The hawk give a cry and flaps his wings, abandoning her in pursuit of more lucrative meal endeavors, Naya decides. The girl lets out a ragged breath and flits her eyes closed, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her cheek against them, trying not to think of how her tree had screeched when it was first set ablaze. The desert is silent for a moment or two longer, before Naya picks out the sound of something being dragged through the sand coming her way.
"Have you come back to reclaim your spot, little devil?" She asks with a tiny grin, cracking one eye open and expecting to see the night adder returning, only to be greeted by the sight of a mighty, lumbering lizard rounding the outcropping with a rider on its back. Naya straightens up instantly, her hand flying towards her boot to grab the hilt of her dagger and loose it from its sheath. The witch snarls at them, all teeth, but the rider pays her no mind, sheathing his weapon and tossing something at her. A canteen lands in the sands by her feet, the sound of its contents sloshing about and making the pale girl's mouth water reflexively.
"Drink," he tells her in a rumbling drawl after he has dismounted, the cadence of his voice marked by an accent that she had never hear before. "I know you have questions but drink first then talk," the stranger finishes, sitting cross legged in front of her, the same hawk from earlier moving to perch on his shoulder. Naya feels a pang of betrayal as she realizes the bird led this man right to her and she scrambles to her feet, wanting to be in a better position should she have to defend herself. She stares down at him for a moment, trying to discern some of his features, but his clothing masks his appearance almost completely.
After a moment of terse silence between them, Naya take her foot and drags the canteen closer, bending down and snatching it up briskly without ever taking her eyes off of the man creature. The witch shoulders the container and brings her dagger to her own hand, slicing through the skin of her palm with practiced ease before dragging the flat of the blade through the blood. The brunette then unscrews the canteen one handed and pours a small amount of water over the bloodied weapon, her eyes leaving the stranger just long enough to see if there is a reaction.
Her blood remains dormant so Naya decides that it probably isn't poisoned or hexed in any sort of way and brings it to her lips, taking a few greedy pulls of the water while she flicks her eyes back over to the stranger. It's fantastic, to finally have something to drink after so long in this heat, but the brunette still doesn't let her guard down.
"Thank you," Naya says begrudgingly after she downs half of it, recapping the container and chunking it back at him so that it lands in his lap. The witch crouches down and fishes through her bag, pulling out the strawberry jam and rolling it towards him as well. "Take it and go," she insists, her voice much smoother now that she is better hydrated.
Bozo
Apollosarcher