Vigdis, perhaps lost, or on a mission lands as discretely as possible. Even from the air, the banners of her enemy are well known. The air is most likely filled with sentries and such. But luck is with her, for but a moment.
Zetan is on the excavation team with a pick, helping to break up the ground in an area in preparation for digging it out. She wipes a scaly hand across her brow ... she is midway through her shift, time for a break. She heads toward a picnic table setup for the workers, picks up a leather sack, but decides to find a quieter spot to enjoy her lunch. She heads toward a tree, some ways away from the hustle and bustle and sits erect at its base, leaning against it as she breaks out her lunch.
Darn the bad luck. It seems to have run out. It is near that very same tree the stranger, Zetan, has decided to dine where Vigdis has landed and spying away. A twig snaps as the hidden creature moves, then another. They stop. A figure caught in a moment of time. Perhaps it is her breathing that also gives her away, the place of her location where body does stay.
Zetan fumbles her slon jerky at the sudden unexpected snaps, giving up as the jerky falls to the ground and she scrambles to get to her feet. "Who's there?!" she calls out to the shadow, looking this way and that ... where had those twigs snapped? Something doesn't seem right ... is that Zetan hearing herself breathe hard?
Vigdis ponders her plight, take wing and take flight. Be captured and caught then who knows what not. Daringly the creature speaks in lone hissed tones, "It isss I. Vigdisss, a sstranger to thiss land. Do not call out, for one ssurely would die." Yah, she, Vigdis might die.
Where does Zetan remember that voice? And that name ... she'd heard it somewhere before ... it doesn't sound like an Aldani name ... but its speaker definitely sounds like a dragon. Was it at the festival? Much of what happened before falling to the cold is a blur to Zetan ... a Verahkt? Zetan looks back to camp, and suddenly realizes Vigdis is between her and the camp. "You are outside your territory, Verahkt!" she shrieks more than a bit frightened. If ever there were a moment she /really/ needed that handsome captain of the guard, this would be it ...
It's times like this that she wishes she had packed a Mentos(tm) or two if she could remember what they were. Vigdis hisses, raises up, stumbles backwards, trips over a tree root and falls on her back with a loud thud. Only her tail tip is noticed then it snakes to the ground. Silence.
The new one hears the crash and makes her move ... but instead of running for help like she probably should, Zetan picks up a large stone (being a laborer has given her some strength), believing Vigdis' 'one might die' as a threat against her own life. She walks over to where the Verahkt leader had fallen backwards, stone raised high, not taking her gaze off the Verahkt leader as she yells out, "GUARDS! VERAHKT! GUARDS!" in the direction of the camp, ready to throw the stone down hard on Vigdis should she try to move. "Don't you move one inch!" she menaces.
Vigdis's head is lulled to one side then she stirs from knocked out slumber. Eyes open slowly, then turn to fright. What a position to be in. "I'll not move. You've gotten me at an advantage."
Zetan uses her ears to listen for the approaching guards, but doesn't take her gaze off Vigdis lest she reach for a weapon or try and slip away. "Just what did you think you would do here, Vigdis?"
In vain attempt to ease to moment, the new one states, "Taking a nap." Vigdis ponders then says, "I wasss mapping the land for my own persssonal use. May I sssit up?"
Zetan tries to sound assertive, though she is afraid ... she feels compelled to stay and make sure this one gets captured and doesn't flee ... maybe, partly, a risk she wants to take as an apology to Cirall for disobeying her orders back at the Festival on Shrilk ...... as her mind ponders this, she remembers the fire with Stormdancer and how upset Cirall had been that the Verahkt had found their way there ....... and Vidis was their leader! "No, just lay right there as you are, don't move an arm!"
Vigdis does as she's told then smiles as best as a dragon can. "Asss you wish. Might I learn my capture's name?" Head tilts forwards just a bit, to get a better look as well.
"What, so if you somehow manage to escape or weasel your way out, you get get revenge? I don't think so, Vigdis," the Aldani betrays her fear as guards flying in circles overhead spot the two in the trees and begin their descent.
Vigdis looks at Zetan with a piqued expression, "Asss you wisssh. You tremble, even in fear while I lay on the ground. Weak." The fear she has been showing slowly oozes away. Death is well known amongst the Verahkt.
"I'm a recent New One, but even I've heard of your deeds, Vigdis," Zetan keeps her gaze fixed on Vigdis, not letting her eyes wander for the tiniest fraction of a second as the guards land. "You hurt Aldani, now it will be up our Queen to determine your fate ... and some of the Aldani you hurt are close friends of hers. You've built your own fate with what you've done!"
Vigdis blinks smartly, "I seee my lack of reputation has proceeded me." A hissy laugh escapes her mouth, "No more than you hurt our ilk. But you mussst have me misstaken for another. I too am a New One. Assss for fatessss, we ssshall sseeeee."
Zetan shakes her head, but still keeps her gaze fixed as the guards take Vigdis, pulling her up to her feet and one of them producing leather straps to bind Vigdis' arms behind her back and a larger set to fit all the way around her to keep her wings folded, preventing any attempt at flight. Only when Vigdis is fully restrained does Zetan finally set the rock down. "You aren't like me ... /I/ haven't hurt anyone and so long as I don't have to, I won't. Maybe when you think of what to blame for your predicament, you shouldn't think of your stumble and noises ... those were accidents ... maybe you should think of your behavior and what you've done to Aldani and how you've earned whatever the Queen has in store for you!" Zetan lectures. As the guards begin to take Vigdis away, Zetan picks up what she didn't drop of her lunch ... but finds she's lost her appetite and follows the guards not far behind as they had back to the excavation site.
Vigdis wrestles against the straps while amongst the guards, "Nice ssspeech. Wait until thisss one isss vindicated and your fate issss brought in to play." Well if she's going to be captured she's going to do it with style and grace.
Zetan glares at Vigdis. "I'll be sure to make mention of that threat to the Queen. I coulda just killed you ... but I believe in a system of justice!" she calls after Vigdis. As the guards leave the forest with Zetan not far behind, Zetan makes her way to her foredragon to ask for extra time off to speak with Cirall or the Strethan if the queen proves unavailable. Seeing Vigdis being forcibly escorted in restraints about makes his muzzle drop to the floor and he readily agrees to let Zetan have the rest of the day off ... and volunteers to see to it Zetan still gets paid for the hours!
Vigdis chortles then gathers herself. Ooooh, sure. Use the system to get free time off or better yet, get paid for work not actually done. Some justice that is. "You do that. And perhaps add to how you fought off an attacking enemy with your own bare handssss and captured her too."
Zetan shakes her head, disappointed ... she almost wanted to believe the blood feud between Aldani and Verahkt was based on disinformation each has on one another, but from the death threat to the desperate inventions, Zetan feels certain should Vigdis somehow escape, she will try to kill Zetan ... she can't imagine any Aldani doing the same should any get caught in a similar circumstance in the Verahkt half of the sphere. And just what was Vigdis doing anyway ... just spying? Zetan makes her way to the Captain of the Guard's tent to see if Strethan is about. She actually hasn't spoken to him much since her return ... mostly from a guilty conscience for disobeying the Queen ... but now that Zetan feels caught up in the middle of the ongoing feud, talking with Strethan in his official capacity to find out what is going on with the Verahkt ... and, maybe, by chance, to try and come to terms with her guilt a bit and see if the Queen or he or anyone is still angry with her ... not that she feels she doesn't deserve it.