𐮚𐮙𐮚𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𐮙𐮚𐮙

Sand, Sand, and more Sand

The first thing she remembered was the heat. It was unbearable. Her skin was ret and hot to the touch. Blisters littered her arms and cheeks. The sun stung her eyes and made her head ache. And worst of all, she was thirsty, with absolutely no source of water. Naturally, she did what anybody else in her situation would do; Walk around calmly and look for someone who would be able to help.

She thinks she walked a while. Or perhaps it was all in her head? She looked back every few minutes but it was of no use. It was all sand. No matter how many footprints she left, the wind will blow evidence of her travels away.

'I don't want to die here. Not like this.' She keeps walking. She thinks of green. Originally, she hated the color, but now her hatred was directed to a faded yellowish-beige. The color of sand. She hates sand.

She thinks of green. Green, Green, and some more Green. Grass, tree leaves, broccoli...

She thinks of red. Her cousin's dyed hair that she insists is real, her pet parrot Bobo, and...

Blood.

A thin trail of blood cut through the sand for as far as she could see. People. This blood could lead her to people. She pulled herself together and stumbled after it. She mustered all her energy and walked quicker than she'd walked in the past potential hours or minutes or however long she'd spent in this horrid, horrid wasteland.

Walk. Walk. Walk some more. Keep walking. Almost there. Keeping walking. So close. Keep moving. Please, I beg you, keep walking. Run. They're so close, now RUN!

Harsh wind blew rough and coarse sand into her eyes. It hurt, but she kept going.

'I don't want to die here. I don't want to die.'

She made it. The man was lying down flat on his back and had his eyes closed. He was pale and breathing harshly. She discarded him immediately. His Camel was about two feet away and was carrying a bag of water on each side. She snatched a bag and tore off its lid before devouring its contents in mere seconds. She did the same for the second. Not enough.

It wasn't enough. She was still so thirsty. She looked back to the man. That's right, didn't she follow a trail of blood to this guy? She bent over him and searched for a wound. It was a scratch on his lower back. She lifted up his clothing to further examine the wound. She looked down at the blood. It was so red. She was looking at blood and for some reason, she was salivating. Her gums ached and she was getting closer. Blood. She heard the man's heart beating. Pumping more and more blood.

She brought his wrist to her lips and bit down. It was like drinking happiness, fulfillment, bliss, and self-love all in one. She hummed. It was good. She was drinking human blood and it was good. A few minutes later, she dropped the man's arms and got up after having her fill. The man was dead. She killed him and hadn't even realized. This man saved her life, albeit unintentionally, and she took his in return.

The Camel was still there and she still needed to get out of the sand. Hopping on top of the poor creature, she directly it to walk into the same direction the man was supposedly heading, his body left behind long ago.

She took this as her opportunity to go through her newly acquired belongings. A bunch of junk later, she found a decent change of clothes. It was long and flowy and it even covered her entire body; shielding it from the scathing sun. She even found a head piece that she wrapped around her hair and tied at the top of her head to cover parts of her face. It kept her hair from violently whacking her in the face every couple of seconds. How lucky!

Her scavenger hunt continued. The only other thing she'd found that couple be put to use was a small and round pocket-sized mirror. Further inspecting her reflection, she realized that she didn't look like herself. Not at all!

Her hair was still jet black but instead of reaching below her shoulders, it reached her lower back. Her eyes were the deepest shade of purple she'd ever seen. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, and despite the suns harsh rays, she radiated a light of innocent beauty. Well, as innocent as a newly made murderer could be. She was, to put it simply, inhumanely beautiful.

'This is..me?'

Before she could inspect herself any longer, the Camel, which she now named Doris, jerked abruptly. The girl was startled when she looked up from the mirror in her hand. They'd arrived at a village. A village with people. A village with answers.

She hopped off of Doris and lead her along by the rope around her neck. She'd wrapped the rope around a large piece of wood before entering, what seems to be, a pub. The chatter died down when she stepped through the doors. She was aware of the wide-eyed and dazed looks that people were giving her.

She could hear people's breaths hitching, and hearts beating faster. She wasn't supposed to be able to do any of this, she frowned to herself. She sat at the table and the bartender approached her. He looked quite young to be working at such an establishment.

"Can I get you anything, miss?" He sounded young too. She looked up at the boy, who couldn't have been any older than 16 or younger than 14. His faces turned red and his heart rate picked up when she smiled up at him from her seat.

"Just a glass of water is fine." The bartender, whose name she learned was Toru, scurried off to the back to get her a glass of water. She looked around. The pub's inhabitants were still watching her. Maybe she could use this to her advantage?

She cleared her throat, successfully garnering the attention of the entire pub. Not that she needed to clear her throat to do so in the first place.

"Could one of you possibly provide me with some information? I'm lost and trying to find my way home. I've been traveling for a long time so I've lost touch with other people." She looked so very pitiful; sitting atop that chair looking down at all of them, so very confused.

A middle-aged man stood from his seat and made his way over to her. "Ask away li'le lady. I'll try tah answer yer questions tah the best of my ability." He gave her a kind smile and laughed heartily.

The old man was of great help. Apparently, people didn't calculate time in seconds, minutes or hours just yet, the year wasn't recorded, and she was stuck on the middle of nowhere. However, there was supposed to be a nearby town with many travelers, capable of potentially helping her get back home.

Her eyes shined and she grinned at the old guy. He looked at her dazed and then grinned back. "You've got yer'self a lovely smile li'le lady, make sure nobody takes that away from ya."

She beamed up at him, "Sure thing gramps!" She cheered. The old man gasped in mock offense. "Who are ya callin' gramps? I'm still young!" The two stared at each other before breaking down into peals of laughter.

They said their goodbyes and she was about to make her way out the door before she paused. "Hey old man, you never told me the name of the town!" She called.
He looked back at her, "I believe it was called Kaname, or somethin'!"

He smiled back at her, completely missing the look of shock and slight terror that overtook her features. "Taker care of herself out there kiddo!" He yelled behind her. She nodded at him and made her way out.

'It can't be.. There's absolutely no way it's true..'

She thought back to the man she killed. How she drained him of his blood, the ache in her gum. She ran her tongue over her teeth. Her canines were sharp enough to rip through skin like butter. She thought back to the Kaname's earliest memories with the Hooded Woman. She had named him after her home town. Not to mention, the life style and time matches up. She had to find the woman, and she had to do it fast. Doris took her and ran like the wind for Kaname. It took her a total of 3 days and nights, a couple breaks for Doris, and fending off a bunch of thieves, before finally arriving at Kaname, the Hooded Woman's home town.