Well this was Shimo's first trip out of the walls of the but there was a kid at stake and well Shimo was the nice guy in a village full of grumps...No wonder why the kid wanted to leave. Starting from the parents house Shimo began to ask about the kid by the various passers by. The kid defiantly wanted to not be seen leaving. Leaving late at night and through his bed room window was a classic that even Shimo used once when he still lived at home. Well this was going to be fun, at least this kid was a desert creature and knew a few things on desert survival so it wasn't like Shimo was to pressed for time but still a kid will get lonely soon as his tummy started growling and things started to get scary.

The people who come out in the day light while they were worried wouldn't have seen the kid leave or which direction. he went. For that he went to the alley way in the back and looked around. A dark alley always had eyes in it a vagrant, some one casing a house or just plain nosy neighbors. In this regard a vagrant had been sifting through the garbage cans in the alley for bits of food and for a donation of a few figs,an orange and an apple from the Fire Nation the vagrant was more than happy to tell him which direction the kid had went and at what time.

The kid had made his way out the gate and into the desert, the wind would have blown away any foot prints but the trail of candy bar wrappers on the other had made an easy trail to follow. Still finding a small child in a desert wilderness was still a trick. The candy bar wrappers dissipated and were blown away by the wind or covered by sand. Luckily for Shimo kids don't go very far past the places of safety that they have known since birth.

This was the same case with the kid he was looking for. The path way out side of the Village hidden in the Sand started off as clay bricks but soon turned into packed sand and sand stone. It was about there that Shimo figured would be about where he would be getting afraid and starting to wonder which was scarier his parents or the desert. So there he began to look around for signs of the kid, despite making it this far if Shimo was a kid he wouldn't stray far from the path. So he began looking around the larger rocks for the scared and confused kid.

Shimo found the kid resting against a rock looking half upset and was thinking hard. Stepping from behind the rock Shimo asked the kid "So which way are you going?"

The kid looked up and gave this angry and confused look and refused to talk.

Shimo continued "If you're going to try and catch the caravan and start traveling with them then you should probably be heading to the caravan road that stops at the main gate. But if you are wanting to strike off on your own than this way is just as good as any other way. The danger is the same you know snakes, quicksand, giant scorpions that can eat little kids and still be hungry. Well good luck I'm heading for the caravan."

The kids head snapped up and he nearly shouted when he said "That's not true!" Covering his mouth he took a step back slightly embarrassed.

Shimo smiled and thought to himself ~that got him~ and asked the kid "What's not true?" He cantered his head from side to side humoring the kid "The part about the scorpions or the part of the quicksand?"

The kid backed up another step and more quietly said "The part of the about the scorpions. They live in the canyons farther away from here."

Shimo had to give it to the kid he did know the lay out of the village "Well you might have to pass it sooner or later. Well good luck kid." Shimo was about to step off when the kid spoke up.

"Well maybe I am going to the caravan road. So it would be a good idea if we went together."

Shimos plan worked at least the kid was safe now and now Shimo could talk with the kid.

Now Shimo and the kid traveled on the out skirts of the village walls close enough for the guards to see them but far enough for the kid to have a bit of an adventure. As they finally got started Shimo asked the kid "How are old are you?"

The kid answered "I'm almost nine...next year." The he giggled.

Shimo chuckled and replied "eight is a fun age lots of stuff to do when you're eight. You know what I was doing when I was your age."

The kid shook his head saying "nuhuh."

Shimo began his story "I was tending a herd of sheep and goats when I was your age. It's true I had four sheep and five goats that I had to take care of. Now sheep they like staying together where they are protected and fed. But goats they're a different story. See with goats they like to wander, run away...."

The kid stopped and gave Shimo a sly look and asked "Are you calling me a goat?"

~The kid caught on quick~ Shimo thought and he told the kid "Well you don't got any horns on ya and you're less stubborn than one. But goats don't always know how good they got it. Yeah they get pushed around by the crook and made to go places it doesn't want to but the shepherd knows that the goat will be safer in a place or nearer better grazing."

The kid gave a side long look like he was thinking about something and replied "ohh..."

Shimo continued "Goats tend to want to do stuff cause they don't know the shepherd is trying to help them they just know that they want to do stuff that the shepherd wont let them do."

The time was about right to have a bite to eat and stopped laid his desert robe on the sand and slopped down and dug out some bread and a few pieces of cheese offering them to the kid and both rested.

As the kid and Shim rested and ate a bit they joked Shimo did some juggling and stuff for the kid and then the kid asked "Hey what did the shepherds do if one of their goats did ate something that was really special to the shepherd?"

Now they were really getting some where getting to the heart of the matter as it were Shimo leaned back and replied "To the shepherd there is nothing more important nothing more special to him than his flock." The Shimo smiled and asked real quick like "You want to hear another story about when I was your age?"

The kid belched and nodded.

"My grand ma had a rooster, this rooster was her prized animal. But one day when I was playing ninja I threw a shuriken and it killed the poor rooster. My cousin saw it and told me that if I didn't do every thing she wanted me to do she would tell my grand ma what I had done. Well I didn't want my grand ma to know about her chicken so I agreed. This lasted about a week and I had twice the work cause I was doing all of my cousins chores as well as mine. Finally I choose to tell my grand ma about her prized rooster and do you know what she said to me?"

The kid shook his head fully engrossed in the story "no what?"

Shimo continued "She said I know that you killed my rooster, I watched you do it.~ What I don't know is why you let your self become a slave to what you did wrong.~"

The kid got really quite and thought for good long while while the respite went on. Finally Shimo stood and asked the kid if he was ready.

The kid stood up and looked up at Shimo and asked "Can you take me to the villages gate? I think I'd like to get some other stuff at home before going with the caravan..." This was a lie but the kid wanted to at least maintain that he was keeping his decision.