★ YOU BELONG WITH ME ★
I'M GOING TO DIE!

          maliah had never been beyond the forest for to long. It was her home. She was born there and she planned to die there. But right now, at this very moment, she abandoned the thought. She wouldn't die in the forest, surrounded by trees and plants. She would die in the desert. In the barren, desolate, hot desert.

     She didn't like the desert. Well, she had only been traveling for a few days, and was otherwise always just at the border, but she could already say with a clear conscience that she couldn't stand this heat. And the sand! God, there was only sand far and wide. And it was so hot, warm grains kept sneaking into her shoes and disturbing her while walking.

     She would have taken off her sandals completely, but honestly she was afraid her feet would burn. Why did Tighnari have to send her on this mission? He knew that Maliah didn't like the desert. He knew she had an aversion to the strong sun and sand. And above all, he knew that she didn't like Cyno.

     "Sometimes we need to explore new things in order to grow ourselves."

     Tighnari had told her that. And honestly, that didn't lift her spirits one bit. No, that sentence completely upset her. She hated it when Tighnari came around with his wise sayings.

     "Besides, I can't think of anyone better for this mission than you."

     He only said that to cheer her up and because no one likes going into the desert. Tighnari simply took advantage of the fact that Maliah's mother came from the other side. She was born in the forest because her father came from the right side, but her mother was originally a desert child.

     If you looked closely at Maliah you could see that too. Her skin was darker than that of the forest watchers. But her eyes were light green and her temperament, well Tighnari always thought that she got it best by talking to the desert people. They weren't even that bad. Except Cyno. He was grumpy!

Her hair was chocolate brown, always half pinned up and had unevenly spaced green streaks. It was the same green her eyes and cloths had. You could say it was her favorite color. Plus it was practical. When she was on a mission in the forest, no one saw her coming straight away.

     But the biggest reason why he sent her on that mission was because it was about her twin. It was about her sister and according to Tighnari, Mailin would only come to her senses if Maliah talked to her. Maliah herself didn't believe that and she didn't really feel like talking to her sister. But she was danger. For the forest, for Sumeru, for the already tense peace between desert people and scholars.

     And all because the scholars treated the sand people like slaves. They treated them like they were worthless. As if they had no right to gain knowledge. Complete nonsense. No wonder the Sand People imagined that King Deshret was returning. The heat was probably also to blame.

     Maliah was convinced that King Deshret was not coming back. He was dead. He couldn't come back. It was just a figment of her sister's mind to gather people around her and get revenge. She had always been good at that! To convince others of their opinion.

     In the past she had always managed to persuade Maliah to do things. Because of her, she had been in trouble more often than she would have liked. But she was her sister, her twin, and Maliah had always found it difficult to disappoint people. Not doing what they asked you to do.

     »Your late.«

     His voice interrupted her thoughts of her sister. She had done it. Maliah had finally arrived and yet didn't die in the desert.

     As always, he had his arms crossed over his chest and looked at her grimly. Maybe it was just her. Maybe she talked too much for him. Maybe she was too cheerful for him. Because Tighnari, even Collei and Kaveh had said that he could definitely laugh. Mostly about his own jokes, but still. He hadn't even smiled in her presence.

     She would have preferred to search for her sister herself. But Maliah didn't know her way around the desert. It was dangerous to go alone. So she tried to smile when she saw him.

     »Yeah, it's also lovely to see you again Cyno.«

Candace laughed lightly. She stood next to him and was far more nicer then him. But that wasn't that hard. Nonetheless! Maliah liked Candace. She was always kind and always cared about others. She was really happy to see her. A friendly face.

»I'm glad you made it here healthy. Were there any difficulties?«

Well her main problem had probably been the sand and the heat, but Maliah was pretty sure that wasn't what Candace meant so she shook her head.

»You ready to go then?«

»Oh, how I feel after having to walk through the desert alone for three whole days? Brilliant, I don't feel thirsty or in pain at all. Thanks for asking, asshole!«

Well, she couldn't. She couldn't just nod and smile. And she certainly wouldn't be able to do that for the entire mission. Couldn't someone nice have accompanied her. Cyno had enough people he could have sent. Why did he have to accompany her personally?

Cyno snorted. »Didn't you just say your were fine.«

»It's about to get dark anyway. Maliah you can eat something, rest and you can be on your way tomorrow.« Candace gave Cyno a warning look. »You agree with me that it's safer to start this mission at daybreak.«

He didn't look thrilled. But he never looked enthusiastic so it was normal for him to just stand there and nod. And then he leaved them.

Maliah sighed. »Why can't you come with me, Candace?«

»Oh, Cyno is not that bad!« She put an arm around her shoulder and walked her into the house. »He knows the desert best, he will be able to look after you. And I also have a whole city here that I have to take care of.«

»I'm pretty sure he'll be more careful about making sure his clothes fit properly than looking after me.«

Candace started laughing. »You get used to him.«

But she didn't want that at all. Maliah didn't want to get used to Cyno. She didn't need someone grumpy who barely wanted to talk to her in her life. The only thing she wanted was to come back from the mission alive, back to her beloved forest.

»And maybe he will become more talkative.«

»I do not believe that. Every time I met him he barely looked at me and now I have to spend days and nights with him.«

Candace gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. »You quite negative, you know?« An amused snort escaped her lips. »Kinda like Cyno, maybe you to have more in common then you think.«

»Not funny, Candace!«

»A little bit.« She let go of her shoulder and pointed to the set table. »Now eat something and then go to sleep. I'll wake you up tomorrow morning so he can't complain that you're late.«

Maliah nodded. »Thanks.«

Utmost Care. It was made from flour, rice, glabrous beans and tomatoes. And Maliah gobbled down two portions right after finishing a plate of Duel Soul. That was probably the only thing Maliah liked about the desert, the food. She ate some more fruit for dessert, drank a whole jug of water and then went to sleep.

Maliah fell asleep quickly. And she slept well. Even though she had a mission with Cyno ahead of her and had to hike through the desert, which she didn't was found of, she slept like a little baby.

It wasn't until Candace knocked on her door early in the morning that she woke up.

»Good morning, sleepyhead,« She said softly. It was nice to be woken up quietly. Collei was always very loud early in the morning and really excited about her new tasks. Which was really cute, but also very tiring.

»Did you sleep well?«

Maliah yawned. She stretched her arms and sat upright. »Surprisingly good.«

»So you ready for your mission, good.« Candace walked towards the chair where Maliah had placed her little leaf jerk. She packed her some fruit and a rolled up card. »Cyno said he didn't need one, but I feel better knowing you have one. Just for plight situations.«

Maliah nodded. »Don't worry, I won't tell him.« She moved forward and sat on the edge of the bed. Her legs still hurt a little, but it would be okay. »I'll hardly talk to him anyway.«

»Did i her a little sadness in your voice?«

»No! I just don't know what's his fucking problem is with me.« Maliah crossed her arms »Everyone likes me, I'm a really nice person.«

»I'm sure he knows that.«

»And I don't understand, if he thinks I'm so horrible, why doesn't he send someone else to accompany me, hu?«

Candace tilted her head to the side. A smile lay on her lips. »You've thought a lot about him.«

»Of course! In the worst case scenario, I'll have to spend weeks with him!«

»You'll manage it.«

Maliah doubted that. Honest! She couldn't deal with bad-tempered, quiet people. And she didn't even want to try. She liked open people. With whom she immediately got along well. People who were happy. Who had a happy personality.

»Maybe he wanted to accompany you.«

Maliah immediately started laughing. She couldn't help it. This assumption was so absurd. He never talked to her, but wanted to accompany her through the desert for weeks? That didn't make any sense.

»What's so funny? Cyno is a complicated man. You don't know what's going on in his mind.«

»And I don't even want to know that.«

Okay, well maybe that wasn't entirely true. She wanted to know why he barely spoke to her and acted like she was the worst person on earth. So she kind of wanted to know what was going on in his head, he just had no reason to hate her. And yes, it bothered her that he wanted to accompany her despite the silence and the annoyed looks.

Like she said, it didn't make sense in her eyes. And she would have liked to have told him that yesterday, but hey then she wouldn't have any reason to talk to him at some point on her mission.

»If you say so.« Candace walked over to the door. »I'll wait downstairs and hurry up, unless you don't mind his stern look.«

Maliah really didn't like his stern look or his snorting, so she really tried to hurry up. She pinned up half of her hair and slipped into her clothes so quickly that she stumbled as she put on her sandals. She quickly grabbed her quiver of arrows, tied it around her and grabbed her bow. Did she have everything now? No! The backpack! Maliah swung it onto her back and quickly scurried down the stairs.

Of course he was already there. He stood leaning in the doorway and immediately looked at her when she frantically stopped in front of him.

»Again, your late.«

»Oh, cmon these sandals are really hard to tie!«

A laugh came from the corner. Candace. She was still there too. »I hope you both have an easy trip.« She placed her hand on Maliah's shoulder. »Good luck.«

»Then let's go,« Cyno said, handing Maliah a water bottle and lavender melon. Was that her breakfast? He didn't say anything more about it. He turned around, pushed open the door and marched out.

Candace snorted in amusement. »See he looks after you.«

She rolled her eyes. »Oh shut up.« And then she ran after him. He was almost at the city gate. Did he even notice that she didn't immediately run after her? He looks after you. Yeah, he dosen't.

Sighing, she slumped her shoulders. These would be great days and nights. Maliah opened the bottle and took a long drink before following him. It probably would have been better if there had been alcohol instead of water. Because then maybe she would have put up with him.

But for now, the lavender melon was enough.