197S9.9.11

Our first day marching through the desert and we have halted for the day shortly before noon. It's fully understandable since there is only one member of our squad who is used to the terrain and the fortune of finding these caves—dneisjened, I think Gippal termed them—seems to demand that we take rest. Nooj has said that we will try to rest during the day and march at night so that we may be saved the full heat of the sun and the plan sounds wonderful to me; I know I will have to adjust, but, right now, the heat is maddening and I am very grateful for the chance to rest in these blessedly cool caves which Gippal found.

Gippal…he's amazing in this terrain.

I know that he is desert-born, but it is still fascinating to see him move so easily through the sand. He seems unaffected by the strength of the sun and his eye picks out fiends long before the rest of us have any idea that there is danger; Nooj is quick with this, as well, but it seems Gippal is always the first to raise his gun and he, Gippal, has been the one to fight the majority of the fiends. It seems so obvious that he will be the one on whom to depend in this portion of the trial and, between him and Nooj, I have no doubt that we will see the other side safely.

It is a bit amusing, though. Only a few short weeks ago, I would never have dreamt that I would be writing such praise for an Al Bhed, but, right now, I am not sure that I have even begun to cover all the wonderful aid Gippal has given us as a squad, let alone what he has done for me, as an individual. I have learned so much from him and I know there is so much more I have yet to hear; I only hope we both live to finish the tale.

Enough of this! I cannot simply sit here and write on and on like an infatuated child while there are other things to be done! I must start to refine those herbs we found on the march here and I promised Paine that I would teach her some of the compounds while there's still light to see what is being done. Besides, I must have been repeatedly glancing to Gippal as I wrote for the sly expression he just offered me; perhaps I should teach him a new meaning for the word 'sly'?

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The others have been kind enough to give me the antechamber to the series of caves so that I may experiment with my compounds without worrying about choking them with the fumes and smoke and it has been a very productive afternoon: I have managed to make quite a few herbal antidotes in case any of us are attacked by poisonous fiends and the sunscreen should be finished by the time we have to break camp.

Paine has been working with me all afternoon and she has again proven that she is a very apt student. She has only had to ask a few questions and most of her knowledge seems to have come simply from observing my actions; I have no doubt at all that she will soon surpass me in alchemy and it seems she already is quite adept at identifying the various types of herbs and plants. It surprises me how easily she seems to come to knowledge and how she seems to master all she attempts; perhaps it is just confidence, though I have to wonder if it couldn't be her near-silent and observant nature, as well.

While we were working, she brought up to me that the Maesters have requested that all members of the squad are recorded saying their name and a short identifying phrase. I cannot imagine why they would wish such a thing, but it could simply be so that they have a way to seperate us, one from the other. We are so much alike, are we not?

Well, we likely are to them, at least.

Regardless, I'll have to think of some way to identify myself. Somehow, I doubt that saying 'Baralai, the Yevonite' would hold any meaning anymore, aside from the fact that it could be a clear lie. Paine suggested that I use 'Baralai the Vub' but I would not dignify that with an answer; honestly, I must better monitor what she learns from that Al Bhed.

I think I may know of the best means of teaching them better manners, however.

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It was the oddest thing.

Both Gippal and Paine came down with an odd ailment which turned their faces the most alarming shade of green and they were forced to admit that they had eaten a few tablets which I had left lying innocently by my mesh pack of herbs. Honestly, I thought grown men and women knew better than to put strange objects into their mouths?

They are only lucky that I know the cure for this particular ailment, even if it does take quite a long while to prepare, and that I was able to administer it before the effects became permanent. I only hope that they learned their lesson…and that Gippal does not repay me too harshly for my laughter. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever be able to forget how they both looked with their faces green and their features set in a scowl and I do not regret any of it!

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We're to leave in only a few short hours and Gippal has not yet slept. I know that he has been having trouble sleeping for a while now, but this is the first time I've been tempted to try to cast him to sleep. From his reactions to it, he seems to not to have much use for magic, but he cannot continue to function and react well if he is only acting on a few hours' rest. It would be for the best to do this and he will thank me for it later…or he'll feed me to the first fiend we find. Either way, the rest will do him well and I think a chance to actually sleep may do me well; I do quite enjoy all the closeness and the contact which we've shared, but I also find that it is just as nice to be able to lie beside him. I wonder if this is odd…

I have also been thinking about what identifying phrase I should use for the official recording. After the little mishap of earlier, Gippal has suggested 'Little Snake' but I am not sure I would like to be permanently remembered as such. After a few other inappropriate suggestions, Gippal stumbled upon something which may be my best choice, 'Baralai, the Navigator'. I know he only chose this as I had spent a bit of time this evening reading the stars with Nooj, but it is as suiting as any other name I could find.

I suppose it will do.

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We are so fortunate that Gippal and Nooj can both see so well at night.

I cannot see further than my nose, despite the light of the single moon, and I think Paine is in a similar situation; if it were not for the other two, we likely would not have realized that the fiends were upon us until it was too late and we would have likely been worse off if they hadn't raised the alarm. As this would suggest, they were the two to handle the majority of the fiends, but I did manage to fell one or two with my staff; it may sound as bragging, but I am rather proud that I managed to stand well in my first true fight in quite a long time. Perhaps I am taking those small steps to actually acting as a warrior…if I can ever manage to improve my night vision.

Luckily, there were no severe injuries from the battle: Gippal was punctured in the side and Paine had her thigh scratched. Each of these was easily healed over and the remedies I gave them seem to have nullified the poison; they should both be fine with the bit of rest which Nooj is allowing us. Everyone is now resting in a shady overhang, but I believe I will stay awake a bit longer to be sure that all is well.