She felt like she had been walking for an eternity.

She knew such a time length didn't exist. Nothing went on for eternity, and eternity itself didn't last. Everything ended, one way or another. She wished her time with her former group hadn't, though. It had all happened so quickly, it was all blurred, but she knew what had happened was a good thing. They called themselves the Rebels, and at first she was scared of them with such a name, but quickly realized that they were actually the good guys in it all. It didn't take much convincing for her to join them.

Her eyes lift towards the sky, not a cloud in sight as the sun beat down on the waves of golden sand that seemed to stretch on for miles. She would do anything for at least a little bit of shade from the heat, her body weak and covered in sweat underneath her pelt. She was made for warm temperatures, but not this hot, nor with such little water. Speaking of, her mouth was dry, her tongue feeling like a sheet of sand paper against the inside of her cheeks.

Cosette sighed, the simple action causing her to go into a small coughing fit. She didn't want to die out here. She had tried not to think about it earlier, but now, the panic was swelling in her chest. She didn't want to die. But would her death even matter? There was none to miss her, not anymore. They were all gone, or didn't even know she was still alive. So, simply put, it wouldn't matter in the least if she died out here. She would be a faceless body out in the middle of the desert.

But even with all of that, the selfish desire to continue living was there, the last bits of her instincts urging her to try and press on. She did, groggily trudging forward, and noticed the tops of trees peering over the horizon. Her eyes widened, her energy reignited as she picked up her pace the most she could, half-limping through the sand. It didn't last long, and soon she found herself tumbling onto the border, face buried and barely clinging onto consciousness.

♛ SMOKED A PACK OR TWO, IT NEVER WAS A PROBLEM —

Dante almost seemed to follow Melantha around, though that was only because of the drama between them. What could he say, he liked the tension he had with her, and he was quite honestly waiting for the time she just decks him. He was waiting for somebody to deck him in general, but her - and North - were the two people he was really hoping for.

”She shouldn’t have come to the desert without damn resources.” Dante said with a snort as he neared the three females, his eyes narrowed at Cosette, whose name he didn’t know, of course.

//mobile
[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px darkorange; font-size: 24px;"]— DANTE♛

Darkness overwhelmed the corners of her vision, blobs dancing in and out. Although it was very tempting to give into unconsciousness, she jolted awake at the arrival of someone, able to vaguely see their paws through the shadows. They spoke quietly to her, a female it seemed by the voice, but despite their calming tone she still found her heart beating rapidly in her rib cage. She didn't know this person, or their intentions. They may have said one thing, but they could mean to do something entirely different. A lot of people weren't honest, and that was one thing she had learned early on.

Despite the fear gripping her chest, Cosette allowed the other to drag her, her body going limp in submission. She was thankful for the shade, though, the gurgle of a nearby stream making her perk up some. But she remained frozen, unsure whether to move or not. Her doubts were only encouraged when more people showed up, wincing at one of their comments about her unpreparedness. She would have brought resources if she had even planned on coming through the desert. Unfortunately, she hadn't originally planned on it, as she had been in quite a hurry beforehand.

The female didn't have much time to think about it, though, when someone else approached. This one caught her attention right off the bat. Another one of her kind. The only time she had seen someone like her was when she and her family were still together. This guy rung a lot of bells inside her head, and yet she couldn't place a paw on it. When he shook her, she grew stiff, but urged herself to relax.

"I-I'm not asleep," she says simply, though she didn't make an effort to move. "But you do look..familiar,"

She laid there awkwardly on the ground, studying him closely. For a split moment, she forgot about the others gathered around, her focus on the other serval cat. His grin was a bit unnerving, but she hardly noticed it at this point. She was mostly just trying to figure out how and why he was so familiar.

"Um, I'm sorry. My name's Cosette," what was she apologizing for? Who knew. Anyways, they knew she wasn't a threat now, or at least she hoped they did. But her heart dropped at his next statement, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. She couldn't be a slave again--not after all she had went through to be free. "N-no! I'll join, just--don't make me a slave, please," her desperation would probably strike them as odd, but whatever. She couldn't help the vigorous shaking of her head and the tremble in her body.