It wasn't often that he found himself someplace he wasn't familiar with. He'd only left the bounds of Olympus lands - and Ebony lands before that - a handful of times in his nearly year long life. What had possessed him to wander was not immediately evident, but Hephaestus had thought for a good long time about it and come to the conclusion that he'd never prove himself to be worthy of the Olympus family if he did not put in the effort to find situations in which to prove himself. He admitted that the logic was faulty in that by deliberately putting himself in danger he risked the disdain of the very family he wished to prove himself to, but it was the best plan he could make. It was evident he would not get the chance if he remained safely protected in the bosom of Olympus territory, and so he must venture forth and find the adventure that Nemesis so seemed to crave. Besides, it stood to reason that if he wanted to be able to protect his siblings and other family from danger, he should know what dangers there could be found.
The heat of the sand had burned at first on his paw pads but as he'd walked he'd grown used to the feeling, even enjoying the way the warmth seemed to curl up his legs and caressed his belly from the reflected sun rays. Why the desert heat seemed to bother him so little, why he seemed to truly revel in it, he was not certain of... but perhaps he had been well-named when his mother had bestowed upon him the name of a god of fire.
He was, however, getting terribly thirsty, and it had taken him some time to even notice. Now that he did, however, he stopped where he was, ignoring the way increased contact with the burning sand made his paw pads ache, as he looked around for something - anything - familiar. Nothing. Not even any trees or grass or anything that would herald the presence of water as far as he could see. He gave careful thought to his sudden predicament, and concluded that the best way of getting something to drink would be to follow his footprints home. But when the orange-eyed young man turned his gaze behind him, it was to find that his footprints had been scoured away behind him by the ever-present desert wind.
Hm.
Well, there was nothing that couldn't be solved by sitting and thinking for long, long time. He didn't trust his delicate rear to the hot sands, so sitting was out of the question, but the big male did hunker down to crouch in the blazing warmth to think as the sun crept higher and higher overhead. All he needed was some time. He'd figure it out.
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