The dawn was stained crimson, by the red sun rising on the eastern horizon. The heat was oppressive expanding across the vast desert. Atreyu wiped the sweat from his brow and looked upon the open desert area. The clouds hung heavy thick and tasted of sand. To cover his mouth a piece of brown cloth was place around his neck and draped over his mouth. His eye's squinted to block some of the sand from entering them. Atreyu could barely make out the hand in front of his face.

The silence became complete, even the wind that normally howled through the desert had taken a moment to catch it's breath. Atreyu's vision slowly came back as the sand fell to the ground in front of him. In the distance Atreyu could make out a figure perched on a small rock formation. With a sigh, he began to walk toward him, making not attempted to hide his approach. He didn't want to startle him.

It took nearly a half hour's walk over the rough and stony terrain of the desert to reach the man perched on the large rock. The solitary figure did not move as Atreyu neared. The man was sitting cross-legged on top of the rock, and looked like he'd been wearing the same shirt for a mouth. Atreyu raised his arm tapping the man on his shoulder. "Went out for another stroll did we?" Ateryu remarked sarcastically.

Merenwen had been walking through the desert for days and she was beginning to tire beyond her normal amount. Her green bodice had become covered in sand and was nearly as brown as her breeches. Her tan chemise was also covered in dust and her eyes burned. She had not seen a person or animal in many days and had run out of water a short time ago. If she could find an animal she would use her dagger to kill it for the sustenance but something must happen soon for thirst and hunger were eating away at her.

Suddenly she saw two figures of in the distance and she knew she must reach them. She prayed that they would be kind and headed in there direction. When she got closer she was able to tell that the figures were both male but was not yet able to decipher their race. She called out to them saying "Hello, my name is Merenwen and I am very grateful to have found people at last. I have become lost in this desert and thought I would never see another person again. I was hoping that you might be able to help me for I ran out of food and water and can not stand to be alone in this desert any longer."

Siris kept his eye's fixed on the brightly lit sky. "Have you ever noticed how beautiful the sinrise really is? Lately I haven't had the time to stop and just look at it." Siris paused before continuing his rant. "We've been traveling for months and what do we have to show from it?'
Siris jumped off the rock and turned looking into Atreyu's eye's. Dark hollow circles ringed his eyes, his pupils were contracted, his eyes unnaturally bright.
" for many months we have traveled and yet we are back to the vary place we swore never to return to." Siris now almost screaming. "The life I left with this place I want nothing of. The people in there I want nothing to do with!"
Siris leaned back onto the rock. "I've lost all hope in this world." Before Atreyu could answer a voice was heard in the distance. The figure became clear, a woman. "Hello, my name is Merenwen and I am very grateful to have found people at last. I have become lost in this desert and thought I would never see another person again. I was hoping that you might be able to help me for I ran out of food and water and can not stand to be alone in this desert any longer."

Raamsees drove his Katana into the heart of a nearby cacti; gathering swiftly the juice that trinkled its way down his blade into his flask." Not much...," said Raamsees with a curious smile, "but it should last untill I can make it out of this place." Raamsees jolted quickly to an upright position at the sound of other newly aquired voices coming from just over some nearby sand dunes. He snatched his katana from the cacti -sending juice flying in all directions-and quickly put it into its sheath before scurrying to the top of the dunes-not intending to be nosey but only to over the curiousity of what all the commotion seemed to be about- and hunkered down to get a general idea of what was going on. "Never can be too careful." he mumbled to himself as he watched these two strangers intently.

Several moments later he saw in the distance a young girl approaching whom seemed to be in need of some true medical treatment. Upon approaching, he heard the girl say[B],"I was hoping that you might be able to help me for I ran out of food and water and can not stand to be alone in this desert any longer." [/B]Raamsees looked at his flask with a quick, precarious glance. " They look nice enough."he said to himself.Raamsees quickly got to his feet and dusted himself off. "Greetings..,my name is Raamsees Silvermoon " he said " and I was just passing through gathering a few herbs and couldn't help but hear this young womans beckoning plea for asistance." " I happen to have some cacti juice if it can be of any help." said Raamsees with friendly smile due to his alarmingly sudden appearance. He tossed the flask to the girl and said," Here, take this , it should help to lessen your state of fatigue." Raamsees quickly smirked saying,"Lord, where are my manners for I haven't even asked for your names." Raamsees stood there motionless feeling a slight sense of embarresment at how perculiar he must seem to these strangers.

Merenwen was still waiting for the two men to reply when suddenly another man appeared. She was a little uncomfortable because she wasn't sure if she could trust any of these men but she really needed help. Even so, the shock that came from the sudden appearence of this third man caused her to pull out her dagger. The new man was obviously part nine tailed fox, though beyond that she knew nothing of him and she had learned through life that caution was important. With her increasing level of fatigue she found she could not hold the dagger steady so she decided that she would have to trust these men for the time being. She needed to regain her strength and without help that would not happen.

The one who was part nine tailed fox introduced himself as Raamsees Silvermoon and Merenwen was glad to at least know one of these men's names. She was still wary but when Raamsees tossed her his flask she was grateful that he was willing to help her. This decreased her wariness to some extent but it would take time for her to fully give anyone her trust. She managed to catch the flask, though it was a close call due to the increased fatigue. After taking a short drink, for her throat was becoming increasingly dry, she said "Thank you for you help." After thanking him she took the chance to respond to his enquiry of their names and said, "I am Merenwen Coamenel. I am afraid I never realized how unforgiving the desert can be and I am very grateful to have found someone who is willing to help me."