Written in Stardust
☾ chapter three ☽
𓆩 A Friend from Lost Land 𓆪
☾ 𓆩♡𓆪 ☽
The soft particles of sand from a few hours before had been replaced by harsh blows. Lovette knew a dust storm was coming up, but she didn't it was going to be this severe. The girl had been looking for shelter since the storm's first signs started showing up, but she hadn't found anything yet. Normal dust storms in the scorch wouldn't last more then fifteen minutes and they wouldn't be this extreme. The sand felt harder on naked skin, but the storm which had formed today was one of the strongest Lovette had ever experienced.
Her scarf was wrapped firmly around the lower half of her face. Her hat was held securely on her head with her right hand while the left one held the neckrope which hung around Saturn's neck. Lovette always had inuit snow goggles with her. The goggles were a rectangle which had been carved to perfectly sit on her face. The wooden rectangle had two small splits, those slits being enough to see through. These goggles were made for inuits around a thousand years ago, to make sure they could see through the snow storms. But when Lovette began living in the scorch, she brought them with her. The goggles protected her eyes from most of the sand and dust particles which could otherwise easily come into her eyes.
Lovette softly placed both of her feet against Saturn's sides, making the horse change from the relaxed canter he was going in to a quick gallop. Saturn's gallop was very relaxed, his head low and his legs taking long but fast strides. The other three horses followed the pair, their ears perked up, meaning they were alert of their surroundings. Although there wasn't much to see. The storm was also a big disadvantage for the horses. The dirt and sand slapped their legs and sides, the force making them have less balance than they normally have.
Lovette looked around wildly, making the loose braid her hair was in slap itself against her face. The girl suddenly spotted something around three miles away from her, meaning she needed to go down 6 feet. She had learned to measure distances with only her eyes. It took her years to perfect and a lot of frustration. But she was crateful she never gave up. The four horses trotted down the sand dune in an extremely slow pace to ensure that they wouldn't fall.
When the ground was horizontal once again, the horses moved forwards once again in a relaxed, almost lazy, canter. Their ears were still perked up and Seline's tail up in the air. The tallest horse of the four did that when she felt unsafe or exposed. The combination of her perked up ears and high tail made her look taller and more dangerous for any possible danger around.
Lovette squinted her eyes, seeing small silhouettes in the distance which only began growing the closer she came. Most of the forms were crouched down under a big slab of stone while two of them stood on a sand hill a few meters away from the group.
The storm had finally stopped, the soft sand which seemed to get caught in the wind and taken away to somewhere far away finally returning. Lovette took off her snow goggles, wanting to try to take a closer took at the figures. While the horses walked closer and closer, Lovette could make out more things from the silhouettes. One of them had a sort of spiky hair while another one was laying down again a small sand pile. The two figures who were stood away from the group were now obvious to be a boy and girl. The girl had long, dark hair and very pale skin while the boy was a brunette. Lovette looked back towards the group under the stone slab. The group under the shelter was with five people, making the whole group seven people.
Lovette knew that these people could be cranks, but something about them didn't give her that feeling in her chest. The girl decided to guide Saturn towards the girl and boy who were stood away from the other five. If they were cranks, she wouldn't have to do as much effort to get away from two cranks than from five.
The closer Lovette got to the two, the more details she could make out. The girl had bright blue eyes while the boy had brown ones. The boy had a few moles and freckles scattered on his skin and he seemed to be deep in thought. His eyes stared towards the mountains of sand ahead of him.
Lovette's eyes suddenly widened under the hood of her cowboy hat, seeing the dark haired girl's head turn towards her. The girl had the same reaction as Lovette. The girl on the horse saw a silent battle going on behind the girl's bright blue eyes and Lovette knew exactly what the girl was debating.
''Should I run? Or should I find out who she is?''