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"Footprints it is then! Off we go!"

A decision. A path. Concrete and settled. This brought Boreas a slight feeling of comfort, not that he really could relate to the word. After his fall, he hadn't really tried to bring himself past "exhausted", so operating in the red was slowly becoming the norm. Oddly, he would kill for water, but he didn't really feel run down. Not as he should anyway.

Chin up solider!

Optimism again. Bravery should come swiftly soon as well. Though this thought was cut short by Howl's remark and question.

"Ha, good point. I did have a slight idea of the life you come from, though I can't say I expected the wit. Cute, but surprising."

This guy was riding on his back after all. Though he did appreciate the spice since he needed something else to focus on besides the endless footprints. And where did that damn camel go?

Too many damn questions. Shake it off and focus on your friend, you know THE ONE ON YOUR BACK!

"Me? What would you like to know? I have something to do with winter? I like to be cold since I have a strange affinity for a fur covered outfit. Hmm... what else? Oh yeah, I make a great pack mule."

He was poking and teasing. Playful banter was the name of the game. After all, he couldn't go too deep yet. The whole senshi situation still had that new car smell to Boreas.

The footprints turned southwest for a while -- if the sun was to be believed as a compass measure, of course.

The speck was closer. They could almost make out its shape.

Before too long, they found a place where the man's footprints disappeared, and the hoofmarks reappeared again in their stead. Surely a man couldn't actually have carried a camel?

There hadn't been time to reply to any of the comments that his companion offered. No, the lookout had noticed the speck was closer, easier to see, and possibly even almost recognizable. It wasn't, but perhaps given a bit more time, it would be obvious what it was. It was a bit of a concern to see this strange speck and not really know what it was. Perhaps it was the lack of knowing that made both Howl and Boreas more tense.

"I do not want to complain in all honesty, but I believe you are crushing my thigh, Mr. Boreas."

After hearing that the prints in the sand had changed, after seeing the speck in the distance become more distinguished, and even after an onslaught of questions, this was the first thing Howl offered to the conversation again. Perhaps it was his way to snap the Senshi out of whatever trance the sand and speck had upon his companion?

"I must concur that I have an extreme dislike for this desert as well." One thing that was starting to get on Howl's own nerves was the fact the sun really hadn't shifted in the sky at all. How long had they been there, wandering the sands aimlessly? And even after that, how long had they been chasing these footprints? Yet the sun still burned along the horizon, as if the day was about to turn into night, yet had not fully transitioned. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Had Howl and Boreas really only been out in this strange place for only mere minutes in comparison to the many hours they both seemed to have suffered?

"...I suspect the only thing I can say without a doubt is that this place is stranger than any other I have been."

There was a pause.

"To answer your question of earlier, I enjoy all three equally, though I suspect the most rewarding would be gardening. And, I must confess, I admire your love of swimming. I actually am unable to swim."

Or rather, completely scared of swimming was a more accurate description. It translated to the same thing in the end. One couldn't tell if the pink color on Howl's cheeks was from blushing in embarrassment, or if it might have just been a sign he had been under the desert sun far too long.

Perhaps it was inappropriate, but in an effort to possibly lighten the mood, the teal-haired young man let out a laugh. Nothing cruel, nothing scornful, just a simple, gentle laugh. He laughed for maybe a minute, maybe for less time, he wasn't exactly keeping track, but then eventually offered an explanation.

"It is ironic that we have so much free space, yet we are 'trapped,' as you phrased it."

Howl's toes clenched up a bit, then wriggled a bit, as if his legs were getting stiff. How long had he been sitting there on Boreas' back? At the moment, he was regretting his decision to not wear a watch today. However, the last thing Howl normally would have wanted was a watch tan. Perhaps today should have been the day he made an exception. Though now there was the question of if it would have disappeared like the shoes.

He was in the middle of pondering such a mystery when the senshi mentioned something which caused him to shiver rather noticeably. It was blazing hot, heat intense enough to almost melt his skin off, and he shivered. If his mind was in a better place, he might have noted the irony in this as well.

"I suspect that would be a fruitless effort. I suffer from aquaphobia, Mr. Boreas. Many have tried, and none have succeeded. Also, it would be a rather big giveaway to your identity, if anything. I highly doubt you could teach me to swim from the sidelines while wearing that suit. Or, on the flip-side, I would know the moment someone offered to teach me how to swim that it was you."

Of course, now the only thought running through his mind was that dream he had been having lately with Amelia and the swimming pool. He shuddered again, fingers clenching into the fluff on the senshi's outfit.

Howl only half heard the request. So in return, he only half-responded with a noise that could have resembled agreement. It probably was an agreement, since the lad's toes clenched up, as if preparing for the heat to burn along the soles of his feet again. The teal-haired boy seemed to hardly notice what was going on around him until he was set on the ground.

Howl did not yelp. No, he was far too dignified for such. No, he let out a very faint hiss from behind his teeth, as if he was trying to hold back the sound, but failed somewhere in his attempt. Perhaps if he was more in the humorous mood, he could have claimed he was imitating the sizzling sound his feet should have been making.

"I do not mind at all, Mr. Boreas. You have honestly already done more than enough. I am truly grateful." He offered a smile upon his horridly chapped and cracked lips, but it did not last very long. For some reason, that burning pain from the bottom of his feet had moved up onto the top of his feet. Perhaps his feet had gotten buried in the sand from the less than graceful landing?

Yet, something seemed off. The warmth moved up from his feet up his legs, creeping up his ankles to his shins. There was also the fact that Boreas was seeming rather tall at the moment, and for some reason, he seemed to continue to grow. Which was a silly notion. Sure, they were in the unexplained desert, chasing after strangely altering foot prints in the sand towards a sun that never really seemed to set, and he was calling his companion's seeming shift in height silly.

It was about this time that he decided to look down, as if trying to gather his bearings. He did not see toes beneath him.

"What in the blazes?!" Sand was up to his shins, swallowing his pants legs and still seeming to rise on him, creeping up towards his knees now. On instinct alone, he attempted to move his legs, yet found they were firmly stuck in the sand which was now trying to devour him in a sense. Logic would have stated that if the first time he attempted to move and failed, it wasn't about to work the second time, or any other time after that. Yet, logic had a funny way of abandoning a young man the moment panic seemed to rise up.

"Oh my god!" He again attempted to move his legs, which only seemed to cause him to sink rather quickly and suddenly to being covered knee deep in sand. "Mr. Boreas... oh my god... stay back..." Apparently this patch of sand was like quicksand.

Or was it?

An arm flailed over towards the offered hand, and initially missed. Boreas had been reaching out, crouching close, yet not close enough. Just because Howl had missed didn't mean he couldn't keep attempting to throw his arm towards the senshi. He was steadily sinking further into the sand, moving from his knees up to his thighs.

It was only when the ash blonde practically sprawled his body against the sand, reaching out that Howl's efforts seemed to finally make a difference. The first time the panicked teen threw his arms at his companion after the shift in position, his fingers barely touched Boreas' glove. He was starting to feel the sand's heat creeping up his thighs and trying to make its way up to his hips.

With a strained grunt of "...just... a little further," Howl extended his hand as far as he could. His fingers were absolutely beautiful, even after the harsh conditions they had to endure in this crimson-skied desert, but now trembling, twitching in an effort to draw Boreas' hand closer. His mind was shouting a million questions at him, cursing the world and all of its rotten luck, yet the only thing he did was continued to reach his hand out.

"...just... a little... further..."

It stopped.

There was no explanation, no logical reasoning behind it, but it stopped. The sand no longer seemed hungry, ceasing its efforts a few seconds after Boreas had grabbed Howl.

Of course, the effeminate lad had yet to realize it. The moment he had been even remotely wrapped up in the senshi's arms, his eyes pinched shut behind the sunglasses. So much had just happened in such a short amount of time, and so many emotions had just rushed through Howl that is left him not only drained, but absolutely frightened. He had thought he had a grasp on reality, and now it had nearly attempted to snuff him out like a light.

Had he mentally been in the right place, he might have quickly noticed how that hot feeling from the sand has stopped rising. Unfortunately, this was not something he noticed. He had hardly even noticed that another man was holding onto him. In fact, the thin young man halfway buried in the sand hadn't even noticed he was trembling.