//------------------------------//
// 5. A Story to Inspire the Hopeless 
// Story: The Strands of Time 
// by Faedelaide 
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Though the sky was hidden away by its thick, woolen blanket, it was apparent to Raven that the day was reaching its end. He stared again at their destination. The magic trail from before had vanished hours ago, but he knew where he was going, so it wasn't that big of a deal. What was a big deal was how far away the mountains were. After their encounter with the firewinder, the rest of their walk had been as uneventful as it was tiring. Raven's legs wobbled as he walked, and he could feel his hooves ache in protest to every step he took. 

Behind him, it seemed seemed Branch wasn't doing much better. He was trying his best to keep his energy up, but even he was beginning to feel the effects of their journey. It didn't help that both of them were carrying heavy bags, nor did the fact that they both had their heads on a constant axis. Every slight shift of sand, every strong gust of wind, even the slightest raise in temperature was enough to put them supremely on edge. Raven certainly didn't need to be reminded where he was, and at this point, neither did Branch. 

Raven let out a long yawn, leaning back and sighing in relief as a small pop in his neck relieved him of some of his pain.

"You about ready to pass out up there?" Branch joked, his voice just as tired as Raven's was.

"I wish, but we've barely made any progress towards the mountains. We've gotta keep going for a little longer."

"Raven, please. I'm barely holding on as it is. Can't we just take a short break?"

Raven didn't turn around. He stopped in place, and in one smooth motion, unhooked the bags from his back and began scaling the closest dune.

"Raven, where are you going?"

"Hold on!" he called back. He heaved himself to the dune's peak, and scanned the immediate location around them. It was generally all the same: dunes, sand, firewinder trails. But, speckled throughout the wastes like lone, charred weeds, ashtrees sprouted from the sand and stood tall. Their thin, jagged branches reached upwards towards the sun like great obsidian claws, intent on ripping pieces off of the sky and feasting upon its remains. 

One of the ashtrees was only a few hundred feet away. It was barely big enough to be called full grown, but it would have to do for now. Raven slid down the hill, using his remaining momentum to hop his way over to Branch.

"Alright, I found somewhere we can take shelter."

Branch squinted his eyes. "What is it?"

"I saw an ashtree over on the other side of this hill. It's really close by, just a five minute walk, and then we'll set up for the night."

"And what about the firewinder tracks?"

"It was pretty barren when I looked. Besides, we haven't seen a firewinder pit in hours, which probably means the firewinders haven't been here in a long while."

"Or that they just haven't fought here in a while. What if a whole family of firewinders is sleeping right under that tree? W-what if we wake them up by accident? What if-"

Raven grabbed Branch by the shoulders, staring intently into his worried eyes. "My dear, sweet Branch, I will make sure that doesn't happen. We'll be ok. We have each other, ok?"

"...Ok," Branch whispered.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course, with my life!"

"Then let's go lay down and have a bite to eat. You deserve it."

Branch nodded, and Raven smiled. He walked back over to his bags, tossing them back onto his back and securing them in place. With his belongings secure, and his coltfriend assured, he led the way to the ashtree, Branch in tow.

However, Raven had to admit that Branch's fears had gotten to him, even if it was only slightly. Sure, the tracks were probably decades old, but what if he was right? He didn't have any way to prove that there wasn't a whole family of firewinders sleeping peacefully under that tree, waiting patiently for two foolish morsels to walk right into their waiting mouths.

He gulped, and hoped that Branch hadn't heard it. Fortunately, the flat field that surrounded the single, small tree remained motionless as Raven and Branch began to unpack their things. Raven unlatched his bags, and pulled out a single sleeping bag, fastened together with Skullberry leaves.

Branch pulled out a sleeping bag of his own and unrolled it next to his partner. He took a moment to smooth out its wrinkles, and then flopped onto the bag with a satisfied sigh. Sand puffed out from under the bag as Branch made himself comfortable.

Raven joined his companion, leaning into him with a contented breath of his own. The two sat together, quietly enjoying the other's company as the sun began to fall behind the rolling horizon.

After a long, peaceful moment of silence, Branch began to stir. Raven lifted his head to allow his partner to move, and Branch stood up from his bed and walked towards the tree.

"What are you looking at, love?"

"I dunno, I guess I'm just curious about this tree. I've never seen an ashtree up close."

"Yeah, well, Vulture can get pretty territorial. You know how he is."

"Yeah. But, I mean, have you ever taken the time to look at them?"

"I... guess I haven't," Raven slowly raised himself from his sleeping bag to stand next to Branch. All along the tree's thick trunk, small, greenish thorns portruded randomly from its bark. Its branches touched the sky like frozen lightning, their jagged edges frozen in perpetuity forever.

Branch touched the tree. The thin, dry bark crunched under his hoof, and some of the thorns fell of into the sand, never to be found again. "Sometimes I wonder, how did these things manage to survive? Why did they choose to live out here, instead of the Crystal Paradise?"

"Well, my mom used to tell me that the ashtrees grew from the sand itself. They liked being out in the desert more than paradise." 

"But why? What's out here in the desert that's better than the crystal lands?"

"I don't know Branch," Raven stared up at the tree's lone canopy. From it's sharp branches, large, flat leaves grew outwards, giving the appearance of many spiked umbrellas. "Maybe the trees know something we don't. Or maybe they just like the quiet."

"Well I can definitely relate to that last part," Branch ambled back over to his bed.

"Yeah, I know how annoying I can be," Raven said, a sarcastic smile covering his face.

"Oh please, like I could ever get tired of listening to you. Speaking of..."

"What?" 

"You think you could tell me a story?"

Raven chuckled as he laid down next to Branch. "What do I look like, Skull?"

"Well you once told me your parents were adventurers, that was why they didn't stay in town for that long."

Raven's warm smile faded. He took a deep breath. "My parents might've been adventurers, they probably called themselves that. But, if I'm being honest, they were probably just drifters. They'd find a village, take all that they could, and then walk until they found another."

"Oh," Branch mumbled, "I'm sorry, Raven."

"It gets worse too. I don't think they intended to have me. I remember being there on their journeys a long time ago. Then one day, they arrive at Cant, buy all they can, but this time, they leave something behind too.

Raven poked at the soft sand, swirling his hoof in a circle until a small hole formed in the ground. "When I was little, I liked to think they'd come back once they found paradise."

Branch nestled closer to him, trying to comfort his partner. "Do you think you'll find them out there?"

"Maybe, I hope not though. I'm not out here so I can end up like them, only trying to satisfy my own personal desires. I want to help Cant, I want everyone to have a chance at a better life."

"Even Vulture?"

Raven chuckled. "Especially Vulture. Because as far as I know, ashtrees probably don't grow that well on crystal."

The once quiet hills were awoken by the sound of Branch's laughter. Raven laughed quietly along with him, but kept his eyes locked firmly on the nearby dunes. He truly hoped that sand was a good insulator.

"Ohh, that'd be hilarious," Branch continued to laugh to himself for another moment. Then the hills returned to silent slumber once again. 

Branch leaned against his partner, and Raven responded by laying his head next to his. Though it was odd at first, Raven had gotten accustomed to Branch's smooth, chitinous skin some time ago. The only thing he had to watch out for now was his jagged horn. 

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know my parents that well either, or at all really."

"Yeah... I remember you telling me that," Raven blinked. For a while, neither of them said a word. The couple stared outwards at nothing, blending in perfectly with the silence of the wastes. 

"But hey," Branch suddenly cut in, "We had each other, didn't we?"

"Very true. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have a funny, smart, adorable insecticorm to stay by my side."

"You definitely would've gotten in a ton more trouble. How many times did I have to bail you out when you tried stealing an ashseed necklace from Vulture's shop?"

"Well, Skull always had a soft spot for you anyway."

"That's just cause he knew my mom."

"Y'know, I think he had a crush on her. Imagine, if things were different, Skull might've been your dad!"

Branch rolled his eyes. "I don't think that's as bad a punishment as you think it is."

"I know I know. I don't mind Skull, I think we just... think differently."

"Yeah. Guess it's good we're all stuck together though."

Raven turned and looked at Branch. He was staring wistfully at his hoof. "Whaddya mean, Branch?"

"I guess I mean that it's good that so many different creatures have to live with one another. I always heard crystalhoofs arguing with the shaghorns, shaghorns with the featherbacks, and so on. So many different minds, and all of them clashing against each other. But none of them ever keep that anger, they can't afford to. There's barely enough to go around already. No one's actually gonna start a fight, or they really might die."

Raven cocked an eyebrow as Branch spoke. "What, you think everyone might fight if we take them to paradise?"

"I think that they would've a long time ago, and that they probably did. Those marble towers had to come from somewhere, and we only need to look at them to see what happens if we don't stick together."

"Well we don't know what happened back then. Maybe it was a... meteor or something."

"hmm... maybe. But I'm trying to say that everyone's staying together because they'll die if they're alone. Everyone knows what'll happen if we fight each other over scraps. Maybe, when we finally reach paradise, we'll learn to work together, and maybe then we can start to fix our world. We'll do what those before us did, but this time, we'll know what happens if we stray."

"Are you... are you alright, Branch?"

"Yeah... I just don't want us to end up back in these wastes. I want us to be happy.

The howling of the wind was deafening. Raven sat quietly, trying his best to think of something reassuring to say. In the end, nothing came to him, so he stayed still, trying to comfort his partner with his company.

Suddenly, Branch stood up. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Do you want me to get you some skullberries, hun?"

"Uh yeah, sure," Raven responded inattentively. He stared out at the smooth, rounded dunes, the faraway mountains, marked with deep scars, wide bored holes and decapitated summits. He turned back to look at his coltfriend. Even though the tree had yet to be fully grown, it towered over Branch, as did the surrounding dunes that entrapped them both.

Raven could feel a sharp pang of despair in his heart. Nothing made you feel small like the wastes did.