"I cannot believe that we can travel only by night! We will never reach the place at this rate! It is always stop, go with you people!" Tokey yells as he nearly drops the map. He usually is a quiet fellow with an even temperament, but two weeks in the middle of an uphill hike will make anyone testy. He has even more of a right to be upset, especially, if the reason to stop is that the group can have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every type of break in between.

Tokey stands tall over the rest of group. His white cloak covers over his face and body head to toe. He rips off his cloak and throws it on me in spite. The young man goes towards the fire and shakes the map. His black hair covers his ruby eyes as he grumbles. He runs his hands over his face and throws the map into his chest pocket. Tokey folds his arms tightly. His sleeves cover most of his oak colored skin. But I can see underneath the high collar of Tokey's shirt and there are the markings. Tokey like myself must bear those markings of the creatures in order to live in this society of creatures. It was not too long ago. He and I were adopted into the Black River Tribe. But that is a story that I will save for another time.

"Do not be hasty. We will make it to the next city in due time," Genko whispers softly as we begin cooking and chatting away. I face Genko and studying him. He is an old pelican creature. Genko is huge compared to any normal pelican I have seen. He sits comfortably in his blue kimonos. He claims to be a monk of some sort. Drinking his tea, he starts to laugh full heartedly as he attempts to tell a joke to his companion.

Next to him is his companion, Albert. He is only a little shorter than Tokey in height; however one could never tell that by the amount of books Albert always surrounds himself with. From under his heavy cloak I can tell you what Albert looks like. He has skin the color of coal and eyes and hair to match. His black eyes shine with joy behind his glasses as he holds up a book. Albert is what is commonly known among humans as a vampire. He must always remain in the darkness of night or risk getting hurt by sunlight.

Albert addresses Tokey, "I agree with Genko. Do not grow hasty. I know it is over several thousand miles to place that no one has seen, or even heard of back in my country. But try to enjoy the trip to the Nomadic City. We cannot rush into these things. Besides it is all very exciting and interesting considering how many new books and plants we have discovered."

"You two old folks will never understand how important this journey is for me! Only Kino understands the urgency of our trip!" Tokey yells, "We do not have time for this whole mess! We should move quicker!"

"Now Tokey, moving quicker up these mountains is foolish. It is better to go slowly and just flow with the path," Genko sighs as he puts down his cup. He reaches out and begins to stir tonight's dinner, "Smells good, doesn't it?"

"You're not listening to me!"

"Ah, it does smell good. Oh that reminds me . . . I have to go catch my own food. A nice live rabbit should cut it. Be right back," Albert waves and leaps out of sight.

"Kino, please, say something to these two!" Tokey groans.

I merely smile, fold up the cloak into my lap, and throw it back at Tokey. He puffs and catches it angrily. I move my jacket closer to my body as the chill of the fall wind goes by. I close my eyes as the fire shimmers in the darkness of the night. Genko laughs loudly and hums to himself. The vampire reappears with traces of blood by on his hands. He sits among the piles of books and cleans his hands on the ground. Albert speaks, "Kino, be a dear and get some water. I noticed earlier in the night we were running of it."

"Okay. Just be kind to each other, while I am gone," I nod and start to leave the campground.

"Just don't get lost!" Tokey yells out.

"Copy that!"

I track along in the difficult terrain with ease. I have the ability to jump around the mountain jump like a goat. Not to mention I have unnaturally great hearing too. I can do many things that the others cannot do. I am not some type of a creature that belongs naturally to a tribe. I am not a human from the lands of Gaia. I am just me.

At last I arrive to a small lake in the rougher area of the mountain. I peel back my jacket and get three water bottles to fill up. I pause to look up at the moon and all the shining stars. It has been such a long time since I have realized how beautiful the world can be. So many stars! There are so many foreign sounds of insects and cries of wolves far off in the night. The willow trees sway very softly in this hidden place before me.

I grab the first bottle and fill it. I can make out a shadowy outline of myself. My eyes yellow glow in the night, because my sunglasses slip down off my blue face. I lean closer towards the cool water as my sapphire hair covers my face. It has been a long time since I have seen my reflection. I think maybe it has been six months since the situation at the border lands. It has been even longer that I have been among the creatures. Possibly about two to five years, I cannot really keep track of time.

My tail tabs the ground loudly from under my jacket. I blush and hurry to fill up the bottles. I am still not use to how my body has been altered. I cannot remember how many times I have had to bandage my hands from when the scales pop up. Or the fact I have to wear sunglasses during the day and the night because it feels too bright for me. I look like a lizard mixed with an elf for God's sake! And I have feet that remind me of a kangaroo. I will never adjust to my body now. It is hard to even remember when I use to be human. . .

"Kino! Kino! Kino!" Albert's voice echoes through the mountain side.

I jump and finish filling the water bottles. Quickly I dash back to the campground; where Genko sits taste testing the food. Tokey leans close to the fire to get light on the map. I come to Albert's side and hand over one of the water bottles. He holds in his hand and quickly puts it in his backpack. He looks at me and whispers, "It is a good thing you have arrived. Tokey is getting into one of those moods again. I liked him better when we were traveling on even ground. Now he is always like this."

"I know Albert. But he has every right to be in a rush to that place. We have been traveling for such a long time," I softly answer.

"At least speak with him. I fear that he may try going ahead of us like last week," Albert sighs as he stacks his books into his backpack, "I know he is in a rush, but he does not need to be foolish about it. I mean we all have something we can gain from going to the Nomadic City."

"Yes, we all are seeking something. . . Don't worry I will speak with him."

The vampire smiles brightly as he takes off his hood. He turns to the old monk and they begin to chat away about tonight's dinner. I am left with the task of talking to Tokey. I walk slowly beside Tokey as he is cursing under his breath about the calculation of how long it will take to arrive at the Nomadic City. He looks at me with annoyance, "Why did we pick up these two old folks!? They are slowing us down big time!"

"Tokey. . . Do not be so rash," I sit and stare out at the fire, "You know we would not have come this far without Genko and Albert. We should be thankful for their help. We owe them a great deal because if they had not joined us. . . We would still be in the middle of that graveyard trapped in that grave. We would not have understood the locals of all the cities, if we did not have Albert to translate for us. Nor would we have as many leads to the Nomadic City as we do now."

"Yea, yea, I know," Tokey begins to wave the map in my face, "They have done us a million favors. But have you considered how long it takes to travel at this rate each day vs. the amount of time we have. We have a deadline, Kino. We have to arrive at that city before summer. When summer comes who knows where that place will disappear to next! Those nomads always move with the seasons."

I grab the map. Tokey frowns and bares his teeth against me. I push up my sunglasses and look at him firmly. I open the map and look at the route. It is a long one. The current path is to a town rumored to have flying animals that we could mount to get across the rest of the mountains faster. There is according to Albert no safer route to take, but the one we have already chosen. I push it back at Tokey.

"We will move as fast and as safe as we can go, Tokey. You know that-"

"I know that! I know that!" He shouts, "I just want to find Master as quick as possible! He's the only one that can help us with our problem!"

"We will get there when we get there. But we need to be careful out here," I hiss, "So be reasonable and drop your urges to be in such a rush."

Tokey rolls his eyes, "Fine, fine! I will remember to be nice and calm. Just as long as you tell those two that we are not stopping for midnight snack!"

"What!?" Genko cries, "We always stop for midnight snack!"

"We are not stopping for any snacks!" Tokey shouts as he gets up to face the old monk.

"We will stop for snacks! There is no trip without snacks!" Genko shrieks in horror.

He shakes the map and begins to complain about the journey. Genko groans and Albert gets between the two as Tokey jumps at the monk. They all start fighting for the sixth time this week. It is not an uncommon sight. I sit back in my spot. These humorous people could very well drive me mad. These people who I very well depend upon. These are my friends and I am a traveler. And this is part of our path to the Nomadic City.