[center][h1][color=indianred]🄴🅁🄸🅂🄴🄳[/color][/h1][/center]

[color=indianred]Erised hadn't been expecting a response from the duo, so it was unsurprising when the big oaf stared dumbly at her and the kid shied away. Desire shifted behind her. She looked over her shoulder, only turning around when she realised the dragon sitting on a human-siding dragon carcass had moved towards her. The show of power that followed...surprised her. She refused to be intimidated.

It had felt like restraint, a lingering, disgusting taste of suppression washing over her. Gross. It didn't burn, however, so she could assume that the dragon couldn't manipulate restraint itself.

Then it spoke. Of all the creatures that could've spoken her language, it was a [I]dragon[/I]. Weirdly too. Kind of like when she spoke to souls in the sixth plane. Could he do that too? Was that how she knew her name? Also who the hell did he think he was, nicknaming her the second they met? The questions were quickly discarded when the dragon's words registered. Her expression twisted into ugly fury; her wings flared up, bristling.

'[b]Gre-[/b]' she started, only to shut her mouth when the dragon had the [I]audacity[/I] to talk over her, turning his gaze to the kid. Some exposition followed - seriously, what kind of cliche Chosen One shit was this - and a beat after the kid yelled at the dragon to stop, Erised yelled out, '[b]I'm not grey, y'bitch lizard! [I]You're[/I] the one who tastes like it![/b]'

Grey. [I]Grey[/I]. Grey meant restraint. Grey was the robot. Grey wasn't Erised. Erised burned a fiery, hot red and she wore the damn colour like a badge. This stupid dragon must've been colourblind. What, was he hit in the head as a child-baby dragon-[I]whatever[/I]. The only being to actually understand her in this place and it was some dipshit, colourblind [I]prick[/I]!

'[b]And I can still see you,[/b]' she said. '[b]Think you magically disappeared like some cool, wise-ass magical beast? Jokes on you, you're just walking away like a loser![/b]'

By seeing him, she did not mean visually, but his desire burned bright as day just as everyone else's did. In a moment of spite, she took a better look at his more base desires - to move, to breathe - and the desire she sensed vaguely resembled his silhouette. Not that anyone would know what exactly she saw, so it ended up being a slightly pathetic, petty show of power for herself.

'[b]Dick[/b],' she muttered under her breath for good measure. Slowly, she took in a deep breath, crossed her arms and then exhaled. Right then, out of the corner of the eye, she noticed a pair of watery, wide eyes staring at her. She looked at the kid.

'[/color][b]Please, help me... I don't know where I am...[/b][color=indianred]'

Oh, [I]hell[/I] no.

'[b]Kid, [I]I[/I] don't know where the hell I am. You get used to it.[/b]' When the kid only continued to cry, discomfort crept over Erised and she turned on her heel, shoving gloved hands into her pant pockets. '[b]Big guy here will take care of ya. See you around never.[/b]'

She meant it. Just, what the hell? She'd only just got here and the dimension was already trying to get rid of her. Magic: big, fat red flag. She could deal with random powers, genetic mutations, sci-fi bullshit, weird ass phenomenons - but specific magic with witches who knew how to use said specific magic was [I]very, very bad[/I]. There wasn't any reason to add to the pile by associating with who was obviously a main protagonist. She stomped back towards the stables, ignoring the gawking townspeople. Let them stare. Any plans of blending into the background was shot to bits at this point, [I]thanks very much, lizard[/I]. She was booking it out of here. Her horse was stood in its stall, calm - right, hadn't the dragon done...something? - but as Erised neared, it snorted, shifting its hooves uneasily.

'[b]Come on, Bessie[/b],' said Erised placatingly. She reached out to the horse, slowly. '[b]It's-[/b]'

It bit her. To clarify, it jerked its head forward, not unalike how a snake would strike, and clamped its teeth down on her hand, right up to her wrist. Erised shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

Then howled, with a few pleasant profanities peppered in.

She stomped back out the stables, shaking her arm as her gloved hand reformed itself (it had been a lot easier to replicate a new one than to pry open the horse's mouth).

'[b]Fine![/b]' she grit out to the kid and the oaf. The dimension was already treating her like shit - might as well kick its timeline's ass sideways. '[b]You wanna know where you are, kid? Then let's find out. You can take the damn horse-[/b]' Her words stuttered to a stop. '[b]Wait, did you just speak Wurld?[/b]'[/color]

[hr]
[center][h1][color=lemonchiffon]HAILA[/color][/h1][/center]

[color=lemonchiffon]An [i]Arist[/i] was in the village and Secor had said nothing about it. Haila released an indignant chuff from where she sat in the branches of another sturdy tree. An Arist sighting was a big deal, not something to be skimmed over!

Then again, they [I]had[/I] been in somewhat of a hurry to get the clan ready for everything unbelievable that was happening right now, so maybe there hadn't been enough time to stop and tell her. Still.

'[i][b]Could you warn me about the return of an extinct species next time?[/b][/i]' she sent to Secor.

'[/color][i][b]We're not involved. Keep your head down and don't attract attention. Status update on the winged human?[/b][/i][color=lemonchiffon]'

'[i][b]Yes, she's landed.[/b][/i]' Haila dipped her head. '[i][b]It's a human hatchling.[/b][/i]'

'[/color][i][b]That makes it worse. Human hatchlings wouldn't know how to wield that kind of power.[/b][/i][color=lemonchiffon]'

'[i][b]I-Secor, they're talking.[/b][/i]'

'[/color][i][b]Who are?[/b][/i][color=lemonchiffon]'

'[i][b]The Arist, with the winged human hatchling and the other two humans the traitors were chasing. They-[/b][/I]'

Another voice broke into the conversation, rumbling in the space she resided in.

'[/color][b]Don’t be foolish, Haila. Listen to your brethren. Stay back. Humans cannot be trusted. Only family.[/b][color=lemonchiffon]'

She stilled. Her body didn't move. Not a single twitch in her wings or tail. A distant part of her laughed at her state. How ridiculous, a dragon scared into submission. The wyvern stayed quiet, even as she relaxed with every passing second.

There had been no creature nearby, human [i]or[/i] dragon.

'[/color][i][b]Haila? Haila![/b][/i][color=lemonchiffon]'

'[i][b]I think the Arist spoke to me.[/b][/i]' She cocked her head. '[i][b]He...gave me advice?[/b][/i]'

'[/color][i][b]Haila[/b][/i][color=lemonchiffon],' and oh no, there was a warning tone to Secor's voice now, '[/color][b][i]steer clear. Don't get any ideas.[/i][/b][color=lemonchiffon]'

'[i][b]Me? Never. I'll send you updates if there are any more.[/b][/i]' She tuned out of the long-distance channel. Then, eyes still on the winged human hatchling, she sought out the Arist's mind. Should she achieve this, she planned to ask, '[i][b]I've been told of the untrustworthiness and inherent evil of humans many times, but no dragon seems to want to explain why they are so. Will you?[/b][/i]'

In the meantime, she watched the three different humans of interest. Her heart ached at the thought of the next steps her clan may take.

The winged human was only a hatchling.[/color]

[hr]
[center][h1][color=mediumseagreen]CHERYL LUSBY[/color][/h1][/center]

[color=mediumseagreen]The ride so far had proven to be surprisingly peaceful. Even when Jack finally spoke up, his first few sentences were reasonable. Relatable, even. Then he decided to unload more weird alien meat, except this time what he was chattering on about wasn't quite so alien. 

'[/color][b]And there was a dragon being referred to as… uh, Artist? Arist? Something like that. If that means anything to you as well?[/b][color=mediumseagreen]' 

Cheryl sucked in a breath. Blew it out. Then jammed her elbow back into his direction. 

'[b]Yes, that does mean something to me[/b],' she said airily, as if nothing had happened between question and answer. '[b]It means you're somehow connected to one of the most powerful dragon breeds in Nihilo. One that can kill all three of us quite easily. Thanks for that.[/b]'

The night just kept getting better, didn't it? 

She mulled over his words, trying to make sense of them with a bleary mind. As such, the girl they passed by was disregarded completely. Shortly after, the forest on their right thinned out into untamed fields that stretched into the distance, while the one on their left thickened. The trees there became taller, their trunks thicker, and the gaps between them wider. A monstrous forest to hide monstrous creatures indeed.

There was no end to Jack's strange nature. Perhaps Cheryl would have dismissed his vision as a part of his alien abilities, if it weren't for the fact that elements of his story sounded familiar indeed. A dragon attack in Sonarlis... His daughter... The Arist. [i]One[/i] Arist.

The inklings of a suspicion stirred.

'[b]There was a dragon attack in Sonarlis[/b],' she said, after a while. '[b]A long time ago. Before I was around, anyway. You never mentioned how old your daughter is - or did you? Whatever, I don't care - but I remember that there was a kid caught up in all that ruckus.[/b]' She shook her head. '[b]Don't really know what happened to her but lotsa folks say that she came back as the most feared witch around. Buncha dragon meat, if you ask me. Nobody survives an Arist. But that doesn't matter.[/b]' She pulled on the reigns and Guinea trotted to a stop with an agreeable gurgle. Without further chat, she slid off the saddle, then pinned Jack with a tired look. 

'[b]The Old Hag's connected to that witch. So I'd say we're all in the dragon-damned fire. Again, thanks for that.[/b]' 

So that was who the cloaked figure in her house had come from. Jack had mentioned that Piper's life, specifically, was in danger too, hadn't he? Danger, danger. There was always danger. Finding money, danger. Surviving, danger. Mourning, danger. It felt like someone was constantly breathing down her neck, waiting for the moment she let her guard down to snap it.

...She really needed to sleep. Luckily, they'd arrived at their destination. That was to say, a stopover on the way to their destination. A little ways away from them stood a rundown wooden shack, with flimsy, mouldy boar skin covering the opening that served as its front door. The grass around it was no less untamed than the rest of the wild fields, wiggling irrationally as the tips of each grass blade gravitated to the bugs in the soil. She'd passed the structure in all her visits back home and it only seemed to look worse every time she saw it.

'[b]We'll camp in there for the night[/b],' she said. '[b]It's been abandoned for a long time so don't expect anything too comfy. But this close to a dragon grove, some shelter is better than none at all.[/b]'

The dragon grove mentioned was the forest on the left side of the path which had been steadily thickening and growing taller in the last ten minutes of their ride. At this point, the trees stretched up to a good 50 metres. A few steps beyond the tree line, foliage glinted in the moons' light, but the yawning gaps between trees remained pitch black. Cheryl spared it no glance; looking into dragon groves at night just wasn't a healthy practice.

Once again, Cheryl was thankful for Beckon Season - a cloudless night almost guaranteed no rain. The many holes in the shack's roof wouldn't have been kind in wet weather. It wasn't terribly big, but it was enough to fit the two of them with plenty of space apart. Having always travelled to Sonarlis in daylight, Cheryl had never seen a use for it but it would come in handy now. Good thing nobody lived here.

'[/color][b]Why, 'ello, young 'un![/b][color=mediumseagreen]' said an old man as he stepped out of the shack. He had a cheery, tooth-gapped grin, with only a ragged union suit on. His scalp was bare, save for the few strands of long, grey hair plastered against it. '[/color][b]Come to spend the night here?[/b][color=mediumseagreen]'

Cheryl took a very deep breath.

'[b]I thought nobody lived here[/b],' she said, and very politely did not say, '[i]Why the horse dung would you pick such a shitty place to live in?[/I]'

'[/color][b]Why, it's such a lovely place t'stay in, young 'un! Plenty'a space, plenty'a food-[/b][color=mediumseagreen]'

'[b]Plenty near a dragon grove.[/b]'

'[/color][b]Exactly![/b][color=mediumseagreen]'

A nutcase, then. She was attracting every single one of them tonight, it seemed.

'[/color][b]Ah, but where are my manners? Y'must'a travelled a long way, young 'un. That mountain village's a pain in the neck, ain't it? Me wife's asleep, but I'm sure she won't mind a bit![/b][color=mediumseagreen]' The old man beckoned, taking small steps back to the shack as he did. '[/color][b]We got the space![/b][color=mediumseagreen]'

'[b]You most definitely do not[/b],' she muttered, but the old man was already disappearing back into the shack. A beat later, he poked his head out again.

'[/color][b]Me name's Rennard! Two Ns[/b][color=mediumseagreen],' he stressed, then disappeared once more.

Well. At the very least Rennard didn't seem averse to Piper, who was practically a beacon of white wrapped around her neck. Cheryl glanced at Jack.

'[b]You don't like sharing, you can sleep outside[/b],' she said, matter-of-fact. She didn't mind if he chose to do just that. Actually, she hoped he would. Maybe something big and hungry would eat him up and he wouldn't be her problem anymore.[/color]