Chapter 17: lunch in the oasis

The man in the surcoat, his bearing both dignified and welcoming, led them through the narrow alleys of the desert village to a charming pucca house nestled near the oasis. Its structure, meticulously crafted from the warmth of wood, boasted two cozy bedrooms, a modest kitchen and a washroom. Everything in the house was made of wood. The minute the man finished explaining the details of the house, Ver immediately ran to the washroom to get herself cleaned up, while Jake and Timothy sat in the kitchen awaiting ver .

"Are you still thinking about the dream?" Jake asked . "....Yes." Timothyresponded after a little pause

"You were tossing and groaning in your sleep. Was the dream that bad?"Jake inquired

"I'd call it a beautiful nightmare. When I was in it, all I wanted to do was wake up, but now all I want to do is go back."Timothy answered.

"Do you mean that you were aware that you were dreaming?"Jake asked with a raised brow , Timothy nodded but didn't add anything else. Jake stared at him for a few seconds before finally shaking his head with a smile. "You farted in your sleep hehe."

"What!!!" Timothy was visiblystartled by the revelation

"I said-." Jake was about to repeat what he had just spoken but he was abruptly cut off by Timothy.

"I heard what you said damnit!... Was it bad?" Timothy asked in a whisper .

"Why do you think we were all staring at you for?" Jake joked, but Timothy seemed like he was going to die from embarrassment, amusingJake even more.

Upon entering the huge washroom , Ver rested her body on the door with her hand clutching at her chest . Her heart was beating like a drum inside her chest.

"I should have definitely stayed back home." Ver thought to herself before she took off her clothes and took a towel from the stand, stepping inside the bath that was already prepared.

Upon entering the hot water , her thoughts were a scrambled messd but one thought was consistent through out , the thought of Timothy.

"Timothy, you keeping secrets from me now? I've known you your whole life, idiot." Ver thought to herself as she relaxed her tensed-up body in the hot water....

...

"My Lord, forgive me for this. It's just that this matter couldn't wait." A man about the same age as Finn spoke with his head down.

"It's okay, Faro. Now tell me what is it that's worrying you, old friend?" Finn replied to the man in front of him that had green hair and a rough stubble beard with piercing green eyes. The man was the person in charge of Sondor, the warring village , Faro Jorn; the emerald demon of zebha.

"Your little sister passed by the village, and she told me to tell you that she had found information regarding the tablets of ancient and that she won't be returning for a few months at least." The man named Faro reported , Finn's eye twitched a bit before he let out a hopeless sigh ,

"That girl... didn't she say where she was going?" He asked rubbing his temple.

"KE'SI, the islands of Pangu." Faro spoke in a somber tone .

Finn's eyes widened withshock and fear , his little sister clearly had no fear of death ."That foolish little girl will get herself killed one of these days..... sigh* Faro, my friend, DON'T TRUST ANYONE; we have been compromised." With that, Finn got up leaving the courtyard.

"Same goes for you, my friend." Faro spoke as he too left the courtyard in a different direction....

...

Finn quickly made his way through the narrow alleys of the desert village to the same charming pucca house nestled near the oasis where the others were brought to , and he could smell different aromas of food, making his stomach grumble. "I hope those fellas left me some." He spoke opening the door and he was met with the figure of Elaine dishing up. His mouth slightly agape Finn stood at the door seemingly enchanted by the scene playing out infront of him.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch as we eat, or are you going to join us... My lord?" Elaine spoke with her eyes still fixated on the task she was doing.

There was all kinds of dishes on display, all of them looking very delicious, Finn gulped closing the door as he entered . Silently makinghis way to the table Finn stole a glance at Elaine before speaking , "It is definitely refreshing seeing you dressed in casual clothingfrom time to time." Finn joked his eyes roaming all over Elaine, who was busy dishing up.

" Yeah? Well, don't get used to it... my lord." Elaine spoke sitting down opposite him , and staring at him.

The teenagers glanced at them with a "what's going on?" expression .

Jake suddenly cleared his throat and spoke up , "Uhh urmmmm , Can we pleasee start eating?"

"Huh? Yes, yes, you may all start eating." Elaine got out of her daze and responded .

Timothy and Jake immediately pounced on their food , whilst Elaine and Finn stared at them with amused expressions . Ver's face was beet red looking as if she wanted to bury herself for being associated with these two.

"Can you two stop eating like beasts?" Ver spoke through gritted teeth tryingto hard hide her embarrassment

"Huh, Beast?.... where?" Timothy and Jake glanced around with caution before resuming their tiresome task, earning a slight chuckle from Elaine and Finn.

"After we are done eating, we are leaving, so eat your fill." Elaine addressed the group before she started eating....

...

After eating, they bid farewell to the servant that brought them to the pucca house and left Sondor. Elaine still had her casual clothes on as they left the village on foot , slowlymaking their way to the capital city of zebha.

The whispers of the desert winds carried tales of ancient secrets, and as the group carried on their journey , the anticipation of the unknown growing silently within their hearts .