Ember and Snowfall had, indeed, shown back up, covered in dust. Pepper and Mystery had both breathed a sigh of relief and arranged for minders for them, while they dealt with what they had come here to do.

Or… tried to, in any case. Riad and Comet had come to learn about the ways of camouflaging in the desert, where cover was sparse, and Pepper overheard them talking when they came back from one of their excursions.

"And Cindex said they'd never seen the oasis so empty…"

Pepper perked up a little, curious. "Which oasis?"

Riad and Comet blinked at her. "Oh, the one out… you know where the stand of cacti is, north-northwest? Yeah, around there."

"Normally it's teeming with animals, but when we were out there with Cindex… it was empty."

"Empty?" Pepper frowned.

"Empty."

Mystery came in and frowned at the three of them. "What?"

"Nearby oasis didn't have any wildlife in it."

"Oh." Mystery blinked. "That's important…?"

"Whatever the reason, we should probably check it out…"

Comet nodded. "Cindex injured his foot so he's going to stay back, but he said he'd tell Kukimbia and Kinswe."

"Think they'd say no to a little help?"

Riad shook his head. "Not at all. We were thinking of heading back out, too, it was… eerie."

The three looked expectantly at Mystery, who looked back at them and then wilted. "I'm coming along, aren't I."

Pepper nodded. "Yep."

"If I die of heat exhaustion, it's going to be your fault…"

"You won't if you gear up right."

Mystery sighed deeply, but followed Pepper, Comet, and Riad to meet Kukimbia and Kinswe. At least it wasn't child-minding…

They met Kukimbia and Kinswe near where they kept the outdoor gear, and talked briefly. The two indeed were happy to have some more eyes and hands along, as long as they followed their lead and beat feet if there was any sign of danger. They all agreed, and they were off.

They wore proactive gear into the desert, to keep the sun off and to reduce the impact of the sun's warmth. The desert sands spread on all sides, rolling waves of golden-orange sand, with outcroppings of rock piercing the dunes like the hulls of beached ships.

Kukimbia lead the way with Pepper, while Comet and Mystery followed, and then Riad and Kinswe brought up the rear. When the oasis came into sight, Pepper let out a sigh of relief, claws slipping in the sand as she started forwards. Then she paused, tilting her head.

Nothing moved ahead, in the still desert air.

They all gathered at the edge of the Oasis, uncertain. Comet nodded at it, then turned to Mystery.

"You see? It's eerie. It shouldn't be like this."

Mystery's ears were pinned back as he stood uncertainly next to Riad. "I see what you mean…"

Kinswe and Kukimbia conversed for a second. "We should have someone stand guard here while the rest of us investigate…"

"I'll do it," Mystery volunteered immediately, and flattened his ears at Riad's amused noise.

"Nothing, nothing…" Riad insisted innocently.

Heading things off, Pepper nodded to Kinswe. "What should the rest of us do?"

Kinswe considered. "Circle the oasis. Nobody go in yet, but let's see what we can see. We'll meet back here at Mystery."

Given that Pepper wasn't as familiar with the area, she went with Comet and Riad around the right side while Kinswe and Kukimbia went around the left. Mystery suddenly seemed to be regretting offering to stay behind and shuffled their feet, though she stuck to her word.

The circle of the oasis was… uneventful, for the most part. Nothing jumped out at them, nothing tried to eat them, but there were some strange markings in the sand leading towards the water at the center…

The five of them met back up by Mystery, who seemed ready to vibrate out of his skin from anxiety. "Find anything?"

Comet and Riad shook their heads, and Pepper shrugged. "Some strange tracks in the sand… didn't see anything moving, which is odd."

Kinswe nodded. "Normally there would be at least birds…"

Kukimbia shook his head. "We should head back. Get some more eyes, some equipment, mark this place as unsafe. Whatever it is, it's certainly nothing good…"