The green and blue moon shone down on the desert, illuminating the vast empty plains. A few shadows were lurking about, difficult to discern by sight alone. A mound bulged in the sand, and a black snake head slithered out of the ground. Its head swiveled a few times, tongue flickering, tasting the air. The surroundings were clear. Moments later, a tent rose out of the ground, spilling sand into a neat mound around it.

Cory popped her head out of the tent flap. A cold breeze blew past her past, causing her to shiver and fluff up her leg feathers. She retracted her head and stared at Palan. “Why is it so cold?” she asked and tilted her head. “You never said anything about Eljiam being colder than your heart.”

Palan shrugged. “It’s cold because it’s not hot,” he said. “The sun isn’t out, so obviously the temperature drops.” He stepped out of the tent and stretched.

“So is that what these furs were for?” Raea asked from inside the tent and held up a fur suit. “I was wondering why you’d need something like this after experiencing that earlier heat.” She modified the suit and wrapped it around Cory. “Better?”

The harpy blinked at Raea’s actions. “Then what about you?” she asked. “There’s only one suit.”

“This temperature feels nice to me,” Raea said as she spread her wings and arms while stepping outside, letting the night wind flow past her. “Though I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m just really good at warming my body up, but really bad at keeping it cool.”

Cory nodded as she hopped out of the tent. She really did make the right choice in nominating Raea as harbinger. She refused to believe Raea felt comfortable in this weather. It was hard to find a leader who cared more about her subjects than herself. She knew; after all, she was the current matriarch. A content sigh escaped from her lips. “You’re the best.”

“Where’s my fur suit?” Pyre asked as he crawled out of the tent. Palan squatted beside it and folded it. “I’m all skin and bones. I don’t get one?”

“Sorry,” Cory said and wrapped her suit around tighter. “You can have the next one.”

Pyre sighed and took out his pipe, lighting up his screaming plants. At least a side effect of the hallucinogen allowed his body to stay warm. He was woefully unprepared for a trip to Eljiam. How was he supposed to know Palan was going to drag him here? “Can we at least fly to our destination?” he asked. The less time spent traveling was less time spent suffering.

“The mana regeneration rate is even worse at night,” Palan said and shook his head. “Can’t you feel it?”

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“Well, I can,” Pyre said. “But what exactly are you being so careful for? You’re an existence beyond an archangel. You can probably kill Abaddon with your physical body alone. Look at how you killed that poor demon earlier this afternoon. He couldn’t even resist.” His teeth chattered during his speech. “I don’t see why you have to conserve mana when nothing can hurt you. Weren’t you in a hurry?”

“Even if I’m in a hurry, that doesn’t mean I have to rush,” Palan said as he strapped the tent to his back and marched forwards. Cory hopped onto Crimson Snek and curled up into a ball, shivering to keep herself warm while Raea snuggled behind her. “The most dangerous part of a hunt occurs at the very end. I can’t become impatient just because the prey is in sight.”

“But that doesn’t matter if your prey’s death throes can’t hurt you,” Pyre said and sighed. He jogged along Palan to keep himself warm. “Is there something in particular you’re worried about, or are you just being that careful?”

“If I say what I’m worried about, then it’ll appear,” Palan said. “So I’m not going to.”

“I didn’t know you were superstitious,” Raea said, turning her head. Instead of seeing his back, her nose crashed against the tent strapped to him, causing her to yelp. She rubbed it. “But does that really mean there’s something you’re worried about? Maybe a giant lizard that can eat anything, or a giant disease-spreading bird?”

Palan twitched at Raea’s words. He wrapped a tail around Pyre and sprinted ahead. Maybe he should hurry up a bit. As long as he didn’t spend mana during the travels, it should be fine. As he ran, a pair of demons came into view. They were fighting against a giant lizard, poking it with bone spears while avoiding its claws and tail. “Is anyone hungry?” Palan asked.

“I am,” Cory said and raised her wing into the air. “Shivering takes up a lot of energy, you know? Harpies aren’t meant to shiver. We’re supposed to soak up the sun and never be cold.”

Palan adjusted his course, making a beeline towards the fight. One of the demons became distracted by his approach and turned around. The lizard took advantage of the momentary distraction and slashed the demon’s back, forcing him to the ground. “Dammit!” the other demon shouted and stabbed the spear into the lizard’s eye. “If you kill him, who’s going to help me carry your body back, you stupid lizard?” The lizard roared and stumbled backwards while the demon laughed. “That’s right, be afraid! Be very—”

His words were cut off as a snake’s head bludgeoned him, causing blood and brains to pour out of his head. Palan lunged forward and caught the lizard’s head with his four arms. It struggled to free itself, but Palan didn’t let go, deflecting its claw strikes with his tails. He planted his foot against the lizard’s shoulder and twisted his body. The lizard died with a cracking sound as the bones in its neck were severed. “I’ve acquired our breakfast,” Palan said as he released the dead lizard. “You can cook it.”

Palan threw Pyre on top of the lizard. The half-angel sighed as he took out some tools to cook with. He had borrowed some of Cleo’s powers to create an orb of kleptomania which allowed him to store a few things. The space wasn’t as big though.

Palan turned around and grabbed the demon who had been injured by the lizard. “Please,” he said. “Don’t kill me. My life was just starting to turn around.”

“I want information,” Palan said. He had been away from Eljiam for a while. He wasn’t sure if Abaddon’s city was still where it was before. The people of the desert were nomadic by nature. “Your life depends on your answers.”