It occured to me that there have not been very many stories in which a camel plays a major role (the only one that comes to mind is T. Pratchett's Pyramids). I have decided to try to rectify the situation.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
The sandstorm was beginning to ease. Bairi was glad of this, as he disliked them. It wasn't that they were dangerous or painful, or even particularly bothersome, but they were tedious.
Bairi waited for the sandstorm to subside. gradually the whistle of the wind faded, as did the patter of sand on his fur. Disturbingly, instead of the usual conversation you got after a sandstorm, there was silence.
Bairi cracked his eyes open, blinking a few times to clear them. He looked around but could see not one single member of his herd. "Mum," he asked, "dad, Aki." no response. "Mum," he asked again, his voise rising "dad, Aki, come on guys, this is no time for games." Still nothing. He rose and yelled, "Mum, dad, Aki, herd leader, someone," at this he broke down, "Anyone."
The desert remained deserted. Bairi felt his confidence failing. In a last desperate effort to locate his family, his herd, or even a herd, he walked to the top of the nearest dune. There was nothing in sight, nothing but the rolling desert. Then he spotted it, a speck of green. Not wanting to get his hopes up, he wandered from one end of the dune crest to the other, but the spot remained. 'An oasis' he though, maybe this was where his herd had gone.
He stood there for a few more minutes, thinking. He might as well go to it hadn't he, there was nothing else around. His heart full of dread and hope, Bairi set off in the direction of the oasis.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
It was beautiful. Bairi sighed, amazed at the sight of so much greenery on the edge of the desert. And thick, he couldn't see through it.
Bairi had never come across an oasis he couldn't see through, until now. 'Not an oasis then' he though, but what could be more than an oasis? With nothing else to do, he decided to explore.
"Mum," he called as he wandered, "dad, Aki." No response, but then again, with all the greenery around, his voice probably wasn't carrying very far. With just a hint of worry, he continued to explore.
Some time later, there was a rustling in a bush nearby. "H-hello," Bairi said, not want to scare or annoy the creature. A small furry head popped up, panic in it's eyes.
Bairi was almost as startled as the other creature, which he couldn't identify. "I-It's okay," he said, "I'm not going to hurt you..." At this, the creature ducked back down and took off. With little else to go on, he followed pushing through the greenery after the creature.
They hadn't gone far when the, or at least a, creature yelled "danger, danger." When Bairi arrived in the clearing ahead, the last of a group of whatever it was he had been following disappeared into the treetops.
"Um, excuse me," Bairi said, "could you help me, please?"
Several heads popped up out of a particularly leafy branch, then ducked back down. There seemed to be a brief argument, then one of the heads came back up. "What do you want," it asked.
"I think I'm lost," Bairi replied, "you haven't seen my herd around have you?"
"I don't think so," the creature replied, "hold on a moment, I'll ask." There was a quick discussion, then the head came back up and said, "no, we haven't."
"Oh," Bairi said, his face falling. "Thank you anyway," he said, turning to go. As he was turned away, he didn't see the other head pop up, and he was too lost in his feelings to hear the whispered disagreement that went on.
"Excuse me," a voice said.
"Yes," Bairi said despondently, turning to look at the creature.
"I don't know where your herd is," the creature said, "but I know someone who might."
"Y-you do," Bairi asked, "which way do I go?"
"Well, it's a pretty big place," the creature replied, "so I might as well come and show you."
"Would you," Bairi asked, surprised at this bit of charity
"Sure," the creature said. This was followed by a heated argument.
Soon after, a small creature appeared at the base of the tree, paused a moment, then scampered over. Another voice shouted, "Nina, get back here."
"Ready," the creature asked.
"Ready," Bairi replied
"Then let's go," the creature replied, and scampered off. Bairi followed.
They'd been going several minutes when, during which the creature, whatever it was, had slowed down considerably, and was panting. "You, uh, you want to ride," Bairi asked.
Panting, the creature nodded and managed to say "'bout... ...ask."
"Okay then," Bairi said, "hold on a mo'." He knelt down and the creature managed to clamber up his fur to his head.
Once the creature indicated it was ready, Bairi said, "going up," and stood up again.
"So," the creature asked, after they'd been going a while, "what are you?"
"Camel," Bairi replied.
"Never heard of them," the creature replied, then, in a kinder tone, "you must be a long way from home."
"I think so," Bairi replied, "I've never even heard of anything as lush as this place, whatever it is."
"This is the jungle," the creature said, "how did you get lost?"
"A sandstorm blew up," Bairi replied, "but when it cleared, they were, they weren't..."
"I get the picture," the creature said in reply "and don't worry, I'm sure you'll find them eventually, oh, and I'm Nina by the way."
"Bairi," Bairi replied, "didn't one of them yell at you?"
"Yes," Nina replied, "but that was only Uncle Max, nothing to worry about."
"Oh, good," Bairi replied.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
