Hellooo. Aye new storyyy. Chapter 19 of City Of Saints (if you're reading that) should be up later today or early tomorrow. But I give you this. This one is staying. :)

Disclaimer: I not be ownin' Skins dawg or the goddamn characters.

Fingers curled around the hilt of a sword. Muscles groaned and trembled with exhaustion as they were forced to lift the weapon back into its sheath sitting on her hip. She expected the extra weight it would add to the right side of her body, but she swayed and lost balance for a moment anyway. "Fuck. Fuck you." she muttered to the deadly tool and it's case. Tired feet dragged themselves across the large expanse of open desert. The wind whipped the sand around her and she was thankful for the helmet she wore. It didn't cover her eyes, but was large enough to block the sand when it was blown her way.

Sunlight reflecting off the ground was almost blinding. She walked with her head bowed. The heat radiating all around her was making her sweat buckets and the armour she wore was scorching from having to absorb the warmth for hours at a time. Her lungs and heart worked hard to provide her body the oxygen that was necessary to survive, but she still felt out of breath. She stopped for a moment to look around. There was absolutely nothing in sight. Just hills and more mounds of sand. In frustration, even in her exhausted state, she bolted into a run to try and get up one of the mountains. When she reached the top, she over estimated the distance her last step would cover and she tumbled down the other side of the dune. Her sword was dragged up her back as she tried to uselessly lodge her hands into the shifty ground. It did nothing to halt the building momentum. She continued to roll down, grunting when her body would hit a tiny rock. It hurt like hell even if the stone was hardly noticeable in the first place.

Finally coming to a rough stop, she gasped for air, only to take in a mouthful of sand. She sputtered and gagged at the dryness, reaching behind her back to try and locate the small bag attached to her waist. It wasn't where it was supposed to be since her weapon had cause everything to bunch up around her underarms. She lifted herself onto her hands and knees and seized the container of water now almost at her neck. She gulped it down, wincing when she felt the grains of sand sloshing down her throat with the liquid. The bottle was removed from her mouth and she lodged it into the hill before lifting her hand to remove her barbute, making it easier for her to tilt her head back and consume the water once again. Dark brown locks, tangled and sleeked with sweat, were freed from the confines of the helmet. They fell around her shoulders as she drank. When she was done having her fill, her hand came up to run fingers along the strands and she grimaced because the hair felt absolutely filthy.

She stood to observe her surroundings once more, squinting to see passed the sunlight around her, she grinned in triumph when she spotted some sort of formation that didn't seem like it was made of just sand. It was far, yeah, but she'd been walking for days. It wouldn't be too bad.

She adjusted the belt back around her waist and ran her hands along the pouches attached to it to check that everything was still in place. Her helmet was lifted off the ground and she shook it to rid it of the sand. It was placed back on her head, dark hair being obscured by the snug fit of the steel.

Trudging through the sand once more, she became slightly irritated at the constant groaning her armour made with every movement. The cuirass she wore over her mail hauberk was dented on the left side. One of her pauldrons was missing. She'd known they were pieces of crap when she'd purchased them, but it was all she could afford at the time. The left one had been shattered by the same blow that had dented her chest plate. She sported greaves to protect her shins, but she wished they weren't necessary. They made her feel like she was lugging a ball and chain around each ankle whenever she walked. She didn't wear a full suit because she felt it would take away from her agility and speed.

A sigh escaped her mouth as she thought about the long path ahead, and not just to the weird structure she'd spotted. This whole mission would take fuck knows how long. It would be worth it in the end, though.

Her fingers played with the hilt of her sword and her other hand swung by her side. She licked her dry lips, already needing more water, but not allowing herself to drink just yet. She had to salvage every drop for when it was completely necessary.

Her legs yearned for rest but she kept on until she reached her destination.

Mouth open in astonishment and eyes taking in the cave before her, she walked the few more paces needed to step inside. It wasn't anything special, but it was the most shelter she'd been able to find in months. Away from the sand and the sweltering heat. She dropped to her knees and crawled deeper into the cavern. She removed her belt and sword from around her waist, then her helmet from her head. The rest of her suit was removed sluggishly as her arms were too tired to move any quicker. Left covering her body was a thin linen shirt and some loose fitting pants that she'd found in a pile of clothing that had been discarded outside of a small village.

She shifted into a cross-legged position. Stretching her legs out before her, she leaned forward to touch her toes. She pulled one foot back towards her to massage it and she frowned because her whole body then felt tense. Sleep was her first priority. Though it probably wouldn't help the ache in her back since she had to sleep on such a hard surface. It's not like sleeping on stony, uneven ground was recommended. She curled up on the floor and didn't fight her exhaustion any longer.

o

When she awoke, she noticed the pain in her legs had dissipated. There was now what felt like a bruise on her hip though, from lying in the position she'd slept in. She opened her eyes and something felt and looked different. Her armour was now neatly laid out before her. Her body jolted to sit up straight and she looked around. Brown eyes landed on a sitting figure near the entrance of the cave. Fear did not consume her like it had the first time she'd met the strange person.

She stood up and walked towards it, then she sat beside it when she reached the mouth of the cavern.

"You know, if you're so intent on following me wherever I go, you can at least find me a nice place to sleep." she croaked, her voice weak from not being used often.

"But then you wouldn't learn how to survive."

"I've been at this for over a year, I think I'm doing okay." she snapped in response. She stood up again and walked away towards her suit.

"Emily." she heard from behind as she slipped her mail back on.

"Emily." the voice came again, in the same dull tone.

"Emily." It reverberated through the cave once more before Emily got tired of it.

"What?" she questioned harshly, putting her shoes and greaves on her feet and shins.

The person stood in front of her, "Do not be disheartened…"

"I'm not fucking disheartened, you're fucking pissing me off." she went to reach for her cuirass, but was stopped in mid movement as the second person lifted her by the underarms and forced her to stare back.

"You should not be angry, either." it said with it's calculated voice. "Anger will only make you more frustrated."

Emily struggled to relieve herself of the grip. "Yeah, I'm fucking pissed. You can apparently do all sorts of shit but don't use it when it's needed." she continued to squirm. The hold on her arms tightened ever more.

"Fine." the person stepped back. Emily rubbed her own arms for comfort and watched the other close their eyes. Emily was aware that whatever this thing was, human or not, was female. That much was obvious. If its tight, futuristic suit was anything to go by. The helmet was the most interesting part, because it was the only part that revealed that this thing was anything near human. It didn't completely cover its face. There was a part of the armoured helmet that came down to cover the nose and mouth. There was a lighter piece of material with tiny holes covering the mouth, which allowed Emily to always hear the breathing of the being. Her eyes and cheeks were exposed, leaving the brunette to examine the two softest expanses of skin she'd ever seen. One striking blue eye was now hidden behind a lid as the girl did fuck knows what. The second eye was obscured by a part of the helmet that she couldn't figure out the use of.

Emily could hear the being humming and it was sort of starting to get on her nerves. She opened her mouth to tell it to shut the fuck up, but she was cut off.

"Sh." the girl forced her to be quiet.

A few more minutes passed and Emily's eyes looked around the cave awkwardly as the humming got louder with every second.

Suddenly, her body was thrown backwards and she braced herself for the impact from hitting the floor, but it never came. She continued falling, her head spinning at a dizzying rate. All of the places she'd visited in the past year zoomed into her vision before running astray and leaving her disoriented. Places she's never seen began appearing before her eyes until all movement stopped. Gravity finally had its way with her and she fell roughly onto a surface. It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, seeing as how she'd landed on grass. Her stomach, though, wasn't having a very good time. She sat up quickly and threw her head to the side before releasing the contents of it onto the lush, green surface.

She stood up and looked around to find the other girl, the one she assumed brought her here. Locating her quickly she stepped over her scattered armour and belongings, "You could have given a little warning as to what you were about to just fucking do!" she shouted up at her. She was seated calmly in a tree.

"Be calm. Look ahead." the strange woman pointed behind Emily. The brunette turned and her eyes widened. She'd been too annoyed to actually take in her surroundings. They'd been brought to a small opening deep in a forest with a tiny body of water. The liquid was being supplied by a small waterfall. Emily's eyebrows scrunched in uncertainty because it was way too convenient.

"It's artificial. Created by man." The girl was beside her. "It was made by a tribe that used to dwell a few miles from here. They don't exist anymore, they were all killed."

"How?"

"That's a story for another time." The enigmatic being sat crossed legged on the grass with her eyes closed.

Emily didn't push her questions any further. Instead, she slipped her mail off once again and then moved on to her tattered clothes. She stepped carefully into the water until her entire body was submerged.

"Hey!" she called.

The second woman opened her eyes and waited.

"Is there anything I can call you? Like…a name?"

"Ten."

"Just Ten?"

"Yes." the woman stood up and walked away.

Emily shrugged, knowing she would be back eventually.

The brunette took to scratching and scrubbing at all the dirt etched into her skin. She wanted all the grime out of every wound on her body and all the filth that flowed guiltily through her veins to be cleansed.

I have a sketch of Ten's helmet if anyone is having trouble picturing it. I couldn't really properly explain what it looks like waaah. But I can't put it up because I have no way to get it on the computer. It will come eventually, I hope. So yeah, I'm off to work. Have a good day.

Peace.