She's not the one for you

over now, open your eyes my love

Beriah and her sister kept quietly to themselves in the desert, their fair pelts allowing them to blend easily with their surroundings - especially here amidst all these cactuses. Beriah had found that this part of the land wasn't frequented often, which was ideal for the sisters to keep their heads down until...well, until today, she supposed.

Soft chuffs emitted from the ghostly girl as she looked for @Parisa, who she had not seen since earlier this morning. Beriah thought it was time for them to discuss what they ought to do next with their futures, since they couldn't really be cactus-dwelling waifs forever. She supposed.

code by corvus

There was little else for her now aside from the desolate sand that stretched around them. Parisa felt every grain of it shift beneath her paws, which had begun to grow dry and cracked in the heat. Parisa had set out in search of something to eat, meandering through the desert -- which never proved very fruitful. She wandered to the very edge of it, where forest begun to flourish, to hunt a rabbit for her and her sister.

It took the better part of the morning for her to catch it, the portly yearling not often the best hunter. She only did it out of necessity. If it were up to her, she wouldn't be hunting at all.

Parisa returned to the desert with a chocolate-brown rabbit hanging from her jaws, two perfectly messy punctures in its neck. She went to the crowd of cactus that her and @Beriah had been calling home in the absence of their mother and newly-discovered family. It did not take long for her to find her sister, her chuff a helpful reminder of where they had set up camp for the time being. Parisa dropped the rabbit at her feet, an inkling of a smile spread across her maw.

"I've caught us dinner," she said in a softly lilting voice, nudging it further towards her sister with a paw. It wasn't much, but it was all she could muster.

She's not the one for you

over now, open your eyes my love

Her bright and lovely sister did not waste time in reappearing, a rabbit clutched in her jaws. Beriah's heart softened at the sight of her sister and the gift she brought, and she offered a faint smile, one of very few individuals she could muster a friendly greeting for. "Wow Pari," she commented as the rabbit was dropped before her. "Thank you, rabbits are hard to catch," she said kindly, sitting before her sister.

"I think it's time we come up with a plan," Beriah said, watching her sister's face carefully. "I suppose we can't stay here forever by ourselves...it's not safe. But I'm not sure where we should go." She continued. She had thought of their father, but only briefly, and Beriah had pushed him from her mind as quickly as he'd arrived.

code by corvus

Parisa beamed, proud of herself for the catch, though her excitement did not last for long as Beriah continued talking. Her smile faded into something more serious, solemn. She nodded, a plan. That was what they needed. They had been alone for long enough, though by no fault of their own. Parisa knew something horrible had to have happened to their mother -- why else would she leave them? And the rest of the family... Parisa did not know them very well, but they were all she had left.

"You're right," Parisa said, nodding in agreement with her sister. "But... I don't know where to go, either," she continued, looking around the cactus farm briefly before her attention returned to Beriah. "I suppose... we could look for the rest of our family. For our father," she suggested, somewhat hesitantly. She wasn't exactly sure how Beriah felt about Ebrahim. But he was all they had left.

She's not the one for you

over now, open your eyes my love

Parisa's brightness dimmed to match Beriah's energy, nodding in agreement with her. The slim girl watched her sister carefully as she spoke, and listened. Parisa too seemed clueless as to where to go, but the name that burned a hole in the back of Beriah's mind in spite of attempting to suppress it came to light. Ebrahim. @Parisa mentioned finding their father and deep within, Beriah knew her sister was right.

"I have mixed feelings about our father." she admitted. Beriah was not one to speak of her feelings often, if ever. Even now she held her tongue, not wishing to spoil Parisa's view of the man if he meant anything to her. "I do not love him." she said stiffly, but carefully. "But he loved our mother," in his own cowardly way, she added internally. "So I think you're right. We should probably find him," Beriah finished, reluctant but relenting.

"We could leave tomorrow morning. We'll have to be careful since we'll be traveling alone." Beriah continued, regarding her sister. "But I'll protect you," she said awkwardly, with a watery smile. Affection was not her strong suit, but she would go to the ends of the earth for her family.

code by corvus

She was not the fondest of Ebrahim, either. Parisa was hesitant to call him father, to admit that he was something to them. But he was all they had -- him and the rest of the Azars. Parisa knew they would keep her and @Beriah safe. The girl nodded, her sister admitting that she was right -- perhaps Parisa was unaccustomed to this, because she was slightly surprised.

"Tomorrow morning," Parisa said with an affirming nod, agreeing with her sister. It would be wise for them to seek shelter -- at least she hoped it would be. "I will protect you, too." She assured her, a smile touching her maw. Despite everything that had happened, they had each other. "Where will we go? Back to the Oasis?" she asked. Parisa was unsure of where their family was, where they could be found. It would be like a wild goose hunt unless they came up with a plan.

She's not the one for you

over now, open your eyes my love

@Parisa nodded again, agreeable and sweet as ever. It was true that Beriah was proud, and stubborn; but practicality took over and she could admit when someone had a better idea than she did. In this case, it was going to find Ebrahim.

"I know you will." Beriah smiled lightly at her sister, her heart feeling warm. She realized she hadn't really felt close to her sister in a long time, not since they were cubs. Things were simpler then.

"Not the Oasis." Beriah said, thoughtfully gazing upward. "I suppose our family isn't there any longer since Mirza disappeared, and it would be unwise to stray into the paws of a stranger. You know how men are," she said knowingly, as if she herself had any more experience. "The Azar will likely stick to whatever dry, arid place they are used to from the homeland. I wouldn't even be surprised if they were too far off from where we are now," she continued, gazing around as though she might see them now. "Let's just start close by in the desert, and work our way out. It might take a while but if we put our heads together we can find Ebrahim." She said, more confidently than she felt.

code by corvus

A purr escaped her throat and Parisa moved to nudge @Beriah with her paw, gently, affectionately. Things had been hard since they had come to this place, since their mother had disappeared -- but they always had each other, she hoped.

Parisa fell quiet, listening to Beriah. She made sense, and Parisa supposed that she had forgotten that the Azars no longer occupied the Oasis. "You're right," she said with a nod. And, of course, their family was drawn to the desert. Perhaps they would be nearby. There was no telling how many of them there might be, though. Scattered to the wind -- that was where she thought they were. "We'll find him," Parisa assured her sister. They would not be alone together forever.

"For now, we need to gather our strength," Parisa told her, looking around at the cacti that surrounded them. "Get some good sleep, eat our meal," she said, her tail twitching briefly behind her.

She's not the one for you

over now, open your eyes my love

Beriah was stiff as her sister prodded her good-naturedly, attempting to smile. She very much wanted to enjoy a close relationship with her sister, as awkwardly as things like affection and physical touch came to her. She reached out and batted her back lightly, hesitantly.

"Definitely." Beriah agreed, gazing down at the rabbit to share. It wasn't much, but Beriah was a light eater, and they would have better luck hunting together tomorrow. "Let's dig in," she suggested with a soft, crackly purr.

-exit-

code by corvus

A giggle slipped past pale maw as her sister nudged her back. Parisa was definitely a bit more touchy-feely than Beriah was, but the girl didn't mind her sister's aversion to touch.

She looked to the rabbit that she had caught, a bit of pride flooding her chest as Beriah leaned down to dig into the small creature. It wasn't much, but it would do for the two yearlings. She told herself that she really wasn't that hungry anyways -- of course, a lie.

Parisa would wait for her to eat her full, and then would take her own bites of the rabbit, filling her stomach.

/exit