Nawx

Verse VII - Nethernox

The climate became hotter as time went by. The heat took over the land visually, as you could see the air cooking right before your eyes. Atreyu wiped off some sweat from his forehead. He took off his sweater, revealing his tight-ish black shirt that was snug under the sweater, and dragged the sweater along behind him on the ground. The green fields soon turned darker, as the grass fields soon disappeared into the dirt, and then the heat became more unbearable as the sands followed. And they weren't even in the deserts yet. 

Nova whined from the heat as she too wiped some of the sweat from her forehead. 

          "It's hot," Nova whined. "How can anyone live out here?" 

Atreyu shrugged his shoulders as he continued to lead the way. 

          "Thank you, by the way..." She muttered as she stopped walking. 

Atreyu stopped hearing her footsteps, turning back at her. He looked down at her hands, noticing how she was using her fingers to fiddle around, an obvious hint that she was becoming nervous. 

          "You don't have to thank me." He answered.

          "Yes, yes I do. You basically saved me." 

          "I couldn't just leave you there." 

Nova's hands formed a fist, as her eyes looked up at him. 

          "Why? It would've been an easy way to dispose of me."  She asked, her voice sounded more aggressive than what Atreyu had heard. 

He turned away from her, looking at the sunset that was setting behind some mountains that were consumed by the sands. 

He sighed, "Because, I didn't want to listen to Drakkar. Or that asshole, Densetsu." 

Nova tilted her head to the side. 

          "I never wanted to listen to their orders. I wanted to walk out of there and never say that I saw you. You struck me as... Interesting." Atreyu explained. 

Nova looked down at her hands, the vision of view she had slowly become darker as dusk was arriving. She took a deep breath and stepped forward next to him. She leaned into his side and wrapped her arm around his neck in a joking matter. 

          "Come on, I think Blaze's hideout is around here. It has to be." She said as she smiled at him and walked forward. 

He smiled as she did. He liked her smile, it helped him feel calm, and he had sensed some warmth in his chest. Deep, deep inside, like where his heart resided. He never felt this way before, not even around Amaya. Her smile, from what ancient documents described, was the definition of 'pretty' to him. Even though he didn't entirely know what it meant, he thought it was close enough. 

Nova and Atreyu separated to cover more ground. The area was too large, as they both had discovered the large, locked gates that were the guideway to the Ancient Deserts. There were multiple huts and cabins around, most of them looked to be in ruins from maybe an invasion. This settlement, from what it looks like, was pretty old. Nova even found a camera with some old pictures in a drawer within one of the huts. The picture was in black and white. It had a family. It looked like there was a son, a daughter, and a dog. The dog looked strange though; There was something in its mouth, and it was behind the smiling son and daughter. All she could spot was an arm high in the air behind the smiling child, the arm was in front of the dog as well. Nova sighed and put the belongings back in the drawer. 

          "Hey, Nova!" 

Atreyu's voice was heard outside. She quickly rushed outside in the anticipation of what he had found. But she stopped as she saw two shadowy figures in front of her. The two were holding hands, and they had the faint appearance of the children in that photo. The daughter spoke of something, but she had no voice. The son grinned. Nova heard a growl in the distance, and she began to panic when she realized it was in the direction of Atreyu's voice.