[hr][center][color=808B96][color=8493ca][h2][b]X e l l[/b][/h2][/color]Southeastern Mir [b]-[/b] The Fall[/color][/center]
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The Draconi patiently watched the next set of events unfold on the ground floor from where he was standing. Still hiding behind leaves and shrub. His camouflage singlet merging him well into the mosaic green setting.

It started off with the Lutran-like being trying to pry open the door of the plane with a rusty bar. The youth relinquished that action when he was approached by the Lotori.

Xell gritted his teeth as he watched a tree capsize onto the plane. It appeared to come out of nowhere as it ungracefully threw its weight on the crashed vehicle, causing the ground to shake. Simultaneously, it managed to fan out the flames.

His heart skipped a beat and had a momentary jagged rhythm.

He clutched his forehead for a minute, having to take a deep breath in and out. Granted, there was a quake earlier that woke him up but being so close to a monumental tree structure that fell down so suddenly without him noticing felt like a bomb explosion which brought back some anxiety from the wars.

[i]‘Cool it, get it together.’[/i] He swept his hand through his blue hair to slick it back. More to remind himself that his present situation was not as threatening as his mind was making it out to be.

Xell was shaken awake even more so from the caustic display of words that dribbled out of the red Novan’s mouth. The one he had deduced as being the pilot of the crashed vehicle. This appeared to occur after the femme Lotori had something tongue in cheek to him. 

The youth, too, had something less than flattering to say to the red quilled creature. Something along the lines of ‘your mother’, Moffie.

“Clearly these guys are birds of a feather,” Xell uttered sarcastically, watching the Lotori remove all the bloodstained bandages off of the young boy. What followed next was youth frozen in a momentary daze, before suffering from a syncope episode. He winced as the body hit the floor.

“Wait! Did he beat up a kid?” The thought dawned upon Xell. The conclusion derived from the youth looking worse for wear, limping towards the plane and having heard the Spicati accusing him of being quite dirty moments after appearing on the scene.

Then again, there were a couple of flaws with that theory.
One being that if that pilot chap really was a child beater, surely the Lotori attending to his aid would be more cautious of him. Also, the way the red Novan was yelling at them, demanding why girls and kids would be out in the woods did also suggest they were strangers.

“I can’t waste any more time. I’ll take what I need and leave.” He convinced himself.
He blinked over his dry eyes to refocus his sights and concentration on the task at hand. At the very least, it appeared that the fire had been put out. Not only did it mean that he would be reasonably safe venturing to the vehicle below, but the newcomers would also be safe.
With that, Xell looked towards the fallen oak tree and swiftly darted in that direction. Endeavouring not to step on old crusty leaves that had gathered to the ground throughout this Autumn season. Wherever there was a hard surface, be it rock, fallen trees or traces of an earthed path, he made sure to step on those surfaces whilst making his way.

Leaping deftly from a small rocky ledge to use his wings to glide across, his feet hit the fallen oak tree with a thud.
The nettle sting on Xell’s arm continued to leave a burning and boiling sensation in his scales which was proving to be more annoying than he anticipated. He tried to ignore the feeling as he closed the gap from the fallen trunk of the tree towards the branches.
Once he arrived towards the door of the plane that the youth had tried to open earlier, Xell looked over his shoulder to make sure he was still unseen. 

It seemed the cast in front of the plane were still preoccupied in conversation and trying to tend to the unconscious young Novan.
Turning back to the door, Xell retrieved his dagger and inserted it between the space where the door normally would’ve been sealed shut. Collateral damage from the crash and earlier force from the metal bar appeared to have weakened it.
It only took a couple of anti-clockwise turns to tease it open. He could hear a hinge from the locking mechanism release.
Shoving the dagger back into his belt, he gently opened the door, whilst still keeping an eye on the group ahead. When he was convinced he’d still gone unnoticed, he stealthily snuck into the plane.

[b] Inside the plane [/b]

Xell walked inside the plane, ducking away from windows in case one of the Novans outside decided to turn and look at the plane. He found himself practically crawling on the floor to find what may be available.

He had to admit, if the pilot really did own this plane, he was impressed. It was neat, well constructed and smartly configured with its seats, arm rests, window peripheries and so on. The only niggle tarnishing this neat suite before the crash being some empty beer cans on the floor and the smell of nicotine.

“Great, a trail of cancer sticks,” Xell tutted. Even though he could understand back in his regime many of his troops would smoke. It was a habit that was hard to kick yes, and frowned upon. But if it got people through the war or whatever battle they had on their hands, then it likely served more than clean living.

Xell poked his head towards a curious small cubby hole. The sort of location one would expect anything important to be stashed.
To his frustration, that was locked too.

Reaching for his dagger once again, he used it to meddle with the intramechanics of the locking system.
He smiled wryly when he heard a click and saw the cabinet fold open uneventfully. He gritted his teeth as pocket sized bottle of alcohol rolled out. He caught it deftly and shoved it into his pocket.
He breathed a sigh of relief that the glass object had not rolled out onto the floor, or that could’ve been noisy.

He saw a first aid kit and smiled when he reached out for it. A green labelled small box with a white cross symbol on it. Neatly compact and zipped up. Opening it up, he found small samples of what he wanted.

The healing drug Halocaine. He knew how much trouble he could get into if people knew his history on Mir. His constant undertakings to find this drug and what he had to resort to get his hands on it. The exchanges he has with his dealer.

However, as long as he wasn’t harming anyone, he didn’t see a need to be concerned.

[i]“Good job, you’re getting really good at this.” [/i] he heard that voice congratulate him. 
Impolitely.

[i]“It must be all worth it to be stealing drugs for your fix when someone else could be benefitting from it right now.” [/i]

“Is this my nature or nurture voice now?” Xell hissed. Eyes glaring all around as he clasped the medikit close to his chest. The interior of the plane was coming across as hazey and blurry with purple traces of hues.

“If you’re talking about the kid outside, he seems to be in good hands!” Xell justified.

Xell quickly pulled out a jump rope that he found lying around. Tightening it around his upper forearm, he flicked the brachial artery in the joint of his forearm to elevate the blood vessel. Ripping the medikit open, he pulled out a syringe, drew up the Halocaine fluid and injected it intravascularly.

The symptomatic relief of the drug started to kick in.

All seemed restored as the purple hues dissipated, the forms of the interior of the plane and the objects sharpened and the nettle sting subsided. 

He sighed wearily, a troubled look on his face. He put everything back neatly into the box and threw away the makeshift tourniquet.
He knew it was unwise to have injected an uncontrolled dose and at a concentrated form but it was worth it to rid himself of the fever, the nettle sting- but more importantly, the voices he was hearing.

[b]Outside the plane [/b]

He stepped outside and overheard the Lotori girl still talking to the Spicati.

"My name is Taffy Tanner.I'm out here on a hike. I'm a medical student at Colosse. "

[i]"Crap! She's a medical student!"[/i] Xell gritted his teeth as he clasped the medikit.
Then again, she didn't have to know where he got it from, should she note it. It was too big to
fit into his pocket so he just carried it in his hand unremarkably.

"Don't think I'm getting all buddy-buddy with you, now - I'm just introducing myself to make it easier to work together, and so you can call me by my proper name instead of 'girl.”

"Now, if you can grab his ankles, we can move him to some better shelter until he wakes up."

By the time ‘Taffy’ had said all of that, Xell came close to the clearing of where they all were. Whether they’d react for better or for worse, at least he felt a bit more stable now.

“Hey…” Xell waved over to the group, approaching from the other side of the plane to make it seem as if he hadn’t looted it “I overheard this plane crash and thought I’d come over and investigate. If you’re looking for shelter, I can help get you out of this part of the Forest. But we’re going to have our time cut out for us.” He said, gesturing towards the sun that was starting to set. Faded hues of orange, yellow and purple could be seen filtering through the mass of vines draping the forest trees.

He looked over to the unconscious youth, and then to Max
Warily.

“Heard a lot of shouting back there… you didn’t get a bit ratty with the kid now, did you?” Xell frowned.

The Draconi secretly cursed himself, he could feel one of the side effects of the drug which was now making him a bit paranoid.