Thea silently rested her hand on the hilt of her dagger, a subconscious move that was an odd habit. "Hah, yeah. Believe me I know, I'm not a fan of Wind Dancers. Too stubborn." Aramis hissed at Delingg, electricity sparking out of his mouth and falling to the ground. He moved beside Thea, tail barely missing the Winterwinder's body and doing his best to look intimidating. He even arched his tail like a scorpion, showcasing the electrical tip. Thea glanced sharply at Aramis, pushing him a little with her foot and shaking her head slightly. Her focus flicked back to the Vinnie. "Touché." Sebastian shifted his wings, huffing. He did not like this new person, and his talons scored marks into the dirt. Thea's mind was racing, filled with panic of being recognized, hostility, and defenseiveness. "So what if I am? It's not like I should be wanted for it." She stared Vinnie down, gaze filled with venom. A green sniffer, gasping and looking as if it had been flying as fast as she could, hovered near Thea and muttered a few words in her ear, her eyes darting from Thea, the Winterwinder, Vinnie, and Filae. The loudest parts of her words were "...Rustler spotted. Gotta leave, gotta go."

Thea froze, looking at the Sniffer apprehensively as if the two were exchanging words silently. Thea finally looked away, her green eyes fierce and glaring at Vinnie. "Well, it's been fun. Bye." She pointed and changed her focus onto the Winterwinder, "You. You can come with us if you'd like, I know a safe place for you. Or don't. Whichever, I'll probably be seeing you again eventually." As Levia landed on her shoulder, she climbed onto Sebastian's back with Aramis trailing behind. Sebastian spread his wings and took off, flying south.

Juniper Grenleff | Demi-Boy | 22 | Serpent-Tongue Speaker | M: Ejiah

Once Pavi finished eating, Juniper pulled her away and told her the plan.

“It will just be a quick trip. We’ll be back before dinner,” Juniper whispered, pulling his mask out of his bag and fixing it to his face before turning the machine part of it on as it made soft whirring sounds. “When we’re done, I’ll even make you your favorite food. Fair deal?” Pavi grumbled, making an angry huff. “We won’t go far! Just to the beach and back!” Pavi grumbled more, turning her back to him and laying down in the sun just to spite him. “Pleeeeaaase Pavi!”

“I want a million jars of honey.”

“I’m not giving you that much honey.”

“Two million jars.”

“That’s even more honey. Why would I— I just said no to a million, so do you really think I will give you—”

“Ten jars. Final offer.”

“Fine. That’s still a lot, but I can get you ten jars, goofball,” Juniper grumbling, rubbing Pavi’s face before putting his gloves back on so he would not get himself electrocuted. “Can we go now?” Pavi gave a few soft clicks before she stood up and lept forward several strides, boosting off the ground and into the air.

Juniper held tightly onto her spikes and his mask, making sure it was securely over his face especially as Pavi climbed through the air. The mask covered his whole face, his eyes with tinted green glass and his mouth with small cylinders that filtered and sucked in more air. Juniper’s lungs were already weak as is, so flying above the clouds always made him pass out until he made the mask. It also allowed him to see better when wind was rushing past him like a baby frill wyrm on mushrooms.

Almost as quickly as Pavi had flown above the clouds, Pavi began to nose dive back towards the ground so far that the clouds parted for them, leaving a hole in the sky from where they had dropped from.

“Uhhh… Pavi?” Juniper called through the wind as the ground became closer and closer. “Pull up now.” Pavi kept diving, not saying a word. “We are getting too close to the ground!”

“We can get closer!”

They were getting so close now that Juniper could see the crabs, the fish, and everything in full detail.

“Pavi, pull up!”

“Trust me!”

Juniper shut his eyes tightly, his heart beating about a million times a minute.

“Pavi!!”

Just as Juniper became close enough to touch the sand of the beach, Pavi pulled up, turning to race just above the surface of the water. The ocean sprayed mist onto his clothes the closer and faster and Juniper could taste the saltiness of the ocean through his mask. Juniper’s whole body shook for a moment as he clutched his chest weakly through jagged breaths. Juniper could barely even speak now so he just silently whispered, “you massive dickhead.”

Juniper trusted Pavi with his whole heart, but there were still moments where Pavi made Juniper’s heart drop. This was one of those moments.

“That was fun!” Pavi giggled triumphant. “We should do that again!” Pavi slowed down after a moment and circled back to the beach with a laugh, shaking a stunned Juniper off her back and onto the sand. Juniper immediately tore off their mask, weakly gripping the sand as they tried to catch their breath. While Juniper caught his breath, he noticed something in the sand.

“Dragon tracks…?” Juniper forced himself onto his knees as he crawled over to the tracks, inspecting them closely. “These are… Ice-cutter tracks?” Juniper looked around. There was absolutely no way an Ice-cutter would live here. It was too salty and the climate was too warm. Juniper studied the tracks more, believing that he was seeing things as he felt the groves of the tracks. “Why would an Ice-cutter be here…?”

“What do you see?” Pavi asked, walking up behind him and craning her neck to see what Juniper was doing.

“Ice-cutter tracks. These— These have to be Ice-Cutter tracks!” Juniper replied before pushing himself to his feet and dusting himself off. “If an Ice-Cutter has come here, then it could be hurt or sick or worse! We have to find them! If we hurry, we can get them safely to the valley and—”

“I thought you said this would be a quick trip?” Pavi asked with a whine.

“A dragon could be hurt…!” Juniper protested as he spun around to face Pavi. “Plus, if we hurry, we can still catch fish and make it home with plenty of time to spare. Now let’s go find that Ice-Cutter!”

~~~

Freya Rouge | Female | 24 | Dragon-Rustler | M: Thea, Vinnie, + Lumi

Freya and her dragons had finished their food as fast as possible, practically guzzling down their food, Hayden and Hunter both darting ahead to track this dragon freer. From what little Bella had told her, Freya knew exactly who she was talking about. This dragon freer, despite her lack of professionalism and constantly showing her face in public settings, had continued to evade Dragon-Rustlers and authorities for over a month now and this lack of progress disturbed Freya greatly. It made the Dragon-Rustlers look like buffoons and Freya was not about to let this streak continue.

Freya pulled herself onto Sylvi who began to charge through the crowd as she followed Hayden and Hunter as they began to track down the criminal. Terrors and dragons flying in the air struggled to maneuver around the large beast as it galloped through the marketplace. As soon as Hayden began to loudly chirp and click after finding the dragon freer, Freya quickly locked onto the target.

Shit! She’s getting away!!

“Halt criminal!” Freya shouted, grabbing onto Sylvi’s saddle and stood on top of her and aimed her gun. Sylvi could not take off with so many people around let alone catch up to that dragon freer so it was now or nothing. “Return to the ground immediately or you will be shot down!”

Freya couldn’t get a clear shot without taking the dragon down with her.

“I said return to the ground immediately or you will be shot down!”

Fuck, it was Freya’s duty to shoot the dragon freer because she could hurt so many civilians, but Freya couldn’t just shoot down an innocent dragon!

“Return to the ground— Fuck!”

Freya sighed as the dragon-freer was well out of her range by now. Freya slipped off Sylvi, gently kissing her dragon’s head before going over to pet Hayden and Hunter. Hayden was startled at first by her touch, being blind meant that any sudden contact was a surprise, but quickly melted into it as Hunter sadly licked her face.

“You guys did great. We almost had her,” Freya mumbled softly and gently giving them both kisses for their hard work. Silently, Freya stood and turned on her heels to face the person who had been speaking to the dragon freer. Her eyes were cold and her aura was that of Hell reincarnated. “You. Come here right. This. Instant. And your dragons too.”

Thea looked back to see the dragon rustler yelling and pointing a gun at her. Fortunately, she was out of range. Unfortunately, the man she'd met earlier could be in trouble. Sebastian swerved to the side lopsidedly, letting out a string of colorful words at the Ice-Cutter who had gotten in his way. Thea tossed her new first-aid supplies, and her hunting dragons caught them. Aramis and Levia touched wingtips, then split up and flew in different directions. This was a usual precaution they had when they came across a rustler. The hunting dragons would split up, Thea and Sebastian would travel underwater. Just then, Sebastian tucked his wings in and plunged to the sea. Now in his element, he lashed his powerful tail and angled his wings so that they could move yet not cause drag. His tail made a trail of waves in his wake. Every once and awhile he would resurface just long enough to allow Thea to get air, then duck back down into the water. He would also angle his wings every now and then to shield Thea from view of passing Tidalwings, holding a conversation with them for a little bit. Tidalwings had this way of communicating using talon signals while they were underwater. Thea had tried to learn, but nothing caught on. Soon there was a mess of kelp blocking their path. Sebastian ignored it, forcing his way through and swimming through an underwater tunnel. He eventually surfaced into a cave with several puddles and Tidalwing tracks left after swimming. Bioluminescence dotted the the cave ceilings and there was a small torch mounted on the wall here and there. Thea got off of Sebastian and pressed a hand against a small area of the cave wall, sliding out a box of matches. She lit one, feeding it to each of the torches. When she finished, she closed the box and placed it back into the pocket of the cave wall. "Well, Sebastian, let's go see how our newest recruits are doing."

Elijah wandered along, stuffing his hands in his pockets while a few Stingers trotted along Atayi's side, sniffing her legs curiously. Atayi rolled her eyes and leaned down, baring her teeth at them. The Stingers let out squeaks of terror and scattered. Atayi found herself grinning almost proudly. "Oh yeah, real tough. Scarin' away a couple stray Stingers is really hard to do," Elijah teased, a smile appearing on his own face. Atayi huffed indignantly, whacking his shoulder with the end of her tail. She shifted her wings uncomfortably, she hated that awful, warm feeling on her scales. "Don't worry, we won't be here for long." Elijah murmured. "Try not to look intimidating though, this is a hotspot for dragon rustlers taking a break. I don't want you and Zai being taken away." Zai exchanged a few words with Atayi, which of course Eli didn't understand. You know, it was really annoying when your dragons understood you but you didn't understand them. Elijah stopped and unbuckled the straps on Atayi's saddle, taking it off. He slid the bridle and reins off, unclipping his backpack from Atayi's saddle and leaving it next to his dragons. "I'll be back, try not to get into any trouble." Elijah said, adjusting his grip on the white dragon tack and stepping into the door of a building.

Zai's nostrils quivered, her tongue flickering in and out. "I think I smell something. Don't you?" She whispered to Atayi, shifting her balance on the white Ice-Cutter. "Kinda smells like.. Like that dragon freer we ran into years ago. Except different. Like its a different person with a different dragon. Do you see anything?" Atayi looked around, her eyes scanning the streets. Zai's nose and ears were acutely tuned, more sharp than your average dragon since she lost her sight. If she smelled something, she was most likely right. "..No? There's nothing odd, aside from that person over there. She's eating that apple way faster than a normal human should." Atayi replied, casting an arch look at a passing group dragon rustlers. Zai didn't reply, continuing to sniff the air. She shook her head dismissively, the tip of her tail twitching.

Lumi turned towards Vinnie and said "Hey...could i come with you by chance?" Lumi looked at him for a seconded then turned back towards the women not keen to stay with her. She turned her back towards Freya looking at Vinnie ingoring the riding dragon. Lumi didn't want to do much of anything since her owner's death but she had to move on. Lumi whipped her tail at the female when she heard a tude remark. She was pretty sure that she wouldn't take chance but Lumi didn't like her demanding tone.

Juniper Grenleff | Demi-Boy | 22 | Serpent-Tongue Speaker | M: Ejiah

Juniper had never been in a town before. Never in his entire life had he seen so many people. Juniper and Pavi looked like two thieves or two stalkers hiding out in the wilderness just beyond the border between the woods and the town. Despite how much Juniper wanted to throw his hands in the air and say “fuck it!” before promptly returning home, Juniper’s stomach knotted over about a million more times at the thought of a dragon being hurt than with stumbling his way awkwardly through a crowd. Juniper raised his foot dramatically, as if there were some high fence separating the wild woods and tamed town, before taking his first step into—

“Nope!” Juniper hissed softly, taking several steps back as he stopped himself mid-step from entering the town. Juniper wrapped his arms around himself and just shook his head repeatedly. Pavi looked at him and tilted her head.

“Why’d you stop??” Pavi asked, nudging him forward. “Come on, let’s get this over with!”

“I want to go help the dragons, but—” Before Juniper could even finish his sentence, Pavi shoved him forwards, out of the bushes and into the streets. Juniper’s heart was beating faster than he ever thought a heart could beat as he nervously turned back to Pavi who’s tail wagged happily as she followed after him like a happy puppy at his heels. “Why would you push me?!”

“You were taking too long,” Pavi snorted, her tail lightly whacking them in the face. “I think I can smell them over this way.”

Juniper weakly tugged onto Pavi’s left wing, causing her to stop in her tracks. Juniper was practically shaking as he looked around and was not able to take a step forward. Pavi gave a few happy, supportive clicks before nuzzling and pressing into his hand like a large house cat. Juniper smiled weakly and began to walk as he pet Pavi’s head for support.

Whereas the valley was active and vibrant but always had its calm quiet moments, there was so much constant commotion in a condensed space that it felt uncomfortable. People shouting, dragons fighting for scraps, and kids running loudly in the streets all startled Juniper and caused him to jump in his boots with fright. The sheer amount of activity was not what was the most startling thing, it was the people. Gods, there were so many people! They all buzzed about like Terrors around a hive and glared— yes, glared with evil eyes!— while studying Juniper. Instinctively, Juniper raised their hood and Juniper clutched tightly to their bag as they began to fiddle nervously with it.

“Breathe, Juney,” Pavi instructed and Juniper nodded weakly as they shuffled closer to their dragon for comfort.

“Yep. Yep, I’m still breathing…,” Juniper whispered weakly as he looked away, studying the store fronts down the cobblestone path. They all had windows with stained glass and strange items inside. One with a tall lamp outside it had things like “saddles” labeled for one hundred somethings. Whatever those somethings were, Juniper had no idea. They just hoped a “saddle” was not one hundred honey jars because Juniper already owned Pavi three.

“They’re over there!” Pavi mumbled before hurrying up her pace. Juniper returned his gaze to where Pavi was looking and gasped softly in relief before gasping again in mortified horror. There were two dragons there, both of which were strapped with weird leather around their faces and on their backs.

Gods, who could do this to a dragon…?

“What happened to you two??” Juniper asked, barely able to restrain his horror. “Don’t worry, I’ll— I’ll help you get it all off!!” Juniper immediately walked over to the Ice-Cutter and gently scratched at a small soft spot on Ice-Cutters just under their heads. “Who would do this to you two…?”

~~~

Freya Rouge | Female | 24 | Dragon-Rustler | M: Thea, Vinnie, + Lumi

Freya seemed to snarl at the small man’s words as she stalked closer, not breaking stride nor slowly down. With a small whistle, Hunter ran to the Winterwinder while Hayden ran to the rider’s dragon, bumping into her a bit before backing up a step.

“Sorry,” Hayden apologized weakly before seeming getting very excited as he sniffed the dragon’s face, his wings slightly before bounding and leaping like a fox in his place as his pale, blind eyes grew wide with excitement. “You’re a Winddancer right?? I have never been able to fly fast so do you think I could ride with you one day? Well, hi! Hello! You’re very nice! I’m Hayden! What’s your name??”

“Hayden! We have to act mean, remember??” Hunter reminded him with a huff, his tail raised threateningly as he prepared to strike the dragon next to him. “We can’t let more people with information get away! Freya will be very sad!”

“Oh, right,” Hayden clicked, lowering his head sadly for a moment before lifting his head and holding himself high. “Uhh…! We have to question your rider so we can find the bad freer lady! Do not move! Please?”

Sylvi walked silently behind Freya as she lurked closer, huffing and startling Hayden in the process as each step seemed to shake the earth. As Freya grew closer, everyone seemed to turn their heads and stare with anticipation for whatever she was about to do next including her dragons who patiently awaited her command.

“That was not a request, civilian,” Freya replied coldly before her smokey gray, bloodshot eyes with heavy bags under them tore away from his emerald ones and down to the amber eyes that belonged to his dragon. Kneeling before the dragon, Freya grabbed the side of her face. Despite the sheer size and strength her scared, bloodied, and bruised hands held, they were surprisingly delicate as she touched the dragon, carefully tilting and shifting her head from left to right and up and down. “Good. She didn’t hurt your dragon.” Freya’s eyes darted up to the man who sat on top of her as they narrowed slightly. “You better be okay as well. Do you know what that woman could have done to you? Those people are very dangerous. I suggest you get assigned a Dragon-rustler who can take care of you in case that woman attempts to contact you or harm your dragons again.”

Freya continued to silently examine the dragon before smiling softly, digging around her small satchel for a treat before pulling it out of her pocket and holding it out for the dragon to eat. Meanwhile, Sylvi sniffed the rider, her head almost triple the size of his. Sylvi gave a low, rumbling coo before licking his face, his entire body soon covered in saliva.

“You’re safe now,” Sylvi grumbled in a gravelly voice before sitting down with a loud thump as she still stood behind Freya and looked down at her. “No more mean lady. Only us.”

“I assume you haven’t checked your other dragon yet?” Freya asked with a huff. “Give me a moment and I can inspect her for injuries as well.” Freya paused, looking back up to him and tilting her head slightly. “If you’re not hurt, I would like to question you about the events that just unfolded.”