The sun scorched its desert cruelly, allowing not even the wind to provide comfort in the dry terrain—this breeze was reduced to a scratchy, burning blaze of sandy confusion. Still, a single desert-dweller seemed confident in the direction of his treading among the barren lands, looking sternly forward through the storm of dust as he traversed over a particularly large dune. A small girl bundled in shawls and scarves clung desperately to his side.
"Anii?" the girl whimpered meekly. His grip on her small hand tightened as they braced for the next onslaught of winds.
-o-
"We've been expecting you." There was little emotion in the shinobi's voice as he ushered the two siblings away from the exposure of the desert storm and through a large passageway within the solid walls of Sunagakure.
The two looked briefly into one another's eyes. "Anii?" the small one questioned once more. Her brother merely nodded from behind his hood—the color of sandstone—and they followed silently behind.