Chapter Two : Onwards To A New Home - part 1
Sora had not realized it while she was up on the platform, but the side of the plateau they were on had a set of stairs carved out of the plateau's side that lead down to the desert below. Well, what was left of a set stair that is. The stairs looked to be in very bad condition. This was most likely due to them being weathered by the environment over a long period of time.
"Be careful on these stairs. Try to hug the cliff side as much as possible otherwise the step you are stepping on might break." Rio gave Sora a fair warning.
Rio had to climb the stairs to get to the top of the plateau in the first place. On her climb up she had almost fallen a few times due to stepping in the wrong spot before she realized that the side closest to the cliff wall was the safest spot to be. Rio knew first hand just how brittle the outer edge of the steps actually was.
The two hugged the cliff wall and made their way to the bottom. Some of the steps were badly broken in spots which were not fit to be stepped on at all. These broken steps left slanted areas that were so steep that if you were to step on them, you would most likely slip and fall to the ground below. At these spots, Rio and Sora helped each other over them. Luckily most of them could be stepped over if you stretched your leg out far enough. Just to be safe though the two supported each other to make sure that they both made it over safely. Sora would go first since she was taller and then held Rio's hand to allow Rio to quickly jump over the broken stairs safely. These spots were tough for Rio to get past when she first climbed up the plateau steps. Mainly because her legs were short. Instead of stretching one of her legs out over the broken steps, she had jumped over them instead. On the way up this was a safer method since she could fall forward into the stairs. Unlike now if one were by themselves and lost their balance they would most likely tumble all the way down the stairs and most likely fall off the stairs altogether. Since this set of stairs had a steep incline. But none the less the two were able to make it safely to the bottom since they had supported each other.
When they got to the bottom Sora looked off into the distance. Nothing but sand filled her eye's view. Sora was no longer able to see any mountains off in the horizon. Sora was able to see the mountains at the top of the plateau but now that she was at the bottom, the mountains were now hidden by the horizon.
As they stepped out onto the desert sand. Sora started feeling a burning sensation from the bottom of her feet. The sand was so hot that it was burning her feet through her thin socks. This made Sora realize once again that she was without shoes. The ground at the top of the plateau was not as hot as the sand below due to the pillars and a cliff that rose above the flat surface casting a shadow over the area. Even the stairs that they had just climbed down were not as hot as the sand below. Sora couldn't help but grimace from the pain.
"Ow..." Sora let out a small cry as she started to hop back and forth on each foot.
Seeing this Rio ran up to Sora and removed the scarf she had lent Sora from Sora's neck. Rio's actions surprised Sora at first but soon realized why she took the scarf off of her. Rio had taken a knife that was holstered on her belt and cut the scarf in two. Rio had Sora sit down on the steps and quickly wrapped each piece of the scarf around Sora's feet. Rio figured since her scarf was quite thick that it should help protect Sora's feet until they got to her home.
"I'm sorry I did not realize you had nothing on your feet." Rio said giving an apologetic bow to Sora.
"Not it's fine! It should be me apologizing. You just cut your scarf in two for me. I'm sorry you had to destroy something of yours for my sake." Sora said bowing back.
"Don't worry about that. Cutting up a piece of clothing in order to help a new friend is nothing. I just hope it will help some. I wish I could do more. But I do not think my boots will fit you. My feet are on the small side. I do have a slightly bigger pair at home though. So just try to bear with it for now until we get there." Rio felt really bad for making Sora walk across this hot sand without proper footwear. So much so that she bowed again to apologize.
"No, no! This is just fine! The cloth of the scarf you just cut up is rather thick. I can barely feel the heat from the sand anymore." Sora was frantically waving her hands back and forth.
"Thank you very much! Please lead the way!" Sora smiled as she took a hold of Rio's hand again.
"Un!" Rio gave Sora a smile back and gripped her hand.
You were very lucky to meet such a nice girl you know!
'I know I was! Rio is one of the nicest people I have ever met. I would do anything for her no matter what it is.'
Humph...Well, at least you care for those close to you...
'Wait did you just compliment me!?'
*Whack*
'Ow..! Why did you hit me again!'
Do not get ahead of yourself!
'Ok! I get it just continue! Ow... That really hurt...'
