248 Getting A Ride

A day before they were about to leave, Vy's message back to some of her contacts in the Elves Alliance received a reply. She had helped Shin to find a passage to the nearest sector to their current location. 

The reply came with instructions on how to get there. 

"I… I can't accept this. How can I ever repay you?"

"You can repay us when we meet again," Vy had replied with a grin. 

Vy even gave him some supplies and gold so that he would not have to worry on his journey. After a final meal together, they said their goodbyes.

The Blackfire siblings woke up bright and early on departure day, gathered their things and headed to the main entrance of the settlement. Rasul, the owner of the Madina Messenger greeted them with two desert deers. 

"Here are the desert deers as requested," Rasul said to them as he handed over the reins. 

"Thank you, Rasul," Lycster said politely, Vy echoed his thanks to the shopkeeper. 

The shopkeeper gave them a smile. He waved them goodbye before turning back and heading back to his tent. Vy boosted Lycster up onto the desert deer before she got on hers. Lycster brushed his hand against the soft furs of the deer. He was surprised by the smooth and soft texture. 

He wrapped his hands around the neck of the desert deer and leaned his head against its long neck. 

"I'll name you Nanma," he whispered to his desert deer. 

The ears of deer flicked as it turned back to look at the boy. It was as if the Nanma had heard his words. Vy smiled as she brushed the fur on her desert deer. Her desert deer turned back and she put out her hand to pet it on the head. 

"I'll name you Minky," Vy said to her desert deer. 

After checking to make sure that they were securely saddled and that they had all of their belongings, they rode their desert deers out into the desert. They had chosen to leave and travel under the cover of night when the temperature was cooler. 

Travelling in darkness had its disadvantages, but with the stars in the night sky as their guide, Vy was certain they would be alright. Every hour or so, she would check to ensure they were travelling in the right direction. Every three hours or so, they would take a short break, allowing their desert deers to rest as well. 

Their journey through the desert was not going to be an easy one, so Vy wanted them to be prepared for anything and everything. Back in Madina, she had gathered information on the potential threats they would face. 

"Those Lephants you mentioned sure sound scary," Lycster commented as he took a bite of the beef jerky they had brought. 

"Can you imagine getting trampled to death? I sure can't," Vy replied as her imagination ran wild in her mind. 

"Do you think they're crazier than the scorpions?" Lycster asked as he chewed down on the jerky. 

Vy shrugged her shoulders. Recalling the fight with the scorpions and the moles made Vy uneasy. As much confidence she had in her own abilities, she knew that without Lycster and Aether there; she would have been a goner. 

The wounds she sustained were healing well, but it did not happen without a bit of luck. She was lucky, very lucky. The next time something happens, she might not be as lucky. 

-I need to get stronger.- Vy said to herself as she tightened the grip on her reins. 

Her strength was slowly returning to her with each passing day. She could also sense that Aether would be awake soon. 

-Maybe I can ask him for some advice.- she wondered. 

Looking up at the stars that twinkled above her, Vy admired the beauty of the night. Soon, dawn would be upon them. 

-Dotty, I'm still waiting.- 

Just as the sky began to light up with the arrival of the sun, the Blackfire siblings set up their tent in the desert. After a few tries to get the structure up, they got it together and laid out their beds. Vy secured their desert deers outside in a separate shelter set up for them, with food and water. 

Lycster laid down on his makeshift bed. The lower half of his body was sore from riding and he was more than ready to sleep. But his sister was going to sleep just yet. Lycster peered out of the tent just as Vy took a seat next to their desert deers with her back facing him. 

"Sis, aren't you going to sleep?" Lycster asked as he let out a yawn. 

Vy turned back and ruffled his hair with a smile on her face, "You sleep first, I'll keep watch."

"What… you need to rest more than I do! You should rest first," Lycster said as he grabbed his boots but Vy stopped him. 

"You're still growing, you need more rest. Go get some rest, I'll get you later so that you can keep watch over me, okay?"

He could never argue over his sister. So the boy quietly rescinded his fate and crawled back into the tent. He laid back down, resting his head on a fur bundle he put together as a pillow. With his face facing the ceiling of the tent, Lycster could feel the temperature warming up all around him. 

Vy felt the heat too. Using her ice powers from her Kyu form, she created a block of ice and placed it in the tent to help cool the temperature. With the temperature slightly cooled, Lycster's eyelids grew heavy. 

Soon enough, he drifted off into sleep. 

[1] Yes! Fancy Desert Elephants, called Lephatns :D