Rub al-Khali, Southern desert of the Arabian peninsula, moving southwest towards coastal Ma'in, the Imperial city-state
Lo'gan looked back to check on his camel as the bright sun beamed down on them mercilessly. It was close to midday and in the open, they could not last long at the rate they were moving. They had left Gazir in the cool of the night in order to get a good start, but the air had grown still and the sun unbearably hot. The camels were slow, having drunk water for hours and Nayif had been perspiring steadily for almost two hours. Patting his neck in understanding, Lo'gan turned him and took hold of the reins attached to his pack camel and stopped them both.
Without consulting his companion, Lo'gan dismounted and began to lead both his animals to the flatter area in between two large dunes just slightly ahead. They provided no shade, since the sun was directly over them, but the little wind that was available was always magnified when rushing in through the space between two dunes. Harabi followed with a frown and watched Lo'gan unpacking in irritation. He knew the three week trip to the coast would be hard with a Jabir in tow, but he had not expected to be ignored the entire way.
"Why are we stopping?"
Lo'gan wiped his forehead and continued to unbuckle his camel that had since lain down. Nayif stood by the wayside, and Harabi could have sworn he was waiting for Lo'gan to move to him next. Still feeling slighted at having lost the race to claim Gazir, the young Bedouin gave the black stallion a reproachful glance and approached Lo'gan.
"Don't ignore me, you heard me ask a question."
Lo'gan flashed him a dangerous look and in only one movement, heaved the three hundred pound pack off of his camel with a grunt and let it fall to the side. Harabi's eyes widened at his obvious show of strength and crossed his arms in thought. Maybe it was best to leave the brooder alone for now.
Moving to his own animals, he began doing the same as his companion, occasionally glancing in Lo'gan's direction to see what else he was doing. It wasn't uncommon to make side trips away from the clan, but whenever they did, Harabi had someone else unpack his things. Men seldom did their own moving and he had little experience with it. Apparently, big scary Lo'gan did and that only meant that he didn't have a woman to undo his packs. With a smirk, Harabi continued his unfurling, mentally storing that bit of knowledge for future use.
Unfortunately, it was taking longer than he thought. While Lo'gan had finished putting up an open canopy to provide shade over himself and his animals, Harabi was still struggling with the bindings on his camel. But he wasn't the only one tiring. Frustrated with the tugging on her thick fur, the camel turned and snapped at Harabi's hand and bellowed out at him before moving away and settling down on her own. Harabi fell back from the unexpected attack, rubbed his arm where the beast had nipped him, and blinked stupidly at Lo'gan who was laughing from where he was resting and watching him. Indignant, Harabi yanked his ghutra off in frustration and looked at Lo'gan heatedly.
"The least you can do is help me."
Still chuckling, Lo'gan popped a date in his mouth and opened the mouth fitted to his waterskin.
"It seems that you have no idea what to do with camels as well as horses."
Harabi stood up quickly and brushed the sand off his robes.
"Perhaps, I prefer spending my time with people rather than animals."
Lo'gan took a quick drink, savoring the freshness in the water and shrugged.
"Turn around and go back then."
Flinging his headcloth to the ground, Harabi went to fetch his own waterskin, suddenly very thirsty once he saw Lo'gan take his.
"Insult all you want, son of Jabir, you will not be the only one speaking to the Sultan. My father is depending on me and you will not stop me."
Lo'gan shrugged and kept popping dates in his mouth, clearly enjoying the younger man's frustration.
"Maybe not, but an angry camel will."
Harabi turned to look at his camel and all the antagonism he felt melted away. The animals were notoriously stubborn if they didn't want to move and his was starting to look it. Dropping down to the sand, he looked at for a long minute, before turning to Lo'gan in defeat.
"What does it want, then?"
Lo'gan snorted and raised an eyebrow high into his forehead.
"Food, water, someone who will not overload her and push her too far. The same things you would want."
Harabi leaned back and looked at the animal in contempt.
"I thought they can carry twice as much and cover almost a hundred dictas in a day."
"She could if she weren't so heavy with water……and pregnant. Not very bright of you to have picked a pregnant one, Dawasir."
Harabi blinked in astonishment.
"Pregnant?"
Lo'gan smirked at his expression.
"A little camel, inside that one."
"I know what it means! It's just that……well……"
"I'll take care of it."
With that, Lo'gan stood and walked over to the rebellious camel. Harabi stood also ready to protest, but to his surprise, she let Lo'gan approach and pat her wooly head. After a few moments, Lo'gan slowly unlatched her pack and looked at Harabi pointedly.
"Only riding dulahs can cover that much ground. Pack carriers can only cover a fourth of that. Now get your ass over here and help me."
Harabi stared at Lo'gan in surprise and only moved when Lo'gan asked again.
"Are you going to just stare all day?"
"No. No. I'll help."
Harabi hustled over and positioned himself by the opposite end of the enormous pack that rested on his camel's single hump and together they lifted it up and dropped it to the side. Lo'gan shook his head sadly and pet the camel's woolly head some more. It blinked its thick eyelashes at him and before Harabi could protest, Lo'gan took out his Khanjar blade. Harabi almost swallowed his tongue at seeing it glimmer in the sunlight and quickly moved to stop him.
"No!! What do you think you're doing? She's a good camel!"
Lo'gan raised one eyebrow, then another, as a smile grew on his face.
"I'm not going to hurt the camel, you idiot, I'm going to get rid of all the junk you're carrying before you do it, so step aside."
Harabi closed his hanging jaw in mid protest and watched sheepishly as Logan slashed open the bindings to the suede pack and started tossing different items into the sand. When he was done a few minutes later, nearly half of his things were laying in a heap and only a few clothes, his food supplies, canopy and tent remained. Lo'gan surveyed his work and with a pleased grunt, walked back into the shade of his canopy, leaving Harabi to wonder what would really happen if he did go back. Plopping down on the carpet he unrolled next to his own smaller pack, Lo'gan lay on his back and shifted around trying to get comfortable.
"I suggest you get your animals under some shade and get some rest as well, we move in a few hours."
"I have a say in when we move……"
"Just do it. It's too hot right now and we can travel faster once the sun lets up."
Harabi kicked at the sand under his feet and picked up his favorite oil, which lay in the trash heap and snuck it under his robes. If he was going to Ma'in, whorehouses were a definite stop and he needed to maintain his ability to charm intact. Spotting another necessary item, he tucked it away as well, and set to the task of putting up his canopy. It took him much longer than Lo'gan, but eventually he did it and feeling triumphant, turned to see if Lo'gan had seen, but the Jabir was fast asleep. Celebrating his accomplishment on his own, Harabi then moved his animals and lay down to catch some rest as well. In the dry, thick heat, he was asleep in no time and awoke only when Lo'gan nudged him with his foot a few hours later.
"Pack up, Dawasir, we have to move."
Harabi sat up and looked around with a yawn. Lo'gan was almost done packing and if he didn't move quickly, he would leave him behind for sure. He stood and stretched and rolling up his things gave Lo'gan a considering look. He was quiet and dangerous, but trustworthy. He had personally dealt with him very little and his brothers detested him, but his father thought differently. It was no secret, he valued his brothers' fighting, but it was with him that Salih spoke with the most and Harabi spent countless hours listening to his father muse over Khalaf and his quiet son. To the clan, he was a hated rival, but Harabi knew better. His father was once friends with the Jabir Sheik and he respected both him and his son greatly. Rumor had it he was not even his true son, but one thing was sure, they shared the same sense of duty and Salih knew it. If he had thought Lo'gan was treacherous, he would have never sent him along with him to Ma'in in the first place.
Brushing off the sand that collected in his robes, Harabi looked around to see what he should do first. Seeing his horse twitching by the wayside, he moved to pat it gingerly like he had seen Lo'gan do. To his surprise the animal responded by placing his large snout in his hand and Harabi rubbed it gently before moving to pack up his things. This time he was more efficient and much quicker but having finished, looked questioningly at his camel. That fact that she was pregnant did not ease his apprehension at being bitten again and not knowing quite how to strap her back up, scratched his head in confusion. Fortunately, Lo'gan was watching him and without saying a word, walked over to help. Together they fitted her nicely and grateful that her load was lighter, the camel unfolded her long limbs quickly and cooperated as she was secured to Harabi's saddle.
When he was done, Lo'gan walked back to Nayif and mounted his stallion. Pulling ahead of the four animal caravan, he was lost in his calculations of the ground they needed to cover when Harabi unexpectedly called to him. Knowing that Lo'gan hadn't heard what he had said, Harabi repeated himself solemnly.
"I said thank you. For, uhh, helping me. And you can call me Harabi."
Lo'gan nodded and added,
"And I am Lo'gan."
Harabi grinned despite himself and Lo'gan went back to his musings. At first he thought the young Dawasir was going to be a complete hindrance, but in the short time they had spent together, he had shown that he could learn. Even though it was incredibly stupid to have chosen a pregnant camel as his pack animal, at least he was trying and that was more than he had originally thought of him. Watching the sun slowly inch towards the horizon, Lo'gan decided that maybe he had underestimated him. The sentiment held for all of three minutes, until Harabi started singing about lost loves. Grinding his teeth together, Lo'gan amended his opinion. They were still twenty days away from their destination and that was plenty of time to kill him if he had to.
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