Fable - Ask Flight of the Serpents

[Captain Jamira]

Jamira peeled the makeshift hijab from her face, the centuries-old curtain stiff and hard to breath through. The sand fell from it in cascades of faux-gold dust. A ruinous dowry for a bride of the deep desert. Like a figure of unearthly promise, she rose from the dune behind which she and her sister had hidden from the sandstorm. A beautiful woman of great musculature and dark-tanned skin emerging from the desert like a sea-maiden breaching waves, her appearance no less deceitful than the siren upon the rocks.

At least, until she began to cough gracelessly and spat a sandy ball of phlegm.

With a groan, she slowly began to lift herself more, leaning back. Her serpentine lower half emerged from the sand, the soft yellows giving way to sunset orange and ruddy dark brown. She looked back, leaning to extend a helping hand to her smaller sister still emerging from their shelter;

"Come along, Wabkhira;" she spoke softly, "we've a while yet to go, and the wind's died down enough. We can make it."

It had been a hard few days, but there *had* to be something this way. It was where the caravans came from, there must be something in this direction. Their limited water would last longer than for a human, but it was still dangerously low. At least the desert sun energized them rather than tried to kill them. If the sisters had to sweat constantly, they'd likely have been dead by now.

"If we can find the place of the merchants before night, I can promise you," the larger sister encouraged, "I'll find you many soft pillows and blankets. It's just over these next few dunes."

She had to be strong; she had the arms, the coils, to carry her sister, and the fortitude of mind to be relied upon in this dire moment. Her sister needed her. Jamira was not about to fail her little twin.

Just a little further... We're going to make it. We can make it.

 

[Wabkhira]

Wabkhira was exhausted. She grabbed her twin's offered hand, still shaking. They were twins, but Wabkhira always marveled at how different they had grown. Wabkhira was so small and pale when compared to her sister, only, when you observed the now emerging tails, ending in mirrored twin tips, still the same, you could see their childhood similarities.

She adjusted her coverings, she didn't have her sister's tan that could protect her so well from the sun, so she needed other protections too, "Are you sure we are still going the right way?" Wabkhira could somewhat tell the directions in the night sky, but when the sun was out at its peak, it was hard to tell in the vast blue above.

She had other worries on her mind, not pillows, not fluffy blankets. They hadn't had a proper meal, ever since they escaped that beast, her sister was strong, which meant needing more energy. So she definitely needed to eat more than just what they had on them and whatever small animals Jamira managed to catch these days of their escape. Merchants would have some stocks they could part with for-

A thought just crossed her mind, and she tugged at Jamira's arm, "Don't merchants require coins, or at least goods of equal value for bartering? We-" the rings on their tails? too precious to trade, "We don't have that. What will we do once we reach them?"

 

[Captain Jamira]

"Don't worry about that," Jamira replied, more to herself than to her sister, "We'll find a way. For now, we need to move."

Jamira sheltered her sister from some of the wind by staying close, holding her to help keep the pace up. It wasn't comfortable, and it wasn't something that they could keep up come nightfall when the sun stopped doing the hard work for them... but it might be enough.

The sun was starting to set when the sisters thought they saw something. Rocks? Protruding from the desert. A trick of the desert sun? Better a chance there for survival than the open Dunes, especially with nightfall almost here. The sisters pushed on, just a bit further...

The night had fallen, and the cold was slowly creeping into their bones, when the two made it to the shelter of the rocks, still warm from the day's heat. But more than that, the sisters could hear sounds- Camels, horses, a few Drakes- that spoke of life within. Jamira looked excitedly to her sister, hoping the sounds of life might invigorate her, ignorant of any signs or markings about that would better inform her of who lie beyond. As far as she knew or cared, animals meant merchants. That meant supplies... supplies she could barter for, with her slings or with her skills.

 

[Wabkhira]

The lower the warming sun went, the closer Wabkhira stuck to her twin. It felt nearly like her tail was now slower to move thanks to the sun having left their presence. Finding shelter by the rocks was a welcome relief.

But there were sounds of camels and drakes. It could be merchants or travellers. But it could also be-
Wabkhira tugged at her sister's arm, "What if this is dangerous?"