Put up your Sand Dukes and Fight[Tian, Ebony, Blayne, Maera]

The weren't far, he could feel it in his bones. 

Ebony marched ahead of Maera and Cellius, holding his precious books he had collected from the author. He was so kind to hand them to him that he couldn't leave without saying a farewell gift in return. Ebony had also realized that his birthday was coming up, so these books were the best gifts he could have ever gotten. Each one had a tale to tell about Izanami with explicit detail to boot. Ebony will definitely read them over and over until he understands the backbone of this demon and one day summon him and all it's glory. 

With all that he was petty preoccupied that he didn't pay attention how fast he was walking, probably without caring if his kitten was able to walk anymore or not. Ah well. Doesn't matter to him, she could die for all he cared by the time they arrive at Tusa. Less baggage that way. She was useful and handy when it came to it but now as the journey ends...her usefulness is...scarce to say the least. 

And she thought he would let her go. Ah well, such is life. 

Trudging through the blazing sand a little ways behind the pale summoner, Maera walked with a hand on Cellius' flank. She was sore and tired and very unused to traveling on foot. Dust and sand were caked everywhere and tangled in her hair, and she had her hood up to block as much of the sun as possible. Just because she was Tusar didn't mean she was accustomed to the climate, especially having lived in Iadlain for 8 years where even the sun feared to show its face on most days. She had done the best she could in her translating skills, even calling on her magic on their way to the little village towards the outskirts of the desert to provide water and shade where necessary. While most of those were for herself, she had little choice but to share if she didn't want the summoner to follow through with his teasing death threats. She had been watching attentively for any opportunity to make a break for it, but the watchful eyes of the white lion prevented any chance of escape.

Cellius was both her jailor, and the one who seemed to care the most for her the entire journey. The white lion was the one who was in charge of her the most often, though sometimes Maera would see a frigid blue lion and even the demon hands. They could just barely understand one another through the fire magic they were both able to use, and Cellius treated her just like the kitten that the tall half elf always seemed to call her. Whenever the group did stop for a rest, he would pin her with his massive paws so she wouldn't run but the small flames he exuded were warm and comforting and his low rumbling purr would even lull her to sleep on rare occasions. When she couldn't, or wouldn't, sleep then he would simply lick her face; this usually resulted in a rather comical cowlick much to Maera's dismay but there was little she could do about it. The two times she had collapsed from exhaustion, Cellius had even picked her up by the hood of her cloak and carried her until she woke up again. The lion was content enough with her touch signaling she wasn't going to run to let her walk next to him on her own without his eyes constantly on her. He didn't even seem to mind the large plumes of flames Maera would fire into the sky at night to try and call out to anyone that was looking for her. So far, it had been about a week and there was no sign of someone showing up. She was dreading the end of the journey, praying to Atros that the man would let her go as he promised.

She said nothing to the other half elf, instead summoning a small dim flame that extinguished as rapidly as it came to get Cellius' attention. This kind of flame was one she tended to use often on this trip. Tired, she expressed in the way the flames rapidly went out. Scared. She was completely and utterly lost in the glaring ocean of sand and she had no idea how much further they had to go, or how much further she even could go. The pace was much too fast, and there was almost no respite in the way she was using her magic. If anyone was trying to find her, they better come soon.

A rather intrigued fellow rolled over towards the two strangers who clearly did not come from Tusa and gave them both a joyful expression. The strange pale elf who seemed to be walking backwards on a ball while holding a bunch of balloons made his way towards them seamlessly. He had this odd smile perched on his face as if he knew something they didn't. 
"Welcome, Welcome travelers ! I see you two seem already lost even though you just arrived here. " he announced sitting on the ball when he came to a full stop in front of them. He handed a balloon to Tian and said nothing or seem to not notice the glamor that surrounded the other elf, not that he cared regardless anyway, still he gave them both a hearty smile. 
"Are you here to stay ? To play ? To sight see the wondrous of an open, lifeless landscape ?  Or is it something else ? Perhaps...-" he took out three small bouncy balls in front of them and began to juggle joyfully. "-Perhaps you're looking for a summoner, about 6 foot, black hair, tattooed, one golden ear ring and a giant, unmistakable white chimera ? If you are, oh boy do I have news for you two. " he chuckled. 

---

Meanwhile, Cellius who had been helping Maera while they walked in the sands, responded in return, with low bellowed growls and flames spouting out. Safe and calm came to mind when he spoke as he licked her hand softly. He knew that she was at her limit but he also knew that Ebony was not. In fact the boy seemed distracted from the heat all together from the books he had 'received' earlier this weak. Regardless, Cellius was there to help her in anyway he could. One thing he did do finally, was stopping in front of her and lifting her on to his back, so she didn't have to walk any further until they reach Tusa again. Safe, Cellius repeated with his flames, to remind her that she is safe. For now. 

Maera couldn't help the small squeak that escaped her as Cellius suddenly hefted her onto his back. Why did everyone seem to do that? Even this lion... Not that she was complaining. Her legs and feet ached terribly and her breath came in small, short pants. The sun was relentless, and though she was fireproof, she wasn't sun proof. She was just as susceptible to the heat of the desert as any one else when she wasn't actively using her magic.

Draped on the lion's back, she held onto his mane and watched the flames he made with lazy eyes. They were warm and comforting, though the precise meaning was somewhat lost in translation. She responded with her own display, trying effectively to communicate gratitude but it came out to be something more along the lines of contentment. That was okay, that meaning could apply too.

The strange performer kept juggling until the other one spoke and immediately stopped to lean quickly towards him. 
"No actually, we never met. " he smiled, sticking his tongue out for a brief moment before rolling back a bit. " But it's always nice to see new faces yes ? It keeps the heart pumping and the ball rolling- Ha! " he chuckled at his own pun before putting his three juggling balls away. 
He turned towards the older elf and smiled innocently. " I'm afraid I don't know. I don't know a lot of things, you know. It's a tragic story actually... I have such terrible memory that...I forget where I put my wallet...so I'm always poor. " he whined, eyes looking to the side and twirling his hair around with his index finger. " I just think, if you be so kind, help a performer out. You know how hard it is these days with the war. Makes life more difficult when crowds become more scarce..." he continued still keeping a smile planted on his pale skin. His eyes, red as blood kept eyeing Blayne deeply while he talked making sure not to break eye contact. 

" Perhaps then, I can assist in your... endeavors ?" he added finally breaking contact and shifting his eyes towards Tian with a smug grin. 

Almost laughing at the stranger's joke, Tian did his best to keep his smile up as the other grinned back at him. He could hear Blayne shuffle around and finally pull out his valuable item. The look on his face was intense enough to make Tian break a sweat even if he wasn't looking at him directly. Words in exchange for money, huh? Tough world. Tian patted any pockets and even the bag he had on him. Nothing. Or at least nothing of use. All he could do was feel apologetic.

"Ahhh...I kind of did a little performing too...back at home-" Tian muttered nervously as an attempt to both lighten up the air and make himself feel better. If this was anything like negotiations done in Song-Lu markets, light conversation really helped in matters of trade. At least for him it was useful. "I don't roll like you, per say, but yeah- entertaining is fun-" He paused for a second collecting his thoughts. "By chance..." Tian started up again. "No, never mind, sorry." He chuckled. Although curious about the stranger's identity, he couldn't let such an unnecessary excitement lead him astray from finding what he holds dear.

Blayne realized and understood that Tian was getting slightly uncomfortable with the situation, but he couldn't just change his attitude at the drop of a hat. Not with a character like him...! The other elf snatched Blayne's wallet and, shocked, Blayne nearly leapt at him saying, "Hey--!" He stopped himself, however, when he realized the other wasn't tryimg to run off with the wallet, but was simply looking through it. He was still tense, but he did "back off" and remain quiet as the elf looked through. He then said something about being nice, and procured 4 Gold coins from the wallet. Blayne tried not to cringe as he "juggled" the coins between his fingers and promptly put them away; he had a fair amount of silvers and plenty coppers, but he was only carrying those four gold coins...

He caught the wallet as the clown tossed it back at him, asking again, "Alright, you have your payment, now what of the information on the boy??" Blayne waited patiently (though his arms were crossed) for the man to explain the situation, but when he got to the end, he looked surprised and lost his stance. "Wait--today--?" He fell silent again as he mentioned quarreling and glanced away; ah, so he thought it would end in some fight as well... Or perhaps the Summoner they were up against was just that dangerous. Blayne looked back and was on the verge of asking another question when a little girl trotted up to the Clown. His attitude changed immediately; it was like night and day. He hopped off of his ball and started to guide her away, but not without casting them one last glance. A warning to keep quiet, by the looks of it.

Eventually, Blayne sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as he muttered something in Canan--whether it was a swear or not was unclear, but whatever he said it was clear that he didn't want Tian to understand it, otherwise he would have said it in Common or Songhua. Finally though, putting away his wallet, Blayne turned to Tian and clapped a hand on his shoulder with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that Tian, I didn't mean to turn so cold just then. But, at least we have some kind of direction on where to start looking now. Didn't even really have to ask around!" He paused, looking to the boy's other hand as he added on, "Plus, you got a nice orange balloon out of it in the end."