I shot up like bullet and was imediataly on my feet "Ready as I'll ever be!" I said with a smile my voice full of energy, then I grabbed the clay jar and looked inside, the water was still there, so I took a small sip,Then handed Caroline the jar "Sleep at all last night? I could hear you twisting and turning." I said with only the slightest bit of concern, Caroline would probably only get angry if I thought she needed my help.

Then a small black scorpion flew right past my head, I looked back at i to see it land head first in the sand, then get up and scurry away. "Well that was sertainly odd." I said looking torwards the hill where the girl had been.

"She's not there anymore." I thought "But she's close by." I could still feel the girls heart beat and the energy of her powers vibrating through the sand "Right behind the next dune." I thought. Then relising that I had been staring at the dune for about the past 5 minutes I turned away, and said, "Oh, And I wanted to tell you that we're being followed by someone." then begining to walk North again I thought "I'm sure that when Caroline sees this girl, she won't suspect her as a threatening spell caster, but she'll see her as more of a small helpless girl who needs our help." I smiled at the thought of when this girl would finally appear to us, so that Caroline wouldn't constantly have to be on edge and ready to fight.

I wake up covered in a blanket of sand. *cough cough* "I need to cover my mouth with a blanket before i sleep again." I stand up dusting myself off. "So where do i head now?" I look at all directions and see three girls to the east of me. "I must be losing it now."

I head North parrall to the mirages unknowing of them being real. when i get over a dune, and there in the sand is a sidewinder. I pause looking at my first meal. i set the barrel on my metal arm and take carful aim at the head. He squeezes the trigger and a shot rings out through out the air. i approach my catch. "Finally dinner." I take my blade arm and skins it. I stare at the meat and hesitate before i start to eat it. "At least it's better than snakehead."

She took the jar, also taking a sip. This watrer would have to last until they could find more, which could be days. "I may have slept an hour or two, but not a lot. It's a bit of a habit, when we aren't somewhere we know is safe. Usually someone will stay up and keep watch." She answered. ~Especially when we're being followed.~ she thought. 

She briefly wondered if something had been put in the water, or if the heat was causing her to halucinate as the insect flew past them, only to be on its way seconds later. She looked over to where Terra was looking. Nothing but a sand dune, at least, that's how it appeared. For a brief moment her eyes changed under her hat and hood, and the world darkened. Beyond the sand dune there was a small, glowing white figure. Once she saw it the world returned to normal. 

Following Terra, she continued on their way north. "I know, been following us since the oasis. So far as I can tell they're not going to attack us, either." How had the other girl known about their shadow, and how long would they attempt to stay hidden?

I smiled "I know it's not going to attak us, after all it's just a 12 year old girl." I said.

"How do you-nevermind....wonder what a little girl is doing out here..." she said, looking behind them. She supposed it would be possible for her to have been dropped there, the same as them. Whatever had happened seemed to have no reasoning behind it. So far as she could tell, everything was completely random. How had Terra known the girl's age, anyway? Was she psychic? Something else? This desert and those in it seemed to bring more questions than they answered.

A pout formed around Lin's lips. They know she was following them? Line didn't even question how one of them knew her age and exact hiding spot - to her, all adults were all-knowing and wise. The explaination to why the girl with the guns and stuff didn't know about her age was because the girl with the pot was just smarter, that's all. Though she almost got it right - Lin was 11, but it would be okay to mistake her for an older age. It made her feel a little more grown up.

Seeing no point in secrecy anymore, the little girl popped her head up from behind her hiding place, resting it on her arms on top of the dune in a very laxed position. Her tanned brown skin stood out from the yellow-white sand, as well as the red-hot bandana that wrapped around her petite head. She was in full view now, save for her legs which she kicked about lazily.

"I was never good at stealth," she admitted with a shrug.

Caroline turned around at the voice only to see the little girl that had been following them. She briefly wondered how she'd been able to keep up. 

"Oh, don't worry. You'll get better." She said with a knowing smirk. She began walking toward the girl, hoping she wouldn't be afraid of her. "What are you doing out here alone? It isn't exactly the safest place for a young one like yourself." The school of hard knocks had taught her that when she was much smaller, though it hadn't been a desert quite like this. It was against her better judgement to have a child travel with them, but she couldn't help but think they should try to convince the girl to come with them, rather than trail behind. Besides, who in their right mind would leave a kid to fend for themselves in a desert? She wasn't that heartless! 

Lin listened and watched as the woman in white approached her slowly. Her dark eyes trailed from her hat to the bullets and dual guns that slung around her waist. She blinked approvingly at the red cloth that wrapped around the woman's neck. Red is the best color. The way she encouraged her that she'll get better in stealth and hiding.. Lin decided to label this woman as the 'cool' one.

"My friends and I were playing a dare," she explained, hoisting herself up on the dune. She sat down comfortably, crossing her legs together while resting her hands on the hot, grainy sand. "See who can glide the farthest from Whitefalls on our winged beasts. I fell from my mount though, and.." Lin scanned the barren land, not a village in miles. It was very much different from the waterfalls and dusty mountains. "Instead of falling into the river, I fell here in this desert."

She pushed herself forward, sliding down the dune until she stopped in front of the woman in white. "I'm Lin.. Lin Sandor." she smiled as she stood back up. She was no longer afraid of these two, since they weren't hostile to her at all even after knowing she was there all along. "What're your names?"

I push forward after the meal and end up at a small source of water. I dunk my head into the small pound and wash my face off. "This is good at least. It's hot but still better than nothing," i soak myself with some water to help cool myself off. I rest there for a few hours til something catches my intrest.

"I'm Caroline." She said, looking at Lin. ~Cute kid~ she thought. She had no idea what she had been talking about, and she'd never heard of Whitefalls, but her story sounded all too familiar. minding your own business when suddenly you find yourself in the desert. "So, Lin. Why don't you travel with us now, rather than behind us? I'm fairly sure that between me and Terra over there you'll be safe." She said, gesturing toward her companion. 

I turned and smiled kindly at the girl, "Nie that your not hiding from us anymore." I said, then turning back to what I had been looking at before, I reached into the sand down to my arms length and slowly pulled my arm back out of the sand with a small golden amulet in my hand, I studied it with interest, then tossed it behind my like it wasn't even worth looking at.

Lin beamed at Caroline, then nodded. "Oh yeah, that'd be great! Thanks!" she replied excitedly. She wished her playmates were here to experience this adventure, since they knew the mountains like the back of their hand. This place was new, slightly scary, but since there's adults here then that means it was okay.

For a moment, Lin's eyes flashed at the amulet that Terra examined as if she was interested in it too, but was taken aback when Terra just tossed it away like it was garbage. Bandits live for treasure, so Lin was confused on why Terra would just throw away something so shiny.. Perhaps the woman had better judgement on loot.

"So where do we go now?"

"North." She replied, walking over to where the trinket was and grabbed it. 

"Terra, I don't see why you'd just toss this." She said, examining it. The golden surface gleaming in the sunlight. "It could be worth something, so unless it's somehow the root of all evil we should probably keep it, we may could trade it for something if we ever find any natives out here." She said. That was only a half-truth. To be honest, she rather liked the thing, it was pretty. She stuffed it in a pocked and hoped she hadn't just opened Pandora's box by doing so. She didn't know about the other two, but where she was from, gold was worth a whole lot, and to just toss something like that aside was unheard of. 

I get up after an hours worth and start heading on. It seemed like hours til i reached the first signs of grass. I grin and head on til i found a tree and lay under it to rest.

I glanced behind me to see the amulet that Caroline had picked up and watched as she putt it in her pocket "Keep it if you must, but it won't get us anything but trouble." I said, then turning back torwards the north I looked seriously out at the nothingness that was there, lost in my own thoughts, then I asked "Lin, when you look out there, what do you see?" I had to know for sure if this girl was what I thought she was.