Aladdin patted his camel on the neck as he slipped off to fill his water skin at the well. He had taken the camel instead of Carpet only because he wanted to keep a low profile, and it was way too far to walk to Etruskel on his own two feet. After filling the water skin, he shook out his long wool cloak, folded it neatly and placed it behind the saddle. Traveling at night was always better than in the daytime. You can always put on another layer, Aladdin thought, because it's so cold at night, but during the day when it's hot out, there's nothing to stop the suffering. You have to keep a shroud on to protect you from the sun, but it's so hot, you want to take it off and you know you can't. He had learned that when he was real young, but he remembered Raven always telling him stories about living in the desert. She always emphasized the dangers of being uncovered in the sun, since she claimed she had almost died from it once. Aladdin believed her, only because he knew full well the dangers of the desert.
He was still at least a day and a half of hard travel from Etruskel so he didn't want to stop for too long. The small oasis offered some small shade and fresh water. Aladdin took out a meager amount of bread and dried meat and ate it thoughtfully. He still felt pretty bad about leaving Jasmine without a real explanation, but since he had left that morning, all he could think about was Raven and how much he wanted to see her again. I've changed so much since I last saw her, he thought as he swallowed the last bit of bread he had allowed himself. She must have changed a lot, too…I wonder how different she is…Will I even recognize her? How will I know it's her? So many thoughts swirled in his mind that he figured it was time to move on. Lifting on a lighter cloak and wrapping it around his head, he mounted the taciturn camel and heeled it ahead in the direction of Etruskel.