Forums » General Roleplay » Sandy travels (open)

Sandy frowns, and runs after him. ''Does ne usually do this?''

"No, never!" Murat said to Cassandra. "Jasafar, stop!" He kicked the camel with his right heel and then smacked the neck. But Jasafar didn't stop.

And then on the horizon, Murat saw what was likely the cause of Jasafar's sudden run. A haze was rising from the ground. A sandstorm? It couldn't be.

"I think we've got a sandstorm coming in. Jasafar isn't going to stop until we find shelter." Which could be two miles from now, or two hundred miles from now.

Sandra nods, and flaps her wings. ''I jate sandstorms!'' She hissed, now above the ground, paniced.

"You're not the only one." He fastened the burnoose tighter around his face, bracing himself for when the sand struck.

Jasafar angled east at a canter, Murat holding on for dear life. And then he saw what could be shelter.

"Cassandra! There are some buildings that way." They strode into shelter just as the sandstorm caught up to them.

Sandra darts into the shelter, hoping she made it inside, blinded by the sand.

Murat tapped Jasafar with his heels again and the camel knelt down to let him off. It served them well as it got them both out of the immediate sandstorm. He kept his burnoose tight against his mouth and still inhaled sand.

Coughing, he hunkered down, waiting until the storm passed and hoping it wouldn't last long before daring to make conversation.

Sandra made it inside, but curled up tightly, tucking her wings in. She knew a sandstorm was deadly, even to a feline like her. Common storms were rough, and often struck when least expected. She stayed curled up, barely visible, almost colored like the sand itself.

At last, the sandstorm subsided. Murat waited to make sure it wasn't going to return before standing up and dumping a good six inches of sand off him. Even in the shelter, sand got everywhere.

Jasafar blinked at Murat but remained where he lay. He wasn't budging anytime soon--particularly after that run while carrying Murat and his weapons. Murat gasped suddenly. "My shield!"

It was scratched and dusty, the vibrant red and blue colors dulled by the sand. He scratched at it with a cloth and then stopped. It would take hours to get it back to its proper shine.

"Oh well; I wonder where we are? I don't remember there being a shelter or a town's remnants around here."

Sandra urked, buried under the sand and unable to budge. ''Mrrr!''

Murat looked around and realized he'd mistaken a pile of sand for Cassandra. "Cassandra?" He called and then began to dig down.

It was Jasafar who located her, though. And the camel spit at the spot where she was. Murat dug down and found fur. "Cassandra, you okay?"

''Mrr!'' She said, flailing her wings. 'AAIRR!!!''

Murat dug her out the rest of the way, shaking his head. "You should always move around some so the sand doesn't settle down and suffocate you. Are you okay now?"

''Yes...I just hate these storms because my wings get stuck. Are you ok too?''

"Oh! Right, your wings." He gently looked them over, brushing off what sand he could find. "I'm fine; just inhaled some sand. Not as bad as my first sandstorm though. You fared better than I did."

He clucked to Jasafar, but the camel merely looked at him. Murat sighed. "Jasafar seems to be pretty stationary for now."

''I bet the storm scared him. It's pretty rare for that kind to pass by here that fast!''

"I suppose," Murat ventured to agree. Although truth be told he'd been scared by the storm's sudden entrance and exit. "I hope anyone else caught in that storm was able to find shelter."

He rummaged through his pack. "Well, since we're staying here for now, I might as well look around and see what was here. You want to come explore with me, Cassandra?"

''Sure!'' She exclaimed, cheeryful, tail wagging.

Murat unfastened the javelin from Jasafar's side and smiled at Cassandra. "Excellent; let's head out. Jasafar--waggif."

He kept the javelin pointed down at the sand, but he'd brought it as much for a weapon as for something to hunt with. Unfortunately the sandstorm had all but wiped out any chances of him finding food or a threat.

"Seems pretty barren to me," he muttered, when they came across a second shelter similar to the one they had stayed at.

''I bet this place is a buried city. The shelters were built here to hide in for a storm. The city could be buried deeply underneath our feet as we talk. Right?''

Murat looked down and then scuffed his sandal-clad foot across the sand. "If there's a city under there, we'd never know it by looking. At least the shelters remained standing."

Jasafar flicked his ears around, listening for movement while he lay next to the shelter.