It was sunrise. The air was cold, the sun making her fur prickle and rise towards.
Asami's heart was beating more slowly than it had before in her entire life. The huge, golden sun peeking over the red dunes took her breath entirely away. It had been several months since she had left home.
No, not home.
Home had been the swamp, the mud. Then it had become the dust beneath her feet. Now, home was an ache deep in her heart. She had waited her whole life to take her pilgrimage. In a blink of an eye, that had been snatched from her. She swallowed, remembering the conversation she and her mother had.
Asami had found the outpost tired, thirsty, and looking for solace. Miraculously, they had given it to her. When they'd asked her if she was on her way to the Firekin, she had simply answered, "Yeah. There," in hopes that they would leave her alone long enough to recover. They did.
When she'd been woken later by the sounds of fighting, she had been alarmed. It did not take her long to see the fights were not deadly, and that no blood was being spilled. It was like the over-agressive play of cubs. She'd watched, for a few days, making good use of their leftover scraps of meat and drinking her fill of water. This land was like the swamps after they had burned -- only no ash hit the ground.
Then, she had tried her hand. The first time someone had struck her upside the head, Asami had stumbled backwards and sat down. Thankfully, there had been what the pride called a medic on scene. There was no official word for a healer in the Swamplands. Those who held knowledge of plants passed it carefully down to their children. At times, the spirits were called upon. Secrets were shared and debated against one another.
The practiced, efficient work of the medic had awed her, and like any Swampie, she always sought more knowledge where it was to be had. Perhaps it would lead to her name.
It was a self-challenge now. Could she defeat one of the Firekin? It had started as simply a little thought, itching at the back of her mind. Now, she was excited to try it. The beasts themselves had given her no end to their drabble in military prowess, and Asami wanted to try it just once before she continued on her naming quest.
"Just once," she told the sands.
Then, she broke into a jog and struggled through the thick sand to a figure she had been sent to meet.
"Ser!" she called out, using a formal term left to her from the swamplands. "We're dueling, right?" Asami was already panting, and there was a happy smile displaying her teeth. My goodness, what if she actually won?
She moved from foot to foot as she fidgeted.
