A vast void surrounds us.
The fine sand was blown across our faces by the hot desert wind.
My friend walked forward as far as she could, her sun-kissed face hidden by the loose fabric. At first, I didn't understand her reason for covering herself up. After all, why would you cover your face from the sun?
-But now I understand.
-[sunflower]-
you bathe in the sun
+1 exp
Experience value: 261/450
Here, in this place, the sunshine is more than generous.
The only vegetation we saw, if any, were dry shrubs. I don't know how they grew up here, let alone from birth to death, but it seems they did.
Hot weather.
It was much hotter here than on the other side of the world, on the other side of the river, in the dry wasteland where Birch and I came from.
-[sunflower]-
You'll die in {9 hours if you can't find water.
Um.
This is really troublesome.
I wanted to drink some water right away. But there is no water in sight.
I turned my head to the left and saw nothing but sand.
I turned my head to the right and saw nothing but sand.
oh.
There is no way around it.
I tucked the petals and leaves in and hid them behind Birch's head.
For a moment, I wanted to dig into her and drink her wet blood. But I decided not to.
She must be thirsty too, and it would be rude of me to drink the water from her body.
We hide.
There were others ahead of us.
There are five of them.
They are the same kind as her, and they are walking in the same direction as us.
Yet they haven't seen us yet.
I briefly wondered if Birch would try to get their attention. But she didn't.
I can understand this. Her encounters with her kind have not gone well in the past. I wonder why? They seem to be social animals, don't they? But Birch always leaves them alone.
My friend is like a bird without a flock.
sad.
Don't worry, Birch. You will always have me.
(Sunflower) Activation: (Photosy
thebiosis)
-[sunflower]-
you bathe in the sun
+1 exp
Experience value: 263/450 EXP(Birch): 06/310
We survived the first day in the desert. In this case, "survived" is an applicable term.
What I’m trying to say is that we have “thriveled.”
-But we didn't.
-[sunflower]-
You'll die in {2 hours if you can't find water.
The sunset here is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. However, in a way that I least want to admit, I am glad that the sun has left to start a new day.
-That's a good thing.
We can learn from this.
I am a growing sunflower.
-[sunflower]-
you bathe in the sun
+1 exp
Experience value: 268/450 EXP(Birch): 11/310
"Hey, look," Birch muttered, staring at a strange thing in front of us.
a plant. It's big, green and stands out from the desert landscape.
Birch slid down a huge dune of soft sand and headed toward the next dune.
What a strange plant it was to her. It was green, tall, and had two arms, just like my friend. It's furry, like my friend.
She poked.
It poked her in the back.
-Not literally, of course.
(Cactus Stechitus)
A cactus. It's an unusually hardy plant that thrives in the world's arid lands. Its roots penetrate deeply into the soil, absorbing and storing large amounts of water.
ah.
For a smart sunflower like me, this is a very lucky turn of events.
Birch grabbed her knife.
It looks like our search has been successful once again.
She stabbed into its flesh, cutting off chunks of its body. Precious water dripped from its flesh like blood.
Life is a gift.
The desert is a most beautiful place.
However, it is deadly.
It's far deadlier than anywhere we've been before.
No monster will hunt us.
There are no predators that will treat us as food.
We have had no external threats.
It's just the land itself.
-[sunflower]-
you bathe in the sun
+1 exp
Experience value: 269/450 EXP(Birch): 12/310
The desert is as if the great entity of the world itself has decided that it has had enough of life and has decided to wipe it out completely.
-But.
Birch crouched down and watched a lizard scurry across the land.
(Birch) Use: [Environmental Energy Wave]
Soul: 18/23
(Desert Spiny Lizard) is dead
Nature provides.
Another cactus.
We are grateful.
The lizard provided its flesh to my friend, and its blood provided me with moisture and minerals.
But Burch and I were growing.
I am growing into a mature sunflower, big and beautiful.
She is growing into an adult female of the same type, large and beautiful.
These things all require nutrition. These things need moisture.
Thank you, Cactus.
I will remember the taste of your precious juices for the rest of my life.
Another day passed, and so did another cactus.
If our luck continues, we will cross the desert with ease.
Um…
"Easy" is a relative term.
Birch fights every step she takes, and the desert fights her, stopping her progress. Her body, although very light, still sank into the cotton-soft sand. The wind blew against her, as if no one could cross the desert. The sun shines on us, punishing us for our arrogance and our desire to find a place where it sleeps.
-[sunflower]-
you bathe in the sun
+1 exp
Experience value: 277/450 EXP(Birch): 20/310
Nature is fighting us like never before.
But I, myself, can cross the desert with ease.
-After all, I can only sit here. Birch did all the work.
What a wonderful life.
Our third day in the desert ended with us setting up camp near the fourth cactus.
We have not yet reaped its bounty of water and flesh and preserved it for a future day.
The night is very cold. Colder than anywhere we've been. They were even colder than on the boat and in the water.
Birch had no way of making a fire here, but huddled against my trunk, wrapped in her many layers of clothing, which she stripped off her face and bag and put back on as the sun went down.
I wrapped my roots around her as best I could. But they do little to keep it warm.
I can't grab the sand here and crush it into lumps. It's too thin and soft.
oh.
I looked at the cactus and stretched out my roots to catch it.
The three of us will just have to make do, right?
The cactus is screaming.
How unusual.
Birch didn't hear, and I retracted my roots, uninterested in anyone disturbing the quiet of the night.
What a rude thing to do.
Please don't wake my friends.
I let the cactus settle down.
We spent our fourth day in this desolate wasteland, Burch munching on the juicy pulp of the cactus left over from the night before.
It seems like a place that no one could survive in for so long, but here we are.
Destiny guides us well. Like the previous days, we climbed over many dunes and hills. We always face west, towards heaven.
-[sunflower]-
you bathe in the sun
+1 exp
Experience value: 279/450 EXP(Birch): 22/310
Something in the distance comes into view.
A cactus.
-Or, a "cactus".
She and I walked towards it and we found ourselves staring at the man who just stood there with his arms outstretched and raised to the sky as if in prayer.
It was one of five of its kind we saw when we first entered the desert.
He stood there, scorched by the sun, dried by the heat, his breath stolen by the fine, hot sand of the wasteland.
Like the other four companions, his body was shrouded in death.
His body should have sunk into the sand hours ago, but now it stood upright and motionless.
He almost looks like a cactus.
--Ha ha.
Birch looked down at the wet red nub in her hand as she chewed, then up at the man she didn't see was a man.
My roots, through the base of her neck, into her skull, into her eyes and senses, don't let her think that.
To Birch, my dearest friend, he looked like a cactus.
She raised her knife, ready to get us more "water".
I am a sunflower supporting you.
One day passed and we came to the end of the desert. Came just in time.
We have no more cacti.
Birch knelt at the oasis we arrived at. Green, lush, fertile meadows stretch in all directions. Sparse but tall trees punctuate the lush, wet landscape.
There is real water and fruit.
I thought we would stay here for a while, nourishing ourselves with its moist treasures, before continuing on our journey.
I'd say Birch should be resting in the shade.
