ghostwhisper - group - mantis-awahondo hybrid - they/them
[div style="width: 100%; height: auto; text-align: justify; padding: 20px; font-size: 15px; color: #f2ffff;"]They were still getting a grip on flying. Wings that had grown into size just recently to give them more than a singular flap of their wings were hard to use. The wind buffeted them and threw them around without mercy. Flight was hard. They had no one to teach them. Ghostwhisper thought that they were doing good for being self taught. They'd ventured through quite a plethora of lands, but a massive desert? That had yet to be visited, that had yet to be mapped ever within their lifespan. Ghostwhisper had started off their mapping obsession with buying half finished maps and finishing them, and then duplicating the products and selling them. Food, shelter, shiny things - all worked as payment in their eyes. They liked shiny things very much. Perhaps that was both sides of the bug in them, demanding to stare at something shiny until it burned a hole in their eyes even through their shell.

Ghostwhisper had figured that a desert would require a map of its own, separate from the loose mass of a map that constituted some of their past travels. They knew little of what to expect from the sands, having never ventured into a desert before. There wasn't much to map, if they were honest. Sand, sand, some more sand here, some more sand there. At least two cubic tons, if they thought about it long enough. What they also had to think about were the odd scents on the breeze, scents that were rather hard to detect through their shell. Odd, foreign, plentiful. Many persons. Civilization, perhaps? It had been a while since they'd mapped an entire kingdom. They doubted that this kingdom could be very large, considering the desert and the food problems and all of that stuff that they didn't want to devote thought to at the time, but it dragged up curiosity from within even with the slightest of a thought.

They landed, continuing to slowly skitter forward. Their four legs kept themself safe from the sand beneath them, the heat that rose from the ground. Their cloak countered it, but they would be caught dead without their cloak on their person. Ghostwhisper's head rose, deciding that they would wait. This was not a fallen kingdom where they could enter as they pleased. Probably. Most likely. Deciding to be patient, even if patience was certainly not a skill they performed with ease. Resting their scythe like arms on the sand to get their paper and quill from their cloak with their middle hands, Ghostwhisper began scribbling with these same legs with slow, concise movements. Glowing wings carefully folded against their back, resting from the journey.

ghostwhisper - group - mantis-awahondo hybrid - they/them
[div style="width: 100%; height: auto; text-align: justify; padding: 20px; font-size: 15px; color: #f2ffff;"]Ghostwhisper didn't have to wait too long before they were greeted by not one, but two persons. Their shell lifted up from their paper, hearing as they were addressed. The first thing to get out of the way was to elaborate on the biggest hindrance of communication. Sharp arms lifted up, gesturing to their face and was followed by a very slow shake of their head. That settled the fact that they could not speak. Usually. Hopefully. They snagged another paper from their cloak, swiftly scribbling down on it. They paused to look at the second one that had arrived, watching the nod of his head. A quick proofread over their words, ensuring that what they wanted to say was being correctly portrayed.

A few more lines, finishing up their writing. They shuffled on their feet so that they could lift the paper up. 'I am Ghostwhisper. Ghost also works. I like to make maps. Looking for place to stay. Want to make maps.' They tried to keep things simple, concise, cutting out whatever words weren't necessary for the conversation at hand. Their shell tipped to the side, feet shuffling against the sand. Ghostwhisper hoped that they were able to read - such a thought hadn't crossed their mind until that moment. If they couldn't read, well, Ghost was fairly certain that they'd have to find some other unorthodox method. Charades? Such was laughable, but likely one of the other few methods for communication without words or skilled fingers.