“Desperate people are the most dangerous.”

- Frank Herbert, Dune

"We're going to have make a stop soon," Luhan said as he moved under the shade of the sail. "Yeah, we're almost out of food," Baekhyun added as he took a small nibble of a piece of dried jerky. You nodded as you rested your head against Kai's chest, who had dozed off a while ago and was currently napping. "Suho, could I have some water please?" Yeja asked as she held a wooden cup up towards the other. The scribe looked up from his field notes and maps and swirled his right arm in a spiral motion, pulling droplets of water out of the sandy air before carefully filling the cup. "If we had someone like you back in Lasiam we wouldn't have to buy from those snakes from the Oasis," she said as she watched in amazement. She honestly couldn't believe someone had the capability to pull water out of thin air.

"This is going to take a little longer than normal. Its harder to get water out of this dusty wind," Suho explained, "The Oasis? I think that's the post we're going to be stopping at to restock." Yeja's lips tightened. "Oh, are we?" she asked, "Well... we need to be on guard then. Those people aren't the most upstanding dwellers of the desert," she told him. Suho nodded quickly jotted her statement down in his journal, "I'll keep that in mind." Once filled, Yeja thanked him and covered the top of the cup with her hand, carefully balancing it as she walked over to Sehun. The man had sat down some time ago, his arms still stretched out to control the direction of the wind, but in a more laid back manner.

"Here. Drink," she told Sehun as she took a seat next to him. He looked at her briefly before looking down at the she was holding to his lips. His tired eyes shone with gratefulness as he complied, drinking the entire thing down in one large gulp. "Thank you," he told her as he sent her a fatigued smile. Yeja looked at him with soft eyes as she whispered that it was no problem, fixing his hair with her calloused fingers. "We're going to make a stop soon. You can rest then," she told him as both pairs of eyes looked across the expanse of desert before them. He hummed deeply and pulled her closer to himself, moving her head onto his shoulder before also resting his head lightly upon hers. Yeja, too tired to protest, mumbled softly as she relaxed against his shoulder.

"I'm scared, Sehun. Once we get there, they're either going to kill me or enslave me," she whispered. Sehun's jaw clenched as he heard the quivering of her voice. "I'm scared too," he admitted, "But I'm more scared of what happens to you than to me." Yeja hummed sadly and nestled her head into the crook of his shoulder and neck. "I guess we can be scared together then." Sehun's lips twitched up slightly he felt the endearing action. To him, hair was softer and more beautiful than the finest handwoven textile. "I guess so." Yeja bit her lower lip as her brows furrowed, a shutter falling down her spine. "Do you think... Keshi and Afgastee are okay? Quime wouldn't... I mean... There's no way he would have found out, right?" Sehun nodded his head immediately. "I'm sure they're fine." In truth, Sehun had a multitude of doubts festering in his mind. But in that moment, the only thing he could focus on was comforting Yeja. The girl glanced up at his features and scoffed quietly, "Don't lie to me. I know you too well." Sehun cursed in his brain before letting out a sigh. "Fine. I don't know," he confessed, "But I hope they are." The brown eyed girl's eyes locked with him and sent him a bitter smile. "Me too."

From behind, the rest of you watched their interactions with curiosity. You still hadn't asked Yeja what her relation to Sehun was, but based on the scene before you, it was safe to assume that they were extremely close and/or a couple. After making a quick mental note to ask later, your eyes trailed up to see Kris soaring above you through the cloudless sky. As of lately he had been spending a lot of time in the air. And the fact that the two of you had spoken so minimally over the course of the week made you feel on edge. "It's because misses Aeyow," Lay said, as if he had read your thoughts, "He has an extremely strong bond with the dragons." You glanced at his heterochromatic eyes and sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just miss him a little," you confessed. "That's because you like him so much," Suho said, a loopy grin on his face as he looked up from his map. "What?" you choked loudly, glancing at Kai's sleeping face to ensure that you hadn't awakened him. "It's way too obvious," the Scribe laughed as he watched you become flustered. "I don't know what you're talking about," you told him with the shake of your head. Suho howled in laughter. "I'm just messing with you."

"We all know you like Kai anyway," Luhan said flatly as he sharpened one of his blades. You turned to face him and tilted head in confusion. "I do not! What is with you guys today?" you groaned, "Are you crazy?" Luhan shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to  look at you as he grabbed a polishing cloth. "Probably has something to do with the love story unfolding in front of us," Tao mumbled lazily, eyes darting towards Sehun and Yeja before using an arm to cover his eyes to try and get some sleep, "Love is stupid." "You're all delusional. Obviously she likes me," Baekhyun said with a haughty smile as he looked at you, "Right?" You rolled your eyes and closed them, leaning back against Kai's chest. "Denied," Suho snickered as he watched Baekhyun's expression fall, causing the other guys to crack up. "It's because your past Guardians were covenant friends," Baekhyun mumbled bitterly and stuck a tongue out at you.

Lay perked up as he heard Baekhyun speak. There was something had been bothering him for quite some time now, but he hadn't had the opportunity to ask till now. The dark haired man made his way beside Suho, sitting beside the Scribe quietly. Suho blinked and looked up from the map he was scribbling notes on, looking at the other with a quizzical expression. He was honestly quite surprised. Besides Tao, Lay had always been the one to obtain from, in his own words "tiring small-talk." So when he decided to sit beside the older, Suho noted it as abnormal and uncharacteristic of him. "Um... Yes?" Suho began, wondering why the other had come up to him. "I've been thinking about something. Actually, its been on my mind for a while," Lay began, his knees brought towards his chest as he hugged him in his arms slightly, "There were thirteen guardians, correct?" Suho nodded, humming a short, "Yes." Lay looked around before lowering his voice and leaning to the other's ear, "In the legends of the War of the Guardians, Alagron is a man. And your Guardian, Reesa, was a woman. So, how are both you and Kora Guardians?"

Suho stared at the other with a thoughtful express