12 Sentinels of the desert
It had been nearly an hour since Arun was searching the savannah for a trail that could lead him to Astera, the black vulture, who was the only one who could help him catch up with Vikion. However, the more time passed, the more sunlight was falling : which did not help the veterinarian to spot a possible black mass that would be the raptor's body.
"But where can she be?" Arun had walked for a long time in one direction, and around him the tall grass had become scarce, and the soil was becoming increasingly dry and sandy.
What was a savannah a few kilometers before was becoming a real desert. And even if the sun went down, the heat remained constant.
"I had not really planned to be here today..." complained Arun, who was beginning to suffer from the weather. He was thirsty, but not a body of water was visible in the distance. Walking had become a painful ordeal, and he felt his strength leaving him little by little.
He was not going to die a second time anyway ? He had the chance to survive Alden's mortal blow, it was not for the heat to knock him down a few minutes later !
The vet fell to the ground, exhausted and panting. His legs could not hold, and drops of sweat fell to the ground as he tried to catch his breath.
"Tell me, Mili, don't you have a power that allows me to cool off ?" Asked the young man, trying to turn his desperate situation into something more positive.
But he got no answer. Did the cat have a problem ? Were they too far away now and could not communicate ? It was Mili who had given him all the solutions until now... What could Arun do without him ?
The veterinarian lay down on the ground, facing the sky and the cruel sun that made him suffer. He had to help Naal... She was probably suffering a lot more than him ! But he did not even have the strength to get up again.
The young man closed his eyes, his mouth dry, resigning himself to his fate. Everything had happened so suddenly, and he was still going to die. He was getting used to it, now...
"Say, Meng, do you think he's dead now ?" A small voice echoed in Arun's head. It was probably his imagination...
"I don't know, it's been a while since he's not moving anymore..." Another answered as well. The heat was making him hallucinate, no doubt...
"I think he's dead, look !" A slight pain in the arm made the veterinarian jump, who straightened up, screaming. It was not his imagination !
The three little animals that had gathered around him had begun to scream in surprise as well, moving away quickly to bury themselves in a hole.
"Hey, wait, I'm not mean !" Arun tried to speak to them apologetically for having scared them. After all, it was the first animals he had ever seen since he arrived in this desert...
A head came out of the hole, a little suspicious, looking at Arun. Obviously, it was going to take more to convince them all to go out.
"I... I don't want you bad, I'm not a predator ! Just a human who got lost here looking for someone, I assure you !" He tried to justify himself, trying to be as calm and benevolent as possible.
One of the three mammals came out of the hole, without letting his gaze go off the vet. It was a small meerkat, surely still young considering its size. He slowly approached the young man, ready to jump back if it was a trap.
"It's been a while since we've been watching you, and in fact you looked rather lost. But what told us that you were not looking for prey rather than someone else of your kind ?" Asked the meerkat who always found the human suspicious. It was the first time he had seen a real one, but he had often been told that they were machines of destruction.
Arun had not noticed the animals at all, even from a distance... The meerkats were known to have a very good view, and he had focused his attention on Astera's research.
"Another person of my kind ? No, the one I'm looking for is a huge raptor. Did you see her ?" If he could take advantage of their piercing vision to have information on the location of the black vulture, he would already be a bit more advanced than now.
The meerkat who was facing the vet moved a few steps back when he heard the words of his interlocutor.
"A-A raptor ? In addition you came with a raptor to hunt your prey ? We are in danger..."
"No, you misunderstood ! I didn't come to hunt ! It's complicated to explain..." Arun sighed, still in a twisted situation. His reaction was normal, after all the raptors were the natural predators of meerkats.
Arun sat cross-legged, and held out his hand towards the unconfident meerkat. He thought back to the experience he had with Astera earlier in the day. While she was mad with rage, he managed to calm her down by using the [Pet Pact]. Maybe it would help him to win the trust of this meerkat ?
"Uh, what are you doing with your hand? It's empty, you're not giving me anything, there..." The mammal was a little disconcerted at his first meeting with a human. He did not trust him, but at the same time curiosity was so gnawing that he wanted to know more about him.
"Put your paw on my hand." Pronounced the veterinarian simply, without moving a centimeter.
"Shuu, do not be fooled, it's probably a trap !" One of the two other meerkats who had holed up in the hole a little behind took out her head to warn her companion.
"Maybe Meng... But... My instinct tells me I might miss something if I don't do it!" The meerkat called Shuu, who was obviously the bravest of the gang, approached Arun, and finally put his paw on the hand of the vet, who smiled at him.
Immediatly, for both the human and Shuu, everything went black around them.
