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First Encounter continued Roset gives the Private a -look-, a 'don't mess with me, boy, or you'll be in -big- trouble!' but upon giving the medic a thorough glaring, he decides that perhaps this wouldn't be a bad thing. The more he can bring back to his superiors, the less likely he is to get fried for losing so many men. (Human life is a precious thing on Earth, nowadays). He gives Mullen the scowling of a life time, causing the younger man to nearly shrink back, but finally he nods, once. "Fine. But if we encounter any more trouble, you're taking the blame, Mullen." The young man gulps visibly, but nods anyways. Roset continues, "Let me transfer my file," (meaning the audio-visual record that all officers carried--something like an advanced dog-tag), "to the armor, and they can relay it Earth-side. He watches the new arrivals without further words, and proceeds to make good on what he's just said. The White Dragon scowls a bit himself, not liking the attitude of Roset, but at least they've got the humans to cooperate now. He sighs inwardly. This is going to be a long trip, having to carry the humans along. Just then, another new arrival appears on the scene. A young lady with black hair, eyes, and a pair of brown-grey batwings comes into view, on a treebranch not far from the group. "Huh...Kescender? I thought I'd heard something about Demons in the area...but what's all this?" The Light dragon turned human looks up, and then sighs, looking down and rubbing his head. Vivianne. Damn it, but the girl was meddlesome. All of that family was, but she was a special case, with those demonic wolves of hers. "A new kind of human, Vivianne." Something occurs to him, an idea that will both get rid of the nosy vampire-girl but spare him the long ride carrying a human. "If you will go fetch your grandmother..." Viv knows exactly what the dragon is doing. She scowls back, but shrugs, spreading her wings and launching from the trees. "I'm not your messenger girl, Dragon, but this looks important. I'll have her here shortly." Kescender, relieved by the woman's departure, looks back at the humans, watching them. One of the soldiers gives another hopeless look and whispers, "this is just getting stranger and stranger. You think they put us on something before they sent us out here?" The other shakes his head and shrugs. Roset, who is at the moment finishing up the file transfer to the gory mech, has nothing to say. Mullen approaches the now healed Dragon, careful not to get in the way of the new one who seems worried. He hopes that nothing is the matter.... he turns to the White dragon, unsure of what to say, if anything. He doesn't understand the strange tongue they speak, though he's sure that the other can understand Intraworld. Finally, he gestures to the fallen Dragon. "She's going to be alright, right?" Kescender looks at Mullen when the man speaks, and nods his head, briefly showing a reassuring smile. White Dragon healing magic is the best there is... the Earth Dragon is going to be tired and very sore, but she'll recover. It's surprising, it seems, how fast Vivianne travels. Several minutes, maybe ten, pass, and then everyone's eye is caught by a momentary flash of light. It seems the group's allotment of odd people sightings hasn't been filled just yet, but this new one is more normal-looking than the rest. She is a human-looking woman, looking to be perhaps thirty-five or thirty-seven but still glowing with vitality. Her hair is a rosy gold, almost orange, with eyes just a shade or two more pure gold. She wears a white cloak fastened at her throat with a large amber bauble, and under that a bluey-green dress that complements her hair and eyes. She, like Vivianne, addresses the head White Dragon first. "Kescender! So good to see you again. Vivianne said it was urgent...?" "Yes," he sighs, looking somewhat worn with the whole situation. "We've found this group of humans.. they came through the portal. They're definitely from another world, as they don't seem to understand any sort of verbal communication, so we're bringing them back to Sanctuary to meet with a psiconist. Might I ask your assistance in teleporting us there?" "I'd be delighted." Aloia affirms, smiling warmly. She takes a moment to stand and look about, taking a moment to examine each new human, with an air of welcoming warmth and curiosity. The Sergeant hastily orders his men to stand together... this new arrival seems important, for all that she's dressed in clothing far too akin to a civilian's. Mullen stands with the other five soldiers, at attention (rifle which had been hanging from its belt held respectfully against his chest). All of the squad looks slightly less worn than they had: the prospect of adventure without the dying was better than standing in a field (which was beginning to stink.) Roset held his arm up in a salute to the woman when she looked at him and barked, "Squad 64 of the Central Roman Division, Eurasion detachment of the UNIS, Ma'am!" He snapped his arm back down, as did his men. Aloia raises both her eyebrows and works hard to press a grin down before it crosses her face and possibly causes offense. She keeps her smile intact instead, and speaks, mostly to herself, but since they can at least hear her tone of voice she keeps her tone soothing. Her words, on the other hand, are amused. "No, you're definitely not from Avengaea, are you? Polite bunch, if a bit loud." She covers the grin that threatens to escape despite her efforts, then she looks at Kescender. "I don't suppose there's any way to warn them? No? Oh well." Gracefully, the golden woman steps nearer the group, and Kescender follows along behind with the slightly grating knowledge that he's no longer in charge here. Aloia looks around at the group once again and concentrates, closing her eyes for a moment, and the squad finds itself surrounded by golden light for just a moment. When it clears... they are most definitely somewhere else. The great dome of the main part of the Dragon city Sanctuary arches out from the rockface of a massive, jagged-peaked mountain like an egg half buried by a pile of sand. Outside, five grand Cathedrals stand, each bearing a definite elemental motif, and they are surrounded by smaller structures for those dragons who enjoy living outside of the mountain. The massive shapes of Dragons in their natural forms can be seen striding through the city in groups or alone, chattering or debating or even just silent. Examples of all types can be seen, and above, a group of Fires and Airs play a game involving a small leather ball and lots of dodging. It's an incredible sight to behold. Behind them is the wall of the city, as well as the great gates, pretty gilded things and mostly ornamental for any Demon who was really determined could probably tear them down. A pair of much more solid stone doors that remain open in all but times of siege are back against the walls. "Ahh... home." Kescender murmurs. The unconscious female Earth dragon is finally stirring, disturbed by the sudden change of locale. Mullen is surprised when the glow encompasses him and his troop: it's almost exactly like that which had activated the portal. He doesn't know a lot about technical feats, though he's sure that some of the techs back home would be very interested in the transportation. He's awe-struck (for the second time in a very short sequence) by the change of locale, and stops to stare. This time, everyone else has paused with him. Even Roset lets a "Well I'll be damned" slip out. Such an unnatural place! The structure of the buildings reminds Mullen of the last remaining Cathedral in Rome, though larger. He briefly wonders how far away he and his group are from the portal (and therefore safety), but the aura of the place causes him to shrug off any worries. The Sergeant turns to his men and urges them to stop gawking. Aloia, out of the side of her eyes, is watching the newcomer's expressions, and she smiles in gentle amusement. She always likes seeing that expression of awe, and seems to be more nowadays, what with the new influx of humans and dragons from Tris'Hath. The Earth Dragon on the ground rubs her head, muttering, climbing to her feet and swaying, seeming to be at risk of falling over again. The Earth dragon that had worried over her fallen form puts a claw out and she takes it, supporting herself, and heaves a breathy sigh of relief when she sees where they all are. It's Kescender who moves first once everyone stops gawking,, glad to be home, and begins leading the group towards the great domed city, silent but taking long strides. She barely noticed, now sagging against her friend's forepaw with tiredly closed eyes. The Earth dragon moves his weight to his haunches and frees both his forepaws, tenderly picking her up as she sags. The group gets moving, but the Earth dragons are splitting off, as well as the two other healers. Soon it's down to only the foreign humans, Aloia, and Kescender. They arrive at the egglike dome, or, to one of the large entrances to the inside. It's a dragon-sized arch carved with designs resembling stars and moons. Just inside, the White dragon stops, and Aloia as well. The second tilts her head. "Would you mind alerting Naio of the situation?" Kescender says with impecable White politeness, and Aloia smiles wryly and nods. "I could do that. He'll probably be impatient to meet the new arrivals." That said, she blinks out again. Kescender looks over his shoulder for a moment at the group of humans following, and sighs. Now he's having to be in charge of them again. Where to go... hmmm. He decides their destination and beckons to the squadron, starting on the way again. For some reason, Roset just doesn't like this White Dragon. He may be a talented medic (posessing skills far beyond any he'd seen on Earth) and perhaps he was respected by others of this society, but he reminds the Sergeant too damn much of some pencil-pushing know-all. Never the less, the group marches behind the dragon, taking in the knew sights, sounds and smells, breathing in the clean air, and putting a general lightness in their steps that might be attributed to the gravity, but might not. Mullen regards the Dragon in front of him. How did he manage to transform into the size of a man? Where did all of that extra weight go? He wonders if perhaps he can bring back the information once this is all over: such information could be very useful to UNIS in its war against the Martian rebels. He remains silent, however. No use in distracting the medic or causing Roset to get angry again. The Dragon is oblivious to the scrutiny. The walk they take is fairly long, almost tense in its silence, although broken not infrequently by passing dragons who peer at the humans then go on their way, chattering to one another curiously. Some are even in human form to avoid crowding. The squad often gets friendly, curious nods or greetings in the still unknown language. When they do arrive, it's at a chamber with only one dragon in it, a small Air dragon with its back turned towards the door. The big silvery wings are flopped open over the floor. The dragon is visibly relaxed. The squad files in, now only one row deep. Roset stands the farthest from the door, and Mullen brings up the rear. He looks expectantly from the medic to the new Dragon, wondering what kind of 'magic' this creature might perform. |