Desert Run

[Deimos]

Glade 86, 4622

With his golem in the sidecar of his two-wheeled chariot, Deimos rode across the dunes of the Badlands in search of water. It had been a long and hot day, just like all days in this desert, and he was starting to feel its effects. He felt dizzy and his skin was getting rough. He licked his lips to moisten them, but it proved to be ineffective. This was going to be a long ride.

It then occurred to him that certain areas in this desert had access to water. The only downside being they were controlled by the various gangs that made this place even more dangerous than it already was. While Deimos did understand the primal need to be in a tribe, the fact these "tribes" fought each other so much in a land teeming with other dangers baffled him. Why not put differences aside and protect your people instead of bringing them to other territories to die? For more territory? For what purpose? It just didn't make sense.

He sighed heavily as his thoughts wandered before he remembered his initial problem: water. Water! In the desert! He slammed his head on his handlebars as his absent-mindedness came to him. He immediately regretted it, rubbing his forehead from the pain. He pulled over and adjusted his vision before continuing. If he was to find where one of these wells was, he needed to know where he is and not ride while he gave himself a pained forehead.

Deimos looked to the sky to see if he could determine the time of day, therefore the direction he must go to find one of these wells. The sun was high, but not directly overhead, so he knew it was at least the fourteenth hour. Excellent, he must head east to reach some semblance of civilization, and therefore, a well.

It was difficult to keep quiet on his chariot once he spotted the pillars of repurposed steel that marked a silo. He didn't want to attract the attention of whoever "owned" this section of sand and be in an unnecessary fight. After all, he only had a small crossbow and these gangs were rumored to have guns. They could draw much faster and Deimos knew he'd be on the losing end. Still, he tried to keep to the east of the buildings to stay in the shadows so he could fill his waterskin from any nearby tap.

[Miki]

¤

Miki spit out her cigarette and snuffed it with the heel of her boot. She was here on the outskirts guarding a water silo for some work for the Pyrerazers. You see, knowing your enemy was half the battle and how would she sway any stranger's minds? Which meant doing boring guard tasks for their slim pickens in the desert. Her chariot was nearby and at first she couldn't hear the interloper coming near. No, instead she stood in the sand and looked up at the stars, counting and counting again waiting for the light of her home constellation to come out. In truth she had been doing this the whole time. After last season's interruption with family matters and bringing people into her circle, something had snapped. She realized that the stars are in fact timeless and who knows when they hold each moment on their surface? She could not calculate, hoping she existed there in that sun still. Sometime, somewhere, things were better than this and she knew while it was her past maybe it could also be her future.

Fleeting and whimsical thoughts were rudely disturbed by the roar of a hog. Someone had ridden on their chariot right to her doorstep, caught reminiscing with no gun in her hand. Instead she opted to sneak behind the silo away from where the man was headed. It would give her enough time to grab her rifle from her chariot so she sprinted from the silo to her gun. The sprint had left her momentarily breathless as she slugged back some water before grabbing her rifle. Sneaking back around she found a vantage point and pointedly missed a wide shot at the intruder's feet.
"That would be far enough."
Miki called, her horns and long tail would be plainly seen, though her eyes are obscured by the small circular sunglasses she wears. On her person she is wearing her white shirt, black travel leather pants, boots, and spiked leather jacket. Down the sight of the gun she aimed at him through her sunglasses. There were others here but they had left sometime ago to get food from a local meat vendor. They would be back soon. They might have even heard the sound of the rifle shot. Hopefully this guy couldn't say the same for any... friends.
"You uh, looking for someone or just going to stand there?"
Miki didn't budge, but waited for his response. She didn't want to kill him, the odds of him firing back were just as good. Not to mention it was one man, he could be a Pyrerazer, he had that look about him. But who knew, he may just be trying to steal and could land her a few more bucks in her pocket.

[Deimos]

So far so good. There didn't seem to be anybody around. He should have been suspicious, but he was too dehydrated to think twice. He lifted his goggles over his bandana in order to see better, as they were extremely scratched from the winds and sand. He would need to replace the lenses soon. Or at least polish these ones. He liked the purple hue. It made the desert look a little more like home, and he missed the ocean.

He was lost in his thoughts between home and getting drinkable water that he didn't notice the woman just over the other dune. Just then, she fired her warning shot.

"That would be far enough!"

Deimos lept back with an awkward high-pitched yelp of surprise as the bullet kicked sand up at him. As he tried to draw his hand crossbow in self-defense, he lost his footing and fell back on his rear. Even with a few years on dry land, this sand gave way to his feet much easier than he anticipated. It always surprised him, and now he was prone to a woman looking down her barrel at him. Slowly, he raised his hands, one still holding his waterskin, surrendering.

"You uh, looking for someone or just going to stand there?" At least she gave him the dignity of pretending he was still standing. Still, his darkened teal skin reddened with embarrassment.

"Συγνώμη!" No, that wasn't the language.

He tried again. "Sygnómi!"

Fuck!

"Ah...apologies!" There it was! He thought to himself that he needed to talk to more than just his golem to practice the "common" tongue. It's not like the dog could respond. Not yet anyway. "Water, yeah? You share? I give...ah..." He thought of something to trade, but looking around and back to his chariot he realized he didn't have anything of value. His equipment was primitive, his skills were lackluster at best, and he was just a scavenger with rusted parts and gears.

It was then he realized he did have something. "I give fix?" Deimos shook his head, long deep-green braided locks swaying as he did. He needed to speak this language properly if he was to be taken seriously and not be killed. Once again, he spoke. "I fix things." He gave a small smirk, mostly his nerves riling him up. "Maybe your sight is off? Do you need it recalibrated?" Another immediate reaction of regretting his words. He thought maybe his humor wouldn't translate well once he finished speaking.

He winced and lowered his head, bracing himself for the bullet that would enter his brain.

[Miki]

¤

Miki had in fact missed the man's fall to the ground, she instead had her sight pointed behind him to look for any signs of kicked up dust on the ground behind him. Signs of trouble, any compatriots the man may have. It took a few moments, then the man started speaking in tongues. Winding her gun back to him she pointed straight to his head from afar. She had met few orkhai besides Izul and found the man's green skin unimpressive. Finally he managed to blurt out an apology. Miki's eyebrow twitched and her tail swished behind her.
"You think I will allow you to use a tap? Are you a Pyerazer? I don't think I've seen ya around these parts before."

That was when he started talking about a fix, which Miki's first impression was some kind of drug use until he cracked a dry, poorly spoken joke about fixing the sight on her gun. That was enough for her to deduce he must be some kind of foreigner, but what did she care? Making to cock her rifle she stopped short when he bowed his head in shame.
"Listen, you got the Madness? I know you aren't a Pyerazer. Why aren't you talking right and why can't you understand this is Pyerazer land, not free for anyone to take."
Miki then unloaded the chamber in her gun and rested the strap of it on her shoulder, slinging the rifle onto her back. She walked up to him.
"Well, I'll do you one favor. It's a nice hot day today so anything you spill will dry up fast, but you spill too much or make a mess and I'm butting you with the gun-- in other words you will need to leave. Fair deal?"
There was no smile behind her words yet they were honest and true. She walked over to a spicket where he could pump water into any flask or container he had. The earth below was bone dry, it hadn't been used in awhile.
"You may want to push hard, it's old and difficult to use."

Miki kept an eye on the horizon still and her ears were perked for any sounds of chariots in the Wastes. Something told her all was not as it seemed yet she couldn't decide what about him put her off, surely he wasn't that naïve was he? The strange manner of speaking was off putting as well.
"I'll tell ya what. My name is Miki. What's yours? We don't have long to talk, the gang members will be back soon. In truth, I'm just a merc, they hired me to stand here so they could go fuck around. But that doesn't answer my real question, what brings you here?"

[Deimos]

The click of the gun made Deimos flinch until he realized the woman took the shells out of her gun. At least, they were removed from her rifle for now. He tried not to make any quick motions as he stood, hands still up in surrender with his waterskin in one of them. "I m-meant no offense," he managed to stutter, the language coming easier to him though heavily accented. "But...thank you."

As the woman led Deimos to the tap, he noticed her tail and stared in confusion and fascination. He had never seen a person like this one before. What was she? She gave him the instructions to the tap and he quickly averted his gaze and nodded. "Y-yeah, of course. And to answer your questions before, I don't have this 'madness,' I don't think. What are the signs? Is it something special to this desert? Is it because of my speech? I don't have anyone to speak to, yeah? So I made Chalkós over there." He motioned toward his chariot and then looked embarrassed again as his teal skin darkened. "I mean, it doesn't talk back. Not yet anyway. But it's something--"

He continued to ramble about his creation and how using his native tongue made him briefly forget the more common speech as he filled his waterskin until the woman seemed annoyed and introduced herself. He turned off the tap, then closed his waterskin as he spoke, eyes never quite meeting hers. "Deimos," he answered in kind, giving her a short bow of what seemed like respect. "I've been wandering around mostly, yeah? I heard this place was good supply for scraps to practice my...uh..." He scrambled for the word he learned in Grisic. "...ar-arti... artifice? Is that how it's pronounced? I've been doing it for a while, but only on my own. I found some books, though--" And his rambling continued. As he spoke of his tinkering, his trail of thought went to the more magical aspects of it, which brought him to the formulas he read and tested, bringing him to his notebook which he stored in his golem, Chalkós.

And how he made the golem dog, using materials he found in the desert. It was clear this man had not spoken to anyone living in quite a long time. He was too excitable, too animated, and much too talkative. Finally, he glanced at Miki and stopped. Lowering his head again, he muttered another apology and thanks for the water as he started back to his chariot.

[Miki]

¤

The obvious staring at her tail was borderline rude, but it solidified Miki's realization that this man had gotten himself lost in this desert without a hope in hell. The more he spoke, wondering about the Madness, her jaw visibly fell.
"Do you talk to your chariot, I reckon? Or is there someone I am missing in that chariot of yours?"
She could tell he was possibly a gullible traveler, he rambled on about his personal possessions and she nodded. Her next statement was with a fox toothed grin.
"Do you know where you are exactly?"
He had then finished his rambling and named himself prior, Deimos. With some sort of whimper he scuttled away back to his chariot tucked away not far from where they were standing together. Miki tilted her head to the side, sliding the small circular glasses up her nose. The sound of roaring chariots could be heard drawing nearer, her employers would be back. Looking at the ground she saw no trace of water had spilled on the ground, looking at the man, he approached his chariot and was almost there. She sprinted again to her own and hopped on, pulling the throttle and putting it in gear to roll. She drove up to him as he was getting on his own.
"Those guys coming aren't going to like you much, I think we should go. I know somewhere. Want to ride with me?"
Shouting could be heard now and the sound of the chariots drew nearer. The Pyrerazers were coming fast, a decision would have to be made. She knew her own, a certain tavern called the Squeaky Lizard about an hour's ride south which was out of the way enough to hide out if the Pyrerazers got frisky and wanted to pick on Diemos. Hell they were even in their right to kill him, anarchy you see ran the Wastes and all bets were off for anyone. All were bandits and all were out for their own.

Miki was not unlike these people, Deimos could prove to be useful. His rambling seemed to ramble back to something called "artifice" which if true meant he was some sort of mage. Too useful, too naïve. She was hoping to get her own piece of the pie, if she was lucky, instead of someone else. She rode on with or without him, leading the way should he follow, forward into the desert whose ground was that of cracked earth scarred by corruption. The ample dust was just that, dust, not sand which the chariots picked up as they rode on. Tumble weed proceeding them it wasn't too long before the sounds of the Pyrerazers could be heard behind them. Miki motioned to Deimos to carry on while falling back to talk to the gang in pursuit. She got off her chariot and waved her hands in the air, no gun in sight. The gang slowed down, a woman got off while the remaining three stayed on their bikes. All wore helmets until the woman took her helmet off.
"Aye so, you just going off with your boyfriend now or something?"
Miki shook her head no and replied,
"Absolutely not, that was a friend of mine. I heard you guys coming and he said the matter was pressing. I thought I could leave..."
The red headed woman nodded her head and then spat on the ground, leering at Miki with a malicious grin.
"Alright well, what was the name--"
"Miki."
"Miki then, go right to Bel. But I'll let you leave this time. See you around Traphole."
Miki stared down the gang woman for a moment before making a tsk and avoiding her eyes. She walked back slowly to her chariot and was relieved to leave without a bullet in her back.

If she caught up to Diemos she would motion for him to pull over his chariot. There she would explain what happened and give him the details on how far and where Squeaky Lizard was.

[Deimos]

Deimos couldn't tell if Miki was annoyed or amused as he rambled, his voice getting softer until he fell silent. He felt embarrassed about speaking so much. As Miki asked her questions, Deimos perked up again. He was all too happy to speak about his creations.

"Chalkós is my dog. Well, it's not really a dog. It's a machine. Or...er..." Once again, he struggled to find the word to describe what it was. "...golem, yeah?" As they got closer to his chariot, the Doberman-looking automaton was more visible in the makeshift sidecar. It sat in the small seat completely motionless and Deimos seemed quite proud of it. "It may be a bucket of rust, but it works. Sort of. I'm still working out the...the nexus. It gets confusing, yeah? A tangled mess of symbols and formulas, and..."

He was doing it again. Deimos trailed off before his ramblings continued too long, and Miki asked another question. "I'm in the desert, yeah? I don't understand." It was then he heard the sounds of other chariots approaching and Miki's warning.

"Those guys coming aren't going to like you much, I think we should go. I know somewhere. Want to ride with me?"

Deimos gave a quick nod and mounted his bike, lowering his goggles over his eyes. With a kick to the throttle, it started as Miki approached on her own. He followed her until she motioned to keep going and lagged behind. He did as he was told for a bit, but turned his side toward the group and waited. Over the sounds of various engines, and being so far away, he could not hear what was being said. It did not look good, however, as the posture and posing were evident. There was something hostile in their interaction and it put Deimos on edge. His hand hovered over his crossbow, not taking his eyes off the group of three until Miki rode back up.

There was something different about the naive-looking Druskai. His posture was a bit more fluid and his gaze steely behind violet lenses. He almost looked like a seasoned gunslinger in his own right.

Almost.

The goofy, child-like demeanor returned when Miki returned and told him about what happened. He continued to follow her to this "Squeaky Lizard," a name he found enchanting as he turned to his golem and spoke to it. "Με κάνει να αναρωτιέμαι τι θα έκανες με ένα παιχνίδι που τρίζει¹." He looked to Miki and his smile faded. "Oh, I just told it how I wondered what it would do with a... squeaky... toy..." He cleared his throat, trying to rid himself of the nervousness he felt. "We be there soon, yeah?"

---

1

[Miki]

¤

With that taken care of the pair was set off towards Squeaky Lizard in a flash. Miki had laughed at the strange speech the man used, but didn't comment on it further, she was bilingual herself though not many knew.
"I'm sure he would do great with a toy."
She said, a little too sure of herself. Though, as they rode with Miki in the lead headed towards the Squeaky Lizard. They made it there around dark as Miki took care of her chariot, inspecting it for any damage or anything wrong, she cast a glance towards Deimos and Chalkos. While she had brushed off his explanation before she was very intrigued by the mechanical golem now. She headed up to the pair and asked,
"You said he was a golem? Interesting, I have seen others in the Wastes use these robotics before, but never a faithful hound! I like it, did you make it yourself?"
She would lead him inside the bar and take a seat in the back with him, away from others so they could be clearly heard while speaking. Her demeanor had changed from rough and tumble to a bit softer around the edges now, she sat across from him, if he joined in the bar, drinking a tall glass of warm water.

"So you asked before as well, but I was busy then, yes, we are in a sort of desert. You should get yourself some water, it's not cold but it's clean. You know, you look a bit out of place here, even despite the chariot and dog. I was wondering, where are you from?"
Miki would flick some hair behind her horn and ear, clearly interested in what the man had to say.
"I'm not from around here myself, though I don't usually get into that much. That said, I've lived here for nearly twenty years. Here bein' the Wastes, after all. I reckon you need a piece of advice about this land, ask what you need and I will answer. Here's a free piece, don't drink water from places in the Wastes that aren't a tavern, no streams, no ponds, even if you find one-- which you rarely will. They are poisonous and will change you with the Raving. You know the Raving right? Also called the Madness, makes people rabid and they say some will live forever because of it. Though I reckon it gets everyone in the end, 'specially if you spend enough time here. The Wastes I mean..."
She trailed off then, looking from her pupil-less, yellow eyes into his own.
"Sorry, don't mean to make a fuss out of ya, just wondering how someone would wander blindly up to a water tank in the middle of the Wastes. You need some help? I am willing to take you somewhere if you have somewhere you need to be, or go to. I know my way 'round these here parts like the back of my hand. Bit of a gift from my breeding, I am rarely lost."

[Deimos]

Following the cues given by Miki, Deimos parks his chariot next to hers. He reaches over to the sidecar with his golem to pull out a ratty tarp and gives a command to the creation. "Káto¹." The golem lies down on the seat and Deimos covers it with the tarp. He

"You said he was a golem? Interesting, I have seen others in the Wastes use these robotics before, but never a faithful hound! I like it, did you make it yourself?"

"That is what the texts called this," Deimos replies as he positions the fabric around the golem to make it look like a pile of dirty rags as he places other strips of scavenged fabrics around and on top of it. He smiles at her, beaming at the compliment. "I did! It took many attempts as I did not see the patterns in the nexus before. It got easier once I saw it, though. I even made a journal of notes to remind myself, as well as make it easier for me to understand. Copper worked best, hence its name. Chalkós is 'copper' in Korkos, my language. It fit well enough so..." He trails off once again as he notices his excited tone making him long-winded again. Once satisfied with the placement of the fabrics, he follows Miki, taking a moment to look over the outside of the building before entering with her.

Deimos listens as Miki speaks, nodding at her advice about the water. Hearing her order the water, he does the same while using her words. With his slight accent, it sounds more like a child mimicking an adult to get what they want. A lot of what Deimos says and does starts to mimic Miki's words and mannerisms as he follows her to the table with their glasses of warm water, which he drinks heartily. The poor boy is thirsty, and probably dehydrated, but the water perks his spirits immediately, His cheery smile returns before he clears his throat to return to a slight scowl, once again mimicking Miki's expression.

When her demeanor softens, so does Deimos's, reverting to his wide-eyed behavior. As she asks her questions, he attempts to answer the best he can while trying not to be as long-winded as he was earlier.

"I was wondering, where are you from?"

Deimos's head tilts to the right as he speaks. "Lukhan. There is a small village on the northern coast, though... I probably should not talk much about it, yeah? Yeah... They might not like that." He listens as Miki speaks of herself and how long she's been in the Wastes. She seems to notice his semi-clueless gaze as she explains the poisoned waters, and he seems more interested than fearful.

As she speaks her concern, Deimos smiles again, shaking his head. "I am fine." He pauses, remembering the issues he had before his "blind wandering" as Miki so accurately put it. "Ah, well, perhaps maybe not. I have not been here as long as you, obviously, so direction help would be good." He scratches his forehead just under his goggles. "No water in sight is strange to me, and I do not want to die. I do not know where I would like to be, yeah?"

A word Miki uses finally enters his understanding. "Breeding? That is for livestock, yeah? I have not heard that term with people. I mean, a gift is a gift, but that would be progonikós², yeah?"

---

1. Káto - Down
2. Progonikós - Ancestral, hereditary

[Miki]

¤

"Luck-hand? Interesting, you surely are lucky meeting me. Most would rob and leave you for dead here. Maybe it is best not to speak too much further, you're right."
His demeanor was somewhat bubbly when he started speaking on something that he knew much about, which was endearing to Miki. He seemed dehydrated and she thought he looked aquatic in many ways, especially the seashells on his shoulder which were a dead give away, how did he even get out here? She would have to ask him another time. Surely this man had wandered far from his element. She had to laugh, and did, out loud and heartily. When she was done she had to wipe tears from her eyes, but finally spoke again.
"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you. This just seems ludicrous. I have much to ask you and say, but that can wait until after we rest. In the AM, I will take you where you need to be. We can head to Alistain, I think there on the bay you may find yourself right at home. I won't let you die out here, friend, have no worries there."
She laughed again at his question of breeding, but instead this was only a dry chuckle.
"Prognikoes? I don't know this language, I mean in this instance, erm, my race. I am Moroi. I doubt you have seen one much like me before, they tend to stay in their villages on the mountains far away. Though you're right, I would rather not think of myself as livestock."
With this conversation ended Miki would make little small talk, paying for her room and then finding herself nestled deeply in the shitty bed trying to catch some rest before taking this stranger somewhere safe. She would be back for him someday, she was counting coins to herself as she fell asleep.