8.Visitors aboard the ship of the desert (II):
Narrator's POV:
"Are you sure you're alright?" called Wu Fei at Samra.
"I told you not to worry. We're quite lucky: it's a lovely day to go out in the desert. The sun is partly covered by the clouds and it's twenty degrees cooler than normal," said Samra cheerfully.
"You call this lovely weather?" asked Duo in surprise.
"Sure," she said. "It's only 35 degrees. Above 50 degrees is the normal in summer."
"Oh, I see," said Duo in a small voice, causing Wu Fei to smirk.
The journey thus went on. Surprisingly, Duo was not complaining and was actually enjoying the ride and the desert scenes.
"Hey you guys, look!" the braided teenager suddenly yelled, pointing to their east.
"Stop jerking, Duo!" Trowa was on the verge of being thrown off the camel.
"What is it, you baka?" snapped Wu Fei from the front.
"Look to your right, Wu-man, just look!" Duo squealed, elbowing Trowa, who was behind him, in his excitement.
As they looked, they were greeted by the sight of a herd of deer. The tan- coloured animals were quite beautiful, with short white fluffy tails, like that of a rabbit.
"What are those?" asked Heero.
Samra stopped to look at the herd. "Desert gazelles," she remarked. "Commonly known as Reem. It means we're going near an oasis; we'll be taking a break soon."
The oasis soon came into view, a groove of palm trees surrounding a sparkling pond. Samra led the camels to the oasis and stopped.
"Hold on while they go down," she said, pulling the rein downwards. Zahra went on her knees, followed by Yamama. The pilots dismounted, stretching their legs after the long period of inactivity.
"Ah, down on ground at last!" said Duo. Samra tied the camels to a rock and, carrying a bag, beckoned the pilots to the cool shades. She spread a sheet on the sandy floor for them to sit. Trowa, Heero and Wu Fei sat down, while the energetic Duo bounced around the camels.
"Duo," called Samra, "don't tease the camels! You'll regret it!"
"Don't worry," answered Duo. "I'm trying to make friends with them!" Samra shrugged and went to the water to wash her face.
"So," began Wu Fei quietly. "What do you think?"
"I trust her," said Trowa. Heero nodded in agreement.
"Though I have no evidence or data, I know she's not a threat. She really cares about Quatre, and she trusted us," added Heero.
Samra plunged her hands in the refreshing water, cool despite the heat of the desert. After washing her face and braiding her hair, she turned to take care of her guests.
"Hey, Samra." Duo had finally left the camels alone. "I'm completely drained out, got something to eat?"
"A moment," she replied, turning to their luggage. She retrieved some bowls and filled them with milk from Zahra. Stirring the warm milk with some dates, she handed each of the pilots a bowl. Duo stared at the milk blankly.
"We're going to eat this? I need serious energy, not a snack!" he whined at her.
"This is what you wanted," she cooly replied. "Just try it."
Raising his eyebrows, Duo drained the bowl in a moment and narrowed his eyes in thought as he munched the sweet dates. His eyes widened in surprise as energy flooded him once more. The others around him were experiencing the same.
"How did you – " he began.
"You can live on dates and milk for your whole life in perfect health," she told him.
"What material is this?" asked Wu Fei, fingering the fabric they were sitting on.
"Date palm leaves. Known as 'khus' in these areas. We depend a lot on date palms in our life here."
"So as camels," added Trowa, looking at the animals. "I've never realised how unique they are till now."
"Yeah," piped up Duo. "Tro-man prefers lions; our clown boy is pretty onesided in these matters." Everyone laughed, while Trowa gave Duo a friendly punch.
"It's true. People who don't live in contact with them underestimate camels a lot. Camels are, for your information, much stronger than lions," said Samra.
"Really?"
"Yes. When a camel gets into a rage, there's no stopping it. Luckily they're very quiet animals, not easily angered. But if you do keep teasing them, you'll pay for it. Camels may forgive, but never forget. Besides, they're suitable for travel in the desert. Fast, agile and patient, they can stay without food or water for a week. No wonder it's called the ship of the desert. And a mighty fine ship it is," she added, getting up to put the bags on the saddle once more.
"We'll continue a bit on this road till nightfall. There's an oasis we'll camp at. Get ready to start moving again," Samra told the pilots.
Soon they were on the road again, going as before. After a few hours, the sun began to set as they reached a smaller oasis. They dismounted and set up their camp.
It wasn't much really. Each of them had a sleeping bag: it was useless and time-consuming to have a tent. They had another similar meal when darkness finally claimed its hold on the desert, the inky sky suddenly dotted with thousands of stars. Samra proceeded to make a fire, much to the surprise of others.
"It'll get cold at night," she simply explained. "And I prefer if we don't have any encounters with the wolves."
Duo was soon snoring loudly as the rest of the pilots settled into their sleeping bags. Samra, however, sat staring at the fire, poking it with a stick at intervals.
"What's wrong?" asked Trowa, coming to sit beside her.
"Nothing, I'm just imagining how happy he will be to see you guys." There was no questioning who 'he' was.
"What did he tell you?" asked the uni-banged ex-pilot.
"He was so depressed, Trowa. He missed you and felt so empty without his comrades. He didn't feel angry at all, just sad."
"That's just like Quatre. We were idiots when we left each other like that," said Trowa bitterly.
"But you came back, Trowa. This is what matters."
"I just hope we're not late..." he said as he went to sleep.
*
"MAXWELL!" howled Wu Fei. "YOU BAKA, WAKE UP!"
They had woken up to find that Duo had had a tossing fit, which was the reason they were showered with sand. Duo had sulked when he finally came to the waking world, saying that it wasn't fair of them to have a 'sand fight' while he was asleep. That, for some reason, made Wu Fei launch into a full- forced rant about the devastating injustice, till Samra pulled him out of it.
They were thus deemed fit to travel again after the minority was dealt with.
They were very near the base by now. The hills that surrounded it became visible, doubling the anticipation in the heart of the travellers. Suddenly, a shriek was heard,
"Tseer!"
"What was that?" asked Heero sharply.
"A falcon's cry," replied Samra, pointing at a bird in the horizon.
"Maybe someone is hunting around here. You hunt with falcons, don't you?" said Wu Fei.
"No," said Samra, going pale under her head cover, "hunting hasn't started yet."
"Then what?" asked Duo.
"Something has happened," she replied tersely, urging the camels to move faster towards the Maganac's stronghold.
To be continued...
Author's note: Hmm...still a long chapter though I divided it. Huge thanks to all those who reviewed. Please tell me what you think of this one. By the way, all the information written here about deserts and Arabian life is perfectly true, I assure you. As are the Arabic words used (it's my first language). Want to know what happenned? You'll find out in chapter 8. I promise to update as soon as I can. ^__^
Narrator's POV:
"Are you sure you're alright?" called Wu Fei at Samra.
"I told you not to worry. We're quite lucky: it's a lovely day to go out in the desert. The sun is partly covered by the clouds and it's twenty degrees cooler than normal," said Samra cheerfully.
"You call this lovely weather?" asked Duo in surprise.
"Sure," she said. "It's only 35 degrees. Above 50 degrees is the normal in summer."
"Oh, I see," said Duo in a small voice, causing Wu Fei to smirk.
The journey thus went on. Surprisingly, Duo was not complaining and was actually enjoying the ride and the desert scenes.
"Hey you guys, look!" the braided teenager suddenly yelled, pointing to their east.
"Stop jerking, Duo!" Trowa was on the verge of being thrown off the camel.
"What is it, you baka?" snapped Wu Fei from the front.
"Look to your right, Wu-man, just look!" Duo squealed, elbowing Trowa, who was behind him, in his excitement.
As they looked, they were greeted by the sight of a herd of deer. The tan- coloured animals were quite beautiful, with short white fluffy tails, like that of a rabbit.
"What are those?" asked Heero.
Samra stopped to look at the herd. "Desert gazelles," she remarked. "Commonly known as Reem. It means we're going near an oasis; we'll be taking a break soon."
The oasis soon came into view, a groove of palm trees surrounding a sparkling pond. Samra led the camels to the oasis and stopped.
"Hold on while they go down," she said, pulling the rein downwards. Zahra went on her knees, followed by Yamama. The pilots dismounted, stretching their legs after the long period of inactivity.
"Ah, down on ground at last!" said Duo. Samra tied the camels to a rock and, carrying a bag, beckoned the pilots to the cool shades. She spread a sheet on the sandy floor for them to sit. Trowa, Heero and Wu Fei sat down, while the energetic Duo bounced around the camels.
"Duo," called Samra, "don't tease the camels! You'll regret it!"
"Don't worry," answered Duo. "I'm trying to make friends with them!" Samra shrugged and went to the water to wash her face.
"So," began Wu Fei quietly. "What do you think?"
"I trust her," said Trowa. Heero nodded in agreement.
"Though I have no evidence or data, I know she's not a threat. She really cares about Quatre, and she trusted us," added Heero.
Samra plunged her hands in the refreshing water, cool despite the heat of the desert. After washing her face and braiding her hair, she turned to take care of her guests.
"Hey, Samra." Duo had finally left the camels alone. "I'm completely drained out, got something to eat?"
"A moment," she replied, turning to their luggage. She retrieved some bowls and filled them with milk from Zahra. Stirring the warm milk with some dates, she handed each of the pilots a bowl. Duo stared at the milk blankly.
"We're going to eat this? I need serious energy, not a snack!" he whined at her.
"This is what you wanted," she cooly replied. "Just try it."
Raising his eyebrows, Duo drained the bowl in a moment and narrowed his eyes in thought as he munched the sweet dates. His eyes widened in surprise as energy flooded him once more. The others around him were experiencing the same.
"How did you – " he began.
"You can live on dates and milk for your whole life in perfect health," she told him.
"What material is this?" asked Wu Fei, fingering the fabric they were sitting on.
"Date palm leaves. Known as 'khus' in these areas. We depend a lot on date palms in our life here."
"So as camels," added Trowa, looking at the animals. "I've never realised how unique they are till now."
"Yeah," piped up Duo. "Tro-man prefers lions; our clown boy is pretty onesided in these matters." Everyone laughed, while Trowa gave Duo a friendly punch.
"It's true. People who don't live in contact with them underestimate camels a lot. Camels are, for your information, much stronger than lions," said Samra.
"Really?"
"Yes. When a camel gets into a rage, there's no stopping it. Luckily they're very quiet animals, not easily angered. But if you do keep teasing them, you'll pay for it. Camels may forgive, but never forget. Besides, they're suitable for travel in the desert. Fast, agile and patient, they can stay without food or water for a week. No wonder it's called the ship of the desert. And a mighty fine ship it is," she added, getting up to put the bags on the saddle once more.
"We'll continue a bit on this road till nightfall. There's an oasis we'll camp at. Get ready to start moving again," Samra told the pilots.
Soon they were on the road again, going as before. After a few hours, the sun began to set as they reached a smaller oasis. They dismounted and set up their camp.
It wasn't much really. Each of them had a sleeping bag: it was useless and time-consuming to have a tent. They had another similar meal when darkness finally claimed its hold on the desert, the inky sky suddenly dotted with thousands of stars. Samra proceeded to make a fire, much to the surprise of others.
"It'll get cold at night," she simply explained. "And I prefer if we don't have any encounters with the wolves."
Duo was soon snoring loudly as the rest of the pilots settled into their sleeping bags. Samra, however, sat staring at the fire, poking it with a stick at intervals.
"What's wrong?" asked Trowa, coming to sit beside her.
"Nothing, I'm just imagining how happy he will be to see you guys." There was no questioning who 'he' was.
"What did he tell you?" asked the uni-banged ex-pilot.
"He was so depressed, Trowa. He missed you and felt so empty without his comrades. He didn't feel angry at all, just sad."
"That's just like Quatre. We were idiots when we left each other like that," said Trowa bitterly.
"But you came back, Trowa. This is what matters."
"I just hope we're not late..." he said as he went to sleep.
*
"MAXWELL!" howled Wu Fei. "YOU BAKA, WAKE UP!"
They had woken up to find that Duo had had a tossing fit, which was the reason they were showered with sand. Duo had sulked when he finally came to the waking world, saying that it wasn't fair of them to have a 'sand fight' while he was asleep. That, for some reason, made Wu Fei launch into a full- forced rant about the devastating injustice, till Samra pulled him out of it.
They were thus deemed fit to travel again after the minority was dealt with.
They were very near the base by now. The hills that surrounded it became visible, doubling the anticipation in the heart of the travellers. Suddenly, a shriek was heard,
"Tseer!"
"What was that?" asked Heero sharply.
"A falcon's cry," replied Samra, pointing at a bird in the horizon.
"Maybe someone is hunting around here. You hunt with falcons, don't you?" said Wu Fei.
"No," said Samra, going pale under her head cover, "hunting hasn't started yet."
"Then what?" asked Duo.
"Something has happened," she replied tersely, urging the camels to move faster towards the Maganac's stronghold.
To be continued...
Author's note: Hmm...still a long chapter though I divided it. Huge thanks to all those who reviewed. Please tell me what you think of this one. By the way, all the information written here about deserts and Arabian life is perfectly true, I assure you. As are the Arabic words used (it's my first language). Want to know what happenned? You'll find out in chapter 8. I promise to update as soon as I can. ^__^