It was a beautiful sight: the desert basked in darkness, while they walked in the seemingly endless sand. From what Lith had gathered they should arrive at an oasis the following morning. But that oasis was not usually frequented by people. So they expect to find some animals there.
It took walking until late morning for them to see the oasis, a small pond. A couple of Giant Scorpions were resting next to the pond, while a group of desert dogs were trying to get to the water.
-Gather around, and listen up I'm not going to repeat myself.- Sahr waited a couple of seconds for everybody to gather and listen to her orders- Mila and John will take care of the smaller scorpion, I will take care of the big one, and the rest of you will take care of the dogs.-directing her look to Lith- you will be cleaning up and making sure if there is something we should know about to let us know.- With one final look around- Let's get started.- With that, she strolled to the oasis; While the rest prepared for combat, except for Lith, who watched in dismay.
¬ What were you expecting?¬
¬ I don't know. I still don't understand why Sahr brings me around.¬
¬ Maybe you are just a cleaning boy for her, or probably this has more to do with your parent's past than you.¬
The battle was already happening, the big scorpion was dead, and Sahr was sitting on top of it. She was giving pointers to John and Mila, who were still fighting the smaller scorpion. Two or three dogs were dead, the rest had run away.
The smaller scorpion was getting more and more injured. John was closing the distance to give the last stab. The scorpion saw him and spat acid at John, who retreated. There was a standstill. The scorpion retreated. Once it had a little more space it left.
Sahr makes a signal, and Lith closes in.
- You are in charge of cleaning up the battlefield and preparing dinner- Sahr motioned to Lith- you two will make sure that there is no other scorpion in the vicinity- John and Mila nodded.
With that, the group separated; Lith wandered around picking up the corpse and making a pile next to the giant scorpion. They would burn them later that night.
¬ What are your thoughts Sahr?¬ looking from above a dune Sahr and Mondaha chatted in silence.
¬ I do not know if Lith has potential, but training him is not my priority. The contract thing was to entertain myself for a couple of hours. I did not see this... you know that kid and his blessing are in for a world of pain
¬ Is interesting how things work; if Unlimited was not stolen from you, he would have gotten everything he wanted for free. Now if you achieve the next step he is never gonna be able to. Not only that he needs to help you achieve the next step.¬
¬ Yes, and I will achieve my next step, and after that, who knows? Will you accompany me to discover what happens after?¬
¬Always, next to you¬
Sahr came down the dune, the sun was setting, and the fires were being lit in the encampment. Next to a fire sat John, Mila, and Lith. John was teaching Lith how to cook and measure some of the ingredients.
Sahr came and sat around the fire, without interrupting the conversation, or so she tried. The silence was made since they saw her approach the fire.
-okay, you can continue to talk- she sighted- all of you will need to get used to what happened and that may take time, but this is where we stand. In a week, we are leaving the desert, Lith you will need to make sure you can keep up with the cooking and preparations. John and Mila your training will double starting tomorrow, we will have training while Lith cooks and a second training with Lith.-
-....-
-Well, we can add a third training while we march if you are not convinced- Sahr said, while John and Mila went pale.
-I think two training a day is enough. We need to give Lith a chance to catch up.- tried to say, Mila.
-Yes, we should be training to work the three together, after all, we are a group- Tried to follow up John- and it's better for us to develop together.
-Such a nice group of friends- the sarcasm in Sahr's words was palpable.
-Yes, you said we would be working together, so we should train together -John did not give up.
Lith's confusion was plastered all over his face, they were not friends, hey they barely knew each other names. Something was off, but he could not figure it out. The other three turned to look at him, he wanted to hide.
-What are your thoughts Lith?-asked Sahr. John and Mila look intensely at him trying to tell him something.
-I. I..- Lith did not know how to speak to Sahr, he was afraid, he knew he could not withstand angering her and at the same time, he only saw an enemy in her.
-Speak up kid.- Sahr pressure. Meanwhile, John and Mila's expression had changed from trying to send a message to Lith to one of worry.
-I think we should train together; if I'm supposed to be of help-
-Good, training starts after we eat, since you are such a lovely group of friends. You all are in charge of carrying my stuff, cooking, and cleaning. It's so nice to have such a lovely group of ...- She trailed off, she didn't know how to describe them. With that, silence reigned on the fire spot, until John and Mila started to chitchat about how to make dinner or distribute their duties.