Sparks of Fate: Nayeem & Divyarthini's Grand Expedition

"You're going to have to ride behind me if you want to live."

I stared at the fair young woman I'd met only an hour ago. Her eyes were blue, like the sky on a clear summer day. Her dark hair was pulled back into a braid that hung down her back like black silk. Her skin was pale, but flushed pink with the cold wind of early winter. She stood tall and straight, confident in herself and unashamed of her nudity.

She had no qualms about walking naked through the wilderness; she had no qualms about flirting with me and even kissing me when she was naked too. But now, she was asking me to ride behind her on her horse?

Why? Because a weird monster was after us? What, did it eat people who rode horses? Wait, did it eat people who rode naked women's horses? No wait, that didn't sound right either...

The beast emerged from the trees, its head rising higher than the top of the tallest tree as it approached. It was ugly, that much was certain. Its skin looked like old leather, worn and scuffed by years of use. It had no bones showing through its skin, but one could see where they had once been - imprints etched into the creature's flesh by the years spent doing whatever it did. Its mouth was full of teeth so long and sharp they looked more like daggers than teeth. The thing opened its mouth and let out an ear-splitting roar that rattled my bones and made my ears ring painfully. Its tongue rolled out of its jaws and licked at the air as it bore down on us, as if tasting our scent. It walked on four legs, each as thick as two large men standing side by side. Two smaller legs sprouted from its underbelly; these seemed to give it greater speed than its massive legs would suggest.

"What is that?" I shouted over the din of the beast's roar as we backed away from it slowly. "It looks like it's made of some kind of leather! Is this some kind of cow-like thing?" I asked incredulously as I continued backing away from it. The monster looked like nothing I'd ever seen before - not in real life or in any book or movie I'd ever seen either. "Where do you even *get* something like this?" How can something like this exist?!

"No!" Divyarthini glared at me with her blue eyes flashing angrily at my question. "That's not what a cow is! You know what a cow is! Now get on my horse or we're both dead!" She turned abruptly and began running towards her horse without waiting for me to say anything else.

"Hey! What is your problem?!" I shouted after her indignantly as I began running after her bare ass in front of me for all to see - well except for the fact that we were being chased by a giant terrifying monster that wanted to eat us! "How am I supposed to get onto your horse with you riding it?!"

Divyarthini jumped onto her horse's back just as the beast lunged forward with its massive jaws snapping shut just inches behind us! Her horse reared up on its hind legs in fright at the sudden appearance of danger behind us; Divyarthini lost her balance and fell off her horse's back onto the ground - just barely avoiding getting swallowed whole by that terrifying maw! The ground shook violently under me as I dove forwards onto my stomach to avoid having my head bitten off by those terrible teeth too! The monster roared again in frustration when it missed both of us; its jaws snapped shut around only empty air as we dodged out of its path just in time! For a moment, all three of us remained frozen in place: Divyarthini lying face-down on the ground next to her horse, myself still curled up on my stomach right next to them both, and the beast staring down at us with hunger written clearly all over its face! Suddenly Divyarthini jumped up to her feet again while simultaneously grabbing hold of one of the saddlebags hanging off her horse's side with one hand while swinging her other arm wildly above her head! She began shouting something indecipherable in what sounded like Sanskrit at the same time she flung that bag towards the beast! There was a flash of light accompanied by a loud crackling sound followed by an explosion that sent sand flying everywhere and knocked me off my feet again! When I lifted my head moments later, all I could see were huge clouds of white smoke billowing out from around Divyarthini and filling everything within almost thirty feet from where she stood making it impossible for me to see what lay beyond those clouds anymore! The beast let out another deafening roar before turning around and disappearing into those white clouds leaving us alone once more!