[Matt]

Generally, Tentan disapproved of letting any of the residents of Haven Estate go off on there own. It was the same with Bastet, and her recently acquired friend, Savage. Tentan shook out his pelt, sand coming off of him in waves. "Really, I don't even know why I agreed to help you, Bastet..." Bastet frowned at him over her shoulder, and Savage caught on to the emotion, jingling his bells angrily. Tentan chuckled, padding forward to catch up with the Teigu and the Evergreen. "But really, the desert? Do you think we'll be able to find anyone here?" Bastet stopped, sitting down on the sand.

The trio had started into the desert that morning, looking for someone that Bastet had mentioned. Apparently he lived in a cave somewhere near here... Of course, Tentan had flat-out refused at first- after all, he was a father, a husband, and a grandfather (though it was hard to think of such), he didn't want to go on a wild goose chase in search of some guy in a cave who could save Bastet from a blue snake. Bastet didn't blame him; her story was blatantly odd at first. Though, through the use of begging, whining, and Savage constantly jingling at him, Tentan had consented, leaving his daughter, Ribbon, with a message to Rosie, telling her of his engagement.

Tentan loomed over the other two, narrowing his eyes to try and make out anything in the distance. Bastet sighed, getting up and walking after him. "Well, worst comes to worst, we can go to the nearest town and get food and water...?" Tentan grunted in reply, lowering his head and trudging through the wind-swept sand. Bastet and Savage exchanged a glance, shrugged, and followed.

73 - 6 - 3

[Freezair]

"Pheeeeeeew-ee! It's hotter'n'ell ou' here!"

Rosie wiped the sweat off her brow, pushing back her handkerchief headband. "Tentan Starfleet, iff'n y'all're draggin' me ou' here fer sum needle-haystack search, Ah'm gonna throw yah in the pigpen an' serve yah fer Christmas dinner!"

Her brother, Dexter, gave her a strange sideways glance. He'd picked up a Bedouin-style kaffiyeh from a trader they'd met on the edge of the great wasteland, and he wore it tied around his head. "Did he specifically ask y'all ter come ou' here? Or are y'all just chasin' 'im through the sands 'cuz y'all're a dang-blasted fool?"

"That's Miss Dang-Blasted Fool ter y'all!" she bit back. "And fer th' reckerd, Ah wouldn't dare let 'im go out here all by 'imself!"

"What was 'e goin' on 'bout again?"

"Sump'n abou' a Lapis Asp or th' like," she said.

"Ah'm tellin' Paw 'bout yer dirty mouth!" Dexter gasped.

"Asp! It's a snake, butterhead!" She clonked her brother affably on the back of the head. "Now, lessie here. Where did 'e say 'e was gonna be..."

[92, 1]

[Matt]

Tentan opened his eyes, turning his head with a curious expression on his face. He twitched his tails, turning around fully and squinting through the sand and sun- to make out two shapes. He headed towards them carefully, then broke into a trot, wondering who in the world would be out here. If Ribbon had followed him... but no. It was... "Rosie!" Tentan ran towards his wife, skidding to a halt and grinning. But the grin faded as he realized what she was doing here- it was quite obvious. "Why did you follow me, love?" He'd taken up the most annoying preoccupation (in Urchin's, Tentan's son's, opinion) of calling Rosie 'my love' or 'love' in times where he was either angry, confused, or happy. Right now it was a mix of all three.
Her accent had rubbed off on him too- he spoke with a slight twinge, as if he were fighting to say 'you' instead of 'ya'll'.

Bastet and Savage followed him, stopping on either side of him, surveying Rosie and Dexter. "Greetings," Bastet said, poofy white and red fur blowing around in the wind. Savage jingled his bells happily, blinking at Dexter with what looked like a light smile on his odd face.

74 - 7 - 4
(( Thessur requested I post before her. :3 ))

[Freezair]

Rosie hugged Tentan back warmly, grinning. Of course, it was far too hot to play cozy for any length of time here. She backed up and wiped the sweat off around the inside of her collar.

"Ah came because sum'un has ter look after y'all! Iff'n y'all got yerself lost in the desert, Ah'd be blamin' mahself fer it long as Ah lived! An' Ah cain't have that, now kin Ah?"

"She dragged me 'long, too!" Dexter complained. "Ah hate th' heat! Hotter'n a griddle, it is!"

"Yeah, an' if y'all don't shut yer yap, yer gonna get yer goose cooked!" Rosie said.

[93, 2]

[Matt]

[[Tentan is in human form, Bastet and Savage are in pet form]]

Tentan raised an eyebrow, lips upturned in a humor-filled smile. "Well, I'm glad you came, in any case. Though, I'm afraid mechanical knowledge won't be of much use," he said, chuckling. "This time it's Egyptology. Apparently, Bastet's father,' he pointed at the Teigu, "that's Bastet. Well, her father passed away, and he left her some relics from his Museum. Unfortunately, one of them appears to be... ah... cursed, if I can use that word." He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, his wedding band glinting in the sun. He gave his signature smile, grinning lopsidedly.

Bastet smiled warmly at Rosie and Dexter, nodding along with Tentan's words. "Hello. I'm Bastet. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Starfleet." Savage jingled his bells in agreement, appearing to be smiling.

75 - 8 - 5

[Freezair]

((Rosie is in human; Dexter is in pet.))

"Peppermint," Rosie corrected with a smile. "No 'fence to mah sweetie-pie, but changin' yer name is such a goldern hassle 't'ain't worth it. Tradition hates beauracracy! Buh' y'all kin call me Rosie; ain't no thang." She shook Bastet's hand. "Gawrsh, y'all look hot! Ain't all that fur makin' ya warm?" (Truthfully, she had the same questions of her brother, but knew he'd start griping at her if she complained at him.)

Dexter offered a paw as well. "Dexter Peppermint," he introduced himself.  "Rosie's brother. We-all, half-brother, at any rate. An' y'all kin jus' call me Dexter too. Dex, iff'n it pleases yah." He looked up at the sky. "Don't never call her 'Rose,' though! She hates that. 'Rosie's mah name! Y'all ain't gonna call me nuttin' else! That's what's on the birth certificate!' ...Well. Nice ter meet y'all. We got a Teigu like y'all down at the shop. 'Er name's Paniz. We think she migh' be Egyptian... Y'all ain't related, are ya?"

"Naaaww," Rosie said. "Don't look like 'er. Nice to meet ya, though!"

[94, 3]

[Matt]

Tentan chuckled good-humoredly, while Bastet responded with a purr-filled laugh. "A bit, Mrs. Peppermint, but I'm almost certain we will find the professor soon." Tentan cut in, placing a muscled arm around Rosie's shoulders. "Apparently, Bastet found a professor currently studying out here in Wilt'no... that's who we're trying to find," he said, smiling lightly and squinting, trying to search for shapes in the distance. "Haven't found 'im yet, but we're bound to sooner or later," he finished, chuckling warmly.
He then turned to Dex, smiling pleasently. He shook Dexter's outstretched paw in greeting, replying, "Nice to meetcha, Dex." Bastet nodded in turn, her fur now having a light layer of sand. "Greetings, Dexter."

Savage, meanwhile, edged closer to Dex, jingling his bells lightly. He put out a furry green finger and poked the Lucain's side, tilting his head to one side with a curious expression (well, it looked that way, for all anyone could see of his 'face').

76 - 9 - 6

[I believe Thessur can cut in about now? :3]

[Thessur]

Bisu knew he wasn’t supposed to go out of immediate sight of the cavern where he lived with his guardian.  Still, he hadn’t really gone that far, just over one set of sand dunes.  He wasn’t even out alone really, since he was chasing the little scarab Ka, who belonged to his guardian.  He would have been content to pester and chase the little beetle until it got tired of him and flew back to the caves, but just as the bug went over the top of the dunes separating their home from the rest of the desert, the little albino Drakel heard voices and a mysterious and intriguing jingling sound.

The little fellow adjusted the huge sombrero he wore to protect himself from the harsh desert sun and hurried up the next set of dunes.  He slowed as he approached the top and peered cautiously over the edge.  He saw five creatures down below, though his sand camouflage ought to ensure that they wouldn’t see him.  He saw two who looked as though they might be some sort of pet in human form, a lucain, a Teigu with colors he hadn’t known one could come in, and another creature that he didn’t recognize at all.

After watching the group for a bit, he figured out that the strange green thing was the source of the delightful jingling.  He also heard the rest say something about looking for a professor.  The only professor he knew of that lived out here was his guardian.  

He heard a faint clicking beside him and turned to see Ka eying him reproachfully.  It was one of the little beetle’s jobs to keep Bisu from wandering off and getting lost.  The Drakel grinned impudently at the little bug and motioned for him to go back and get his guardian from the caverns.  He ought to be told there were people out here looking for him.  The beetle looked from Bisu, to the group below, then back again.  After giving the youngster a warning click, Ka flew back to the cavetto his master.

Once the bug was out of sight behind the dunes, Bisu made a face in the direction he had flown and carefully climbed down the dune.  He was careful to go slowly and keep himself camouflaged until he was right behind the funny green jinglier.  Then, while the creature was preoccupied with the conversation of the others in its group, the mischievous little Drakel reached up and swatted lightly at the bell attached to the greenie’s tail.

{1}

[Freezair]

At the sound of the jingling bell, Rosie looked down.

She giggled at the sight of the Albino Drakel suddenly appearing from nowhere, playing with the bell attached to the Evergreen's tail. But she was slightly baffled--what was an ice-area creature like that doing in the desert?

Nevertheless, she said, "Heehee! Looks like yer li'l green friend there made 'imself a li'l white friend!" She knelt down next to the strange little creature. "Whatcha doin' out 'ere, Snowy?"

Dexter looked at the Drakel with disbelief. "...Where y'all come from, y'all have it good. Dunno why y'all'd leave..."

[95, 4]

[Matt]

If someone had been taping the precise moment when the Drakel touched Savage's tail, they could have sworn that the Evergreen jumped a few feet off of the ground in shock. Once he recovered, the Evergreen turned, tilting his head to one side and studying Bisu with a look of bewildered amusement.

Bastet giggled, as Tentan raised an eyebrow and smiled at Bisu lopsidedly. "Hey, there, fellow. What're ya'll doin' out here?" Ah, the irony as Tentan grinned sheepishly at his growing country accent. Bastet giggled harder, outright laughing. The cat-like Teigu smiled as her laughter died out, padding closer to Bisu. "Greetings."

77 - 10 - 7

[Freezair]

"He comin' along fer th' ride too, Tentan?" Rosie asked.

Dexter peered down at the little critter, after watching the slightly-twitchy Evergreen jump clear out of his socks. Dexter sighed. "We-all, s'pose t'ain't no harm in introducin' mahself... Name's Dexter." He nodded down at the Drakel.

((OOC: Sorry; just trying to get five posts and maybe get something like a posting order going. XD))

[96, 5]

[Thessur]

The young Drakel grinned up at the group.  They seemed friendly enough.  He’d get an earful from his guardian later about talking to strangers though... Unless they managed to get him so involved with some new adventure that he forgot about anything else.  He whipped off his huge sombrero and bowed politely as he’d been taught; he put the hat back on quickly, though, to keep his sensitive eyes and skin protected.

“H’loo!  I’m Bisu.  You ‘uns lookin’ for a P’fessor?  On’y one P’fessor out he-ah.  I lives wif him.  I can takes you too him if’n you want.”

Bisu really was a very young child.  His hurried chatter tended to get rather garbled unless he was concentrating very hard on his pronunciation.  He was getting better at it, but it was going to take awhile before he was 100% understandable.

{2}

[Matt]

Tentan nodded absently to Rosie's question, listening intently to the strange little Drakel's words. when he finised, Tentan raised an eyebrow, smiling. "Nice to meet ya'll, Bisu. And yes, we're looking for the professor." When the Drakel proposed he could take the party there, the 6-foot or so man grinned. "Wonderful! Would ya'll?"

Bastet nodded happily, grinning. Finally, she'd be able to get that haunted peice of history off of her person! Savage, recovered from his surprise, shook his tail, making the bell a the end of it jingle with an agreeable sound.

The "haunted peice of history" was currently in the satchel slinging from Bastet's side, waiting for a chance to get out. It was gold, shaped like a snake. In the middle was a blue diamond snake, with gold eyes. If one was watching closely, they would swear the thing had.... blinked.

78 - 11 - 8

[Freezair]

((OOC: Just to clarify a bit, are you saying that the Lapis Asp is made out of literal gold and diamonds? Or are you being figurative and pretty in describing lapis lazuli? Just curious.))

Judging by the way he spoke--and perhaps the way he bowed--Rosie could see that this Bisu fellow really was very young. Perhaps still a child. He seemed to know the Professor they were looking for, though. Rosie bowed thoughtfully. "We'd be much obliged iff'n ya would, Bisu," she said, grinning. "Where'd y'all come from? T'ain't much out here."  

"Maybe he lives 'neath the sand summare," Dexter mused. "In a cave or sump'n like that!"

[97, 6]

[Thessur]

The little Drakel pointed back over the dunes, in the direction he’d come from.

“I comed from ova te-ah.  We lives inna cave.  Come falla me, I takes you te-ah!”

Without waiting for an answer he skittered quickly up to the top of the dune.  From there, he could see the rock formation that marked the entrance to his home.  Ka hadn’t come back yet, so the youngster guessed the beetle hadn’t found his master in the massive library yet.  That could be a good thing, if he got back to the cave with the guests before his guardian came out to meet them, he probably wouldn’t get in trouble over going out too far.

“I hopes ya has sometin really neat for Mr. Fluffles.  We hasn’t gone onna trip for a long time.”

{3}