"Goodbye Curly Head"

"Looking Out for You"

The desert, oh the endless desert.

A blazing frying pan by day, a freezing wasteland by night.

Fowl of prey reign over the sky and creatures endowed with rows of killing teeth roam the endless ocean of sand below. With scales sharp and hard enough to cut through skin, meat and bone, they stand proud among the unending hills of gold, boasting their indisputable authority over these lands.

One such monarch lazily climbed from his resting place - a palace far more grand than even the mightiest of ancient Victorian castles - a sizable hole in the sand. His Highness stretched his many legs clad in natural grown armor and turned towards the giant fire in the sky, welcoming a new day. The radiant orange spread within the ruler’s empty eyes, as his tiny mind filled with longing for a meal adequate for royalty.

His long, lemony body slowly arose from the warm sand, gently rotating itself to face away from the sun. Turning his head, his deep, blank eyes immediately locked onto a pair just as empty.

Four bottomless wells, stuck in a staring contest, neither willing to move even a bit. The ruler felt curious about this new development, interested to find out who dared challenge his might, yet unwilling to gaze away from the pair of inquisitive eyes. A true giant kneeled before him, as tall and grand as a mountain, towering over the king. Garbed in attire a size too big even for a colossus their size, the massive creature curiously stared at the reptilian ruler of the desert.

Andy let out an annoyed sigh.

“... Can we go, now?”

“No.”

His voice was as soft as a cool pillow on a warm summer’s day. Andy clicked his tongue. Not this bullshit, again.

“Andy, what is this?”

Seven pointed towards the flimsy lizard in front, keeping his dark pupils trained at the little monarch. The tiny creature did not seem afraid in the slightest, returning the boy’s gaze with an equal amount of interest.

“That? That’s a lizard. Hell if I know what type.”

“Lizard…”

He nodded, slowly reaching into his poncho. Out, came the sheathed blade, pommel inching ever so closer to the scaly creature in front. It shifted its gaze from the boy’s eyes to the sword’s handle, reluctantly approaching.

Andy stood back, watching as Seven lifted the lizard off the sand and brought it closer to his face for a more insightful examination. The creature seemed to be having the time of its life, floating in the air on some weird stick wrapped in a bunch of soft cords.

Those deep, empty wells of his squinted, watching the lizard from all angles, absolutely mesmerized by its reptilian beauty. It jumped down from the hilt and scurried off back to its grand palace in the sand, needing to attend to a multitude of other royal duties. 

Andy blinked a few times. He was still getting used to the weird nature of his new companion. Hopefully, their companionship would soon end. At the nearest town, or so. Hopefully, yeah.

“... Done?”

“Yes. It ran.”

“Sure did.”