It would be nice to have an ally that can talk...

As you consider, she begins to shout at you, "Give that back you filthy monster!"

You recoil at her statement, and raise the dagger up to her. She braces herself for a stab, but instead you simply take your pointer finger and poke her on the nose. She opens her eyes slowly and looks at you in confusion, seeing you wagging your finger at her.

She blinks a few times before speaking slowly, "You... can think?" You nod, somewhat annoyed at her thinking you were a lowly mindless beast. "Th-then give me back my dagger!"

You shake your finger again. You point at her, make a stabbing gesture with the dagger, and then point at yourself, hoping you got the message across well enough. "You stabbed me!"

She stutters as she replies, "Th-thats because you attacked me out of nowhere!" You shake your head. "What do you mean, no? You grabbed me!"

You tap your finger to your head a few times in thought, before deciding to call over your scarab to show her. As you call it over, you hold out your arm for it to land on within a range she can still see. Once it has landed, you wave your arm around slowly to show it off.

She stares at it for a few moments before it seems to click, "You were... trying to protect your pet?" You give a so-so gesture and then nod. "So then... are you a beast tamer?" You shake your head. She stares at you confused, "Then how do you have the creature?"

You take a second to figure out how to communicate it properly. At last it comes to you, and you gesture all around the cave before pointing at yourself. Trying to communicate, "I have the dungeon."

Her eyes go wide as she realized what you mean, "Y-you claimed the cave?" You nod, holding your head high in pride. She seems stunned as she continues to speak, "Then... you are a dungeon boss?" You give the so-so nod again.

At this point you think the Scarab has done its job, and send it back to work. You look carefully at the fox girl before slowly lowering her to the ground. She stares at you with a hard to read expression, and you don't know how to continue the conversation.

You look between her and the dagger a few times, before slowly offering her the handle. She stares at it and then back to you, seeming to be considering a decision.

As you stand awkwardly holding out the dagger, she eventually speaks again. "You... how strong are you?" You would raise an eyebrow if you had one, but simply tilt your head in lack of facial features to express yourself. She looks around in the darkness while thinking, before looking back to you, "Are you strong enough to establish yourself here?

You consider for a few moments, before you start to shrug. You stop yourself, however, realizing that isn't the right answer. You need to have the determination that you will survive, regardless of what you may think is true right now. If you did not have the will to continue, you did not have the strength to.

You give a determined nod, holding your head high and pushing out your chest. She considers this for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "May I perhaps... stay here, for the moment?" She tucked her ears and tail down, trying to make herself not intimidating. You found it somewhat suspicious to be honest.

In the end, you saw no harm in it. She didn't seem like she would gain anything from killing you, and you wouldn't lose much anyway. On the other hand, having her around could be helpful. For one, unlike your Scarab she could actually talk, which was very much a useful thing to have.

You gave a shrug and a nod, which she seemed slightly too exited for. She gave you a bow while thanking you, "Thank you... um, what is your name?" You make a gesture pointing at her, portraying that she hasn't said hers either.

She didn't seem too happy with your refusal to answer, but responded non the less. "Ah, sorry. I am Sahara. Now, may I have your name?" You think for a second before crouching down and writing it in the sand. She squints at it before shaking her head, "I am sorry, it is too dark to read."

You give an understanding nod before brushing the sand away. You stand awkwardly for a moment, not knowing how to continue any form of discussion. In the end, you just give a wave gesture to the wall where she was before, and walk off towards the mural you were cleaning before.

You hear her move a few moments later, slowly approaching the wall before getting down against it once more. You look over your shoulder, seeing her laying down using a bag as a pillow and wrapped in her cloak.

Returning to the mural, you had nothing better to do than get back to work. You didn't sleep, after all, and laying on the floor would be even more boring. You shook your head to yourself as you recalled the saying you had heard a few times before, "No rest for the wicked."

The rest of the night was completely uneventful. You passed it by in a trance of sorts, managing to clean a great amount of the mural. You could now tell that it had the white Lizardfolk as the center again, though they seemed to be hiding. On at least the side near the door, there were a group of Lizardfolk who seemed to be soldiers of some sort, having weapons and armor.

You pondered what this could mean for a few moments. Clearly, the black Lizardfolk seemed to have ordered the white Lizardfolk to be hunted down, seemingly by the country's army. You still had no reason for why they had done this, or what became of either group. Now that you thought of it, you had never heard a single adventurer who came by mention a white or black Lizardfolk before.

While you reached a dead-end in your contemplations, you hear noises from the corner of the room. Looking over, you see Sahara beginning to wake up, stretching with her eyes still closed. She had a flash of confusion across her face when her hands came in contact with the cold stone, and scrambled to her feet when the scarab began flying for another load of sand.

Speaking of the Scarab, it had done a very good job. You got a great quantity of sand from it, and with the sand flowing down, you could begin to see the very top of the far wall. You gave it a little pet to thank it for its hard work, though you actually have no idea if it cares or not.

Looking back to Sahara, she stared at you for a few moments. Apparently, whatever she was considering last night has resurfaced in her mind. You walk up to her, shocking her out of her daze. "Ah, hello again. Sorry about being so hostile last night. I had had a... rough last few days." You believe her. Getting a better look in the light, she seems slightly malnourished. You feel sorry, you most certainly didn't have any food to offer her.

She gives you a bow, "Thank you very much, for allowing me to stay here over the night. I cannot express how thankful I am to have shelter from the sandstorm." She seemed earnest, and you took the thanks with stride, giving a wave that you hoped portrayed, 'It was nothing.'

You remember something, and get down on the ground. She looks at you in confusion for a few moments before she realizes you are writing out your name again. She squints to see it, reading it aloud. "Netherus?" You nod. "That's a... strange name. Who gave it to you?" You look at her confused before indicating your thumb towards yourself.

Her eyes go wide, and she recoils from you, falling back to the ground. "Y-you named yourself? How is that- How did you-" She stops for a moment to catch herself, before asking another question. "What, are you?"