While Rava was proud of all of her children (biases and low bars aside) Saia was easily the most similar to her mother. While Rava would never have favorites, her love for each child was different. Not in quantity at all, but in appreciation for their differences. All four were distinct individuals that she loved deeply. With Saia turning out the most like her. Rava felt like as she neared her secondbirthday, it was time to reveal where she came from. What her name really meant, and why her mother was the way she was.

That task had its own challenges. Rava had to muster all of her self discipline and courage to even broach the topic with her daughter. However, even if she was vague, Saia was eager to please and humor Rava in whatever way she could. With her cloak wrapped around her, and a pack full of supplies, including an extra fur for warmth, she led Saia to the desert.

Her dainty paws brought them to the edge of the expanse of sand, the sun was headed towards the horizon. The heat was still uncomfortable, but the warmth of the sand would help them traverse the landscape one night and the air lost all of its heat. She took a deep breath and looked up at her daughter. ”Are you ready?” Likely Saia didn’t have much of an idea what she needed to be ready for. ”It’s not an easy journey, but I want you to see.”

Saia wouldn't question why Rava had asked her and her alone to the deserts north east of their home. She could assume that Rava could have had separate trips with her siblings. But she didn't. She almost knew this was a trip for her and her mother to take. She couldn't know why, but she felt that same connection to Rava as she had for her. She did stick close to her mother's ways, she had since she was born. She wouldn't know the length of what Rava saw in her each day per her namesake.

As they made their ways into the sands, Saia stopped alongside their mother before they would head on. She looked across the wavy terrain of the cooling deserts, squinting just a little from the still bright sun and shining sands underneath. She didn't wear a cloak as her mother kept, but she did carry some of her own supplies and a pelt as well. Better to carry her own weight and honestly she would carry her mother's too. She looked at Rava as she asked, "Yeah." Showing the smallest of smiles that was typical for her, still genuine though as her family would know. She wouldn't say much else, just giving her those subtle cues to let her know she was ready for the journey. And while not prominent, she would be honored too. More as their time in the desert went on.

"Saia"

Her daughter was always void of complaint when Saia asked anything of her, especially when it came to time alone like this. The cloaked woman had not stepped paw here in these deserts for years now, but as she led Saia onto the sand everything easily came back to her. She didn’t want this wild life for her daughter, but the desert had a way of honing a wolf’s skill and resolve. Maybe Saia would be given a taste of that on their journey. The girl assured her mother that she was ready, and shared a little smile. An emotion that showed in subtle ways, but that didn’t make it any less meaningful.

Rava nodded, mirroring her daughter’s subtle smile before she led her out into the sands as the last of the colors began to leave the sky. As the light waned so did the warmth. As hot as the desert was in the day was how cold it would be at night. This scenario led to some very specially adapted flora and fauna. However sparse that life looked to be. During the day most creatures disappeared, but at night in the absence of the heat death that was the sun, life flourished.

”The sun is not your friend on the sands.” She noted almost absently as they walked, seeming to wander but Rava actually had them on the faintest of game trails. ”Shelter during the day, be active during the night.” How did you teach someone in a night, how to master the desert sands?

Saia had never been through the western deserts before, so having this opportunity with her mother meant more than she could express. She had always stuck close to home, wandered through neighboring lands back at the shrine. The journey of the move here was the most she had ever traveled and she never had much interest in being far from home. She knew that would have to change one day.

They started to make their way through the sands, Saia beside her mother but following in her every pawstep. She knew she'd have to rely on her mother here, not that it was an issue to do so. Rava mentioned that traveling at night was the way of the desert. The drastic difference of the cooling air took place around them as time went by. It wasn't pleasant, but it beat the heat of the day. She was strong enough to handle it. "Where could we take shelter during the day?" She asked, as far as her eyes could see there were just hills and hills of sand. Though she did expect there were some hidden gems out here in the dunes. She was already overlooking what the desert had to offer at least in the event that she could have been lost out here without her mother.

"Saia"