Shakha noticed that Khal was dozing off next to him.

They had been sitting outside for hours and the sun had long since set meaning the air had gotten rather cold.

Shakha covered Khal in his jacket.

“Mmm? Don’t worry. I’m awake.” She muttered.

Shakha faintly smiled before returning his gaze to the storage hut where he saw one of the guards entering it.

The guard then left the hut with a small box in hand.

He weaved his way through the Oasis and headed towards its southern entrance.

“Khal! I think I found him.” Shakha said as he jumped onto his feet.

“Mmm? Then let’s go catch him.” Khal said as she slowly stood up.

“No. Stay here-“

“But I wanna go with you.”

“Come on. Now really isn’t the time for-“

Shakha stopped.

He saw the pained expression on Khal’s face and groaned.

“Fine!” He barked before gently picking Khal up.

He then dashed south, flanked the Oasis and made his way to where various animals were kept.

Most of them were sleeping and so it was rather quiet.

Shakha watched as the guard walked past many patrolling warriors.

It was like they didn’t acknowledge his presence at all.

Shakha gently placed Khal down and under the cover of night, they made their way further south to one of the many hills that overlooked the Oasis and there they waited.

The guard from before exited the Oasis, passing several other guards who were just as oblivious as the others.

Shakha and Khal followed him as he made his way South and it's here that Shakha realized that he had left his club back home.

He shook aside his concerns before slowly following the guard.

.

..

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Tens of minutes passed as Shakha and Khal talked to the Guard.

They hid behind large boulders and even sunk into the sand when necessary.

More minutes passed and the land became increasingly flat meaning Shakha and Khal were running out of cover.

Not only that.

They were approaching a region known as the Ash Wastes.

Shakha really didn’t wanna have Khal anywhere near here.

His eyes then widened upon noticing something in the distance.

He grabbed Khal’s hand before pulling her towards a dip in the sand.

The Guard approached what looked like an abandoned campsite.

It sat just next to a fairly large boulder and was made from various bits of scrap.

The guard placed the wooden box in his hands on the ground before sitting next to the dead campfire where he crossed his arms before closing his eyes.

Shakha wondered what the guard was going to do with the food he’d snuck out.

All Foph warriors are relatively well-fed, so he deduced that the guard wasn’t hungry.

Shakha droned internally while pondering on what exactly the guard was doing so far south-

Shakha’s eyes widened as the guard's body seemingly disappeared, but before he could even blink, the guard reappeared only he had someone with him.

Khal gasped as she too saw the guard standing next to a woman who was about twice as tall as the guard.

She wore thick, furry clothes that covered almost her entire body and she wielded in her right hand a large black sword. A hood covered most of her face.

The guard wrapped his arms around the tall woman only for her to tap his head gently.

The two then said something that Shakha couldn’t hear, but at this point, he had seen enough.

“Stay here.”

“But-“

“Khal!” Shakha silently hissed.

Khal nodded before crawling further into the hole.

Shakha took a deep breath before stepping out into the open.

The guard and his companion quickly noticed him and raised their weapons.

“Who’s there?” The guard asked as he raised his spear.

“Is that any way to greet the greatest Foph warrior?”

“Shakha?”

“The one and only-“

Shakha tried saying, but the tall woman dashed towards him with her sword raised.

He scoffed before dashing towards the woman. He then tackled her, grabbed her sword-wielding hand and twisted it in an awkward direction.

The woman let out a pained yelp, prompting the guard to cry out.

“Wait! Don’t hurt her.”

“Why not? Actually, spell out why I shouldn’t break both of your legs before taking you back to the Oasis.” Shakha asked while forcing the large woman down.

He noticed that although she was extremely tall, her arms and leg were weak.

Tragically so.

Shakha twisted her arm a little more and she dropped her sword while crying out in pain.

“OK, I’ll talk! Just please let her go.” The guard cried.

Shakha scoffed again before kicking the woman away.

“Stella!” The guard cried while rushing to Stella’s side.

He helped her up as she stretched her arm all while glaring at Shakha.

“Quite weak, for a Wraith… anyway, fess up. If I remember correctly, your name is Lleedo and you denied the opportunity to become a Lesser. Why?” Shakha asked with crossed arms.

“Stella is an Ash Wraith.”

“I know.”

“She and I are… you know…”

“I could’ve guessed that much.” Shakha said while rolling his eyes.

Lleedo and Stella lowered their heads and remained silent.

“Wait! That’s it? No tragic backstory about how the Wraiths need the food otherwise they’ll starve or something.” Shakha asked and again, the two didn’t respond.

“Mmm… you can use space magic so precisely that you can transport entire bodies across certain distances yet you’ve chosen to use that gift to have picnics to feed some fur-covered bitch.” Shakha hissed as Khal approached.

“Ah well. You know Foph custom. You’ve stolen and that hand that stole must be offered as penance.”

“Lleedo will do no such thing!” Stella yelled, but Shakha didn’t care.

He lowered his stance and raised his hands while Lleedo and Stella fearfully stepped away.

“I think we should let them be,” Khal said.

“Heh?” Shakha sounded.