Creatures Of Sonaria: Sands Of Time

Part 4: Trial

       Everything ached. Her legs, her head, her body. She didn't want to move, all she wanted to do was rest. She didn't know how long it had been since she'd been unconscious, but from how stiff she felt, it had probably been a very long time. 

       Which means time I've wasted laying here when I should be strong and keep searching, a part of Dune's brain ordered. But she didn't feel like it. Everything hurt.

       She heard voices coming from somewhere, echoing against walls. Dune tried shifting herself, but it only sent jolts of pain dancing through her body. The feeling of dried mud and leaves splattered and spread across her scales was easy to define. She decided to stay still and listen to the footsteps coming into the cave she was. 

       "I swear, she didn't mean it!" Arche's voice said. He really sounded upset.

       "If she didn't mean it, then why did she still attack and hurt Unne?" said an unfamiliar voice. His voice sounded soothing and intimidating at the same time. Dune thought this must be an authority figure, or possibly the father of the moemoea she attempted to kill.

       Arche's tail brushed against her's. "Dune has never been outside the Carrion Desert before. I don't know why she's out here, but whatever the reason is, I'm going to help her. Besides, how bad can it be?"

       Dune felt a pang of guilt. She really should have told Arche why she was out wandering the plains in the first place. 

       "Please, Indigo. I can't let you kill her!" Arche begged. "Unne is still alive and hurt, but you hurt her more than she hurt him. I mean, look at her. She's half covered in mud to heal the sores you gave her."

       Indigo and Arche sat in silence for a long time. Dune could feel their eyes imprinting right on her. Someone sighed. "We still have to bring her in for trial," Indigo said. "Herd law for anyone who dare attempts attack one of the calves."

       Trial? Dune thought. She had never heard of trials before. She quickly assumed this was a herd species thing. 

       "Then I'll be obliged to defend her," Arche said. He put one of his talons on hers carefully. "I don't want to lose her. She already means too much to give up."

       Dune could almost feel a smile creeping across her face and her heart. Was this how she acted toward Aire without even noticing? Yes, she was defending her from the end of the word. Yes Aire meant too much to her to give up. Yes she didn't want to lose Aire. But Dune knew there was no way Aire would love her more than a best friend. But if Arche did love her that way, would she give up her relationship with Aire and become mates with a regular?

       She had to get up. Just thinking about Aire made her realize why she was all the way out here. Dune forced her body to suck up the pain. She ignored the painful sensations her body was signaling her to do. She slowly began to see the area around her. She was in a cave lighted with orange crystals that grew from the walls. Arche and Indigo, she guessed, were in the cave with her. 

       Arche saw her and gasped. "Dune!" he shouted, coming over to allow her to put her weight on him. "Don't you ever do that again! Moemoea herds always have protectors nearby. And don't start getting up yet, you're still healing."

       Indigo scoffed and gave her a look that she wished wasn't so terrifying. Dune sat down and let out a breath of air she didn't know she was holding.

       "You still have some explaining to do," Indigo said. "Like why you are in a land totally new, and why you are attacking my herd."

       "Like I said, she was hungry!" Arche hissed at him. "But why are you out here if you've always lived in the desert?"