Echo(On Hold)

The Desert Guide

They decided to leave the Stone Village five days later. Konah was piled up with bags and supplies and was pawing the ground outside the garage, the family had managed to find guides to go through the desert, considering the fact they had never traveled so far from home, and everyone had said their goodbyes.

Ecko, Mari, Kuro and the three guides were at the walls of the village, huge stone structures that had kept the village safe from sand storms for centuries. They were painted a rusted red color and the base was covered in graffiti. 

Outside the walls, the desert waited; a huge ocean of golden sand. The sun beat down on them already as they stared out the main gate. Ecko sighed, turning around to look at the village one last time before they left. Mari put a hand on his shoulder, smiling. 

"We'll come back, don't worry. Nothing's changed here in years, and it's not gonna change in the comming years either," she said. Ecko let himself smile a little, nodding. He turned and looked through the gate, then at the guides. He wasn't looking forward to spending a week with people who were probably terrified of him. Konah came up behind him and nuzzled against the back of his head.

He scratched the hound's ear, listening to the conversation between Kuro and the guides. From what he heard, the brown haired man was Nikko, the girl with brown hair and green eyes Ikiru, and the black haired one who looked at him funny was her younger brother, Yamori. 

"It'll be a week's journey, possibly six days if we can go fast. We'll stop at the Spark Village and then head straight for the Light Village," Ikiru was explaining, pointing out the cities on the map. Kuro nodded, scratching his head.

"Why are we stopping at the Spark Village?" he asked as Ikiru handed the map back to him.

"We're probably gonna need more supplies by then, and you're gonna want to sleep in a bed eventually," she said, smiling. Kuro chuckled, then turned to Mari and Ecko.

"You guys ready?" he asked. Mari smiled, putting a hand on Ecko's back and walking forward.

"As ready as we'll ever be," she said. Ecko nodded, looking up at Kuro, who smiled.

"Let's go," Yamori said. Ecko took a hold of Konah's harness leash and they started walking.

The sun was almost setting in the sky after a couple hours. The plan was to walk halfway through the day and halfway through the night, then sleep for the time left. They walked until the moon was high in the sky and everyone was so exhausted that their eyes were drooping. The only one who didn't seem so dead tired was Ecko, since he wasn't usually asleep at this time anyway. 

Nikko, Yamori and Ikiru stopped around what was probably one in the morning. Ecko and Kuro took the bags off of Konah, unloading the sleeping mats and campfire materials. Soon enough, the camp site was set up, the sleeping mats set around a small fire. Mari dropped down right away, unbuckling her vest and throwing it aside. Kuro did the same and sat cross legged, pulling off his boots.

"I'll keep watch," Ecko said and Mari propped herself up on one arm, giving him a skeptical look. He shot one back at her that said I wasn't gonna sleep anyway. 

"I-I'll stay up too," Ikiru said. Ecko nodded but didn't say anything. Out of the three guides, he would admit Ikiru seeme to be the least wary of him. The other two kept their distance, walking on the opposite side of Kuro and Mari or out far in front of them. Mari seemed satisfied enough and shrugged, lying back down and pulling a thin blanket over her. Kuro didn't even bother with a blanket and was already lying face down on the sleeping mat, out cold along with Yamori and Nikko soon enough. 

Ecko sat down cross-legged in the warm sand, closing his eyes for a moment. When he looked up again, Ikiru was sitting next to him.

"Why'd you volenteer to keep watch?" she asked. "You've gotta be tired, right?" Ecko shook his head.