It was early morning when Nabil snuck out of his family home to venture towards the oasis outside of Sulburi. Many didn’t understand how good of a place the one oasis was in particular, the green herbs growing around the smaller puddles of water perfect for anyone wanting to gather things for a curry or just to season some meat. Ever since Nabil had picked up a desire to cook, the boy had taken time to venture out to the oasis at least once a week to gather anything that he could find there. One day he wanted to see more of the world and all the spices that he could find, but for now this was his escape since he knew that he couldn’t simply run away from home and leave his twin behind. It was unfortunate though that today out of all days the skies decided to unleash hell upon the area with torrential rain falling around Nabil as he ran about the oasis to seek shelter. There had to be someplace to hide, right? There! A pair of tangled trees made some sort of arch, allowing Nabil to walk inside with his back pressed up against a large rock that blocked out a portion of the wind and rain. This was miserable, but what other choice did he have? He couldn’t get back to the city until the storm passed, that much was for certain and he didn’t know if there was a cave or anything like that out here in the desert.

“Hey!” A small form yelled at him before diving forward, an Oban girl tucking into the small space with him where they could hide in the rocks away from the howling winds. “Sorry, not much choice.” She expressed as she pressed against Nabil. “Don’t kick me out, okay?” Her crimson gaze was hopeful as she looked at Nabil, her body shivering from how drenched she was from the unexpected storm.

“I…I guess.” Nabil replied finally, shifting to try to give her more room as the storm picked up around them. He was confident in the large boulder protecting them from behind, but the trees wobbling above them made him nervous. Here’s hoping it doesn’t rip them out by the roots and collapse on us. That would be a very unfortunate ending indeed. But neither of them had much choice as the storm continued on, the winds whipping up sand as well with the mixture of rain pelting them here and there through their little shelter.

“Well, this is great.” The girl mumbled as she pulled her legs up against her chest, trying to use them to protect some of her body from the debris. “Thank you though. I don’t think I would have made it far without finding this spot. What bad timing.” She tried to adjust as she spoke, her limbs trembling from the cold since she had gotten far more soaked in the rain than Nabil had. Now that he looked he realized that she was in even more tattered clothing than his worn attire, the fabric barely hanging together now that she had been caught out in the storm. Sheesh.

“Here.” He managed to move so that he could take off his outer tunic, the soft cotton only slightly damp since he had gotten to shelter before the storm fully broke out. “Your shivering is making you move too much.” Nabil managed, trying to play it off as if he didn’t care though the obvious lie just brought a soft laugh to the girl’s lips. “Hopefully it stops soon and we can get out of here.”

“Maybe.” She took the offered tunic and wrapped herself up in it, the shivering easing as she embraced the warmth. “Enid, by the way.” She added after a moment, smiling towards Nabil. “If we’re stuck together might as well learn names, right?”

“I suppose.” Nabil replied after a moment. “Nabil.”

“Nice.” Enid looked over at the dark landscape and let out a soft whistle. “I don’t think I’ve seen it storm this bad in Sulburi, Jatine maybe but not here.”

“It happens.” Nabil knew it was rare but he had seen a rainstorm a few times before, just nothing quite as loud as this one though. “Are you from Jatine?”

“I am! I was visiting cousins but didn’t make it into the main gates before the storm hit. Freakin’ merchants left without me because I had to take a small break from the caravan. How about you? Why are you out here in the oasis?”

“I see. I was gathering herbs and such.” Nabil admitted after a moment, the bag by his side full of what he had gathered before the storm hit.

“Oh, interesting! Do you cook then? My mother works at a restaurant in Jatine, you should come visit at some point…” Enid began, her voice carrying over the thunder as she continued to talk throughout the whole storm.

[830]