Adenah may have been used to the heat, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

She met the drought like an old enemy; one whom she’d both been raised to respect and revile. There was nothing in this world that could have prepared the young hybrid for the sight of a jungle so full of life literally collapsing in on itself. The trees pulled vital nutrients away from their leaves, recoiling from the sun as much as possible, and where once it had made her so happy to look at the lush canopy above all she could see was despair.

The colors were becoming faded, and shrinking away with each passing moment. Adenah kept her hair piled high onto her head these days in an effort to stay cool, but more often than not she was still exhausted within moments of venturing out anyway. Her skin was eternally slick with sweat, and while that wasn’t entirely new the fact it was drying without being replaced was concerning. There was a real worry of dehydration for Jauhar; one that was only multiplied when the rivers seemed to dribble down.

Her little brother had grown sick because of it. He was constantly pushing himself, and now that reckless behavior was catching up to him. Ezrah hadn’t moved from his bed all day; on orders from their parents, of course, and now….now she was on the hunt for enough water to bring him back to health.

She’d gone from neighbor to neighbor, asking for just a little of their reserves to perk him up, but each time she was met with the same answer. Sorry dear, we just can’t; there isn’t enough for us to share. Really? They couldn’t spare just a mouthful? She knew there was no real way she could honestly stay mad at them, but... Ezrah needed it!

So Adenah traveled down from the trees to the darkened jungle floor. It wasn’t often that she moved so far down; there was just no reason for a shifter to be here, not if they didn’t want to end up on the end of an alkidike spear, that is. Bioluminescent fungi illuminated the world around her, bringing the creep factor up by several degrees. There was still enough moisture here that the plants didn’t look totally dead, but she knew it was only a matter of time.

Adenah adjusted the water sack on her shoulders with a brave inhale, releasing it just as she started to move. The river wasn’t far away, and even though she’d dropped down as close as she could to it there was still a bit of terrain to cross. Brambles pulled at her skin, stones bit into her feet, but the hybrid pressed on. She had to; even if Ani or Kel managed to beat her back they would still need more, so every little bit helped.

She’d known the river would be low, had expected it even, but once she made it….her heart sank. There was barely enough to come to her calves! Not to mention there was a large caravan parked next to the river bank, letting their big, slobbering beasts suck up all of Ezrah’s water. Taleans. Stupid leaflings.

Adenah came closer despite the others and dipped her waterskin into the river, hoping to gather some when the stupid animals turned it’s head her way. For a moment they locked eyes, crimson staring into green, before the damn thing bleated so loud she jumped. Adenah slipped on the slick stones, and fell over on to her hip with a cry.

“Are you alright?! I’m so sorry about that; he’s normally really good with strangers!” She looked up to see a leafling woman trodding through the water, arms held out as if to help Adenah up but her ire was already raised. Maybe it was the heat, the pain or the embarrassment, but she wanted nothing to do with them!

“What are you doing here, anyway? Don’t you have your own water in Tale?”

The woman came to a slow halt, her features contorting with a new wariness creeping over them. “W-we’re traders, just coming to sell our wares. We didn’t have enough water to make it home so-”

“So you thought you’d just take all of ours?! Don’t you think WE need it! My brother’s sick, and you’re making it worse!” Later she would come to regret raising her voice so much, but in that moment Adenah couldn’t care less. She had tears of frustration budding in her eyes, and all she could see was red for the stupid, thieving leaflings. “You’ve had your fill so GET OUT and don’t come back!” Snatching up her now full water sack, Adenah plucked herself up out of the river and took off as fast as her feet could carry her.

[814]