[ORP] Sandstorm

[Mimsey]

In retrospect, Kiowaa probably should have realized a gentle breeze brewing on the desert plain was a bad sign. Instead, she had greeted it with a certain level of excitement. The summer months were waning, and even for those used to the heat, the Motoujamii could be oppressively hot. So hot that her blisters had blisters. So hot that her tongue stuck to her teeth most days, and even the thought of a light breeze was enough to lift the spirits.

Now, as the sand beat down upon her, Kiowaa realized it had probably been best not to be hopeful. It wasn't the first such storm she'd been in, but it was the first she had been out in the open for. The howling wind buffeted against her, blasting hurt fur raw with sand and other debris. She had attempted to hunker down against the earth, but with the wind continuing to pick up she'd felt no relief.

Now, the lone female was doing her best to run through the blinding torrent. She believed she was moving in the right direction...but at the same time, not entirely sure. Taking a moment to shield her face so that she could get a few puffs of sandless air through her lungs, she steeled herself against the blast.

In the distance, she almost thought she could make someone out. Was she alone that afternoon? Or had others been caught unawares?  

[Andranis]

When he'd come to the desert, Feuerblute had thought it was hot, and dry. The water had been a surprise, that was for certain. So had the interest of one or two lionesses... That had REALLY been a surprise. Now, the green-eyed Warden was attempting to traverse the desert. He had time off and had wanted a walk. Now he regretted it... His ears were flat against his skull, head down, as the large lion walked. Large... He'd felt so big out in the roguelands... Now he wasn't so sure of his size. There was one lion he'd met, a lion named Kosuke... He made Blute feel small...

"HEY!" Shielding his face in a wing and clinging to the lion's mane, Jaeger tried to keep from blowing away. He had spared a look up when he noticed something in the distance. It was hard to make out, but... Was that a lion? Or was that a rock? He'd heard of rocks moved by the powerful wind of a sand storm... He never wanted to personally SEE one, so the bird REALLY hoped that was a lion. "I THINK I SEE SOMEONE OVER THERE!"

"WHERE?" Blute shook his head, before looking up and squinting. Soon the shadow appeared, and he changed direction for it. "FOUND IT!" He snorted, trudging through the sand and the wind. The going was slow, and he had to angle his direction so their paths would intersect. Slowly, painfully slowly, the form of the other lion started to get clearer, and he thought he could make out coloration. Red.

Jaeger settled, hiding his face again. He didn't like breathing under his wing in the heat, but he had no choice. The bird didn't want a nose full of sand, after all. Or lungs. He didn't imagine it felt good.

Mimsey

 

[Mimsey]

Andranis

Kiowaa leaned into the wind, and followed her slow trek towards where she had seen signs of light. Thankfully they were noisy about it. Keeping eye contact was a rather difficult affair with the sand trying its best to rush into your lungs. She knew she'd have to return the favor soon enough...but it wasn't easy to catch her breath against the blasts.

Finally, she managed out a short, somewhat wavering greeting: "Are you alright?" she said, perhaps nonsensically. Of course they weren't alright. They were in the middle of a sandstorm.

A particularly hard puff of hot air caught her off guard, and for a moment, Kiowaa sagged to the ground as the sand seemed to be ripped out from underneath her. She grit her teeth, regretting the action even as she did it.

"Damnit," she snarled. Her eyes were tearing. "Hey- I can't tell who you are. You know if we're going the right way?"  

[Andranis]

Mimsey

As they got closer, Blute began to make out markings. A lioness related to... A lot of the pride. The number of lions he'd seen with similar markings had been staggering, and then he'd found out that most of them were RELATED. He'd decided, even given his profession choice, he'd learn all their names and who was related to who, if only because he felt like it and wanted to keep them all straight. He flicked an ear, then flattened it again, hearing the lioness' words. No mistaking, this was a lioness. "As alright as anybody can be, given the circumstances!"

The bird peeked out, squinting at the lioness. "Given which way the wind started blowing from in relation to the direction of the pride..." He lifted a wing so that his face remained shielded from the sand and wind. "I'm pretty SURE we're going in the right direction!" He peeked out a bit, noting the look Blute gave him. "Look, I'm a bird on a lion's back right now! It's not easy navigating like this! I'm used to looking DOWN for location, not UP!" It wasn't like he could fly up above the storm. First, he'd get torn apart by the sand. Second, he didn't know how high the storm WENT, so he could be flying up past the actual cloud layer before he got above it. That wasn't a risk he figured ANY bird was willing to take.  

[Mimsey]

Andranis

Kiowaa took in another rough breath of sand and hot air, before rising back to her feet. Her muscles ached, and twitched in pain against the force of the wind. Hopefully, she could draw the distance between the two of them. It would be nice to at least be able to make out something of the lion in front of her.

A little bit closer, and she could finally see them as if through cloth. She grit her teeth. "I suppose this is obvious- we should head for shelter!" she half laughed, her joke rewarding her with another tongue full of sand. She spat, her expression turning bitter.

"Are you sure about the direction of the wind? If its a storm, it might not be reliable!" she called as another squall sliced past them. She sunk back to the sand again, attempting to make herself as small as possible until it passed by.

"I think we should go north!"  

[Andranis]

Mimsey

OhgodI'msosorryaboutthatreplyfail... ;;

As best he could, Blute squinted in the direction he'd come from. Then the wind shifted, causing him to look away. "No... Not a good navigation method!" He could feel Jaeger's claws p***k at him from his back, he turned in the direction he assumed was north. "This way then?!" He started to trudge, hoping his red fur made a good following-point. "Stick close so we don't lose each other!"

The hawk could only hunker down, shifting his wings so the white of his left was most visible. Red, white, both were fairly easy to tell apart from blowing sand, right? He dared peek out again, trying to spy... "OVER THERE!" He pointed with a wing, before snapping it shut as he nearly got yanked away. "Keep going STRAIGHT, there's something BIG and DARK against the sand!" It could have been a giant sea fish blown inland, for all he cared, as long as it provided SHELTER.