Author's Note: I am so sorry about a lack of updates!! I just forget to visit ff.net and update because I am a horrible person.. and I just got a job, which takes four hours out of my day. I must re-adjust my schedule. Sylvyr Elf, you're right about Hermemon being like Mercury. He's actually named after the Greek god Hermes, who is the equivalent of Mercury (for the Roman folk).
The three ate breakfast quickly and in a companiable silence. Hermemon directed them back toward the stream they had followed through the forest and left as quietly as he had appeared on the plain. Yolei shrugged at Ken and started walking toward the peak she could now vaguely make out amid wispy clouds. The two hadn't spoken much since yesterday morning, and once they entered the desert, they didn't have a chance to talk. A windstorm sprung almost as soon as they stepped foot into the sand.
They almost lost each other several times until Yolei grabbed Ken's hand in exasperation and shaded her eyes with the other. Their words were lost if they stood more than a foot apart. Yolei could hardly tell any time had passed at all until she realized that she was squinting into the distance and that sweat was stinging her eyes. She risked a glimpse up toward the sun and saw that noon was approaching. Some thin shrubs clung to the streambed, and Yolei pulled Ken down under one of them to rest until the sun's heat had mellowed.
Yolei sat hunched over, the hood of her cloak pulled as far down as possible. She clutched the edges of her cloak and covered as much of herself as possible with the soft lilac fabric while she groaned. Ken huddled next to her, hidden among the dark blue folds of his own cloak. Despite the circumstances, she cracked something of a smile at the sight of the fearsome Digimon Emperor cowering under a scraggly bush. Then again, she was cowering just as much as he was, so maybe it wasn't that funny.
Between blasts of stinging sand, Yolei discovered that she and Ken could carry on some sort of conversation.
"Ken, are you doing okay?? I think the wind is..."
"What was that? No, I doubt this storm will...."
"Yeah, maybe you're right. So how much longer do you think..."
"I can't hear you!"
"What?"
"What??"
And so on. Shakespearian dialogue it was not.
Yolei wordlessly handed Ken some of the neatly wrapped packages, and they ate Hermemon's food and generous amounts of sand for lunch.
A few hours later, Yolei reluctantly rose and motioned for Ken to follow her. The wind had not let up, but the sun blazed somewhat less powerfully now. She could see the shape of Infinity Mountain through the swirling desert sand, very slowly growing larger as they trudged through the gales. Yolei felt her legs shaking beneath her and finally tripped over a hidden stone. Ken helped her to her feet with a concerned look on her face and wrapped an arm around her waist when they started to walk again.
As afternoon dimmed into evening, the wind died and the two realized that they were very nearly out the desert. The mountain rose up starkly from the flat land around it, no foothills or gradual incline to ease travellers into the climb. A small cave jutted out of the mountain's base where Yolei and Ken gratefully stumbled after a hard day's travail.
The three ate breakfast quickly and in a companiable silence. Hermemon directed them back toward the stream they had followed through the forest and left as quietly as he had appeared on the plain. Yolei shrugged at Ken and started walking toward the peak she could now vaguely make out amid wispy clouds. The two hadn't spoken much since yesterday morning, and once they entered the desert, they didn't have a chance to talk. A windstorm sprung almost as soon as they stepped foot into the sand.
They almost lost each other several times until Yolei grabbed Ken's hand in exasperation and shaded her eyes with the other. Their words were lost if they stood more than a foot apart. Yolei could hardly tell any time had passed at all until she realized that she was squinting into the distance and that sweat was stinging her eyes. She risked a glimpse up toward the sun and saw that noon was approaching. Some thin shrubs clung to the streambed, and Yolei pulled Ken down under one of them to rest until the sun's heat had mellowed.
Yolei sat hunched over, the hood of her cloak pulled as far down as possible. She clutched the edges of her cloak and covered as much of herself as possible with the soft lilac fabric while she groaned. Ken huddled next to her, hidden among the dark blue folds of his own cloak. Despite the circumstances, she cracked something of a smile at the sight of the fearsome Digimon Emperor cowering under a scraggly bush. Then again, she was cowering just as much as he was, so maybe it wasn't that funny.
Between blasts of stinging sand, Yolei discovered that she and Ken could carry on some sort of conversation.
"Ken, are you doing okay?? I think the wind is..."
"What was that? No, I doubt this storm will...."
"Yeah, maybe you're right. So how much longer do you think..."
"I can't hear you!"
"What?"
"What??"
And so on. Shakespearian dialogue it was not.
Yolei wordlessly handed Ken some of the neatly wrapped packages, and they ate Hermemon's food and generous amounts of sand for lunch.
A few hours later, Yolei reluctantly rose and motioned for Ken to follow her. The wind had not let up, but the sun blazed somewhat less powerfully now. She could see the shape of Infinity Mountain through the swirling desert sand, very slowly growing larger as they trudged through the gales. Yolei felt her legs shaking beneath her and finally tripped over a hidden stone. Ken helped her to her feet with a concerned look on her face and wrapped an arm around her waist when they started to walk again.
As afternoon dimmed into evening, the wind died and the two realized that they were very nearly out the desert. The mountain rose up starkly from the flat land around it, no foothills or gradual incline to ease travellers into the climb. A small cave jutted out of the mountain's base where Yolei and Ken gratefully stumbled after a hard day's travail.