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Asami must have looked quite comical. Her feet were paddling like mad, but her head was lifted as high as she could get it. The bags strap dangled down, and Asami's eyes strained to catch a look at it, make sure no herbs were falling out.

In the future, it would likely have been wise to bring a slightly smaller back. She dared a glance to the Firekin adolescent and found she was faring far better.

Mouth too full to answer, Asami could only paddle faster as the rain of rocks began. Her eyes swung wildly upwards; in hindsight, this was a bad idea. A sailing pebble narrowly missed hitting her, and Asami trudged to the shore in double time.

She drug herself out, claws scrambling to get purchase on the rocks and her lungs breathing hard. Unlike Veru, she was more than content to fling water onto her passing fellows.

Nkera growled under his breath but did not complain about Veru’s orders. He hadn’t expected them to do anything about the baboons at that exact moment - at least not while the scouting mission took precedence. He gave the loud and annoying creatures a long look, a little I’ll-See-You-Later sort of expression and dropped his head down to take a few sips of water before turning to leave. The climb was easy on the guard, one who had spent most of his life in a mountain region and to whom climbing pretty much equalled walking. He was used to the uneven sand and tricky dunes by now but Nkera still found this little climb to be sort of nostalgic in nature. And soon it was over and the desert, vast and oppressing, opened up in front of him. Here we go, he thought to himself.

---------------------------------------------

“One of those stupid rocks almost hit me.” Baise said angrily, trotting after Veru the moment she’d been out of the water and slipping just an instant after. She was much more careful after that. “Ow, ow, ow. Be careful, guys. It’s slippery.” The pure white lioness was quiet for most of the climb, carefully making her way to the top after the two pale lions before her.

Unlike Nkera, she found the sight of the vast desert anything but oppressive. To the young adult, the sandy landscape was both freeing and exhilarating. If not for the fact that they’d be walking for a very long time, Baise would surely have broken into a mad sprint across the dunes. Well, the fact that such an action would make her look like a silly cub also weighed on her mind…

The chill lioness laughed at Luut's attempt to take her with him, just managing to slip her tail away when he lost his balance. "Aw, you need to loosen up a little! All this crankiness can not be good for the heart, you know?" She chuckled and gave him a wave with a paw, before looking back at Ubawa, who had finally managed to drag his large a** up onto the other side of the water.

Ubawa didn't care about long walks or dangerous areas out in the open, he was just glad to be out of the water. He would take a more threatening walk than a light, easy swim any day of the week, particularly when baboons were involved. "When I get my claws on this little bright assed pieces of..."

"Easy there, Ubawa," laughed Volkeno as she continued to walk beside her friend, "you're going to get your face stuck that way if you don't learn to lighten up. They're not threats, and they're not going to be difficult to chase off, you know? So try and keep calm about it." She offered him a smile, but by that time he did not find her grins all that comforting. He glared at her, clearly blaming her for everything that had happened so far with his expression alone.

She didn't mind, though, still smiling contently as they walked side by side.

Maybe the others didn't seem so amused, but she was sure having a blast. There was nothing like a good adventure, right?

After about an hour of walking, the group finally reached the last of the rocky earth. Like an ocean stretched before them, the desert seemingly reached out to the horizon, rising and falling in large dunes that might as well have been mountains. The air was hot and still, but experience told Veru this was better than the alternative. The last thing the group needed was to weather a small breeze and spend the entire trek to the western outpost being sandblasted.

So far, a few baboons notwithstanding, their luck had been pretty good. "Stick together," he called over his shoulder as his paws made contact with the hot sand. "We'll walk until midday, and then rest for a bit."

When Veru had first come to the Motoujamii, he remembered staggering about in these dunes. He'd been delirious and sick, both from the heat and the fever. Sometimes walking back through the same path he'd once taken gave him an odd sense of de javu. It hadn't impeded with his abilities as a tracker, but there was always a few moments of disorientation. As if maybe he'd never really found his way out of the desert.

He pushed through the feelings, and reached the top of the first dune. The sand buckled underneath his weight.

arrow The desert is a dangerous domain.

Next two posters, roll a dice 1-5.

"After some walking, the group...

1 ... sees a large group of vultures covered over something in the distance.
2 ... sees a large rock jutting out of the ground. But there's something very unusual about this rock: its long and flat, and shaped into an archway.
3 ... hears a voice yelling in the distance.
4 ... notices the wind has begun to pick up.
5 ... is baked by the sun when the clouds recede.

He was beginning to wish he had a pale coat like Arevik. Luut shook his coat, sending away the last drops of water as he climbed the dune after Veru, only pausing when he heard Morag's call. Something in the distance? His pale gaze traced the horizon until he spied what she had. It wouldn't be a kind walk...

Arevik glanced at the sky, though not at the sun. "I think the clouds are receding..." She was going to get a sunburn... Soon. She paused, shoving the jackal out of under her. "Go walk under Luut if you want shade!"

He looked up at the lioness with pleading eyes. "But he's so mean to m--" He yelped and scampered away at the clawed swat. The jackal let out a huff, then went after Morag. "Lions, no appreciation for those of small stature..." He caught up to Morag, trotting beside her. "If I may so offer, I can go places that you cannot, and have a VERY keen nose!"

Volkeno didn't mind the heat, especially when there was something as amazing as the rock formation to look at. It perplexed her, making her wonder how it could have gotten there in the first place. It didn't look quite out of place, but in the same breath it also didn't look like it belonged there. More like... it had come to be very comfortable there for some time, and had become part of the scenery. She smiled, following the others in an awed sort of silence.

Meanwhile, Ubawa was still feeling pretty irritated by the water thing and was plotting ways to make Volkeno suffer for it. The large archway was lost on him, holding no appeal as vengeance consumed his thoughts. He could always push her into the sand, or hit her with a rock... something... anything!

He huffed to himself, following after her and the others. Why had everyone gotten so quiet? Looking around, he saw rocks and weird pictures, none of it meaning a while lot to him.

But Volkeno and a couple of the others were looking so mystified... weirdos.

One never got used to the sweltering heat. Nono squirmed until the hood was jostled out of place and fell farther over her face. This sun would roast the exposed flesh her muzzle and nose if she was not careful. Experience had taught her it was better to suffer and sweat beneath the cloak than to burn beneath the merciless sky.

The stones were only as much of interest as they were of use. Nono wobbled on her stout legs to them, and sighed when a blessed shadow cast itself over her.

--

Niu had been guarding this pride for long enough to adapt to the heat, but there were times -- times like these, where the sky was nothing but blue -- where she'd have sold the soul her guardian Goddess taught her all lions had for a drink of water.

This ancient discovery was something she would have mulled over under different circumstances. It would be a topic of discussion with herself her next shift, when the nearest company was half a mile away and the hours dragged on in silence. For now, she passed through them with the others, reminding her weary paws that rest had not been earned just yet.