~[Hex Doodle]~

With the unpleasant sun beating down on the sands below, a particular hetero-chromic wolf found himself comfortably seated underneath a desert palm tree. He was staring at his reflection in the pooled water, trying to fix his sandy disheveled indigo hair, but found it most difficult with the wind blowing every few moments. He'd sweep a bang to the side, but the force of wind would shove it back aggressively. Eventually he gave up, his hands placed back flatly against the ground with a pout.

"I look like a rat's nest."

Cider's lime tail sat drooped in the sand as he spoke to himself. Half of it was in the water, and he picked it up and placed it over his belly to help cool himself off from the heat. He then leaned back in the sand, his arms splayed out to the side, as he didn't care if the front of his shirt became wet from his water-logged fur.

His eyes met the leaves of the palm tree above him, which were swaying with the periodic breezes that came through. They were a subdued grassy green color, with splotches of brown here and there near their bases. By studying this quiet greenery, Cider could almost drown out the distant yelling of Osiris.

He was beating his hand against the now-closed gate to the city a few meters away.

"Let us in, you just had this gate open a second ago!"

He smacked it three times more when no one answered, and continued his hollering.

"Don't think I didn't see it open, because I did!"

On the wall above the gate, a figure leaned over to assess the noise.

"Stop that Osiris. You know the rules."

Osiris ceased his display, looking to the voice looming above him.

Leaning over the wall was a tiger-eared man with an tiger-orange striped tail. His hair was almost shoulder length with a green to orange ombre color with one front bang swept to the side, and although most of it had been tied into a top bun, a few strands sat draped over both sides of his neck. He wore a loose green sash over his torso, coupled with a sienna-colored guard over his left shoulder, and his eyes weren't unfriendly in appearance; They were a calm berry red, but they did look bored, as if this was something the figure had no interest in partaking in.

Again, at least.

Osiris pointed to Apep, who was now in his humanized form.

"Yeah I know. He's not a big cobra now, so you can let us in."

The tiger-tailed man scrutinized Apep.

"Good. He better stay that way. I don't need a repeat of what happened before." His gaze then moved over the other members of the group briefly.

"Who are the others with you?"

"Friends of mine," Osiris answered him. "Course you probably know these two already."

The white wolf motioned to Hex and Seris, and the figure along the wall gave them both a curt nod before then disappearing behind it. Osiris stared at the gate in front of him, waiting for it to open.

"What happened last time?"

Hex once again found his way next to Osiris, who spun to face the vampire bat.

"Your quite an inquisitive guy aren't you?"

Hex's expression remained unchanged, and Osiris soon found it mildly uncomfortable.

"Well," The white wolf began, "Apparently I'm not allowed to take Apep into the city while he's in his cobra form anymore, because who knew that cities can be a tight fit for a giant snake."

He paused as he glanced to Apep.

"He broke a few things in one of the marketplaces on accident, a few merchant stalls and such. It's not his fault, he's just so-"

Osiris outstretched his hands to the side to emphasize his point.

"Massive in that form? Maybe that's the most polite way to put it."

"Understandable," Hex replied. "Though I'm not sure why you thought it was a good idea to begin with."

After hearing the gate make a noise, Osiris watched the gate open before him.

"Eh, I thought it'd be easier to get to the other side of the city that way., but apparently it's not."

The gate was still barely open, but the white wolf skipped up to it and managed to squeeze his way past, with the power of his impatience. The others displayed more restraint, though it took some persuasion from Seris to rouse Cider from his comfortable palm tree spot. Soon, however, they found themselves within the walls of the golden city, with the gate closing behind them.

Zephyr watched the gate doors seal themselves shut, with the help of the tiger-tailed man from earlier. He had been barricading it with some kind of lock technology that seemed almost holographic, like it was fairly advanced technology.

Perhaps it was electrical, and would shock if it was touched?

He couldn't tell, but the tiger male soon approached him and the rest of the group, sensing his interest.

"Osiris may not have told you, but no one goes outside these walls after dusk. If somehow you manage to find yourself outside the walls, I will not open them for you."

"Why not?" Zephyr spoke. He was most curious about the advanced gate.

"I can't risk letting anything in that's not supposed to get in. Creatures of the sands lurk outside After Dark."

He continued on after he was certain he had the group's attention.

"You may find some locals mention something about giant monsters to you, but pay them little worry. Most are just excited to see new visitors and can't resist passing on their old stories."

He sensed a few of the group members tension at the mention of beasts.

"Don't fret. If anything wants in, they'll have to get past me first."

Cider examined the man. He didn't remember catching a name before.

"And you are?"

"My name is Reshep. I am one of the guardians for this city, along with a few others. I might be a cat, but I assure you I never sleep on the job."

Cider smiled because of the slight joke.

"Feel free to linger the city, but do not leave these walls."

With that note, Reshep took his leave, returning to his preferred post on the walls above the gate. Occasionally he turned his attention to the shining city and paced, looking over the citizens below, but his one could tell his ears were piqued on any noises that resounded from the outer walls.

"Monsters huh?"

Cider broke the silence from the group.

"Never said there were monsters out there."

"They're not really monsters," Osiris disregarded and lead the group forward. "Just small animals that are active at night and somewhat dangerous. They're no big deal. Typical desert critters and all."

"It's a big enough deal to close the city gate though, and have it protected by not only walls, but designated guardians as well," Chronos added.

Osiris stopped for a moment to face his questioning entourage. With his right hand, he played with a few of the left bangles on his wrist just loud enough to hear soft metal tinging. There was one thing he wasn't fond of, and that one thing was how often this group threw out questions left and right. It was good to be cautious; it was something he expected. He just hoped their overtly leery attitudes would wear off eventually, as the city was as safe as could be.

"Well, someone has to protect the citizens. You can't expect them all to know how to defend themselves."

He again motioned the others to follow him along the street, but he stopped to think to himself for a moment.

"I guess they might be tricky to deal with in numbers, but we won't have to worry about it while in this place."

The white wolf's boots continued on atop the desert sand of the golden city, before pausing to take in the familiar sights of his home. On the road that lay before him, there were stringed lights that ran criss-cross across the street, with colored lanterns hanging from them. It was late afternoon now, but they were still rather pretty in appearance with their softly glowing light of yellows, oranges, and reds. It invoked the impression of a calm fire and made the street feel all the more lively and rich.

Of course, that was if the merchant patrons didn't invoke that feeling already.

What Osiris said about a marketplace earlier was indeed true, though it seemed as if the whole city was a marketplace, with every pathway appearing busy with shoppers or merchants selling all sorts of goods. From local fragrant flowers to fruits, and handmade scarves that helped to keep out any wayward blowing desert sand, there was a bit of everything placed on tables for display, in hopes some passersby would stop just long enough to be persuaded by the man behind the multitude of goods. Indeed some would pause, and then shortly after the attentive tent keeper would eagerly introduce himself and his wares.

Sometimes it was a bit too eagerl-

"You look like someone who would just love this, just look at your cute tail!"

Seris jumped when he felt someone behind him gently take hold of his soft goat tail. He looked over, his sky blue ponytail swinging with his movement, to find it was a merchant with white measuring tape. The satyr didn't move away as the man held a calculating expression on his face, and as soon as he let go, Seris' mocha brown tail bounced back where it should be.

"Yes, I've got just the bow for you!"

The merchant bounded back to his tent a few feet away and then came back with a few different colored bows in his hands, which he then placed on a mat near his tent and instructed the goat male to sit. They were rather large bows, about six or seven inches long, and he held out a few designs next to the satyr's tail. Every few seconds he'd swap out the bow and contemplate it, but he appeared awfully indecisive.

"No, this one's not quite right."

Seris watched as the man flung a purple and pink bow to the side, replacing it with a yellow one. He stepped back, envisioning the color choice with the mocha fur of the goat.

"Nope, this one is too bold-looking."

The yellow bow soon found it's way through the air as well, landing next to the purple and pink bow on the sand. He sifted through the other bows, picking out a green and blue one that had lovely small crystals in the center, and held it up against the goat male's fur.

"Oh, this one suits your colors very well, take a look!"

The merchant fitted the bow onto the satyr's tail and grabbed one of his hand-held mirrors from his tent, holding it up so Seris could see his new accessory for himself. The goat-eared male took his tail in his hands to inspect further, adjusting the bow so it looked just the way he wanted it to.

"Oh, I just love the colors! It looks so pretty!"

Confident that he would secure a sale for this one, the merchant scooped up the other leftover bows and went to return them to their places in his tent. Up ahead, Seris noticed Hex strolling back towards him, curious to know why his goat friend had stopped.

"Hex, what do you think of this bow? Do you think it looks nice?"

The thrilled satyr motioned to the sea-blue accessory attached to his tail, practically bouncing from excitement.

Hex glanced to the group further down the street before responding. The group was well ahead, messing about with another merchant trying to haggle them. He couldn't be bothered to make out what was happening, there was no telling with them really.

Hex instead smiled softly to the satyr. He knew how Seris would get in markets, and this was no surprise to him; He adored the marketplace on Aquarin, and every chance he'd get, Seris would pull Hex along with him to browse handmade goods or different herbal teas, anything homegrown or natural was quite exciting to the young goat male.

And Hex didn't mind these seemingly frivolous activities, contrary to his appearance. Aquarin was where he could feel safe from prying eyes, and any time spent with the satyr without constant worry or fear made him happy. It was a happiness he couldn't admit to anyone but a select few, and his pride was essential to him, so much that he wouldn't dare confess it to the group, but he knew they knew. He was thankful for that mutual respect, course he wouldn't admit that either.

How he enjoyed those times on Aquarin, when both he and his goat friend would sit by the water of their favorite pond, and Seris would weave bracelets and necklaces for him, fawning over how lovely the fresh air was, or about how green the grasses were-

"It looks very nice Seris."

Hex finally spoke, still holding onto that soft, content smile of his. He watched the satyr beam while holding onto the mirror, regularly checking over his soon-to-be purchase.

It was all much more complicated than anyone else realized.

Even Chronos himself could not have seen what was yet to come.

...

"Good evening sir! You look like-"

Hex smacked the hand away that he sensed was reaching for his arrow-tipped tail, snarling at the rather unruly merchant. It was much more aggressive reaction than he meant it to be, and he instantly recollected himself when several startled locals turned to eye the vampire bat uncertainly from other tents. In response, the man instantaneously backed off, hands in front of him defensively, giving him plenty of space.

"My apologies, you don't really seem like a bow person anyways."