10 - The Desert Oasis

He did not like the desert, but he couldn't say he hated it. As hot as the sands were, there was at least some reprieve from the heat when night fell, or if he came across an oasis, like the one he was currently sitting beside.
It was a welcome sight after the monstrosity formerly known as the Temple of Wind and the burning sands nibbling away at his stamina. Sighing to himself, quite comfortable in the garb given to him by Braev, he listened to the soft sounds coming from the water. He could hear the soft babbling of a gentle current, the fins of fish swishing through the water, and the quiet shuffling of the plants as animals moved amongst them.

He had had his fill of water; he could go for quite a while without it, even in a desert, so saw no reason to take more than he needed. To do so would be rude to the creatures of the desert, and offending them was something he really didn't want to do.
His keen hearing picked up the muted sound of feet and the clumsy tromping of a camel's hooves. Hunkering down so he would be less likely to be noticed, he watched.
A traveller and what was likely to be a caravan steadily made their way to the oasis. The camel's back was burdened with the weight of the cart it pulled, but the traveller, upon catching sight of the crisp water, gently made the mammal come to a stop and relieved it of its burden.
He didn't care for what the group were saying to each other, but he was interested in what the new group were up to. They had appeared from seemingly nowhere, like phantoms, and were watching the caravan like a pack of coyotes. Something about them was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
Most things, he found, were familiar, but seemed obscured by some strange fog in his mind; names sounded alien to him, faces would blend together, places were labyrinths he navigated through instinct alone… most, if not all, were obscured by the mental fog, and it frustrated him to no end.

The camel, much to his confusion, had completely ignored the water in favour of tromping over to where he hid. The large mammal peered down at him, almost expectantly, and he blinked up at it.
"... What?" He didn't know why he had spoken to it. He didn't even know if it could understand him. The beast let out a grumbling noise and turned its head back to its caravan and owner.
Slowly, to not startle the creature, he raised up to his full height. Did it want something from him?
Peering over the camel's hump, he saw the group of new people accosting the caravan owner.
"You want me to help?" He asked it, tilting his head. The camel snorted in reply, seizing his cloak in its blunt teeth and tugging sharply on it. He would've stumbled if he hadn't changed his body to shadow, but the sensation was still rather strange.
Grumbling to himself, he allowed the mammal to tug him closer to the group, who he now knew to be a pack of thieves. And then it clicked.

He knew those thieves. He even recognised some of them. Lightly trilling to the camel, who compliantly released its hold on him, he peered closer at the pack. Yes, yes! He knew them! That big one, with the scar on his arm, was Dagger (a rather uncreative name, in his opinion), that little one had been nicknamed Swift, and the one in charge, with a bandana keeping his dark hair out of his face and a bag waiting for stolen loot on his belt was Aquila! But… but where was he? The leader of the thieves? He knew he should be around somewhere, he never let good pickings go by.
Squinting against the sun, he growled to himself, the camel pawing at the ground with a flat hoof. The camel grunted at him again, nudging him with its snout.
"Oh, what now?" He hissed, flashing his fangs at the beast. Another grunt. Frowning, he turned to the group. The pack of thieves seemed to be arguing amongst each other, and the camel's owner was nowhere to be seen. He let out an annoyed sigh. "I take it you want me to look after you?" The camel replied by gently nudging his mask, soft noises emerging from its throat. "Fine."

The camel, which he had dubbed 'George' for now, made for remarkably decent company. It was quiet, didn't ask questions, and seemed perfectly content to leave him alone whilst he tried to figure out where the hell he was. Curled up in the shade of the tree he was originally under (before a certain someone disturbed him), he idly plucked at blades of grass as he thought. George was placidly chewing on the leaves of a bush he (having quite quickly determined this camel was male) had found, lying next to him, and seemingly oblivious to his new 'owner' being in quite a predicament.
Thinking back on it, the thieves seemed to have been arguing about what they were to do with someone they had holed up in their hideout.
That doesn't sound good, actually. He frowned at the floor, pulling apart a leaf that had fallen onto the back of his hand. If it's him, I'll have to go and get him. If he's not, well, an easy meal's always nice.
He sat in silence for a while, now wondering where on earth the thieves' hideout was, when the sound of countless footsteps filled his ears. George grunted, spat irritably onto the ground, and stood up before toddling into a little alcove made by rocks. From where the footsteps were coming from, the only way the owners would notice the camel was if they came around to where the two were, which was unlikely; he had chosen that particular spot because of the scorpion nest nearby, and the arachnids were smart enough to know he was dangerous.

The footsteps turned out to belong to the thieves, whose arms no longer carried stolen goods or pilfered money. Aquila was still in charge, it seemed, and he (oh, what was his name?!) was nowhere to be found. Again. He was getting rather fed up by this point. It wasn't that he particularly cared for him, but he was his, and he looked after what was his, even if it was a moody teenager.
The thieves were openly squabbling now, and once they had come closer, he could see red stains on the front of Aquila's shirt.
What on earth did he do? He wondered, peering through a thicket of grass, a fine mist, one of his creation, beginning to flow softly around the oasis. His eyes caught a flash of bright red to his left, and he wasn't too surprised to find it was Edea and her group; going off of their track record, they seemed to have made an unintentional habit of running into areas he was currently camping out in.
"C-can we stop for a drink of water?" He heard Tiz ask, the shepherd's face beet red from the sun. "Our canteen's almost empty, and I don't think I'll last the rest of the trip."
"I second that." Edea wheezed, fanning herself with what appeared to be torn out sheets of paper.

And so it was that the party of four, plus a rather strange fairy, found themselves at the same oasis as himself, a stubborn camel named George, and a pack of thieves.
Said thieves had fallen silent, and were likely gauging when it was the best time to mug them.
There was a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, telling him that Aquila was the reason he hadn't shown up. It'd make sense, after all; from what he remembered, Aquila and him tended to come to blows over almost everything, from how the group operated to his presence as hired muscle. It had gotten bad enough that the thieves had effectively split into two factions, one siding with Aquila, and the other, the majority, siding with him.

If they had any intentions of mugging Edea's little party, he'd step in. He'd strike them down and drag Aquila somewhere private so he could have a talk with him. He was well aware of Aquila's disliking for him when he was present with the thieves' band, regarding him as "creepy" or "unnatural".
You're the one to talk. He'd mentally snorted upon learning of it. At least I don't go around at night breaking into houses uninvited and taking that which doesn't belong to you.
Like he expected, the thieves quite quickly approached Edea's group. The group, to give them some credit, were well prepared to go down fighting, their weapons or fists poised to strike out at any thief who dared to come close. They really didn't need to, he could take care of them himself, but their resilience to being intimidated by the band made them hesitate enough for him to lung forwards, darting across the water like a serpent, and snag Aquila by the back of his shirt collar. The young male tried to let out a surprised squawk, but he quickly gagged him with a shadowy tendril, and vanished into the mist.

"Where is he?" He hissed, pinning Aquila against the wall by the front of his shirt. His appearance was his human self, garbed in Spell Fencer robes and disguising his gaunt appearance underneath.
"W-who?!"
"The boy. The leader of your little band." The name came rushing back to him. "The Jackal. Where. Is. He?"
"I-I don't know, Mister Khint! He-he took off ab-" Aquila let out a strangled sound, his (no, his name was Khint, remember?) free hand pressed against the thief's throat.
"I know the Jackal well enough to know he wouldn't pack up and leave the only place of relative safety he has." Khint let out a growl, letting more of his true nature slip into his performance than he really intended, but if it got him talking, well… The human seemed close to tears, and his face was becoming flushed as he fought for air. Khint released his hold around his throat but did not let go of his shirt.
"Th-the spare room! He's in the spare room!" Aquila squawked, the tears he tried to keep at bay finally flowing down his cheeks. "I-I don't know what state he's in, b-"
"What did you do?!" He snarled, fangs and bone flashing in front of the human's face. He could feel his shadows twisting and writhing, and he could faintly hear the excited baying of the hunger.
Not this one. He's disgusting.
"I d-didn't do anything!" The human broke down into terrified sobs. "Oh, please, Mister Khint! I didn't mean to bang him up that badly! He was trying to toss me out of the band, so I had to teach him a lesson! Surely you of all people understand?! It's a dog eat dog world out there! I'd never survive by m-"
"Enough." A faint hissing sound reverberated through the room, as though a giant snake lay waiting in the darkness. "I've heard all I came for."
The human's eyes seemed to brighten.
"Y-yeah, so you-you'll let me go, right? You got what you needed, so you don't need to keep a hold of me anymore."
The human flashed him a smile. Disgusting. He wanted to rip off that mouth of his and break the hands that had hurt what was his. But he didn't.
"You're quite right, Aquila." A wicked smile graced his face. "I don't need to keep you around anymore."