Only a few hours before, Casnie had been enveloped by the great forest of Lakara, on the run from a bizarre reptilian creature who clearly did not belong. Now she was in an entirely different climate likely half a world away. Had she somehow traveled through the Exod once again without realizing it? Was this Terakiel's doing, whether intentional or not? Or was it merely the whim of Lakara itself? Frustratingly, Casnie had no answers to any of these questions. She wondered if she'd ever make it back to Sidea. Although it's climate had been relatively balmy, it was nothing compared to the suffocating heat of the plains.
"Where am I?" asked Casnie. She was not overly concerned with how ridiculous she sounded. These were the first human begins she'd come into contact with since Aisen and Terakiel. Unlike them, these two must surely understand where they were and perhaps how to get to civilization.
The woman called Brea raised an eyebrow. "Er, well, these are the plains." She made a broad, sweeping gesture to encompass the general area.
"The plains," Casnie repeated Brea's unhelpful statement.
"Oh, I mean--actually we're in the Stakes right now. They're sort of part of the plains, I guess."
"I see." Is she making this up as she goes along?
"We're near the Jiendo settlement," the other woman spoke up, perhaps sensing Casnie's frustration. Her voice was softer and meeker than Brea's, a feat she would have thought to be impossible. Unless Casnie missed her guess, these two women were terrified of her. She couldn't even begin to comprehend why that might be, but she was also somewhat hesitant to explore the issue further.
"We're near a city?" Casnie asked. "Out here?"
Neither Brea nor the other woman responded right away. They exchanged meaningful glances and whispered a few words Casnie couldn't hear. "We'd like to know where you came from," Brea said finally, ostensibly after taking the time to steel her resolve. Her dark eyes were shimmering with with what Casnie could only identify as the courage inherent to a dragon slayer. What are they so scared of? She ran a hand through her tousled hair. Do I really look that bad?
Casnie was still unsure how to tackle this issue. She had her suspicions that these two women already considered her dangerous or perhaps insane--possibly both. Telling them that she'd been running away from a large lizard creature in a forest and suddenly she'd ended up here would likely not improve their opinion of her. It sounded crazy even to her. Still, she needed to find people she could trust. Try as she might, Casnie could not imagine a scenario where these two women were dangerous predators seeking her death. As naive as that might be, she felt she had little choice but to trust them for now.
"To tell you the truth. . ." Casnie began. She knitted her brow in frustration, trying to figure out how best to phrase what had happened. "I'm not sure there's any way I can explain how I ended up here and have it actually be believable. Suffice to say, I have been separated from some traveling companions--and before that, well. . . If I can't find them, I'd like to figure out a way to just return home."
Brea swallowed slowly. The other woman said nothing. "Wh-where. . ." Brea stammered. "Where is it that you live? Where are you wanting to. . .return?"
"Sidea," Casnie replied. She was afraid she'd end up back in the mazelike forest of Lakara. She was concerned about the fates of Terakiel and Aisen, but in the end, she had to concentrate on herself. There were people she wanted to return to. Terakiel could not rightly be held responsible for everything that had happened, but had he not set out from his home after what he did, then Casnie's short trip through the Exod would have gone as planned. She'd still be in Sidea now and she'd be able to see her sister.
"See day uh," Brea repeated the world in a childlike way, chewing on what were evidently unfamiliar syllables. This was not a good sign.
"I take it you do not know of it," Casnie sighed.
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