VII
"Oh shit," Sei cursed as soon as they entered the desert. "It reeks…" Yoshino added covered her nose. Yōko had to resist the urge to throw up, the sun was up high burning down onto the desert sand stirring up foul odors that seemed to be from underneath the sands. Hm, I wonder if I'm pregnant, Yōko's mind mused at the thought as she tried her best to pushed out the terrible smell as they rode across the vast desert. The desert winds picked up the sand, showing a rubbery hide that was darken by the sands and heat. "Hope that's not a dead body," Sei said leaping off her horse and walked over to the rubbery hide that was shown thanks to the hot desert wind.
To their surprises, it was a piece of the sand worm from the tunnel somehow got pulled up here. The piece of flesh suddenly moved and Sei jumped back as the sand started to looked as though it was being sucked down into the group. "Holy…" Sei didn't got a chance to finished her sentence when a giant razor-sharp mouth surged out from the sandy ground and up into the air almost clipping her right leg off if she didn't react quickly. Rei quickly unsheathe her sword and with a single swung, the worm was sliced up in perfect length.
"Really, this gonna stinks even more," Yoshino whined jabbing onto her mount to race across the desert. "I agree," Sei nodded her head and got on her mount and rode off with the other two following right behind her. Sometimes later, they managed to leave the desert behind and followed the trail of destruction to locate their friends.
MgM
When Shimako woke up the next morning, Noriko was not in the tent next to her. Instead, the scuffling noises further away from the tent caused her to took a peek outside to investigate where her captor was. To her surprise and amusement, Noriko was wrestling a lizard that's twice the size of a full grown man and as long as twenty-something feet. The rain had been drizzling since early morning and still is, as the two wrestled on the muddy ground. Noriko was busied wrestling for control over the beast had forgotten to summoned her weapon, thus she ended up biting into the thing's neck and got a mouthful of scales. Spiting them out, she continued to bit into the same spot even when the lizard rolled on its back to crush her underneath it.
Minutes passed, as blood started to mix with mud until the lizard stop moving did Noriko let go of it. Taking off the outer layer of her shirts, Noriko went to search for her carving knife and started to gut the thing. Shimako decided to leave the girl be and retreated back inside the tent, laying there and listening to the sounds of scales being cut. To Shimako, it was but a silly moment that led her to believed that Noriko was more than just the savage monster that she was back in the cave, and as her cousin had told Shimako, she was in heat and isn't really herself. It was quite flattering to know that she had such an effect on such a powerful warrior.
Outside, Noriko was soaked with blood and mud and rain as she finished gutting and cleaning the lizard (not sure how she'll eat the 20-something feet long lizard though). Strangely enough, the sky cleared up right after that and Noriko managed to gathered up some woods that were dried enough to start a fire to cook the meat. As she cooked the meat, Noriko wondered if her cousin was okay and wasn't caught in the sandstorm or not. Not long ago they were each other's shadow, but now separated as each trying her best to stay alive so that they would meet again at Niflheim.
"Hey, get up." Noriko called peeking her head into the tent while Shimako pretended to be sleeping still. "Eat some or I'll eat them all," Noriko said walking back to the campfire as she put in more dry woods to keep the fire going. The aroma of freshly cooked meat filled her nostrils as she stepped outside of the tent, Shimako's stomach rumbled in hunger as Noriko handed her a piece of meat on a stick.
MgM
"Stop following me woman," Yumi groused pushing herself forward as dawn came. "I'm not following you, I'm searching for that kidnapper to save the maiden." Sachiko retorted as she isn't really a morning person either. Yumi was grumpy because of the wounds on her, not because she's not a morning person in fact she's an early riser while the rest of her family preferred to sleeps-in.
It wasn't long before Yumi collapsed from exhaustion, and lucky for her Sachiko was there to catch her. Keeping her up, Sachiko took those callused hands and pulled them over her shoulders as she pushed her back against the unconscious woman's front. Leaning forward slightly, Sachiko grabbed onto Yumi's thighs and pushed her up a bit until she got Yumi into the right position before she continued with the travel. Giving an unconscious person a piggyback ride was fine in Sachiko's book, otherwise it would be embarrassing.
After walking for nearly three hours nonstop, they entered the rainforest and drizzling rain befell upon them, hence the term rainforest. The next thing Sachiko knew was a giant lizard ramming right at her at decent speed with pale yellow skin almost blending in with the lime moss nearby (think komodo with croc's scaly body). Searching around for a safe place, but everything is soaked and covered in moss making it easy to slipped on. Sachiko moved her left foot back slightly as though she's getting into her fighting stance while carrying a deadweight on her back. "Hmph," Sachiko stomped her right foot down onto the creature's head just as it neared her with enough strength to force its head right into the ground.
"You're too noisy," she groused grinding her foot against its head. The body struggled with all of its might in an effort to pull its head out from under the massive weight, thus when Sachiko moved her foot, the thing flew backward because it was in the middle of yanking itself away from its not-so-easy prey. "Mmm… don't toy with it, just kill it already…" a smoky timbre voice murmured against Sachiko's ears, sending shivers up and down her spine. "You're right," Sachiko nodded as she rushed at the thing and kicked the thing though her foot never connected to it. A light blue aura that looked like a crescent moon moved quickly from her foot and cut into the lizard, a clean cut killing it instantly as blood mixed with the rain. "Good job…" the girl on her back murmured making an effort in petting her head before she's passed out again.
A/N: Yay, finally, something for this story. Anyway, I realized that I made a mistake but no one noticed just yet (laughs). Enjoy~