step…step…step…
clnk.
"Wow… so this is what silence sounds like. Now move, slowpoke—you're blocking the door."
Meters away, people talked across the caravan of vehicles, some larger than others , but all of them were insignificant next to their own.
Sienna turned her head and stared at Ikade for but a second before hopping down, she lifts both hands just in time to catch the young woman hop down after her.
"Thanks!"
Ikade smiled and gave her a quick pat on the head.
Sienna face took on annoyance while she lowered her onto the ground, nudging her out the way and closing the metal door behind them.
"Watch out!"
Before she could react, she was yanked to the side right when a chunk of metal crashed into the door.
thk—clang!
Its jagged point drove itself into the ground, its surface reflecting the sun.
"You didn't just sprain your ankle playing hero, did you? I could have stopped that you know?"
"A simple 'thank you' would've been fine and no, I'm strong."
Ikade brushed down her clothes, flicking dust from her sleeves before her tail swiped across Sienna's face in retaliation. A pair of figures hurry toward them with apologetic looks, their canine ears flicking nervously.
The gaze of a few more fell other them for a second before fading away all together.
"Y'all didn't get hurt, did ya? We…uh…thought we had it handled. Heh…"
The woman next to him tapped his shoulder with the back of her hand.
"Sorry about that. Things got a little messy there for a second." She said, waving her hand across her face with a friendly smile.
"We're… okay. Since no one got hurt, I can let bygones be bygones."
"Ahem." The woman's face turned a light pink, coughing into her fist again. "Ahem. I'm Lieselotte but Lottie works just fine. And this here is Eli."
"Kaede."
Ikade's tail swayed behind her, the tip curling into a small wave.
"Sienna."
"Sorry if I'm poking my nose in—" Eli says, scratching the back of his neck. "Did someone send you over?"
Sienna's expression flickered and she glanced towards Ikade.
"Lina, right? Or…was it Rafael ? I already forgot."
"Oh! You're joining the security team?" Eli's face brightens instantly. "Why didn't you say that earlier, haha! That's a real lifesaver. Anyone else tagging along?"
Both of them blink at how quickly his mood flipped—a full one-eighty while he vigorously shook Sienna's hand, pausing in between before continuing.
…He's chirpier than I thought.
"That's up to them. I already let them know you were looking for people."
Sienna finished, easing her hand back.
"Can we ask why'd you two wanted to join?" Lottie asked, her tail wrapping loosely around her leg.
"Who wants to stay cooped up in a room for weeks anyway?" Ikade replied, her tone bright with adventure. She nodded to herself while speaking, her finger tracing an imaginary scene through the air. "We've never gone camping before, so we figured—why not try something new on the way to our vacation spot?"
"Well, considering the situation, obviously." Sienna added with a soft chuckle. "Still…a little greenery wouldn't hurt."
"Then coming with us shouldn't be a problem." Lottie said. "Our settlement's right on a grassland, so you're bound to see a few animals out there…hopefully nothing too dangerous."
"Grassland?" Ikade's ears perk again. "Like actual grass? Not the sad brown stuff here?"
It earned her a laugh from them.
"So how long's the trip?" Ikade asks, leaning slightly forward.
"Couple days to a week." Eli answers, gesturing vaguely behind him. "Road's not too bad this time of year. Just dust, and the occasional surprise."
"Surprise?"
Sienna spoke up this time.
"Marauders. Catastrophes. Gallifowls the size of trucks. You know…the usual stuff."
Lottie nudges him in the ribs while her mind roamed the horizon. "Don't scare them off before they even agree."
Eli glanced over his shoulder toward the group, then looked back at them.
"Well, if you're planning to ride with us, you'll probably want to know where things are anyway."
"C'mon. We'll show you around before the others start yelling at us for standing around. Oh wait—that's just Ralf."
Ikade straightens immediately.
"Oh! A tour?"
He turns and starts walking, waving them along. The rest follow behind, Ikade and Sienna naturally fall into step together, brushing their hands against one another before settling into a loose hold.
They all of course, tactfully ignore the overturned vehicle and the people grumbling away at it.
Its calm...not a single sound out except our voices and the land...I don't think it was this quiet before I met you.
Sienna lifts her eyes and traces Ikade's silhouette ahead of her, watching those fluffy ears bounce with each step, watching her sway side to side while following their guide.
Her thoughts swirled into a single mass.
But she pushed them aside with the shake of her head.
The duo talked about nothing in particular, watching the different vehicles and their colors move past them. One turned into three, then ten, twenty one and finally into thirty four according to Eli.
"That's not even including the five cargo haulers by the way." Lottie said, noting down their size compared to their own.
Some of these are almost as big as mine. Huh…this one's nice. Half the length but just as tall.
Sienna's gaze fell of a bright red vehicle, its cabin black with a yellow strip cutting across it and pulling at her interest.
A couple of people sat near the passenger door, chatting with drinks in hand. They fanned themselves lazily and waved when they noticed the group slowing nearby.
"Pretty fancy, right? Our medical tent. Or…what passes for one out here." Eli said, sneezing afterwards.
Ikade released Sienna's hand and pulled out her phone from somewhere. She crouches to take a few photos, playing with the settings between each shot while the caravan hummed around them.
"Speaking of fancy, we actually bought another vehicle recently. Means we've got two little kitchens now. Living the high life." Lottie giggle before gingering guiding them deeper in.
Ikade didn't need any encouragement. She grabbed Sienna's hand and pulled her along with bright excitement, her eyes practically glowing while she talked with Lottie.
The deeper they strolled, the livelier it became.
More and more people were setting up small pockets of entertainment between the their vehicles—music drumming out from portable speakers, each cluster playing a different genre that overlapped into a chaotic mix. Some sat in folding chairs, others leaned against tires or sprawled across tarps with drinks being passed from hand to hand.
Nearly every vehicle carried the same bright metal fuel cans strapped along the sides, two…three, sometimes four.
Eventually, the scent of warmness filled their noses.
Food.
Ahead of them stood a truck larger than Sienna herself. A flat-nosed vehicle with a camping tent unfolded on its roof. The bed has been converted into a working kitchen, low enough that no steps were needed.
Tables slide out from the sides, crowded with ingredients, pans, and sizzling metal trays while on the bed was built like a small food truck.
Ikade was practically grilling them for the nitty gritty, recording them while they talked and talked.
"She's got a lot of energy, huh?" Eli said, the two of them watching their own partners talk over one another.
Sienna said nothing but look around to the other vehicles, taking note of the supplies they carried and how they were placed.
"...ie! Sie! Ahaha~!" Ikade waves her over with a plate in one hand, beckoning her closer.
"C'mon, you have to try this!"
Sienna only stared at her flatly, the faint lines beneath her eyes deepen slightly before she sighed and rubbed the side of her head.
She pushed off the ground and walked over anyway, settling onto a nearby seat with a drink being pushed to her.
Ikade immediately placed the plate toward her, on the plate sat something far more appetizing—thick flatbread folded around strips of grilled meat, chopped greens and a smear of spiced paste that smelled like the past.
Then Ikade leaned closer, tore off a piece of the bread, and fashioned a small sandwich stuffed with meat. She blew lightly across it before bringing it toward Sienna's mouth.
"Here—try this part."
"...Its good...its so good."
A smug look spread across Ikade's face, practically gleaming with joy.
Sienna took another bite, and again and again, then she took a sip from the drink placed in front of her, closing her eyes for a moment while the flavors settled in her. Her fingers rubbed against the plate far too many times to count.
She leaned back in the folding chair, the heat of the food finally settling into her stomach.
"Give me a bit, okay? I wanna learn a few of these."
Sienna hummed in response, closing her eyes and letting the noise from the kitchen sooth her spirit for several minutes.
"C'mon. I'll show you the stuff that actually keeps everyone safe."
Sienna opened one eye, then the other.
Eli gestured with his head and started walking. She, on the other hand, pushed herself up and followed after him. The camp moved around them like frames in a film, fine particles from the surrounding dunes gathered into shallow waves that patterned the ground.
And like a film, she felt a pair of eyes running over her from the left.
In a blur of movement, a man passes by while looking straight at her.
He wore a pair of loose pants in blue with a vanilla colored shirt, a backpack hung around his shoulders beside the blade at his side.
He tapped the flat of the blade lightly against his head and she gave a nod in return.
Then a wall of metal blocked her view.
Another vehicle, again.
Her gaze fell onto the ground even as Eli continued talking, his words falling on deaf ears.
They kept moving, the caravans voice quieting down to a whisper.
Up ahead, perched atop a yellow-painted vehicle, sat a man with salt-colored horns branching from his head in opposite directions like the letter Y. His legs hung over the edge, both shoes unlaced. A bright red crossbow rested beside him while a thin ribbon of smoke curled from the cigarette between his fingers.
"Tch. Lazy bastard." Eli muttered.
The man subtly tilted his head towards them, his vertical pupils catching the light.
"I don't think I've ever seen eyes like yours before." Sienna said. "Are those contacts?"
"Maybe you just haven't met many of my kind. Lucky for you, I was born with them."
He cracked a small smile, tapping the ash off the cigarette before glancing back at her.
"And you are?"
Sienna stayed put for a moment, her eyes slowly dancing to the chest piece he wore.
"Sienna."
"Out of all of us, he's usually the first to notice trouble." Eli said, nodding up toward the horned man, whose hair hid his ears.
"If you weren't so damn lazy all the time, Micah."
"Hah, like anyone's stupid enough to attack us parked next to that massive thing." Eli and Micah bickered right up until she coughed.
"Pft, fine. I'll leave you two to it. I'll be near the kitchen if you need me." Eli pivoted, looking over his should while he spoke.
"Oh—and foods almost done, I'll radio you when I go check the other kitchen."
Step...step...step
Eli's footsteps turned into white noise.
"Yeah, I know they already asked, but why join our little band of misfits?"
Micah's question lingered in the air, he then leaned forward and started tying his shoes.
"We figured a couple weeks out here would be better than sitting inside all day."
Sienna answered, moving her head to the side at the end.
Thmp!
A cloud of dust kicked up the moment his shoes hit the ground, coating them in a thin layer of sand.
He snapped his finger and his crossbow slid off from the cars roof, scraping against the surface and onto his grasp.
"Wait—seriously? You can use it too?!"
Sienna stepped closer at once, a grin spreading across her face. Part of her hair spilled over her shoulder, glowing under the light.
"Cough. I wasn't excited or anything. That's just…cool."
Micah chuckled, looking down at the crossbow in his hand while Sienna rubbed at her nose in embarrassment.
"...that excited you more than the giant caravan?"
Sienna stepped even closer, shameless even, until a foot barely separated them.
"Yes. I've only met three others with telekinesis, and I was the second strongest among them."
She finished by placing a hand over her chest in pride, her little smirked framed her slightly lifted chin.
"Huh." The corner of his mouth twitched. "You've got strange priorities. But then again, people like us don't think normally."
"So you can use it too? Telekinesis, I mean. How strong are you with it?" She pressed closer, her eyes holding a light in them.
Question after question, Micah's mouth twitched until the radio on his chest piece crackled.
"I think I'd rather—"
〈...Micah...Lina says more people are coming. About six of them.〉
The two stared at one another for a short moment.
"Well, new plan..." He glanced at her, then lightly lifted the crossbow in his hand after a short pause. "You interested in a little showcase? Call it a mini tournament."
"A tournament already? I've barely arrived and you're putting me to work. Sigh."
The faint black lines beneath Sienna's eyes curved with her small, silly smile.
The two of them strolled side by side, heading anywhere but the spot they had been standing in moments ago. Their pace was unhurried even—toward where her vehicle was parked.
A smell swept over them.
Spices and cooked meals.
As they passed near the kitchen again, their pace slowed to a few steps at a time.
More people had gathered there around the cook.
Some were already eating, seated on folding chairs or beside the coolers and crates in the surrounding area, their plates balanced on their laps with the noise of conversation in between.
Sienna's gaze moved over them one by one, her thoughts plentiful like the food and finding Ikade eating amongst them.
Her thoughts gnawed at her mind once again.
"Why not? Eyes are the window to the spirit, or so they say."
"Yuck, who even says that."
Sienna looked away with mock disgust before lifting up her left wrist up and turning it on with the flick of her wrist. An opaque screen materialized, its soft edges blending with the ground.
She immediately switched to the camera and stared into her own eyes.
"You're such a liar. I don't see anything."
Micah let out a quiet breath through his nose, almost like a laugh.
Her eyes danced past the little clusters, then farther ahead, toward the front stretch of the caravan where the vehicles thinned enough to let the lands waves of sand brushed one another.
crrrshhh…crshh…
A multitude of vehicles bounced over the small dunes separating them, rising and dipping.
Again, then too many times.
VRRRAAAM!
"They're heading straight for us, huh."
Micah stepped forward and raised a hand, sidestepping as he pointed to his right. He glanced to his immediate left, then did a double take when he spotted one particular brown beast beside him.
"Ah, that's the biggest one I've seen in a while."
He finished with a whistle, staring at the massive vehicle practically next to him while Sienna puffed out her chest in pride.
"That's mine, actually."
"How much did you pay for that thing?"
"A house." Her voice came out calm.
"Cough! Whathefuc...cough."
By then, the incoming vehicles had gotten close enough for him to start guiding them into place with nothing but gestures, pointing out where to park.
A few seconds later, the engines began to die one by one.
Three times in all.
Sienna's gaze swept over the cooling vehicles, taking in their oversized tires jutting out from the sides, the winches mounted on their front bumpers and the dust covered bumpers.
Blue-haired woman. Black-haired man. Three in the second car…one in the last.
Their fans slowed almost in unison, dust gathering into small tan clouds around them.
A finger twitched.
WHP—!
The dust whipped away. She looked toward the driver of the first vehicle just in time to see him lower his hand and push the door open, the others following after.
The doors swung open, groaning each time. The blue-haired woman was the first to hop out, already wearing a smile of her own.
...She's basically a mini Ikade. Smaller, blue-haired, and with gold eyes instead of brown.
Sienna tilted her head ever so slightly and swept her gaze over the short woman again, lingering on the cheeky smile.
I feel like that smile is familiar.
What is she? I cant tell what she is. She doesn't have many obvious features, and with her hair cut that short, the ears I can see look completely normal. Hmm...
The others look like any other race...the usual ones too. Well, not counting the Lupo...err, Rebbah? Whatever. But with nothing else to go off...an Anura? Maybe.
She ignored everyone else till they were already in front of her, some were looking at her behemoth and some at the caravan itself.
"...lo?"
Pat.
"Yo!"
Sienna blinked, her focus snapping back into place. Standing right in front of her was the blue-haired woman, still smiling like she'd been doing it her whole life.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" The woman asked lightly, stepping back a few feet away. "I would've gone and bothered the guy next to you, but he looks busy dealing with my people and whatever else."
Her toothy grin widened.
"Oh, and I'm Rain, by the way. Because of the hair. In case that wasn't painfully obvious."
The woman pointed at her own hair in the end and Sienna's eyes lingered on her own dark blue strands dancing with the constant gust.
"I've only been here a day, and I've already met interesting people. You might just top them all."
"Right?" Rain's grin turned downright shameless, then leaning towards her just a little. "My parents really committed to the bit."
"Speaking of commitment, what's that piece you're hiding under there?"
Rain flashed a canine, a glint slipping through her narrowed eyes.
"Ah?! You really do have one? Haha, you don't need to stare that hard, you know."
Sienna furrowed her brows, then raised a hand to rub at her head, already feeling a headache coming on.
"Ua...I'm already regretting this."
Rain laughed without a shred of shame, rocking back on her heels while the others finally started to spill out around them. By then, Micah was busy talking with the rest of the new group, his attention split between whatever questions they were throwing at him.
"So what is it?" she asked again, tilting her head. "A knife? A ΜΙСA? Don't tell me you're one of those people carrying around a saber under their jacket."
Sienna stared at her for a long second.
"...Do I look like the kind of person who carries a saber?"
A dry breath left Sienna's nose.
They talked for a bit—or rather, Rain talked enough for the two of them. Somewhere in between, the others from the newly arrived group started introducing themselves, one after another, their voices blending into the deserts stillness.
However, most of their names slipped right past her.
Two, however, stuck.
One rested a somewhat long stave across the hood of a vehicle, it's metal length glaring with the light while another carried a crossbow that she larger than normal.
"Alright," Micah said, glancing between Sienna and the newcomers with a small grin. "Since we have enough people here…how about we make this interesting?"
He lifted his crossbow, its crystal red body reflected their persons.
"Anyone interested in a little mini tournament?"
"A mini tournament? You say that like I'm supposed to pretend I'm not interested."
Rain answered without missing a bit, in her hand, curved steel.
The hilt was almost black with three spirals for a hand guard, the steel began pale then tapered into a into a darker, stained brown.
When Rain maneuvered it around, Sienna caught the engraving running on the steels side.
"...since when were you holding a sword?"
Her question resounded to no one else but herself.
"That's a sec~ret."
Rain lifted the blade lightly, giving it a twirl before embedding the point into the sand below.
Around them, the others began voicing, speaking over one another that Sienna ignored entirely. An idea had already begun to form in the back of her mind.
Eventually the group settled on something.
Micah clapped his hands at the end, cutting through the noise.
"Alright, alright—before any of you start breaking thing, we're moving this."
A few groans answered him.
He gestured toward the open stretch of dunes beyond the caravan, away from where they currently standing.
"We'll take it over there."
Micah raised his hand and keyed the radio clipped to his chest piece.
〈We're running a friendly spar about a few dozen meters out—by the wreck.〉
Static crackled briefly before a voice answered with indignation in their voice..
〈...why?! Who in their right mind woul—!〉
He lowered the radio with a grin and jerked his head toward the dunes.
"C'mon. If we're doing this, we might as well make it entertaining."
Step.
She stepped off with them, stretching out her limbs over her head.
Step. Step. Step—again for every person.
The sound of her footsteps multiplied, one set turning into many, and those footsteps slowly turned into voices. With every meter they put behind them, the faint smell of burning faded into the dry scent of endless sand.
Sienna took another step.
A handful of people had begun trailing after them, wandering over with the casual curiosity of people who had nothing better to do.
By the next step, a few vehicles had rolled forward just enough to construct a makeshift arena, their engines rumbled before falling quiet again.
A portable speaker screamed to life—low at first, then louder the second someone found the volume knob. The beat stirred the sand below to dance in patterns, yet also infecting her heart.
Rain, on the other hand, walked with joyous steps.
She looks like she's having the time of her life…what kind of mess did I step into, sighhh...
Sienna took another step and people began climbing onto the bumpers, hoods and roofs, turning the trucks into makeshift platforms before looking over her shoulder, peering further and finding a few more sitting on their vehicles, leaning forward to watch her and the group.
A loose disk of people had formed around a flat clearing, their shadows stretching across the sand into a dark ring. Some stood with their arms crossed and others crouched, a few already shouting bets to anyone willing.
"...Heh."
By the time Sienna stopped, Rain had already peeled off her outer clothes. In its place stood a young woman—slim, though not without some muscle along her shoulders.
"Why're you smiling like that? Sienna, right?"
The two looked at one another for a moment before Sienna let out a light huff.
She pulled off her loose white long-sleeve shirt, revealing the subtle definition beneath. The pistol at her appendix shifted slightly when she flexed her arm.
With one hand, she gathered part of her hair, loosely braiding it before letting it fall back over her chest.
Rain muttered something under her breath, glancing downward. "but these are—"
Her words stalled.
"These are..."
Rain glanced down at herself.
Then back at Sienna, then down again.
"...This is bullshit."
"We just met and you're getting handsy already." Sienna said, the faint lines under her becoming more pronounced, eyeing down the woman. "At least buy me dinner first."
Shiiiiin~
The ruckus around them dulled when the two woman locked eyes, igniting one another's spirit, the easy smiles they wore moments ago faded, little by little.
She then handed her pistol off to someone nearby, memorizing their face.
The beat from the speakers thumped in tune with their hearts, the bass vibrating through the sand beneath their feet.
"You sure you wanna go at it?"
Sienna's gaze shifted briefly past Rain, toward the ring around them. People had already begun recording, shouting whatever while leaning from their truck. Micah stood among them, giving a small shrug like if to say—don't look at me.
Then her eyes returned to Rain.
"If you're scared, you can say so. I'll try not to brag too much you know?"
Rain tipped her chin up at her, a slight grin returned to her face.
"Don't worry, though." She continued to gloat, raining on her parade. "I left the scabbard on. See?"
Twitch.
Sienna's brow twitched, a red light glared at her periapical buried inside a black box, with digits under it.
Then, it faded away.
Without warning, Rain drove her sword forward.
Her momentum halted in front of Sienna like a single frame—the tip trembling ever so slightly in the air.
Rain smiled, bright and cheerful, then swerved the sword aside and twisted it free from Sienna's grasp.
The two took a step to the side.
Another, and another.
They formed a widening circle with every step they took, each shallow depression distorted the ring beneath their feet. The people around them blurred into a single mass beyond the haze and dust.
Rain's sword dipped close to the ground.
Suddenly, it swept backwards then forward, carving a gash into the earth and heading straight for her legs.
Sienna's shoe pressed down.
PSSSHH!
Sand burst up beneath Rain, fanning out into a dark brown cloud that swallowed both their figures. Before it could settle, Sienna flicked a finger.
PSSSHH!
Hot air blasted from behind her, whipping her dark hair across her eyes and peeling the cloud away.
Only for Rain to come cutting in from the side.
Tchk!
The scabbard sliced past Sienna's waist the second she twisted away. She lunged in, Her hand shot out, catching Rain by the wrist while her other arm slammed across her shoulder.
She hooked a leg behind hers and drove forward with all the weight she had.
Both of them slammed into the sand.
Rain's knee slammed into her thigh, her elbow driving itself into her side and Sienna answered by jamming a forearm across her collar, pressing down.
Their breaths turned ragged all at once.
Sweat slid down from her cheek and into the sand beside Rain's head—one after another.
Rain twisted under her, her sword still clenched at one hand before shoving a hand at her face.
Sand exploded around them when a violent shove sent both of them rolling, their limbs tangling, fists flying wherever they could land. A hit danced off Sienna's shoulder and her knuckles scraped across Rain's shoulder.
Another burst of sand kicked up around their bodies, stinging their skin, clinging to their sweat, getting in their mouths and eyes until they burned.
Rain drove another into her side.
Sienna caught a handful of sand and flung it across her face at the same time Rain.
PSSSHH!
Both of them cursed and kept going.
They wrestled until they themselves became blurs. Sand kicked up around them with every ugly little hit they could muster.
Then they broke apart amidst a tan cloud.
Sienna staggered back first, breathing through her mouth, her chest rising and falling with sweat sliding down her neck. The afternoon light glared across the dunes, stretching into long shadows.
A few meters away, Rain stood with her sword planted in the ground, using it like a crutch while she caught her breath.