She let him go, and for she had been selfish. Thinking about what she believed he wanted; and not what he truly wanted.


Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Stay still.

Survive.

These thoughts have been in her mind since she first arrived here years ago in this hellish wasteland.

Movement caught her eye, causing the camouflaged woman to still even more. The sand covered blanket barely ruffled as her head moved to the right to get a better look.

Terror Birds.

She cursed internally, wishing she had chosen the oasis she normally used for her hunting grounds and not this one so near to those malevolent golden hills. She stayed as still as she could, trying her best to not move the sand as she breathed. The Terror Birds soon left, causing her to quickly vacate the area before they decided to come back.

She trudged along the rough terrain, arriving to her camp in the more mountainous region of the hellish wasteland. She went into her tent, checking her food supplies. She was good for a few days until she ran out of berries to eat. She sighed as she took off the turban and sand scratched goggles, running a hand through sand swept hair. Golden strands falling in front of her face caused her to huff, fumbling some to find a strand of fiber to tie her hair back with. Once the deed was done she went around to check her water skins, making sure they were all full before settling down to eat.

Many of the berries were dried to the point of bitter, tartness but the few that weren't were full of sweet juice. Even after her small dinner her stomach growled in anger at her lack of courage. The dark diamond in her left arm, just below the wrist, began to glow a bright green. She pressed into it softly, watching the hologram pop up with all of the information she cared to think about (and the ones she didn't).

Day- 730,000,000

Tribe- none.

She refused to look at that wretched name, the name that made her lose everything. The nomadic woman continued to look at the hologram until the day turn ten thousand. By this time she was nowhere near the point of sleep, but still laid down for rest for a few hours. She had another long, grueling day of traveling before the sun rose.

Just before the land of dreams seduced her with their silky words a mournful roar pierced her hearing, causing the the original words of silk to turn into oil.


The first thing he saw was the night sky, and then something jumping onto him. John didn't know where the hell he was, who he was, or what this cute, cuddly thing on him was; but he was terrified. He had thrown berries at it in an attempt to get it to go away, but it was quite persistent. Instead of it flinching away, like John had intended, it caught and ate the berries.

Eventually, he gave up, letting it cuddle up against. Now that he had given up on getting it away, he began to take in its details. The cuddly mammal had long, pointed ears with a stout snout and deep blue eyes that just sparkled with innocence and potential. It's fluffy fur was white with black stripes going from its head down to its tail with more stripes coming off of those.

It was truly adorable; even more so when it cooed and trilled.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud, menacing roar coming from a long distance behind him. At first he thought it a battle cry, but when it sounded again he realized it was mournful.

His fluffy friend perked up at it, grabbing at his pant leg as it tried to drag him away from the noise.

He frowned, letting the animal to lead him away. It took an hour or so, but his furry little friend led him to a campsite in a more mountainous area. There was a tent with a dying fire, a strange looking horse, and another creature that looked much like his furry little friend but much darker.

His friend yipped and cooed, hopping on into the tent and awakening it's owner.

A startled cry came from the tent, his furry little friend jumping out with a golden haired woman a minute later. His friend jumped over to him, scrubbing up on his bare legs before going to its darker counterpart.

John now realized just how naked he was now that he was in front of a someone else; a woman no less.

She stared at him, a sleepy glaze over her eyes as she spoke in a deep accented voice, "You came down from the light, did you not?"

Despite its rough, scratchy tone (which sounded like it's been forever since she's spoken) her voice sounded Arabic, the accent fitting in well. He looked her over, becoming captivated with her features and completely shutting her question out. Within the light of the dying fire her hair shone like gold, her eyes burning coals of amber against her tan skin. To him; she was a goddess.

"Are you even listening to me?!"

He jumped, now seeing her enraged face, "Ah, sorry.. I-I didn't hear you…"

She shook her head, "Nevermind… I already got my answer from your cluelessness."

He blinked, "Where are we?"

"Hell."

Her blunt answer left him confused. Hell? It wasn't like that for as long as he's been here; actually, it's been possibly the most best day he believes he has ever had (not that he could remember any of his previous days) despite that roar.

She shook her head at his confused look, "You will see in the morning…. Come in and I'll get you some proper clothing." She pulled him into the tent, throwing clothing at him to put on before exiting to give him some privacy.

He blinked, looking at the clothes before putting them on. It was like silk-no, it was silk. How he knew that was beyond him, but he knew that it was silk. He smiled, putting on the rest of the clothing as he hummed contentedly. Everything felt so cool and nice, almost like it was made for him. He shook his head, exiting. He was so wrapped up in the woman's looks and how the clothing felt he completely forgot about his manners.

A small bag was tossed at him, causing him to catch it after a few comedic stumbles. He looked inside of it to see berries, "Ah…. thank you… by the way, the name's John." he popped in a few, making a face at the taste.

It took her a few minutes before she responded, "Ar Ramlah."

He cocked his head to the side. Ar Ramlah? What type of name was that? What did it mean? He spoke the latter thought aloud, watching as her head turned away.

"The Sand."

He blinked. The Sand. Yes, that fit her perfectly. She was the great goddess of the sands. And he, her servant. He internally shook his head; wherever the hell these thoughts were coming from needed to go jump into a black hole immediately.

She raised her brow at him, "I will take you to the nearest town, it's a three day journey," she stopped, looking at the sky which was still dark, "Which starts in an hour so rest up."

He blinked, finding himself being pushing into the tent, "Where are you going to sleep?"

"Outside with the Equus and Jerboas."

He watched as the tent flap was shut in his face, her footsteps receding as his little furry friend and counterpart (Jerboas, correct?) cooed and hopped around in joy.

He sighed, settling down on the sleeping bag.

Sleep overtook him within moments, the silky trindles of the great land of dreams cradling him with its ever caring slumber.


Ar Ramlah was not in the same state of slumber as John. Despite her steed providing heat and comfort; the Jerboas acting as a blanket and reassurance; the woman could not get to the land of dreams despite her begging.

Another mournful roar broke through the sound of silence, her own aching scars and her ever bleeding heart.