When the love is lost [Rita, Kasim, Highlanders]

[nharo]

The Highlanders' skyline was slowly become clearer in the distance. It was a way off, although. The land was flat here and scenery around them was beautiful. This was quite different from the Badlands. Also different from the Badlands was the weather. Normally, Badlanders subjected themselves to the gloomy, cool weather. Here, it was drastically dry. The sun blazed down on his young, dark coat and made sweat gather.

His paws were beginning to ache now.

He was sure Rita fared no better, slapping his back with her hot fur. Her injuries were relatively severe and she worried him. Kasim was most likely exhausted, but it was Nharo who would be feeling the pain tomorrow morning. Now, it was midday.

They had been traveling for almost three sunrises now. Conversation was small and mostly related to survival. Every now and again one might make a tiny comment, but silence was the main play-list of the trip. This gave him almost too much time for thinking. He mostly thought up the major and minor details to the Master Plan, but every once and a while his mind would wander to subjects such as his relationship with Rita. He refused to dwell on this for long and would soon refocus himself.

The last time they had stopped was when the sun was 1/4 of the way across the sky. He dubbed 1/2 of the way a worthy time for a break.

"How 'bout a pit-stop?" he croaked, his voice cracking from lack of use. "Maybe some small game?" They might be able to catch some meerkats that dwindled around their encampment too long, or some birds if they tried. Anything much larger would cost too much energy and wouldn't go unnoticed by Highlanders.

[Kasim]

Kasim's breath was coming in pants, due to their journey across the many territories to get to the Highlands. He noticed the original dryness of the lands as they approached, much different than their own homeland. Then a change began. The deeper they got, the harder it was to see. Fog began to cover the lands, even on the highest hills. They still had a decent amount of visibility though when Nharo paused. Thank the Kings. My feet are throbbing, Kasim thought silently.

He turned to eye his brother wearily, waiting to hear more details about their 'suicide mission', but was pleasantly surprised when Nharo mentioned grabbing a bite to eat. "Food would be much appreciated. I'm starving.[/color]" As if to confirm this fact, his stomach growled, loud enough for Nharo and Rita to hear, if she was still conscious. He plopped back on his haunches, glad to relieve his feet of the weight of his growing body. Food would give them the energy they needed to keep going. He nodded at Nharo, agreeing that small game would be their best bet.

He looked around, his red-orange eyes searching the terrain around them. He heard the tweeting of birds in the distance, but was too tired to get on his feet and search for them. A sigh escaped him.[/size]