Welcome to Gaia! ::

The world outside the Homewood felt relatively new to Cinder, who had not traveled extensively outside of the Homewood in her youth. Her parents had grown up within the just-accepted fringes of high society, and though they had praised her desire to advance, they had never seen the need to take it upon themselves to travel. That was hard work better left to the nouls who weren't as established or as settled in the Homewood.

Cinder didn't share the same philosophy. Travel seemed to her to be the best way to learn and the quickest path to understanding the needs of the land. All of that eventually tied back to the Homewood, whose ability to thrive seemed at least partially dependent on the restoration of the world beyond. The Homewood couldn't grow, after all, if there wasn't anywhere to grow into.

The young doe had a theory. The better she could understand all of the workings of Vykeli, and the more information she could bring back to the Homewood, the more useful she could be and the easier she could parlay her skills into a position of power. That, ultimately, was what she wanted. It was a simple desire, but one that drove her every decision.

Coming out to the barrens was the first step. Cinder had left the Homewood shortly after receiving her abilities. Her first stop had been back at the Grandfather Tree, where she'd spent a few days digging about for small roots. Eating those had helped expand her new abilities, and she'd armed herself with several for her first real venture into the Barrens. Now, she found herself surrounded by a vaste wasteland, a healing cockatrice astride her withers, heading in a direction she believed would take her closer to the Ruins of Erli.

As high noon neared, the heat intensified, and even Cinder, who seemed particularly adept at handling heat, started to feel uncomfortable moving at a decent clip. The doe slowed herself down and scanned her surroundings for shade.

"How does a short rest sound to you, Flare?" she asked, though she had already altered course for the tree. The cockatrice gave her a sleepy nod. Shade sounded just fine.

The last few steps to the shade felt so close, and yet so far. Cinder shuffled her way under the tree, feeling the temperature cool almost instantly, albeit not by much. The doe let out a quiet sigh and leaned against the dry bark as Flare fluttered from her shoulder to shelter in the doubled shade beneath her body.

Today was proving to be a crucial lesson. They had been traveling since early morning, before the sun had risen to its peak, and had continued so late into the day because the heat hadn't felt that. Until it suddenly had. The extremity of the sun's rays had hit them like a sudden downpour, their bodies' resistance giving out without so much as a warning.

"Tomorrow... we'll have to stop for a rest much earlier," Cinder said, panting as she settled her gaze out beyond their barely-comfortable bit of shade.

"Seems we've got company," Flare suddenly piped up.

The doe managed to perk up enough to not seem rude. She straightened herself up, balancing her weight between all four hooves and lifting her head so she didn't seem like she as drooping all over the place. One could argue that out here in the Barrens, there wasn't much call for such decorum, but her upbringing didn't disappear overnight. There were still rules to be followed.

"Please, join us," she called to the approaching noul. "Nobody should have to suffer that heat without shade."

Cinder happily scooted over to make room for their new companions under the shade. If they were all to suffer from this heat, they might as well suffer together. Misery really did love company, if for no reason other than that it was an excuse to complain to one another. It was terribly amusing in a weird way.

"Oh!" she gasped in delight as the temperature around them began to cool. The heat vanished as the other noul's horn came alive with light, washed away by what Cinder could only describe as a temperateness that seemed to envelop the little patch of shade they sheltered under. Compared to the burning heat of the desert, this felt like the peak of all luxuries.

"That's a handy ability to have out here, that's for sure," she said, breathing out an appreciative sigh as she settled into the comfortable temperature. "Thank you! I'm all the more glad to have run into you."

With the new climate in place, Flare ambled out from beneath Cinder's shade, pleased to have the freedom to strut around the entire tree shielded from the hot sun. His black feathers certainly were not a help out here in the heat. That was probably why he'd decided to make his way toward Homewood to begin with, but his path had conveniently aligned with Cinder's, and far be it for him to deny himself a comfortable ride, even if it was in the wrong direction.

"Terribly please to make your acquaintance, Njeri, Oreme. I'm Cinder and my friend here is Flare," the doe said, happy to make the introductions. She'd grown up doing it, and it felt proper and right. "Have you found any landmarks yet? We're on our way to the Ruins ourselves. I thought I'd better check out these remnants the Others left behind."

"Have you been out there, then?" Cinder asked, eyes brightening at Oreme's words as if the jackhop hadn't just said it was prudent to be careful. Cinder was anything but reckless, but she'd set her mind on visiting the Ruins well in advance of this trip, and no amount of warnings would be enough to change her decision. Being forewarned, though, now that was useful.

"I'm looking forward to a change in weather, that's for sure," the doe added, looking out beyond their shade and already dreading the inevitable return to the barren wasteland heat. "And the fact that there seems to be much to learn out in the Ruins."

She decided to lay down as well and take advantage of their current levels of comfort. Folding her legs carefully beneath her, she settled into the dusty ground as well as she could, before looking back at Njeri and Oreme, curious about their adventure.

"Tell me, are you looking for anything in particular out here in the Barrens? Or just adventuring?"