Back home? (open, I think)

Clade was stood in the Dune rider, sailing along the sandy plains of...well, somewhere.
Together with Dyane, while they travelled in the dead of the night, despite the freezing cold, he was going to this place, Clade didn't really question where.

It smelt slightly familiar, but different in a sense. Clade couldn't exactly get his head round it, not sure why, he scuttled to the area where Dyane, his traveling companion, was sailing the ship.
She did it much better than him, and he was amazed at her skills, even when she half asleep. For the past 2 weeks and a bit, they had been riding in this maginficent machine, stopping every few days. They were heading somewhere, Clade knew that-he was just not sure where or why the smell was so familliar? he had no idea about that either.

He went where Dayne would go for now. His birth-mark was very pale today, it almost seemed to shine. Traveling under the perfectly shaped crescent moon, he realised it was almost the exact shape of his mark. As the rider swept along the huge amounts of sand, it started to make strange noises. Clade looked over the ship's side, seeing it was littered with small rocks.

He informed Dyane of this unfortunate development, wondering what they'd do now.
He sniffed the air to find that a person wasn't too far away, but not close enough to start jumping for joy...

June 11, 2341

Kiore's small Group of Riders were low on Supplies, many of the Crew members starving to death. They had been Trailing a Dune rider for a couple of Days now in Secrecy. Now it was the time to strike. A large dune Rider Pulled up In front of the Rider Clade and Dyane were riding on. "Prepare to Broadside!" A command Shouted, Suddenly from the wall on the side of the Rider about 12 men and Women stood up, Bow and Arrows in Hand, one had a Harpoon, and two others had 2 small Cannons.
"Fire!" Barked a Commander, and a volley of Cannon fire and Arrows rained down on the Small Dune Rider. Another Dune Rider, smaller pulled up behind the One Clade and Dyane were one Sealing the Vally pass. And two More smaller Dune Riders also Pulled up. 6 Well Sized men Jumped out of the small vessels. Armed with Various weaponry, mostly farming tools changed and shaped into a weapon. They stood at the ready. Several of the Men on the Larger Dune Rider jumped out armed with similar weapons, 10 were on the ground now. And 8 Were left on the Larger Dune Rider, bows, Harpoon, and Cannons Standing by for the next Volley. Soon enough the Arrows and Cannon Fire would hit the Small Craft.

Dyane's eyes widened slightly as she saw the shadowed shape of a large dune rider pull ahead. She sneaked a looked behind and almost groaned, a string of curses escaping her lips as she pulled the haul, redirecting the sail so could angle the Rider out of the way of the incoming attacks. Her main goal was missing the cannons but she let out a yelp as an arm skinned past her head. She was frustrated and annoyed that they had been trailed and had not even noticed, not to mention how many they were. She knew it was unlikely for them to survive, and the thought of Clade in danger made her feel slightly panicked.

Bringing the Dune Rider to a halt, the multi-colored hair woman pushed the younger under the deck to the next level and told him to hide himself well. Closing the top, she knew grimly that they were about to most likely die, but thought better of mentioning it to the teen. Feeling the cold steel of the knives and daggers against her skin, comforted the woman, although she had no idea why. It was bloody suicide to try and fight them off, she knew, but either way; the weaponry that was hidden on her made her feel better.

Although, she thought idly as she hid the boy under a multitude of blankets in the corner of the Rider, probably suffocating him in the process, they'd probably take those off of her hands and pawn them for money to buy. Bloody, Savages, She thought, her temper getting the better of her. "Clade... whatever happens, you need to get out of this alive or I will skin you!" She murmured to the hidden boy as she tried to hide the more important of their gear like some of her weapons and poisons.

Dyane had a small compartment built into the bottom of the boat where she kept more important things in which was nearly invisible, blending in well with the material around it and here she stuffed the poison container along with throwing knives and a machete. If they ended leaving the Dune Rider behind, at least she would have some supplies.

Grimacing as she knew time was running out, she ducked behind the ledge that was placed there.

"But-" began Clade in a useless protest, knowing she wouldn't listen. It meant he couldn't do anything, not even fight. But he had to stand and watch, or even worse-He might have to run away, leaving Dyane behind. His eyes began to water at the thought, but he caught himself.
"You can't die either," he replied gravely, as he watched the marauders, a growl formed in the back or his throat. Gathering all his weapons, gear, and his dear skull. He hid with Dyane on the boat.

Why didn't he smell them? They smelled so far away, and like a smaller group. "They would get almost all of their possesions stolen, he knew, but was still ready to keep hold of the ones most prized to him- his glass, skull, and medallion. his mother's picture wasn't on the list since that was well hidden, as always, in a glastic pocket. Hidden in his trousers

He watched as the marauders advanced on them like pirates, soon, they'd be left with no food and water, he was sure. But as his motherly companion said: "He would not get killed" "What should we do?" he asked Dyane, turning to her

Several of the Men that he thought he had Knocked out had gotten back up. And three arrows Impaled into Clade. Two into his Thighs and on into his Upper Chest. Suddenly two people were next to Clade, a gun in each of their Hands. "Move and i Blow your Brains out kid." The older looking one said. Two other Burly looking men approached the Woman. They grinned as they felt her down, pulling out an assortment of Weaponry, "Pretty armed for simple traveling." One of the men said as he tilted her chin up. Then wrapped his hand around it and yanked it down, checking for hidden weapons in her mouth. Nothing. Kicking the weapons away. The man who had been shot with the arrows was bleeding now.

An Elegant Looking Woman approached, her beauty was Unmatched as she strutted over. She looked the woman over, then walked over to the man and smiled a beautiful smile. "Hmm. I can't Determine which of you is Commander of this Rider, But as of this Moment, you have 3 Choices." She began putting a finger to her lips. "One, You die." She said, as more people walked over, bows in hand aiming at the Woman, some at the man. "Two, We take all your Stuff and leave you here to Die." A sly smile crossed her lips, "Or Three. We take you as Prisoners. Left to Rot in a Cage until you Die." She said, "I prefer Dying, its easiest for the rest of us. But your choice." She said, to both of them, casting a glance at both.

Dyane clenched her teeth as she held a retort in, wanting to stab the man as he felt her down. She concentrated on the vision of killing him and his blood staining the beige sand instead of the fact that the Clade was bleeding, they were getting commandeered and she was about to lose everything she had gained in the past years. Of course, the hideouts were filled with supplies and replacements, but none were close enough for the two to simply walk to.

Besides, all the weaponry she had on was cherished and more or less the best of all the sets she had. The machetes themselves had taken a long time for her to acquire, their state near perfection and perfectly sharpened. Oh well, she thought. If they escaped with their lives and Clade didn't die from blood loss then things would be bittersweet. She needed to take things one step at a time, so... firstly she thought, concentrate on getting out of here.

"I am in charge of the Rider," Dyane said, hoping to sound sweet and not malicious like she wanted to, "We'll take option two." You stupid, bitch. Thankfully, the last words were left unspoken.

Clade growled at the men with guns to his head. "I can be hostage on my own, thanks" he replied gruffly. He took off his camera, his bag, his medallion, the whole lot of it. He didn't think they'd find his picture, or his 3 smallest glass instruments unless they took his clothes off, or searched him, so he gave away everything, except those two things, which he kept to himself. They were pretty useless anyway. He should have hidden food or water, he scolded himself.

He was searched for remaining items, they found two instruments, tossing them into the bag, hearing them shatter into pieces, he sniffed, his ears drooping under his hood.
The frakers took the lot, along with their rider.

Clade watched solemly as they disappeared off inot the desert. He recorded the crews general sent inside his head. Tf he ever came across any again he would kill them, hands down. "What now?" he asked Dyane "Where's the closest hideout?"

She let out an animal like growl from deep within her throat, bursting past her clenched teeth and tight lips to show itself to the world around her, which wasn't much but Clade. The woman wasn't one to lose her temper, but this was different she reasoned inwardly, her eyes narrowed as she kicked the sand viciously. Her hands in tight fists, she swore loudly her anger temporarily blinding her to the fact that losing her cool wasn't helping.

At a few moments, Dyane took in a shaky breath, closing her eyes and willing her body to relax. Feeling that her vision was no longer blocked by angry red spots, she turned to the teenager and nearly screamed as she remember the arrows that had impaled him. Running over, sand shooting up behind her, she pulled him toward her body and kissed his cheeks and hair, "Clade, Clade! Does it hurt?"

Panic filled her eyes as she looked him over, seeing the three arrows. Touching them gingerly, she looked her little chick in the eyes before gaining control over herself. "I'm going to pull them out, and you ARE NOT going to move."

She didn't wait for a response and yanked hard, pulling one out swiftly before removing his cloak and ripping the lower part into strips. Taking off his shirt slowly, she began binding his chest tightly, hoping to stop the flow of blood. Once she was done, she moved onto his legs and did the same until finally she was satisfied with her work. Hitting the sand hard, she let out a breath, her eyes turned toward the growing dawn. "Shit." was all she said, thinking about the pain her eyes were just about to go through, "The next base is 900km away from here." She said with a pained expression, her eyes dimming with the realization that they wouldn't make it. Sighing she stood up, and began walking, her jacket loose around her shoulders.

Well... This sucks. She thought wryly.

"Of course I'm fine," he lied gruffly. Yelping as she pulled out the arrows. He waited patiently as as she addressed his wounds with the basic things they had. 900 km? He couldn't walk that much with this wound. They didn't have anything, except useless things...

He limped behind her, determined to not need her to help him walk. As he lagged behind, he tried to sniff out anyone near, but the smell of his blood, and the pain was just too distracting. If only they hadn't been attacked by wanderers, then they'd be fine...

Sure enough, night fell, in what seemed to be years. Now their problem would be the cold-instead of the heat. We have no blankets, or fire he thought, not mentioning this obvious fact to Dyane. Wrapping the cloak around him, he continued on with their journey.
He felt sleepy, and his leg hurt, but he continued without complaint.

"We need to be rescued," said Clade, finally getting his tiny glass instrument out. He loudly blew a melody on it. The surprisingly mellow sound of the small instrument spread through the desert, sending out it's sad melody.
Would someone hear it and come towards them? Who knows...

As she rounded the corner, Rheia saw her commander. "Good afternoon General Marcellius." He stopped abruptly and his eyes widened. "Captain Eilan. Just the person I wanted to see. I have a mission for you. Please try and get along with your team member." With that, he handed her the orders and walked away. She opened up the paperwork and read through them. She would be scouting the area for pirates and killing them only if they had no other choice. They were to report back in with their findings and another, larger team would be sent out to execute said pirates.

She lloked down to where it listed the team members. It would be herself and Lieutenant Keiji Fujiwara. She growled when she read it and almost ripped the papers to shreds. They had never gotten along since the day they first met. They were just two completely different people destined to never mix. Now, it seemed, destiny was playing a cruel trick on her. Without further thought to the matter, she went to her quarters and packed all the things she'd need on this trip. A few changes of clothes, her knife, some hygiene products, and a few other things. She walked down to Keiji's room and let out a sigh before she knocked on the door. "Come in." She opened the door and leaned up against the door frame.

"You're still not ready?" She watched him as he packed his things, her eyes narrowing in anger. "Hey, I'm just as pissed about this as you are. So, I suggest we do as little talking as possible to keep from killing each other." At least, he wasn't a complete imbecile. "Fine." They walked down the hall together to the docking bay where all the dune riders were located. They walked to a junkie looking one with no markings on it. They got inside and walked around, getting a feel for it. There was enough room to fit three people comfortably, four if you had to.

She decided to take the first shift driving and continued along with nothing happening. They changed shifts and Rheia slept while Keiji drove. This went on for a few days. They had a couple of pirate sightings and reported it back to head quarters. They would send some men to take care of them. On the night of the fourth day they saw two people, far away. They observed for a while discussing what they should do. They didn't have a dune rider and were out in the middle of no where. "I think we should go get them. They're probably stranded." "I don't. What if it's some sort of trap to lure us in and then rob and kill us." They argued in this fashion for a while until they reached a decision.

They decided to sit and wait it our for a while and see if they did anything suspicious. If not, they would go over and rescue them, but they would still be wary of their actions. The world was not a safe place anymore and there was only two of them. Even though Rheia was an excellent sniper and Keiji was a superb combatant, trained by the military, if they were outnumbered it was all over. Rheia decided to cook that night. cooking involved warming up cold food and putting it all together. The did have a little meat left so she cooked that up and served it with the rest of the food. She took watch and let Keiji eat. "Hurry up and stop being suspicious"

Clade continued to play his glass flute as they walked. On, and on.
By now they had travelledquite far, given the state they were in. It had been a long walk, and Clade's leg was still hurting, with a fuzzy pain. But by now it was used to the rhythmical pace of his walking. He grimaced at the thought of the discomfort he would feel when he stopped. Stupid Rainmakers. He stopped playing, and sighed. "How far do you think we've gone?" he asked, hoping they were near the base. But before Dyane could answer, Clade noticed something was different.

Clade's wolf ears picked up the sound of a...dune rider?! He turned his head, and sniffed. It was another rainmaker rider. Great, now they would get robbed...again. A growl escaped Clade's throat, and his ears popped up. In the dark, cold night of the desert, Dyane was unlikely to see anything. He alerted her of the vehicle, tapping her shoulder softy. If he had stopped playing earlier, he might have noticed. The rider could probably catch up with them pretty easily, if it decided to get them.
"Normys. They have to rely on their sight, don't they? It's the worst sense of all," he muttered under his breath.

"What should we do?"