After Maema's adventure in Tsidal, Alastor and Nalla had come to visit Hakira and meet Professor Kee, who had been quite the gracious host but who had ultimately been a bit too busy to entertain for an adventure out in the desert. Now, Maema was leading Alastor and Nalla on a tour like she had been given, only this time instead of boats and beaches it was the vast deserts of Issiq. Or, it had been: now they were at the Stone Arches, and Maema was delighted to find that she spied a familiar face resting in the hot springs.

"Daago!" she called, running down the stairs while Alastor and Nalla took them two at a time to keep up behind her. The belamoid looked up in their general direction but not at them, looking bewildered.

"Hello?" she called, her ears tipping back a little as Maema came to a stop at the edge of the glittering blue pool. It really was beautiful– twin pools like the suns of hot water surrounded by yellow sand and three stone arches so smooth and organized that any reasonable sapient would think they'd been carved. A surprisingly sweet-smelling breeze was blowing over them, mixing with the steam and the desert's actually rather pleasant Mid-Kerah temperatures.

"Hello ma'am! Remember me? I'm Maema, remember? You helped me in the desert a few days ago. These are my friends Alastor and Nalla, they're diplomats from the ocean!"

Daago's ears were still flat and her eyes were vacant as she scented the air. Maema hadn't noticed her blindness yet but Alastor and Nalla had, and Alastor was the first to speak. "I'm sorry," he said, dipping his head. "We didn't mean to startle you. We're here visiting from another colony, and Maema wished to show us the Stone Arches and the hot springs."

Nalla said, "We didn't mean to disturb you."

Daago relaxed a little now that she had a better idea of where everyone was standing and rested her chin back on the flat stone on the edge of the water. "Mh," she said, notably not excusing their intrusion. "Well, I'm glad you found some adults, Maema."

Maema laughed a little. "I am sorry about that, ma'am. But yes, Alastor and Nalla are really nice! Ooh, hey, you've lived here longer than me, do you know any cool places I should show them?"

Even though it was submerged in the water, Daago swept her tail back and forth like she was annoyed. "The hot springs are supposed to have healing properties, I guess?"

The little tsabhua did not notice Daago's annoyance. "Oh! Are you sick, ma'am?"

Alastor looked a little surprised. "That's a bit of a rude question, isn't it?"

Maema's ears flattened slightly. "Oh, is it? I'm sorry."

Daago sighed. "No. I'm not sick. I broke my leg a few years ago and it still hurts during the colder months. The water helps."

Nalla made a face at the suggestion that the weather in Issiq, even during Mid-Kerah, qualified as "cold"-- but, then, she supposed she wasn't considering how the temperature dropped at night. In fact, Maema was the one who commented on it, saying, "Well, I hope you get dry before it's dark then, ma'am!"

Daago snorted. "You and me both, kid. I'll be fine." She gestured with her nose. "Anyway, it was nice to see you, but I'm busy right now."

"Okay!" Maema said, smiling brightly. "See you later, ma'am!"