Illusional Pollutants

[Ashla]

Closed to BlackandBlueEyes.

Fallien's heat was causing him to sweat in his sleep... without the help of the medium haired cat laying on his chest. On top a mat, the boy's brown, curled hair was run through with sweat. He wanted to get up and reach the bottle of water set on top a table at the other end of the room, but he had a cat sleeping on him. So, Julius Tabor decided to relax in the quiet of his tent. The sound of people running around outside, members of the group P.A.L.E. running along for their breakfast rations, caused Julius to smile. The love of his life, Ashla Icebreaker, had scored big last night when a rich inn owner repaid her warriors' victory over an invading bandit army with enough food to last over a month. Just when supplies were running low, Ashla's decision to aid the man gave them strength. This would be the first time everyone would run on full stomachs since leaving Raiaera. Julius was quite proud of his girl.

Julius laid down until the tent's flaps parted. Julius opened his brown eyes to see Ashla enter the room. The black haired beauty let out a harmonic chuckle when she saw her cat Fireleaf curled up on top her boyfriend. Julius glared at her, "Get this feline off me..."

Ashla smiled and walked over to the neat, smooth sleeping mat. "I remember how restless you were in your sleep. Always tossing and turning, lashing out..." Ashla bent down and scooped up the cat, "Now, Julius... it's like you're a different person."

Julius got up and started to stretch. It was true, he was different than he was a year ago. He used to be a reckless, unstable wreck. Now though, he was a composed, orderly young man. He got up, running his hands through his hair. He looked over to Ashla, "Where's Hanuh?"

Ashla was still cradling the tabby, "Daisuke is feeding her in the mess hall. Her first time eating crushed carrots!"

Julius chuckled, sharing her excitement. Hanuh was their child, a blond who shared the hyperness her mother used to have. She was now moving on from milk to soft foods. Daisuke, a wise man in his forties, always had the young family's backs. Julius was thankful for him.

Julius nodded, "Well, I'll grab breakfast and head on out with the morning patrol. Who's on today?"

"Ashla put her cat, Fireleaf, down on the mat and the two walked out. The sandy world outside the caramel tent was bustling with life. Members of Ashla's group ran back and forth between tents completing various tasks. Julius reflected on how some would would be on his patrol.

Ashla brightly listed off the names for him, "Aidrium, Synthia, Yarnhollow, and Bob."

Julius nodded, "Better hope Bob doesn't get separated from us again..."

The two chuckled as they entered the mess hall, hand in hand.


~~~

After a full meal, Julius said a cheerful goodbye to Ashla, Daisuke, and Hanuh and walked over to his patrol, "Aid, what areas are we patrolling?"

Aidrium, a handsome blond elf dressed in red leather, laid out the plan. "We're scanning the mountain edge. Not only for danger in any invading parties, but for any unstable weather up there."

"Let's be careful," Synthia, a battle hardened redheaded added, "There's been rumors of harpies in those mountains."

The wind blew a chilly breeze in the scorching desert heat. Julius wiped his brow before announcing, "Let's go."

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

The one thing I never liked about Fallien was the heat.

Forget the xenophobia that runs rampant throughout its populace. Forget the endless miles of nothing but sand. Forget about the horrid, violent creatures that call the Zaileya Mountains home. Forget about the oppressive laws that keep outsiders less crafty than myself confined to one tiny area of the island.

It's the gods-damned heat. The sun bearing down overhead, seeming just a bit closer, shining just a bit brighter.

There's no shade anywhere in blasted desert, even in the mountains I currently find myself in. I mean, sure; I could find myself a nice cave to hole up in during the daylight hours--of which there were more than I would like, mind you--but then I'd be opening myself up to the horrible creatures that lurk within its depths. Things not documented. Things that I did not come to this blasted hellhole to find. And so, I find myself toiling around in the heat, alone.

It's hot, it's too bright out, there's no wind, and no number of enchantments on my clothes to regulate my body temperature or on my water skein to refill it when its emptied can make this experience any more bearable.

Not to mention, that last one brings with it another list of problems that I dare not repeat.

Oh, and I think I'm getting a sun burn, too.

This sucks. I'm starting to think that those laws to keep outsiders out are more out of mercy than anything else.

So why am I here? Experiments, of course. For all the terrible things that Fallien has crawling around its dunes, some of them interest me greatly. Specifically, the harpies. I've been looking for ways to expand on the Briarbane parasite and the potential forms it can take once it consumes its host. While I'm very happy with the outcomes of my experiments on the Dur'Taigen, I've always been of the belief that progress should never stop after your first success.

And so, here I am; miserable as hell, sweating my ass off, tired, burned, thirsty, in need of shade and sleep, probably wanted by Jya's Keep for managing to make my way outside of Irrakam's walls, and hunting down several hundred pounds of death with wings.

I swear--the things I do for science.

[Ashla]

The sandy mountains were kicking up dust clouds due to the winds. The patrol had split up into two groups to quicken the pace. Eventually, the groups met up at their rally point. Julius came in thinking of how boring this place was so far. He could of handled a little more excitement.

As the two teams reunited, Julius noticed that Bob was missing, Now, where is he?

The identical twins, Baffled and Confused, shrugged, "We never noticed him missing..."

Aidreium facepalmed, "Great..."

Julius placed his hand on the hilt of his one edged sword, made of black Eiskaltian metal. "You all go ahead, I'll find him."

Aidreium frowned, "You're going by yourself?"

Julius nodded, "Indeed. I can take care of myself, I've lived here for several years."

The others looked at each other, then started ahead.

Julius raised his hand to his lips and shouted above the winds, "You're in charge, Synthia!"

Synthia nodded in understanding. Julius stuck his thumb up before heading out.

The mountains were harder to climb going up. Julius had to remove his chain gloves - and accidentally drop them into the alibi below - to get a good grip on the dark red stones. Eventually, he made it to the top of a cliff. Several desert weeds were popping up, but nothing was there to see. Julius sat down, looking over the view. He needed a rest.

After munching on some jerky, the brown haired boy stood up and set out again. He heard some kind of bird sing from the rocks above. He continued on in the raged trail, trying to make sure he wouldn't fall. He was tempted to throw his shirt and chainmail off in the heat, but he didn't. The young man took a moment, perched above a heap of stones smack in the middle of a cliffside, to wipe the sweat on his brow... and noticed something below...

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

The climb up the mountain had been an arduous one, taking longer than I anticipated. The path leading up to the caves where the harpies were nesting snaked its way around towering rocks and thick patches of desert flora. I was most of the way up to the caves when I decided to take a break at the foot of a cliff.

The hanging rock provided me with a little bit of shade as I took a seat on a low, wide stone. Wiping the sweat off my brow on the back of my briar-knit arm, I rummaged through my satchel for my water skein. I quickly ripped the top off of it and guzzled the cool water down. The chill offered me a little respite in the hot desert heat, but not much.

I replaced the top and set it down on the rock next to me. Leaning forward, my gaze drifted up towards the endless expanse of sun-soaked sand dunes and rocky foothills that were before me, shades of brown and gold blending into one another as far as the eye could see.

Rather boring, to be honest with you.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips. This whole trip was starting to become more trouble than it was worth. Every minute that passed found me adding more points to the list of reasons why I should just abandon this little quest. But, every time I think about turning around and just going home to make something evolve wings and fly, I remember my previous experiments in that venture and their disastrous results.

...Those poor cats.

With another, heavier sigh, I decided that it was time to move again. The harpies were far more active at night, and I was burning away precious time catching my breath in the shade of the cliff. Thick vines sprouted from my wrists and dug themselves into the rocky dirt of the mountainside. A sharp pain traveled up my arm as I pushed them into the hot earth, causing me to bite my lip as I tried hard to push it out of my mind. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes to focus.

The sensation of every living creature within the area filled my mind, clouding my thoughts as I adjusted to this odd but incredibly useful second sight I've developed. I could pinpoint the location of every reptile, beast, and insect within miles, and track their movements. But I was looking for something in particular--

I allowed my mind to travel up the mountain, searching for the caves where the harpies called home. I looked around everywhere, trying to find those elusive woman bird death mutants. I searched every crack and crevice I could find, and coming up short.

Perhaps I had the wrong mountain. Perhaps my timing was off, and they had stepped out for a bite to eat.

That's when I noticed it--the unique imprint of something that should not have been here with me. A human, male by his unique pulse, standing at the top of the cliff behind me.

How incredibly odd. There shouldn't be anyone else out here. Not with all the danger and the measures put in place by the Fallieni to protect people from it.

I didn't even bother to look up to face him. "I know you're up there. Something I can help you with?" I called out.

[Ashla]

Julius' eyes widened when the person below noted he was there. Julius pulled himself on top of the rock he had hidden behind. As the wind blew his curly hair, he smirked. Why not jab a joke or two, "Looking for a hidden treasure of cupcakes and chocolate. Maybe apple cider too..."

The young man started to climb down from the rocks. Several feet above he jumped off, causing a small cloud of sand to cover his brown boots. He slapped his bare hands together, not quite sure who this strange person was, "Nah. In reality, I'm looking for a lost member of my squad."

He narrowed his eyes, this black haired woman did not look well. Julius bit his lip, deciding to proceed with caution, "What are you doing here?" He lifted his hand and tapped the leather sheath to his Eiskaltian blade, "Would you happen to have met some random guy named Bob?"

Another gust of wind caused his shoulder length hair to blow again. The wind also revealed his steel chainmail beneath a loose, navy shirt. He crossed his arms, trying to get a good look at the mystery woman, hidden under the growing shadows. For some reason, once he hit the ground, he felt something off about her... but what?

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

I regarded the young man with nothing more than mild disinterest as he made his way down the slope towards me; mild disinterest that quickly soured into mild annoyance as he cracked what I assume was supposed to be a joke.

I rolled my eyes as the smirk grew across his face. "What I'm doing here is, quite frankly, none of your business." I kept an ear out for any sudden flapping of wings and shrill cries that would accompany them. Now would be a most inopportune time for the harpies I was hunting down to show their beaked faces.

"And as for your friend or whatever...? I'm the only one on this mountain right now," I added with a shrug of my shoulders. Taking a step out of the shadow of the cliff overhead, the light of the afternoon sun showed the intruder why that it was probably for the best. The green tangle of vines that constituted my arms greedily drank in the rays, their warmth welcome and reinvigorating. I kept a watchful eye on the boy's hand, close as it was to the leather-wrapped hilt of his weapon. Slowly, I circled around him, wary of any sudden movements he might make. He clearly was wary of me, as he rightfully should be. But that didn't give me cause to underestimate him either.

My ears perked as a noise echoed across the mountainside. It was the piercing call of one of the native birds, but not one of the creatures I had been searching for. I relaxed a little bit as I continued my slow circle.

"So no, I have not seen this Bob you are searching for. But I highly recommend that you keep on moving." I narrowed my steely gaze at the young man. "You never know what dangerous things you might encounter here if you linger long enough."