Valve was not atop her usual lookout point today. No, today, she patrolled the edges of the territory, investigating the shade of dunes she seldom visited to see if the sands had any secrets to whisper in her narrow, pointed ears. There were none of course, as she expected. In all her years traversing this land, she never knew the dunes to have much of a memory. The winds did not allow it. Unlike the desert, with its stagnant and tepid air, these sands were constantly moving—it was what allowed them to exist at all, and they could never forsake their maker.

The winds did bring her information from time to time, a gracious trade for holding the secrets of the sands close to its heart. This time, the scent is strong—three newcomers. And Evaline. Valve took a deep breath and she pushed herself into a lively gallop, her legs carrying her lithe and nimble frame with almost effortless grace toward the direction the wind had brought them.

She crested a nearby dune and she saw them. Two large and one small with uniquely curved ears. And of course, Evaline—no doubt greeting them with her trademarked sass. Valve’s lips curled into a small, wry smile at the thought.

Stopping abruptly beside her golden friend, she lightly bumped her shoulder with her nose and walked toward the three strangers with her head high and her eyes pouring over each and every one of them and the finer details of their faces. The small blue mare with the oddly shaped ears piqued her interest, and then her gaze fell upon the larger duo—clearly companions, perhaps exploring.

“Quite the group we have here,” Valve asserted, her voice even and stoic. It’s not meant as a judgmental statement, merely an observation of how unusual it was for not one, but three individuals to arrive here all at once.

“I am Valve, and I protect these lands and those within them,” she finished, looking upon them and expecting a thorough explanation of their intentions—or perhaps some interesting news at least.

VALVE
slenderman x black heart machine