AEDOLIS > Aurora

The Lights of Aurora [Rhiiii!]

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Blue:
It seemed like it had been quite awhile since her last mission, all her days having been filled with mundane work like pushing papers and entering information into databases. Of course, it wasn’t as though she were bothered by any of that. To be honest, she wasn’t excited to be away from it either.
Pavla was incapable of feeling anything at all, and so she simply went through life, moving from one instance to another, day by day. It likely seemed a strange, hollow, even robotic existence to others - she knew as much from reflecting their emotions and hearing their thoughts. Thus, she was aware her situation was strange and tragic - she simply could not feel these things on her own.

Ah but, back to the mission. Nestled into the ‘saddle’ that sat between Nabal’s wings, she lay flat against it and held onto the specially crafted handles - the seating arrangement helped keep her serpentine dragon aerodynamic and moving quickly through the air. For once, she was not in her form-hiding pantsuit, instead donning the usual riding garb of a body suit and helmet - thus, for once, her angular and well toned build was visible.
On her visor, the blip that was the city of Aurora was growing steadily closer - their destination this evening. In the pitch black of the high altitude flight, she and Nabal were all but invisible in their shades of black.

They were being sent to capture or neutralize a recently discovered psychic. There wasn’t much information on the teenage boy, and thus it was unclear whether or not he’d actually be of use. On top of that, it was pretty likely he was involved in a gang, and so infiltrating his ‘home’ and extracting him would likely prove to be rather difficult.
Since she was on a mission, and one involving the use of Nabal at that, she had ceased replicating or mirroring emotions - in this state, she very much resembled a robot. Although Nabal much preferred the term ‘doll’.
Opening the channel that linked to her fellow Pilot and partner on this mission, she spoke with even deadpan words.
“We are close now. Let’s drop our altitude and find a discreet place to land.”

Rhi-Rhi:
Aurora. His old stomping grounds.

It felt kinda weird to be back here after so many years, for Shiloh hadn't been here since he'd been drafted. Eight whole years. Damn...

The horizon rose and fell with each beat of Amaranth's wings and it wasn't log before that blip on his visor became a fully formed city beneath them, all twinkling dots and flashing searchlights. Aurora was far less structured than Haviah and it showed; it was a city that was built out rather than up and was thus--Shiloh thought--far less restrictive. It was easier to move around that city without the actual physical barriers separating the castes like in Haviah.

He wondered how much it had changed...

A voice in his ears snapped him out of his thoughts and Shiloh glanced ahead in Pavla's direction. "Roger."

With a thought to Amaranth, they began their descent, spiraling downward in a flash of red scales. This felt good, actually doing something useful, though he wasn't sure what he thought of Pavla yet. She was pretty, but she was so...unreadable. At least he hadn't gotten stuck with someone else, though; she was unreadable, sure, but she at least didn't make him feel stupid.

"We should prolly park way out an' walk th' rest of th' way, yeah?" he said, adjusting his respirator. Wouldn't do to cause a ruckus due to, well...dragons.

Blue:
“Understood.”
She did not have to send a thought really, Nabal simply acted - he was accustomed to doing so, and there was no reason for Pavla to attempt any arguments. They simply seemed to fall from the sky, twirling slightly - at the last moment, with expertise only centuries could afford, Nabal snapped open his wings and managed a graceful landing, even though he had no limbs. His long snake-like body curled up on the ground, metallic knuckles making large imprints in the earth as he held himself up.
Sliding easily from her dragon’s back, Pavla landed softly on her feet before scanning the cityscape ahead of them. They were on the outskirts, and there was little sign of life, the buildings mostly empty husks.

Turning to her partner, she removed her helmet, inky blue-black hair a bit mussed though she made no attempts at fixing it.
“Your file states you used to live in this city. I must request your knowledge on this mission, as I am unfamiliar with Aurora myself. I leave myself in your hands.” Her voice held no inflection or tone at all, perfectly flat, almost like a machine. Nabal snorted derisively at Pavla being ‘left’ in the other Pilot’s hands, but he chose not to spark antagonism with Amaranth present.
“We sssshall wait nearby. Oncccce the misssion is complete, we can sssset up an extraction point. Keep in touch, humanssss.”
With that, Nabal launched himself back into the air with surprisingly little effort, and his inky black frame disappeared almost instantly into the night sky. He knew Amaranth could not really afford to argue with him - he outranked her by a fair margin. There was no real reason for her to get too pissy though, his orders had been sound, even if he had simply taken over the situation.

“We should get started, Cardinal Lockwood. Please, lead the way.”

Rhi-Rhi:
Dust rose in great clouds as Amaranth landed gracefully, fanning her wings like a swan before folding them in tight. She crouched down low so Shiloh could slip off her back and then she sat there patiently, waiting to see if anything else was needed.

Shiloh gave her side a light slap, feeling her warmth through his gloves. Compared to many other dragons, Amaranth had always been warmer than usual. She'd always claimed it was because she was born from the earth, deep down inside where the fire was, though her memories of that time were hazy. That probably had something to do with the huge metal plate covering the majority of her head.

He had just removed his helmet and tucked it away into the saddlebags when Pavla spoke, and Shiloh snapped to attention, prepared to follow orders.

He hadn't been prepared for her orders to be...that. Wait, what? His jaw dropped open and he could only stare at Pavla, speechless and blindsided.

"Take care," Amaranth said, having no arguments with what Nabal said. She was not a dragon interested in power grabs or struggles and had always been content with her lower position; frankly, she was too lazy for that and would much rather be sunbathing. She snapped her wings open. "We'll be in touch." And with that said, she took to the air again, swiftly gaining on Nabal.

Shiloh was still gaping at Pavla when she spoke again.

He gaped at her still for seconds after she'd finished, and only found his voice again when he realized she was done talking and he should be responding before the silence got too awkward.

"I...buh...me?" he finally stammered, then shook himself. Shit! Way to show he could handle this! "I--right! Yeah! Yeah, sure! I can do tha'! Uh, this place, I grew up here! Know it like th' back of m'hand! Been some years but ain't no biggie. C'mon! Er, ma'am, I mean. Follow me, ma'am, tha' is."

Straightening himself up proudly (and trying hard to keep a "professional" face and failing--he kept breaking into a grin) he motioned for her to follow as he started off into the city. Here the ground was a mess of disrepair and disuse; this far out on the outskirts, it was no more than broken concrete and asphalt. No one lived over here, but once they got in a little deeper, they'd reach the actual slums. He was quite familiar with that area.

"Ain't changed much," he said.

Blue:
She bowed her head a bit once Shiloh finally found his words, and it seemed that his awkward silence had not bothered her in the least. Then again, she’d been able to read all his emotions, so it was not as though she was in the dark as to why he’d gone silent. Of course, she didn’t feel anything for it one way or another - one of the nice things about not having emotions was that you generally did not have an ego either. Despite their difference in rank, Pavla treated Shiloh like an equal.
Then again, she treated everyone like an equal.

“Thank you, Cardinal Lockwood.”
She followed along a few paces behind him, rich chocolate brown eyes taking in their surroundings with sharp efficiency. So far it seemed that they were in the deserted outskirts of the city, and that the next section would likely be the slums. Still in her riding suit, she knew she would not blend in, and the gun on her hip would likely draw attention. Hopefully nobody would be foolish enough to try anything…she would much rather save her energy for the task at hand.

At his comment, she glanced at his back. She knew from his files that he had a past here - that was the main reason she requested him for this mission.
“It has been eight years, correct?”
She of course knew the answer, but it was her only real attempt at small talk - not something she was particularly good at, as one might imagine.
“How do you suggest we deal with the gang members, should we encounter them? Neutralization would likely be the most efficient, although I find it likely that they will fight back.”

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