[Apep Doodle]

It was around the afternoon now, and Chronos could be found patiently waiting near the exit of the temple cavern hybrid, his back leaning against the uncomfortable stone wall. His tangerine ponytail hung over his shoulder in front of his chest, and he studied the outside, desert-like world that lay before him. It was quite the contrast from Grimhaven, and there were inherently more dunes and cactuses, both which Grimhaven did not have. From what he could tell, it would be mildly warm when they stepped outside, as both Seris and Hex seemed somewhat hesitant to leave the much cooler temple interior. The others didn't seem to be bothered as much.

The orange-haired male looked to Apep, who was busy stuffing his bag closed with all the herbs he gathered. He finally got the satchel shut before he realized he forgot about Apeypei, who was still on the cold floor waiting for his turn to be placed in the bag. With the bag full to the brim with herbs, there'd be no room for him.

Apep scooped the green snake up in his hands instead and wandered over to Zephyr.

"Hold this."

The snake was plopped into Zephyr's palms, and Apeypei curled around his arm to stay secure.

"There's no room in the bag for him, so he'll have to stay with you for now."

"Oh, alright," Zephyr replied and checked to make sure Apeypei wouldn't fall off by wiggling his arm a bit up and down. The small cobra held firm with his tiny, but capable, cobra muscles.

Apep handed the satchel to Osiris, who threw it over his shoulder in a delicate fashion so it wouldn't pop open.

He couldn't help but note Hex was eyeing him.

"It's a herb bag. Not a purse."

"I wasn't going to say it was," Hex muttered back loud enough for the white wolf to hear. He grinned after Osiris passed by him, because it did kinda look like a purse when no herbs were seen peeking out.

Osiris stopped at the exit, kicking some sand up from his boots to make a dramatic dust effect. He then yelled for everyone's attention.

"Alright!"

Chronos jumped as he did so, as he was right next to him when the white wolf decided this was a good time to be loud.

"If everyone's ready, then we should head out. The hottest part of the day is only a few hours from now," Osiris informed and motioned the group to where he was standing. He peered out and squinted; The heat was making it hard to see where they needed to go, but he could make out the city of Akhsmehat in the distance, nestled between two dunes. He pointed to the remote settlement.

"That's where we need to go."

Cider scooted him aside to take a peek to where he was pointing.

"That's too far to walk. I think we'd die before we'd get there."

"Not so fast," Osiris made a motion in the air to counter his lime compatriot. "Who said we were gonna walk there? Not when we have snake transportation!"

He clapped his hands twice, his bracelets jingling, but nothing happened after he did so. He turned around to Apep who was staring at him, and clapped twice again.

"You don't have to keep clapping, I'm right here," Apep sighed and passed the white wolf to head outside. It took a moment, but the group was soon re-visited by the same giant black cobra poking his head in the doorway.

"Hullo there."

"Wait a second," Cider questioned, playing with his goatee while acknowledging Apep in the doorway. "You're saying we get to ride a big cobra-mount?"

"Indeed," Osiris replied.

"I've got a few saddles too," Apep replied, his cobra self still lingering at the exit. "Courtesy of Triton naturally."

"Who?" Chronos inquired.

"Do you live under a rock?" Osiris interjected. "Actually nevermind, don't answer that."

He gently lifted Apep's snoot to the side so he could squeeze out the exit. He made some struggling sounds and the group wondered why he didn't politely ask Apep to move a wee bit. When he was through, Osiris' voice could still be heard from the outside.

"We should get going though; I wasn't kidding about how hot it gets out here!"

Chronos led the way this time, and the others soon followed after Apep receded from the exit, allowing them to pass by easier. Outdoors, Osiris was seen reaching his hands to the sky before returning them to his waist to stretch his back, his white tail flopping around lazily. Once he heard footsteps from the group, he stopped his session and turned to them.

"Okay, so just pick a spot on Apep. Doesn't matter who sits where, except I'm in the front saddle, unless one of you knows how to drive a snake."

After his words, Zephyr looked to inspect Apep, who was enjoying the sunbathing session of being outside. Being cold-blooded, the warmth of the sun on his scales was a pleasant experience from the colder temple interior. His cobra head lay flat against the ground, and his eyes were closed as if he was having a quick snooze before setting off on the journey.

Along Apep's scaled body, there were a few saddles in the front, but the most obvious was a cozy caravan behind those saddles that sat upon his scales, secured by several heavy ropes around his belly. It was made from red mahogany wood and had a light violet hood overhead, similar to an umbrella, that offered some shade to whoever sat in the seats below it. The seating itself was lined with pillows, quite comfortable-looking in appearance.

"How about this one?" Seris read Zephyr's mind as his goat legs bounced up to the caravan and then looked to the olive-haired male. "We could stay out of the sun with this one."

Zephyr nodded, and after pulling himself up the grand cobra's side atop the seat, he leaned down to help Seris up as well.

"How about you join them Cider?" Hex called to the lime-tailed wolf. "I'd hate for you to faint from the heat and fall off along the way."

"I wouldn't do that - but I will take that last caravan spot. The heat's not good for my fur anyways, makes it gross looking," Cider held his tail to prove his point was valid, dismissing Hex's tease with his made-up science.

He hopped up to join Zephyr and Seris, and took no time to pick out a favorite pillow from the bunch, placing it behind him.

"I get dibs on this one cause I'm the oldest."

Zephyr half-rolled his eyes at him. There were still plenty of other pillows to choose from though.

Hex and Chronos both took the saddles behind Osiris', who was at the front poking Apep's nose until he opened his eyes. Once the white wolf pulled himself up in the front saddle and held the reins in his hands, they set off, with Apep's smooth cobra scales gliding over the sand underneath him. His weight was so evenly distributed, and his belly so close to the ground, that any quicksand areas were no issue, and any steep dunes proved to be no challenge.

To their right, a storm was brewing in the distance, and several small sand tornadoes had touched down from the sky, dancing around in circles in the sand. Luckily, the storm seemed to be moving in the opposite direction they were headed, and it posed no threat to anyone not in its path.

Osiris tugged the reins to the left, something Chronos studied. It was peculiar how Apep listened and never fought back, though he wouldn't expect him to. The white wolf wasn't aggressive or rude about it, and Chronos wondered just how these two met in the first place. Why would a creature with the width of an elephant and length of a few houses ever take the time to befriend a small wolf-tailed man? It was curious to Chronos, but he was even more curious to know if other creatures like this existed.

His thoughts were interrupted when Apep approached a large gathering of palm trees next to another pool of water. Behind those trees, the walls of a city sat sturdily with its beige tinged walls. There was plenty of greenery to be seen about, and Chronos guessed this must have been an oasis the settlement had been founded on. He leaned to the side and could see bushes and trees speckled throughout the city's interior past the open doors, which reinforced his theory.

Apep slithered up to the pool of water and stuck his head in before whipping it back, sending a splash of water over the group. Cider, who was relaxing on his pillow, yelped at the sudden precipitation and bounded down from his seat to the sand below.

"Refreshing, isn't it?"

Osiris hopped down from his seat after watching Cider's scene, shaking water droplets from his hands and white hair.

"Oh, and welcome to Akhsemhat."