He squinted at the Ancient through his Goggles, wondering what rock she'd been hiding under that she didn't know--
Oh. Right. Ancient. She'd probably been a literal rock before the War.
"Yeah, it was, uh..." He squinted to the horizon where the sun was just a few minutes shy of peeking over, then looked to the east. Then the south. Then his frown deepened. "Well, b'fore the continent went tits up it was kinda... east-ish. But th'Boneyard's shifted an' the sunshine pools aren't quite where they used t'be an' the Greatwood kinda slopped over into th'desert an'..." He shrugged. "Y'know. The War happened. Lots o' places went under or disappeared or got flung into th'sky." Stormbreak and half of Haulani were examples of the latter. "Dunno what exactly happened t'the Caravanserai. It might've fell into the sea or got swallowed up by th'earth, or maybe the Suvahasi grew o'er th'top of it."
Instead of being grateful for the information, however, she seemed to be doubling down on her initial demands. Tal scoffed at the monologue, unimpressed. "Just sayin' somethin' doesn't make it so. I don't owe you nothin', lady. But here's a free tip: don't go 'round givin' orders y'can't back up." He'd given her free knowledge and if she didn't appreciate the reduction in the local land shark population that let her run her little tentshop, well, Tal had dealt with worse. Shaking his head, the courier ignored Miki as she walked away. He had Boreal to watch his back in case she tried anything, and instead he bent to scoop up a handful of sand, measuring it in his hand before pouring it into a small bag. He cinched the ties shut and returned the bag to his waist just as the sun leapt over the horizon in a glory of pinks and oranges and golds.
Whistling to his companion, the courier headed back to his ship and cast off into the dawn, glad to be headed back to the icy tundra of Halo.
~Fin~
Oh. Right. Ancient. She'd probably been a literal rock before the War.
"Yeah, it was, uh..." He squinted to the horizon where the sun was just a few minutes shy of peeking over, then looked to the east. Then the south. Then his frown deepened. "Well, b'fore the continent went tits up it was kinda... east-ish. But th'Boneyard's shifted an' the sunshine pools aren't quite where they used t'be an' the Greatwood kinda slopped over into th'desert an'..." He shrugged. "Y'know. The War happened. Lots o' places went under or disappeared or got flung into th'sky." Stormbreak and half of Haulani were examples of the latter. "Dunno what exactly happened t'the Caravanserai. It might've fell into the sea or got swallowed up by th'earth, or maybe the Suvahasi grew o'er th'top of it."
Instead of being grateful for the information, however, she seemed to be doubling down on her initial demands. Tal scoffed at the monologue, unimpressed. "Just sayin' somethin' doesn't make it so. I don't owe you nothin', lady. But here's a free tip: don't go 'round givin' orders y'can't back up." He'd given her free knowledge and if she didn't appreciate the reduction in the local land shark population that let her run her little tentshop, well, Tal had dealt with worse. Shaking his head, the courier ignored Miki as she walked away. He had Boreal to watch his back in case she tried anything, and instead he bent to scoop up a handful of sand, measuring it in his hand before pouring it into a small bag. He cinched the ties shut and returned the bag to his waist just as the sun leapt over the horizon in a glory of pinks and oranges and golds.
Whistling to his companion, the courier headed back to his ship and cast off into the dawn, glad to be headed back to the icy tundra of Halo.
~Fin~
