Author's Note: Here is chapter two, surprisingly much longer than the first, which is good. Not much to inform the readers about, but I'd like to ask that if you enjoyed either of these chapters so far, that you would leave a review stating what you liked, what you didn't, so on. It would help me out considerably. Thank you all, and good night to you.

The Comforts Of The Sand - Chapter 2

Despite the best efforts of Chani to avoid that terrible fate which Stilgar had ironically warned her of, she found herself lying on her blanketed slab in the farther part of the sietch. Darkness was dominant in the sietch, and Chani had noticed that even the wind had ceased it's fervent howling, causing the entirety of the world around her to lay with a silence that was uncomfortable to her. Though, it might have been for the fact that she could not get the thoughts of tomorrow's happenings out of her head. It so astounded her, this blossoming opportunity, that she was doomed to this restlessness the moment Stilgar's words passed through her ears. She could not think of a time that she was more expectant of the morning.

She stealthily rose up from her perplexed position and turned to stare out the small slit in the rock wall facing out. She could make out the waves of sand, but instead of them being their torched-tan color, they were like that of a deep blue-grey. There was no movement anywhere, another testament to the lack of natural air. Unconsciously, a frown touched the girl's lips. She was aware of what one meaning of no movement of air was, and she did not like thinking about it. A sandstorm was the most likely explanation, and the seer knowledge of that was already in the way of jeopardizing her opportunity. This thought caused her frown to deepen.

She could not despair now. It was something outside her power, though it probably meant nothing at all. She was used to sandstorms, and so should have been the Fremen, though they were always so overly cautious about anything to do with them. She found herself sighing. She was panicking, yes, perhaps. Oh, she did not know truly. Perhaps, she thought, that this was all just a side effect of her excitement. Her head was in the clouds, and now her subconscious was forcing her to return to the ground. She huffed and fell lightly down back onto the quilt. She was excited. She was too excited for her own good. She forced her eyes shut. All she wanted to do was sleep so day would arrive sooner.

It seemed not more than a heartbeat, however, before her eyes popped open to behold a different environment than the one she would have sworn she was in just mere moments ago. Her senses were dulled as she tried to force her mind and body to accept the rush of light through that tiny opening in the rock. Once she found herself able to, she sat up, though not with the same sly movements of the night before. These movements were drawn out and sloppy, though these types were expected to be present right after one woke up. As Chani rubbed her eyes, she noticed a much older Fremen woman enter into the room, bearing a set of clothing, along with Chani's stillsuit. The Fremen woman flashed a wise smile at her.

"I'm glad to see you already up, Chani. I was afraid I might have had to wake you myself." She said, setting the clothing and suit onto a chair beside Chani's bed. All Chani could do was give a soft grunt in response, as she was not fully awake yet.

"Ah, come now." The Fremen woman said amidst a laugh. "You'll need to be ready very soon, or you'll miss out on the meeting, y'know."

Chani's eyes widened just slightly more at the reminder of that, and she began to hurry herself waking up. There was no way that she was going to miss out on this opportunity. The woman took notice and her smile grew.

"Ah, I knew that'd speed you up." She said.

Chani gave a soft smile in response.

"Thank you, Harah." She managed to say.

"Worry not, dear," She said. "No doubt you're making both Stilgar and your father proud."

She soon left the room, leaving Chani to change alone. It did not take her long to do so, and she quickly left her room to head into the main passage. She did not know, however, exactly where the meeting would be, but she assumed that it would not be that difficult to find. She expected to merely stumble upon a circle of elder Fremen and that'd be it, but despite her best efforts to find that circle, she could find nothing of it.

She took a moment to attempt a recollection of Stilgar's words, but Chani soon came to the conclusion that Stilgar hadn't told her anything of the location of the meeting. She would get nowhere by herself, wandering around, so she began to switch her efforts to finding Harah again. She, being Stilgar's mistress, was usually well informed on many executive Fremen manners, and at this point, Chani didn't have much a choice. Stilgar was nowhere to be found.

Luckily for Chani, locating Harah did not take much time, despite Chani's feeling that she was running out of it. Though, that was most likely her excitement, which had shot up again now that she had come fully to her senses. The young Fremen girl approached the elder, who had long taken notice and offered her the same smile that she gave when Chani woke up.

"You're lost, dear." Harah deduced, although, something about her tone said that she had expected it.

Chani nodded her head.

"It would seem I failed to inquire about where the meeting would be held." She said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Do not worry about it. You let the excitement get to you. A minor mistake." Harah assured her. "You looked everywhere?"

Chani nodded a second time, folding her hands neatly in front of her and keeping a level head as she watched Harah speak.

"You checked outside?" Harah asked.

Chani blinked at that and felt a mental slap she gave herself. Harah's smile lit up even more.

"So much excitement, Chani..." She told her. "Now, go. It should not be that hard to find them."

Chani smiled to Harah before she left. Harah was the mother that Chani never had. She knew little of what happened to her, her father had told her nothing, and the other Fremen, including Stilgar, let on as if they did not know either. It was strange to her that no one would know of her mother, which causing that smile to falter, though, it made a full recovery. Harah was her mother, even if she was not; it was all she could believe.

She made her way to the entrance of the sietch, eager to see the committee in action. It was a rare occurrence for her, of course. The boys were more commonly assumed to be interested in management and politics and all those other elements that were involved in social responsibility. She would not say she enjoyed it, but no doubt that it made her feel different when she was exposed to it, good or bad, she could not tell. This was the reason why she was usually excited. She did not know what to expect from it, what she would take away from the experience.

She stepped out to as far as the cliff's edge would allow her feet to position themselves, her eyes darting all across the open sands. Standing like this always gave her happiness, a true happiness that she had convinced herself long ago that she would never be able to replicate. Her eyes stopped almost automatically on the ring of Fremen sitting on fiber blankets slightly caked in spice, which, in its wonderfully foreign scientific makeup, regulated heat.

She looked at the ramp meant for decent to the sand, but decided that going down that way would waste valuable time which was ticking away in her imaginary clock. She did something she probably would not have done in other case, and that was slide down the cliffside. Many, if not all, of the Fremen would have reprimanded her greatly for doing such a foolish thing, but she was hardly a novice when it came to her ability in balance and focus. She may have lacked in many areas, but nobody surpassed the Fremen girl in agility, which made the trip down the cliff so untroubling for her.

Just like that, she landed easily into a dune leaning against the base rock. She handled that so skillfully in her own mind, she wished someone had taken notice. Though, she'd hardly know for a while, until someone told Stilgar of her action, so that he could attempt to punish her for it.

She took off in a run to the ring, again, her excitement flaring up in an uncontrollable manner. She hastily scanned the ring and picked out Stilgar, him becoming her destination.

Stilgar saw her and began to stand.

"Well, I'm pleased Chani." He said. "You arrived sooner than I expected you to, which is a sure sign."

Chani flashed a worked smile to him and took a seat beside him on the edge of his blanket. She examined, with more attentiveness, the others seated at this ring. She knew the faces well, but not all of their names. This was not much of an issue to her, as she did reside in the largest sietch, and also that the elders were rarely talkative, other than amongst themselves. They spoke, as much as she could surmise, only their authoritative tongue, which had slight variation to the common Fremen speech. It was just enough that Chani had some issue with keeping up.

"What are they talking of, Stil?" She asked curiously.

Stilgar stroked his beard as he usually did when he was contemplating something that he deemed rather serious.

"The other tribes around here." Stilgar said.

Chani looked confused by this.

"I thought that we were on somewhat acceptable terms with them. Is something the matter?" She asked.

"Well, there's been rumors of a bribery. An outside higher-up bribing one of the tribes." He told her.

The confusion on her face transformed into a mix of shock and anger.

"No Fremen has ever given any respect to outsiders, let alone accept bribes from them!" Chani spoke quickly.

Stilgar gave a sound of approval and looked over at the other Fremen around them.

"You see. That's just it. Though, it seems, this is not the same anymore." Stilgar said.

"What are they planning to do about it?" The young girl asked. She knew it foolish to ask about who specifically it was, as there was no answer yet, nor would she ask if it was the sietch they were at, as Stilgar would have been the one to know about it as it was happening. Nothing happened here without Stilgar's knowledge and approval, and that was why Chani felt free here. She did not have to worry.

"Most likely, though the ring has not brought it up, they will send a party of trusted to various sietches and inquire about it." Stilgar surmised.

"I hope not openly. It would make it seem like accusation instead of inquiry, wouldn't it?" Chani asked him, a confidence not usually touching her voice. She was very concentrated on this topic, and Stilgar could tell, a twinkle of pride for her touching his eyes.

"Yes, it would, so then they would come up with a ruse. A way to work around it." Stilgar continued.

"Will anything be done about the outsiders who initiated the bribe?" She asked.

"I would believe not for a while, and then again, maybe not at all." Stilgar mused.

Chani took a moment to turn and listen to those old Fremen babble away in their intelligent whispers. Although she enjoyed open debates, she rarely ever cared for it in official matters. She had always believed that there was a better way to discuss such imperative matters, though for now, she could only sigh at it.

Though, as she did such a thing, the rabble broke up and separated for a moment, each of the members responding to each other with constant nodding. Stilgar rose and returned to the edge of the circle, leaving Chani to wait there. She blinked and smiled. Just by what she could hear, she could tell that everything that Stilgar had assumed was true.

The ring departed after a moment of silence, and Stilgar returned to Chani. She looked up at him eagerly.

"Perhaps you'd like to accompany a group to one of the sietchs?" Stilgar said.

She smirked, giving just that as an answer, and Stilgar's face was touched by a smile as well.

"I will send you ahead with a group headed for Sietch Jabor. It's about two-day journey from here, which will suit you well. Close enough that you won't worry anyone, and a somewhat mild sietch, which will hopefully not cause any trouble, or better yet, for you not to cause any trouble in." He said to her, smiling widely at the end of his speech.

Though, Chani laughed about it.

"It's a pity you know me so well, Stilgar." She chuckled in saying.

"Go now, and get packed, Chani." Stilgar said, shooing her off.