Futuristic Is anyone out there? NOVA N NOGOOD

[nova_kane]

Name: Khalida Monroe
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Status: Traveler
Place of birth: Inner Jenawin/Votara.
Notable family members: Aeroin, Khalida’s younger brother. Current age is 17. Gwyn, Khalida’s sister. Current age is 13.
Personality: Khalida is a strong-willed individual, with a fierce stubbornness that has kept her going all of her life. She is sarcastic and witty, but often vulnerable. To anyone that isn’t her family, she can be a bit aggressive but has a heart of gold. Khalida hates showing vulnerability, and she often hides pain or sadness with a quick tongue.
Something they’re always carrying?: A citrine pendant around her neck for good luck, her father’s hunting knife strapped into the inside of her boot, and a book of herbs and their uses that were given to her by her grandmother when she was a child.
History: Khalida was born in Jenawin where she grew up in a small home with her mother and father. All of the women in her family were naturopathic herbalists, and Khalida was taught from a young age what plants were safe to consume and use in medicines as well as the ones that could kill you if a single leaf was ingested. When Khalida was twenty-three, there was a break-in while she and her family lie asleep in the night, rogues tearing the house apart and taking her father’s life in the process as he defended their home. The same rogues forced Khalida to pack a bag and flee with them, and she ended up across the country alone after she managed to sneak away and break free. Ever since Khalida has been trying to make it back to Votara.

About Votara: The city of Votara is a rainy, cool, overgrown faction where nature has taken over in many sorts of ways. Overgrown plants of all kinds are scattered throughout old buildings, shops, and homes, representing a new life within the city and covering up the past centuries later. There is the inner city portion called Enia, where bustling marketplaces, tech pop-ups, and multitudes of people gather during the day to go about their everyday lives. When the sun goes down, Enia is brimming with nightlife, and around every corner are beautiful neon signs that give a soft friendly glow. The inviting allure in every direction prickles your senses as you walk down the streets finding what interests you. Care for a drink or two? Head down to the bio taverns that are full of activity and music seven nights a week.

Of course, there are darker paths in the city of Votara, but most dare not go past a certain point. Some are more adventurous (or bored, perhaps?) and attempt to explore these parts, but few aside from those who frequent these slums make it out alive.

Right outside Votara, there are farmlands and residences in the area of Jenawin. It is a slightly less rainy, warmer, and overall friendlier part of the faction. Life feels a bit slower here, and if you’re looking to settle down with loved ones and family- this is the place to be. The quiet breeze along the beautiful streams and rivers is enchanting, and it’s easy to get addicted to the slower, softer pace in the outskirts of Votara.

Inspo for Votara:
Click here
And here
Also here
Aaaand here
Last one

Inspo for Khalida's character:
here u go

 

[Nogoodname]

Kaia Levandi​

Kaia hails from the town of New Demeter in the Scorched Frontier, where she works as an engineer, maintaining the important infrastructure that allows humans to live out in this hostile wasteland. A vast, hellish desert, the Scorched Frontier had taken the brunt of the fighting that'd ended early human civilization. It's said that at some point the Frontier had been a land of lush, green forests and fertile soil, but the advanced weaponry bared against this ancient battlefield had scarred the land beyond repair. Nothing grows out here anymore, not even the most determined of vegetation, and water is almost nonexistent, having to be pulled from the air in large moisture farms or drilled from deep underground. The temperature is swealtering, with little to protect one from the constant, oppressive heat of the sun, save for the long desert nights where it gets cold enough to drop below freezing temperatures.

To try and eke out a living in the Scorched Frontier is an act of the very foolish, or the very desperate. The people who are forced to live out in this wasteland are typically those on the fringe of society, bandits, criminals, and exiles, pushed from their homes for one reason or another with nowhere else to go. These people typically live a harsh life of desperate survival, spending every minute awake seeking out their next meal, the closest source of water, and whatever meager shelter they can find to rest under and hide away from the heat. Often these sorts of people turn to forming large, nomadic bandit groups, scouring the frontier in search of travelers to shake down for valuable resources.

Of course there are also treasure hunters. The Scorched Frontier's reputation as an old war battleground has earned it quite a few rumors of old bunkers containing lostech, the advanced technology of older human civilization, just waiting to be found by a daring adventurer willing to dig deep enough. These rumors are, obviously, completely unfounded, as nobody has ever found any sort of tech out here in the wastes.

And yet, somehow, people still decide to live out here. In the remenants of older human settlements you can often find small towns like New Demeter that crop up against all odds, managing a meager living by working as a collective, just barely scraping by thanks to the enduring nature of the human spirit.

New Demeter in specific is an older town in the Frontier, a large, secluded little settlement of a couple hundred people. The original population had been deserting soldiers and exiles in search of a more peaceful life somewhere where the petty squabbles of society couldn't find them. And as the town had grown and flourished, the people of New Demeter were dedicated to do anything in their power to protect this new peace. They quickly learned to close themselves off from the outside world, refusing all visitors and attempts at trade, instead preferring to wall themselves off from everyone in order to keep intruders and bandits from wreaking havoc. This way of life offers a lot of protection from the outside elements, but it also requires hard work from everybody involved to scrape together the resources for basic survival. The people of New Demeter work long hours under an oppressive town government that's quick to bouts of extreme paranoia, constantly reinforcing a warped ideal that the outside world is deadly, and that the only way to protect themselves is strict vigilance for 'abnormal' behavior and an adherance to the whims of those in power.

Kaia herself is a hard worker, she's good at what she does and enjoys doing it, tinkering with the various old, rustic machines that are required to keep the town going, from sandskimmers to moisture collectors. She can be a bit of an abrasive type, difficult to get along with a times due to her quick temper and tendency to escalate minor confrontations. But if you're willing to pitch in your side of the work and not bother her too much then you'll find a fast friend in the young engineer.

She was born in New Demeter and raised by her father, her mother having passed away during childbirth. While the two of them never really got along, they made do with what they could, forming a sort of uneasy relationship based on their own mutual hardships, namely her father's long, unfulfilling work hours and Kaia's difficulties fitting in with the other kids.

From a young age, Kaia's father taught her his trade as a sort of bonding opportunity between the two of them, and while she'd absolutely hated it at the time, she's come to appreciate those moments now that she's older and just a little wiser. Her father isn't around anymore, taken by sickness when she was a young adult, but she still cherishes the time they'd had together. Nowadays she lives a pretty static life, during the day she bounces between whatever needs fixing along with the other workers, and she spends most of her nights out drinking with the few friends who can stand her. It's a simple life, but Kaia likes it fine, she wouldn't give it up for the world.

 

[nova_kane]

The blistering rays of midday sun beat mercilessly into the dusty earth, a single cloud in the sky lost in a sea of blue as a young woman and her horse struggled to make it through the seemingly endless wasteland. She had been traveling through the intense desert region for three days now, convinced at this point she had been reading the crudely drawn map was wrong the entire journey. Khalida sighed and firmly patted the thick neck of her ride and companion, Burlap, as he whinnied softly. She had come across the horse a few weeks ago while traveling through Manaslu, a more mountainous faction of the country. Khalida was unsure of how much a horse would go for these days, however the folks she had obtained him from seemed extremely interested in the rare piece of tech she had found previously while scavenging.

Burlap started to slow his pace with a tired huff, and it felt as though the air just kept getting hotter as they trekked along through the barren roads. Khalida did not expect the trip to take this long, but she hadn’t planned on getting lost, either. She was starting to run low on water and other supplies, and the heat was taking a toll on her horse. This made her nervous, and the vast desert ahead didn’t seem to be getting any smaller.

Khalida had known the risks of crossing the Scorched Frontier, however she was impatient and reluctant to spend an extra several days taking the longer route around through the swamp factions further south- not to mention getting around was nearly impossible without a boat of some kind. The deep and winding bogs that had flooded through the smaller towns over a hundred years ago were unfortunately far too easy to lose your way in, as many travelers have to never be found again. Journeying without a vessel was surely a quick death sentence.

Aside from the hudreds of waterways where making one wrong turn would certainly help you meet your fate, there were worries about the large creatures lurking below the surface. Khalida had heard horror stories and seen photos in old books regarding the massive reptilians who would scour the swamps and stalk their prey from under the black waters looking for their next meal. Their thick, scaly skin protected them from other animals and humans who enjoyed catching a wild hair for adventure, and the southern factions were overrun by the beasts that were considered the main predators of the region.

Khalida was dragged away from her thoughts as she felt Burlap’s knees start to buckle underneath her, exhausted from the heat. She immediately dismounted to take some weight off of the creature’s back, cursing under her breath as the horse started to kneel. “Fuck, Burlap, no…no no no…” she muttered, pulling down her face covering, “you cannot do this to me…” Khalida desperately unscrewed the top to her water canteen, emptying some of the contents into a small flat dish she had been keeping in her bag. “Please just drink some of this…”

Hands shaking, Khalida held up the bowl for Burlap to drink, but he pulled his head away, whinnying softly. “Goddammit I have water here for you, please just drink it! It’s free water right here!” She groaned in a frustrated tone. Wrapping her fingers around the reigns, she tried to pull the horse to keep going. If this animal gave out, she was vulture meat for sure.

After about a half an hour of trying to force some life back into the one thing keeping HER alive, Khalida slunk down onto the ground and let out a frustrated scream, the panic creeping over her skin and making her shudder. She was going to have to make a difficult decision that she hoped she’d never have to make in this situation, but it was starting to seem as though she didn’t have much of a choice. Feeling defeated, Khalida leaned back against the tired old horse and sighed.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave you,” she whispered, running her fingers through his caramel colored mane, “but if I don’t…I’m going to die too.”

Khalida took another gulp of water from her canteen, dissociating into the distance for a moment before finally packing it up and standing. She threw her backpack over her shoulders and took one last look at the poor animal she was about to abandon in the desert. Burlap looked so pitiful, and she felt the agonizing guilt immediately sink into her bones as she turned to start walking in the direction they had originally been heading. This was going to haunt her for the rest of her life, she just knew it.

_________________________

It was too hot. Khalida had run out of water shortly after she left Burlap, hoping that she was near a city or town that could save her from the high temperatures. That was hours ago, and the circumstances hadn’t gotten any better. She saw in the distance a large rock that had a few feet of shade cast under it, a lone sliver of protection in this vast and bright desert. Khalida managed to drag herself toward the comforting and cooling patch of heaven, collapsing under her own weight and exhaustion. Was this it? Was this the end?

Khalida glanced around one last time before her vision blurred, struggling to keep her own head up as she felt herself drift into unconsciousness.

 

[Nogoodname]

The vast expanse of desert stretched out for miles in all directions, the sun gleaming off the sand causing a shimmering heat haze to hang in the air everywhere you looked, giving the Frontier a sort of dreamlike appearance as the landscape shifted and distorted faintly. When no other humans were around, the desert had a sort of stillness to it that was almost trancendental, a medatative experience, like you're standing on the outside looking in, peering at a painting of the landscape rather than the real thing. The heat definitely didn't help with either experience, the scorching blaze of the sun had a way of getting into one's head, messing with their mental state, searing one's subconscious just as easily as it scars into the land.

A low roar pierced the uncanny silence of the desert, the roar of the sandskimmer's main thruster was an everpresent sensation for Kaia as she sat in the front seat of the craft, slumped down in her chair with her boots kicked up against the side of the vehicle. The Sandskimmer was a simple little device, yet elegant in its design, with a shallow, round bottom that could slide across the frontier dunes with relative ease, propelled forward by a single large main thruster that'd been welded into the frame, plucked from some old warhead and given a new purpose as a mode of transportation. The 'skimmer was a staple of Frontier transport, you almost couldn't get anywhere without one, at least not anywhere quickly, which is precisely why Kaia still dealt with the admittedly tempermental engine of this old rustbucket.

With a soft exhale, Kaia found herself looking up at the clear blue sky, her eyes vigilantly watching the singular, wispy cloud that floated above her, sending a silent prayer for it to drift into just the right position to cover up the hateful sun, just long enough to give a moments respite from the heat. It never did, though, despire how close it got every once in a while, getting Kaia's hopes up, then dashing them every time.

The raven haired woman still had quite a journey ahead of her, trips out to the scrapyard were always like this, it's why Kaia always held off until the need for spare parts and scrap got dire enough to make the journey worthwhile, because there was no way in hell she'd be making a second trip for the next couple of months at least. Behind her 'skimmer, hooked onto the back of the vehicle with a length of chain, was a small barge filled to burst with all sorts of spare parts and old tech that weighed the craft down as it crested each dune, requiring Kaia's constant attention and careful hand lest the stuff would spill over, again, adding even more time to what was already an arduous journey. The scrapyard was only a few hours out from New Demeter, and yet the scorching desert heat and barren, drab landscape always made the journey feel that much longer.

Not to mention the threat of bandits, a fear that always hung in the back of Kaia's mind in some capacity. A loan traveler hauling so much tech like this would make for an easy mark for an opportunistic band of cutthroats. In the past Kaia had tried to petition the mayor for a small squad of men to accompany her on these trips, some small modicum of security, but she'd been rejected each time, they just didn't have the manpower, apparently.

She clutched the wheel a bit tighter, keeping her eyes peeled for anything on the horizon, feeling a slight tightness forming in her chest at the sheer thought of something happening. Kaia took a slow breath to cool herself down, let herself relax against her seat again with a slow exhale. She'd be home soon, just another hour, just a little bit longer, she could practically see the town on the horizon already, just had to stay the course and keep her cool...

And then Kaia spotted something that was far out of the ordinary... her eyes falling upon a small outcropping in the middle of the desert, some large rock jutting out from the sand as if to spite the flat landscape around it. Though, the rock was hardly what'd caught her attention, she'd seen it almost a hundred times before. No, what caught Kaia's attention was the small sillhouette of a person propped up against the stone, sitting in the shade, unmoving, practically dead to the world.

Kaia felt a slight pang of fear wash through her, quickly turning the little craft in the stone's direction, slowly drifting across the sand until it skidded to an abrupt halt just in front of the figure, kicking up sand and dust in its wake. The engineer peered down at the figure, squinting to see if it was anyone she recognized, wondering just who in their right mind would come out this far for seemingly no reason. It's not like there was anything to see outside of town for miles, wandering out this far was tantamount to suicide! Kaia just hoped that hadn't been the case here, she didn't want to break the news to the poor fool's family.

Her boots thudded against the sand as she made her way forward, water canteen in hand, making her way over to kneel at the woman's side and shake her gently. "...Hey hey..." she said in a soft voice, hoping to rouse the woman and make sure she was okay. Unfortunately the woman was completely out cold, clearly exhausted from their journey and the scorching desert heat. She was still breathing, though, which gave Kaia a slight sense of relief, maybe she still could be saved if she acted quickly...

Now that Kaia was closer though, she got a much better look at the woman's face and the clothes she wore, furrowing her brow with a look of confusion. Whoever this person was, she certainly didn't look like anybody Kaia knew, if anything the garb she wore seemed completely different from the typical clothes people wore out in the desert. This person couldn't be from New Demeter, Kaia was almost sure of it...

Which made her an outsider, that was the only reasonable explanation, causing Kaia to step back and look at the figure with a wide eyed gaze. She pulled back in the direction of the sandskimmer, taking a wild look around as the grasp of paranoia took hold. Was this some sort of trap? Some cruel trick by bandits to get her to leave her craft unguarded so they could get the jump on her? From under the seat of her 'skimmer she produced the small stamped metal frame of a firearm, some sort of cobbled together submachine gun which she swept over the horizon, warily keeping a lookout for anyone who might try to catch her unaware. But as she scanned the empty dunes of the desert, nobody came to validate her paranoia, nothing but the gentle desert breeze sweeping sand across her face and cool shade of the rock she stood under.

Kaia sighed softly, setting the weapon down and stepping up to look over the poor woman again. Even if she was an outside, Kaia couldn't just leave her like this, could she? Exhaustion and heat stroke were clearly taking their toll, that much was apparent, so even if she left out some food and water for the woman, if left out in this heat for too long, there was a good chance she might just not wake up again...

But she couldn't just bring this person into town either, right? The people of New Demeter despised outsiders, the mayor would sicc his guard on her in seconds if she got found out, both of them would be interrogated thoroughly, and Kaia had no idea what could happen to this woman after that, whatever the guard decided was law, Kaia couldn't really fight that, she might just end up rotting in a cell.

Then again, she couldn't just let someone die out here, Kaia couldn't have that on her conscience, anything was better than a slow death in the heat. With a reluctant breath, the raven haired woman moved forward and scooped the stranger up, bringing her back to the craft and gingerly setting her inside.

---

Hours later, when Khalida finally came to, she found herself somewhere completely different from the rock she'd passed out under. She awoke in a small room, laid out on a bed that'd definitely seen better days, pushed back into the corner of the room. Looking around Khalida could see a rather spartan interior, Just next to her was a small window, currently drawn closed. Across the room, a small desk contained a scattering of a couple technical manuals and what looked to be some sort of engineering project. Just next to the desk was a bookshelf, a quarter full of more thick looking tomes of knowledge. In front of her, a closet door was ajar, with a small pile of dirty laundry thrown haphazardly into the corner. Most importantly though, on the nightstand right next to her was a small canteen, which she'd find to be filled with water if she decided to reach for it. The room was dark, and Khalida couldn't really hear much going on outside, leaving her to get the rest she needed in relative peace.

 

[nova_kane]

Right before Khalida had gone unconscious, her mind still buzzed with memories and activity. Was it really true that your entire life flashed before your eyes before you died? Was this the end, or would she be blessed by fate? In her dreamlike subconscious, she soon forgot that she was stranded in the desert on the brink of death, and the anxieties drifted away before she could even think twice about it. Her shallow breathing continued, her entire body relaxing into the warm sand.

For a brief moment, she saw her parents and siblings, and the memory sent prickly vibrations down her spine. How she missed her family, and she hated herself for not being able to get back to them after three years of failed attempts. It had always been one reason or another- not enough money, the paths were unsafe, fear…Khalida had felt like a fool for letting her own blind rage take her away from the people she loved that night, putting herself in a dangerous and stupid situation that she had regretted every day since. Her mother probably thought she was dead, which she wouldn’t be too far off at this point. When she had finally found the courage to make the journey, she couldn’t even make it halfway.

Khalida felt a wave of dizziness, and the last thing she saw before losing consciousness was that one singular cloud in the vast blue sky trailing overhead. Its fluffy white tendrils pulled with the breeze, and just for a moment, it cast a small shadow over the rock under which she lay. The shade that she had been begging for hours was mocking her, which almost felt worse than death.

Hilariously Ironic.

________________________


The next time Khalida opened her eyes, she was no longer in the scorching heat of the desert. The sun’s merciless rays had been replaced with cool darkness, and she no longer felt as though her entire body was on fire. Her head throbbed from the dehydrated migraine that plagued her skull, and she felt dizzy. Where the hell am I…she thought to herself, panic arising in her chest. Her mouth felt drier than the sands she had been crossing outside, her body desperately begging her for hydration.

Khalida sat up quickly, immediately regretting it as a wave of nausea fell over her. Her heart was racing as she looked around to assess the situation. Did someone out there find her? How did she get here? Where was here? Her eyes scanned the dim room, locking onto the canteen on the small table next to the bed. She reached over, hesitating before unscrewing the top and giving it a sniff. Her body was practically begging her to take a drink, but her paranoia told her not to. Where is my bag…Khalida set down the canteen, still a bit dizzy but refusing to drink the mystery water that had been laid out for her. Every ounce of her critical thinking told her that she couldn’t trust anything right now.

Khalida swung her legs over the side of the bed, reaching for the hunter’s knife in her boot. Her heart dropped when her fingers touched against the cool leather, the knife missing. They took her only weapon…She desperately scanned the room once more, seeing nothing that she could use to defend herself. That’s when she noticed the door slightly ajar, a small sliver of light pouring into the room from the hallway. Khalida looked over her shoulder back at the window by the bed, trying to figure out an escape. What would she even do if she did escape? She didn’t have her bag or her knife and she was in the middle of the desert- she would die out there just like she almost did before finding herself in a stranger’s home.

Tearing her gaze away from the window, she focused her attention back on the door and crept toward it. The rest of the house was silent as she grasped the handle, peering out. She couldn’t see much other than the short hallway which led out into the main portion of the small house. Khalida knew she needed to find some supplies and leave immediately, but her head was still spinning. She slowly pulled the door open, the hinges creaking slightly as she stepped out into the dimly lit hallway. Her footsteps were silent, the kind of desperate silence that feels almost impossible to ever obtain in the worst of times.

Khalida dragged her fingertips along the wall as she stepped forward, slowly creeping toward the opening. Her mind raced, and she could feel the beads of cold sweat dripping down the back of her neck and into her loose cotton shirt. It was so quiet that she could have sworn she had heard her own heart thudding out of her chest. Would someone be waiting for her? Would there be a good exit?

To her relief, the room was empty. It appeared to be a typical living room area, with a torn-up sofa against the back wall and a crude gathering area toward the middle. As she scanned over everything, her eyes lit up when she saw her backpack in the corner. Fuck yes, thank god…She swiftly moved toward the bag, unzipping it to ensure all the contents were still there. As she rifled through her belongings with her back turned, she was oblivious to anything else at that moment…

 

[Nogoodname]

As Khalida began to occupy herself with checking through her belongings, another door opened creaked open from behind her. She could hear the heavy footfalls of steel toed boots before a voice spoke up from behind her, a deeper woman's voice, coarse and rough. "Oh, you're awake" she said softly. The woman standing behind Khalida was a bit on the taller side, with a lean, muscular build. A shock of short black hair covered her head, with deep blue eyes that stared down at the poor woman who she'd found dying in the sun mere hours ago. She dressed light, no doubt due to the scorching desert heat, with baggy blue pants and a white top that left most of her arms and midriff exposed. Most notably though, the girl's left arm starting just above the elbow was made of a thick metal plating, some sort of proesthetic it seemed. In her hands she held a plate of something, it was hard to tell what, but it certainly smelled good.

There was a beat of awkward silence that fell over both of them, neither completely sure what to say to the other, until Kaia spoke up again, taking a careful step forward. "...I thought you'd be hungry." she explained, holding out the plate with a small array of meats and vegtables, it was admittedly a pretty meager meal, but it was all Kaia had to spare, flashing an awkward smile as she awaited the woman's response.

This whole situation still felt off, difficult to parse, she still had no idea who this stranger could possibly be, for all she knew this person could mean trouble for the whole town. Even if she wasn't a bandit herself she could easily have been running from something, could bring some yet unknown threat to Kaia's home just by her mere existence. And to make matters worse Kaia was taking a pretty big risk by not only bringing the woman into town, but taking her into her very home. If anything happened, if anyone else noticed or even thought something was amiss... Kaia could end up in a lot of trouble. But she couldn't have just left someone out there to die either, the mere thought was just too much to bear.

So she'd settled on a comprimise. She'd take this woman in for one day, one simple day, feed her, give her water, make sure she wasn't injured, and then in the dead of night she'd send the woman back on her way. Surely that was more than her due dilligence, she'd done her good deed for the day, if the woman found herself in trouble after that, Kaia still kept her conscience clear, knowing she'd done everything she could to help.

That was the mindset that'd led to Kaia standing in her home with a strange woman from out of town, still ruminating on the logistics of her little plan. It'd been difficult enough to smuggle this person back home in the first place. Luckily the guards never checked her barge, they had no reason to, in the many years she'd been working her trade she'd never made a misstep, never done anything to show that she was less than a model citizen. ...at least where her job was concerned, what she did with her downtime was another story altogether. Still! In theory it'd be just as easy to get this stranger out, the guard had even less of a reason to shake her down on her way out, as long as the woman played ball, this was the perfect plan.

 

[nova_kane]

Khalida had just wrapped her fingers around the handle of another knife she had stored in her backpack when the voice behind her startled her, not even registering what was just said out loud. She hadn’t even heard the footsteps approaching, she was still so loopy from her time out in the scorching dunes. Her heart skipped a beat or two as she jumped up quickly from her leaned over position from before, her arm extended within a quick flash where the tip of her blade was just a mere two inches from the stranger’s hot throat. Her hand was visibly shaking from exhaustion, and she swallowed dryly as her gaze met the other woman’s.

In the moment of tense silence, Khalida’s eyes wandered down to what she had been holding in her hand- a plate of food. Meeting her gaze once more, she still didn’t move. “Who are you?” she barked, her voice shot from dehydration, “where am I?” The last sentence held a spark of panic, and in that moment you could tell that she was not only still in bad shape, but afraid as well.

Khalida didn’t even let the other woman speak before continuing, the words just spilling out. “Do you have my horse? Do you think I’m stupid enough to take food from a stranger after I almost died in the desert out there?” Her voice became a bit shrill, desperation oozing from her lips as she looked around the house for more clues of where she could possibly be and any possible escapes if she needed it. Khalida didn’t know who this girl was or what she was capable of, and her gut was screaming at her to not trust this stranger. However, even if she was attacked, she knew that she was in no condition to win that fight. Khalida was weak at the moment, and this girl had to have known this.

 

[Nogoodname]

The raven haired woman stumbled backwards with a wide eyed look of surprise, gasping sharply as the knife whipped up just inches away from her throat. She quickly lost her footing, falling on her ass and just barely managing to save the plate of food in her hands. "H-hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing!" she complained, looking back at Khalida in shock, careful not to make any sudden motions that might startle the knife wielding maniac. "If I wanted to hurt ya, don't ya think I would've done it while you were unconscious? Dumbass!" she spat back, her temper flaring right up from the sudden accusation. This was just her luck though, wasn't it? The one time she decided to have a heart she'd ended up with some crazy eyed vagrant waving a knife in her face. It almost felt like some cosmic form of irony.

Kaia tried her best to stay calm, remembering the large wrench on her toolbelt dangling just on her right hip, just a couple inches away from her hand. If she could get to that before this stranger could drive the knife into her, she might just be able to knock this woman out, maybe, Kaia didn't really trust her odds here, but it's not like she had many options... She let out a soft exhale, ever so slowly moving to get back to her feet in a careful, methodical motion, doing everything she could to show that her only intention was to right herself, Kaia wasn't in the mood to be a hero today.

"My name is Kaia, you're in New Demeter, the largest town in the Eastern Flats." she explained slowly, working through the strangers questions one by one. "I found you dying out there on the edge of town, so I brought you in, alright? I just couldn't let you die of heat stroke out there. Dunno where your horse is, didn't see it anywhere next to your body when I found you, more than likely it's..." she trailed off, looking down. "...sorry..." she murmured.

"A-anyways keep your voice down, will ya? You're not really supposed to be here. The people in this town don't take too kindly to outsiders." she warned, more for her own sake than Khalida's, not about to get in trouble for sticking her neck out like this. "You've got about a day at best to rest up before I need to kick ya to the curb, so, I'm not gonna force you to eat, but this is probably gonna be the only charity you get till you hit Idran's Pass, and that's about a three day's walk from here." she offered the plate up again gingerly.

 

[nova_kane]

Khalida flinched and stepped back when the girl tripped and stumbled backward, the movement startling her slightly. Her arm stayed put, however, as she waited for answers. Although the moment was tense, she couldn’t help but be impressed by her holding the plate up still without having spilled a single bit of food onto the dusty floor. She still felt extremely nauseated, but the smell of what she had in front of her made her stomach gurgle as she realized she hadn’t eaten in almost 48 hours.

As the stranger held her hand out to assure her she was just standing, Khalida relaxed slightly. My name is Kaia, and you’re in New Demeter, she told her, the words replaying in Khalida’s mind and echoing through her thoughts. She swallowed, almost not hearing the rest of what Kaia was telling her as she dissociated for a moment. She was even further than she had been before, and she remembered seeing on the map the city of New Demeter etched into it just further east from where she had originally been.

Khalida sighed deeply, licking her dry cracked lips as she nodded, processing the rest of the information she had been given. She suddenly recalled leaving Burlap when he had collapsed under the desert sun, and she was lucky that she had not made the same fate. A thousand thoughts reeled through her head as she tried to quickly form a plan to recoup and keep going, but nothing was coming to mind. Her body ached and she was still dehydrated- she wasn’t going anywhere right now and she desperately needed rest.

Kaia once again offered her the plate of food, warning her that this might be her only meal for the next few days. Reluctantly, Khalida sheathed her knife into her boot and straightened out, reaching for the plate and taking it from her. It was a small portion of dried meats and bread, something that normally wouldn’t impress her but she suddenly felt the need to inhale all of it.

“Thank you,” she murmured quietly with a nod, avoiding her gaze. “My name’s Khalida…and I’m sorry about…you know.” She held the plate with one hand as the other snatched up a piece of jerky, and she took a ravenous bite. “I mean, can you blame me? I went from being half dead out there in the desert-” she waved the piece of jerky toward the window behind her, “to waking up in a stranger’s bed.”

She suddenly felt the adrenaline wear off, and she felt exhausted. Khalida sunk down into a chair behind her, feeling dizzy. “Thank you for not letting me die out there. I kinda owe you one.” She didn't want to take advantage of this girl, but she knew she needed to accept her hospitality, especially if Kaia was putting herself at risk for her.

 

[Nogoodname]

Kaia gave a faint chuckle, deflating somewhat as the tension in the room seemed to dissipate. With a dismissive wave of her hand she made her way over to the couch, slumping down besides Khalida. "It's nothin', like I said, I just wanted to help. I've seen way too many people die out there in the sun, it's a pretty awful way to go" she shrugged, kicking her feet up and resting her arms back behind her head.

"Like I said though, don't get too comfortable. I kinda need you gone sooner rather than later, so as soon as you feel like you can walk again we should get you back on the road." she said somewhat guiltily. While she did wish she could do more for the stranger, especially now that they seemed to have settled their differences, there was really only so much she could manage before people started to take notice. Having to house and feed a whole extra person was a difficult affair, people would start to ask questions if she suddenly started asking for double her ration of food. And all it took was a nosey neighbor to notice that someone was holding out at Kaia's place while she wasn't around. Every minute this Khalida person spent in her home was dangerous.

Her eyes settled on the strange woman again, a quizzical expression on her face as she looked Khalida up and down. She really didn't seem like the kind of person who lived out in the desert. Something about the woman just struck her as... different, like she wasn't from any of the neighboring towns or bandit gangs. Kaia raised an eyebrow at her guest. "...So where were you headed anyways?" she asked, hoping to sate her own curiosity and make some passing small talk. "You don't really seem like a local, and everyone out here knows traveling by horseback in the desert is a recipe for disaster. Don't tell me... you're some kinda treasure hunter or something, are ya?" she asked, scoffing at the mere suggestion.

 

[nova_kane]

Khalida leaned back, continuing to eat the portion Kaia had given her. Even though it was just dried meat and bread, it tasted so much better when she was starving and it was better than anything she had packed for the journey which ran out shortly into the trip. As she chewed on another piece of jerky, she looked around the dimly lit room at the place this girl called home. It was far more than she currently had at the moment. She had pretty much been a nomad for the last three years, traveling around the east until she was finally secure enough to attempt her way back to Jenawin.

After Khalida made it through the jerky, it didn’t take her long to finish off the rest of the plate. She was extremely grateful for this girl’s help, but she had no idea where to go from here at this point as Kaia informed her that she wouldn’t be able to stay for more than a day or so. The desert had chewed her up and spit her out, and she was unsure of how she would recover from this without getting stranded in the desert again. Her brows furrowed as she became lost in her thoughts until Kaia’s voice interrupted them. The corners of her mouth curled up into a small smile as she took a sip from the canteen that had been in her bag. The water was warm, but it felt so refreshing on her tongue and put life into her dry bones.

“Don’t worry,” she mused, setting the plate down on the short table in front of her, “I’m not here to steal your town’s ‘treasure’, even though it is tantalizing…” The humorous tone of her voice dripped with sarcasm as her eyes gleamed. She sighed, leaning back next to her and closing her eyes, the pounding headache from before lightening as her body digested the nutrients she had been needing.

“I’m trying to get to Votara,” she finally answered, opening her eyes. Her home was several hundred miles west, a treacherous journey from this side. “It’s where my family is. I left a few years ago after some stuff happened, and…” her voice trailed off, leaving a heavy tension in the air as it was clear that it was a painful subject. Khalida swallowed, shaking her head. “I don’t even know if they’re dead or alive.”

 

[Nogoodname]

Kaia's place was... admittedly not much to write home about. It was a nice-ish little abode built out of a bombed out building, the foundation already cracked and slightly sunken into the sand, giving the floor a slight unevenness to it. There was working power, though, hooked up to the town's main power grid, providing the place with decent lighting and even air conditioning! Though the somewhat cool air did little to keep the scorching heat at bay, especially during the hotter months. The interior was well furnished, if a little drab, with mismatched, scavenged furniture that'd been pulled together without much thought for aesthetic.

The mechanic smiled as the woman spoke, happy to see that she was doing well enough to joke around. Honestly when Kaia had pulled Khalida back into town she's already sort of assumed the worst. It was nice to see that she wouldn't be tending to a corpse today.

She rolled her eyes at the woman's comment, chuckling faintly. "Hah! You think there's any treasure in this rust heap? That's rich~" she grinned, shaking her head dismissively. "Nah, I'm talking about the treasure hunters we see out here every once in a while, they catch wind of some vague rumor that there's an old world bunker the next dune over and suddenly forget any sense of self preservation. Poor idiots get picked apart by the local bandits before they have a chance to die of thirst." she shrugged her shoulders. "Always try to warn em~ There's nothing worth scavenging out here 'sides the scrap yard, and that's only because it's good for spare parts."

Her expression softened somewhat as the woman spoke of home, rubbing her chin for a moment in thought, before just shaking her head. "Ah, I'm sorry to hear it, you must be a long way from home then, huh? Don't think I've even heard of this Votara place before. Definitely never seen it on any of our maps." she paused, not wanting to leave off on such a negative note. "I'm sure you'll find your family again though, you strike me as the determined type, especially considering you were ready to march through the desert just for a chance to get back to em."

 

[nova_kane]

Khalida turned to face her as the pointless words of encouragement escaped Kaia’s lips in an attempt to empathize. Of course, she meant well, because what else are you supposed to say to a stranger who just dumped personally heavy news on you? It was crazy to her how a lot of folks never left the town they were born in, and if they did they usually never went far. Khalida couldn’t imagine trying to continue to survive out in a place like this when she was used to cooling rainy mornings on a grassy riverside rather than never ending sun and dusty roadways. This place was desolate and depressing. It wasn’t surprising that Kaia hadn’t heard of Votara.

“It’s farther out toward the west coast,” Khalida told her with a sigh, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Her clothing definitely indicated that she was not from around here, although she had tried her best to collect desert-friendly materials for her trip. “It’s going to take several days, even a couple of weeks maybe…especially if I keep up this trend of getting lost and nearly dying…” She chuckled lightly, attempting to lighten the mood. In all honesty, she was already feeling defeated and unsure of how she would make it if her luck continued.

Khalida pulled the elastic band from around her ponytail, her soft dark curls cascading over her shoulders. She felt disgusting and grimy, and she was wondering if there was any way that she might be able to bathe after being in the desert for a few days. She figured there were limited water sources, which made her feel guilty about asking.

“I’ll definitely be out of your hair as soon as possible, don't worry,” Khalida told her with a small smile, completely clueless as to how that would happen. “In the meantime, is there…any way I could maybe you know…feel less gross about myself?” She used her hands to signal toward her own body, feeling another wave of exhaustion rippling over her. Feeling dizzy again, she realized that she was still weak. Khalida swallowed dryly, her mind looming back to the thought of creating a plan moving forward. She didn't even want to think about that right now as the headache returned, pounding within her skull.

 

[Nogoodname]

Kaia nodded gently as the woman spoke, she really did feel for Khalida, she could hardly imagine being so far from home. New Demeter was Kaia's entire life, she'd grown up within these walls, rarely ever passing beyond them, and if she had her way she'd probably die here too. A lot of the town's elders spoke of the outside world as a barbaric, inhospitable waste, a place where chaos and banditry are commonplace and human lives are cheap, and Kaia had grown up believing them, there was just nothing for her out beyond the towns boundaries.

"I see..." she trailed off. "That's a pretty long way out, especially on foot. I wish there was something I could do to help but..." she made a face, casting her gaze away with a guilty look. "...I guess that's for thinking about later though, huh? For now just try to rest up and get your strength back. If you need it.." she hesitated, ruminating over the offer in her mind. "You can probably stay a little longer, maybe a couple days if you want, you looked pretty bad when I picked you up, don't wanna throw you out to the wolves until you've got a fighting chance. I mean it though! As soon as you're good to go we've gatta get you out of here! I'm sticking my neck out for ya, alright?" she huffed, seemingly annoyed at Khalida for her own suggestion.

She was pretty happy to change the subject, looking back over the woman with a quick nod of her head. "Oh, right, the bathroom's down the hall, you can go clean up if you need it. Just don't take too long, as you can imagine, we're pretty strict with water usage here." she explained. While they were in the desert, the town still had a decent water supply they'd drilled from an underground reservoir, as well as the moisture they could pull from the air in their expansive farms. Just enough water to wash themselves with, at least, though it might not be as luxorious of an experience as Khalida was used to.

 

[nova_kane]

Kaia seemed to become a bit anxious the more she spoke about it, which made Khalida believe that she wasn’t playing around regarding strangers around this place. She didn’t want to overstay her welcome or get this girl in trouble for attempting to be hospitable when she was an undeserving stranger.



She nodded, extremely grateful to Kaia for letting her stay here to recover. Little did she know that this was probably one of the nicer experiences over the last few years, only having access to bathing when she stayed in the grimy motels she could afford or washed herself in the fresh water rivers, which were always freezing.



“Thank you, it means a lot to me that you’re risking so much by letting me stay here,” Khalida told her, their gaze meeting briefly before she leaned over to grab her backpack, turning on her heel toward the bathroom down the hallway without another word. She closed the door quietly behind her, and looked at herself in the small mirror attached to the wall above the sink, a hairline fracture in the glass that separated Khalida’s tired face staring back at her.



She reached past the curtain of the shower, turning the standard handle toward her to start the water. Khalida stripped quickly, folding her worn and dusty clothes in a small pile to shove in her bag before she stepped into the shower. The cool water on her hot skin felt incredible as she soaked her whole head, rinsing away the dirt and filth of the desert from her body and hair.



Khalida tried not to take up too much water, making her shower short and sweet once she was clean. She grabbed one of the towels and wrapped it around herself, drying off her body enough to get dressed again and towel dry her hair. Khalida slid into some loose fitting pants and a light crop top, her tattooed mid drift visible. Her damp curls ran down her back, already partially dry.



Once she was completely dressed, Khalida stepped outside of the bathroom. She assumed she wasn’t sleeping in this girls bed, so she brought her bag back to the living area where they had been earlier. Kaia must have stepped out, so Khalida slunk back into the chair and pulled out her herbalist journal, flipping through the pages to find her desert chapter. Even though she had only been out there for a few days, she was able to collect several samples and record them in her book. She studied them carefully, sighing softly as her eyes felt heavy.

 

[Nogoodname]

The engineer's place was surprisingly quiet as Khalida came back out of the shower, giving her plenty of time to get acquainted with her journal. The samples she had on hand were numerous and fairly potent, no doubt there was something she'd be able to do with them, if the need ever arose. Though for now the woman was left relatively on her own while Kaia was out doing who knows what?

Looking around the room, there were two more doors beyond the bathroom and the room she'd woken up in. One seemed like another bedroom door, though it was hard to really tell just at a glance. The other clearly led out to a garage of sorts, the frame somewhat reinforced to keep the sand from getting in, for all the good that really did, it was almost impossible to keep the living space completely free of the stuff.

It struck Khalida that this might be a prime opportunity for some snooping, if that sort of thing interested her.