"On the note of gather materials, you're right about being overprepared. Given that we will need to cross the desert, it's probably best that we only stock up on light materials such as rope of cloth. Mostly, we would want to grab stuff that could be used to make or repair a sling, at least until we've already crossed the sands," Ahnah said, starting to pack down the ash she had collected, "Until there's more of us, we'll likely just be gathering food as we go so we wont need to worry about transporting it much till later.With just this small group we are now, we shouldn't have trouble keeping up, but that will change as we move forward."

"Yes, while it may take more energy than normal, I should be able to help as far as water goes. I should be able to get us enough each day to suurvive, but I can't promise getting us much more," Kaden said, looking up to the hole the smoke from the fire was escaping through, "At any rate, we should all think about getting some rest. Like Ahnah said, we should head out if the weather is permitting. Light snow shouldn't be an issue, but anything heavier would be too much of a risk."

Giving a soft hum, the dragonette nodded in agreement.  While it was good to be overprepared, they needed to have only what was necessary.  That way they would have what they needed, though they wouldn't be able to spare any space for luxury.  Not that this was a luxurious journey in any way.  Sort of made her wonder what they were going to do with the blankets.  Well...  She had heard that deserts get cold at night, so they might have a use for them then, but she couldn't reallby be sure.  Hearing the conversation turn to the food, she purred.  "If needed, I could also grow some sort of berry plant for us to eat from.  While that wouldn't be as good as having some sort of meat, I could at least do that if we run short.  Just so long as I have the energy for it, I could do that." 

Seemed as though her assumption about Kaden and his ice abilities had been correct, since he had offered to help keep their water intake stable.  That would certainly be a help.  "That's fine Kaden.  Any help is appreciated~" Goldenscale said with a purr.  At the suggestion, she gave a hum in agreement, understanding the need for sleep, and the storage of energy.  "The sooner we leave, the more time we have to put towards any sort of hinderances we may have in the future.  It's best we keep to a tight schedule and ensure we take whatever rest we can."

"Be that as it may, I'm kind of forced to stay with plants and vegetation for sustinance. I don't exactly have the biology to process meat, at least not without getting sick from it.That said, we'll probably want to stock up on good before entering the desert propper. Growing plants and hunting will no doubt be much easier on the extreme edges compared to the main body," Ahnah said, starting to add the ash into a bowl with water, salt, and fats, and boiling it over the fire, "At this rate, we're going to need a checklist for stuff that needs to be done before crossing the desert."

"Yes, if only the rules of nature weren't quite so neutral to everything. Weather, hot, cold, it'll all be working against as it would anything else. We'll need to be careful whenever we're caught out in the weather. It's just about a given that it will happen at least once," Kaden said, pausing to yawn and shake his head, "We may carry favore with the spirits of nature, but we can't assume they will bend nature itself to suite our needs. If anything, I would think that would only cause more trouble in the long run if they did."

"I remember now.  It probably would be best to have a majority of plant matter then if we are going to stock up on food, seeing as I'm sure many of us have nothing against eating it.  We could have some meat, but that would be better fresh than carried around, unless we cook it.  Meat will easily spoil." Goldenscale added with a a nod.  A checklist would definitely be good.  Made her wonder when the last time she wrote was.  "That would be smart.  Then we can add to it before we get there and need to get everything done."

Listening to Kaden, Goldenscale turned her head looking down at the ground.  Yes, she knew...  She had been told the stories by Moonlight, by Willow, by those eager to speak, of how entire communities and ecosystems had been changed for the worst by the actions of those that didn't realize what they were doing.  Very, very rarely had an action benefited an ecosystem, and she wasn't eager to see it first hand.  "We'll have to brave everything ourselves.  We might get a little help, maybe with supplies to help us with our environment, but I don't think the spirits will bend things around for us either.  There's too many risks..." she said, shaking her head.  "We could ask for simple things though and they'd be more willing to help."  Standing up, Goldenscale stretched her body, sighing contently when she felt more relaxed.

"We might as well make a list. Given the nature of what we're doing, we're bound to forget something without a reminder. Who knows, we may look back on these lists fondly once this is all over, a remind of where we've been," Ahnah said, taking the notebook out once more to start jotting what they would need, "I was already planning on keeping a journal of sorts. Just something to document our journey and preserve for future generations. The ordeals we face today might be the insperation for someone tomorrow. That, and the whole history repeating itself thing humans go on about. Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."

"A very apt saying if you ask me. Still, we'll want to work with nature as often as we can. If we help the spirits, then they're likely to repay us in kind, especially if we come upon any of the fairy folk, but we'd want to be careful around them," Kaden said, stretching out as well, "That's wishful thinking though. It's highly unlikely we'll run into them unless they want us to meet them."

"Does sound like a smart idea.  The more that's written down is less we have to commit to memory, though I'm sure regardless of what happens, we'll all remember some aspect of this journey.  But you are right, Ahnah.  Something, like a list, could help remember a specific place or time." the golden dragon said with a smile.  Listening to Ahnah's commentary, she smiled wider, giving a nod.  The story of their struggle and their journey will more than likely be passed down to the younger generations, though for now she technically was a part of that for now.  Any and all memories will help though, and she was sure there would be some that would like to read their journey from Ahnah's words.  

As Kaden started speaking, she turned to look to Kaden, nodding and humming to his words.  "Still good to keep in mind though.  I would suggest just trying to be helpful in general though, because they could be watching even if they don't show themselves.  If they see us be kind, then they may be more inclined to show themselves and help us in return for whatever we do."  With her being a nature spirit, she hadn't actually seen any of the fairy folk before, so that would be an interesting experience to have.  Laying down, she fluffed up her wings and fur before making herself comfortable.

"All I can say about the Fairy folk is they seem to carry a reputation for being extremely literal with what they say. I can't say I've ever met one personally though. In my experience, rumors and reputations tend to hold  a grain of truth, but shouldn't be held entirely as fact," Ahnah said, slowly stirring the mixture in front of her. With her wings stretched out, the fire began to reflect of the fine fur that covered them. Since aligning herself with Moonlight, Ahnah's fur had been fading from its orignal flat brown to a glossed silver. By the time they had come to rest, the only sections of fur left to change were her wings, and the fire now brought attention to this.

"Not to alarm you or anothing, but is your fur supposed to change like that," kaden asked, looking up to see Ahnah's outstretched wings, "I mean, last I checked, you had a deep brown coat of fur. Now, you're more white and silver."

"Oh... Yes. Our shamans tend to take on the color of their alligned spirit. Most times, it's unnoticable due to the spirit already being close to the shaman's natural colors. In my case, Moonlight's energy is extremely different to my original colors," she said, "It's nothign to worry about for now."

A completely literal species?  That would be new.  They would have to be careful when making analogies or speaking then if they ever came into the presence of a fairy.  "Even if they aren't necessarily true, maybe we should still keep them in mind?  We can't really be sure how they will act, or really guess anything about them until we actually meet them.  We have to be cautious in all situations, so keeping those rumors and reputations in mind might help us." she commented when Ahnah finished.  It certainly didn't take long for the golden dragon to notice the silver sheen in the other dragon's fur.  Her eyes widened as he glanced over, surprised.  "It reminds me of shape-shifting, but I know better than to think this is what it is." she said.  The change concerned her a little though, remembering when Ahnah had created the ice crystals around herself to mask her heat.  She was well aware that she was not well-versed in certain knowledge, and this could very well go under that category.

Thankfully it did not, the dragonette relaxing when she heard the explanation from Ahnah.  So it was merely an indication of her alignment to her spirit.  Well, if she says that it's a natural occurence, then she will not concern over it any longer.  "Does that mean that Corazon is similar colors to the sun spirit?" she asked though, rather curious about the matter.

"You could say that, yes. I never got to see her original fur colors so I couldn't say if she changed or not. Given her current colors, I'd say she started out fairly close to Sunlight's. Mine are only changing so much is because there's not really a shade of brown that would match Moonlight's energy," Ahnah explained, moving the mixture off the fire to cool, "I'll probably have a few strands that'll sstay brown till the next time I shed, but my next coat will be much less plain than this silver. I can't tell what colors I'll be, only the general range."

"Well, so long as it's a natural change, that's good enough for me. I just wasn't sure if it was something to be worried about or not," Kaden said, settling down once more, "After the encounter we had today, I'd say the concern was warranted. Something might have clung to us and attacked you when we returned.Just better to ask rather than taking a chance."

Giving a little hum in response to Ahnah's answer, Goldenscale gave a nod.  Well, she could see it.  While she couldn't bring to mind ever meeting Sunlight, the colors Corazon displayed certainly would reflect the colors of sunlight.  She had never heard of any beings changing their colors according to their affiliations, but there was always a time for something new.  It certainly was a good thing that Ahnah mentioned this was normal.  If Kaden hadn't said anything, she would have worried a little bit because Ahnah would have been changing colors, and that was abnormal for her. 

At mention of the events of that morning, the dragonette frowned a little, looking off to the side.  That would have definitely been a rather unfortunate moment if they were to find out something bad had happened to Ahnah.  Those...  things... were unnatural, and she wouldn't ever want anything to end up as something similar, or be hurt by those things.  "Thankfully that didn't happen, and everyone is safe from that."

"Better safe than sorry in this case. It wouldn't hurt us to keep an eye on each other. Last thing I'd want is for one of us to fall ill without warning.  The earlier an illness is caught, the better," Ahnah said, pausing as she let a yawn, "That said, we should probably think about getting some rest. We've a busy day tomorrow. I'l probably want to explain my change in color to Midnight once she wakes in the morning as well. Save her some confusion."

"An early morning's probably a good idea so we can have more daylight to travel by. While traveling at night isn't bad, it's better for us to conserve resources till we reach the sands of the desert," Kaden said, yawning himself, "If we can, we would probably want to stock up on containers of water when possible."

Hi 

Would you mind if i join in?

((We're good right now. ))

Goldenscale listened to Ahnah and gave a nod.  Sickness led to weakness, and that was something they couldn't afford to catch late.  Especially if it could decimate them quicker if it was something relating to the Shade.  At the mention of rest, she gave a nod, sinking her head further into her feathers.  Rest certainly did sound nice, even more so after the day that they had.  "I agree with you there Kaden.  Using as little resources as we can right now is probably the best idea, and using any available sunlight's a great idea as well." she purred, her voice soft.