131 Calm

A spirit beast in the shape of a scorpion scuttled through the sand, I watched it with my head down as sweat pulled down my brow. We had been walking in the direction we decided would be Tama with one foot over the other.

Loki had been worse than we imagined and on the first night of our walk he come down with a fever. We took turns feeding him and changing his bandages as we trudged through the sand. There was not much cover and no water out here.

Our lips were caked and our clothes smelled of fried wurm and death.

There was an uncomfortable stickiness on my body. If I wasn't so lethargic I would probably be irritated. No movie ever shows the lack of bathrooms in adventures, or the smells and not even the uncomfortable lack of sanitation.

I swore to myself if I was to ever write a book reflecting the misadventures of my youth or was to pass down my knowledge to the newer generations that I would tell them to bring extra washing equipment and a shovel for bathroom breaks.

Parched I willed a skin of water into my hand and took a sip. The cool water dripped down my neck cooling my burnt skin. It had taken a full half a day of stinging eyes to readjust to the sunlight but my skin had become pigmented free.

Unfortunately, that meant that my skin had been badly burned. When I had begun to wonder if the heatstroke would kill me or not we had come across something wonderful.

I wondered if it was an illusion however watching Undine run tirelessly toward it I knew our salvation was upon us.

An oasis.

A grin spread across my face mildly wounding me. I looked down at the body in the leaf that had gone brown and smiled.

" We are going to be okay Loki. Hang in there" I said quietly keeping pace with the rest of my comrades.

We were too exhausted to run as Undine did. Our conversation had run dry by the second day not that any of us had the energy to really speak.

Cautiously Undine as he was the first to arrive checked for danger before signaling us that it was safe.

Undine transformed into his seahorse form and a small splash was heard.

" I FEEL REBORN!" shouted Undine completely out of character.

Undine had probably suffered the most out of us. I couldn't imagine being made of some form of magical water and being stuck in the desert.

" Yuki…" a weak voice said from below me.

I looked down to see that Loki had finally awaked.

" Good morning sleepy head" I responded.

" Loki feel up to a swim?" Kibbles said energetically as we arrived.

" A swim? Have.. I died?" Loki replied as he rubbed his face.

" Not dead an oasis," Heyu said flatly as he took off his shirt.

I sucked in a breath before regaining my senses.

Heyu smiled at me broadly before walking off with a skip in his step.

[ He must be excited for the swim! ]

" Yuki… Yuki" Loki said.

I looked down at him and blushed.

Loki merely shook his head and clicked his tongue.

I was normally pretty good at keeping my urges intact so being caught staring was embarrassing.

"You can watch me too if you like" Loki said with a laugh as he gently sat up.

" Need a hand?" I replied ignoring his smart remark.

" I am injured but not disabled but your more than welcome to.. " Loki said before smirking.

" Don't worry Yuki i'll help Loki!" Sora said as he rushed over.

" You really don't need to" Loki said before being cut off.

" I insist" replied Sora as he tried to take off Loki's shirt.

" I'd rather die" Loki retorted.

I looked at them both and chucked before I walked toward the cool water.

[ Finally a bath! ]

I undid my shirt slowly. As it had gotten it just over my head I noticed everyone was staring at me with a strange look.

" Is there a scorpion on my back?!" I suddenly said before trying to look behind me.

" Just consider it a little payback for your earlier gaze," said the cool and mellow voice of Heyu.

" I just thought your clothing could use a wash," Nathan said as he approached me from behind and grabbed my shirt.

" Pants too please" Nathan added with his hand out.

" Uhh.. Thanks!" I said as I looked down at my pants.

[ They are pretty gross ]

I undid my belt buckle before my legs were released from their material prison. We had all become extremely toned and I couldn't help but admire my current form.

[ If it wasn't for my stern expression I guess I could be considered handsome ]

Nathan paused for a moment. I caught him transfixed on my chest confused I handed him my pants and he reawakened from his daydream.

" you should probably jump in the water soon. Disorientation is a sign of heat stroke" I said worryingly.

[ Maybe he shouldn't wash my clothes! I don't want to overwork him ]

I went to take my clothes back but he shook his head. He walked up close to me and removed a little dirt from one of my abs.

" Sorry you had a bit of" Nathan replied with an unfinished sentence before he walked off.

[ I guess Heyu's clean freak tendencies have rubbed off on Nathan]

I shrugged and dipped a toe in the water the cool feeling contrasting the heavily beating sun above.

One toe became a foot and before I knew it I was completely submerged.

The water was clear and my body temperature dropped significantly much to my pleasure.

I held my breath looking up at the clear blue sky. My vision blurred by the water. I took great delight at rubbing my arms, chest, legs, and hair before coming up for oxygen.

[ It feels so… holy crap! ]

I looked around and realized that I was surrounded by beauties. Everyone was barely clothed, the water rippling of their bodies. My eyes widened and my nose threatened to bleed.

[ Keep it together!! ]

I sunk my head down a little. My eyes skimmed the surface of the water as I looked around. I was glad at this moment that my sunburn could hide the warmth in my belly.

Sora was playing with Kibbles as they splashed each other energetically. The water pooling of their well-built bodies.

Loki was sitting on the waters edge gently washing his hair as in leaked down his chest like black ink.

I swallowed some saliva as I turned to see Nathan and Undine using their newly charged water magic to clean everyone's clothing.

[ I feel like I am in that anime with the hot guys who like to swim! ]

I involuntarily blew bubbles at the situation I was in.

[ I am such a jerk thinking of my friends like meat... But oh god so handsome! ]

[ Pure thoughts, Pure thoughts! ]

The mantra I had mumbled in my head was threatening to be spoken. My head began slightly dizzy.

" You okay Yuki?" Kibbles called as he jumped on Sora's shoulders.

[ Don't draw attention you jerk! ]

" I am fine! " I shouted back.

" Let's stay here for the day" Sora suggested as he carried Kibbles on his broad shoulders.

I looked around and everyone else nodded in agreement. It was not like an extra day would hurt and the water was rejuvenating.

" Okay," I finally said as I stood.

" Operation Oasis is now in effect," Sora said with a hearty laugh.

" That name wasn't actually too bad, seems like you have improved in at least one area" Heyu called out.

My comrades and I all laughed. It was nice to have a break. Each of us was ever vigilant and danger is ever present but the little things in life still had to be enjoyed.

[ I am going to make the most of this! ]