Figurehead

twenty-eight

When we reach the two shelters side-by-side, we are surprised by the presence of a clump of trees and long shallow pool of water. An oasis.

There are clothes laid out on a thin, broad cloth on the sand, each piece of clothing weighed down by small bags of sand. A small child- a boy- is running around with a thin cloth wrapped loosely around his head, a crow of laughter trailing behind him. He wears nothing but a loincloth, chasing a lizard whose scales are barely darker than the sand it runs across. His ama sits in the open entrance to one of the shelters, watching him.

Her eyes trail us as we pass, but she says nothing, the still-bloody carcass of an animal I can't identify at her feet. We nod to her, and she nods back before we continue plodding forward.

Three men and two women are standing in the shallow water, the men in loincloths only, the women in loincloths and torso wraps. All five are bent over, cleaning. They hold blades, arrows, bows, cloth bags and different pieces of clothing. There is a faint bloodstain surrounding them as they talk and laugh amongst themselves, occasionally spraying arcs of water over each other.

We stop at the top of the gentle sandhill slope, sharing a hesitant glance. Would they mind our presence? Is the water clean? Can it be drunk?

From here, I can see the pool is not as small as it had seemed, and appears to run off almost like the beginning of a stream before stopping. There, a trail is visible, continuing onwards towards Deritri. Somewhere on Deritri's outskirts must be a river or lake or something which, when swollen by rain, runs out here to provide for these people.

One of the women turns, laughter paused when she sees us. Her companions turn, following her gaze and we lift our forearms to the sky.

They eye us a moment before glancing at each other. One of the men tilts his head and lifts his chin. Tui and I share another glance before slowly making our way towards them.

"Can we assume you're trusted messengers headed for Deritri?" he asks once we stop before them. He has an accent I don't recognise well, an Avu one. I try to focus on that and not the hunting weapons in their hands.

"Yes," I reply, hopefully sounding more confident than I am.

"So no messages for us, then?" one of the women asks teasingly, nudging one of the men with a grin. She has the same accent.

"Apologies, no," Tui shakes her head.

We hesitate. "Is it alright if we rest by the pool for a while?" I ask finally. Tentatively.

"Yeah, sure," the same woman says with a shrug. "We don't own it."

"Thanks," Tui dips her head. I nod to them and we drop our arms, walking past them to the other side of the long basin. Their eyes turn from us to each other soon after, and they resume their previous  activities.

We sit on the shore and exhale, the tension in our muscles loosening. I blow out a breath, drawing one of my knees to my chest. We are so close to Deritri's border now. Who knows what lies past it? The Lord, yes, I know. But still. I heave a silent sigh.

"Is the water clean enough to drink?" I murmur to her. She shrugs.

"How are your waterskins?" she asks, biting her lip.

I rifle through my belongings. "I have one left still full, one running low and three empty."

"Same." She shrugs a shoulder. "It should be enough." I nod.

"How do you think they survive?" I whisper, flicking a furtive glance at the group as they step out of the water, bows and shafts full of arrows strapped to their backs, blades in one hand, cloths in the other. By hunting, no doubt. But how else?

Come to think of it, the water must be clean, unless they purify it. Or else where else would they obtain water?

"They probably trade with Deritri or visit often." She shrugs. "It wouldn't be surprising if they supplied the former king and other inhabitants by the Eska with meat, too."

"True."

In a sense, it must be nice to live with such freedom. To be surrounded on all sides by such beauty, ever-changing sands, to be self-sufficient, independent. But it can't be easy. I wonder what it was that drove them out here, what motivated them to leave the provinces- whether they came from Avu or Escatin- and live out here instead.

None of the men or women, the ama included, looked much more than 34 Dre. All strong, all healthy. It can't have been an easy choice to abandon everything they knew for the wilderness. How long have they lived in peace here together?

"Do you want to rest longer?" Tui asks suddenly, bringing me aback from my thoughts. Her question is reluctant, as if she was lost in her own mind as well.

I shake my head. We rise to our feet, readjusting the now-weighty burdens on our backs and dusting the sand off our clothes. I toss a glance over my shoulder. One of the men is chasing the boy as he screams with laughter, one of the women is helping the ama prepare the carcass, and the others are most likely inside the shelters.

I turn to Tui. "Let's go, then," I sigh.

I really dread Deritri.