Post-Mission Eleven: How to Reunite Your Dragons

Blizzard

Well-Known Member
Ayenee
Ft. Miller


The day was alight with ashy pink skies around Fort Miller as an errant wizard battle tore up the landscape in the dense forest far to the South of the Star Army base. Eden hitched herself up in a Mindy and threw the duffel she had over her shoulder and secured it in a hands-free fashion.

"Grav-hei?" Teien Eden called in the near empty hangar.

From the other end of the room, where Gravity had been outfitting her own Mindy, the azure pilot quickly jogged over to her XO and gave a quick salute.

"Yes, Shosa?" asked the youngling, an eager smile on her face in anticipation of some new transdimensional shenanegans to get into.

Returning the formal courtesy of a salute, the Shosa nodded afterwards with her helmeted head. She gestured to the open hangar doors with a pointed finger that raised and lowered as she comunicated without words, signaling only for Gravity to exit.

"Ready, Ittô Hei?" Eden asked as she hopped into the air and her knees and wrists lifted while her hips and shoulders stayed square. Gravity nodded enthusiastically and turned to run back to her own Mindy. For the past couple of days, she'd been creating her own loadout since it was apparent that she would be using it more often. It was a never-before seen configuration specially designed for close air support. Dual 20 mm gauss cannons, leg-mounted missile launchers, and a wing pack.

Gravity climbed inside her armor, which also had a duffle affixed to it, and raised herself off the floor as well. Then, she gunned the throttle, and within the next second she was outside and soaring.

Without much movement besides her legs pushing beck while her whole mass lifted in the air, Eden zipped out of the hangar after Gravity.

"Coordinates wil be locked on to your HUD once we reach the exosphere," Eden relayed to Gravity. "Mission brief will consist of an encrypted document that is for our eyes only. There are things about this mission even I won't know until that briefing."

Gravity acknowledged the new coordinates and climbed to a safe cruising altitude, then rolled over to look past her feet to her trailing officer, shrugging in confusion.

"Top-secret spy stuff? I love it! But Shosa, why did you ask for me specifically? I'm just the pilot! My security clearance is pretty much nonexistant." asked the itto-hei.

"For reasons to do with your occupation," Eden replied only. After a long series of moments in which the XO siad little, she went on. "You don't need to have SAINT clearance to work highly sensitive missions. Don't think of this as a way for Fort Miller to test its ST tubes on us in the near future, that's what I'm here to do."

Several Hours Later...
On Approach to Tree City of Introspection...


"...And that's how I got stuck with the name 'Gravity'." Sighed Gravity, who'd been trying to spark up conversation to dull the tedium. The trees around her began becoming massive, like, really massive. They were so big and so far apart that she could have easily taken the Kaiyo in beneath the canopy and had ample room to maneuver. They were so massive that someone had actually built buildings into the trunks, which already resembled skyscrapers by themselves.

Before they fully made their appoach, Gravity said, "I think we're here."

"Let's go in to the central buildings of this pl—" she caught her tongue on the roof of her mouth and called out to Gravity over telepathy, <—ace! Can you talk?>

Up ahead, the other Neko didn't say anything for a good few moments. She began to look around, utterly confused. Then, over the comms, Eden could hear Gravity's temper beginning to rise.

"Mm...! MmMmMmMMMM...! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" the pilot tried to scream at the top of her lungs, while gripping her head and thrashing.

<---WHAT THE FUCK?! Why-can't-I-TALK?!> her infuriated, telepathic voice rang out on accident. Behind the anger was just a little bit of panic. Gravity's panic response to most situations was to fight like a cornered jungle cat, and thus her thrashing only increased.

<Calm it down, calm down!> Eden called out telepathically and in the air went towards Gravity with her hands up, trying to approach the situation as well as the deep blue-skinned Nekovalkyrja herself. After a moment of not being heard, she said telepathically quite loudly <CALM DOWN!!>

Gravity didn't respond, but gradually, her panicked kicking stopped, and she hovered still in mid-air, trying to get her breathing under control. She was scared. Was this permanent? It was a known fact that besides flying, Gravity was also good at talking peoples' ears off. She gently hugged herself and shuddered, now just a little embarassed that she'd freaked out in front of her superior. She didn't want Eden to think she wasn't fit for this mission.

<...S-Sorry. I'm good now...> she muttered in a shaky voice. <...Shosa, what's happening?>

<This part of the forest, this city, magically blockades us from using speech. We have to rely on telepathy with one another and our wits with the locals.> Eden replied. <It will not last while we are outside of the city. Only inside of it.>

Gravity took a deep breath, and then seemed to visibly relax. After a moment, she was flying again, towards the center of the city. <Then let's make this quick.>

As they came upon the major populated area of the tree forest, they began to see the people, half-dragons with small, vestigial wings on their backs and thick, humanoid bodies.

"Those are the people we will be communicating with. They have been cast out by their evolutionary predecessors from their mountain homes to this city, where for centuries they have been in a silent purgatory. It's to teach them a lesson, or so the stories those at the base have picked up in stories from Memorial and Capital City say. This is the first time this city has been entered by SAoY..."

Gravity looked down on the creatures below with awe. Dragon people! Created from real dragons! Her previous panic was replaced by a new excitement as well as a new fear. She'd been right; dragons did exist in this universe. Were they big enough to take on a Fuji? Would that be one of the new dangers they faced?

<...Coooool...> she whispered telepathically.

<Very> Eden replied as she touched down onto a large extensive platform that pushed out from the trunk and, thus, building of one monolithic tree. <Turning off volumetric projection...> Eden said <Now.>

Gravity uncloaked beside her and arched her back to look up the length of the trunk, which seemed to stretch forever into a dark, green sky. She looked around at the rest of the city spanning outwards.

<If it weren't for the fact that you can't speak, this would be kind of- dare I say it- romantic. Is that weird? Yeah, probably weird.> muttered the younger Neko, who placed her hands on her hips.

Eden smiled, <Only a little weird, Gravity-hei.> She noticed mixed reactions to the intruders, them, but as they landed away from many people while still being near the entrance to the main building, Eden put her hands up and lowered them back down again. She mouthed, 'We're here to help you.' Even though no language existed amongst the half dragon people and even the act of mouthing the words seemed to confuse them rather than enlighten,

<I don't think they got the message, Shosa.> Gravity whispered. Despite the fact that it was telepathic, the almost deafening silence of the city made it seem like a library. In a town where you couldn't speak, there would be no need for a spoken language. <...Do we have any candy or treats with us? It's an almost universal way of showing good intentions. I used to use it on stray dogs and cats back on Yamatai. Give them some good food, and the next instant they're in your lap purring.>

Eden leanted towards her crew member and said <I have presents for the heads of the small government, but no food besides rations.>

<Then I guess we just... move slowly and non-threateningly?> Gravity suggested and slowly raised her hands, and took a gentle step forwards.

Eden had stopped moving her hands and simply walked, now, awkwardly in front of Gravity to the door of the place. Nobody happened to stop her, though many had stopped themselves and were oggling the pair.

<I'm wondering how we're going to read rights of first contact...> Eden said as she passed the ornately carved wooden doors of the large tree building. <We'll save that problem for when we get to it. Maybe the dragons can help us with their 'kids', you never know.>

Gravity blushed and put her hands down as well. But her eyes widened at Eden's last remark, and she had to stop herself from jumping up and down in a frenzy.

<S-Shosa! Are you saying-? Are we going to get to meet-?> she stammered, unable to finish her sentence as she saw her dreams of riding a dragon slowly becoming reality.

<Ittô Hei, pull yourself together. This is not a place to be gaping at the wildlife... > Eden herself was looking around at the half dragons within the building. <But if you want to know the truth, even these people that surround us haven't seen their dragon ancestors for half the length of the legend. It is unlikely the two will coalesce if at all, though, so that is of no concern at the moment.>

Those in the building's halls that were confronted with the presence of the two Mindy 4 series-clad Nekovalyrja seemed to skirt far away from the pair to varying degrees of surprise, though no reaction was too extreme. They all seemed relatively relaxed, considering.

<Right, ahem! Sorry!> Gravity chuckled sheepishly and began following her superior in silence.

After a minute of walking the halls, Eden finally found some sort of etched map in the wall of the eighth floor they had traveled up. She then guided them five floors down while muttering to Gravity. <This place may have literal 'Saints' but it is woefully lacking in any kind of SAINTly presence in some regards. I have no idea what I just looked at. Next set of double doors I pass, we're going in those and asking> Eden paused, seeing a set of double doors down a hallway. She stopped walking and turned on her heel, telepathing to Gravity. <I called it, didn't I?>

<Eeeyup.> replied the younger Neko, who was just a little annoyed at the seemingly-aimless walking at this point. <Oh, no! How are we even going to ask them?! We can't speak!>

Marching up with almost with too much confidence, Eden almost made her presence known by knocking on the double doors. Before she did, she looked back to Gravity and then pointed to her helmet, then took her own off and clasped it onto her hip hardpoint.

<Don't follow suit.> Eden told the Ittô Hei before knocking in two loud, terse, successive knocks.

Soon, the doors opened and there appeared a half dragon woman who nodded slowly at Eden upon making contact with her eyes. The woman then looked to Gravity before eyeing the armors in their entirety. She closed the door on the two of them.

Eden looked dismal and it was apparent on her face as the door softly closed on her face.

Gravity said nothing, as she couldn't speak, and Eden could not see her facial expressions behind the helmet's faceplate, but judging by the way her shoulders shook slightly it was clear that the Itto Hei was silently laughing. As much as the azure-skinned woman tried to contain herself, she couldn't.

Eden glanced at Gravity, then down the hall. She shook her head, black hime cut hair shakin as she did. <No is not an answer I recognize.> She started to knock at the door once more and the instant her Mindy clad-knuckle made contact with the heavy wooden door, it opened once more.

The half dragon, this time, was taller, leaner, and looked much, much more receptive. She opened her eyes after blinking twice at seeing Eden's pale cream face, compared to her own mottled greyish green one.

<Finally!> Gravity would hear Eden say telepathically.

Unsure of what to do, Gravity simply stood, hands clasped in front of her, and tried to look as friendly as she could in her heavily armored battlesuit.

The half dragon didn't make too many motions of her face or body but bowed her head and turned around, leaving the door open. Gravity shrugged and began slowly ambling towards the door frame. The two of them were soon following the half dragon woman as she led them through the many rooms andstaircases within the rooms that soon led to a chute of some sort. Like an upside-down slide, all their sensors could tell them was that it led up and was very much made of the very trunk of the tree the building was perched on.

<...This place could seriously use an infrastructure overhaul. Make it more streamlined and easy to find places, you know?> Gravity groaned after being lead on another excursion.

The Shosa bowed deeply to the woman who had stood off to the side of the massive wooden chute. She activated her gravity manipulation and entered it without much hesitation. She engaged CFS when she was far enough away from the half dragon woman to not hurt her as she entered the unlit tunnel that went upwards, then looked back with her sensors to where Gravity was. The pilot was right on her heels, not wanting to be left alone with the locals, it seemed.

They ascended the tree's tubular inside tunnel for hundreds of meters, barely the only things that could possibly fit in it, one behind the other. There was a few anamolous readings on the Shosa's readouts as she spoke.

"We need to— Wah?" Eden said out as her HUD-like digital mind went through all of the sensor data. Both herself and Gravity would be able to notice their positions were rapidly changing, as if they were moving faster than their own thrusters were propelling them. "We seem to be moving through a spatial rift, Santô Hei... Prepare yourself."

"Aye, Shosa." said Gravity, who nimbly placed her feet before her to cushion any impacts with obstacles. Her heart pounded with anticipation of what lay ahead. Hopefully not another ocean. First it was a tar monster, and now she was being eaten by a franken-tree!

Without a few very short moments of their bodies being hurtled a distance, their sensors' recordings once again showed normal spatial positionings and little further disturbances. They were within a combination of waterfalls and verdant trees that melded seamlessly on what appeared to a peaked region of mountains. They were deep within the almost tropical forest that had dense, thick trunked trees and little glowing orbs of light that bounced around at their eye level and above, until the branches reigned supreme..

Once the two Mindy-clad SAoY personnel would turn their heads to look to the right, they would see the massive and jade-colored stalk of the leg of what soon became a fully fledged and fotoball field-sized dragon with a crest of bone-white horns and leaf-like brows, all green save for white that swept from the jaw down to the underbelly and below the long tail, to its tip.

"What do you make of that, Gravity-hei?" Eden asked.

"......"

Gravity said nothing. Could say nothing. After the shock of being teleported for the second time in the past month, she was starring at a... dragon...

The pilot reached up and removed her helmet, eyes wide and full of wonder, and jaw on the floor.

"Not a good time!" Eden said as her eyes widened in her own helmet, but she made no movement, awestruck in her own way. "Santô Hei, I am thinking we—"

As she began to speak again, she was interrupted and stopped speaking when the massive dragon's neck turned quickly so that it could look at the two of them, in particular, the woman with her golden eyes exposed, Kara Gravity, and stayed looking.

Gravity's breath hitched in her throat as she maintained direct eye-contact with a previously-mythical creature. She knew she should have felt terrified to come face to face with a creature that could stomp her out if it so willed, but she didn't. It was an eerie sort of calm.

That was good, right? She remembered hearing something during the third month of her short life about coming face to face with a wild animal. Something about not showing panic, because then it would perceive you as prey and attack, or something.

Could dragons talk? Would it be rude of her to speak first in this creature's home? Then again, would it be rude to barge into someone's home and not greet them?

"...H-Hello...!" Gravity said in a voice that was supposed to be loud and confident, but moreso resembled a kitten's terrified mewl. She winced at how horrible that must have sounded. To try and rectify it, she gave the dragon a small wave.

It was at that moment that Gravity knew in her heart that she and Eden would die here.

There was a slow, discernible movement on the lips of the dragon's face as it watched Gravity and then nodded its head, only twice.

Okay, Gravity thought, maybe they weren't going to die. That was good! However, she hadn't really expected to be alive at this point, so she was kind of lost for words. She hadn't even realized that she could speak again. Seriously, what do you talk about with a dragon?! The weather? Dragon-sports? Interpretive dance?

Moreover, what was their mission here?! The Shosa still hadn't divulged that information to her. If she'd had some context as to what she was doing having a starring contest with a dragon, she might have had something more to say!

"...I'm Gravity...!" Gravity greeted the behemoth, who seemed to understand her. This time her voice was just a touch louder.

<Shosa, what's happening?> the pilot asked her XO telepathically, not breaking eye contact with the dragon.

<We're going to be helping the dragons of this part of Ayenee by finding a way to bring the dragons together with their kin, the half dragon people we met...> Eden looked for the right words. <...Before we went through the tree chute that brought us here. They need help with this endeavor and no people on Ayenee have succeeded in doing so. Would you like to try?>

The dragon, meanwhile, was swaying gently as if listening and moving to soft, mellow music.

Gravity looked from Eden to the beast, then back to Eden again. The idea of reuniting long-lost family made her heart swell. That, and she wanted to hang out with dragons. She nodded.

<Yes, definitely. I guess the first step would be trying to figure out why the dragons don't want to be around their kin?> asked the pilot.

<They needed quietude, they needed something close to silence. They are the ancestors of these half dragons and were unable to find peace with their evolutionary successors impeding their own sense of peace. That is nearly all I know.> Eden responded with quick telepathic words while she nodded to the creature in front of her, who was happy to wait in the shared quiet.

<There is definitely going to be a communication barrier. Even more so since we can't read dragon body language like a human's.> Gravity sighed, feeling the weight of such a daunting task. But she wasn't about to give up. She even had an idea. <...I may have something.>

It was like the first time she'd ever played a video game. She'd had difficulty learning the controls, so there had been a good five minutes where she'd simply pressed every button to see what it would do. The azure catgirl gently floated up to the dragon while still keeping her distance and not making any threatening moves. Then, observing the dragon, she began gently swaying as well in rhythm with the creature.

After a momentary pause, the jade dragon caught up to Gravity's movements since it had missed a beat in the slow sway. The creature then unfurled its wings from next to its back on either side and lifted them slowly, up, and then down.

Gravity released a breath she hadn't even known she was holding. The fact that the dragon could decide to chomp her like gyoza sat at the back of her mind, and she needed to be careful about offending it. So far, the reptile's actions didn't seem territorial or agressive in any sense, so she figured she was doing well. If Sacre knew what she was up to at the moment, the medic would have a stroke.

Gravity slowly inched just a little closer, then, with a blush, raised her arms and gently flapped them like a bird's- or in this case, a dragon's. Was this a greeting in their language? If so, was it a way of greeting friends, or strangers? Hopefully it wasn't a mating ritual.

Eden watched as the dragon in front of the two of them looked from Gravity to the sky, then its great hooked maw opened in a silent screaming movement and then brought its head to the ground beside Gravity and all of its legs rested against the ground while laying down in front of the Neko.

Okay, so it was probably a greeting. Animals tended to lie down in front of others when they felt secure. Gravity returned to the ground, then began moving even closer to the beast. Each step was carefully calculated, and the closer she got, the more she prepared to book it. How intelligent were dragons? Probably pretty intelligent, based upon what little she knew about them. But part of her wondered if this dragon thought of her as a youngling based upon her poor communication skills. She was now close enough that she had to crane her neck backwards to keep the dragon's face in view. Then, she sat, cross-legged, in the dirt, and placed her helmet beside her.

The dragon shifted a bit to be closer to Kara Gravity, making her able to pet its firm, scaled jaw if she so please, which came towards her slowly and shifted some of the plant life underfoot around while doing so. Eden watched and waited to see what the navy-skinned Neko would do.

Gravity emitted a silent gasp as the dragon's massive head came careening towards her, and her body twitched just slightly. Fortunately, she fought the impulse to run. She couldn't do that now, not when she was on such friendly terms. Eyes wide and breath caught in her throat, she waited several moments as she went through her options. Then, against her better judgement, she timidly reached out an armored hand, and tenderly placed it against the dragon's jaw, then left it there, starring into the dragon's eye as she waited for its move.

A slow and steady groan emitted from the dragon's hooked mouth as it opened it ever so slightly, showing its gums before closing once more and the very quiet noise stopped, replaced by the sound of a heavy inhale into the dragon's nose. It had moved in such a way that Gravity need not take her hand off the jaw if she was inclined not to.

Eden stepped back, noticing the body language from afar that perhaps this dragon was now making its move. But, from where Gravity was, it would seem as though the dragon was thinking of her as it moved gingerly to emit the first sound it had made since the Neko had arrived.

Gravity exhaled slowly. She was doing a lot better than expected. But cuddling with a dragon was not what she was here to do, no matter how much she wished that were the case. Slowly, she stood, and placed her other hand on the dragon's muzzle, then stroked it. There had to be some way to communicate what she and Eden were trying to do. But how would the dragon respond to such an idea? Did they still hate their descendants? Would they become offended if she tried to lead them back to the Tree City? So many unknowns.

The dragon merely moved into her hand gently and its eyes closed as it let out a second, quieter groan.

<You have a way with non-words, it seems.> Eden said to Gravity, <Can you find a way to ride it?>

<...Maybe...?> Gravity replied unsurely while still petting the dragon. Still though, this was adorable. This massive reptile was like a giant puppy! She wondered what a baby dragon looked like. Oh Yui they were probably so cute! With big eyes and-

Right, riding the dragon. Those were orders she would have never thought she'd receive. Like, ever. But she had a crazy idea that just might work. She spent a few more moments giving the dragon some chin-scritches before guiltily stepping away. She made sure that the dragon was watching her when she put on her helmet, so that it would know that it was still her. Then, she floated up into the air and the dragon's glimmering, bright eyes followed her movement with interest. She looked back down at the dragon before performing some graceful twists and loops like a seal beneath the sea. That was a horrible way of describing it, but that was the best Gravity could come up with at the time. Basically, she was asking the dragon if it would like to play up in the sky.

In reply, the dragon seemed to show an air of understanding as it lifted its head from the ground and brought its front legs off of the ground, becoming eye-level with Gravity. It shook off its body as it stood and unfurled its wings further, but stayed relatively still.

Beneath her helmet, Gravity beamed in triumph. What sort of game would a dragon play in flight? A game of chase seemed the most likely, as she didn't quite think that trying to explain the intricacies of Iromakuanhe fieldball would translate well. Gravity waved to the dragon before darting straight up.

"Come on, big guy! Let's see you dance!" Gravity whispered to herself, excited to see a creature the size of a starship take off. That's what it would be like, right? Just a living, breathing Fuji?

Whatever Gravity had expected, it was nothing like that at all.

The dragon watched her from below, tracking her wide loops with its head. For a moment, the azure neko became discouraged because it didn't seem like the creature was that interested. But suddenly, with a movement that seemed too quick and fluid for such a massive creature. it's massive wings unfurled to their full breadth, turning day to night around Eden as they blocked out the sun. They raised slowly, then pushed down with such force that the trees for nearly half a mile in all directions swayed violently. Dust and debris shot skyward in the hurricane-force winds generated by the downbeat. Gravity had thought that the dragon's descent would be slow, but instead it shot up right after her. The neko laughed and soared higher with the help of her plasma thrusters, breaking through the clouds. It wasn't long before the dragon caught up, its massive wings gracefully sliding up and down and creating heavy turbulence that rattled her in her Mindy.

Then, the duo began their dance, going higher and higher while twisting around each other like figure skaters. They flew so high that even the dragon resembled a small speck in the sky to Eden below. At the peak of their ascent, both Gravity and the dragon stopped. The pilot shut off her thrusters, and the dragon's wings stopped beating. The pair slowly began to fall, back to back, in a graceful swan-dive. Their speeds began to gradually increase until they became like meteors hurling towards the trees and mountains below. The dragon's wings tucked in tight to its body, and Gravity saw this as her chance. She reactivated her CFS and edged closer to the beast's back, twisting herself so that her stomach faced it. Fifteen feet, ten feet, five feet, two feet.

This was it. The dragon was easily within touching distance. All Gravity had to do was reach out and...

...Contact.

She lay prone on the dragon's massive back, right up by where its long neck met its body. The dragon must have felt its new passenger, because it turned its head around to look at her. Gravity looked back, wondering if she'd gone too far, but her fears were assuaged as the beast merely resumed its descent. At one hundred yards above the ground, the dragon's wings reopened so that the reptile could level out in stable flight, zooming right over Eden's head and creating a small earthquake as it once more blocked out the sun. Gravity resituated herself so that she straddled the base of the dragon's neck, then spread her arms against the oncoming wind as the terrain passed below in a blur.

"Wooo!" she cheered in excitement, her heart nearly ready to burst out of her chest. This was... she didn't even have words to describe it. She'd always likened piloting the Kaiyo to taking the reins atop a massive, flying creature, but now that she was actually doing it, there was no comparison.

She wanted to stay up here forever, but she knew she still needed to get back to Eden and continue her mission. Now the question was how she would tell the dragon, whom she would call Apollo until told otherwise, that they needed to turn around. There was only one thing she could think of, and that was digging her heel into its flanks like a horse. It seemed a little rude, but she figured it was worth a shot. Gently, she pressed her right heel into Apollo's scales. To her surprise, it gently veered in that direction. So, Gravity did it again, with a little more force, while leaning in the same direction. This caused Apollo to perform a banking turn. The neko laughed and continued on this course until they were pointed back to Eden's location.

Soon, they were within visual range of the XO, who was looking skyward, but then passed her.

<Mission accomplished, Shosa! The dragon has been ridden!> Gravity reported telepathically in the brief moment of visual contact. She brought Apollo around again, this time digging both of her heels in. The dragon got the message, and began fanning out its wings like airbrakes, coming to a thunderous stop in the same clearing where they'd taken off. Apollo's massive legs hit the ground and caused another miniature earthquake/hurricane combo, and Once they were at a full stop, he leaned down to allow Gravity to slide off. The Neko herself was trembling from the adrenaline rush, and grinning from ear to ear. She shakily removed her helmet and tossed it aside, turning to face Apollo. He leaned his massive muzzle into her, and she giggled quietly while stroking his chin.

<Very well done, Gravity. A lot has been accomplished by you today. Now, asking them verbally how they want to do this won't work very well, as we know. Asking them to show us how to bring their kin here is how I think we should proceed. Can you use your...> Eden trailed off, looking to the dragon that was now scooting closer towards Gravity, making trees tremble. <...Connection you have with them to find that out?>

<Aye, ma'am.> Replied the pilot, now techinically a dragon-rider. She took a step away from Apollo and looked into the dragon's eyes before activating her armor's holographic projector and displaying a small model of one of the dragon-people from the Tree City. She looked from the image to Apollo and tilted her head questioningly to see what his reaction would be.

The dragon slowly but methodically lowered and lifted his lids while nodding his great head. It was then that he tilted his vision away from Gravity and on to a portion of the tall forest they were in to look at what was becoming a ripple in the trunk of one of the great, wide trees. It looked to be as if there was a window to another place between the tear.

Gravity looked from Apollo to the tear, then slowly walked to it. Had he understood what she was trying to convey? The Neko got close enough to peek her head through the portal. On the other side was the city they had just been in before coming to ride with Apollo. The city with their ancestors, the half dragons. It was seen from a platform, like most of the city was bult, up in the trees.

The azure Neko stepped fully through the tear, and began looking around for the city's residents. At least one, so she could take them back with her to meet their ancestor. She tried calling out, and was reminded of the city's enchantment. She looked to the closest person and began waving to try and get their attention.

The closest person then looked as if stunned by the sudden ripple in what could only be the land itself, then they ran. Thy began waving their arms and pointing and others took notice, soon, a low noise began to be heard as people shuffled about, moving themselves quickly about their city now that the presence of the tear was known.

Meanwhile, there was nothing Gravity could do but stand there awkwardly amongst the silent chaos. It wasn't like she could stop someone and ask why everyone was freaking out. Did they somehow know that Apollo had opened the tear? She turned back to look through the tear, to said dragon, and beckoned him to follow her.

Shaking its head only slightly, the dragon waited as the citizens of the city bustled about as extreme speeds.

<Better stick this one out. Your friend knows to wait so perhaps we should, too.> Eden said over their telepathy. So, Gravity did just that, sitting on the ledge of the platform and watching the locals scurrying about below, above, and around. They waited until a large pocession had been formed and there was a gathering of dragons that had come down from the skies around the forest to watch as the half dragons moved from their world into that of their ancestor's.

Gravity beamed and followed along, brimming with anticipation to see how the two species would react. Family was a great thing to behold, even if your uncle was a multi-ton flying lizard. The Neko moved over to Eden and Apollo, patting the dragon's muzzle.

They seemed to be trying very hard not to make too much eye contact with one another, despite coming together in the same land. Little interaction between the two different creatures was evident, but once the last of the people were through, Apollo looked to Gravity and began dancing once more, as she had danced with him hours ago.

Gravity smiled and removed her helmet again. It was clear that these people would have no clue how to communicate with their ancestors, so it would be up to the world's foremost dragon-linguist to assist them. She rose into the air beside Apollo and faced the dragon-people. First, she waved at them in greeting, then translated it into the dragons' language by swaying as well. She beckoned the mass of people to follow along.

Only a few started mimicing her while a few were curious and others, unaware. This prompted Gravity to try another approach. They probably needed some context, so she turned to Apollo himself and began dancing, attempting to recreat the ritual they'd performed earlier.

The two and some danced as best they could in communication with one another. Soon enough, the many were dancing and not just the some. Even Eden had begun to dance, one of the last to do so. As those dancing joined in spirit, they joined in will, too, and something beyond speaking opened up between everyone there.

At first, Eden began by telepathing, <Do you feel tha—> but was cut off when she realized she didn't need to continue to speak like that when she could talk with Gravity in a less familiar way. She sent out the message with her mind and body, letting Gravity know what she was feeling.

The strangest thing was, Gravity fully understood her. She beamed at her officer and sent back "waves" of victory, triumph, elation, and several other emotions that basically translated into "Hell yeah! We did it!"

Gratefully, Eden bowed her head and looked around, then bowed at Apollo once, deeply, before heading off to the ripple in space in the forest's tree. Her body language said it all; it was time for them to go. Gravity whined silently, not wanting to leave her new friend(s). But without her, the Kaiyo would probably just uselessly tumble through the air with whatever helmsman they replaced her with, and they would most definitely change her seat settings which she'd meticulously adjusted to perfection. No one touched her baby.

Gravity stopped swaying and hugged Apollo's massive head, kissing him tenderly on the cheek before picking up her helmet and following after her XO. She turned back to the dragon folk and told them goodbye with this new sensastion she was experiencing, then told Apollo to stop by Fort Miller sometime to visit, before stepping through the tear.

On the other side, they could both look back or with their suit's cameras, see the dragon watching them before turning to follow the half dragons. Now, Eden and Gravity were alone in the Tree City of Introspection, though if either of them tried, they would now be able to vociferate aloud.

Gravity squeaked in surprise, but after the events of the last few hours, found that speaking would just ruin the moment. This new form of communication seemed appropriate, at least until they returned to base amongst those illiterate in dragon-speak. Let's get out of here before I tear up, "said" Gravity to Eden, looking back at the reunion and feeling a lump forming in her throat.

Eden replied in kind, in this new language to them, and let Gravity know that she agreed, it was time to go home.
 
Back
Top Bottom