Petal couldn't say how long they walked for until they arrived at the boulder. The only thing in her mind was an alarming buzz as the wind picked up.
The first true thought to pass her mind was that “boulder” was a misnomer. Olive's “boulder” was only one of many strange rock formations. One was formed by multiple rocks that stacked into a gate-like arc. Another was like an inverted triangle with random ledges jutting out. One had an eerily similar shape to the spongy mushrooms Uncle Spot used for his tea. It was as if a giant children’s block set had been dropped and left forgotten amidst the desert sands.
Olive’s boulder rose high out of the ground like the sloping back of some massive beast. The stone itself was rough and pockmarked with the abuse of many a storm. Which made it perfect for climbing. They used the holes to clamber their way up the rock beast’s back until it flattened out. The flat bit extended a good thirty paces in all directions.
There had to be a hole large enough for Olive and her to squeeze into somewhere among rocks this massive.
“It’s big.” Olive murmured, idly kicking at the stone.
Petal hummed in reply. Her long tail lashed uneasily at the building scent of rain. She clamped a hand on the errant appendage, feeling it twitch as she scanned the stones around them.
A crack of thunder boomed in the distance. Olive shrieked at the sound and clung to her unoccupied arm like a suckerbush. Her tail escaped her hold, puffed and pointed straight up.
They needed to find shelter now.
“Let’s play a quick game, huh?” Petal said in a clipped tone. Her fear couldn’t be completely hidden behind the nice words. “First to find a cave wins.”
“Wins what?” The pup questioned while peering up at her with those big, green eyes of his.
“Something great. Now, go!”
The silence was thick and pressing. Olive scoured their surroundings as Petal pretended to do the same. She couldn’t stop the twitch, twitch, twitch of her tail as the sky gradually grew darker.
“Cave!” Olive declared while enthusiastically shaking the arm he clung to. He pointed at a nearby pillar that looked like a crooked finger.
Squinting, Petal could barely confirm that there was some sort of opening in the rock that looked big enough for the two of them. Congratulating the pup on his keen sight, she hurried them along in the vague direction of his pointing. Screw saving every drop of water, she was flushing her eyes as soon as they were safe.
Olive soon took the lead as Petal floundered. He grabbed her hand and pulled her limping form behind him. A flash split the sky, followed by roaring thunder a few heartbeats later. Curse this damned paw. She can’t afford to slow them down.
As soon as both of their tails were in the cave, the first drops of rain began to fall. Shimmering gold droplets lit up the darkened sky like shooting stars. A gust of wind blew the bright drops just inside the entrance of the cave. Petal and Olive lurched back as the ground sizzled and smoked.
That was much too close. But they made it.
Petal let herself slouch against the furthest wall. Letting the shake in her body subside as her breathing returned to normal. Olive was, of course, completely undeterred by their near miss. The pup immediately began scratching and sniffing all around the cave. Though there wasn’t much to find. It was barely three paces deep. Olive, with arms now outstretched, could almost touch both walls at the same time.
“Quit that, fur-brain,” Petal scolded as the pup scooted towards the glowing rain.
“I’m not stupid, Petal.” Despite facing away from her, she could practically feel Olive’s eye roll. “I’m not gonna go outside.”
“No, but you’ll get dissolved when the wind shifts again. A sad Olive puddle.”
Olive grumbled something uncomplimentary, but did inch back from the new pinprick holes by the entrance.
Satisfied, Petal leaned forward just enough to slip the backpack off. It laid in a sad mound on the floor. It was as if her body was filled with metal now that she sat down. She too wanted to lay limply on the floor. Forever.
“Want to help me with something?”
Olive’s ears perked up, green eyes wide and questioning as he turned slightly to face her.
“I need the sand out of my eyes. Like I’ve been doing for you.”
Olive scrambled to the backpack without another prompt. He dug out the fullest waterskin and sidled up next to her.
“Lean forward, please. Good job.” Olive mimicked her perfectly. Since that first horrid day, Petal had been flushing his eyes with the green water when the itchy sand became too much for him. Olive knew this procedure quite well by now.
Petal wanted to weep with relief as the grit was washed from her eyes. It was stupid to waste water on herself like this. Tomorrow would only bring more sand. Tomorrow her eyes would hurt again. Such a selfish soul. Mama had said that teasingly. But Mama was right and now she was gone.
Olive examined her face critically as Petal blinked rapidly, clearing the last of the grit. “Do you need more?” He gestured with the waterskin, letting the liquid slosh.
Petal shook her head with a careful smile. Her eyes still ached and the world was still blurry. Hopefully the damage wasn’t permanent. But she had been selfish enough for today.
Running a hand through her tangled scruff, Petal let the thoughts sink down again. Once the pup was safe… then she could afford to get lost.
Olive, satisfied with his work, turned to stuff the water skin into the backpack. His back was exposed.
With the grace of a falling rock, Petal let her body crumple to the side as it had been longing to do all day. Olive just so happened to be on that side.
“Petal!” The pup squealed. “Get off!”
She considered this argument for a moment. But then Petal stretched her arms and wiggled obnoxiously. Quick as a whip, Olive grabbed an arm and licked her hand. What followed was wrestling at its finest, with all the shouting and laughing to prove it. Eventually, they settled against each other.
It didn’t take long to drift to sleep watching the world illuminated in a soft, golden glow.
—------------------------
Petal wasn’t sure what woke her up. She would like to say she sensed something was off. A shift in the wind or the smell of something new. Yet one minute she was asleep and the next she was unhappily awake.
The rain hadn’t let up. Outside the wind wooshed and moaned like spirits coming back from the underworld. Thunder raged in the far distance. It wasn’t as frightening now with them safely tucked into the cave. Petal quietly counted the seconds between the booms as she stared at the darkened ceiling. Olive slept on, cold nose pressed into her shoulder.
It was weird that the ceiling was so dark. With this much rain it should be almost as bright as day. Petal lifted her head ever so slightly. No need to disturb Olive.
A figure was at the entrance. It crouched there, completely covered in a strange shiny cloak, approaching where they laid defenseless. Curled claws slipped from under the fabric. The rain cast strange shadows that squirmed and wiggled from the outstretched arms over Olive’s sleeping body. It was as if Zhatkol, the King of Shadows himself, found them lacking and had come to collect early.
Petal quickly rolled herself up and over the pup and half-rose into a squat. The soft snores turned into groans as he sleepily tried to push her away. She ignored his protests and squished him against the cave wall, eyes never leaving the intruder.
The strange cloak slipped more as the figure spread its arms, exposing scales glinting in the rain. A growl reverberated through her body when the intruder shuffled forward. Olive hesitantly asked something but it was lost between the storm and the blood rushing in her ears.
A flash of lightning outside the cave, blinding and deafening in its intensity, caused the intruder to flinch. It was all the distraction she needed.
Petal had them tackled to the ground in an instant. Her claws couldn’t find purchase in the cloak, which saved the delicate skin around the intruder’s throat. The intruder shrilly shrieked as Petal went for another swing. With a sudden jerky twist, something heavy hit Petal’s stomach. Her body thumped against the cave wall, claws catching on fabric, as the intruder scrambled out from underneath her.
The cloak lay tangled under her and a torn knapsack clung to her hand. Unidentifiable bobbles were strewn at her paws. Without the obstructions, it was clear the intruder was a female Tokaan. She must have been struck by the muscular tail.
The Tokaan slowly stood and Petal mirrored the action. She used the cave wall as support to keep pressure off her right paw.
They eyed each other from across the cave, their panting barely audible over the rain. Petal glanced to the side in alarm as Olive crawled forward.
“Back!” Petal ordered. Olive shot her a glare with ears pinned to his skull.
The Tokaan’s muscles tensed at the shout, eyes darting between Petal and the pup. Her tail raised slightly and her claws flexed.
Petal growled and the intruder hissed in reply.
The intruder rushed forward, trapping Petal against the wall with her shoulder. But Petal went limp, letting her weight overpower the shorter Tokaan. They crashed to the floor again. Yelps and yowls filled the cave as they rolled back and forth, each trying to overpower the other.
Rain drops pelted their exposed bodies as they accidentally rolled outside. Petal and the Tokaan screeched, the fight forgotten, as they darted back into the safety of the cave.
They both crouched just out of reach of the rain, facing the storm as the wind howled in fury. Scales and fur burned the same.
“Stop fighting!” Olive shouted from behind them. He held a small bag above his head. It was embroidered with the golden mark of the spring goddess Orkma, a crescent with a circle inside it.
“Do not–Do not touch that,” the raspy voice of the Tokaan implored.
“I won’t if you don’t touch my sister.” Olive glared with as much authority as an eight-year old pup could have.
The Tokaan stretched her arms out, palms up, on the floor. “Peace. Peace, Small one.”
Olive nodded, moving the bag to his hip. He turned his attention to Petal, “Are you alright?”
Petal didn’t answer at first. She waited for the Tokaan to lunge forward and attack. Yet that didn’t happen. The tenuous peace remained unbroken. The Tokaan stayed on her side, only shifting into a more comfortable seated position.
Petal turned to Olive, “Could you bring the waterskin and a rag?”
As Petal scrubbed the lingering drops from her skin, she studied the stranger. It was hard to tell by the light of the rain but the reptilian had yellow scales with black spots. The Tokaan hunched in on herself, clutching at her knees, eyes darting around in barely concealed panic. Petal stifled the growl building in her throat, focusing on the last stubborn bits stuck to her fur.
This stranger had no right to act so scared. They were the ones attacked in their sleep–not her.
They hadn’t been out long enough for the rain to truly burn them, but the spots would be tender and swollen for several days. Petal glanced at the huddled figure again. There were red patches sprinkled between the black spots. That rain needed to be wiped off, otherwise it would continue to eat away at the skin. Accepting another rag from Olive, Petal cursed her weak heart.
“Hey,” Petal barked. It was a neutral enough opening.
The Tokaan startled, head hitting the cave wall. Her big eyes stared into Petal’s soul.
Too aggressive. “Here,” Petal tried again with a softer tone. She tossed the rag and the waterskin on the ground between them. “Clean yourself up.”
The Tokaan fidgeted with her hand claws before scooting forward to grab the offered items. Now that they were no longer looming over the pup, Petal could see that the Tokaan’s hands ended in stubby claws. More for digging than slashing open veins. Her own claws were much sharper and retractable.
“What’s your name?” Olive asked after freely giving away their names to the stranger. His arms hugged one of Petal’s own. Whether this was nerves from the Tokaan or to keep Petal from getting up, she didn’t know.
The Tokaan stopped her examination of the liquid dripping from the waterskin. “I am called Persistance.” She lifted the green sludge covered rag towards them. “Why is desert dew in your waterskin?”
“To drink?” Olive replied in confusion.
“I have met no one else that drinks desert dew. The Glader’s secrete it for their tunnels that traverse the desert.”
“Gladers secrete it?” Petal cut in. Uncle Spot talked in length about the large, segmented beasts, yet nothing about secretions had ever been mentioned.
“Yes, yes. From their mouths.” Persistence confirmed, now sniffing the green sludge with wide unblinking eyes.
Nausea rose like a tidal wave. She dry-heaved. They had been drinking Glader spit–wait, no, it would be vomit which was undeniably worse – drinking Glader secretions for weeks. It took several long moments for Petal to get her body and mind back under control.
“We ran out of water and this didn’t hurt us,” Petal quietly admitted.
Persistence muttered something too low for Petal to catch and began cleaning the rain from her scales.
“You know how to leave the desert,” Olive cheerfully stated, ignoring the lingering tension.
Persistence nodded. “After you release my bag, I will tell you.”
“No-“ Petal shook Olive off and pointed a finger at the Tokaan- “No! You will get that bag back once we no longer see any sand. Not a moment before. Do we have a deal?”
The Tokaan’s lips curled, revealing blunt teeth. Her eyes darted between the Wolkins, the rain, and the bag.
“Do we have a deal?” Petal icily repeated. She didn’t recognize her own voice.
Persistence threw the rag and waterskin on the floor and then gave something barely a nod. With a low hiss, she laid on her side facing the cave wall. The last bit of desert dew spilled out onto Petal’s paws. Wasteful slug.
Olive fell asleep not long after, holding her hand. Only when the Tokaan’s breath evened out in deep sleep did Petal allow her own eyes to slip closed. Everything could surely wait for the dawn.
