I expected something, but I didn't realize just how patient they could be in accomplishing what they wanted.
The desert winds were broken up as they moved through the cactus forest; we had finally made it there.
The cacti's sweet scent wafted to our noses in waves; it smelled both floral and fruity at once.
I had never seen anything like this forest before. Spiny columns stretched high, covered in sharp needles, but at their tops grew swollen orbs of red fruit.
Jamila was the first to touch one. She plucked it carefully, using one of her knives to sever the stem so she avoided the needles, then held it up for me to see.
"Look at this, my lady," she said, her voice light with her excitement. "It looks really delicious, doesn't it?"
I stepped closer, brushing my fingers against the fruit. A pulse thrummed within it, faint but something I had grown familiar with; there was mana energy inside this fruit.
