★ YOU BELONG WITH ME ★
SAND, HEAT AND MORE
SAND AND HEAT

cyno was quick on foot. He had no problem walking through the sand, after all, he did it every day, and that annoyed Maliah. It annoyed her that he didn't slow down for her. That he didn't even look at her. Didn't wait for her and walked ahead silently. What was he planning to do? To walk through day and night. So he didn't have to spend too much time with her? He could forget that! Maliah would definitely need her sleep. And water. She needed more water.

     She had no idea if Cyno had any more water, but she didn't want to ask him. She wasn't interested in his snorting, mumbling and eye rolling. She could do without that.

     So she followed him in silence. She had no idea how long they had been traveling. Maliah had lost track of time. There was just sand everywhere. Sandhills, sandstorms, sandquakes. There were grains of sand in her sandals, even in her hair and she was also quite sure that grains had sneaked under her clothes.

     The sun was high in the sky, made the sand burn beneath her feet. It was hot, way too hot. The sun hadn't moved at all since they started walking. Of course, Maliah knew that the sun had to set at some point, night had to fall at some point, but somehow the days felt longer here.

     This was certainly because of the heat, which, unlike in the forest, was impossible to escape. The heat made the hours longer and made every action more strenuous, so that one thought this hell would never end. Well, or Maliah just wasn't used to it.

     They walked through the flat sand for a while longer, which was incredibly tiring for Maliah, but she still kept her mouth shut. It probably wouldn't be smart to discuss things with Cyno on the first day. But when he wanted to go up a second hill, she had enough. She stopped abruptly.

     »Okay listen.« She gasped for air. It wasn't that she wasn't used to traveling long distances, but the heat was incredibly difficult for her. »I know you don't care and you could probably keep running at this pace for hours, but I can't take it anymore.«

     Surprisingly, he stopped and turned to her.

     »I'm tired, my feet hurt and if this mission is going to work then I need a break now.«

     He dosen't reply.

     »Well, aren't you going to say anything?« She tilted her head to the side. »You can't just not talk to me the whole mission.«

     »I didn't think you'd walk this long anyway.« Seriously? Why was he so sarcastic and mean. Couldn't he have just nodded and shown understanding? »Come on, around the corner is a cave where you can sleep.«

     »Don't you have to sleep?« He didn't say anything. He just walked forward again. He ran so fast, she couldn't even ask him how far away this cave was. Maliah snorted and tried to catch up with him. »I believe that even General Mahamatra needs to sleep and have sweet dreams.«

     He glanced at her when he noticed she was walking right next to him. »Someone has to keep watch.«

     True. But they could still take turns. Maliah was perfectly capable of keeping watch. She was a master at thinking about so many things, worrying about so many things that she couldn't sleep anymore anyway.

     »We can take turns,« said Maliah. At most she wanted to try to communicate with him. »And if you really want to, you can start. It'll be fun for you to wake me up in the middle of the night knowing that you can now sleep yourself.«

     She really thought a mirage appeared before her. She thought she would rather see the stars falling from the sky than see a small smile from Cyno. He didn't say anything about her comment, but his smile was enough for her. She even felt really good because she managed to get Mister Grumpy to smile.

     The cave really wasn't far away, it was at the bottom of the sand hill. It was just a small cave. It didn't go in deep. And no one was already inside. No people and no animals.

     Cyno collected the sticks lying around and built a small fire with them. He leaned against the wall of the cave.

     »Are you out of your mind!« Maliah wanted to crush the small fire with her feet when he almost jumped forward and grabbed her arm. »It feels like a hundred degrees and you start a fire!«

     »When the sun goes down it gets cold,« he said. »You can thank me later.«

     Maliah raised her brow. »Cold? It's getting cold in the desert?«

     Snorting, he let go of her arm and leaned back again. He didn't answer the question. He just stared silently into the celebration. Friendly. So everyone imagined their companion on an almost personal mission.

     »Seriously, is it really getting cold? Because it's unbearably warm and I just can't imagine the sun setting at all,« she continued talking. »It doesn't get so cold that I need a blanket, does it? I've never been to Dragonspine, but it looks very cold there, it doesn't get that cold here, does it? I don't have a thick coat or boots with me.«

     »Are you finish now?«

     »I don't have my earmuffs with me either, oh or my cozy socks! I get cold feet pretty quickly, you know. And if I had known all this beforehand, I would have packed some elixirs to combat the cold. Now I am finish.«

     Cyno rolled his eyes. »Your will be fine without those things.«

     »Wow, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me.«

     Without batting an eye, how could a person suppress his emotions so much? Hide all the emotions you could have? »Sleep now, I'll wake you later.«

     Maliah lay down on the not really comfortable ground and turned to face the wall. Her back was warmed by the small fire and Cyno had been right, it was getting cold. As soon as the sun went down and a dark shadow fell over the desert, it become very frigid.

     She didn't sleep as well as she did in the city, in the bed Candace had given her. But it wasn't horrible either. It was okay under these circumstances.

     At some point in the middle of the night someone gently shook her shoulder. She wasn't frightened, she hadn't really slept soundly the whole time. She had been awake for a few minutes every now and then. Accordingly, she had no problem opening her eyes. Cyno crouched in front of her and looked at her, as always, with that emotionless face.

     »Your sure you don't wanna continue sleeping?«, he asked.

     Did she look so tired? Or had he noticed that she kept waking up?

     »Nonono! I'm ready for my shift.« She threw off the thin blanket. Wait. She had a blanket? Where did she suddenly get a blanket from? That's why, at some point during the night, she was no longer so extremely cold.

     »You sure? I can stay awake for a few more hours.«

     What on earth was going on? Maliah sat up straight and looked at him skeptically. »Why are you suddenly so nice?«

     »Well, Candace would probably kill me if something happened to you. And if you don't get enough sleep, a lot of things could happen.«

     »I'm well rested. I'm perfectly fine, I'm the best guard you've ever seen!«

     It wasn't really the truth. She was tired. Everything in the desert bothered her. But she didn't want to appear weak in front of Cyno. She didn't want to give him another reason to roll his eyes. Or to snort.

     She grinned. »So have sweet dreams, Mister Grumpy!«

     Maliah pushed the blanket into his hands and sat down in front of the entrance to the cave. It was cold. It was really cold with no sun and no blanket. Another reason not to like the desert. You sweat during the day and freeze to death at night. That dosen't made sense.

     There was also a small sandstorm blowing outside the cave. Flying sand at night and day. Great. A few grains flew in her direction every now and then and Maliah had to fish grains of sand out of her eyes more than once.

     And then suddenly he put the blanket over her shoulders. «I'm used to the weather, you're not.«

     »You're telling me you're not cold in these clothes?« Because she couldn't believe him. His entire upper body was naked.

     »Don't argue with me, just take the blanket.«

     It was the only thing Cyno said before he went back to the fire and slept. Maliah had no idea if he was really asleep, she had a feeling he didn't trust her. That he didn't believe she could stay awake on her own. But she also didn't want to keep looking at him while he was asleep or not.

     So Maliah turned away from him. She snuggled up in the blanket and watched the flying grains of sand.