(Flashback)The Sand Slipped Through My Fingers (Yon)

[Ilaeari]

The Sand Slipped Through My Fingers Timestamp: 1 Summer, 502 AV Ilaeari had decided to go out for a hunt, hoping it would get her mind off things; her head still rather clear. It had been like that for days, maybe even weeks now. All she could do was feel, and act on those feelings even though her mind seemed void of thought. She had taken her mother's death rather hard, and not much time had passed since then, her mother only having died during the spring. The irony in the situation lay in the manner in which her mother had died; in a violent hunting accident, and the only thing that seemed to calm Ilaeari's heart was hunting, as though killing every creature in sight would avenge her mother's death and magically bring her back to life. Ilaeari's heart had always felt heavy, but never as much as this. Her mind had always been blank, but never as much as this. All she could do was feel, and her feelings constantly threatened to consume her, to overwhelm her entirely and bring her to her ruination. Because for once in her life, the tiny voices of reason and wisdom that inhabited her mind, constantly fighting to be heard were silent. Which left only a great sense of unease. Emptiness. Sorrow. Pain. Abandonment. A constant reminder that she was now utterly alone, and that her heart had been severed into several tiny pieces, which she wasn't sure she would ever get back. Sighing heavily, Ilaeari gripped her mother's old spear tightly in her right hand, and scanned the dessert for any sign of life. Anything to chase, kill, destroy. But there didn't seem to be anything at all, other than herself, which only made her heart sink even farther into her endless pit of a stomach. The sun was slowly rising, casting its golden glow upon the sandy sea that surrounded her, causing the tiny grains all around her and beneath her feet to grow warm, urging her to keep moving in search of prey, even though everything seemed eerily silent, and still.

[Yonsenssris]

The sun glistened off Ssris' scales as she glided through the desert just outside of Ahnatep. She hadn't been out for a few weeks and her supply of poisonous plants was getting low. Her master allowed her out knowing that she needed time to herself every once and a while, and she was enjoying it.

The solitude did not last long, however. She sensed the presence of something nearby, perhaps humanoid. As she crept closer she noticed it was a Chaktawe, alone. For a moment she wondered what one was doing out here and maybe she could enjoy a little torturous Dhani pastime. But those thoughts quickly faded away as she caught a familiar scent.

Is that...Ilaeari?

Yes, yes it is her.

Ssris lifted her head. A soft thump sounded as a leather bag she had been carrying in her mouth hit the ground. Her body stretched and seemed to swell while two small arms sprouted from her sides. Her upper half expanded into a human-like torso, covered in black and gold scales, and a hood adorned her skull like hair, flaring out with vivid eye details.

It took roughly thirty seconds to transform into her Dhani shape. She hadn't yet mastered a human form. That would take several more years of practice. But the woman before her wouldn't have recognized a human Ssris.

She bent to pick up the sack and approached Ilaeari, announcing her question with a question.

"It iss good to sssee you, Ilaeari." Her s' came out as short hisses as she spoke. "I hope I am not interrupting anything important?"

[Ilaeari]

Suddenly, Ilaeari became aware of footsteps coming from behind her, she slowly turned her head, and realized that someone was approaching her. She was surprised that she hadn't sensed the person sooner; but then again, she had been rather distracted of late, and hadn't noticed much of anything going on around her. At times, she found her feet would lead her places, and when she finally looked up, and seemed to awaken out of some sort of strange trance-like state, Ilaeari would realize that she had no idea as to how she had gotten there. As the figure grew closer and closer, Ari began to make out the person's features- tanned skinned, golden-colored snake's eyes, delicate scales covering entire sections of skin. The being was most certainly a Dhani, and one she had met a few times before. "Ris?" Ilaeari questioned, not truly believing her eyes, it had been so long since she had seen the Dhani woman, knowing that she only rarely got to leave the house of her master to take a break, or collect supplies, or do whatever else it was that she needed to do. "And no, you weren't interrupting anything important," Ari began, as she raised her mother's old spear slightly, drawing some attention to it, before she gently smashed it back into the sand, displacing some of the sun-kissed grains around the bottom of the wooden shaft. "Just out for a hunt is all... trying to clear the mind. And what about you? Hasn't it been awhile since they let you out?" Ari inquired, referring to the family Ris worked for.

[Yonsenssris]

Ssris smiled at the sound of her name. It was much better than hearing the words, 'Servant' or 'Dhani'. The only person that called her by her name was Kaltesha, her current master.

"I jusst needed to collect ssome plantss for my poissonss. They don't lasst very long, unfortunately." She paused and smelled the air. It was slightly musty and had the faint odor of an animal. From this distance Ssris couldn't determine what kind.

"I think what you sseek iss nearby. Over thosse nexsst few duness." She glided closer to see if she could get a better scent, but couldn't. The faint amount that she did smell started to make her mouth water. She had eaten a few hours ago, but it was only a few bites and she was usually always hungry.

[Ilaeari]

"You and your poisons" Ilaeari said, a hint of a smile playing across her features as her eyes lit up playfully. The Dhani always seemed to be working on the things, and Ari couldn't help but wonder what in all of Mizahar she needed them for. Surely Ris wasn't trying to do something as crazy as kill somebody? Hopefully, anyway, Ari imagined such a thing would make quite the mess. "So what are you making this time?" Ari asked. "A simple acid? Bloodroot? Some Dark Reaver? Ivak's Rage? Phantom's Shell? What?" she asked, raising one of her brows, she had heard the Dhani mention the names of some of the poisons before, even though she had no idea as to how potent they were, what they looked and smelled like, assuming they had a smell, or how to make them. "Or trying something new this time?" Ari waited for a moment before speaking again. "And yes, I suppose we should find something over there," she paused and looked over at the piles and piles of sand that Ris had indicated. "Care to come along for the hunt, Ris?" Ari asked, as she began walking to their left, hoping to find something, but then again, hoping to find nothing so that the two of them could simply talk, and perhaps catch up a bit. Ilaeari couldn't even remember the last time she had seen Ris, she wondered how long it had been.

[Yonsenssris]

Ssris laughed. "No, none of thosse thiss time. I thought about trying ssomething different. Ssomething with less potenccy." She wanted to see if she could find something that reacted slower in her victims bodies. She needed something with less initial damage on contact. Although she wasn't quite sure where to start. Of course she'd never tell Ilaeari that. She was the one person that made Ssris feel slightly sorry when she tortured. But Ilaeari, or Ari as she liked to be called, was someone who didn't treat her as a servant. So Ssris didn't mind.

Hearing the word hunt sent thrills through the Dhani's body. She could feel slight hunger pains, even though she knew she didn't need any more food. Just the idea of eating made her stomach growl.

"Yess, yess I sshall join you. I do enjoy a good hunt." She waited for Ari, knowing that she was a better hunter. That was how she survived. Ssris knew hardly anything about hunting, but she did know a lot about eating the kill.

[Ilaeari]

"Great!" Ilaeari exclaimed as a wide smile spread itself across her cheeks. "It'd be so nice to have a bit of company," she added rather cheerfully, taking a few small steps to their right. "It has been so quiet today... it'd be surprising if we found anything out and about, but you never know," Ari said as she shrugged her shoulders and continued moving forward, knowing somewhere inside herself that Ris would follow at her own pace. That or point out something tasty that she had missed entirely. Ari had done a lot of that of late. Ilaeari looked up at the sun for a moment as she walked along, rather absentmindedly, kicking up small clods of sand, and leaving a messy trail of footprints in the sand behind her. With each of her steps, she'd dig the bottom of the spear into the ground, and then lift it slightly again as she continued to move forward. She allowed it to propel her body forward, and to leave its mark in the sand. She didn't think much of it. But perhaps, if she were in a better state of mind, she'd remember that it would alert both other animals, and people, that she was there. Ari's vision had started to blur a bit from looking at the sun too long. She averted her gaze, closing her eye for a moment, before looking down at her feet in the sand. Ilaeari was chasing yellow dots across her vision, but she didn't care much. That was the price she was used to paying for gazing up upon the sun. But it was beautiful, and well worth it, she thought, as she asked her companion, "have you seen anything yet? Because I haven't noticed a thing."

[Yonsenssris]

Ssris hissed a laugh. "It'ss been too loud for my tasstess." She liked the silence, away from the masters commands, from the busy city life, from everything. She could think for herself for once, think about methods to use, effects of poisons, and so on and so forth.

She slithered behind Ari, watching the spear dig into the dirt over and over. She could feel the vibrations it made in the sand, albeit slightly. Though other animals, the ones they probably wanted to avoid, could feel them even more.

When Ari stopped suddenly, Ssris nearly rammed into her. To her relief, her friend hadn't noticed. She listened to her question and then smelled the air with her forked serpentine tongue. The thing she had smelled earlier had moved farther away, but if they kept going forward they would soon catch up to it. Ssris wondered if it might be a desert hare? Those were tasty, however there wasn't much to them.

"I have not sseen anything, but the animal iss sstill up ahead. We sshould be able to catch it if we don't make much noisse."

[Ilaeari]

"We can always head that way," Ilaeari said as she quickened her pace so as to catch up with the creature Ris sensed. Ilaeari picked her spear up and off the ground as she walked. She wouldn't want to make any noise to scare the animal away. Ari was silent, as she walked through the scorching desert. Her eyes were peeled for any signs of life- footprints, an animal's call, the smell of something in the desert, a flash across the sand. She was surprisingly alert. As Ari crept, she did her best to keep Ris within her sight. She wouldn't want to lose her out in the desert. After all, it could be difficult to find her again. Especially now that she had spotted the creature the dhani had spoken of: a small desert hare that was sniffing a dead black scorpion up ahead. Ari turned to her friend and simply nodded silently, as though the two had some silent, mutual understanding of how best to proceed. Ari crouched down. Her body was hunched over, her arms were outstretched before her. The leather chords that lined her legs twirled, causing the bands of feathers that had been tied to them to twist and drag silently across the sand. Her spear was raised, her body was tense as she tip-toed as silently as she could. The sand beneath her feet felt cool, the hare seemed unsuspecting. Here we go, her brain whispered.