Desert Rat (Soren, open)

[Mirei]

After an entire night of rest and a little help from lilamon's herbal medicine, Manabi's fever finally faded away along the night and a new day was beginning, a really hot one. It was still early in the morning and the temperature was still tolerable, but in a matter of hours, the infernal desert would awaken to burn away those fools who dared to traverse its sands

"Another day in this place ..."

Manabi was the first one of the duo to wake up and she felt like she was born again. The previous day was horror incarnated and she almost died but now she was feeling better, in fact she was feeling so well that she decided not to punish the impmon for getting too close to her, she might not like digimon very much, but even she understood that if weren't for him, she would've died back when they lost their way and ended up in the middle of the furious desert.

She looked around and examined carefully the hut, it was really in poor conditions, some sand leaked inside and it was overall dirty, but then again it was just an improvised shelter for desert dwellers and in a place like the desert having an eroded hut could be considered a luxury. She then shake the impmon grabbing him from the arms to wake him up.

"Hey, it's already morning, we have to leave this place soon!"

".. It's true! We must hurry before it gets too hot!"

The impmon quickly woke up and stand up. He was really glad Manabi was feeling a lot better and as she said, if they didn't leave the desert now while the sun was still rising, they would suffer its wrath once the hours with highest temperature arrived. The imp digimon then decided to look around for the renamon to ask him to be their guide ...

[observer]

- Ugh... - a somewhat painful quiet moaning was heard from the "grave-hole" near the far wall. It was not the first one, there were more during the whole night, but this probably the first one they were able to hear, now being awake. Fortunately for the two, they were too tired and were sleeping, tis why they never heard it in the first place. As well as incomprehensible muttering, and other lovely stuff Soren was able to give out during his sleep.

Needless to say, he did not sleep well. His brain refused to switch off for at least half of a night, until it used all of the energy it had stored, and even then it didn't give up without a fight. But after it did ... the "fun" began. Fires, burned people, thunders, graveyards, war, whatever, the same picture Soren saw every night. He would have gotten used to it, but no, one can never get used to the sight of dead civilians. He would have continued to thrash around in his sleep, if he hadn't bumped his head into the wall accidentally, and woke up. Nightmarish dreamworld was soon replaced with ... dull and hopeless reality. He sighed, not knowing which is worse.

- Good morning to me. God I hate this place... - he cussed quietly, and stood out of his "grave-hole", yawning a bit and stretching his arms, shooing away any sign of sleepiness. Of course he did not rest well enough, but it was better than no rest at all. Then he looked at his two "guests", who seemed to have waken up already.

- Well you two certainly look more lively than yesterday...

[Mirei]

"Good morning"

"Good morning"

Saying "good morning" was something they did out of politeness because this morning was anything but good, they were still trapped in the middle of the desert and only barely escaped from sure death. Maybe good for him who's used to the dangers of the desert, but not for them who almost lost their lives.

"Mister Renamon, can you guide us outside the desert? It doesn't matter where we go as long we are out of this place before the sun rises and the heat becomes unbearable"

With the absolute lack of resources, they had to make haste and even if they ended up in the wrong place, it was a lot better than simply stay and waste away in this infernal location that was the closest thing to hell in File Island.

Irmgard looked closely at their savior and noticed a strange mark .. or scar or whatever he had in the face, but that didn't really matter, most likely he got it fighting against the few digimon that make of the desert their home or maybe against bandits who assaulted helpless travelers like them. He and the human girl simply waited for his answer as without a guide, they would end up wandering aimless again and this time they wouldn't be as lucky as before

[observer]

- Your destination is a day away from here, so we'll have to travel under the sun anyhow... But this time you'll be more prepared to face it... - Soren replied, picking up the blankets they used at night to keep warm. These could easily double as make-shift cloaks to cover themselves from the burning rays of sun. As about him - well, he had his own cloak.

Also, during their trip they would not be suffering from lack of water. Soren had a big bottle full of it on a backpack strap just for these occasions, this wasn't the first year he lived in the desert after all, and some of the people that passed by left him some stuff. As payment. A little something to express their gratitude. the renamon hoped these two will leave him something as well upon their arrival, maybe that medicine bottle - because any medicine was worth its weight in gold around here.

- It is more advisable to travel during the day anyway. Because then the burning sun would be the only thing to worry about, plus the sand storms. And at night ... well, I wouldn't go anywhere during night... - he explained. What he meant was that not only at night heat was replaced with chilling cold, but also ... the locals were becoming active at night, and woe on those who would be caught in their sight... Soren passed the blankets to the impmon, and picked up his own cloak from the ground - the girl used it as a blanket last night. He put it back on himself, concealing most of the body, and put the big water-bottle on his back.

- And the name is Soren, not mister Whatevermon.

[Mirei]

"An entire day ... we will have to endure it"

"Ugh .... but at least we have a guide now and cloaks, and I really want to get a clothes change"

The witch costume was very ill fitted for traveling, it was made having in mind appearance, not functionality nor comfort and more importantly, it made difficult to travel through a difficult terrain. While it wasn't that bad in the desert, it would be were she to wander in places with even more irregular terrain and made to run away from beasts like the dinosaur in the beach.

"Thanks for your help, Soren. I am Irmgard and she Is Manabi, please do your best to take us out of the desert as soon as possible"

"I can talk too you know. Yes, I am Manabi and I'm a human, not a digimon. Everybody here thinks I'm one of you and I'm starting to think there's no more humans in this world"

Once they formally introduced each other, they were ready to leave the hurt and face the horrors of the desert again. It was going to be a tough journey, but hopefully their guide Soren would help them to make it out alive in once piece.

[observer]

- Human... human... I heard the word before ... Just don't remember where. People around here assume you're a digimon because there are a few that look a bit like you, take or add a few details. Maybe other humans are out there ... somewhere. - Soren shrugged. So the weird girl wasn't a digimon, he gave her that much, but instead she were a human. Where did those come from, or what can they do, Soren did not know. And frankly, not really cared. His thoughts were more focused on what is going on now.

- As for clothes, Manabi, well ... most digimon don't wear clothes. The only place you might find them would be the city. You could always go running around naked though. - the last proposition intended to be a joke, and with that Soren would have left the hut, opening the wooden door, but suddenly stopped. His ears perked and for a moment quietness fell upon the place. In that quietness there were heard some steps and grunts from the outside, clanking and all that.

- Looks like someone is outside. - the renamon said, face expression changing from normal to dead serious, from the looks of him he did not quite like what he heard, and was not quite welcoming these new unwanted guests. He gave a sign for the two to keep out of sight, and the next moment there was a loud knock at the door...

[Mirei]

"Really?"

The girl was quite surprised by the revelation, so there were digimon who resembled humans and maybe even knew something about where to find real humans. Even if they knew nothing, it was going to be good for her sanity to be with digimon who instead of being strange creatures looked like the humans she was so used to live with and she lamented a little to be stuck with the little devil digimon when she could be hanging out with an human-ish digimon instead.

"N-NAKED!?"

As for what the renamon said next about her need of new clothes, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the suggestion of remaining naked if the witch costume was so uncomfortable, that was a taboo of the humans society and exhibitionist who walked around naked were frowned upon by the rest of the people ... but maybe if digimon didn't care about that .... except that some actually cared, like the impmon who blushed a little just thinking about that. What the renamon forgot to mention was that digimon who wears clothes, unlike the others who can walk around nude, always wears them and they felt as embarrassed just like humans do if they suddenly find themselves wearing nothing at all, even the impmon would think twice before removing his full body purple clothes, he had his pride after all.

"Hmm ... well, if human-like digimon don't mind, then ..."

Hilariously enough, Manabi actually considered the possibility. She and Irmgard were about to leave the hut when the renamon suddenly stopped while he was opening the door and warned the duo about somebody else being outside. At first the two didn't hear anything given that their hearing sense wasn't as developed as the one of the vulpine digimon, but soon even they could hear those strange noises.

"Manabi, stay back. If it's an enemy I'm going to protect you"

While his sudden display of bravery and intentions to defend the humans were honest, he wasn't only doing it because he cared for her but also to impress the human female, she surely would learn to appreciate him more if he did something "cool" that impressed her.

[observer]

- Just don't pull your back doing it, heeeero. - Soren replied sarcastically, overhearing the small exchange between the impmon and the girl. He figured the lil' guy wanted to make a good impression, and just couldn't help it but spoil all the fun. And besides, whatever was outside, if he won't manage to deal with whoever is outside, neither will the small purple shrimp. And Soren had a pretty good hunch who was outside too. With a kick of a leg he "opened" the door and went outside to see who it was...

Outside were three brutish-looking digimon. A goblimon, an agumon and a gotsumon, they were surrounding the entrance area in a semi-circle. Soren was not scared by them, not one bit. They bore markings as he did, only different, those looked less jagged and sinister. Those differences were supposed to tell what kind of infraction the one that carries them did. A thief, a kidnapper and ... a poacher? Weak. All newbies too. - Soren concluded, considering the markings on them were fresh. So this bunch of criminals was condemned here recently, but what did they want from him?

- Yo foxy-boy. We're looking for a guy named Soren. You be him? - the agumon, who apparently was the leader of this rag-tag bunch of misfits, called out. Their glares clashed violently, the renamon figured out they weren't here to make friends. And that pathetic yellow excuse for a dinosaur just called him a foxy boy.

- That would be me, lizard-thing. Got a problem?

[Mirei]

"Ok!"

The girl this time decided to trust in the small devil, she traveled with him for a few days already and it seemed like his desire to help her were genuine. She was fine believing on him now and while she was busy hiding herself inside the hut, something suddenly appeared on her hands

"What is this?"

The strange artifact looked like one of those "raise your virtual pet" toys that were popular between kids lately and funny enough, it had a heavily pixelated 8-bits image there that slightly resembled the impmon, it even had a menu displaying the virtual pet's status ... it wasn't thirsty, had some hunger ... wait not, it wasn't time to play with that enigmatic gadget! She put it inside her pocket and continued there remaining silent. Hopefully no one of the intruders noticed the bright light that briefly appeared within the hut, and with the intense shine of the sunlight, it was very likely they wouldn't have seen it anyway.

Meanwhile, the impmon felt a bit startled when the Vpet-like artifact appeared, but paid no attention to that strange feeling and remained near the desert fox, concealed from the unexpected guest's sight and ready to jump into action if the renamon considered that fighting was unavoidable.

[observer]

- Yeah. With you. We came around to the oasis a week ago or so, and we heard some stuff... That a guy named Soren likes to stray out of line and keeps away from everybody. So we figured we could do our new brotherhood a favor by straitening this guy up. - the agumon explained, and the other two goons giggled maliciously. Boy, they really though that they were stronger just because there were three of them. Idiots.

- So, Shaitan conned you into do his bidding. I might be more trouble than you can handle. - Soren quickly deducted - criminals never did "favors" for anyone without a reward of some kind. These three clearly knew not about him not one bit, hence why they dared just coming around to him like that. Others who knew simply didn't dare risking it - they feared what might happen ... should they lose, and Soren certainly was no push-over.

- Oh yeah? Whacha gonna do? There are three of us, and one of you, he-he-he... - the trio laughed again. Blissful are the ignorant, in their ignorance they will never fear anything, yet they should have. Soren may have been one of the nicer outcasts around here, but the reputation of a stone-cold killer pursued him, even if he really wasn't that. And that reputation he was planning to use to his advantage. Without saying anything, he simply untied the rope near his neck, and let the cloak fall down to the ground. maybe inside the house these were not quite visible, but here in broad light ... the jagged fire-like pattern was revealed in full. Awkward silence was held for a few moments.

- M... mm... mur... murderer...

[Mirei]

The impmon was silently listening to what was being said and was surprised to discover that Soren was a loner and those three thugs were part of a brotherhood with ill intentions towards the desert fox. It seemed like they answered to the orders of somebody called "Shaitan", so it was of utmost interest for the imp digimon and the human girl to avoid "Shaitan" and the rest of its gang while they were in the desert.

Irmgard wanted to peek a little what was going on, but by doing that he would reveal his position so he resigned himself to simply wait for any signal to change, and the moment to fight was getting closer: those thugs wanted to pummel Soren and were quite confident about their advantage in numbers. He was ready to stop hiding behind the wall and help the fox digimon when something strange happened and the thugs ... called Soren a murderer? The fear in the bandit's voice was genuine and indicated at the renamon being more than he looks like.

Irmgard keep himself quiet despite that and waited until the situation solved itself alone, whatever happened there completely scared the thugs and Soren would have things to explain once he were done with the trio of desert bandits.

[observer]

- My, my, where did all the spunk go? Oh wait... Didn't they tell you who I am? How ... conveniently forgetful of them... - Soren mocked the three wannabe bullies who seemed to have lost their backbone after his little strip show. But indeed, the marks on his body were able to make anybody who knew what they met shiver. And these three were not of the brave lot anyway.

- Oh what's the mater with you two? Stop being chicken! There's still three of us... - the agumon tried to stop the lesser two panicking, though he did not quite believe his own words either, slight shiver in his ankles were giving it all away. Soren laughed evilly upon seeing that obvious sign of weakness, making the trio take a step back.

- Oh, but I will not fight you three at once, I'm not that stupid. You will never catch me on those stubby little legs of yours. I'll simply run, and wait until you forget about me... And when you'll be alone and not expecting anything, I will come after each and every one of you. And I will kill you. And crush the digieggs that remain after you die as well. - Soren sounded venomously grim, and the carnivorous smile he gave the trio killed whatever courage they managed to muster. A threatening renamon was scary, especially since he was sentenced for doing what he announced, and if he did it before - he could do it again.

- *gulp* Umm... err... eh... - the agumon muttered, trying to say something, but did not quite manage to do so, the threat struck him too deep. These three were only child-level, and were banished here for reasons that probably did not deserve such a harsh punishment. And they were facing someone who looked and sounded like a hard-core serial killer - yes, Soren kept that reputation among the outcasts, it allowed to solve many problems without fighting, applying only to intimidation.

- I will count to 20. It will make the hunt more interesting. One, two...

The trio vanished from sight as suddenly as they appeared... Soren only laughed again, only this time more mildly.What a bunch of idiots, of all people, Shaitan decided to send these numbskulls. What a joke...

[Mirei]

The show was over pretty fast thanks to Soren's "reputation" and that very reputation that helped him in that situation was making impmon think twice about accepting the help of this so called first rate murderer. It was terrible when a digimon killed another digimon, but that was nothing compared with a digimon outright destroying the helpless life within a digiegg, that was the only way to kill a digimon for real and anyone who did it was considered an unredeemable complete monster, somebody so vile and repulsive that death was a too good for them. The impmon didn't know about the punishment marks or about digimon being sent to the desert as punishment, but he did know that digiegg-destroying murderers were the worst kind of digimon and should be avoided at any cost.

"You were only bluffing there, right?"

The impmon inquired to the renamon with marks engraved on his very digicore. He had to know if he was simply joking about that to get rid of those evildoers or if he really meant what he said. Irmgard wanted to give him the benefit of doubt before judging him, he had been a bit foulmouthed but very helpful until now and didn't want to believe he really was a cold blooded murderer

[observer]

- 'Course I was bluffing. To dare destroying a digitama is a lot harder than you think. - Soren replied to the imp digimon, as he watched the three wannabe harassers running away like cowards that they were. They weren't even worth his time anyway. But promise of disproportionate retribution often was the only thing that could scare those goons off. The renamon picked up his cloak from the ground, and put it back on again.

- At least we won't be hearing of them anytime soon. We should go, before they bring more friends with them and muster the courage to return. - the renamon's voice sounded a bit hoarse, as he made a few steps forward, and made a sign to follow. He would hope no more questions will follow, because he really did not like the subject. He used all this just to drive the cretins away. And these two, obviously, never knew what the markings were, which explained why they never bother noticing in the first place. If possible, he'd keep the subject down.

[Mirei]

"You are really a good actor, you made me believe that you meant it too"

While Minaba had no idea they were talking about, Irmgard was glad that all that act was just a mere bluff to scare them. Those marks engraved in sinners were made for the sole reason to make highly visible those marked ones were criminals, so anyone would know not to believe or give them pity depending what sin they committed. Alas, Irmgard knew not about the mark of sin and believed in the words of the desert fox.

"Yeah, let's get out of here before those guys return!"

The human girl finally left her hideout, digivice inside her costume's pocket, and told them about her desire to leave immediately the hut. Now there was nothing preventing them from leaving and this was the best opportunity to escape while they could. Just in case of an enemy still lingering outside, the impmon peeked outside the hut a little and returned when the trio was far enough to be only small points in the horizon.

"The area looks safe now, please take us out of the desert"