Heads up: I'm going to show the type of Egypt muslin outfit Pidge will be wearing and placed them below. I've found photos of when Evie was wearing them and I'm not really sure how to explain it so.. just use the pictures to help.
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HOPE YOU ENJOY
PLEASE VOTE
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The Next Morning..
They had reached the closest town to the river just over an hour ago. Their clothing dry but the time they arrived with the help of the sin burning down on them while they walked to the town through out the whole night. No one liked the idea of sleeping by the river, not after the attack. Shiro and Lance having to empty their wallets, drenched at first but the money had thankfully mostly dried out time they arrived as well.
All grabbing something to eat, more so when Varkon started looking like a round juicy chicken. Getting some water each as well and pretending to ignore the stares around them. Pidge clinging more to Lance jacket that she stole from him mostly, well, he did pass it over to her when it was half dry and her nightdress was still clinging to her body. She just didn't return it since she wasn't going to walk around in nothing but her nightdress.
Lance must have taken the hint since once they've finished eating, he sent Shiro out to look for a man who was selling camels. Shiro not having a chance to say a single word back since Lance had grabbed Pidge hand before running off. Returning by himself within a few minutes and complaining over Shiro having one job to look for camels and he failed it. That left the two males to search together, Shiro mostly keeping an eye out for trouble and the missing women from their group while Lance talked business.
Varkon, he had wondered off at some point and only retuned when a bunch of women was slapping him and was simply running away from them. Clearly doing or saying something that the women themselves did not like.
Shiro laughing at the sight before frowning as Lance annoyed voice filled the air as he was yelling with the camel seller. Things were going so smoothly for them in the past thirty minutes and he prayed that he'd be able to spot Katie soon otherwise he was going out to hunt her down and drag her back to the group.
"I only want four! Four!" Lance screamed at the seller, getting completely worked up over trying to buy the four they needed.
The seller arguing back in his home tongue, not just letting Lance have an easy buy it seems while Shiro stayed standing a step behind Lance. His eyes open and he glanced around with his hands on his hips, searching for hazel colour hair.
"I only want four, not a whole bloody herd!" Lance grumbled back in frustration, showing four finger to show how many they wanted from the herd.
The seller yelling something back in his home tongue towards Lance who's eyebrow twitched as another tick formed on his eyebrow over the seller. It was starting to bug him real bad now that he was almost tempted to ask Shiro to shoot the guy for him.
"Can you believe this cheat?" Lance snarled out, snapping his head towards Shiro and disturbing his concentration over searching for Pidge.
"Will you just pay the man" Shiro snapped back in frustration, getting real pissed off over Katie being gone for almost forty minutes already without any clue over where she was. He was getting ready to storm any and every shop around before just carrying her to Hamunaptra so he didn't lose her again.
"Oh! For heavens shake, can't believe the price of these fleabags" Lance huffed out as he pulled out his wallet to pay, Shiro money barely covered their food and drinks earlier leaving Lance money the only amount they had left.
The seller lightening up and cheering as Lance passed over the money, quickly shoving it into his pocket to make sure Lance couldn't get any back.
"Yes happy? Very good" Lance grumbled back as he took two camel reigns leaving Shiro to grab the other two before they started walking off again.
"You probably could've had them for free. All we had to do was give him your sister" Shiro joked with an silly little grin and hearing Lance snort beside him.
"Yes. Awfully tempting, wasn't it?" Lance grinned back goofily, knowing how much of an handful she could be sometimes and often dreamed over swapping her for a cat instead.
"Lance! Takashi!" Pidge called out, waving an hand in the air for them to spot her easier before she bid the bunch of women around her farewell and hurried over to her group.
"Awfully" Shiro muttered out in aww as he stared at her. She was breath taking, dressed in a stunning black dress that fitted her body perfectly while not being oddly tight and giving her room to move. A vail hooked over her ears, hiding most of her face apart from her eyes that laid behind the cut out slip. Beautiful golden eyes shining in the sunlight and Shiro couldn't look away.
"Wow! Don't you look like a stunning princess! Give us a twirl, prove my money was rightful spent on this" Lance grinned back, in complete aww over her and how good she looked.
"Even comes with leggings underneath meaning no more being forced to sit like a lady" Pidge happily bragged as she twirled on the spot, letting them see the whole outfit and as the dress raised, showing her ankles they noticed the ends of the leggings.
"You look wonderful, Pidgey" Lance praised once more, clapping his hands together as he wished Matt was here to see such a sight.
"I feel it and thanks for letting us waste some money for this outfit, I'd really didn't want to go any further in nothing by a night dress. Oh! And here's your jacket back" Pidge shyly admitted before perking up and passing back his jacket, mental noting down that she owed him big time.
"It wasn't wasted" Shiro blurted out, still in a daze as he stared at her.
"Huh?" Pidge breathed out in confusion, turning her gaze from Lance to him and sealing Shiro fate without knowing it.
"T-The money, I mean. It wasn't put to waste. Your nightdress would have slowed us down and brought more trouble than it's worth. This was a well needed purchase" Shiro awkwardly choked out, never feeling his mouth be as dry as it was now and blaming it on the desert around them. Turning his head away to the camels while lifting his free hand and patting one.
"Hmm, I didn't think over it like that. Guess your right" Pidge mumbled back, feeling a little silly for hoping he was going to reply with something else or even compliment her.
"Oh god, you're both killing me" Lance groaned out as he buried his face into one of the camels he held, wishing for the sand to just swallow him up right not. They were both clueless and too sad to watch anymore.
"You finally collected the camels. Grand news indeed" Varkon grinned as he wobbled over to them, looking over their means of transport from now on.
"Yep, so pick one you like and let's get on them. I say we leave Shiro as our leader for the rest of the journey since I'm completely lost" Lance replied back as he turned to his fellow partners, knowing either Pidge or Varkon would take the spare ones from him or Shiro.
"We've got a lot of travel ahead of us. It's best if we get going now" Shiro admitted with a small frown, lifting his gaze to the clear sky with the haunting sun above.
"Is it difficult to ride an camel?" Pidge nervously asked, feeling her nerves start to kick in.
"You've never done it before?" Shiro asked surprised as he thought she'd at least try it once when helping Lance during his treasure digs.
"No" Pidge admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed as the rest seemed to know what they were doing.
"But I thought you have, Matt done it" Lance shot back with an unsure look, certain that she'd try it with Matt.
"Yeah with you but that was during one of your secret dates. I've never had a go at it before" Pidge scoffed back as she rolled her eyes as she did plan to try it with her brother at one point but thanks to Lance surprise date with her brother over them going on a camel ride together, she never got to go try it with her brother since he's already had a go.
"My dear, I'll be happy to sh-" Varkon quickly spoke, giving an charming smile before frowning as was spoken over.
"It's not as scary as it might look and like most things, it get's easier once you're use to it. Don't worry, I'll teach you the basics as we go along, it'd be my honour too" Shiro offered instead with a small but kind smile, his eyes reassuring as he knew how nerve wracking it could be.
"Thank you" Pidge sweetly smiled, stepping towards Shiro and taking the second camel reigns he held.
"Varkon, you're riding behind us" Lance simply stated as he got a whiff over the warden when he took hold over the camel reigns he held. Everyone had hoped the guy would smell a bit better after the river swim but god no, his scent only grew worse.
Everyone hopping on their camel, Lance and Shiro mostly helping Pidge onto her own before making sure she wouldn't fall off once it stood up. Both hopping on their own before Shiro gave Pidge a five minutes quick basic training. Mostly teaching her how to sit and act, how to start and stop.
Once finished, they were soon all riding out.
Shiro taking the lead with Pidge behind him, ready to help her if needed. Lance behind her, ready to help her if needed as well while Varkon was left in the back and against the wind direction due to him smelling more dead than anything else left to rot in the desert.
A few hours in and everything was mostly kept quiet, leaving Shiro to concentrate ahead and lead them in the correct direction. But of course, the nice silence couldn't be kept forever and Lance broke it first.
"Never did like camels" Lance admitted out loud making the rest roll their eyes.
"I thought you loved them or that's what you told Matt" Pidge shot back with a slight smirk.
"Oh, I do when I'm riding one with Matt close by but personally, I prefer a car" Lance explained with a small smile, loving a bit of a camel ride with Matt when it'd only last five or ten minutes but hating any other time spent with them.
"Hmm, I know where you're coming from. I mean, they are a filthy bugger. They smell, they bite and they spit. Disgusting" Katie perked up, a frown on her lips as she said her part while glancing over her shoulder with Shiro towards the fourth member of their team.
Varkon doing every single thing she mentioned in her lists of complaints.
He smelled.
He bit into his chicken leg that the rest were rather certain wasn't a chicken but none one tried questioning it out loud for the shake of their stomachs.
He spat out every few seconds, more so when he found a bone.
Shiro having to look head, stifling his chuckle with the back of his hand and trying to act innocent even as Katie caught his amusement first hand. Feeling a bit smug over herself for getting him to break his serious mode.
"I think they're rather adorable" Shiro commented with a grin, patting his own camel head while his stare landed on the women barely behind him. Not seeing as Lance watched with an knowing look and a smug grin.
All laughing as Varkon suddenly started to sing out loud to help past the time, stopping between every couple words to spit. It was good entertainment for the first couple minutes before all the spitting ruined the song completely and just grossed them out instead. Lance made sure a bit more extra distance was left between his and Varkon camel.
A few more hours passed and Pidge popped up beside Shiro. The leader listening to every word as she rambled on and on about Hamunaptra. Passing on a few facts over it and a few childhood memories since her first love was always seen as Hamunaptra.
Lance giving up on trying to stay listening and just stared at the passing view. Varkon left to his own thing at the back, not being able to listen in even if he wanted to due to Pidge being too far ahead and her voice muffled as she spoke so fast.
Shiro napping, well took power naps against his will when he let lose that he'd stay up all night to make sure none of them wonder off in the wrong direction. Katie taking none of it and mostly forced him to get some rest since it'd be almost forty-eight hours since he'd last slept. Lance riding up on the other side of Shiro once the grown man started to doze off, leaving the siblings to carry on heading in the direction he told them and passing the compress over to Katie to keep hold on to make sure they stayed in the right heading.
"Are we lost yet?" Lance asked like a child from his camel, leaning forward to look past Shiro sleeping form and to Pidge.
"Please have more faith in me than that" Pidge groaned out as she lowered her head in defeat, she barely felt much faith in herself over making sure they didn't drift in the wrong direction as it was. She didn't need her brother to be doubt filling her up too.
"I do but I don't remember anything to do with Hamunaptra exact location during your rants as a child. You've got no clue where it is in all this sand" Lance calmly replied, not wanting to make her worry more than needed and reminding her that she never added map reading when studying Hamunaptra.
"True but I've got his compress and if we end up in going the wrong way than Shiro can smoothly direct us in the right direction when we're asleep. Otherwise I'd bury him in the sand for pointing out our mistake and gaining teasing points against us" Pidge mumbled back with a grin, holding Shiro compress out for Lance to see before adding on her own plan B if things did go down hill for them.
"You really don't like him one uping you, do you? It's rather fun to watch. Fact it, Pidgey. You've met your match just like he's met his" Lance grinned back goofily, rather enjoying himself as he watched the two with their hate and love.
Pidge stayed silent, thinking over what he said and taking in thought over her relationship with Shiro. More so over their love and hate friendship going on. But it was strange, she's always had Lance as her best friend, even when he became more like a brother to her later on. Shiro, he didn't come with the same feeling as Lance had when they were first friends .. she wasn't sure what to call her relationship with Shiro as ... maybe, just partners who teamed up for this adventure.
But than, the bad thoughts filled her mind. She wasn't here to make friends, to gain an acquaintance that would always be apart of her life if she'd like it or not, Shiro would surely wedged himself into her memory forever with how odd their first meeting was. She was on this adventure for her brother, to find him and bring him home.
And than the doubt took over her .. what if she was wrong about all of this.
"Silence only proves I'm correct- Hey, what's wrong?" Lance started to brag before frowning and filling with worry as he took notice over the expression on her face.
"What if we don't find him there? What if there's no signs over him ever reaching Hamunaptra? He might have left for it but that doesn't mean he's even reached it. Or worse, what if I was wrong all along over him heading to Hamunaptra? I mean, I don't have visible prove over this. I just .. assumed. What if this turns out to be a wild goose chase because deep down I never gave up on Hamunaptra and just want to finally reach it myself. Matt might be hurt or worse and I'm jus-" Pidge started to blurt out, her fears taking control over her brain and she let all coming flooding out. Letting her admit all her doubts and mistrust in herself out in the open, seeing all the worse possibilities floating into her mind at once.
"STOP!" Lance yelled out, demanding her to be quiet instead of asking for her to calm down.
"Lance, don't wake up Shiro" Pidge scolded back in panic, glancing to the man between them and finding him still asleep thankfully.
"Listen to me, Pidgin. You're one of the smartest people I know but you're only human meaning it's okay to make mistakes. I make them all the time but have you or Matt ever thrown me away for doing so or truly blamed me deep down that I don't want to ever show my face again. No. You two never have nor will you ever do so. You guys might be mad or upset at first if I mess up bad but you always forgive me and help me to forgive myself. You're only an human being with limited choices right now. I would have never even gone searching for Matt if it wasn't for your stubborn side over knowing was truly wrong with him" Lance calmly spoke, making his camel move slightly ahead so he could turn and look at her better without having to try seeing past Shiro sleeping form. His eyes honest and completely believing his words as he tried showing the truth over the matter, showing how it'd all turn out okay no matter the end results.
"I only did what other's would do for their loves one" Pidge argued back as she saw nothing special in what she did or started to do for her brother before anyone else. She was certain most families who were as close to their love ones as she was to her brother would do the same.
"I love Matt, will all my heart and It pains me to admit that I will never be able to save him on my own. But you, you mostly came this far by yourself. All I did, was show you a simple hidden map and you let all the pieces fall together. You saved Shiro life for god shake while I was still in the first aid room. You've done so much, more than any hero in any book my parent's use to read to me. We'll find Matt, if the results end up being good or bad, we'll bring him home. You just need to hold faith in yourself, believe you are the women I see you to be everyday" Lance admitted, an ashamed look in his eyes as he wouldn't be able to do what Pidge did by himself and he knew he was helping her in some ways but everything was mostly done by herself. He's just gave an helping hand when needed before she'd go off and take hold of everything. Letting his voice turn softer near the end as he spoke over the truth he saw and giving her a warm smile, showing he'd believe in her and be her brother no matter what happens in this.
"Thank you, Lance" Pidge smiled back and Lance simply nodded before slowing down his camel and riding beside the other side of Shiro once more.