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[h3][b]Assani 15th[/b][/h3]
[sub][b]Location:[/b] The Desert, Somewhere
[b]Day of the week:[/b] Victendes
[b]Time:[/b] Unknown
[b]Present:[/b] Zarina, Ayla [@Ti], Jocasta [@Force and Fury], Yalen [@Pantothenic], 
Benedetto, Desmond, Tku, Evander, Fiske, Silent Ranger, Riesco, Nibbler, Classa, Sand Bat.[/sub]

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[color=#E5E4E2][i]Don’t go.[/i][/color]

Zarina internally begged for Jocasta and Yalen to stay among them as she was being healed. Arms crossed, posture too cool for school and her expression hardened, one would never know what she was truly thinking.

[color=#E5E4E2][i]We need you.[/i][/color]

She looked at both of them, first to Jocasta, the almighty being she had grown so close to. And then to Yalen, the moral compass and ray of light of the group. Both of them were so integral to the first group she was in, and now they were leaving.

[color=#E5E4E2][i]I can’t keep them alive all alone.[/i][/color]

Zarina clenched her armoured bicep and nearly gritted her teeth. But just as she was about to say something, the pair was just about to leave. All she could muster up was a wave and a look that very briefly communicated the distress she tried hard to keep bottled up.

The Virangish sighed as the Silent Ranger spoke once more, announcing the departure of the group to lands yet unknown. Zarina took this time to look at her group. None, other than the brutish Benedetto, could use temporal magic that she knew of. The weight of responsibility, true responsibility, had never been more overwhelming as it was now. This wasn’t just financial decisions and risky expansion efforts, people she cared about now had their lives depend on her. She knew it would, at some point, come down to such magics for survival, as it had been against the Sand Wyrm. The helm was put back on - a means to feel safe and hidden amidst the agoraphobia she was starting to feel - and she readied herself for what was to come.

[hider=Fighting the Storm]Marci turned on the spot, three hundred sixty degrees, taking in the vast nothingness that surrounded the group. The sun reflected off of the burning red-white sand and she blinked. The air around them was distorted by the heat. There was plenty of wind to alleviate it, but this was hot and blustery, prone to whipping up sand and dust at unpredictable intervals, and it only made the heat worse, if possible. 

[color=00a99d]“Well, that was fuckin’ productive,”[/color] grumbled Benny, casting about. He seemed about to spit in the sand, but then thought better of it. He glanced Marci’s way. [color=00a99d]“You got range, Gimpy, right?”[/color] he crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly. Then, he seemed to soften. [color=00a99d]“I mean… how ‘bout you sweep the area, Marce?”[/color]

She glared at him for a moment, moving a bit closer to Ayla and Zarina, who bristled at the insult to their friend. [color=#E5E4E2]“How about you go fuck yourself, bud?”[/color] the latter snapped back. Marceline held up a hand to stop them, shooting Zarina a thankful, apologetic look. Then, she focused and energies swelled around her. Her face turned grim as the sun and wind continued their twin assaults and she brushed some hair from her face with her dominant hand, her left. [color=598527]“Nothing,”[/color] she announced, straining in the opposite direction of the sail-like structures. [color=598527]“Nothing as far as I can sense. A few critters buried deep in the sand. Maybe some ruins about seven klicks away. Fuckin’ [i]desolate[/i]”[/color] She shook her head as another hot gust of wind whipped her hair about and made her gasp. Marceline, like her grandfather, was of the desert. She knew it. She could feel its moods and survive its periodic furies. This was different, though, in a way that she couldn’t place. She could feel herself drying out, like a sponge left outside on a Dorrad day and a deep unease began to take root in her gut. It started to remind her of… 

The tethered shook her head and refocused and, dimly, she sensed a second set of ruins, much closer than the first, but mere moments passed before it hit her - it [i]overwhelmed[/i] her. Marci’s eyes bugged out. [color=598527]“Now!”[/color] she shouted, pointing about ninety degrees from where she’d started. The sun occupied a completely different position in the sky and she’d struggled to get her bearings. [color=598527]“That way!”[/color] If one squinted into the distance, the horizon looked strange and hazy. [color=598527][b][i]“SANDSTORM!!!”[/i][/b][/color]

Benny could feel it too. [color=00a99d]“Eshi-fucking-dammit!"[/color] he shouted into the wind, [color=00a99d]“Are you [i]kidding[/i] me!?"[/color] He could see the storm on the horizon now, more or less. [color=00a99d]“Fuck this. I'm gonna disrupt the storm. I ain't moving an [i]inch![/i]"[/color] He began to draw in energy - [i]massive[/i] amounts of it - and there was certainly plenty to draw...

More desert. Good grief, Zarina was truly condemned to the sand dunes. And it did not feel like Torragon, somehow. It just didn't feel like her spiritual home. Her helm came back on as the sun mercilessly hit the group, and she then directed her attention to Marci, [color=#E5E4E2]“Shelter, have you noticed any?”[/color] was her first instinct, but then something else perturbed the Virangish. The spatial anchor she had set on Riesco had been disturbed and she could immediately tell he had been moved as well despite being far too remote to warp back. Had he been attacked? Doubtful, one of the rangers would have at least brought him away. Which was the ideal situation. But ...

[color=#E5E4E2]“Keep looking for other lifeforms. One that has metal, in particular.”[/color] she practically ordered Marci, given she had a magnetic specialty, [color=#E5E4E2]“Riesco might be out there.”[/color] she began to draw from space and time, which a select few in the group could even feel. The moment Marci pinged something, Zarina was keen on mimicking Jocasta's technique she had used almost exactly a year ago.

Tku's eyes had adjusted to what was in the ruins and now they were in the desert once more. Honestly this was much better than whatever wicked test that snake salesman had. Upon hearing sandstorm Tku looked over. It was a big one but overall you could survive it with some know how. 

However, this may not be the case as Benny had decided to disrupt it? A storm of that size and intensity change the very landscape. [color=734960]"If people are so determined to keep put, how about I make some shelter? Especially with us needing to save the horse."[/color] Tku approached the side of a dune and started to change the sand, hardening it and compacting it into walls and domes. It would take some time but a sand storm of this magnitude could swallow people alive, [color=734960]"I'll leave room for Riesco."[/color]

[color=598527]"Nothing within three klicks!"[/color] Marci shouted back, getting a mouthful of hot wind and sand. She paused. [color=598527]"Except for... there's ruins, right in the storm itself, and more way south of here. We'll never make those. It's either north for those weird whatever-they-are or east and we hope to outrun it 'til it dies!"[/color]

Then, it was like herding cats. Zarina was demanding that she look for Riesco. Benny was crowing about how he'd punch a fucking [i]storm[/i] in the face. Tku was making people-sized sandcastles with careful, loving precision and he would never finish on time. Then, Desmond more or less just [i]accosted[/i] Fiske and took off running in the direction of the bizarre structures. [color=598527][i]Shit. Shiiiiiit. Fuck. Godsdamn.[/i][/color] Marci began to panic and shut down.

Zarina placed her hand onto Marceline's shoulder. A subtle injection of chemical magic to relax her was performed before Zazzy spoke up, [color=#E5E4E2]“Grab onto me, you can't run anyway.”[/color] she said, her voice muffled slightly by the growing winds and the helm she wore, [color=#E5E4E2]“I trust you can do it, Marci. Only you can.”[/color] Zarina peered toward the storm and was just about ready to zip further away. But before then, she shot a look at Tku, [color=#E5E4E2]“If you can run, do it. If not ...”[/color] she exhaled from her nose, [color=#E5E4E2]“Fuck, not a lot of you can run fast, huh?”[/color]

Ayla's immediate concern was her own appearance, as she was covered in burnt clothing and her once-beautiful hair was almost completely charred. But her hopes for a respite were dashed yet again as they were thrown into yet another disaster.

As she gazed up at the approaching storm, Ayla listened intently to everyone's ideas. A storm like this could last for days, and without any supplies, building a shelter would be a death sentence. Running was an option, but the ruins or strange buildings they had seen could provide some relief and possibly even contain supplies.

Lost in thought, Ayla turned to Benny as he proposed an idea, [colour=009fff]"What if we do try to disrupt the storm? We have chemical mages who can turn the sand into salt, which would clump the sand together and make it heavier. Arcane mages can turn the sand into glass, and Binding can create barriers that act like brakes by turning the sand into stone. It might take a lot of strength, but it could be worth a shot."[/colour]

Marci whirled on the spot. [color=598527]"Ayla? Are you crazy!?"[/color] She didn't bother address Benny, for she knew he already was. [color=598527]"That thing is [i]way[/i] too big to have more than a local effect on!"[/color] 

[color=00a99d]"Maybe for a weakling like you, Gimpy!"[/color] taunted Benny. [color=00a99d]"I like to live with nor regrets."[/color] 

Marci ignored him. He might [i]live[/i] with no regrets, but he would [i]die[/i] with plenty. Meanwhile, Zarina was exhorting her to 'grab on' to her. To what end, the tethered wasn't quite sure, but she suspected Zarina wanted to run. Marci... did not. It was... inadvisable to run. She began moving to the top of a nearby dune, scanning for Riesco as she went. [color=598527]"Tku!"[/color] she shouted over the blustery wind. The temperature had suddenly plummeted, too. [color=598527]"Tku, we should build on high ground!"[/color] She was splitting her focus. [color=598527][i]Dammit, Zarina.[/i][/color] She knew that horse meant a lot to her. He was a sweet horse, but [i]dammit![/i] 

She scanned in the direction opposite the storm and... there were indeed some larger animals running from it. She switched to the unknown buildings, keeping her sweep quick and cursory for it was all that she could manage. There was nothing there, save the buildings and... some curious buildups of elastic and other mechanical energies. A good ways beyond were the energy signatures of living things: sapients, probably humans or... hegelans? She didn't know. There were... [color=598527][i]Yes! Horses![/i][/color] she thought. It was a hurried scan. They were weird in some way, probably because they were panicked, but there was metallic content on... [color=598527]"Zarina, I have horses, up to the north there! Past those strange whatever-they-ares."[/color] She pointed, already focusing on magic. Tku was building his shelter. She was searching for weaknesses and shoring them up. [color=598527]"A few more animals that way, stuff like horses, too. They're trying to outrun the storm or find shelter."[/color] Her hand changed direction. 

The sandstorm was well and truly racing towards them now. Ayla had convinced Benny to use heat to turn the sand to glass once she found out that he had no Binding knowledge and only minimal Chemical. Sure, they could take some of the strain off of their structure by creating a localized weakness in the storm around it, but there was no way to punch a clean hole right through a sandstorm. Marci was sure of that. [color=598527]"You need a mask,"[/color] she called, finished sealing up one part of Tku's structure. It was certainly ambitious, and they were the only two Binders. [color=598527]"Or at least a cloth: cover the lower part of your face! Glasses for your eyes, or close them tight!"[/color]

[color=#E5E4E2]“Got it.”[/color] Zarina immediately took flight, [color=#E5E4E2]“I owe you, love.”[/color] and then she blasted off, continuously moving North while warping as far as she could whenever she could. She continued until she could zero-in on the energy signature of other beings, or when her highground provided a view of the creatures. Riesco and his dark armor were standouts, luckily. As she continued North, however, she'd come to notice the peculiar edifices along the way, and she couldn't help but be curious of them, even taking some time to actually acknowledge what they were.

Zarina bolted with Ayla on her back to search for the lost horse. The storm was coming in quickly, but between her flight, temporal magic and Ayla's help, very little could stand in their way. Not even stray sandbats.

As they got close to the peculiar structure up North, the storm had caught up to them. But they were so close! And with a last ditch effort, Ayla's beautiful use of magic made it appear as though wings sprouted out of Zarina's back, allowing them to gain the speed they needed and perform a final teleport to have them reach shelter.

[color=#E5E4E2]“I'll keep going!”[/color] shouted Zarina as she combated the endlessly loud winds, [color=#E5E4E2]“Stay here! I have the armor for it!”[/color] she ordered Ayla as she turned to face the storm.

She walked alone, with Ayla doing her best to help her friend brave the merciless sands. And as she got deeper, Ayla could sense Zarina anymore. But was she truly alone? When it felt like she was getting lost, the big rodent that had been hiding in her chestplate  began to squeak and cuddle up closer to her chest. The bit of chemical magic he blessed her with gave the Virangish the vigour she needed to soldier on. And bravely so, as she smashed through the winds, and eventually started to meet the energy signatures she had just barely detected.

Except, it didn't feel like Riesco, and the silhouette was far too small …[/hider]

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[hider=The Master of Sandstorms]In the distance, through the lashing wind and whipping sand, Zarina perceives something: something... horse shaped. 

She strains, calling out for Riesco.

Zarina keeps calling for her horse, believing that horse shaped things to be, well, a horse. Her shield is kept limited to a smaller size as a superior width made her susceptible to being blown away. She resists the best she can, approaching the figure while fighting the elements.

The shape gets closer, its silhouette emerging in the far distance from the haze. It's... small - smaller than it should be: not her beloved Riesco.

[color=#E5E4E2]“Riesco?”[/color] she squints behind her helm, [color=#E5E4E2]“... Gina?”[/color] she stops her approach for a moment, but then continues her jog.

The small horse draws closer still, a couple hundred meters distant now in the fast-fading haze, at full sloppy gallop. She can hear the thunder of its hooves as they kick up pebbles and dust. It isn't coming straight towards her, but it appears to have noticed her. It gives off an air of panic.

Zarina picks up the pace, drawing from the excessive energy around her to close the gap. She is still hoping to find her precious steed.

It begins to resolve itself, and... it appears to be a young colt or filly, ridden by a similarly young girl. She calls out. [color=C71585]"Uinza?"[/color] and again: [color=C71585]UUUIIIIINNNNNZAAAAA! Oast lix statu?"[/color]

Zarina stops and blinks, [color=#E5E4E2]“Uu-Een-Zah?”[/color] she repeats, utterly confused. How is a kid and a small horse handling the storm so well? Then, the girl began to shout! [color=#E5E4E2]“Woah woah woah!”[/color] she waves her idle hand in a pacifying manner, [color=#E5E4E2]“Uinza, hello?”[/color] the storm really doesn't help, as it gets in her helm and armour and the winds made her voice carry much smaller weight than normal, [color=#E5E4E2]“Uhm, help ...?”[/color]

The storm has thinned noticeably and then Zarina can hear small coughs. The girl appears to be hacking up dust. [color=C71585]"Yooo speek the high -"[/color] She coughs some more, starting to slow as the dust clears and the winds still bluster. [color=C71585]"The high tongue."[/color] the little voice was full of wonder.

[color=#E5E4E2]“Uhhh,”[/color] with the storm thinning, Zarina's sense of urgency drops, though only just a little as her horse is still missing, [color=#E5E4E2]“yeah, I guess.”[/color] her attention then shifts to the surroundings, [color=#E5E4E2]“Have you seen a horse? White-grey, has black armor, very handsome.”[/color]

The last of the dust clears and the girl on the horse is trotting toward Zarina now. [color=C71585]"I did!"[/color] she chirps, eyes and voice full or wonder. [color=C71585]"And he was a really beautiful guy."[/color] She pauses for a moment and comes to a stop. [color=C71585]"Wow, you're really one of the high ones!"[/color] She is [i]quite[/i] young and the horse is quite small and...

Zarina blinks. What she is seeing makes no sense:
The girl.
and the horse.
They aren't... [i]separate.[/i]

[color=C71585]"I'm Classa!"[/color] she chirps, looking up at Zarina admiringly and rocking side to side excitedly on her four feet. [color=C71585]"I can help you find your pretty horse."[/color]

A wave of relief, [color=#E5E4E2]“Ah! Thank the Dreamer-”[/color] she is about to make the gesture to wipe non-existent sweat off her helm, until she notices.

Zarina freezes there. The monstrous Horrifer Wildblood that fought rapid Sand Wyrms and was ready to die fighting waves of Froabases without fear.
She is utterly terrified at what she sees. The uncanny valley had been crossed during her trek in this desert. Surely, she had died in the storm and ended up in some dreadful limbo.

Luckily, Zazzy still has her helm on, so it mostly looks like the Virangish is just standing there, silent and probably surprised by something.
[color=#E5E4E2]“Wh-”[/color] she gulps, [color=#E5E4E2]“S-sure. I'd like that.”[/color] deep breaths. She's nice. She can help find Riesco. [color=#E5E4E2]“I'm Zarina.”[/color] did she just tell her name to a hellspawn?

The child-horse smiles up at her. [color=C71585]"I'm almost as tall as you, you know."[/color] She bites her lower lip and smirks like a little shit. [color=C71585]"And I have super great agility! Look!"[/color] She begins trotting, leaping, and rearing up, putting on some kind of show. [color=C71585]"I outrunned the storm,"[/color] she says proudly.

Zaz is still reluctant. But then again, snake people weren't all that much better. However, she also looks /so/ human.

[color=#E5E4E2]“Nuh-huh.”[/color] Zazzy placed her hand over her helm, cheating a little, and hovered her hand toward the centaur-girl, purposely stopping before it got too close. The cuteness didn't distract from the surprising and somewhat disconcerting experience, [color=#E5E4E2]“Totally shorter.”[/color]

Classa comes to a stop. She blinks. [color=C71585]"Yeah, well I'm only [i]eight[/i] and you're like..."[/color] She pauses, considering. [color=C71585]"Wait... are you a golem?"[/color] For a moment, she seems a little nervous.

[color=#E5E4E2]“Huh?”[/color] Zarina flinches, [color=#E5E4E2]“A golem? What's that?”[/color] although to reassure the nervous horse-creature, Zarina seizes both sides of her helmet and slowly tugs it off, revealing some damp hair with quite a lot of sand mixed in, lips dry with the stuff too. [color=#E5E4E2]“Blah! I don't like sand.”[/color]

[color=C71585]"Yaaaah,"[/color] the child agrees, finger in her mouth as she picks some sand out from between her teeth. She turns and spits, grinning, a couple of half-grown incisors leaving gaps in her smile. [color=C71585]"Sand is yuck as..."[/color] She doesn't say the word. She suppresses a mischievous smile instead. [color=C71585]"And I guess you're not a golem. My owner's is bigger and all rocky. You're like... thirty?"[/color] the kid asks, bouncing antsily from foot to foot to foot. She half turns, looking back in the direction that she came from.

Owners and rock things, interesting. It definitely does not help Zarina pinpoint where they are. But then the age comment came, [color=#E5E4E2]“Eh?!”[/color] she crossed her arms and pouted, [color=#E5E4E2]“Excuse you little lady!”[/color] her hand tapping on her shield reveals just how much sand had lodged into her armor, [color=#E5E4E2]“Rah shit.”[/color] she taps some of the scale-like plates to dust them off, [color=#E5E4E2]“I'll forgive that, kiddo, if you help me find my Riesco. Deal?”[/color]

Classa nodded. [color=C71585]"Deal!"[/color] she exclaimed, offering a thumbs-up. She reared up and turned rapidly. [color=C71585]"Follow me, and uh..."[/color] She grinned again, challengingly. [color=C71585]"Try to keep up, two-feet!"[/color] With that, she took off at a fast canter.

Zarina chuckles, already charmed by what she had initially seen as disturbing. It is, after all, just a kid fused with her favorite animal.

With a light hop, Zarina ascends and takes flight, helm off so she could take in some air after being confined for a while, [color=#E5E4E2]“Can you do this, four-legs?!”[/color]

[color=C71585]"I'm only eight!"[/color] Classa protested, tucking her arms in as she accelerated to a full gallop, and she was [i]fast. [b]DAMN,[/b][/i] she was fast. She actually managed to pass Zarina. A low, squat sandstone building hove into view and, finally, she began to slow, panting despite being possessed of a child's boundless energy. [color=C71585]"I didn't get my first magic yet. Anyway, Riesco's just in here,"[/color] Classa breathed, greedily sucking in mouthfuls of air.  [color=C71585]"I found him wandering in the desert."[/color]  She shook her head. [color=C71585]"It's not good to wander in the desert. Trust me. Things die there."[/color] 

Finally, they came to an outright stop and the girl spun on her rear hooves and gestured a welcome. [color=C71585]"Anyway, what was he [i]doing[/i] there, and how about you? I think his armour's a little dirty, but it's really nice..."[/color]

When Zarina could sense and see her horse - the familiar shape and the the armor he wore were so hard to miss for her - she zeros in and makes a quick check if anything is wrong. Supposedly nothing beyond loads of sand. She then peers down at the galloping half-horse girl, and in her deep softness, she actually let Classa arrive at the horse first, only for Zazzy to teleport just a few seconds later by the horses. The actual horse is a bit jumpy, definitely recovering from the storm's assault, but he is quickly calmed when her rider gets close.

[color=#E5E4E2]“There you are ...”[/color] Zarina says in a hushed tone, reaching her arms out to take her horse's head into a light embrace, [color=#E5E4E2]“You got bored all alone, didn't you?”[/color] she whispers to his perked up ears before turning to her centaur guide, [color=#E5E4E2]“I -”[/color] she looked over at the SOuth where her friends where, [color=#E5E4E2]“We got brought here, right when the storm came.”[/color] she beamed at the little one, [color=#E5E4E2]“Thanks for watching out for him.”[/color] she then whips out a carrot from a pouch and feeds it right to the still a bit agitated Riesco.

Classa eyes the carrot.

The carrot is consumed entirely. No trace of its existence remains.

Zarina whips out another carrot a few seconds later after the inevitable pout, and offers it to Classa.

!!!However!!!

Riesco makes a move! He wants seconds.

Classa's face falls as Riesco shamelessly and ruthlessly gobbles up the carrot. She could swear that he gives her a horse-side eye, and she pouts and paws at the ground with one of her front hooves.

Then, Zarina pulls out a second carrot and the child's face lights up. She starts to reach for it excitedly - [color=C71585]"I heawd they're good for your eyes!"[/color] - but the horse swoops in again and defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory. She sticks her tongue out at Riesco, and maybe he's just licking his lips, but she could swear that he sticks his tongue out right back. Classa turns. [color=C71585]"Are you gonna ride him now?"[/color] She seems to be brimming with nervous anticipation and she glances a little further northeast. [color=C71585]"Oh yeah. Did you come all alone?"[/color] she inquires, not even giving Zarina the chance to answer her first question.

With both horses at war now over stolen produce, Zarina answers the first question by just doing it. Up on the saddle, she dusts the seat and whips the reins to make them somewhat presentable, [color=#E5E4E2]“Yeah, we're quite a few.”[/color] she points her gauntlet to the South, [color=#E5E4E2]“My friend Ayla, you'll like her, is by those strange things. The others are further down, some made a shelter, others ...”[/color] she clicks her tongue, [color=#E5E4E2]“Some ran. May need to wrangle them, if they're even alive.”[/color]

Zarina's greaves tapped the sides of her horse, prompting him into a trot, [color=#E5E4E2]“Wanna meet them?”[/color] she asked with a playful grin, [color=#E5E4E2]“So, actually, where are you from, Classa?”[/color] small talk, but essential, [color=#E5E4E2]“... Why were you in the desert during a storm, actually?”[/color]

[color=C71585]"Hey Zawina..."[/color] She trailed off. [color=C71585]"Are you hot in that awmour?"[/color]

[color=#E5E4E2]“It's not too bad.”[/color] Zarina answers with a shrug, [color=#E5E4E2]“I wish I made it better for hot days.”[/color]

[color=C71585]"Yeah, doofus. I think that woulda been smarter."[/color] The girl snorted and shook her head, but she seemed to catch herself, realizing that she hadn't answered the questions put to her. [color=C71585]"Oh, and I can't wait to meet your friends!"[/color] She sprung out ahead, hopping to the side a bit and continuing at a quick trot. She pressed a finger to her lips, seeming to consider. [color=C71585]"I'm sure they're alive. This was a bad one."[/color] She looked up at the lingering reddish-yellow in the sky before turning back. [color=C71585]"But it was over quick. Don't worry. We'll find them."[/color]

They continued on for a bit more, the eight-year-old full of antsy little movements, constantly nagging at and annoying Riesco in little ways. [color=C71585]"I like horses,"[/color] she decided. [color=C71585]"They're kinda like centaurs, but cute n' dumb."[/color]

[color=#E5E4E2]“Careful girl,”[/color] warned Zarina with a stern voice but she kept a subtle hint of a smile as she looked at the young centaur, [color=#E5E4E2]“I enjoy you but be careful.”[/color] her grin got a little toothy, [color=#E5E4E2]“I might just be a big bad dragon, just like the armor.”[/color]

Riesco grunted from time to time, and even twitched his hoof a little in a halfhearted kick to the side, [color=#E5E4E2]“Centaurs? Is that what you're called?”[/color] eyes were back forward as they got closer to the odd edifices, [color=#E5E4E2]“I've never met someone like you where I come from, Classa.”[/color] a carefully eye looked out for Ayla at this point, [color=#E5E4E2]“But I think we were brought here to meet you and the people you're with. Maybe to help, or get help.”[/color] meanwhile, as Classa got to annoy the horse a bit more, the moment she got a bit too close to his rear, she'd be greeted with a few high-pitched horsey-farts.

Classa made a show of staggering back, her lanky little legs splaying out. [color=C71585]"Eeeeewww!"[/color] she squealed, scrunching up her nose, pressing her hands to her heart, and staggering almost to the point of keeling over. [color=C71585]"I am slain!"[/color] Quickly, she sprung back, grinning, and trotted alongside Zarina as the Virangishwoman spoke. For a moment, the girl looked over at her new acquaintance evaluatively and a silence built. Then, her voice became smaller. 

[color=C71585]"I was born here, but a lot of us weren't. We were saved from the void, where we were... demons."[/color] She seemed hesitant. [color=C71585]"Don't worry. I'm not bad and I'd never hurt anyone..."[/color] The sound of eight hooves in the dirt was all that could be heard above the whistle of the wind. [color=C71585]"And my owners aren't bad. I pwomise. They bought me from a auction and they're really nice to me. They don't have a lot of money. Just this old sweetwater farm."[/color] 

She seemed to perk up and be eager to change subjects. [color=C71585]"Oh yeah! That's what I was doing when I found Riesco here! We could tell a storm was coming, and since [i]I'm[/i] the fastest obviously, they sent me to go make sure all the rainsails closed alright."[/color]

[color=#E5E4E2]“Hmmm.”[/color] Demons and the VOID, things Zarina wasn't too keen on encountering again. And yet this one wasn't nearly as obscene as what Ayla, Yuliya or Nibbler had become. [color=#E5E4E2]“I've seen demons before.”[/color] said Zarina, voice still stern and her face hard to evaluate as she stared forward again, [color=#E5E4E2]“You're definitely not like them. Cheeky little filly, to be sure, but not the real deal.”[/color]

The subject of ownership, however, hit Zarina harder than it normally would. She had avoided slavery back in Gandakar due to her essentially staying in the capital, and the majority of slaves being in the coffee fields nowadays. But now she couldn't just dodge the promise anymore, [color=#E5E4E2]“I'd love to meet them. Your owners.”[/color] she plainly said, shooting a smile to the girl that wasn't quite as genuine as the others.

[color=#E5E4E2]“Rainsails-”[/color] they were so close to the strange structures, [color=#E5E4E2]“that's what they are? Do they, like, gather water or something?”[/color]

[color=C71585]"Oh yeah!"[/color] exclaimed Classa. [color=C71585]"But like... [i]different:[/i] better!"[/color] She started skipping. [color=C71585]All the cazenax love it. They put it in their dwinks and the ones the city people have in their big evening gwiddle feasts, especially Mr. Jascuan, though he doesn't have a griddle, exactly."[/color] She waved dismissively, talking a mile a minute. [color=C71585]"He's not a city pewson anyway. He's nice. Kind of like a dad, I guess, since I don't know mine, but he's old, so many more like a Gwandpa..."[/color] She trailed off, thinking.

Before the girl could elucidate further, however, Zarina sensed them: three human energies, about three hundred meters away, hunkering in the lee of a folded up sweetwater sail. Ayla, Fiske, and Desmond - it [i]had[/i] to be them.

[color=#E5E4E2]“Cazenax?”[/color] was the only thing Zarina really questioned among all of it. But she took note of everything else. From the feasts to this Mr. Jascuan. [color=#E5E4E2]“He sounds like a good man, that Mr. Jascuan.”[/color] Zarina reached for her pouch, and revealed a third carrot before chucking it over to the centaur, [color=#E5E4E2]“I have a grandpa that was kind of like a dad too. Taught me how to ride horses. I'm sure he'd love to meet you, actually.”[/color]

When they got close to the small group, Zarina didn't miss out on sniffing out their energy signatures, [color=#E5E4E2]“There they are.”[/color] she gave a new kick to Riesco's side and got him to enter a canter, [color=#E5E4E2]“Don't wanna miss the new friends, now!”[/color]

Classa nearly bobbled the catch, but her 'super great agility' came through in the end. She snagged it and took a bite, talking as she chewed. [color=C71585]"Awwwww did I eawn a widdle pwesent fwom being a good howsie!"[/color] she teased, sticking out her tongue and skipping along after quickly swallowing. 

Then, however, they were there, and she could see people in the distance. They started waving and moving toward them.[/hider][/color][/color]