[center][h3][color=SeaGreen]Hatori Kokonoe and Jura[/color][/h3]
[@Tancuras] | [@Cuccoruler][/center]

Hatori listened to Rosa's awkward apology with a stupid grin, basically laughing it off. To him, she didn't really need to apologise.
"Hey, we all get caught up in the moment! I'll just try to not be in the way next time!" Jura let out a low grumble at the naive words of his rider. Hatori was basically taking the blame for the incident, which didn't sit right with the dragon. He snarled to show his displeasure, which was met by a frown from the young man. "Stop being a baby and get over it! Geez..." He turned back to Rosa with a smile.
"My name's Hatori by the way. I don't know if you remember me introducing myself." Hatori blushed a little, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He tried to sound confident, but the fact that he seemed to be one of the youngest surrounded by adults was starting to affect his nerves.

His thoughts were interrupted by the Sundancer exiting his portable tent. Theo gaped at them. They seemed to be quite spacious. Then his thoughts drifted to Jura and he was suddenly less excited. Jura nudged Hatori forward towards Theo, as if letting him know that he would be fine spending the night alone. Hatori stared at Theo's feet, a little shy. It was an odd feeling, considering how confident he'd been whilst riding Jura.
[i][color=SeaGreen]As a Dragon Rider, you and Jura's souls are connected. You'll have to learn to cope with the horrible feeling of grief whenever you aren't riding him.[/color][/i] Upon hearing that advice, Hatori understood what he needed to do. Smiling up at Theo, he respectfully nodded his head.
"Those tents are cool, but I don't think Jura will fit. I don't want to leave him all alone outside." Jura lifted his head from the grass at the words of his rider, surprised that he was willing to spend the night with him.

[center][h3][color=MediumVioletRed]Veronica Winchester[/color] and [color=FireBrick]Kieran Croft[/color][/h3]
[@LetMeDoStuff] | [@Tancuras] | [@sMoKe][/center]

Veronica was beyond tears. She sat still in the grass, staring up at the sunrise with a distant look on her face. The words of her guiding spirit occupying her thoughts.
[i][color=MediumVioletRed]I know it must be hard, but unfortunately you can't go home. We need you here.[/color][/i] It was hard for Veronica to imagine ever being needed. Back in the real world, she was a cloistered little home schooled girl with no friends. She attended lessons, practiced piano and never made much contact with others. Even as an adult, she found herself to be quite awkward and blunt around others. She demanded attention constantly, and anyone who became friends with her was quick to realise how much effort she was to be around. Someone like her was never needed nor wanted; yet here she was. When she thought of it like that, suddenly returning home seemed like the worse option. Yet even despite that, she couldn't help but fear for her life.

"Hey, uh, Veronica." Her thoughts were interrupted by Kieran, who knelt down beside her. His face was red with embarrassment. "Look I'm not too good with talking about my feelings and stuff. But you should know that no one here blames you for being scared. We're all pretty scared I imagine; we're just too stupid to admit it." Veronica stared at Kieran in silence for a few moments. Suddenly she felt guilty for being so awful towards him when they had met. With a confident smile, she stood up from the grass. Her eyes were red from crying, but she held a confidence in her that was surprising to Kieran.
"I'm grateful for your words of compassion. Even if you are a meat head." She joked, smiling down at Kieran. The Samurai grinned, picking himself up from the ground and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Was that a joke just now? And here I thought you were incapable of humor." Veronica and Kieran laughed, and the young man was happy to see that he had managed to cheer her up. If things continued to go this smoothly between the two, they may even become friends.

Staring over to Marcus, Veronica took note of the snipers desire to join the group. She nodded with a smile, deciding that this was the right way to go about things. Stepping forward, she stood besides Marcus and also faced the Sundancer and the Gunslinger.
"I know I'm weak, but I want to help however I can. Please allow me to keep travelling with you." Veronica stared at Marcus after her request, noticing that he seemed to be a bit reluctant about the whole situation. "I'm scared. Not just of the creatures, but of being with such a big group. But I can't keep living in isolation. If I do that, I won't grow stronger or braver. I refuse to be the only one who doesn't move forward from here." Even despite her panic attack, it was clear that Veronica was a person with a lot of pride. She couldn't just sit back and cry while others were determined to make a difference. In a way, Kieran quite admired that quality about her. She was driven, even more so than him. It made him want to improve as well, and become someone that the team could depend on. Their rock who would shoulder the brunt of anything that came their way.

With that thought in mind, Kieran also took his place beside Veronica.
"Geez, now everyone's gonna think I'm copying these two. But I guess I'm also here to help as well." Kieran cracked his knuckles together, grinning with excitement. "I'll be here to protect you guys when things get sticky. I make quite a good punching bag, if you didn't deduce that from our horse friend."