Drygonsky gasped and looked up at the sky. The sun was a burning ball of heat, he panted, the heat was unimaginable. He licked his cracked lips and then felt a surge of heat, he struggled to keep conscious. Vultures circled overhead, crowing at him, their beady eyes glinting. He knew they waited for him to fall. He wiped a sweaty forehead and then continued on. He fell onto the hot sand, he groaned and willed his tired legs to move on, he struggled and rose to continue walking across the hot sand. His face was flushed, and every so often he would fall once more, down onto the sand, he gasped and fell face-first down onto a steaming mound of sand, he feinted. The vultures that had been circling gave a cry of pleasure and dove down to start their feast. "Water," he moaned, his tongue swollen in his mouth. All of a sudden, a Dire wolf leaped into the scene, fighting off the vultures. The wolf growled, Are you okay? it thought to the man, licking his face. " Paek...?" The man groaned and sat up painfully. Yes, it's me Drygonsky. Are you okay? The wolf repeated, a worried look in it's intelligent eyes. The man groaned again, then winced as his bare hand touched the burning sand. "Water..." He moaned once more, before quivering, and falling to lay motionless in the hot Anfauglir Desert.

The Dire wolf began to steadily dig through the hot sand, to a cooler layer below. He nosed the man into the hole, then sat to watch for any people that could be wandering in the desert with water. Soon, vultures sat on the cacti nearby, waiting for the wolf to leave so they could taste the flesh and lap up the still warm blood of the human, the vultures leaned in closer, and some attempted to fly down into the pit and eat the man. But the wolf killed any who came near and didn't budge. When night fell, the wolf leaped down into the hole and curled up next to him to warm him during the cool night.

Langv strutted through the desert. "What a fine night. It was easier than last night," she said out loud to herself. She heard a growled. "What the--." She whiped out her bow, forgetting something important. She put her bow back. "Don't have any arrows," she grunted. Langv crawled over to the hole. She frowned at the Dire wolf. What is a dire wolf doing out here? She walked over to investigate.

It was dark. A 16-year old ran through the desert cold. This was the thing about deserts. Incredible heat in the light, yet unbearable cold at dark. In the distance, he saw someone with a bow standing over a hole with a wolf and a guy snug inside.

"What the heck?" he wondered, walking over. "Not everyday you see a dire wolf in a hole like that..."

He continued to walk closer and closer until they were only feet away. This could be a trick by who-knows-who, so he pulled out his dagger and came closer, until he was right by the hole.

Drygonsky heard voices above his head, he struggled to open his eyes, pain seared through his skull. "Where am I?" he asked, licking his dry lips and then clutching his throat. Aaah, it hurts to talk... he thought to himself, wondering what had happened. No wonder it hurts to talk, he heard a voice echo in his head, You're very dehydrated and haven't had water for almost two days now! Drygonsky glanced around, wondering why he was in a pit. Then he saw the dire wolf, "Aaah!" he screamed, then winced and patted his throbbing throat. He wearily backed away from the dire wolf, bumping into the wall of the pit. He scrambled to get upright, but he was too weak. He saw two people above staring at him strangely. A wave of pain surged through his head, and his seeing went fuzzy. It's me, Paek! The wolf thought to him, Paek? Who is Paek. Drygonsky thought as hard as he could, then he remembered his dire wolf. Paek! He thought, can you ask those people up there for some wa--... water He managed to think at last. His sore head was working as hard as it could, and finally he fainted.

Hey, Paek thought spoke as loudly as he could, Does either of you two have any water? My mas-- well my friend here needs some water! Paek thought at them, motioning at Drygonsky with a bushy tail that was covered in damp sand. Paek, waiting for the people to reply, walked over to Drygonsky and licked his cheek, It'll be okay, he thought quieter, directing the thought to Drygonsky.

Skylark sat down and took a long, refreshing gulp of water. She set it in her sac and waited, she looked up and saw something strange. It was vultures, probably about 10 of them, circling hungrily above something. "Thats weird" she murmured. Skylark stood up and wipeed what seemed like gallons of sweat from her neck and forehead. As she continued walking, she checked her bottled, it only had a little water left, she closed it up and put it away. trudging over the sand to the place the vultures circling over, she saw a man and a woman

Then, as she came closer, she saw a small hole in the sand. She peered into it and pushed the man and woman out of the way. Shocked, she recognized the agonized face, it was Drygonsky. Frantically she bent over the hole. Paek growled, but let her get closer to Drygonsky. As Paek stood over the hole, she jumped in and put her hand on Drygonsky. Frantically, she took her water out, and poured the rest on Drygonsky's sweaty forehead. Not moving, she turned to the dire wolf, You're his friend, do you know how to wake him? Replying with a quiet whimper, Paek trotted over to Drygonsky and loyaly leaped into the hole. Skylark sighed, Drygonsky probably wouldn't return to conciousness until the sun rose up, where it would once again be horrible, killing heat. She turned around, the man and woman were still in shock. Skylark sat and began to think, coming up with nothing, she decided that she would just stay with him for the night. She took out her blue cloak and wrapped it around her, it was probably the only thing that would keep her warm during the desert's freezing nights. As she was about to close her eyes in the cold, she remembered the man and woman. Turning around she asked, "Who are you?"

She sat down by the hole, t[/COLOR]

Langv frowned at the wolf. A talking large-dog. Hmm. Maybe a demon. She turned to Drygonsky. He said he needs water. Yeah, I better give it to him. She put down the backpack at took out a heavy, large flask of water. "Here. Let him drink from this." She sighed. "I need to get to that stupid water hole tomorrow." She threw aside the backpack and turned around. Squinting at a figure that came running up, she touched her bow. Realizing her problem again, she put her hand down. "Stupid arrows." The figure, which was a woman, jumped into the hole. The woman seemed to know the man. "Who are you?" she asked finally. "The name's Langv. Who are you?" She also turned to the man. "And you?"

After they replied she turned to the wolf. "See beyond that sandune? Located just between the other one is a waterhole. It's a long walk for us, but a quick run for you. It is large. Refill this." She handed the wolf her flask. "And what is your name?" She quietly looked into the distance. "Almost nighttime again. The outlaws will be here again. Plus, they would be looking for you. I dodged them last night, but I can't keep up with the place. I think tomorrow, I'll get that old man." She turned to the woman again. "Say, are you a mage? Do you know any minor healing spells? It would really help this...uh...fellow here." Langv nudged Drygonsky. "It would be a big help for us all." She sat down on the ledge, digging threw her backpack. "So. Where do you hail from? You certantly don't look like you're from the desert." She stared at Drygonsky. "Yes. I think you guys are really not from the desert."

Paek nodded at the woman, and took the water flask. He ran over the sand dune and saw a beautiful looking Oasis. He quickly trotted over to it and filled up the water flask. He trotted back as slowly as he could, because he couldn't close the cap. Stupid cap obviously wasn't made for wolves... He thought spoke to himself angrily, trying not to spill any more. Once he reached the hole again, he shooed all of the people out of the hole, and the way and poured more water over Drygonsky's head. Drygonsky's eyelashes fluttered, everyone held their breath, but then they closed again. Paek poured some water on his head, and into his mouth, then Drygonsky woke. He wiped off his wet face, appearing to only see Paek. "Paek, he said aloud, " We must finish the... the misssion," Paek stared uncomfortably at everyone around the hole who was watching them carefully, Drygonsky, look aroud you. There are others with us! You shouldn't have mentioned the mission... Paek said privatley to Drygonsky. To everyone else, he said, Mission, he must be having a dream, we're not on a mission.... He grinned in the long silence, hoping to fool everyone. You,he said, motioning at the one that had told him where the Oasis had been, Come down here and help Drygonsky up onto my back. We're going to camp out at the Oasis... He winced as the woman tightened the buckle to the saddle a bit too tight. He sighed and then braced himself as she put Drygonsky on his back. Drygonsky groaned, "Where are we going Paek...?" Paek thought privately to him again, The Oasis, where you can heal up for your mission... Drygonsky yawned an okay, before they reached the Oasis. Drygonsky half stumbled, half crawled his way over to the water, it was delicious. Paek had run the whole way, leaving the three other people behind.

Paek turned around, and saw the people walking up the hill, panting and puffing. Paek chuckled to himself. He thought another private message to the woman who had given him the water flask, By the way, I am not a Demon... I'm an extremely intelligent Dire Wolf with the power to mind talk, and yes, you are hearing this in your mind, not your hearing. I am also the familiar, minion, or friend of Drygonsky. Whichever you wish to call it. As the woman gawked and stared at Paek, he grinned widely and then began continued speaking, Also, I can hear other people's thoughts if they are not concentrating hardly, or are thinking openly, as some call it. What is your name anyway? Paek thought again to her only, then began to trot over towards Drygonsky to check how he was doing.

The name is Langv. Falcoon told me something about that. He said he would train me but he left to go to Lomedor to soon. Stupid rascal. She sighed as she ran up the hill. The oasis was in view by now. It was a beautiful lake with a golden sun directly in the middle. Next to it was a bunch of trees with dates growing at the top under the branches. Across the lake was a small adobe. The door was a blanket and the windows were stuffed with cloth. "Dire wolf person that is a friend of this man named Drygonsky. Get Drygonsky into the house. The man inside will help your friend!" She shouted. That was very nice. She rolled her eyes as a deeply tanned man came out. "Stop yelling, Langv. Can't you see it's almost night?" "How can you know? You're blind!" Langv replied. The man threw up his arms. "Get your friend in here." Good Lothlomendil. She staggered over the sand, her clothes making her tired. "By the way, Pillus, it is in the afternoon!" Pillus stomped back into the house, muttering about how he hated guest.

Oh, and Langv, you can just call me Paek. It is the name Drygonsky gave to me when I was just a small pup and he was a very young human.
Paek told her as he picked up Drygonsky by the collar of his cloak and dragged him over to the small adobe. He lifted Drygonsky onto his back, then crawled inside, hoping the man liked animals.

Drygonsky woke up to see the inside of some kind of a hut. It appeared to be night, because it was very cold and pitch black. "Paek, where am I?" he asked wearily, groping around to try to feel for the Dire Wolf. Instead his hand felt a human. He stifled a yell before looking at who it was. "Langv, you're here too?"

"Sorry, Paek." Langv entered the house/hut. It was a cool and dark room, with one candle that lit the kitchen. Langv slamed down the soup Pillus gave to her. "Thanks, Pillus. I haven't eaten in days." Pillus ruffled through her bag again. "I can see that. Ran out of preportions again, eh?" She nodded. She stood up and took her bowl to the kitchen. "I'll be back down here to clean the dishes. Just let me take a shower first." Langv disappeared into the room next to Drygonsky's bed. Pillus reached down and gently patted Paek on the head. "That girl is driving me nuts, Paek. She is just so adventurous." "I HEARD THAT!"

Langv woke up by the groping of someone's hand. "Yes, I'm here." She stood up, the blanket dropping. "You need anything?"

"Well... I'm a little thirsty..." He said, wincing as his lips cracked. Paek leaped up, delighted and ran over to Drygonsky's bed. You're finally up! I was so worried about you! Do you feel alright? Do you need anything? Paek practically "yelled" into his mind. "I'm fine!" Paek smiled in the way only a wolf can and licked Drygonsky's face earnestly. Thanks for making it buddy... The Dire Wolf thought, only loud enough for his master to hear.