Kalina looked up at Brandt as he registered the point of digging the holes. It made her smile inwardly, but that smile faded when she realized just how animalistic that was. I’m sure it came across as very peculiar…. she thought, still watching him as he found his place in the hole next to her. Kalina began to frown as she continued to observe his mannerisms. Brandt was trying to keep the mood light, but his erratic, jerky gestures suggested an inner conflict. She knew what he was thinking: here he was, sitting awkwardly in a hole in the blazing heat, with no food, water, or shelter, with a girl that has hardly said two words to him. On top of that, it was likely if they didn’t find these resources by the time the sun fell, they would die.
Straightening her shoulders, Kalina turned her body so that it faced Brandt. Softly, as was her nature, but with her face set, she looked at Brandt and responded, “We need to find water, at the very least.” Kalina struggled to find how she wanted what she needed to say next. “I…There….,” clearing her throat, as it was parched and made talking hard to do, she continued more confidently, “You have done everything you can to ensure both of our safety and lives. Whether I should trust you with this information is a moot point, as you will see for yourself shortly either way. I just want you to know, I will not harm you….and I will return.”
Blackness began to creep in at the edges of her vision, until all she saw was an empty darkness. Her body fell over gently against the sand, and just as soon as it hit the ground it moved in a fluid fashion, as if a current of water ran through her. The whole process was very quick, taking at most thirty seconds to complete the transition. There, panting lightly, stood a snow leopard in Kalina’s place. Its blue eyes searched Brandt momentarily, the essence of Kalina permeating through, and stepped forward to smell Brandt for an awkwardly long time. Once satisfied, the leopard bounded away in the sand.
She had never seen sand before, and trying to grip the substance with her paws was very difficult. It tired her quicker, already panting heavily from the immense heat. Her thick coat was not suitable for these conditions, and she knew she would need to be quick before overheating. His scent was strong, and it would help her find her way back to him in this vast wasteland.
After an hour or so of trotting along as fast as she could muster and seeing no sign of food or water, she started to turn back around to head back to Brandt when she heard something. Faint…very faint…but unmistakably the sound of music, mixed with shouting. Her ears twitched, and her body went rigid. Standing very still and straining to listen, there was no mistaking what she heard. Faster than she even thought she could muster she leaped up the sand dune that lurked beside her until she reached the top and paused abruptly.
Not too far off, there was a town.
She practically slid all the way down the dune and raced as fast as she could back to Brandt, focused on following his scent. She pushed herself far harder than she should have, but they were desperate and she couldn’t fail them. As she approached she noticed that Brandt seemed slightly slumped over, his eyes shut. Panic rose in her chest and she raced forward until she was on him and then pounced.
Kalina shifted back into her humanoid form as she hit Brandt, the sand not providing any traction to stop the collision. A plume of sand flew up into the air, and before she even looked to see if he was hurt she whipped around and grabbed him by the shoulders sternly.
“You may not die, Brandt,” she said authoritatively. “There is a town not far off with everything we would need. You may not die.”