Khnurn leaned back and sat as heavily as he could to get the mare to slow down. Sand sprayed up and hit his legs as she hopped to a full stop, working her jaw as though there was a bit in her mouth. He dismounted rather unceremoniously and stumbled a few steps forward before regaining his composure and tilting his head to hear Zahra's words. He turned, eyes immediately finding those creatures who could fly. A smaller creature, falcon-like and well-decorated after the manner of Horus, stared back almost expectantly. Yes, it seemed this particular creature was almost designed for such a job.

"Would you-?"

I am Tet, it chirped. After cocking its head to a near right angle, it added, And yes. I shall return.

It shot into the air much faster than Khnurn was expecting, and he moved back next to Zahra and the wolf with a short grunt. "I can't tell if Tet is just irritable or... what is the modern word? Quirky? Eager? Direct."

He shook his head and ran a hand through his dark hair, squinting into the lights. He thought he could see movement, but it was nothing that raised any alarms. That had to be a good sign, then. Regardless, he would wait on Tet's return before making any further moves.

It seemed the bird was an enigma to its fellow creatures as well, sometimes, based off of Ta's response to Khnurn's question. He offered a small smile before fixing his eyes back on the town, searching for the little bird. Khnurn began wringing his hands out of nervous habit; what if something was wrong? Had Tet been caught? Injured? Then again, it had only been a minute or two; the bird seemed the thorough type, so perhaps Khnurn was just being impatient and overreacting. Tet would be fine.

Sure enough, a little frame zipped towards them a couple minutes later, gliding with ease until landing on the sand at their feet. It seems to be normal. The population is small, but it is out in the middle of the desert. There seemed to be a few seedy individuals, but they were all heading into the gambling tent.

Khnurn pursed his lips and moved his gaze from Tet back to the lights. It was mostly safe, then. Any chaos creatures or servants of Apophis seemed to avoid being out in the open, if they were there at all. Was gambling chaotic enough to draw them in? The young man could think of a few less desirable things associated with the game, but chaos? It was just chance, as far as he knew.

"Shall we go in, then?" he asked, now looking to Zahra. "We can find a map, maybe some new clothes."

Khnurn dipped his head in agreement and took his hand off of the hilt of his khopesh, which he hadn't even noticed he was gripping. He decided to walk into the town, leaving the creatures to follow or stay. Lookouts would be nice, but he wasn't sure any would be able to blend into a human city very well. Particularly not those with blatantly "unnatural" characteristics. Most of them carried at least one feature that would set off human alarm bells. It was then that he noticed one of the back creatures seemingly doubled over and dry heaving -- or just shaking? Khnurn paused and began to ask, "Are you okay?"

However, he only began the second word when the creature changed shapes. One moment, it was a golden jackal. The next, it was a yellow street dog. Khnurn blinked. "You all can do that?"

The sphinx narrowed its eyes and sent a jealous look towards the now-dog. "No. Some show great gifts and others remain hidden."

Khnurn nodded slowly, now a little uncomfortable at the envious sphinx's irritable behavior. The dog just bounced by it smugly and moved to stand next to Zahra before looking expectantly to Khnurn. He turned back to the city and kept walking, now feeling a little more reassured -- not only that their protection had increased, but also that they were not completely devoid of help and abilities in this godless wilderness.

(I am so sorry; I completely forgot to respond to this)

Khnurn became painfully aware of the crunch, swish, hisss of the sand beneath his sandals as they walked forward. The dog's lighter steps were still sending sprays of sand backwards, and the creature itself seemed unencumbered by any hesitancy or wariness. That was somewhat reassuring to the young man, as he figured that this guide would be quite in tune with its supernatural alertness despite having assumed a less impressive form.

As they drew nearer, he could hear the faint murmurings of city life begin to pick up volume. There were at least a few merchants still out selling their wares; their arguing and bartering was noticeable even from this distance. He began to smell it, too -- roasted meats, hundreds of spices, smoke and fermenting fruits. It seemed fairly lively for its size and the late hour. Khnurn began to make out faces near the wide gap in the wall that marked the entrance. Nobody had noticed them yet, or they just did not care.

The language they were speaking seemed foreign at first, almost familiar but also jumbled and slurred, before his ears slowly tuned into it and he recognized their words. Looking to Zahra, he tilted his head and guessed, "Arabic? Am I speaking it now, or can I just understand it?"

Hopefully, he was actually speaking it. It would be rather awkward, he decided, if someone did decide to talk to them and Khnurn responded in a language that had been dead for thousands of years now. He grimaced at the thought of what sort of trouble that would get the pair into. Looking to Zahra for a second, he said, "We'll find out soon enough, I'm sure."

He was beginning to get used to the strangeness that now surrounded them. Dead gods, a vengeful monster, telepathic guardians, foreign languages,... Never in a thousand years could he have guessed- well, but then it had been over a thousand years. Khnurn shook his head and ran a hand through his dark hair before perking up at the sight of a clothing shop up ahead.

"Zahra," he alerted, gesturing to it. The sample of apparel displayed at the front was bland, long, and not much like anything Khnurn had ever seen, let alone worn. "We have to wear that?"