She was learning the desert slike the back of her well worn paws. She memorized her steps, the position of the sun and the stars. She knew every sparse landmark like an old friend. Rava had to or else she would easily succumb to the elements out here. Darkness had taken over the land and the sand had long started to go cold. Scorching heat during the daytime and plummeting lows during the night. This was the harshest place she had ever lived but she loved every moment of it.

She had nothing, but she was free. She had the desert and its mercilessness, but it also offered the rare bountiful gift. If you trusted the sands the desert would provide. Rava had no problem in her scavenging, the desert preserved and mummified most of its victims, which made for a feast for those who knew how to find it. She hoped that luck would be upon her tonight, she could feel how empty her stomach was. Sometimes she wasn’t comfortable, but it was a small price to pay for the solitude and freedoms she was allowed out here in the middle of nowhere.

A full moon was rising, all the better for Rava to seek out the tell tale signs of food. She could feel a slight breeze on her legs but the air was crisp and clear. The Autumn chill and cloudless night made it frosty over the sand, but it was a welcome relief to the heat of day. She loped along the sand, alert but comfortable in her pace.

Bloody fucking hell... While traveling through the desert during the day, Fel thought more than once that she was simply going to fall over and die. The heat had smothered her, making it difficult to breathe. The scorching sands burned her paw pads. She had to fight the sun for shade and when there was none, the silver streaked woman cried. Her saving grace had been a smattering of palms and rocks in the middle of nowhere. Though her paws ached, she dug down into the earth around the trees, seeking out cooler ground to soothe her savaged digits. Thank Abraxas that she'd brought water with her in the satchel slung over her shoulder.

And if that wasn't bad... Now that night had fallen, Fel was freezing. It was a god damn desert, so she hadn't thought to bring anything to make a fire. Who in the hell needed fire in a fucking desert? She did, apparently. Huddled in the hold that she'd dug, the woman's teeth chattered. She wasn't large by any means. Tallish, sure, but very thin. The charcoal and obsidian fae was lean and fit. There was no meat on her body to warm her. She thought herself mad for hoping for the warmth of the sun to come again, but she found herself truly wishing for it.

When she spotted the vultures after dark Rava knew she was in for a treat. Dainty paws carried her over the sands towards where she could see the massive birds circling something dead. Rava wasn’t disappointed when she crested the dune. It looked like some kind of equine, zebra, horse, donkey, she couldn’t tell at this point. All she knew was that there was plenty of flesh on it to satiate her hunger for a few more days.

She chased off the birds for a few moments and worked off one of the huge haunches. Enough for a few days worth of food, and then she began to run. She ran towards her favorite shelter, an almost oasis not far from here. It had palms and a couple of cactus that could be used for water. As long as you watched the thorns. She’d set up camp there for a while.

Rava wasn’t sure what to do when she arrived and found a woman there. Stormy silver eyes opened in astonishment as she froze at the top of the hill, her horse haunch still firmly grasped in her teeth.

She had seen the vultures circling around and believed that they were for her. That was before the cold nighttime breeze had brought the stench of sun rotted flesh in her direction. Fel hunkered down even tighter in her hideyhole, shivering to keep warm. Hell, the trash birds might be eating her too come morning. This would be the last time she'd ever come to a desert. The sands that had once been granules of lava were now granules of ice. The red dunes were painted blue and silver by the full moon hanging overhead. Some might have found it pretty, but Fel didn't give a shit about it's beauty or whatever. What she wouldn't give to be back in Aerie or curled up between Azriel and Sibyl, snug and warm. Another shudder tore through her and she cursed her luck yet again. Fel didn't really see the woman at first. She had her eyes squeezed shut as though that would keep her warm somehow. When she went to blink, she nearly jumped out of her fur. The cape moved in the chill breeze and Fel cursed aloud this time. "Bloody hell... you'll scare someone to death before the cold even has a chance to take them." Though her words were harsh, it was difficult to sound serious with your teeth chattering. "Speech"

She stood frozen with bright silvery eyes, fear gripping hold of her limbs much heavier than the cold ever could. She still didn’t move as the dark woman jumped as her eyes fluttered open. Normally Rava would have fled at that exact moment, but her fear held her still. Like a tiny doe trapped by a bright beam of light little Rava couldn’t make herself move. The woman’s words did finally break her spell and she jumped suddenly, as though Fel would jump up and bite her face off. She did manage to take a worried step back, knowing the feeling of the cold. Her cloak protected her from the extremes of the desert, but this woman didn’t have that luxury.

Her brain wasn’t as frozen as her limbs and she could see the shudders of cold that racked the lady’s body and she didn’t look like she was going to move at all. The haunch was still in her mouth and her next rest stop was miles away. She’d never make it lugging her prize. Rava whined softly, conflicted in her emotions of fear. Hesitantly, and barely moving, Rava placed one foot forward. She could hear the clicking of teeth and again the shivers that raced down the dark woman’s coat. Another, barely placed step was taken and Rava started to shake, but only slightly and with fear.

The cloaked woman began to shake almost as much as Fel was. "Bloody hell, woman. What is your problem? Do you have anything in all of those folds to build a fire with?" The dark woman curled in tighter on herself. What was this garbage? Again she decided that she would never again enter this desert. She'd done something wrong and Abraxas was punishing her for it, she was sure. Why else would she be out here in the middle of nowhere, suffering in front of some terrified mute? As night fell, the silver spattered woman had searched the landscape for rocks. Rocks retained heat longer than sand. Unfortunately, there was nothing. Only this little patch of oasis. Well. It looked like she was just going to freeze to death. Was this cold desert night showing a page of the winter to come? If so, Fel didn't want any part of it. "Speech"

Rava didn’t carry anything with her besides her cloak, she was like a leaf and wandered wherever the wind blew her. Now the wind had blown her here, with food and this strange woman. Her mind should have realized the wolf wasn’t going to harm her in her current state, she was too cold to do anything. Rava took in a deep breath, she was brave enough to conquer the desert she could be brave enough to help this freezing woman.

Carefully she crept forward, shifting herself to be parallel with Fel. Like a flighty deer she draped her cloak over the silver marked she wolf as the smaller fire touched she wolf settled in beside her. Fur against fur as she shared her warmth. The haunch forgotten Rava’s star touched ears lowered to her head as she sunk in on herself. ”No fire.” She breathed apologetically as she settled in submissively.