Above all, Do no harm (SquishRazUD)

In the corner of a dimly lit tavern, sat a Gerudo girl, alone and waiting. The other inhabitants paid little heed to the young one, she was quiet and her clothes common but practical, none knew what she was planning behind her scarf.

Here she waited for her guests, a soldier of the thieves' fortress and a... well, in truth she wasn't sure of the other really was, although mercenary-bandit seemed to fit well. They were the only ones who had seemed to show any interest in her offer.

50 rupees to escort her to the tip of the Ikanan mountains and back, for samples of an extremely rare plant. A smirk appeared on girl's face, she would finally have what was needed for so long...

Fiorella di Stiello stepped into the tavern without a word.

The Gerudo woman hated discussing matters in these things; too loud and too rowdy to see if anyone was watching. She supposed that these fears were unfounded, paranoid even; but it unsettled her to not be able to watch for possible enemies. A failure to be vigilant had cost her much; she would not be faulty in her observations again.

She glanced around and located a fellow Gerudo. She approached her and, sitting down, asked, "Are we waiting for someone else?"

The young girl had barely nodded to her Gerudo companion when the second of the escorts came through the door. Scruffy, dirty, and badly in need of a shower, this was last guard. In truth though, this had been too generous of a title, even bandit seemed to evoke an image cleaner than the man before her, at the very least though he had some muscles and well-kept sword. He would have to do.

Her other companion, the Gerudo, seemed to be more comfortable around a blade than the others, which from would obviously stem from her combat and military experience. If there wasn't something off about her, she would silently scream military: her posture, her intent on getting down to business as soon as possible, even the way she wore her weapon to be drawn on a moment's notice.

Still, this was of little matter, she had her companions and they seemed capable enough, so the trek could continue. "My name is Asylia," spoke the girl, softly indeed. "And you both know why I've called you here, and I thank you for coming. I hope this goes as simply as it is planned." Producing a map from her pocket and laying it out on the table before her, she pointed to Ruto," We're right here, if we move west than we will come to large river, simply follow it south and when we get close to the mountains..." Her finger followed the description on the map "stay between the river and them until the range ends. There should be a large, green field about there and that is where the herbs is found. Then just back-track and at the second bridge we find on the river, move back east. The trip shouldn't take longer than a few weeks, honestly."

Asylia smiled, apparently quite pleased with her plan. "Oh, how thoughtless of me, I believe half-payment up-front is customary." and quickly produced two small pouches, each with 25 rupees. "I have purchased most of the supplies we'll need, but if you need anything else, please hurry. Monsters and bandits are most active during the day and I don't want to waste valuable time."

Fio saw the pleased look in her employer's eye, and followed her gaze as a ragged-looking man came through the door. The appearance didn't inspire much confidence, but the Gerudo reminded herself that if he looked so weary then he had probably been through something strenuous, at least.

She whistled to gain his attention and waved him over to their table before her employer explained the mission. Seemed to be simple enough, assuming no interruptions. That said, the fact that she had gone to the trouble of hiring escorts probably meant that some were to be expected. Even if there weren't any particular worries, traveling for weeks opened up too many opportunities for marauders.

Oh well. Fiorella wasn't going to let some lowlife attack a fellow Gerudo. Taking the pouch and turning it over in her hands, she said simply, "I have no questions, and my errands were run prior. My name is Fiorella di Stiello. I'll protect you on our journey, miss Asylia."

"I'm sure everything will be fine, you two are very skilled fighters if I've heard correctly, and I know some healing techniques if you get injured. Besides, I think three people will move much faster and quieter than a dozen." the girl spoke softly, lowering her head at the end, "If I could even afford it; this is my life's sav-" she muttered in a low, depressive before raising her head again and speaking more cheerfully.

"I'm sorry for you having to listen to me ramble on, of course you bathe and change, here's the pack I've prepared for you. Ms. Fio and I will wait by the village entrance, so please hurry." Handing the dirt-covered man a full back-pack, and another to her Gerudo companion whilst a third hung from the girl's chair.

Inside they would find a light blanket, a small, one-person tent, two water-skins: already full, flint and tinder, a whistle, and several weeks worth of dried fruit, jerky, dry biscuits and nuts; everything one would need to survive in the desert for weeks on end. Well, everything other than the skills to conserve energy, fight off monsters and bandits, find water, prevent overexertion, and tell mirage from reality.

As the man left, Asylia turned to Fio and spoke softly, "A charming man isn't he? While I believe we should wait where I mentioned for him to finish." Then simply got up, waited for the women to do the same and left for the entrance; hoping that Morgan would finish quickly.

Fio rose and, following her employer, gently leaned against the wall. Her thoughts turned, quite briefly, to her kitten back home. She had left a few bowls of food out in her room for him. She somewhat doubted that he would have the self-control to ration it, but then he was a clever cat; he could find food on his own, as he had proven to her time and time again getting into her own rations. Even if he couldn't for some inexplicable reason, she did have a precious few friends who knew of his existence and whom she had asked to look after him.

So why was she still worried? Stupid, adorable little furball... The Gerudo woman let out a small sigh. It'd be fine, she reassured herself.

At Asylia's question, Fio dispassionately and simply answered, "He's certainly an interesting one." She had no prior dispositions toward him save for his rather meager first impression, so she couldn't pass any particular judgments upon him without more information.

Asylia face turned to a gentle frown as she spoke, "You did take longer than I thought, we lost good time" Her face quickly returned to normal "Well there's no use just talking about it, let's use what time we have left! There's only a few hours of darkness left!" she spoke in an upbeat voice, with only a hint of urgency.

She immediately departed to the east, using her compass as a guide and moving quickly; hell anyone would be hard-pressed to figure out when she put her scarf up.

They walked for hours in the cool night air, although always hurried and often over dunes rather than around them to save time, But the desert does not seem to enjoy being tread upon, and the rose quite quickly then, forcing the party to halt their advance in the wake of the new heat.

"We'll camp here" spoke the young Gerudo "We should set up the tents quickly, and change even faster, the heat sneaks up on you you know." She spoke even as she removed a few layers of clothing, revealing a lighter, more comfortable, (and significantly more revealing) set of a tank-top and cargo pants.

Fio sighed lightly. Desert sands were unsteady to walk on, something she had gotten used to; however, they were nigh impossible to drive steady stakes into. Tents would not be easy to use out here. As she worked her thoughts turned briefly to her cat again, but she shook them away. Best to focus on this so she could actually see him again. The Gerudo didn't bother changing, as her usual attire was suited to the desert and she was not going to waste unnecessary energy out here on something superfluous. She did, however, put a veil upon her face. Seasoned as she was to the desert, the taste of sand was never something that had grown on her.

The sand was beginning to heat up, so she hoped her work would go quickly. It was heavily unpleasant to lay on hot sand, so the sooner they had shade the better. Since this was the desert, she highly doubted that they needed a fire, but she practiced with a few breaths of it anyway. Just tiny wisps, for now. Yes, she could still do it. That should be useful later.

For some reason, again her thoughts turned to her pet. That cat and work, those were all she ever thought about any more. How had it gotten that way? She couldn't remember the last time she had honestly laughed. And somehow the distance between her and her fellows had increased, as though suddenly she were of a different plane.

She shook her head. She could think about it later. Later, she thought, as she always had thought. Later, later, later. Later was what got that man and others like him killed. Later was what was keeping her so somber. Later was...

She cut that thought short, noticing she was working with a fervor that was sloppy and imprecise. Calm down. Calm down.

Asylia quickly finished setting up her tent and silently cursed herself, the stakes weren't long enough for the soft desert sands. The tents may stand initially, but would fall before the day ends and gives way to night; their haven.

She looked around at her companions, and they seemed to be having more trouble than she was: one had set the stakes improperly into the ground and would have to redrive them, the other had simply given up and had cocooned himself in the sheet. For a second she began to second guess her choice of companions, after all if they couldn't set up a tent... She put the thought out of her head, they were all she had at the moment and so she'd have to help them as much as they her.

The little caterpillar was already asleep, so that the stressed Gerudo was the only she could help today. "Those stakes aren't in there right, the tent won't stand evenly. Here if you just lay the sheet..." and so the girl spent the next few hours helping her comrade before retiring to her own for the day.

Hours waned as the party slept, harboured from the scorching sun by their tents (or cocoon in one case) and before long the sun set the horizon on fire. It was night by the time they had packed up again, and Asylia had replaced her clothes.

Tonight, they weren't alone, a pillar of smoke and a soft glow emanated only a few hundred away from their camp.


It seems bandits also sleep in the sun.

Fio slept lightly; she couldn't help it, that was how she always slept. Several times through the night she awoke, and several times she went back to sleep. During those periods of wakefulness she went over her equipment, making sure everything was in order. It was a nervous habit, one born of many battles.

By the time she packed up the sun was gone and the air that had been at such an ungodly temperature had plunged from searing to near-freezing. That was the way of the desert; heat beyond measure or cold beyond reckoning. There was no in-between. That was for more temperate locations.

The smoke rising from a short distance away told her that someone else was out here, and someone foolhardy or brave enough to telegraph their exact location without fear. The only ones she knew who would actually do that were probably bandits, who were used to pillaging, not being struck themselves. They were not a civilized people and they did not think like civilized people. That they would be attacked was unthinkable to them; indeed, others should actively steer clear of them.

Fiorella, on the other hand, did not subscribe to the same school of thinking.

"Bandits on the horizon," she muttered to her charge. "Should we strike first?"

Asylia spoke as softly and quietly as she could, as if to avoid unwanted ears from hearing this most critical of weaknesses "No, I am sworn to only preserve life. I can only allow them if they are trying to kill me personally, regardless of any other intentions. But if they found this out..." The girl trailed off, hoping the main point got across.

"There are definitely things they could with it, and me, if they ever found that out."

She lowered her head, as if the kind of predicament she was in now could become that much worse. "Let's just try and sneak around them, we don't bother them and they don't ever know we were here." With that, the girl tried to keep low and move as quietly as she could around the camp, managing to keep at least one small dune between them at all times. Of course this meant that neither of them knew their numbers, equipment, etc. But this was still better than finding out the hard way.

After the group put some distance distance from their enemies, she began moving more normally again, if more on edge. They had just reached the bridge and started south, when the Asylia suddenly cursed herself, the tracks they had left made a perfect right to them.

Fiorella had noticed much sooner than her charge the hazard of leaving tracks, it was just that she didn't much care. The sands were loose and unsteady, and time would easily cover them back up. Even though they started rather close to them, the bandits would have to have some luck to come across the tracks, then extraordinary, and somewhat unreasonable, persistence to follow them, especially if they wanted to find the trail before it went cold and was lost. Even if they did, at best they would likely be tired from pursuit if they actually managed to outpace them, which would be rather unlikely if they had large numbers, and not altogether threatening with low numbers.

At any rate, they had not come across any such marauders yet and she doubted the ones behind them would catch up unless there were truly extenuating circumstances. Which was why Fio was somewhat confused at Asylia's frustration. She felt no need to stress out about it now even if it had troubled her more, as they were already quite far and it wasn't as though they could go back and fix it. So let them come, if they were to come here. They deserved a proper battle with her if they managed to go that far.

The girl suddenly shook her head, as if to clear her mind; not only had she shown her nerves cracking already, she had out-right forgotten to eat the entire time. Only the fear and excitement had caged that gnawing hunger in her gut, and even that had begun to wear thin now that she knew it.

"S-sure, beside the river... right?" Asylia managed to studder out, hoping the others wouldn't notice her eyes frantically scanning the dunes for some threat that probably wasn't even coming. Without even waiting for a response she fumbled in her pack, for a satchel of rations; even spilling some, on the tent within. Even the sounds of the river and winds made her jump. She was breaking down and it was only the second day, maybe conversation would calm the nerves?

"So, where di- were you two before?"

Fiorella shrugged and gestured in the direction they had come from. The only place she had ever called home was the Fortress of Thieves, and she had occasionally been in recon parties to check the surrounding areas, or to confirm the situation of Ruto. This would be the first time the Gerudo woman would venture out of the desert, which had been her cradle and her home. It made her almost wistful.

She then got up and looked about her, walking this way and that, scanning for possible escape routes should they indeed be attack for whatever reason, as conspicuously as possible, shortly after announcing her intent to do so. This was actually much more for show than it was for practicality; they already knew what direction an assault would be coming from, if it did, and if they were to actually hound them this far then she figured that was enough reason to engage them. She knew that her charge was still nervous. She could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice.