They all dug in, with the exception of Shiloh, who still didn't need to eat, but she would sip from her flask every now and again. Dresden, who had no memory of the previous day, asked when they were going to look at where the map said the treasure was.
There was a moment of silence then Endermon said they'd go later in the evening. He said okay and went back to eating. Shiloh said she bet she could beat him in a race to a nearby cactus and back. Swallowing the last of his food, he said that she didn't stand a chance.
Shiloh asked why and Dresden said that with him being an excellent shapeshifter, he could be there and back before she got halfway to the cactus.
Shiloh turned to Endermon and asked how hard she should wipe the floor with him, Endermon snickered and said it was up to her. Shiloh said okay, then got up and walked to a spot a reasonable distance from the cactus.
She asked if Dresden was coming and as soon as he got close, Shiloh took off. He nearly tripped but caught up to her and to show off, he turned into a coyote. He made it to the cactus pretty easily and noticing she was getting closer, took that moment to loop around it and start heading back to where they started.
Endermon leaned back and waited. A few seconds later Shiloh was by her side and had her arm snugly around Endermon's waist. Thinking he had it in the bag, he slowed down to a jog and turned around to jog backwards. When he didn't see Shiloh, he stopped and turned around to see where she went. When he saw her smirking at him from her chair, he stood there open mouthed.
All the swagger was gone and confusion filled his face. But to save face, he told Shiloh that he let her win, to not injure her pride. Shiloh said okay, and gave Endermon a kiss. After everyone calmed down and cleaned up, they all got on their horses, and started back.
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They had been riding a while with Shiloh and Endermon on Endermon's horse when Dresden asked if they were going the right way. Shiloh pulled the map out and said they'd been reading it upside-down and to head towards a lake.
He looked at it from all directions and then said he knew that all along, he was just testing them. When Endermon got the map back, it had magically turned from the x in the middle of the desert to a small lakeside town. She was going to have to talk to her parents about that, but for the moment, she was content to lean into Shiloh as she steered the horse. They rode on like that for a ways.
Eventually they stopped and started putting up a tent for shade and a place to rest. Endermon went a few feet away and put her hand on the ground. She wished there was enough grass for all the horses to graze from.
She was pleased to see a patch of grass make its way up from the ground. Feeling tired from that, she went to the horses and led them to the grassy patch. They eagerly started grazing and relaxing from the ride. She went back and set up the chairs that they had in the cart.
Once that was done, she sat back and watched as everyone did their own thing. Shiloh's driver was chatting with Dresden about something, and Rutus was showing Shiloh her metal manipulation. Feeling at ease, Endermon rooted through their bags and found some parchment.
She wrote a letter to her parents thanking them for the magic map, but next time, could they give her a warning first? She wrote of their abilities and that she wished to have Shiloh meet them as she had become very important to her over the course of the journey. She said to say hi to her relative on the coast. Signing the letter, she rolled it up and tied it with a bit of string. She put it in her bag and hoped she could find a bird to deliver it to her parents.