The sands burned beneath Kato's bare feet. His mouth was as dry as the earth around him, his eyes were stuck in a near-permanent squint. It was all he could do to continue to shuffle forward.
The days passed like this.
In the night, he dared not rest too long. The beasts of the desert cried out in the darkness. He had lost count of the scorpions that he had found scurrying over his prone body. The sharp pricks of their legs on his sunburned skin often woke him out of his sleep.
This was Kato's punishment; to wander the burning sands and brave the hungry creatures that lived upon and within them. All this for stealing from one of his master's wives. If his master had had his way, Kato would have merely lost one of his hands. But the wives had had enough of Kato's stealing.
In truth, that was the first and only time Kato had stolen anything. He'd hoped to gain the attention of the daughter of the lighthouse keeper. She had been a pretty thing, with large almond eyes and lips that looked like they would taste like honey.
The gods had seen fit to punish Kato for not only his own crimes, but those the other servants and slaves had committed.
And so he had been cast out into the desert with naught but the cloth about his hips.
The sun had since risen high in the sky and Kato swore that he could feel the very blood in his veins beginning to boil.
He paused suddenly, squinting into mid-distance and shielding his eyes with one hand.
There was...something in the distance. A smudge like dark smoke.
Perhaps he had reached the other sea?
Kato's scorched feet carried him towards the odd horizon. As he grew closer, he realized that it had not been some bizarre smoke or the sea. Large, towering cliffs the color of mud rose from the sands.
He stumbled through their shadows, grateful for their shelter. His skin cooled a fraction, but his mind was fogged with the need for water. It could have been seconds or minutes, hours, maybe days later that Kato's legs finally crumpled beneath him.
His face landed in something cool. Moisture seeped into his cheek and wetted his lashes. Moisture. The word rang like a bell in his mind.
His fingertips burrowed into something soft and squelchy as he attempted to lever himself up. Mud. And mud meant-
Water glinted in the sunlight, sparkling like the jewels he had tried to steal. Slowly, painfully, Kato dragged his aching body through the mud and thick reeds. He did not stop at the edge of the water, but continued until he rolled over the bank.
He gulped until his belly swelled and it hurt. He scrubbed his shaking hands over his skin and through his hair. Grit and blood, sweat and sand clouded the water around him.
It was only after long moments in the water that he remembered the tales of crocodiles the other slaves had told him. It took him several clumsy tries before he managed to raise himself from the bank.
Kato laid himself out on the sunny bank and listened to the wind rustling through the reeds. The layers of grit, sweat, and blood had caked his flesh and prevented any harsher burns from the sun. There, beside his salvation, Kato slipped into the first peaceful sleep he'd had since being cast out.
Something sharp prodded at Kato's belly and throat. He flinched as something warm and soft brushed over his face.
The sun blinded him until a dark shadow blotted out the golden light.
It was a...woman.