An unexpected return (open!)

[Anonymous]

He'd never intended to return here.  Traditionally, once you left the planet you were born on, you wandered the solar systems until you found a mate, and settled down in her territory.  He was still a little bit too young to settle down, and that subtle pull back towards Earth was just too insistent to ignore.  

And so, he had returned, his long form visible in the sky as a shooting star.  Just like when he'd first arrived here, still in the egg he'd hatched from.  A silent landing in the Wastelands had been followed by a long period of silence as Dragon stood absolutely still, surveying the desolated land around him.  The gem on his forehead glowed lightly, emitting a pulsing blue light that surrounded the dragon.   He lowered his head to the ground, sniffing lightly at the dusty ground, then exhaled loudly, blinking as the dust billowed around his snout.  When he'd last been here, this place had been a green forest, lush and full of life.

Lifting his head slowly, he let out a loud, low roar that echoed across the empty plains.  Not a fierce challenge, but a cry of sorrow for the life that had perished here.  He sank to the ground, short limbs folding neatly beneath him.  A few specks of life, twisted and mutated by the poisons in the air, were all he could sense nearby.  Nothing remained of the flora he was familiar with.  He curled his tail around himself, the gem pulsing brighter as he waited patiently for the winds to subside.

It was several hours later when the winds finally subsided, and the dragon finally stood.  No wings appeared, yet he lifted into the sky with no visible effort, the gem pulsing brightly once more.  His serpentine form wove through the air as if he were swimming through it.  He stuck low to the ground, moving at an idyllic pace as he watched the ground, searching for any living thing.

[Anonymous]

As the hovercraft launched over another sloping hill, kicking up clouds of dust all around it, Dr. Zeney leaned back into his chair took a deep breath that echoed in his ears through the gas mask and reminded himself yet again, that he was a moron.  Only a fool would have humored the prince's request to go out and see the Wastelands.  It had no purpose and worse, skirted wildly away from the goal of the experiment.  Yes, it would have been nice for something to happen and Kalaal to react in some way that would spread some impressive stories around Teinar.  Kalaal had a better chance of getting sick from picking up something toxic (which nearly happened soon after their first stop) or being mauled by the wildlife he was so interested in.  On the bright side, if that happened, maybe he would get the attention of some motherly type.

The next time Kalaal planned another spontaneous trip, Dr. Zeney was going to double his medicine so he'd sleep the entire day and be too groggy to do anything other than stare at the wall for hours after.

Kalaal, currently sitting on his knees in his seat and leaning on the dashboard, knew that Zeney was annoyed.  It rolled off the scientist in waves that he was trying to ignore for the time being.  This land around the city of Teinar really was interesting, in a sense.  Most of it was boring, plain and full of... well Sentry Deelan said that it was dust (which entranced Kalaal at first, he thought dust only grew inside), but that just made anything that wasn't dust that much more interesting.  Like that glowing plant that sent Zeney into a fit of hysterics when he tried to pull off a leaf.  What was the use of this strange suit if he couldn't touch anything?  It just made him too warm, even though Sentry Palen had the cold maker in the craft turned on.

There had to be something out here he could bring back with him to Hiqeeri-tarlen.  Since he couldn't pick some plant or stone up, it would have to be an animal.  Some little adorable thing that could be oooed and aaaahed at from a cage.  It would be a lot harder than getting a plant or a rock.  They couldn't scramble off when they saw the clouds of dust from the hovercraft.

Kalaal tilted his head to look at Sentry Deelan, who seemed to be working up another attempt to convince him to sit down properly.  "Vot keend uf animals liff out here?" he asked, again getting annoyed at the mess the little box on his gas mask that was supposed to let him speak clearly made of his voice.

Only Sentry Deelan's eyes were visible behind his bio hazard suit and gas mask.  They were wide and blinked uncertainly.  He thought he understood what the alien was saying, but wasn't quite sure.  It took some time getting used to hearing people talk when they were wearing a gas mask.  "What?"

"Are dere henny animals here?"

"I dunno about henny animals, there's plenty of nasty ones though."

Only nasty animals?  That just wouldn't do.  Kalaal sat back in his seat and looked up, making a mental note to remember to charge the camera next time.  

Then he stood up again and pointed, the tip of his gloved claw hitting the windshield.  "Dot don't look nashty.  Let's hef a look at it!"

The sentries looked up, and Dr. Zeney was drawn out of his self reflection.  Whatever it was, it was huge and undulated gracefully through the air towards them.  Kalaal was entranced; it wouldn't fit in a cage, but if he could find out where it lived, he could take a picture of it later!  The gas mask dug into his cheeks when he grinned and the leg he wrapped his tail around spasmed when it began twitching with glee.

"Absolutely not."  Dr. Zeney said flatly.  "We will not leave the craft.  It's dangerous."

"Thiz iz vy ve hef Sentry Deelan und Sentry Palen though.  No animal can shtund againsht dem.  They are expert sentries."

"Absolutely. Not."

"Vy deed hyu hire dem den?  If hyu tink dey can't protect us from vun animal."  Kalaal patted the dashboard.  "Schtop de hovercraft."

Sentry Deelan couldn't follow the conversation too well, at least on the prince's end, but Sentry Palen was able to follow enough to get his bravado sparked.  He pulled the hovercraft to a stop, Kalaal bracing himself on the dash again so he wouldn't be flung onto it.  The craft kicked up another cloud of dust when it stopped.  It billowed around up around the craft, completely enclosing it for a few seconds.

"We can look at it from here," Dr. Zeney crossed his arms so tightly he could have wrung his hands behind his back.

"Too moch dusht" Kalaal turned around in his seat, propped his chin on the back of it and tilted his head to one side.  "Zeney it's ok.  Sentry Deelund und Sentry Palen von't let anyting happen."

They stared at each other in silence while the dust wafted away.  The sentries looked outside at the creature, looked at each other and then looked at their passengers.

Dr. Zeney wasn't the type of man to crumble when his authority was challenged.  Especially by someone that was young enough to be his son - maybe even grandson if he had a particularly wanton child.  Dr. Zeney did believe in learning through experience.  If it took an attack by a behemoth to hammer home that he knew what he was talking about, then so be it.  The sentries should be able to keep Kalaal and himself from being killed.  If anything, they could distract the creature while he dragged Kalaal back to the craft and headed back for Teinar.

"Ten minutes."

Kalaal nearly smacked his head on the top of the hovercraft when he jumped out of his seat.  Dr. Zeney sighed and switched the setting on his blaster from 'stun' to 'lethal'.  Sentry Deelan, after being nodded to by Sentry Palen, stood and walked to the hatch of the craft.  Sentry Palen pressed the button that opened the hatch and as it clanked and began to unfold itself, stood and scrambled over to Sentry Deelan.

Once it was down, the sentries walked down it, their rifles held ready.  Kalaal trotted down and before his feet hit the ground, Zeney reached a hand out and grabbed him by the scruff of his suit.  He grumbled, but didn't fight.

The four of them: enormous Sentry Deelan, slightly smaller Sentry Palen, Kalaal with his hood stretched wide to cover his ears and awkward gait because of his tail wrapped around a leg and slight Dr. Zeney, nearly standing on his tip toes to hold onto Kalaal's neck; in their dust coloured bio hazard suits, big rubber overboots and brown gas masks with bug like visors stepped cautiously from the shadow of the hovercraft and looked up at the white creature gliding towards them.  Kalaal took a step forward, testing how far he could go until Zeney dug his heels in, and raised a hand in the air, flinging his open hand side to side like people did on this planet when they were saying hello.

[Anonymous]

Eyanis had been wandering the wastes, just like any other day. Periodically, his thoughts would turn back to the group he'd met only recently. The one he was supposed to be accompanying across to Daanu. Well, they could handle themselves for a couple hours, a day at the very least. They did have a dragon with them, afterall. Half. Half dragon. That's what she'd said. It'd been a long time since the unicorn had spoken to another, and he'd enjoyed the company. But he'd had to get out for a while. Perhaps it was his solitary nature that was bothering him, tugging him away from the crowd to meander through the familiar lands of the waste. His home. Beautiful in a ruined display that produced glowing stuff at night, its own variety of toxic wind, and such oddities of radiation, toxin, magic, and the odd dumped figure of scientific experiment.

He was a bit of a mix, now, with magic crawling over his hide both from his unicorn nature and his lengthy life in the wastelands. Dirt smeared adorned his coat- itself a nice coffee-stain yellow, and two useless mechanical wings lay rusted out of his shoulders, having been rejected by his body and magic. Only the artificial leg was working properly; working excellently. His body was slowly growing skin across the metal, resisting rusting attempts by the air and had fully accepted the hydraulic muscles to the point where it was just like any of his other legs.

His horn, the most distinguishing feature of his kind, was hardly noticeable as its dark pattern nearly matched the landscape. But there it was.

A dragon flew over him.

He snapped out of his thoughts. How had he missed that? Light bounced through his coat in waves, the fur turning white where it lay beneath the dirt as his defense surfaced reflexively. For a moment he was baffled. It didn't seem like those mechanical city dragons that he'd seen, on occasion, flying over the wastes. Curiosity piqued within him, even though he told himself that curiosity would get him killed. More likely captured, but that was worse. His memory then recalled the strange but oldly familiar roar he'd heard not too long ago, and he made the connection.

The dragon was getting almost out of chasing range now. With a snort and a head-toss that would quite liken him to a horse, he took up the chase.

He knew this land well- he'd lived in it for longer than he'd care to tell- and as such it wasn't surprising that he could maneuvre through it well. However, it wasn't just that he knew it well that made his run quick-footed and sure. He left no prints behind him, left not so much as a single toxic plant waving as he ran. Magic coursed through him and he was light on the run. He appeared as such, a bright orb of light that passed without sound and with speed. It only took him a minute to catch up with the dragon, and he ran below. The dragon's keen eyes might even be able to see the racing white form of him as dipped and flowed over the contours of the land.

He heard the sound of the craft as he ran, and thought it far enough away until he raced up the next hill and almost ran into it. Agile beyond the limitations of body, however, he came to a stop almost immediately from his run. His sides gently rose and fell as he puffed a little from his run. But he was a unicorn, and could run for almost ever, depending on what chased him. He stood there, ears flicking quickly between the figures he could see and thoughts racing quickly in his mind. Thin legs- almost too delicate and fragile to hold his body- quivered slightly as he stood still. Quiet descended on him as his yellow-green serpentine eyes peered out between a tangled and dirty forelock. Slowly, the light that flowed through his coat lessened and left behind a creature and mud and filth and rust. Over one haunch was a trail slick with something the colour of green snot. What could be mistaken for grass stains dotted his shoulders, and something yellow had left its mark on the forelimb that wasn't made of metal.

He stood there and regarded the craft and its occupants, looking for the dragon in the surroundings. It was hard to miss, really. It was so big after all.

((*jumps in*))

[Anonymous]

Djehuty stood on a cliff overlooking the wastes, as he saw the dragon pass overhead with a strange looking unicorn in pursuit he opened the throttle to the boosters on his back and rocketed towards them, the metal around his arm forming into a blade in case things got ugly, a jackal shaped helmet formed around his face and showed a display with his speed, direction, and vitals among other things. As he got closer, he noticed that what he thought was a unicorn was actually a motley hybrid between a dragon and a unicorn. A pair of false wings, apparently useless, hung limply from its back and one of its legs had been replaced with a rusting bionic. i wonder how that happened he mused to himself as he got closer. He tried to get the creatures attention, "Hey! What are you doing here?" but he wasn't sure if it heard him.

Once he got within 200 feet, he slowed down and continued his approach more carefully, almost missing the hovercraft that was approaching to his side. He raised his altitude and once it was past, shot back down in pursuit.

[Anonymous]

He'd taken to spiraling through the air, corkscrewing wildly in loops that took him high above the landscape and dipped low enough to touch talon tips to the ground beneath him.  Life was indeed here, altered and twisted, the familiar all gone, replaced by what had been tough enough to survive in the polluted lands.  The people he'd grown up with here were all long gone, indeed when he'd finally left Earth, Dragon had become such a recluse, he'd barely kept in contact with even their descendants.  It still made him ache, to see what had happened to his original home.

He'd missed it when he flew right over the unicorn, though it was impossible to miss the hovercraft.  Or the pulse of magic below him when the unicorn took off in pursuit, charging after him.  And the ...something flying through the sky nearby.  Quite a gathering.  Keeping an eye on the people filing out of the hovercraft, he landed nearby.  It was impossible to tell what they were, under those bizarre clothes, though after one waved, the huge dragon relaxed a little.

"Hello there."  The telepathic greeting sent to all, the gem on Dragon's forehead glowing lightly for a brief moment.  The unicorn...at least it was familiar, and yet not.  No doubt the effects of the toxins in the air and land.

[Anonymous]

Just a quick post to let you all know that I'm still around ^_^;;

I got devoured by work... I'll fill this up with the real post soon!

[Anonymous]

((OOC:  Glad you're back!))

[Anonymous]

((Glad to be back!  Sorry it took me so long to reply >_</) ))

So they needed to get out of the hovercraft before the animals showed up.  Knowing that sent a mix of joy and annoyance through him.  Joy because he could see the strange flying animal close up and the four legged animal that raced up the hill next to the craft soon after they left.  Annoyance because he forgot the camera!  How could he expect anyone to believe what he saw without having some kind of evidence!

The sentries seemed startled when the new creature burst up the side of the hill, Dr. Zeney nearly letting go of Kalaal to lean in closer and stare at it.  In one blink it seemed to be bright and magnificent and now it was... less, yet still somehow had a bit of the strange majesty it had when it was glowing.  The sentries didn't seem as interested once the creature didn't attack, now looking for whatever it was that was making the rumbling sound a booster pack made, but Dr. Zeney continued to watch it.

Kalaal couldn't seem to decide what he wanted to stare at.  Neither of them were nasty, he must have been really lucky.  When the flying animal landed, it managed to take his complete attention.  He rolled his shoulders, trying to shrug off Dr. Zeney's hand so he could take a step toward the animal.  That didn't work, so Kalaal tried to lean towards the animal.

Then he heard the voice in his head.

Startled, Kalaal looked at Dr. Zeney and the sentries.  Sentry Deelan's rifle wasn't held at the guard position anymore, but he snapped it back up there once Sentry Palen was through shaking his head and glowered at him.  Dr. Zeney was looking back at the flying animal and Kalaal was soon looking at it too.  Was it... talking to them all in their heads?  Kalaal grinned widely, nearly clicking the stud above his lip against the gas mask and began waving again.  This time he hollered, "HELLO!  Hy'm Hamuka Dosiseke-ferqen Lazelanea Kalaal!"  With a wave, first in Dr. Zeney's direction and then at both sentries, he continued, "Thiz iz Doctor Malachi Zeney und dese two are Sentry Deelan und Sentry Palen!"

[Anonymous]

The unicorn was made of mystery. A long genetic strain in his line that caused them to be so wondered at. Old and wise. Pure and white. Well, not so white in his case. He shifted his weight uneasily where he stood, gaze pausing on the humans and the weapons the guards held. Guns. He was familiar with them. They were sorely mistaken if they thought to take him down with mere bullets. An ear cocked back to something approaching from behind. Synthetic vehicle, by the sound of it. He remembered vaguely that it had yelled something at him as he sped by. What was he doing here? Why, he lived here of course.

The telepathic voice was something he hadn't heard for such a long time. A dragon's presence in his mind, one that meant him no harm. Friendly. Warm. Strong. So he sent his own little message back. A warning to the dragon's mind alone.

Keep away from the city, and don't trust easily. Dragons may rule that place but they are not our friends. Be careful here, too. They fly over every now and then and if they see a free dragon...

His mind trailed off, ending with a feeling instead. Backed up with images and senses of the dragons he'd seen. With their pilots. Mixed in with the memory of what the scientists had done to him before he'd escaped. He wasn't meant to have wings. It's why they were rusting now, unlike his leg. His leg that had fur growing over the sleek metal.

He would have left right then, having delivered his warning. But he didn't. He lingered, gaze returning to the humans that looked like tourists. That spark of curiosity rising in him. That same spark that drew his kind out in the first place, coming to soft-hearted maidens near brooks. He stepped forward, head cocked slightly as he regarded them. A long tail, tufted at the end, flicked to the side. Quite visible around his too-thin legs. They were made that way. Delicate. Now mostly brown-stained from his wanderings in the waste.

"Hamuka Dosiseke-ferqen Lazelanea Kalaal, you don't smell of the city."

He paused for a moment, that old reluctance about giving out his name. The dragon, he decided, was the only one present old enough to know the power of names. In this modern age, it unnerved him that names were given out so freely.

"You may call me Eyanis."

It was his speaking name. They could call on him now, if they knew how. He could, of course, choose not to listen.

[Anonymous]

He was NOT expecting them to point guns at him.  A startled growl escaped him, and the star gem on his forehead flickered brightly.  And now, there was a  sort of shimmer in the air around him, a visible indication of the barrier protecting him.  He knew what guns were, but would like to skip out on the experience of being shot at.  'Point your weapons elsewhere please.'  Being polite usually went a long ways toward helping you get what you wanted.

His attention was pulled away by the unicorn, and he glanced towards the creature.  Other dragons?  But the images and feelings...so wrong.  Metal?  Mechanical dragons?  He looked skyward, as if there might be one flying over head right now, searching for a few moments before redirecting his attention to the others.  

...And that was a mouthful of a name.  The sentries would find themselves scrutinized for a moment as Dragon sank to his belly, folding his legs underneath him, tail coiling around himself.  All in all, the pose was much like that of contented housecat.  'You may call me Dragon.'  The name bestowed on him by his kin was for their use only, and ...it had been many, many years since he had been called Haku.  Several lifetimes ago.

((I'm really sorry about the wait, guys.))

[Anonymous]

If Sentry Palen's disapproval wasn't enough to get Sentry Deelan to lower his weapon, the voice that went through their heads, along with the growl and strange glimmering, would have made him hurl it back towards the ship.  The guns were for the little mutants.  Not the enormous, flickering ones, or the ones that could talk to them.  Unless they were sphinxes or leucrotta or their ilk.

Kalaal grinned, or tried to, just moving his jaw to talk pressed it up against the plastic on the inside of the gas mask.  Actually grinning threatened to fuse it to his face, the pressure and sweat could make it happen.  This was exciting... two not nasty creatures that could talk!  One was even using... what was it called... oh dear... the mind talk... he couldn't think of the word in Common.  Dr. Zeney said he'd be able to communicate better in Common if he could try to think in Common, instead of thinking in Hiqeeri and translating it into Common.  It was hard...  He'd think of the word later, but one of the animals was using it, so it had to be more than just an animal.

Animals didn't do... what was it called... psy-chic?  Psychic powers.

Dr. Zeney tightened his grip around the scruff of Kalaal's suit when the flying creature settled on the ground.  He could feel Kalaal's shoulders tensing with anticipation, he would have gone bounding up to the creature if he didn't have a little reminder that he was to stay put.

As tempting as the animal, Dragon, settling on the ground so neatly so he could mind-talk with them was, Kalaal had to remember his manners.  Eyanis, the pretty beige animal talked to him first, made the first steps toward pleasant conversation.  Kalaal looked at Eyanis and then Dragon before speaking.  

"It's nize to meet hyu both!  Hy'm not from henny city here!  Hy liffed on Hiqeeri-tarlen vich iz not on diz planet!  Now Hy'm travelink, to learn."

[Anonymous]

Eyanis found it a little difficult to decipher what was being said through Kalaal's thick accent, but he could, after pausing and replaying it, get the gist. Out-of planet. They used to call those Aliens. Used to be very rare to come across. Now-a-days, however... it was almost reversed.. Rare to find a being who hadn't taken a trip outside the atmosphere. Not to say that there weren't numerous ones who hadn't the chance to...

He shifted his weight, cloven hooves pressing into the dirt.. a blotch of purple beneath one toe sunk softly beneath his weight. If he lifted his hoof however, there would be no trace of him. Unicorns were sneaky like that. One of the reasons they were so hard to catch... one of the reasons that seemed to make hunting them more attractive.

"Unfortunately my knowledge of out-of-world places is rather limited, beyond what starlight tells me."

He didn't like guns. His normal reaction to weapons was to vanish. Or become a little ball of light. Some found it a tad intimidating, perhaps sensing the muscles of his body through what extra senses they may hold, as he passed them right by. Or a dancing light of no apparent substance. He wasn't worried too much about these ones. He wasn't without his defenses, though any shield he might possess wasn't as visible as the dragon made his.

((Sorry for the wait!))