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[hr][hr][h3]Location: [i]Sando[/i]
Time: [i]Evening[/i][/h3][/center]

As the rays of the sun began to falter and gave up their relentless assault on the desert's denizes, the sky was slowly beginning to turn orange, just like the pair of eyes staring up at it from the makeshift shelter amongst the rocky crevasse. The small cape wrapped around Karissa's neck flapped gently in the wind, it's red tail happily dancing in the gusts of air that passed by her. Her cool gaze followed the sun on it's slow descent towards the horizon, her lips curling into a barely visible smile. She always loved sunsets. Each time was like watching a new art piece unfold: small details like the cliffs surrounding her current hideout or the lone clouds that traveled across the sky made each and every occasion special to her. She could never quite pinpoint what [i]exactly[/i] drew her so much to the sunsets of this otherwise barrel world, but she found them too beautiful to pass up. It has been years since the last time she didn't sit down in a quiet place to observe the sun set, and she didn't plan on ever taking a break from it again.

But just as the blazing ring in the sky descended to bring an end to the day, so was her time in this settlement drawing to an end. Her lifestyle was one of constant change, an ever shifting weave of events that changed from day to day like the dunes in the endless desert. Like the shifting sands around her, she too slipped out of sight at a moment's notice only to reappear in a settlement after weeks of nobody hearing from her. Of course there weren't many who she would consider close to herself, but she still couldn't help and make acquaintances wherever she showed up. Over the years this had led to wide array of assorted people who held Karissa dearly for seemingly no apparent reason.

Perhaps it was this perceived obligation to keep in touch with them that forced the young girl to never stay in one place. And today she would embark yet again, letting the winds of fate carry her wherever they wished. She watched the sun on it's ever descending path towards the great beyond for a few more minutes before she grabbed her few belonging and set out towards the city below to look for her next ride.

[i]17 minutes later[/i]

The trip down to the underground city was uneventful to say the least, bar the usual glances she received wherever she went. Keeping away from the bigger roads Karissa headed over to the local guild's office to ask for directions to find guild's team she was meant to accompany out of Sando. It wouldn't be her first time riding with the Sunriders, having already accompanied them on several runs before. Usually there are plenty of people able and willing to throw themselves at the dangerous world outside to escape the bleak environments of the underground cities, and therefore getting onto barges on schooners wasn't always easy. 

But luckily for her, talented mages were always in demand across the wastes, especially if they showed abilities like hers that could make the life of any trade run significantly easier. Moving the sleds along on a windless stretch of land or protecting it from the blunt of a sandstorm was a small price to pay for seeing the world and getting protected by some of the best mercenaries out there.

Of course, the runs don't always go smoothly and mages aren't always welcome, but those wounds have long since been removed by healers. It was the scars left in her mind that were much harder to get rid of however...

Nevertheless, yesterday she managed to secure this job for herself and after making her way to the office she quickly received directions to meet her new "boss" and ride. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she thought about that word. She was hardly a proper Sunrunner and she had little intentions of joining them, even if their lifestyle of constant travel was appealing. She was just not the kind of girl to follow orders in an environment where she couldn't properly exercise her own will. 

But even with all of these facts ruining her opinion of the Sunrunners, she hardly had a choice in this matter. She's been in Sando for nearly a week now and she was itching for a change of scenery. Yet the past few days of searching for a caravan have yielded no results, except for this one job. By this point she was getting desperate enough that a mercenary contract to some god forsaken excavation site seemed more inviting than staying in a city that made her feel increasingly anxious. The closed walls of the caverns could never hold a bird like her...

Several minutes of daydreaming later the girl eventually managed to stumble into the stables, almost purely on accident. She wasn't necessarily looking to get there just yet, preferring to inspect the other participants first after a particular run-in a few years back.

But as her gaze skimmed across the stables in question, she knew from experience that this was going to be the place. All manners of animals were gathered in the pens of the large compound and sleds of various sizes and roles decorated the outside of the building, their bundled up sails laying in neat piles besides them, ready to be assembled on a moment's notice, may the need arise. Reins for various animals of burden were also piled up besides the building, clearly indicating that this place was of some importance.

For several minutes, Karissa simply examined the place, her eyes hanging on the group of two gathered in front of the place. The stillness of the air around them and the stiffness of their bodies were reminiscent of people in waiting. Soon enough her hunch was confirmed when a third man approached the other two, seemingly greeting them. Moreover she recognized the boy as one of the young Sunrunners that she has seen around the town a few times. Or at least that's what she thought he was. 

A wave of relief washed over her, happy to see someone closer to her age finally show up. She was always worried that any group she'd travel with would be full of "veterans" who looked down on her just because of her age. At least now she knew who to turn to if she grew tired of the aforementioned people. With this sliver of hope in her mind she quickly pushed her worried to the back of her mind and stepped out from the shadows to head over to the small group.

[color=f7941d]"Sekham, [i]friends[/i]."[/color] Karissa uttered with a certain cold expression in her tone that was always present when she was dealing with mercenaries or Sunrunners, her hand making a sweeping motion in front of her face as form of tribal greeting. After a brief moment of intense glaring a small smile crept across her face and she relaxed her otherwise tense stature, taking a long second to relax with a deep breath. [color=f7941d]"I was told you were the Sunrunners looking for a mage on the trip to... Ruk, that's it. Did the sands bring me to the right stable?"[/color]