The World Hidden Beneath the Sands [Plot]

Being a wanted criminal in his 'homeland' was a pain, but he rather liked that he was still able to come home; home to his people and his family. It made his choice, and the consequences, so much easier to bare, and given he wasn't wanted in this land, he had little to worry about. It was the land of his forefathers anyway, so he was happy to spend time here; he knew they would have to move on soon, they'd been hiding in the desert for nearly a decade already, and that had left them with two things: a lack of people chasing them for the moment, and the time to train their daughter, get her ready to face the world. Well, three things, as he and Ai had young children again; twins born in the twilight of the desert heat, perfect and happy and having no idea that their parents where wanted for high treason in part of the world. Not that it mattered, they'd never actually hidden anything from them, they'd just never asked why they could never visit the strange floating islands to the west. Oh well.

They where gathering supplies to leave, the final journey from the sands, it was time to make their home in the far off temple that they could use as a proper base, without risking the lives of their family; they would be bringing many of them with them, but the temple was safe and protected, and it was worth the risk to move them now. Oh, some would be staying; it had been so long since the gypsies had migrated that it would draw too much attention for the entire population to leave at once now; his record had been released to the upper echelon of Amagakure, so the truth of his heritage and what his father had done was well known; they would be watching the gypsies in the desert in efforts to try and find him. They would fail miserably doing that, but whatever worked for the pig-idiots running things.

For the immediate moment, though; they where waiting on merchants and craftsmen to do their jobs. They had commissioned a full caravan for themselves to use, enough to move as many of their family that wished to come with them without causing problems with space and supplies. The main road out of Yokuchi and toward the forests and plains in the northeast was well traveled, and totally safe for them to use after all this time; they'd just appear to be a caravan of merchants with a few gypsy tagging along; completely normal. They had a few weeks to wait; the sandstorms where still bad this time of year, and it took time to fabricate caravan gears; they would be using almost a dozen sandsakters; special wagons that used skis instead of wheels, so that they could glide over the sands without bogging down. They where common in larger caravans, so completely innocuous. Camels would be traded for horses when they reached the edge of the sands; the sandskaters were meant to be converted to using wheels in less than an hour, so they would spend a day making trades and converting their gear, filling up on water and food and supplies, then move on toward Hinowa; or on the road that lead that way anyway. He knew the path they would take, and it would be a treacherous one. However, he also knew how to get them there with the wagons and supplies, so they wouldn't have to leave the things they needed behind.

Given all this free time, he had been working with Ai on translating and archiving the few written records that his people carried with them; the most ancient of histories and legends that had been put to paper in the time of the Sun Empire; eons before the war that sank the Golden City beneath the sands. They where remains of their ancestral home, the massive Library of the Sun that they had tended to for generations. In the time before they became gypsies, they where scholars and librarians and scribes and historians; and it showed in their customs and traditions. Everything they did was based around maintaining records and passing along knowledge. As it was, so it would always be.

He had been working to teach her their various languages; they active spoke and read dozens, and knew of and kept the records of dozens more, as well as reading more beyond that. It was how they maintained their records without fear of them being stolen or used against them; only they could read and translate the texts, only they could understand the lyrics to their songs. He wanted her to know, though, he wanted her to know everything that he did, just as he wanted to know all that she did. They worked to teach their children the same; the thirst for knowledge and understanding that caused them to walk the path they did. At the moment, he was hunched low over a scroll so old that to touch it with physical objects would cause it to crumble to dust, only by using a special scribe pen coated in chakra could the scroll be handled, and he was a master at using it. It was a simple enough text, ciphered in a singular language, that was one he was fluent in. Transcribing it into a language that was readable to everyone within the camp was simple, and having a usable copy of it would make teaching the knowledge contained within so much easier.

"I am nearly finished here, love. How are you fairing with your scrolls?"

It had been quite a long time since they had left their home and journeyed to the desert. Yet, Ai didn't regret the trip at all. So long as her family was happy and healthy she had little care to the issues they had left behind nor the ones that they had caused before leaving. No one had bothered them in their new home, and in fact things had been peaceful enough to add two more children to their happy family; twins none the less. Amara had grown from an adorable child into a find young woman prepared to take on the harshness of the world and survive it. Their twins were likewise on their way to growing as strong as possible; and they were devoid of the issues that had struck their darling Amara. No, things had been happy and safe, just like Ai liked.

However, it was growing close to the time they would need to move on. Preperations had been made and precuations taken to ensure safe travel for everyone. She was happy to know her children were now skilled enough to make the journey themselves even if something were to happen to one or both of their parents - not that she figured anything would.

Ai herself had been learning a lot; the time spent in the desert had filled her head with knowledge - both what her love Raijin had taught her, and what she had learned for herself. The vast expanse of knowledge given to her was like a great gift in and of itself; one she would treasure for the rest of her life.

For now, though, Ai would simply focus on the task at hand instead of her mental ramblings. She was seated at a table, helping Raijin while using the same process to continue on with her learning. She was doing fairly well, too; capable of going a lot faster than she would have before. Not that she was going fast; she was being careful, delicate even, with handling the material. At Raijin's question she would lift her head and smile at him, "I'm almost finished, too."