Oasis

The early morning sun danced through a small crevice, resting upon a sleeping figure. The wind caused sand to brush playfully at the figures' mostly exposed body and soon caused the sleeping man to wake.

Purple eyes quietly examined the room, his body still but for his breathing and the gentle movement of his hair in the light wind. Fabric walls danced in waves of green and cream, coming to a point directly above his head. A tent, he guessed, and slowly sat up to take in the rest of the room.

The mat, which he lay on, appeared to be the only thing occupying the dimly sunlit room. Sand flooded the floor as well as (he noted with surprise) small flowers and plants. He ran a hand through his short white locks, and lowered his head. He hadn't expected the afterlife to be quite like this. It seemed almost peaceful… though empty, he thought, and a little lonely.

Soft humming suddenly reached his ears, and purple eyes turned to the flap of the tent. Slowly, he crept to the flap, low to the ground, and lightly brushed it aside to peer into the slowly lightening desert.

A beautiful scene met his eyes and he finally decided he must have died after all. Tall trees, peaked with large, wide green leaves shaded a beautiful blue pool of water, fed by a small, singing stream. Amongst colourful, fragrant flowers, a tall though delicate and slender looking boy sat, with a mortar and pestle, carefully grinding flower petals.

Long, luscious white hair flowed over round, effeminate shoulders. His skin was abnormally pale – more pale than any human he had ever seen – and his clothes were equally pale, consisting of a milky skirt, which didn't quite cover his knees, exposing slight amounts of his thighs, and a matching, sleeveless jacket.

It was from this young boy that the soft, lilting humming came, growing, building, and then abruptly stopping. Long lashes brushed over babyish cheeks, before bright green eyes lifted to meet his purple ones.

"Oh, you're awake!" a bright smile lit the boy's pale features, and exposed abnormally straight white teeth. Slightly pink lips parted, as he spoke, but the one to whom he was speaking made no response.

Unperturbed, the boy stood, long legs carefully unfolding, and he charily stepped amongst the flowers with water-like grace. As he approached the tent, the man inside slid away from the door, causing the creature outside to giggle, before entering.

"I thought, perhaps, you might not wake. You're lucky I found you out there… falling asleep in the desert isn't usually suggested," he stated idly, starting a rather one-sided conversation.

The sand seemed to part for the boy as he approached his companion, tilting his head to one side with a smile, causing his cloud-like hair to fall back over one shoulder, and expose a little more of the boy's creamy skin. "You slept for days! I thought the sun might have fried you completely, but you kept breathing and mumbling so… well, you're alive right? That's what counts," he laughed a bit.

His companion made no response, just watching him, before blinking. "So… I'm alive then?"

"Well of course you are, silly," the boy giggled a little, "if you weren't we wouldn't be talking would we?"

"Then you're not… a guide to the afterlife?" the man blinked again, and the boy shook his head, briefly looking a little more solemn than previously.

"Oh hardly. Were you trying to wind yourself up dead? If so, my apologies for preventing that."

"No, no…" the man shook his head. "I haven't a death wish. I fled into the desert to stay alive."

One delicate eyebrow quirked up at this, and the boy suddenly sat in front of his partner, green eyes alight with curiosity. "Oh? Tell me more!"

Purple eyes watched him steadily, before he turned his head away. "I'm hardly about to share that kind of information with a stranger," he stated.

A huff was his response. "A stranger who saved your apparently ungrateful life. Well fine then," a hand was thrust into the man's face, and he blinked at it, many times. "My name's Ryou and you're currently living in my tent until you're well again."

Purple eyes glanced up dubiously. "You can't be serious."

"Ahem, a name is an appropriate response," the boy, Ryou, pouted.

"Akefia," the man stated. "My name is Akefia." He waited a few moments, but the stranger seemed not to respond to that name at all, aside from a chipper chirp of 'nice to meet you then!' and the shaking of his hand. "… You're not scared or anything?" Akefia blinked.

Ryou blinked in return. "No. Ought I be?"

"… Akefia. The King of Thieves…? The evil opposing force to the mighty Pharaoh Atemu?" the thief explained, waiting for any hint of recognition to dawn on the boy, only to receive an interested, inquisitive look.

"You're evil? An evil king? How come you call yourself evil…? I thought it was usually people around you who would introduce you as an evil overlord or this or that…"

Akefia wasn't sure why, but it was almost a relief that his reputation had finally found its limits in preceding him. He shook his head with an amused noise. "Well, normally I don't really have to introduce myself at all beyond a name… people tend to flee after that… or try and catch me, like the fools they are."

Ryou gave him a wicked grin. "Oh, but I already caught you. If I'd tied you up you'd really be in trouble! Would that have been foolish of me?"

"No," Akefia laughed a little. "Most, if they had found me unconscious in the desert, would have left me there to die, or tied me up and taken me away. I hadn't thought anyone would really encounter me in the middle of nowhere."

"This isn't the middle of nowhere," the green-eyed boy said, twisting a lock of hair in his index finger, "this is my home, and therefore, it's the world."

"You're a bit of a simpleton… has anyone told you that? And naïve to let a thief into your house and not mind."

Soft pink lips moved to a pout, the boy's lower lip jutting out a little. "I'm not naïve. I've simply got nothing to steal."

Short white hair shook a bit as Akefia chuckled to himself. "I noticed that." He sighed and sat back. "So, where am I, anyways? Aside from your place," he quickly added, as Ryou opened his mouth.

Ryou looked thoughtful. "Well… it's kinda in the desert?" he mused. "I don't exactly know any landmarks except this oasis."

He received a blank look for that statement. "So… you've lived here all your life, then? And never left?"

"Something like that," the boy nodded. "I've been into the desert a little, like when I got you… But I tend not to wander too far," he smiled, and then stood. "Are you hungry? I have some fruits and things if so… and we'll get you some water, too, I bet you could use some of that," he nodded to himself, heading out.

Akefia sat, watching the tent flap for a while, thinking idly to himself about life, and all the things he was glad he didn't yet miss out on. A grin pasted itself onto his face as he thought about this isolated oasis, and the solitary boy living in it. There was no doubt the boy was lovely – quite to his tastes, in fact – and as slender as he was, he could easily be overpowered... if he were even to protest, the thief thought to himself, smugly.

As he played out a few possible scenarios in his mind, Ryou returned with a small basket of fruits and vegetables, as well as a beautifully decorated ceramic cup, which was placed before him. Akefia watched the lithe creature as he delicately separated the fruits and vegetables, taking out a crude knife to free one fruit from its skin.

A willowy hand extended to offer him the fruit which Akefia accepted courteously, lightly stroking the boy's surprisingly supple skin with the tips of his fingers. The hand quickly withdrew, and green eyes watched him, slightly startled.

"I take it you don't associate with people often," he stated, dryly.

"It's… not that…" his companion mumbled, softly, taking a lip between his teeth, thoughtfully. "Your skin… it's strange. I noticed it a little when I dressed your wounds… it's so rough, so tan… but it still feels…" he trailed off, then shook his head.

"Feels what?" Akefia asked, leaning back on an arm, and taking a bite of the fruit. The male across from him looked as if there was something in particular he wanted to say, but was struggling a little with how to say it.

Purple eyes lit with amusement, as Ryou continued to fight with what he wanted to say. Finishing the fruit, he licked the juices from each digit before sitting up and moving his face somewhat closely to Ryou's. The boy finally focused his attention on him, the thoughtful look disappearing, and turning to a vague wariness.

"My skin feels what…?" Akefia asked again, a small smirk tugging at his lips. When Ryou made no motion to respond, he started to lean in, his voice dropping to a whisper. "If feels… good?"

"You need a bath," Ryou stood, and Akefia was suddenly faced with long, pale legs. "You smell worse than your animal." And with that, the boy turned and left the tent.

Akefia crossed his arms with a scowl, rather put off. "I'm not a gods-be-damned whore…" he muttered to himself, for the sake of argument more than anything, "I'm a thief."

"You really must not be very good. I'm sure homeowners can smell you as you enter their homes. Perhaps that is why you've not been caught," Ryou's voice remarked from outside the tent. "Eat, and then you'll take a bath."

Irritation grew. "Who in Ra's name do you think you are to order me around?" he snarled.

A face peeked into the tent, giving him a large grin. "The only person around who might be able to show you how to get home."

The day passed with only minor glitches, though Akefia complained rather bitterly the whole afternoon about Ryou and his damn baths. He was forced under a cold spring waterfall, his hair desecrated with strangely smelling flowery things. The only nice part was the feel of his young companion's soft hands scrubbing vigorously at him.

All through the escapade, he could hear the whitenette muttering about how dirty Akefia would make his poor oasis water, and how long it would take to be cleaned. To this, Akefia only snorted, and informed him that it was his own damned idea. Ryou had no response to that but to scrub more briskly.

After the bath, Akefia allowed himself to air dry, finding himself thoroughly disappointed when his nudity didn't seem to so much as catch the boys' attention, as he cleaned Akefia's sullied clothing. By the time Ryou was finished, Akefia was already dry, and had no decent excuse to lounge around in the nude.

What did happen that day, however, which was most certainly worthy of note, were the voices the Thief King swore he heard in his head. A deep, growling voice which seemed very displeased any time he so much as leered in Ryou's direction. Under most circumstances, he would have attributed it to the heat, but at this oasis it was peculiarly cool.

When Akefia thought to ask, Ryou simply explained that the cool running water helped cool the area around them, and the trees provided plenty of shade for the area. It wasn't until nightfall that Akefia bore witness to something he never thought he'd see.

"Whatever happens… stay in the tent until morning, okay?" the whitenette warned him, just as the sun was setting. "It's not safe outside after dark."

Akefia rolled his eyes. "And where exactly are you going to be during this time, little one?"

Ryou paused, and his green eyes glanced back towards the thief. "I will be sleeping far from where you can touch me, silly thief."

"What makes you think I want to touch you?" the man blinked. He had thought he'd been relatively subtle, though now he wished he'd been more forward about his lust towards the younger boy.

"Your eyes say so, especially when they linger on my waist and ass far longer than they should." And with a little smirk, the boy turned again and exited the tent…

A/N: This story… is probably the most epic thing I've ever attempted. Right now it may not seem like much, but this will likely be approximately fifteen chapters, and then into Fracture, the sequel. Admittedly, I'm only in the process of writing all this, and knowing my track record I'll likely discontinue it at some point in time… but as this story is literally 'my baby' I'm hoping I can stick more dedication to it than to previous adventures. So, I hope you all enjoy Oasis. Thank you for reading the first chapter. Dedicated with love to Lexi (because I know how badly you wanted this story out) and my Ai-chan, who inspired the story to begin with!

Next chapter! There's something beneath the surface of those pretty oasis waters, and something beneath the surface of the pretty oasis boy. And poor Akefia has no real way to escape what he's been thrown into.