyes and began to walk again. "Sven..."

"What Malik?" he snapped, turning around, watching his comrade struggle to stand. "Listen, the man at the store said that oasis would be around here somewhere."

"What if he lied?"

Sven snorted and continued to lead the way, with Malik catching up to him rather quickly.

[Sitka]

Malik was the first to spot the oasis. As he and Sven rounded another sand dune the majestic sight came into view. The relief was too much for Malik, as he let out a high-pitch squeak (which Sven was amazed to hear) and bounded towards the water, shaking the ground and his hooves struck the earth. Grinning, Sven chased after him, soon gaining speed, and eventually passing him as he straighted out his back, making him more aerodynamic. Forgetting and self-respect he had, he jumped full-speed into the water, splashing it about. Malik soon joined him, but Sven was able to slow him down before he bounded in.

The oasis was much bigger then Sven expected. It was more like a lake, and Malik was able to sit in comfortably, with most of his neck standing above the water. Closing his eyes and sighing, Malik stretched out his neck upwards and shivered contently. Sven bobbed his head underwater a few times before leaving his sanctuary. A little ways off from the lake stood a battered looking hunk of rock.

Sven, crouched down, circling it a few times, before lunging at it, smacking his elongated foot claw against it, and jumping back. He repeated the procedure several times, adding in a good swipe or two.

The constant tapping of Sven's claws against the rock (and the grunts that went along with it) forced Malik to abandon his hope for silence. Instead, he settled down and watched Sven attack the rock.

"What, may I ask, are you doing?" Malik said quietly, in hopes of striking up a conversation.

"I. Am. Killing. This. Rock."Sven managed to snarl out, after every lunge at his foe. Malik blinked a few times.

"Oh. I see." he muttered, settling down and watching Sven destroy his foe.

Sven managed to get out a dozen more attacks before turning to Malik.

"Why don't you train?"he asked, cocking his head. Malik blinked.

"I don't like fighting."

"What!?" Sven burst out, laughing at Malik, as if he was kidding. Soon the laughter faded away, and Sven was dumbfounded. To him, fighting was everything, so it seem entirely strange that Malik didn't find it so appealing. "Why don't you like fighting?"

"I see no use for it..." Malik said truthfully. "Fighting leads to more fighting, which leads to more pain."

"Please." Sven sneered, glaring at Malik, who gazed innocently back. Sven looked from Malik to the rock, and back, disgusted. "I'm done with the rock." he muttered, looking around for something else that could amuse him.

"Why don't you run?" Malik suggested. Sven stopped and nodded in agreement.

"It'd be a great way to build my stamina..."

"Do five laps around the oasis." Malik suggested, spurred on by Sven's agreement. Sven nodded.

"All right, I will."

Stretching out his legs, and bobbing his head up and down for good measure, he started his pace off as a jog, which was quickly followed by a run.

[Sitka]

While Sven wasted his energy running, Malik stood and exited the oasis, shaking his body in an attempt to get some of the water off. Walking over to the rock, he examined it. There were a few fresh scars, no doubly caused by Sven, but there was also some old wounds etched into it, including a bite mark of a very large creature. Malik stood straight and gave the rock a kick, making a small piece of it fall off. His face fell as he examined his unrepairable damage.

"Aw. I broke it." he muttered.

He felt a slight breeze and saw Sven had reached his top speed again, and had just flew past him. Returning his attention to his pebble, he quickly dug a small hole in the sand, kicked the fragment into it, and filled it up again. "There. No one will ever know." Looking around again, Malik spotted a healthy looking tree, an extreme counter-part to the tree they had rested at earlier. Feeling an emptiness in his stomach, Malik lumbered over to the branches and did a taste nibble. Satisfied with the taste, he began to graze, closing his eyes and allowing the heat to dry him off.

Seeing Malik eating as Sven rounded the lake again made him realize exactly how hungry he was. However, he wasn't one to eat plants, which meant he required meat. Slowing down and cooling himself in the water again, Sven keenly looked around, looking for something he could possibly snack on.

Thoughts of attacking Malik jumped into his head, however, Sven was able to control his instincts and instead zoomed in on a unlucky lizard who scurried into view. It had apparently been dozing under the tree Malik was browsing and sensed some sort of danger. When it darted into the open, Sven followed it, becoming rigidly still as he stalked his prey. Finally, when the lizard had slowed its pace, Sven lunged at it, sending water flying into the air and the lizard running.

After chasing it and snapping at it unsuccessfully a few times, Sven managed to grab it within his jaws, clamping them down. Dropping his meal to the ground, he held it down with his foot as he pulled off what little meat there was on it.

Malik had turned his head away from the scene. Sven required meat to survive, so Malik thought it would be useless to chastise his companion. Besides, Malik was eating an innocent tree.

That thought caused Malik to stop mid bite and examine the tree, making sure it wasn't in pain.

OCC // Will continue tomorrow...

[Sitka]

Hours Later...

With a grunt Sven threw himself to the ground, panting. He had spent god knows how long running, and he was utterly exhausted.

Malik had grown bored with eating and was basking in the water, his eyes closed. One eye opened though, when he heard Sven drag himself to the water and drink.

Then, they sat in silence.

A soft padding sound caught the attention of Malik, who sprang up instinctively. His ears twitched, trying to locate where the sound was coming from. Sven also heard a noise and rose his snout into the air, inhaling deeply. Finally, he caught the creature's scent.
Malik gestured his head towards a large boulder and Sven nodded, silently creeping.
Then, with a snarl, he sprang on top of the rock and roared.

A white blur shot out from behind it's hiding place, with Sven close on it's tail, his jaws snapping. When the two came near Malik he reared up.

The blur, afraid it was going to be crushed by Malik's hooves, stopped short and was tackled by Sven.

After a brief struggle, Sven came out victorious, standing above his catch, his jaws pressed aganist it's neck.

Below them, panting and eyes darting in fear, was a Bleached Fellox.

[Sitka]

"Let me go!" the creature whimpered, and, judging by it's voice, it was obvious it was a female. Sven growled in warning as she wiggled and tightened his grip. "I've done nothing to you!"

"Let her go..." Malik protested quietly, looking at Sven. He glanced up at Malik, then down at the Fellox. Disgusted he released his grip and sulked away.

The Fellox jumped up and crouched down defensively, looking at Malik, then to Sven, obviously scared.

"Why were you watching us?" Malik asked gently, trying to calm the creature.

"I wasn't spying!" she whispered defensively, he voice showing her distress. Calmly Malik nodded.

[color=green"What's your name?"[/color]

Sven grumbled something and walked to the water, taking a drink.

The Fellox, seeing neither Malik or Sven charge her, relaxed a little.

"My name is Reina" she said softly.

"I'm Malik and this is Sven."

Sven grunted and looked towards the sky.

"Dusk is coming, we better go." he declared and set off without waiting for a reply. Malik watched him walk away and turned to Reina.

"Well, goodbye." Malik happily said, then followed Sven. Reina sat and swayed her tails.

"Goodbye..."

~.~

"She's following us." Sven growled, stopping and looking over his shoulder. Malik stopped and looked too, seeing his friend was correct. Sven had caught her scent nearly an hour before and she'd been following them since.

"Do you think she's lost? Or wild?" Malik asked worriedly. Sven rolled his eyes.

"I think she's a nuisance."

"Reina!" Malik bellowed causing Sven to hiss. The Fellox froze. She was a distance away, but Malik could see she was nervous. "Why are you following us?"

"Idiot! You're not suppose to ask people why they're stalking others!"

"Reina, why don't you walk with us?" Malik shouted again, ignoring Sven. Reina's tails twitched, then she started running towards them.

Minutes later she was at their side, panting.

"I. Was. Hoping. To. Find. The. Way. Back." she said in between gasps.

"You may walk with us." Sven said coldly "but don't expect any help once we get back." She nodded in agreement and fell into pace with Malik.

Swaying, Malik occasionally glanced down at Reina, who was quietly walking with her head bowed.

"So..." Malik began, in an attempt to start a conversation. "Do you have an owner?"

"Owner?" Reina blinked, then shook her head. "I don't think so." she paused, then looked up at him. "Do you?"

Malik eagerly nodded his head. "Her name is Beatrice. We travel with her."

"Is she here?"

"Oh yes. She is the great spirit who guides and protects us."

"Ah. I see."

"Don't listen to him." Malik said with a swish of his tail. "She's a human."

"Human?" Reina said, bewildered. "You live with a human?"

"Yes..." Malik muttered in uncertainty.

"Doesn't she try to tame you?"

"She let's us do our own thing. Like, take today. Sven wanted to train, so she let him."

"Where is she now?"

"Hopefully in the inn with dinner on the table." Sven muttered dryly.

"So you're wild huh?" Malik asked. Reina shrugged.

"I guess so. I remember waking up this morning, seeing you two walk by, and I decided to follow you. I don't know why I was in a desert."

"You don't know why you're in a desert?" Sven said in disbelief "Did you just, wake up and BOOM! here you were?"

"Yep. I fell asleep and woke up here. I don't remember anything else...Doesn't that happen to you?"

"What?"

"You occasionally wake up and don't know where you are?"

"No..."

"Oh."


Malik and Sven level up! w00t!

[Sitka]

Finally, after walking for what seemed like forever, the city they were staying at appeared the in horizon. Malik and Sven heard Reina gasp.

"What, have you never seen a city like this"?

Reina shook her head.

The city was a merchant city, built into the side of a canyon. For much of the day, it was in shade, which made it a welcome stop when traveling the desert.

Nighttime was when the city came fully alive. Many travelers don't leave until dusk, to travel in the colder temperatures. Due to that fact, many a store didn't open until night, which meant this was the time to do shopping.

The streets were lined with humans and other human-like creatures, along with various pets. Sven raised his head as some Shartile walked by and Malik smiled at any creature as large as he.

Reina was overwhelmed by the crowds and shrunk away, staying closely beside Malik, with her eyes downcast. Malik glanced down at Reina, then over to Sven, who was busy flexing and shaking his head at a nearby Plush Serraptor, who looked vaguely interested.

"Come on..." he muttered to Sven, who glared at him. He gave the female one last toothy smile before continuing onwards.

At the end of there crowded street they were walking on, sat a hovel of an inn, with a wooden sign that read 'The Sundancer'.

"Well, this is it." Lowering his head to Reina he smiled. "Hopefully, we'll meet up again soon."

Reina nodded wordlessly and watched Sven disappear inside the building and Malik around the back of it. She stood rooted to the spot for a few minutes, before settling under a flight of stars in front of the inn. With a sigh she feel asleep.

[Sitka]

"Guys I can't believe you just left her out here like this!"

"But Beatrice..."

"She told us she only wanted to travel with us..."

Renia stirred and lifted her head to look at the speakers. Sven was the first to be noticed, due to his colors, but when the grogginess went away she saw a human female crouched before her. She shrank away from her touch, and she heard a cooing sound.

"It's only Beatrice..."

"Beatrice? Reina repeated, recognizing the name from yesterday. "You're their human master!"

Malik snorted at the word master, but received only a dirty look from Beatrice.

"Did you sleep out here alone last night?" Beatrice asked sweetly. Reina blinked, then nodded. "Aw, poor thing, are you hungry?"

"I'm hungry" Sven grummbled.

"Come on, let's get you some breakfast."

~.~

The four ate in silence. Beatrice had discovered a bench under a plam tree and sat on it, with Malik nibbling at the tree and Sven devouring a beef shank. Renia had chosen to nibble on some pieces of ham.

Finally, Beatrice coughed and looked to Reina.

"Do you have a home?" she asked. Reina shook her head.

"All I remember is falling asleep in a forest."

"You're a long way from a froest."

Reina lowered her eyes. Shifting uncomfortably, Beatrice coughed again.

"Do you like it in the desert?"

Reina shook her head.

"You could, if you want, come with us. I mean, you're quite far from a forest and I don't think you could make the journey alone, in you're state..."

Reina looked up at Malik, who was nodding his head. Her ears perked up and her tails wagged.

"I would like that." she concluded. Beatrice and Malik smiled, and Sven rolled his eyes, gnawing on the remaining bone from his dinner.

"Well, we leave tonight, so feel free to walk around with Malik and Sven for the rest of the day. I have to go pick up some things."

"Okay." Malik said happily. Dusting off her pants, Beatrice smiled and left the three alone.

"I'm out. Sven muttered after swallowing his bone. "I have a Serraptor I have to go find."

Alone, Malik and Reina looked around.

"So, what do you want to do?"

[Jaden Wolf]

((can I jump in here?))

Liqite

Crest

In a nearby store, the glass suddenly smashed, two figures barelling out. They were snarling, or rather, one was. The other one was making a sort of mechanical whine. Soon, a man came running out of the store, holding a broom. He started cursing at the two creatures who were entangled together, each snapping at the other. They were moving too fast to see what they were. Eventually, the man ran forward and started to slap them with the broom, trying to get them away from his store. Then there was movement in the shadows off to the side, and a silver streak shot towards the three. A high-pitched bell sound came from it, and the two fighting creatures shrieked. The sound obviously hurt their ears. Now that they stopped moving, one could see that they were yonyuus. One whined, and looked up at the shadows. "Alright! Alright!" it yelped. It was obviously a girl by the voice. The sound receded and the silver blur dissapeared into the shadows. The two yonyuus collapsed, finally released from their pain. They didn't lay there long, for the man came running at them, hitting them with the broom and cursing at them.
The two jumped up and fled, though one didn't watch where it was going and crashed into the large gyrrophant that was standing there with a fellox. It shrieked. A loud, mechanical shriek. The female heard it and whipped around. "Crest? What..." she started to speak but cut off at the sight of the large creature. She had never seen a gyrrophant before. Shaking her head, she ran to the other yonyuu, which looked mechanical. It's eyes were flickering, and the sight of that seemed to make the female uneasy. She ran over to it, and started shaking its head.

[Sitka]

Malik was caught off guard by the commotion and the impact of the Yonyuu running into him.
Releasing a loud guttural sound, he charged forward, ready to escape the danger. Reina gasped and jumped out of the way to avoid Malik's pounding steps as he stampeded down the street. Instincts had taken over and he couldn't control himself. Finally, after running nearly the length of the street (and causing a few unlikely people in his path to jump out of the way for safety) he slowed and eventually stopped, regaining control of himself. Although he still was panting slightly, and was on the edge, he cautiously made his way back to where Reina and the two Yonyuus stood.
Seeing it was no Sahound or any other type of predator, he let out a large sigh of relief.
Unwary of the newcomers, Reina quickly shielded herself behind Malik, peaking over his hind lead to get a good look at the duo. Letting his nurturing side get the best of him, Malik lowered his head closer to the pair.
"Uh. Hello." he muttered, unsure what to say. "Is he okay?"

[Jaden Wolf]

The female yelped as the large creature behind her spoke. Then she turned, and forced herself to relax. "Y-you startled me. Oh him? He's...well, I guess he's alright. If I can get him to stop...this." she said, guesturing to the other yonyuu who's eyes were still flickering on and off. The female sighed and snapped at the mechanical head, making sure to be as loud as possible. Suddenly there was a loud whirr, and the yonyuu shot into the air. The female sighed. "Crest, come down! It's alright!" she shouted up to him. He looked down and the whirring faded away. He flew back down and landed, then looked warily up at the gyrrophant. Or at least as warily as he could. He looked at the female, wondering what had happened. She rolled her eyes and ignored him, turning to the massive creature instead. "I'm sorry if we scared you with our loud...erm...fight. Crest here said something he shouldn't have and I guess I didn't take it well. Oh...I never even said my name. Oops. I'm Liqite." she said. Behind her, Crest was examining the gyrrophant when he noticed the fellox. He flew up and over the tall creature to land beside the fellox. "You okay? You didn't get hurt did you?" he asked. His voice had a mechanical sound to it, as if he were talking partially through a microphone. He didn't know what happened after he crashed into...the gyrrophant...so he had no idea if the fellox got hurt, or just came or whatever else could have happened.

[Sitka]

Reina shifted uneasily.
"I'm fine." she said meekly. "Just startled that Malik...charged."
Malik chuckled nervously. "Sorry, it was reaction, I didn't think when I did it." Turning back to Liqite he smiled and nodded his head in hello. "I'm Malik and this is Reina..." he said, throwing his head back to her.
"Nice to meet you." she said quietly, looking from Crest to Liqite.
"Now, no one's hurt, right?" Malik asked, concerned. "I didn't hurt any of you when I ran, did I?"
"Well, you didnt crush anyone that was in your way..." Reina chimed in. "They all jumped for cover."
"Oh dear..." Malik said, hanging his head in embarrassment. "What about you two? Do I run into you?"

[Jaden Wolf]

OOC: I'm so sorry! I'm such a procrastinator.

Liqite blinked. "No, we're not hurt. You ran the other way." she said, geturing to some people who were now walking back onto the street. Crest sighed and his eyes flickered again, then he turned his head and looked at his shoulder. It was twitching and sparked every now and then. "Nice going Liqite, you snagged my shoulder. Your mother's going to get pretty upset when I tell her." he said to Liqite. She tore her gaze from the gyrrophant to glare at him. "But you won't tell her." she hissed. Crest stepped sideways a bit, away from her, then looked at Reina. "Well, at least no one was hurt." he said, smiling a bit. Of course, he could not smile well.

[Feint]

ooc--may I jump in, too? Sounds exciting here

Kunte Kinte loped lightly over the ever-shifting sand dunes, unfazed by the whipping wind and scorching heat. He looked to be running on water, not struggling or sinking in the least. Kinte looked neither left nor right, just strait ahead into the sun, tails flowing strait back, almost as if he knew where he was going. A mysterious canyon city  loomed far off to his right, still cloaked in shadow. He turned slightly, arcing his path toward the merchant town. Ten or so minutes later, he slowed his loping run to an easy trot and stepped onto the dusty street. He stopped by a store front and stared unexpectantly at the broken glass littering the street. Still eyeing the glass, he cautiosly tiptoed around most of the fragments and contined trotting on his way. He paused to watch a large gathering made up of yonyuu, gyrophant, fellox, and Serraptor. His white, circular eyes stared at them all unblinkingly. Kinte's four tails lowered ever so slowly to the ground as he stared curiously. He watched one of them, but his blank white orbs of eyes made it unclear as to whom or what he was staring at.

[Audra]

(Oh! Oh! I wish to join, also...)

<sup>Ah, Wilt'no. Such a vast an wonderous place. Audra had been soaring the skies with Seychelles for quite a while, taking breaks every now and then. Audra lay nestled within the shoulder blades of 16 feet of bulk. Arousing, she felt the hot air brushing against her. Sitting up, she saw before her an endless desert...except, wait a moment...what was that, over in the distance? Ah, yes, the merchant city she was looking for. Audra had been hoping to find it and rest there during their flights and training.

Seychelles seemed to be tiring. 'Chel,' Audra cried, 'We're so close to it. Don't stop now...Hmm, oh well. I guess a short rest is due.'
Seychelles lowered to the ground with ease, letting her owner dismount onto the ground. She almost fell. Retrieving from her canteen, Audra took a sip of hot water, and then poured some in her hands. Audra put her hands out in front of Chel's face, and she greedily lapped it up, flapping her wings with pleasure.

After about 8 or 9 minutes, they flew over to the merchant city, only to see a commotion just beginning to settle down. Audra hopped off of Seychelles and put a make-shift leash around her neck. They looked around, stepping quickly through the darkening streets, using the glowing light in the air from Chel's heart at the center of her chest. Seychelles stiffened and then noticed a group of creatures nearby: a Fenling, Gyrophant, Fellox, Serraptor, & two Yonyuu's. Audra let out a short gasp and whispered (partly to herself and partly to Seychelles), 'Amazing...'
She hoped they hadn't heard her, but then again, she did. Meeting new pets was certainly the highlight of her day. Audra didn't want to frighten them.

She then decided she'd speak via telepathy.
'Chel? Hey, so whaddya think? Should we, you know, talk to them, or just act like we were never here??'
Seychelles let out a short sigh. 'Well, dear, if they DO realize we're right here just staring at them with awe--which I'm sure they do--, don't you think you should be polite and say...something? I believe a nice "Hello, how are you?" would do..But it's your choice, Audra. It's getting late, and we ought to find a place to stay tonight....'
'OK, that settles it then. We'll go and introduce ourselves and ask for the least expensive place to stay this evening....Then again, this whole city is bustling with activity and people right now. It's like they're nocturnal or something...Well, it's worth a shot. Uhh, how about you start off the conversation.'
'Yes, well, if that really makes you happy...' Seychelles said sarcastically, and then stepping forward so that the bright glowing symbol across her chest could be seen by all of them, noticing there were more newcomers.

'Erm...hello. I am Seychelles, and this is Audra,' she said, Audra then stepping forward, barely raising her hand high enough to wave at them, because it was trembling. 'Can any of you direct my owner and I to the nearest, or preferrably, the cheapest place to stay the night here??'</sup>

[Feint]

ooc--edits=typos  

Kinte turned his head partially in their direction, otherwise unmoving. His eerie circular eyes seemed to penetrate the mind and soul, and they glowed almost like a temple pet. Suddenly he turned on his heel and walked up to them, four tails swishing the air, and poked Audra with his small black nose. Kinte sat on his hind legs and stared up at them. His eyes did not change in any way to show emotion.