FSE

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Anise woke with a start.

An unfamiliar, prickly heat pressed down uncomfortably on her skin. She slowly blinked away disorientation and stared out towards the golds and blues that loomed, struggling to remember where she was. Something bright moved and a crawling sensation sent both shivers and a powerful sense of déjàvu racing through her.

Another amber scorpion rested on her tail, rising and lowering strangely on its stringy legs, facing out into the desert. A noise of surprise and fear rose from her throat as she sent it soaring into the sand and quickly rose to her feet. Lynn appeared at her side almost as if out of thin air, sword in hand and a fierce look in her usually calm eyes.

"Zhou?" she asked, carefully looking around.

Anise had no idea what she had just said, but pointed at the scurrying scorpion anyway. Lynn's eyes widened when they fell on the scorpion, prompting her to roughly pull Anise back.

"I'm tired of waking up a scorpion perch," she said wryly as they both eyed the arthropod.

"This is not the first you have seen?"

She shook her head. "When I woke yesterday, just before you found me, there was another one just like that resting on my tail."

A troubled expression settled on Lynn. "They are ra'anok, 'of the rulers'. Just as arlanu are the noble lords of the Anjari these scorpions are its warriors, capable off felling even the stone-fleshed arlanu in heartbeats with but a single sting.."

"And I was that close to death twice?" she asked, frowning.

"If they had thought you a threat or if you had agitated them while you slept you would not have woken." Lynn shrugged, then looked thoughtful. "But it is strange. They are rarely seen and even more rarely acknowledge creatures larger than themselves unless threatened. Few of the Anjari's children are that foolish."

A ragged sigh escaped Anise's lips, blowing aside sable strands. "Well, you can wonder over why I seem to attract them later." Lynn woke from her thoughts and turned to regard her curiously. "I have sand all over my bottom and my thighs are still sticky from...last night...and I have to pee."

Lynn had the decency to look apologetic as she nodded. "I left you so when I should have not."

They moved back towards the camp where Lynn picked up her discarded slacks and commanded her to lift her tail so she could brush away the sand and dab between her legs. Anise tried to adamantly refuse the idea of soiling her only set of clothing, but Lynn waved away her worries and assured her that she would be given a robe similar to the one Lynn wore, which she insisted would be far more comfortable while traveling the Anjari.

With that settled she stood there like a child, legs spread as far as the rope around her ankles would allow and tail raised at an angle while Lynn quietly cleaned her. Annoyance burned and her pride was a little wounded, but she managed to not complain irritably as Lynn finished. Satisfied, the lupine wayfarer strode to her packs, but by the time she returned holding a sand-colored robe patterned with brown Anise had made up her mind to argue the restraints.

"Lynn..do you think you could remove these?" She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. "I don't think you see me as much of a threat any more, calling me a desert mouse all the time...and I have been thinking. About what you told me last night. If you hadn't come along I would have died that day, and even though I was strange and unknown to you, even though wayfarers apparently travel alone, you allowed me to come with you without much argument. I don't know why, but you did and I wasn't very thankful.

"And..you're right about everything else. I couldn't survive in the desert alone and even if I managed to reach one of those cities you spoke about I don't have any money or know anyone else at all. At best I'd be taken advantage of a dozen different ways, especially since I don't even know how to count whatever it is you use as currency. At worst I might end up a seppau anyway, but with a crueler master or someone who isn't as patient and as willing to explain as you are." She dropped her ears and tail, eyes downcast. "So I want to repay your kindness by being a good seppau. I'll do my best to be obedient and try to learn as quickly as I can so I'm not so useless."

Lynn actually looked surprised, but that expression was quickly replaced by one of respect and approval. Wordlessly she drew a knife from the sash around her waist and cut the ropes restraining Anise. She rubbed the sore skin where the rope had chaffed, then accepted the bundle Lynn handed her. It was a hooded robe and two strips of brown cloth.

Anise looked between them. "Um.."

A soft smile touched Lynn lips as she explained that the thinner strip of cloth was a breastband and that she should put it on first. Anise shrugged out of her tunic, acutely aware of Lynn's calmly appraising gaze, and then fumbled with the strip of cloth. Eventually Lynn stepped forward and helped, showing her how to wrap and tie it properly.

"There," Lynn said when she finished. "Though I do not think you need it so much."

It wasn't an insult, but the simple matter-of-fact way in which she said it stung all the same, especially considering the generous mounds over Lynn's chest when she wasn't even really female. She pulled the robe over her head, slipping her tail through the seamed slit in the back. Though it was a little big on her-Lynn was taller, broader, and bustier-it felt light enough that she almost didn't feel it. Even better, a pleasant coolness breathed against bare skin hidden only by the folds of the robe. It certainly would take some getting used to, but she could immediately see why it made sense to wear. They finished by wrapping the sash around her waist, shifting fabric upwards so the hem only fell to her ankles and remained there.

"Thank you, Lynn," she said, looking at herself with a smile. "Next time I'll try to do it myself." She paused, wiggling her toes in the sand. "Where did you put my boots?"

"Stay as you are," was Lynn's only reply, pointedly glancing downwards. "The sand is soft and clean."

Anise noticed that Lynn's lupine feet, padded and clawed, were also bare.

"Go and leak your water, then come. We are losing much time."

After she relieved herself awkwardly she returned and tried her best to help Lynn pack up the camp. Though Anise learned that normally Lynn would have already been again traveling long ago, she seemed pleased with her progress and took her time explaining what she was doing. Eventually they finished, gnawing on hard flat biscuits as they set off with the sun rising far above. The arlanu eagerly and energetically swam ahead of them towards the north. Lynn walked beside her instead of riding and taught her what she believed were the simplest things Anise should know. Names of various things in her own strange tongue-explaining to Anise's amusement that she apparently spoke the common language of the Anjari all children were taught so that the humans and iriima could communicate-proper forms of greeting and addressing, local customs, and a slew of other things without much pattern.

At midday they stopped just as before and she helped Lynn set up the tent, failing horribly several times when it came to placing the odd wooden poles. With this Lynn was far more instructive, explaining sternly that wood and useful metals were worth more than gold in the Anjari. They rested comfortably in the shade, sipping water slowly and eating the hard biscuits. They didn't speak much then, and Lynn explained that during the hottest time of the day it was custom to simply rest and quietly retain one's strength. It was incredibly rude to talk to another during highsun, or at least as rude as asking them to drink poison, especially out in the open Anjari.

When the sun began to dip they put away the tent and continued, with Lynn's soft lecturing also resuming. Occasionally she would poise questions in a random fashion, testing Anise, but was only ever pleased-Anise did not get a single one wrong.

They reached an oasis during what Lynn called lowsun, an irregular circle of crystal blue water bordered by the bright-bright contrast of lush green.

"Lower your hood, shou," Lynn said as she did the same. "Your ears and tail as well, as if in submission."

She obeyed, watching curiously as Lynn led them to the oasis. To her surprise it was filled with all sorts of beasts, from desert goats to creatures she had never before seen. Most were drinking from the oasis and utterly ignoring each other while others were slowly lumbering away into the deep of the desert. Anise marveled at the amount of life; she had seen nothing beside scorpions in the desert.

"Water is life," Lynn said quietly as they refilled their waterskins and let the arlanu drink. "These pools hold life itself and are thus sanctuary. Those of the Anjari never begrudge another water, not even their most bitter enemy. Remember that well."

They didn't stay long and were soon again traveling the sweeping plains of sand. Several marks passed pleasantly, the sun beginning to dip below the flat horizon and setting the sky aflame with color. Lynn stopped early, removing only the wooden poles and tying the arlanu with them. Then she withdrew a bow lined with worn leather grips, wood polished so that it shun in the fading light.

"Come," Lynn said as she moved off towards the west. "We will find our dinner."

Anise followed after her purposeful gait, glancing at the bow. "We're going to hunt? Here?"

"You do not think I simply carry enough food for treks into the deep Anjari?"

"I guess not.." she replied, not having really thought about it.

"The food we have been eating is usually reserved for times when hunting is not possible," Lynn curved her tail and smiled. "Such as when one stumbles across a talking shou and brings it under wing."

Anise crossed her arms, ears flat against her skull. "I have a name, you know."

"A beautiful one," Lynn agreed. "When I believe you have earned the right to wear it, I shall use it."

They moved in what seemed to Anise a random direction, but after nearly a mark Lynn pointed to the sand. She saw a set of wide tracks moving close together.

"Strider," Lynn said, looking pleased. "They are plump birds that gorge themselves on the shrubs and wiry grass of the Anjari."

"Sounds delicious."

Lynn crouched low and motioned for her to do the same. "Stay low, silent, and move only when it would be unseen." Her head turned to glance at Anise, who was listening intently. "Do you smell that, shou?"

Puzzled, Anise licked her lips and took a deep breath, but caught nothing beside their own pungent and individually unique scents. "Just us..is that what you mean?"

"Yes, in a way," Lynn answered. "There are no confusing scents mingling here in the clear desert so our scents carry more clearly. Keep this in mind. Also-" Anise jumped as Lynn suddenly pinned her tail to her bottom. "Keep your tail lowered and unmoving."

She stilled her tail, nodding. "That should be easy."

"Once I said such words." An amused noise rose from her throat. "And the same punishment I received should suffice. I will twist your ear whenever your tail moves or you make a sound."

By the time they finally tracked down the bloody fowl Anise could hardly feel her ears for all that they stung. What had seemed so simple a feat at first became a daunting challenge as she quickly realized just how accustomed her body was to automatically positioning her tail. It moved along with her thoughts and emotions, shifted a certain way when she was excited, tired, or even deep in thought and though she could move just fine without it she realized that its adjustments made perfecting her center of balance far easier.

And of course Lynn never missed even a single twitch. She was actually really good at staying silent-not that it was difficult while walking barefoot in sand-but having her ears twisted hurt. Her yelp of pain only earned her another twist and soon it might as well been two twists for each movement of her tail.

Lynn thankfully let her be once they were in the sight of the striders, though her hand was often holding Anise's tail in place. Using slow gestures she pointed out the round birds and indicated that Anise should follow her-quietly and slowly. They moved closer, pausing whenever one of the black and white striders glanced in their direction. Anise used all of her willpower to keep her tail from sweeping.

When they were close enough Lynn readied her bow and took careful aim. A strider rose high on thin legs, short beak opening and closing as it turned to them. She and Lynn remained perfectly still until the strider finally lowered itself and returned to pecking at a sparse patch of grass. An arrow streaked blindingly fast and neatly plunged into its side. The other striders immediately screeched a warning and soon they were scattering in every direction, but Lynn had already sent two more arrows soaring, each cleanly finding a mark.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to do that," Anise commented as the striders fled into the distance.

"You will learn," was Lynn's simple reply.

They took the birds back, defeathered, prepared, and then roasted them with Lynn's stone of enchanted flames. As they ate savory and tender strider meat Lynn explained that they would only rest for a few marks and then make up for lost time by traveling under moonlight. They were fairly close to one of the great cities of the Anjari and she wanted to reach it soon. After carefully packaging the rest of the meat and setting the bundle on the still encumbered arlanu, Lynn tightly touched her palm to Anise's cheek and smiled.

"I will not have to tie you again?" she asked teasingly.

Anise clasped her hands behind her back, tail sweeping fast enough to give away her nervousness. "Um, no.."

"Does it truly bother you so much to do this?"

She watched as Lynn tilted her head, making an honest attempt to understand. That reminded her that it was nothing to the lupine wayfarer, that she was the one being unusual. "I don't know...I think my people were a little more restrained about..um..this, though of course I don't really know if that's true.."

"Why do you think it was so?" Lynn asked. "Though..the humans are not so different among each other, but that is much because they worry about the risk of fertility all season, rather than once a season."

"We.." Anise sighed, frustrated at the sensation of not really knowing but sensing bits and pieces as probably true. "Go into heat as well..once a season, so that's not why. Um.." She blushed a little, then shrugged. "We just made a bigger ordeal over it I suppose, though that doesn't matter now. I don't mind, but last time was just my first and I'm not used to doing any of this so it's a little embarrassing.."

"Your first?" Lynn blinked, shaking her head. "I do not envy your people, whatever they may be beyond words. Here we learn young, are encouraged to explore our bodies and the sensations that surface. It is nothing among friends and family and a pleasant enough passing of time among acquaintances."

"But you said it had been a while since before me?" Anise asked curiously. She paused, frowning, then added, "I hope that's not too personal a question.."

Lynn shook her head. "Four seasons since last, when I was still an apprentice." She sighed, then shrugged. "My time is now spent wandering the Anjari alone. When I journey to the cities it is for a handful of days at most."

"Well..now you have me." She tried to sound confident, but Lynn's warm laugh told her it wasn't very successful.

"Come, then. I will make true my promise."

They pulled off their robes and carefully placed them into small bags on the pack arlanu along with their bands and sashes, then Lynn grasped her hand and led her to the thin sleeping mat. They sat down quietly beside each other, surrounded by starlight. Anise fidgeted nervously, not really sure what she should say or do, but as she opened her mouth to form a question Lynn simply silenced her with a wet kiss, calmly lowering her onto her back.

Lynn's rough, warm tongue explored the lengths of her body, teasing the soft insides of her ears, following the curves and crevices of her neck and jaw. Her hands caressed warming flesh with practiced gentleness, a faint brushing that sent tingles rippling throughout Anise.

A hot breath escaped her lips, an opportunity Lynn took sweetly. Anise felt the tongue boldly enter her mouth, sensed it playing with her own in a wet dance before exploring further depths. The kiss broke wetly and in another release of breath, a shimmering silver strand between their lips.

"Is it pleasant, mmn?" Lynn asked in a whisper while petting her long dark hair.

Anise only gave her a trance-like nod, to which Lynn returned a pleased smile. Then she lowered her head, ears waving slowly, and left a pattern of kisses leading down towards Anise's small breasts. Curling her tail around Anise's, Lynn bit down on one of her nipples. Anise yelped in pain, felt also a rush of jagged pleasure. Lynn ruthlessly continued, pinching her other nipple with skilled fingers, alternating between suckling her breasts and squeezing them with a warm, kneading palm.

Then she stopped and returned upwards with another kiss, this one longer, fiercer and passionate. When they broke breathlessly, Anise saw that Lynn had a smug expression.

"Oh my. I have not yet even tasted you below and already it feels like an oasis, little shou." There was soft teasing in her voice, but also arousal. "My thigh is slick because of you.."

Anise's cheeks burned, ears lowering, but she could feel her own hungry arousal so she said nothing.

A small laugh rose in response, with Lynn lowering herself for another playful kiss. "Perhaps it will not be so terrible teaching you if it allows me to play with such an adorable little thing.."

Lynn's head slowly tilted, her features twisting from arousal and pleasure to..worry. Anise blinked, then asked, "W-what's wrong?"

"I ask the same." Lynn's fingers moved towards her nose. "You have a sharp red mark here that I did not notice before.."

Anise jumped as Lynn carefully prodded the strip of deep blood-red running beneath her eyes and across the bridge of her nose.

"It happens whenever I become frightened, excited, or when I concentrate on catching a scent.." she explained slowly, pushing Lynn's hand away from the hyper-sensitive flesh. "When I'm like this my sense of smell sharpens.."

"When you become aroused as well, it seems." Lynn looked at her with mischievous amusement. "Though it must be odd living between the human's nonexistent sense of smell and the hunter's senses of the iriima."

"My sense of smell is probably better than yours like this."

"Is that so?" Lynn replied with a laugh, stretching her arms beyond either side of Anise's head. "A pity it leaves you so vulnerable.."

Before Anise had a chance to ask what she meant, Lynn brushed her tongue tenderly along the mark. Gritty pain laced with an overwhelming, almost as painful splash of pleasure that streaked through her body, drawing a throaty yelp.

"S-stop..." she begged, trying to push Lynn's head away, but the bigger lupine kept her pinned and continued her teasing.

"Does it hurt?" she asked after a moment.

"Not really...it feels weird."

"Mmn."

Lynn shifted her body and Anise felt a hand clamp over her dripping pussy. It petted her skillfully, the fingers tracing her sticky slit and prodding inwards with the barest of pressure. Then Lynn kissed her mark, brushing her tongue wetly across. Anise closed her eyes, submitting to the intense sensation, squirming breathlessly beneath Lynn's body. She shivered with the thought of Lynn's promise, wondering and fantasizing about how it would feel to be licked...down there... Her faced burned redder at the thought.

Then she realized Lynn was no longer playing with her.

"Stop teasing me, Lynn," she said, frowning as she opened her eyes, but froze as she caught the lupine wayfarer's expression.

In a blur of movement Lynn rose to her feet and jerked Anise up with her, dragging her backwards. Anise lowered her ears, glancing where Lynn's gaze had been, heart thundering. All around them tiny amber scorpions crawled the sandy waves, tails waving in the pale moonlight. They seemed agitated, but were staring towards the south intently, utterly ignoring them.

Anise hugged herself. "W-what's happening?"

"I do not know," was Lynn's quiet reply.

They stood in confusion, watching the scorpions skitter angrily, until the ground began to shake and shudder. Anise felt Lynn's grasp tighten like a vice around her wrist. When she looked up the calmness that normally cooled her eyes was replaced by a warrior's alertness. A chilling wail broke the silent of the night, loud enough that both her and Lynn's ears flattened in pain. Quickly following it was an explosion of sand and the rumbling of deep earth. The arlanu, who had only seemed slightly bothered by the scorpions, now bellowed in alarm, tugging at their ties until finally the poles were uprooted. Without much hesitation they dove into the sand and took off northward, leaving them stranded.

Anise watched them go in dismay, but snapped her eyes to the south when the sound of shifting sand touched her ears.

A massive wall of soil-brown rose towards stars from the distant dunes, its edges curving and rounding like a tower. Then it curled down towards them, pausing as an open maw glistened with sizzling wetness, bulbous tendrils waving around the black opening as wide as its body.

"A deep wurm," Lynn breathed, falling to her knees.

Anise looked down at her, panic festering inside of her as she realized that Lynn was afraid. "W-we should leave, Lynn."

The beautiful lupine slowly shook her head, laughing. "How could we hope to outrun it in the open desert? And even if we could, I would not. You do not understand, shou. The deep wurms are ra'anok, guardians whose righteous wrath safeguards the Anjari."

"Then why is one here?!"

Lynn shrugged almost as if she didn't care. "I did not even believe them to exist. If the children tales are to be believed none have been seen for thousands of seasons, though most simply name them myth."

"They're definitely not myth," Anise said, trying to drag Lynn to her feet and get her moving. "Come on. If you don't know, then I don't want to find out."

But as she half dragged Lynn away the ground began to shudder again. Impossibly two more eruptions broke to the north of them, giving way to dual pillars of rocky flesh and segmented bodies. Anise stared a them, her mouth gaping. Then she noticed purple-black symbols on their jagged flesh, crisscrossing to form an array of symbols and characters. They seemed out of place to her, but she decided that questioning Lynn bout them could wait-at the very least until she found out if they were going to live long enough for it to matter.

Almost as if mocking her thoughts one of the wurms before them lowered itself to the surface and slid towards them. The others dived back beneath the sea of sand, though the noisy disruption of their passing told her that they were just below the surface. A black maw loomed, tendrils spread wide, hungrily swallowing sand and stone and soon them.

"Lynn!" she screamed, unable to move very well while having to carry the wayfarer's weight.

A river of gold coursed out towards the wurm, moonlight shimmering on smooth exoskeletons. The scorpions moved with purpose, unafraid, stepping into the flowing sand as it was scooped up by the terrifying wurm. Countless scorpions vanished into the black, but it continued unperturbed.

Then, right as it neared enough that she caught the rancid scent pouring from its maw, it keened in pain and began to rise. Anise threw herself with Lynn as far as she could, hugging the sand, and felt the shadow of the wurm as it straightened itself. Both she and Lynn watched as it began shuddering, wailing loudly, then blinked as it began smashing its exposed end against the sand and spewing foaming black fluid.

Two softer wails joined the pained one as it descended slowly, the sands stilling as the other two apparently also descended deeper. Anise didn't know if they were really gone-but she knew they shouldn't wait to find out. She tugged Lynn's arm and began leading them away, but Lynn resisted.

"No," she said shakily. "That is not north."

The wayfarer moved off in a direction, pulling Anise with her. They stayed silent as they traveled for what seemed like marks. Eventually Lynn finally let out a deep sigh.

"We are without food, equipment, or mounts, and are utterly bare." She did not sound pleased. "And those wurms.."

"They had some strange markings on them," Anise said thoughtfully, remembering. "They didn't look like the designs of nature.."

"Yes..you are right." Lynn closed her eyes as if she were remembering. "Though why the wurms surfaced to begin with is enough of a mystery."

Anise clasped her hands behind her back, tailing sweeping slowly. "Maybe because of me." Though she didn't look, she knew Lynn's calm gaze was on her. "Awfully convenient that I wake up with my memories locked away, then literally right after you bring me along the rarest inhabitants of the desert start showing up." She shrugged casually, but her stomaching was already twisting into a knot.

"Perhaps," Lynn replied gently. "The wurms are said to seek and destroy that which threatens the Anjari, but the tales suggest they work in tandem with the Anjari's scorpion warriors, not against them."

Anise blinked as she recalled the odd behavior of the scorpions. When she thought it over it really did seem as if the scorpions had been... protecting them. That was probably as strange as seeing the wurms in the first place.

"None of this is normal is it? I mean, the Anjari isn't really alive and thinking, and these animals can't be really...listening to it." It sounded like a stupid question even as she voiced it, but this land was as strange to her as any right now.

"No," Lynn said after a moment. "We worship the Anjari, our priests teach us its harsh ways and see that we respect it, but it-" She looked troubled as her voice trailed off. "It is not alive...these are all tales and myths told to children, ways to explain the workings of our home and those who share it with us."

"You don't sound awfully convinced."

"You saw exactly what I did."

"True.." Anise replied quietly.

A warm hand clasped and squeezed her own, then "Do not worry, little shou. Once we reach the city I will take you to see the priests. They may be able to tell us more, or catch the scent of the far more likely culprit: sorcery."

The mentioning of magic made her feel uneasy. Sorcery was not foreign to her; in fact it was surprisingly familiar. She knew that dominating the mind of another, even something with such a weak resistance as an non-sentient creature, ranked among the most powerful of spells, but was entirely impossible to control at a distance. She also simply hadn't sensed any magic, which was an odd thought.

Why would she think herself capable of detecting sorcery as if it were a scent or sound?

"Thank you...for before."

"Huh?" Anise blinked away her thoughts, focusing again on the chilling night air around them.

"I should not have acted in that manner..I should have at least made an attempt at saving us..something other than gawking like a useless child."

"It's all right. I'm sure all those things we saw were much stranger and shocking to you, especially since you've been traveling the Anjari so long. To me everything's already strange enough, so.." She paused, hesitant. "By the way, I'd understand if-"

"No," Lynn said simply.

Anise sighed. "I don't even know why you brought me along in the first place, or why you bother with me now. You don't really seem like the type of person I'd imagine a wayfarer would be like, braving dangers alone and chasing after lost treasures. In fact, I'm pretty sure you actually prefer having a companion even if she's useless deadweight." She gave Lynn a sidelong glance. "But seeing as we've only known each other barely two days, maybe it's just my imagination?"

"No," Lynn said again, smiling faintly. "You are correct, and perhaps someday I will tell you why."

Anise made a face, but Lynn ignored her and kept her silence. Sighing, she didn't push the issue further and instead looked up towards the stars. Marks slowly drafted by without sign of the arlanu, but-probably for her benefit-Lynn pointed out that she was following their faint sweeping tracks and was hoping to catch up to reptiles before she and Lynn starved or found themselves at the mercy of the sun.

It turned out not to be that simple however, and Lynn announced as the sun began to rise that the arlanu seemed to be traveling as vigorously as they had marks ago. They trudged onwards, wincing as the sun began to rise far overhead and beat down on their unprotected bodies.

It was almost highsun when Anise decided it would probably be better to lie down in the sand and surrender to death rather than deal with the scorching heat and her aching legs, but Lynn kept them moving with her usual calmness. She looked far better off than Anise felt, though that was probably because, well, Lynn was actually used to this.

Irritated, hot, and tired as she was, she missed the frantically moving shapes in the distance. Lynn stopped her with a hand on her arm, pointing.

"The arlanu.."

"Hm..?" Anise replied tiredly, squinting. In the distance two lizard-like forms were swimming quickly through the sand...towards them.

They caught up with the creatures and saw that they were thoroughly frightened. Lynn managed to calm them down some after a few moments of speaking to them, but before Anise had a chance to voice her question she found out exactly what had been frightening them.

Two churning rows of sand broke the wavy surface of the desert, streaking directly after them.

"The wurms!" she cried, pointing towards the north.

They broke the surface, roaring loudly, their maws opening to the sand. Lynn immediately drew a long curved knife from the side of her mount-arlanu, tossing a smaller utility knife to her, and began cutting the harnesses holding most of its packs in place while struggling to keep the beast from bolting.

"Cut off as much of its burden as you can, then mount it. It is the only chance we have to escape." She didn't sound confident.

And Anise didn't feel very confident about out running the wurms either. She and Lynn wouldn't last nearly as long as the arlanu under the tireless hunt of the wurms. Frustration and panic began to take over her shaking hands, but before they gained full control an overwhelming clarity washed over her and she somehow knew that the wurms would indeed follow them relentlessly unless she distracted their attention for as long as they needed to reach the city.

Almost mechanically she ran the knife along her palm, sharp pain flashing and bright crimson leaking. Blood of the flesh, blood of the land. Here in the Anjari, sand would do. She reached down and scooped a little shimmering sand onto her bleeding hand, then rose and turned to Lynn.

"Lynn, please trust me." Because I don't quite trust myself right now, so someone has to.

Lynn turned with a questioning expression, frowning but not resisting when Anise ran the knife along her palm and dribbled blood onto the small mess of bloody sand. Then she smeared it along the length of her arlanu and touched it with a blazing thought in her mind: Run. Run and don't stop.

The arlanu immediately took off, swimming through the sand as if with renewed vigor. Wondering what exactly it was that she just did, she stood beside Lynn and watched the approaching wurms helplessly. For a moment nothing happened, then the wurms seemed to slow, hesitating. After a moment they let out another lengthy wail and veered away from, turning to follow after the arlanu that was already a tiny speck in the southwest.

"That should hopefully give us enough time to reach the city," she said quietly, then shivered. "Whatever that just was."

Lynn glanced at her thoughtfully, and for a moment Anise was afraid she would ask questions she could not answer, or worse, would simply leave her behind after all. Instead she reached over and painfully twisted Anise's ear until tears touched the corners of her eyes.

"Ow.." she complained, rubbing her ear.

"Would it have been so difficult to at least have taken the pack with our robes?" Lynn demanded, sighing. "Imagine how pleasant it will be striding into the city like this."

Anise looked down at herself, then over at Lynn, and blushed.