Zul & Zai's title-less crossover RP [Non-Canon with New Chapters]

Zul & Zai's Crossover. [Not an Open RP]

A soft sobbing from the corner was the only noise audible over the hum of the Magi-Engines in the cargo bay. Her form was anything but human, given only to similarities in the presence of two arms, legs a head and torso. She was reptilian in nature, like any true Drenjan; her body was lean and sharp, each muscle wiry and apparent through her thick scaly hide. Her tears flowed slowly between her soft, guttural chokes and the few others left of the crew held silence in respect for her mourning. After all they had all just lost a captain, but she had been widowed as well.

For the ship itself, it'd lost almost as much as the crew: crew quarters mangled and devoid of air, engineering ducts crushed and impassable, even the equipment closet was venting Magis. The rest of the ship was gone entirely, the once-proud vessel of the Drenjan Ascension Operations was now little more than tatters, with one propulsion engine, a med-bay, cargo hold and cockpit left.

If only the crew were so lucky, Zaconis thought to himself, breathing deeply through his razorlike Drenjan teeth. He was acting commander now, in the squad captain's place, a position he'd regrettably been appointed following his superior's demise -- though with greater misfortune such being after the deaths of two others who's ranks were deemed more fitting to replace command.

"Zacon-.... Sire! In the pilot deck, please," Thom commed in through the device on the Commander's neck. The voice was uneven, very Human, but so too was Thom. Zaconis rose from the seat, his movements sore and restless as he climbed the short distance in the rigged shaft between the hold and the pilot's seat. The Commander's unusually silvery scales were glinting odd colors in the light of the numerous holographic panels as he poked his head through the passage opening. The human pilot didn't tear his eyes from the screens projected before him for even an instant.

"Commander, Sire. Vnkest has reported our Magi engine's macro drive is missing from the damage we've sustained, requesting permission to perform a slingshot maneuver around a local planet." His hand motioned to the display, showing a considerably small planet with a blue atmosphere and oceans, green lands of flora. It was not unlike earth in appearance, and Zaconis noticed Thom was tense in his jaw, something he'd learned Humans did in times of restrained emotions. "We can make way to the Enumau system from the residual kinetic energy, that's the nearest Gate."

"Thom, might you be alright? Are you sure your in condition to fly the DX?" It was a question he'd asked since their departure from Earth, a planet that that had watched torn to pieces as they left in just as battered a craft.

"I can, yeah. Planet's gravitational field matches one back home. Venus. And I'm fine, Zac... Err... Sire-"

"Zac is fine, Thom. Permission granted, take her in," the Drenjan said in the hissing voice one might epitomize for that of a serpent.

He began back down the passage, but several sharp sounds electronic in nature summoned him back to the pilot bay. The displays were beginning to fail, and the few that remained showed symbols of warning, even through this Thom seemed unusually composed. "Zac, we've got unusual Magi readings. Origins unknown."

Of course something else was going wrong on this cursed mission, and Zaconis watched as Thom fumbled with the controls, trying to pull towards empty space and get the skeletal remains of the Delraine-X out of more trouble. But the Human was inexperienced with Drenjan technology, and the pilot seat didn't have a kinetic dampener in case something went wrong. The Commander was tired of the cataclysms, the failures and especially the death.

Thom's calm attitude was thrown into oblivion as his Captain's durable claws tore away at his harness, more destroyed from the bursts of strength Drenjan were prone to than the sharpness of their generally dull claws. Zaconis practically threw him down the shaft to the hold, knowing that while Humans were fragile being, Thom himself was mostly prosthetic and would know to get to safety. 'Mankind' was always good at saving their own hides, even when they began nuclear warfare amongst themselves.

He took the seat and controls, activated the manual pilot's visual system, though that was just what Zaconis called fancy tech talk for raising a blast shield covering a clear screen so he could see outside. The planet was in view, too much of it. Already the the Delraine dove into the atmosphere, a ball of flame falling angular to the ground. By the time he could see past the dispersing flames, the ground greeted the Delraine in a final embrace for the end of its maiden flight.

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When the Acting Captain of the Delraine awoke, it was immediate he'd been tossed from his ship in the crash. He tried to pull from his memory the last moments of the landing, but it didn't come. Perhaps this is Death, heard the river's quite nice. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the light above. The sun was unusually dull.

Kurai turned the light off, having confirmed response in her Commander's eyes. He was coming to now, the only remaining light was Magi venting from various sections of the scrap heap nearby. "Zaccy... You alright?" Her voice was so soft to Zaconis, almost as if it called to his fading life. But a quick shock to his spine and a pain suddenly arriving in his neck brought him to consciousness. A quick shock to get him into motion.

"Err... Yeah, Kurai... I'm.. Fine." It took him a moment longer to adjust to the darkness, and even when he did he could tell while he was in tact his equipment was anything but. His ablative armor was torn to shreds and even his kinetic shielding was shot and made strange sounds as the generator at his belt whirred in frustration to regenerate his shielding. A swift knock from his fist fixed the old, but reliable device. After all, it'd likely just saved his life.

The first thing on his mind was to make a status report, until he noticed the Drenjan woman laying on the ground next to him, her frame was still, unbreathing. Their comm specialist had died moments before he awakened, having refused to activate one of the secure kinetic fields during the crash. The crew dismissed this; just another death on a mission filled with so much already. Zaconis took a moment to see who was left.

Kurai, of course. Their only remaining stealth specialist, but her skills in Whight Magis made her the only one able to fulfill a roll as medic. She leaned over him, her emotionless, tan face set with eyes nearly pure of black, blue and red arteries lacing the edges. The Noiren moved from his way as he sat up, though.

Around him he saw the other three of his dwindling crew, once a proud thirteen now just five after Tretri's death. Thom was among the remaining few, as was Ontanias -an Awkwonai warrior-, and Vnkest --a Khent mechanic assigned to their ship only days before this wretched mission.

Zaconis regarded the stasis pod that floated nearby, under Ontanias' close guard. Within was their damnable objective, so precious to them yet even Zaconis was beginning to feel like it was to blame for their transgressions. But that was all for naught, now it was time to figure out where they were, and what they had left. While he was at it, Zac thought it wise to make an operational report.

With a sigh, he gave his orders, and began to make the recording in the dark night, the wreckage and torn ground illuminated in various shades of color behind him....

The day had started as normally as any other day had, and members of the Foxx Family were simply going about the day-to-day lifestyle they usually did.

"sometimes I wonder why mom and dad sent us on this little excursion..." a black-haired Clazmar mused to herself. it was mid-day before she pulled herself out of bed. her sisters, Zerlinda and Zimani were were in the heart of the town, Akobo, at the local academy. Zerlinda would come home first, and then Zimani shortly afterwards.

she almost felt sympathy for her younger sisters, as they couldn't roam the town at night as easily with the schedule the academy held, and Marcelina didn't want them taking the night rounds there. she'd rather they be at school when she was asleep, spend the evening with them, and then roam the town while they slept.
but, as the 15th hour approached, she decided that it was time to get up and start the day. she had been in bed for at least 8 or 9 hours, and so this was unacceptable.

she pulled herself up, and took a few moments to admire herself in the mirror; she was wearing nothing but a loincloth, as many Serenghe wore little more than that to bed. given her large wings and her athletic build, she certainly wasn't hard on the eyes. she grinned contently, before pulling on her pants and strapping some gloves on, sliding her fingers through the ends, where the tips poked out, and then strapping on the metal bracers around her forearms and hands. she glanced at her face one more time in the mirror and then decided that she might as well strap the band around her eyes again--it was a fun technique to impress her younger sisters, and helped her motion senses become more keen without her eyes to 'deceive' her.

she left her feet as well as her chest bare, and went outside. she glanced around at certain spots on the ground, then restoring her blindfold. she proceeded to shoot flames and perform kicks and flips with speed and accuracy. she spent several hours in this activity.

incidentally, Zerlinda and Zimani were not cooped up in a classroom either; at this point, their instructors were teaching them tips about how to better control their chi energy for when they would start using magic more regularly. their natural affinity for chi-based magic kept both of them as some of the top students in their class, and Zerlinda was likely to graduate the academy as the top student.

still... she had a life outside the academy and homework, and she too would eagerly anticipate the sounding gongs that signified the end of a class period, or in this case, the end of her school day.
"3... 2... 1..." she knew what time it was...

but then there were about 2 seconds of silence--THEN the gong sounded.
"dammit" Zerlinda swore in her head, "I was so close to calling it."
whatever the case, she, like many students her age, bolted once they heard that sound; school was out.

by the time she got home, Marcelina had put a shirt on, and also donned a massive warrior's belt. as was usual, she was donned in green, which contrasted her red feathered wings.

Zerlinda seemed eager to change out of her school uniform, but Marcelina stopped her by playfully tripping her. she got up and immediately took a stance.
Marcelina smirked. "you want to get your game on, baby sister?"

Zerlinda paused. "I should get out of these clothes first."
"Screw that." Marcelina argued, playfully pushing Zerlinda again, "we'll take it to the skies if you're so scared of getting dirty."
Zerlinda countered with a blast of water to Marcelina's face. this triggered their fight, and both Serenghe were swift and fast on their toes. they were still locked in aerial combat when Zimani got home from school. unlike her two sisters, both of whom had black hair, Zimani's hair was a striking shade of golden blond. ironically, she was not the oddity--the fact that two sisters had the same hair color without being twins was pretty remarkable in the Serenghe world. however, a quick look at their physical builds and features showed that the three girls were all sisters.

"hey!" she called out to them, "what are you doing?"
the two older sisters landed, their hair a mess, but otherwise both were okay.
"what's it look like, baby sis?" Marcelina cooed
"it looks like you forgot to invite me!" Zimani chirped.
there was a pause, and Zerlinda and Zimani exchanged looks
a few minutes later, they were back in everyday clothes; Zerlinda was glad in a loose long-sleeved tunic and similarly baggy pants, all in black, which matched her hair and wings; Zimani's pants were similarly black, but her tunic was short-sleeved and sky-blue, which matched her white wings and nicely contrasted her golden hair.

"So," Marcelina warned as her two younger sisters stepped outside again, "perhaps we should take this to the plains down south; less likely to hit something or burn something down."

"you're the only one that'll burn anything!" Zimani laughed.
"Then we're doing it because I'm in charge and I said so." Marci replied.
"fine." Zimani fake-sighed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

it was surprising just how much fun a few Serenghe could have with some sparring partners and some open land. the area they chose was a large barren area many acres wide, though around it were vast fields and plains. the area in question was likely barren because many other Serenghe probably had used this spot as sparring grounds as well.
as the sun dimmed however, they noticed something huge in the sky. Zerlinda noticed it first, pointing it out to her siblings, and soon the others were watching it too. it seemed to be coming towards their plains. the fled a few hundred yards northward, taking to the air, where they hovered to watch whatever was streaking towards their surface and blazing its way through their atmosphere.

it hit and exploded several minutes later, thankfully, several hundred yards south of where they had been sparring, so they would have likely been safe if they hadn't moved.
Zerlinda and Zimani shrieked when the impact came though, and they were a bit edgy and confused as to what had happened. immediately both younger girls wanted to investigate, but Marci objected.
"I'll g first." she replied, "you two can follow, but stay behind me."
the three sisters quietly flew towards the smouldering wreckage, where some dim lights could be seen. Marcelina, sing her keen motion senses, sensed shapes of what had to be sentiment life; creatures of some form, but they seemed larger than anything they had ever seen. she held out a gloved hand with her palm towards her sisters.
"stay back." she warned, "I'll see what's going on here, and let you know in Zaderic f it's safe or not--hopefully you two pay attention in class."

Zerlinda and Zimani nodded, and put their arms around each other, still slightly nervous. they admired their elder sister for her reckless bravery, and hoped that she would be alright.
slowly, from the shadows around the wreckage, a small figure came into view clad in green, with a headband now around her forehead instead of her eyes, she appeared to be cautiously stepping towards the lights, squinting and trying to see who--or what--was here, and what exactly had happened... or for that matter, any idea of what was going on...

Zaconis was going through his log, registering the active members of the crew. "Combat Specialist: Ontanias. Stealth and Acting Medical Specialist: Kurai Blackfang. Mechanical and Acting Technical Specialist: Vnkest 48. Co-pilot, Acting Pilot: Thom Percival. All previous operatives deceased. Status black. Communications Specialist Treti Alsai is Grey, but is unable to receive medical attention required. The Drackos-Prima squad is in nonoperational condition, but has retrieved the child.. The... Objective and was en route to Drenja. Unit encountered Magi-Engine malfunction and is stranded on unknown planet at time of this report." Zaconis paused for a moment, thinking to himself.

"Screw this One damnable formal crap... We're stuck 'ere, command. Not that you give a Cyanoud's arse about anything but this damn..." He sighed, displease obvious on his visage, even for the dragonesque features. "This -objective- as you so like to call has cost you eight fine operatives, one of which the last pride of the old Drenjans." His fangs showed in an equal to a sneer. "Our captain and crew killed by -AVATARS- that you refused to inform us about... Wait..." He trailed off lightly as he noticed the ash upon the ground he'd seated himself was changing into a strange, grey sand. It twisted into three little circles of the substance.

Another hissing sigh from the acting officer. There was company. "Close log," he said, turning the recording off before the automated voice could tone in. He stood quicker than normal, his legs bearing his weight more easily. It felt like he was on earth again, so he was not terribly new to it, but it had brought him to a light stumble, his feet treading heavily even in the lighter gravity, similar to Earth's but a good bit lighter than Drenja's. It made him feel sluggish, frankly. Perhaps this is what had made him too slow to react to Kurai's warning, or perhaps she too was fatigued; what stood before him was small, at least comparably so. The being before him was small, standing a good four Earth feet or so shorter than the rather tall Drenjan.

It... She, it seemed, was humanlike, but a good deal smaller, and winged. Zaconis had to squint his eyes to observe the being through his races nefariously poor night sight. He was a little confused on what to do, but he could tell the woman was empty-handed, asides: there was indeed a protocol for this. He raised his hands, wondering if the four-fingered claws would pose a threat, but his form was relaxed, laid back. His wings were spread only slightly, to show that he had them, and his tail was in plain sight, so as not to seem like he were trying to hide it.

The position was odd for a drenjan, making balance an issue, but the soldier stood still, calmly examining the small woman before him as he deliberately pulled out what seemed to be a sword handle. The motion was slow and obvious, and he tossed it to the ground.

"I am.. Unarmed. No weapons, little one," he said resuming the exposed position. He likely looked ever so odd, with his vibrant silver scales glinting every which color that hinted from the dull fumes left in the wreckage. Vnkest's equipment check had deemed the comm devices around each of the crew member's neck was functioning for translation both introverted and extroverted, but with the strange readings they were picking up from this planet before hurtling towards it, one never knew how Magi-Tech would function.

There were a few problems, he knew. He knew Thom and Vnkest were presently were scavenging the ship for anything of use, but he'd lost track of Ontanias, a definite mistake in any case. The other was knowing exactly where his stealth specialist was. At first even he didn't notice her, knowing her every habit and skill he spotted her scythe's glint in the darkness. She hid close to the new being, but it was foolish of her; even with being a specialist in stealth, they had no clue what these locals were like in the least. "Kurai... Disarm. Now."

The scythe slid into the light, where it shrunk down to just a small handle. Kurai herself was still crouched down, half-buried in the dirt. Even to odder senses she was hard to find, but she made herself known, watching the woman with lightless eyes, no emotions visible on her face. Her body was caked with mud and dirt, hair as well. She looked, smelled, and even felt like the ground to most senses minus touch-- This was no time for preparing an ambush, however, and despite her supposed calm, Kurai's commander knew she was just as stressed as the rest of the crew.

Right now, communication was key...

Marcelina's arms flared up with electricity and the claws on her hands and feet opened, but this was more out of surprise. what was in front of her was... well, in the dim light and with the number of strange lifeforms in front of her, it was hard to really tell. after what appeared to be the leader of them declared himself unarmed, Marcelina's posture seemed to relax a bit, and the elements around her hands disappeared.
...that was surprising. she could understand what he said... ether it was some sort of newfound magic, or by sheer coincidence, they spoke the same language. she doubted that they knew the secrets of the Old Zaderic language, and so she called out for her sisters to approach, but to do so with caution and not to make any sudden movements.

the other two girls appeared behind Marcelina, awestruck, and standing cautiously behind their older sister. they were not much shorter than Marci, simply because when a species was as small as Serenghe, height differences were also smaller. Zimani was no more than 2'8", Zerlinda was about 3'0", and Marcelina was around 3'4".

"I... who are you?" she asked, curious but also cautious. she glanced back at her sisters who seemed a bit nervous; she herself was not afraid, but could understand why the others were; here was a group of what were effectively aliens, and large ones at that; large and wingless except the one who had addressed Marcelina initially... but his wings were much more reptillian than anything Marci was used to.
"and..." she scratched her head, wondering if they could understand her, given that she was speaking what they as Serenghe knew as their 'common language', "and what brings you to Mencu?"

there were too many questions. and Marcelina wanted answers. instant trust was not a bond that had just formed here, but as long as they remained passive, so would the Foxx sisters. the younger two remained silent, mostly watching their elder sister confront these strange creatures, and trying to figure out what they were here for and who they were.

Marcelina put the side of her fist to her chest right around the front of her shoulderblade, and nodded her head slowly, which was a sign of peace and respect for the Serenghe. the last thing she wanted was to provoke any of them, lest they harm her, or worse, her sisters. she was not going to stop till she had answers, but she didn't see a reason to be hostile about it, which was why she was attempting to take the passive route.

The lightning caused both Kurai and Zac to jump lightly. To conjure such an element so easily made the both of them wide-eyed. Zaconis recovered quickly, though. Showing fear could almost be as bad as showing hostility, but the local eased up, and called back in something the communicators didn't pick up. Had she understood him? He wasn't surprised by the other two, nor was Kurai. It had been she who'd spotted them, and she who'd given him the signal. After all, even the darkest night was merely a cloudy day to a Noiren.

Kurai's tail twitched nervously, however. She was not one to stand so close to someone who could so willfully create such a complex element. She yearned for her scythe, but knew it unwise. Her eyes glanced to Zaconis, and finally the small woman, eldest of the three aliens it seemed, spoke in something the translators could handle well. In both directions, it seemed.

The questions she asked were simple, routine. Zaconis even remembered what the manual said to do when answering such in the situation, but he was never one to follow the rules when it really came down to it. Whatever kept what little of his team left alive was good enough for him.

"I am Zaconis, the tense lady with the tail there is Kurai. We're from another planet, no other way to explain it, but we... Are stuck here right now, and we don't want any trouble, lass. Might not mean much from an armored, giant lizard, especially if your lore speaks ill of Dragons, but I do mean it. We're just som' lost travelers trying to get home," he trailed off, he'd just learned the planet's name. Mencu. He had little clue if this is what the planet was called on galactic charts, but when they might establish communications it might help.

He also hated having to be subversive, but in such a situation it was required. He didn't know what was up their sleeve, but he already began to know they weren't going to trust easy. How could they when they stared what was undoubtedly two new, alien beings. Asides, Zaconis was no fool, if the first to arrive had elemental powers, the likely hood for racial affinity was high. He couldn't know for sure, but any one of these... Mencuans? Might have these abilities. This made each of them possibly armed, but then again that meant they were at least on level grounds.

"I'll just say it now. There's five of us, all different types of... Creatures, ya might say. Six including the child in the.. Err... Storage vessel over there." he motioned with his head to the odd, floating pod maybe seven feet in length. "You can call me Zac. And who are you?" He didn't want any violence, such was a foolish whim. Fortunately, unlike the rest of his crew, Zaconis had Kurai under control well enough, and she stood quietly by. She listened to him, unlike Ontanias.

The Commander didn't have time to think of the irony between the phrase he'd recently learned 'speak of the devil' and an Awkwonai's supposed demonic roots as an orange glow illuminated from around the farther corner of the ship's skeletal remains. Ontanias' athletic form was swift, her staff opening at one end, humming as energy gathered at it's tip visibly, pointed at the three beings she was swift to assume were unidentified hostiles, but she did not fire the cannon, but instead began slurring words together harshly. Three tones of the same voice, but each pronouncing different syllables.

Zaconis could only sigh with excessive loudness and plant his hand over his snout in shame. He did, however, try and repeat the strange little woman's motions, forming a fist to his chest and nodding. An awkward motion for the elongated neck, but one to match none-the-less. After, he cast a most wicked glance Ontanias' way, one that even caused the proud Awkwonai to cease her loud, angry slurs. He got how stressed this mission had made all their crew, but there would be no excuse for any further messes, not that they weren't already in one.

He could only cast his almond-irised eyes back to this feather-winged woman and hope they wouldn't take ill to the intimidation of an Awkwonai.

Their introductions were... unusual. they had names, which made sense, but trying to decipher what they were or where they came from... all that Marcelina knew was that they were definitely not from around here. she had heard the lore that other worlds existed, though other than the proof standing in front of them now, had never seen or heard anything to support this theory... or fact, as it was more properly called now.

Zerlinda muttered something in Zaderic to Zimani, who nodded. the former of the two then muttered something similar to Marcelina, who nodded. whatever was said seemed to placate the two younger girls, who remained silent, and both heaved reassured sighs.

"I am Marcelina Zanzu Foxx," the eldest of the girls replied, "This is my sister, Zerlinda Mulanza Foxx," she pointed to the teen, "and my other sister, Zimani Mulanza Foxx." she pointed to the golden-haired child. err... how do you intend to get home?"
this was a question that was very much laced solely with curiosity. whatever was smoldering behind them didn't look like it would take them very far at this point. sure spreading one's wings and flying home was an easy and viable option for Serenghe, but if these folks were not from Mencu at all... well, then any knowledge of figuring how to get them back to... wherever they came from... was beyond Marcelina's knowledge, which left her curious and intrigued. it seemed that this question also aroused the curiosity of her two sisters, who seemed equally interested all of a sudden.

they smiled when the dragon--'Zac', as he called himself, imitated Marcelina's motion. hopefully he understood what it meant, as far as it being a sign of peace or friendship. however, they did not take very kindly to what appeared to be intimidation from the creature with the staff. all three girls immediately spread their wings and bared their claws, hissing threateningly in her direction. such was a Serenghe's intimidation reflex, triggered when they were either very angry, or when they felt threatened. given that they were perfectly find the moment before, this reflex was most likely caused by the latter trigger. however, the lack of elements forming on their hands meant that they did not intend to attack this early on, but they were suddenly very much warier, including the 18-year-old and the 11-year-old. they closed their hands and folded their wings back up only after Zaconis gave her what had to be some sort of threatening expression or gesture, because it seemed to put her back into line--at least a little.

"We mean not to provoke, nor do we wish to be provoked." she nodded at Zaconis, though her tone was polite--he had not wronged the girls, and so they saw no reason to be harsh with him yet. curiosity kept the tension thick, neither side knowing what the other side was capable of.
Marcelina was definitely the warrior of the group, but she didn't randomly attack anything until she knew what it was or how to defeat it. after all, there were creatures even on Mencu that could deflect some or all of the elements if one's moves were not right, and she didn't want to take chances. the three sisters nearly craned their necks to get a good look at him nonetheless. the younger two especially were very curious still.

Conflict was indeed least of what Zaconis or his crew needed. Ontanias damn near ruined anything if it didn't require conflict in her flustered state. But it was clear now that the tension between the two groups was merely due to both facing the unknown. Zaconis breathed deeply to better compose himself, but took a more casual stance, wings folded and tail strewn on the ground.

"Marcelina. Zerlinda. Zimani. It's good to meet you, if only it weren't under such... Circumstances. And please don't mind Ontanias," he motioned with a hand in the aggravated Awkwonai's direction. "She has lost many of her kin on this damnable voyage, but she will bring no harm to you so long as you do likewise...." He stopped as they asked how they were to get home. He honestly had no clue, and he ruffled his wings instinctively, but knew this was not likely the gesture shared among these people.

"Home... Is very far away." He looked back to the mess behind him. Their ship was just a scrap heap. The Magi Engine had already failed even on the fringe of the atmosphere. It'd not work in the least here. They had long ago lost their galactic comm systems. "I fear we are stuck until we can make contact with our homes.... And the only one who could...." He looked to the body upon the ground, her scales much darker than his, and her muscles more lean. It only then occurred to him how different he must seem to these people.

It was not unheard of for new species to be found, in fact it was beginning to occur quite frequently up until this war began, but he was not about to mention these things. He had no clue what traditions, technology nor culture they had.

"No provoking shall be had, then... We're just... Out of options for getting home, it seems." He sighed, looking at the ground a moment in thought. Kurai had slipped to his side, though Ontanias still stayed at ready with her staff, it had closed. Her armor, though poor in coverage, made her warrior nature obvious, but she was calm now, at least as calm as an Awkwonai got in such tension.

"Is there anywhere we can take shelter? We'd be willing to share what food, technology or service we can, and answer the myriad of questions I'm sure you have. If not, I can understand the burden would be great. In the very least, we ask you inform others not to approach. We'll put out our fires and leave your people be if you wish. Either way, we're sorta stuck until we can find a way home, or a ride off of Mencu."

They seemed to have caught on that their other language was left ununderstood by his group. He didn't want to provoke any further sore feelings, but it put Ontanias more on edge, and Kurai felt suspicious as well. Zac knew, however, that it was no time to ask these Mencuans to cease such. Both parties were at the mercy of the other until all was made clear.

Zerlinda and Zimani remained quiet, but nodded up at Zaconis after his remark. Marcelina continued to be the spokeswoman for the group.

"Fair enough," she nodded, "just make sure she stays in check then..."
"Aye," Zerlinda added, "if you provoke Marci too much she'll attack!"
Zerlinda's words were playful, but true. Serenghe were not known for being creatures to turn the other cheek, but they were not aggressors for no reason.

"Zer!" She barked in Zaderic, "Shaddup!"
she turned back to the others as her younger sisters giggled, scratching her head awkwardly.
"Uh... she's sort of right though..." she confessed, "we're uh... kinda... easily provoked to combat..."
she looked down at her feet awkwardly, having basically just confessed that they were in fact dangerous and quick to become hostile. it wasn't her intent, but she guessed that she might as well not try to be deceptive.
"but aye... I hope not to become combative. sorry about that." she elbowed Zerlinda fiercely in the gut.

"it sounds like you're definitely in a fix," Marcelina stated the obvious, though she was only doing so to kill a few moments as she thought of where they could go, especially without being noticed. their own curiosity had drawn them towards these creatures, and they figured that others would be the same way. that would just cause more trouble and disruptive, and they didn't want that.

suddenly, it hit Marci where they could go. if there was anyone who they could tell about this without having her spread the secret, it was Zurok.

"I think I know of a place--we're rooming with an older woman named Zurok Takamatzu. she'll definitely be as interested in where you came from as we are, and so if you don't mind conversing, then she will probably be glad to take you in till you can get back to, uh... wherever you call home."
there was a brief Zaderic conversation between the girls, who all seemed to agree that taking them to Zurok's Estate would be a good idea.

"Y'need any help here before we go there?" Marcelina offered, "my sisters and I will be glad to help so we can get you out of the way and stuff... wait too mkuch longer and someone will see the fires or smoke or something..."
she turned and almost glared at her sisters--she had volunteered their services to get back at them, and she grinned smugly. she then turned back to Zac, waiting for a response.

"I'll ensure she's less... Provocative in the future." Zac said, catching a deathly glance from Ontanias for his unusually playful quip. "Asides, being easily provoked is something an Awkwonai, Ontanias' people, can relate to."

It wasn't unexpected that the commotion had finally aroused the attention of the remaining crew. Thom shifted his way out of the carcass that was once the Delraine, leaning against the battered frame of the semi-large ship while he watched with intrigue his Commander's exploits, though only after shouldering a large bag with what few rations and munitions they had remaining. Vnkest himself, or rather his exosuit, came from the cargo hold's blast door. The suit was similar to a hounds, but only the tailless form thereof. It was black as midnight with no fur, nor details, just the shape of a hound with the only markings being glowing violet patterns like veins across the metallic body. Both seemed to remain uninvolved as their commander spoke for them.

Asides, the entire crew liked the sound of a place to stay and ward off their fatigue. Even Ontanias lowered her staff. "It'd be much appreciated," she said in her stern voice, uncharacteristic for the statement she gave. But even to an Awkwonai, offering tired soldiers a place of rest was a notion of peace.

"Alright.. I only need to care to our dead and we can be on our way.." He paused, looking to the fallen Drenjan that lay only feet from him. She was motionless there on the ground, the only hint of damage the trail of crimson from her partially openned mouth. All the damage had been internal trauma from the crash. Undoubtedly there was much unseen bleeding within.

Zaconis got to the first portion of the pyre, folding his dead comrade's hands over her stomach. Were she a warrior, the position might have been different, but one major detail was always the same. He splayed out her wings as she lay on her back, making it seem as they were fully extended, though he left her head in the position it was, looking to the left. The next step often took at least two Drenjan, but Zaconis would have to do it alone. Fortune have it, his breath was stronger than others of his kind, anyways. He stood over his ally's body, inhaling deeply until the plates upon his chest nearly separated from the expansion there. Upon releasing, fire curled out from Zaconis' jaw, burning a brilliant white as it descended upon Treti Alsai. The flames wrapped about her form, consuming slowly every inch, the brightness blocking all from sight.

His weariness took the best of him, and Zaconis wavered uneasily, nearly brought to his knees before his inferno ceased. There where the woman had died was a pile of ashes, but the 'burial' was yet over. Another inhalation, this one sharp and brief. It did not bring fire, but a prompt gust of air, scattering the ashes in the wind as a cloud of dust. Only when the cloud had settled did the true purpose of the pyre make itself known. There, immortalized on the ground was the crystallized silhouette of the Drenjan who had laid there moments before, now a solid crystal in the semblance of a dragon in flight. The shape was rough about the edges, but Zaconis had done a fine job for doing so alone.

The Commander fell to his knees, catching his breath deeply to reconstitute himself from the effort. "Alright," he spoke between breaths. "We can leave, now... Kurai... Regroup after you've concealed the crash.... Can't have everyone... Rummaging about our ship, yeah?"

He stood slowly after he'd gathered himself, and nodded to Marcelina, who was the unwitting spokeswoman for her people. "If ya don't mind, lead the way?"

Marcelina gave an approving nod. "good combat and elemental skills will get a Serenghe far in Mencuan society." she pointed out, "bonus points to those who are hard to provoke, like the Serenes Clans."
she was not intending to point fingers; she was a warrior though, not a charmer, and so sometimes her words came off blunt like that.

the sisters noticed the other crew members at this point, and were still in a bit of awe and wariness from their appearances. most of them were tall--really tall.
"it has to be Zurok's manor..." Marcelina mused to herself, "unless we had a palace or something as an option... they won't fit in most homes."

Marcelina nodded at the woman who had almost picked a fight with her a moment ago--Ontanias, her name was; Marci remembered, and was proud of herself.
"Aye... hopefully Zurok will agree to it then." she nodded at her, but also towards Zac, and their whole crew for that matter. she was guessing on a whim. she assumed that Zurok would be interested in who they were and there they were from, and that that would be enough for her to share hospitality. knowledge was always one of the easy ways to buy out Zurok.

the girls were willing to wait... okay, maybe not, but Marcelina was willing to wait which meant that Zerlinda and Zimani would wait too. a quick exchange of Zaderic words verified this, and their groans indicated that they'd rather not wait for whatever it was Marci told them to wait for.
incidentally, she had told them nothing of why they were waiting, just that they were waiting. she liked tormenting them like that. Being the "responsible big sister" had its perks.

the way they cared for the dead was... interesting, to say the least. all three girls watched bug-eyed, and despite their different eye and hair colors, seeing them all with identical shocked expressions made it abundantly clear that they were very obviously related. the whole time, they were generally just speechless.

after it was done, Zimani whispered something to Marcelina, who said it aloud.
"So... you're going to conceal that uh... monument thing too, right?"
it was a curious question, and frankly, Marcelina didn't have anything against its presence. it was probably really beautiful in the sunlight. however, Serenghe would immediately recognize it as something that was not their craft, and this would prompt all sorts of searching, which they said they didn't want.

"otherwise," Marcelina continued, "let's get back to Zurok's manor."
it was more like "Zurok's estate--a large building on a similarly large parcel of land, though it was out of town and surrounded by rocks, trees, and even a river. it seemed like a mansion surrounded by a little piece of paradise, which made sense given Zurok's love of the outdoors.

"hopefully," Marci nodded as they approached it, "some of the rooms will be big enough for y'all..."
when they approached the large doors, which were about 8 feet in height, Marcelina stopped and turned to Zerlinda. she instructed her in Zaderic, and Zeralinda stepped forward, closing her eyes as if concentrating on something. a moment later, she knocked on the door.

a moment later, a small woman slightly shorter than Macrelina opened the large door. unlike the sisters, this woman appeared to be a very sophisticated lady. her silver hair was done up into a loose bun that had strands hanging out of it, and it almost matched her white wings. her clothing was dark red and very formal, as she was in a dark red dress that only showed her hands and head. she was an older woman, but it seemed she had aged very well, and given the way Serenghe aged, this even said something. anyone unfamiliar with Serenghe aging would never guess her age, but those who could would put her somewhere in her late 250s. her golden eyes complemented her large smile, though her lips were closed, and thus her sharp Serenghe teeth were not exposed.

"Welcome back, Zerlinda, Zimani; Marcelina," she said sweetly, "and these must be the friends you told me about a few moments ago... well, come in, come in...

she invited them into a large common room... living room? it was hard to really describe the room, other than that it was very spacious, being even higher than the door. a few hallways branched off from it, some taller than others, which was sort of an indicator of which places were more formal versus more private.

"take a seat if you want," she offered, "make yourselves at home... or I suppose making do with what fitting sizes we have, will have to do."

she asked Zerlinda in the common langauge which of them was their leader/spokesperson, and after Zerlinda nodded pointing at Zaconis, Zurok nodded and thanked her. the girls dieappered down one of the smaller hallways for a moment, presumably towards a bedroom or something.

Zurokjumped a few feet in the air to hover around Zaconis' height so she wouldn't have to crane her neck.
"My condolences for your losses, and perhaps even for the fate you suffered here on Mencu." she said in a very polite tone. Zurok was a woman of many words, most of which were either some sort of riddle, or were cryptic anyways. then again, there was no telling what Zerlinda had communicated to her before she knocked on the door. foresight was one of Zurok's many abilities, after all.

"I am Zurok Mia Takamatzu. I will not be so intrusive at this hour nor when those present are so weary... I only wish for a few social pleasantries so I am familiar with those I am allowing into my home."
she put her fist to her chest and gave a respectful nod the same way Marcelina had, and waited for these newcomers to react to what had been said and done.
"unless the lot of you wanted to discuss it outside, she motioned behind her towards another large hallway, "I've got a beautiful courtyard for those who dislike the indoors."
this was mostly her own personal want, but she was also not picky. if she didn't get her way, she always had a way around it, a plan B... or something.
right now though, she was mostly just insanely curious as to who the people the Foxx sisters had brought home were, where they came from, what they were doing, and how they were going to get back to where they came from.

Ontanias seemed to take a reaction opposite to what one might have expected from the unintended. She remained passive. Perhaps she, to, was too worn for any real action. Not that her pride would let her show any true fatigue.

Zaconis had been too clouded by his own weariness to think of the consequences of a burial. "Kurai," he said, motioning to the crystal that even caught glints in the night. The Noiren nodded curtly, silently. But the ship was ever priority and she made her way off to begin hiding the ship and marks of it's crash. She would do quite excellently at it, especially with the Noiren so keen to swift naps to revitalize themselves for hours. Her head would be clear for the work.

----------------------------------------------------------

The place to which the remaining crew was lead -stasis pod with their 'objective' in tow- was no manor even by Alliance standards. It was too sizable and likely held ownership to the land surrounding its walls as well. Marcelina intimated the plausible nature of them not fitting in the structure, and he caught the comical nature of how he'd not thought of such. Perhaps it was merely so simple to be easily forgotten.

"So long as my crew has a haven here, we'll make do with whatever we can get. I thank ya for your aid, as well. My manners are... Ill kept with recent events."

The woman who answered the door was obviously more wealthy a class, or perhaps it was Zac's assumptuous nature to think so of the clothes she wore and the way she carried herself. As it were, she invited the crew of strangers in, if he were more conscious perhaps he'd wonder exactly why, but his thoughts barely even noticed the bareness of which he could enter the doorway. He'd likely need to duck the inner doors to enter other rooms, but this larger one did well for his height.

A seat, though, was out of the question for a Drenjan. Here he probably weighed somewhere around half a ton with scales, plates and weapons together. In fact, his mind noted again the similarity to earth's gravity, and that his flight would not be so tasking as it would on his home world. Perhaps he could get some time in with the clouds to clear his mind in the morning.

Such was far from the time and place, presently. Thom took a seat, and Vnkest was too busy ambling about, a beam of light from his exosuit's "snout" passing over several distinctive objects of the room. Ontanias would not cease standing until it was her time to sleep and another of the crew were wakeful enough to guard the others. She always knew it unwise to let one's guard down entirely, even in the presence of hospitality.

"I think I'll stand for now, thank you... Not really wise to the idea of breaking what could very well be expensive furnishings." He gave a ruffle of his wings, but then a shrug -- learned from the only conscious Human in the room himself.

" Damn... These seats are some form or so of comfy. Yer missin' out, Zac." Thom... As bombastic as ever as he leaned back in the small seat, like an overgrown man in a child's chair. A toothy grin was on his face, though covered in grime he was he seemed to dismiss the fact that he was spreading smudged of ash, dirt and grease over furniture he'd made himself so comfortable in.

Zac gave a light pass with a show of fang in his direction, to no avail. But he was directly affronted by this new woman with white wings and hair silvery to match the Commander's own scales. She mentioned losses so readily. Was it something mentioned by the others? Zac dismissed it entirely, his mind would not want to even remember this in the morning. "Thanks... But as of yet, we've not a fate here on your world thus far..." He trailed off with a breath.

"I am Zaconis Drafenguard. My people stray from middle names, but my family title is Silverscale, and my personal title is Heaven's Flame... And I can only hope the latter doesn't translate poorly in your language. As for pleasantries, we can endure if it means a place to rejuvenate ourselves. Ah, but forgive my forgetful mannerism. 'Tis a pleasure, Zurok" he gave her motions in turn, his claw clenched to his chest and the awkward nod en suite. By now it was obviously a sign of peace, or perhaps greeting, either way a friendly Serenghe gesture he'd keep in mind.

He let his body return to a casual stance, meeting the woman eye-to-eye as she floated on nothingness. His eyes were fiery orange globes with no hint of white, and black vertical slits for pupils. "Indoors is fine, ma'am."

None of the Serenghe sisters thought much of the monument as to leaving it there. it didn't bother them, and would not likely bother anyone else--just garnet an excessive amount of attention of curiosity, and maybe some doomsayers rambling about how it's some sort of long-lost prophecy that dated all the way back to the 41st Age or something.

but, no matter. it seemed they had it under control.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Marcelina chuckled at his remark. "Zurok's interesting like that," she remarked, "as much as she emphasizes manners in her own life, she doesn't worry so much about the behaviors of others. well, as long as they ain't too blatant. but aye, sue puts up with me... so... heh."

Zurok seemed utterly unfazed by any of their behaviors. she put up with Zerlinda and Zimani's mischief all the time, and had enough magic ability to keep them--and her entire estate--in check by herself. She had seen much and done much--little bothered her anymore.

"Suit yourselves," she nodded politely, "make yourselves comfortable however you wish nonetheless."
Marcelina reappeared and took a seat in the room as well, though she did not say anything. it seemed that the other two sisters were either in bed or playing in one of the back rooms, at this hour, it was hard to tell.

Zurok seemed amused by Zaconis' remark about fate, and listened politely to his greeting and introduction.
"do not fear, Drafengard Zaconis," she cooed, "I am unaware of such a title being poorly translated in our culture..."
One of many formal or respectful ways Serenghe addressed each other was to say their surname or middle name before their last name. the exact formula was actually simply to choose any two of their three names, and say them in reverse order.

"though with fate..." she continued, smiling sweetly, "that's one of the beauties of Mencu..." she remarked when he was done, "the fates and the Seren are always watching, even if they don' intervene. The intrinsic magic of this world and of the Serenghe affects everyone, including us Serenghe itself. nonetheless, I digress. I bid you a fond welcome to Mencu, the Serenghe's playground. I suppose that there is little purpose in beating around the bush, and so I suppose cutting to the chase is in order. From what young Zerlinda tipped me off with, it seems that you are trapped without a means of departing here. I am curious as to what you and your crew's intentions are in regards to rectifying this problem, as well as how, or if, I can be of assistance."

she was recklessly forward, and would not likely apologize for it. if it was too forward, she would not pursue the subject in that manner, and would instead take a different approach, but she saw little need to try and sugar-coat the ugly truth. Zerlinda had explained that there was some sort of machine that crashed, and that that was there these visitors had come from. Zurok didn't mind their presence, and had only assumed that they would want to get things together so they could continue on their way--clearly if Zerlinda's tale were to be believed, their arrival here was an accident.

"Know of course, that you are welcome here, as well as on Mencu, as long as you wish... I ams imply under the impression that your arrival here was an accident, and thus a desire to return from whence you came, or somewhere similar, would be imperative. Do not feel pressured, however. only share with me what you see fit, if that even entails anything at all..."

Marcelina raised an eyebrow in Zurok's direction, not really understanding what was going through Zurok's mind at the moment, but she was sure that the old lady's mind was already concocting some sort of devious scheme of some sort. she hoped that it wasn't something malevolent, but she just never knew with Zurok.
Zurok nodded politely as Zaconis returned the friendly gesture, and she hovered softly in place, a patient expression on her face as she waited for an explanation. her dainty shoes poked out from beneath her dress, as her feet were dangling about 3 or 4 feet from the ground.

The Commander was glad the translation went smoothly. More than once, he'd face some that gave him a strange look, as the Drenjan word for their glorious afterlife with their ancestors often could translate to a word like heaven, haven or holy. However, it also has been known to translate simply as Death's Flame, which often found much mistrust for him around those who heard as much.

Zaconis was a tad confused as Zurok went into speaking of fates and Seren, but when she mentioned accidents, something scratched at the back of his thoughts. A muffled tone in the silence of a tired mind. But she cut to the chase, and there was a question floating on the air, and he was eager to get his crew to rest, himself as well. He'd have to think on it after some sleep.

"Well... I can't say we'll be flying off of your planet to mine any time soon.. I think that a bit of time could get us a signal out yonder," he pointed up with a claw. "The signal might take some time to reach another...." Hand going slack, he realized that they may not realize what a signal was, given he'd yet to see an ounce of notable technology since arriving. "We'll send a message back home, with help of the little critter nosin' around." He motioned with a hand in the direction of Vnkest, still searching about with the odd light, as if looking for something. Khent were eccentric beings, and Zaconis couldn't really explain such well.

"But once our higher-ups get our message, they'll come get us... But.... Such a message could take a while to construct, much less send. I'm no scientist, either, so I've got no solid numb-"

"Unit detects inferior technological levels. Vnkest acknowledges operator codes in light of Khent remarks on underdeveloped species' technologies. Requesting access to alleviate these codes for status report." The 'dog' spoke in a voice distorted with static. Even with slowing down, it was fast, and sounded utterly prosthetic.

Zaconis would have face-palmed if he knew the motion, but as it stood Vnkest was their only scientist left, despite Khent being so.. Direct in their observations. "Access denied, Vnkest... I'm sorry about him." An apologetic bow of the head.

"But we'll have to get to that in the morning. We cannot think, plan nor act on sleepless thoughts. I beg your forgiveness of such..." It was unfortunately true. Little was done well during fatigue. "So if it is alright with you, might I dismiss my team into your homage?"

Zurok nodded and listened, being one of the rare few who, while she talked a lot, was also a ready listener.
"so they are from another world... all the more reason for me to try and delve into the Sacred Realms to dig up history like this. this is surely not the first time there has been contact with other worlds... I must say that it amuses me... interests me... but alas, such things can wait. I have more pressing matters to deal with."

"well..." she nodded, "I do hope you are not under the impression that we want you gone so soon. a swift flight would be good to avoid attention, but apart from that, I see no reason to rescind my welcome."

Zurok nodded politely at Zaconis' apology. "Apology accepted" she smiled, "to belittle the technological prowess of the Serenghe is in theory something that would not bother us, as few are aware of its history. most simply take pride in the other inherent abilities we possess...
...which brings me to ask... how do you intend to communicate with them? are they familiar with foresight? do they possess some sort of device or set of devices? it seems even among us Serenghe, everyone does things differently, and I am both curious and wishing to assist in any way if I can. apart from that... aye, you and your crew can feel free to make themselves at home as well as my accommodations can provide. I apologize my rudeness, and hope that you can rest as well as its size allows, at the very least."

she had spent most of the morning asleep herself, so Zurok was likely to be up into the night. Serenghe didn't exactly have circadian rhythms that were predictable.

"Foresight?... Some do hold the gift, but not any that I know of. Probably never will know a seer, frankly... Err... Unless they're common here." But such was more or less off topic. "Well. We need a set of devices, and then they'll have a set of devices. Ours will... 'speak' to the ones on my home planet... This message will take some time to cross the distance from here to there. Think of... Flying across your world to tell someone something. Takes a while to fly greater distances, yeah?"

His team was getting restless now.. Well.. Thom and Ontanias were. Vnkest was merely sour of his request receiving denial. He'd even stopped scanning his surroundings, the hound sitting like a dog might. "Ah... Drackos-Prima, dismissed. Marcelina... Could you show my squad to wherever they might rest? Beds would be fine, even if they might be short."

The Commander's attention returned to Zurok, and he looked her over a moment. "Unfortunately, unless your kind has intergalactic communications with direct magis or temporal signalling technology, I fear creating a device will be difficult... Not sure if we can work from scratch. But for now, I need rest just as much as my team... If it's not too unconventional, if I could get comfort on the ground floor on something that won't break I'd be appreciative..." Already he knew: his height and weight would bring him much trouble...

[OOC--I apologize if this is crappy. it's probably riddled with spelling errors that I was too tired to catch ><]

"Well..." Zurok cooed, "you *are* standing in front of one... but no worries. if constructing a device is what you require in order to communicate over such distances, I will be pleased to help in what ways I can. I admit that I may be a bit behind on some of your technological terms... but I am an open mind and am more than happy to learn such things."

Here, Zurok more or less gave away her objective in life.while not even Zerlinda and Zimani knew of it, that was more or less the basis for everything that Zurok Mia Takamatzu ever did.

"rest, rest..." she mused, "I suppose that either this room or the common room between it and the courtyard would suit the likes of you best. most of the bedrooms have much smaller doors, being much more private areas. the room behind this one is not quite so open though, and so a healthy amount of privacy would remain. Marcelina, if you would...?"

Marcelina grunted, pulling herself to her feet. she approached the door on the opposite side of the room, briefly turning around. from here, she could see the front door. either way, she opened the large doors into another similarly-sized room with similar furniture and decorations and the likes. Zurok followed her.

"I do apologize again for the insuitability," she remarked, the difference in size never seemed to be a problem until now." she half-chuckled, only because she did in fact find the drastic height differences between them and Serenghe quite amusing.
"As for you, Master Zaconis... I am afraid I cannot think of something to comfortably accommodate your weight and size without simply falling apart."
she seemed rather sincere about it as well, but also indicated that she was open to any suggestions he might have. after all, Zurok had many resources at her fingertips, both natural and artificial.

Were he more aware, Zaconis would have been taken aback by the seer abilities of the one before him. He'd not before met one, but in both legends and the war that now plagued his people and the Alliance, Seers were rarely anything but trouble.. After all, it'd been one who lead to the deaths of Drenja's finest on this damned mission. His slowed thoughts were ever guarded, yet seeds of distrust couldn't help but plant themselves deep into his consciousness. Now was nary a time for such weeds to be tended, however.

"I'm.. Glad you are willing to help. We are strangers here; guests in many ways. There is naught but appreciation for allowing us haven here." A pause, he thought to himself a moment before continuing. "We could set up and rest in the common room This way we could be out of sight as well should you have other guests. I can make do with the floor or outside, myself, but if you wouldn't mind I could have some of my crew retrieve some mattresses of your choosing and move the furniture already present. But I don't want to intrude and dishonor your kindness like such if it would be considered disrespectful."

The tone was overly official, but then again fatigue did that to Zac. In the morning, he'd be much more himself. Well as much as possible in the present situation-- such was true for the others who remained, as well.

[OoC:Sorry for the length.]

Zurok nodded sweetly. "move what you must, arrange what you will." she cooed, "provided there is no lasting damage, that is... as for mattresses and such, there are a few... Marcelina, be a dear and fetch them, would you please?"

Marcelina got up without a word and disappeared down a flight of stairs. it seemed that Zurok's manor also had a wealth of subterranean space and storage. perhaps there were parts of it that were more public in nature, but this particular flight of stairs was small, similar to the bedroom hallways. it seemed that the large rooms were the more formal and public ones, while smaller ones were bedrooms or private storage areas. there was also at least one ritual hall down in the basement, but a Serenghe's ritual hall was like his or her bedroom--each one was personal to the one who owned it. Zurok's ritual halls were some of the most extensive due to her hobbies and interests, but few save those who ventured down there knew it.

after a few trips, Marcelina had returned with 6 or 7 mattresses, which, while large for Serenghe, were still on the smaller side for most folks bigger than them. putting a few side-by-side was possile and all that, nonetheless.

"is there anything else we can do for you?" Zurok asked, after she had dismissed Marcelina, who seemed ready for bed herself. "in the morning if I am not around, Marcelina should be nearby... she always studies in the main common room for at least a few hours, and by that time I'm around for business. otherwise... I do hope the lot of you sleep well, given the circumstances..."

[OOC--and we can probably skip to morning after your post if none of your crew needs anything, because if they don't, Zurok and Marcelina are going to turn in for the night as well, and I don't want to waste a whole post just to say that. xP]

Marcelina brought up the mattresses, notifying Zaconis of the presence of at least storage downstairs. It'd be rude of him to ever really search the house, as protocol would demand of him. Asides, to hell if he'd break a wing -no easy feat for a Drenjan- to fit into such a small port. But his mind was wandering... Again. "I think you've done quite enough, thanks. We have rations to support us, so we needn't food nor water for a bit, either. My team can take it from here," with this he motioned with a claw.

Ontanias entered the common room, instinctively checking to ensure the room was secure, Thom followed her with the stasis pod floating before him, pushed easily with a hand. Vnkest was actually the one to bring the mattresses behind them, a lash of violet energy attaching itself to each of the beds, dragging them with ease. Once they were in, they began moving the furnishings. Rather Thom began pondering where they'd bed themselves whilst Ontanias and Vnkest seemed to almost subconsciously compete with who could move more. Surprisingly, Zaconis knew in the back of his mind Vnkest would win this competition with his 'tow cables'.

Meanwhile, though, Zaconis gave the Mencuan motion as he dismissed himself from his hostess' presence. "Goodnight ma'am. And you as well, Marcelina." He joined his crew, but they'd already assembled the furnishings in unusually organized stacks, one next to either exit. The only other furniture that remained from this stack was a shelf, contents neatly moved elsewhere, and a table. The table was dead center of the room, and the shelf to one side, with equipment already loaded onto it. Even tired, they were still the best in the Drenjan Alliance Ascendant Operations and worked quickly, efficiently and precisely. Now, though, Vnkest was reviewing their equipment-- something Zaconis would know he'd soon be given a full report on before he'd get a chance for some shut-eye.

Thom had arranged the mattresses near this pseudo equipment locker, in various numbers and positions depending on who was to sleep in them. But he hadn't really figured what to do for Zaconis. "Sorry, Zac... Just dun have a clue how you'd -not- crush the mattresses. Even on..." He paused for a moment, but quickly made it seem he was just stifling a yawn. "Even on Earth, you kinda weighed a ton, what wit' yer plating and sword. An' I know ya can't do much about the plates."

His commander waved this off, approaching a spot on the floor near the stasis pod -which all the beds surrounded- and sat his happy tail down while Ontanias closed the door. Of course, he had to give his orders before he slept. "Ontanias, you and Vnkest are on first shift, then Vnkest and Kurai. If Blackfang isn't back by then, wake me." He laid down, interrupted as predicted by Vnkest, tapping his comm device with his exosuit's 'snout' to transfer the data.

As Zac looked it over, he realized they didn't have much left. Even more personal weapons and equipment had been lost or damaged. What they did have, of course, would serve them well enough, though. They had nine days of water, but the planet could provide plenty of such, he was sure. They had barely enough for more than just one day of food. If rationed, they could make it last perhaps a week, but he thought this too could be solved locally. But it was the rest that drew Zaconis' attention.

He himself had his wrist-mounted fractal blaster. Made with power cells filled with what Humans called "Plasma." Would work in any magic conditions, thus his choice for it at a range. It normally just looked like a scaled gauntlet and nearly blended in with his owns scales. Also was his Kinetic barrier, which Vnkest had sub-noted was in "inoperable condition," but Zac only smirked at this. Yeah it was depleted from damage in the crash, but it would do him well. His sword was always present, ready to fold out into full glory. But his ablative armoring, and his long blade were both lost in the crash or on Earth.

Kurai had each of her own pieces, scythe, bow and all. Only one of her gravity-distorion gauntlets was in working order, however. A terrible loss, to be sure.

Thom managed to keep his personal Fractal pulse rifle, and two of the four cells he'd kept on him. But his other devices were all lost. His knife would do him little good, but he always kept it for something more sentimental anyways. His Kinetic dampener was functioning poorly, but still well enough, it seemed. The rifle would be handy if anything went sour, for sure. But Zac hoped this planet would do less ill than the last.

Ontanias was practically a mobile armory, given she'd adopted the weapons of her fallen comrades in respects to her people's traditions. She hadn't allowed Vnkest to touch them, but she had her staff, her sister's gauntlets, and her other comrade's gruesome bio spikes. All of which Zac prayed she wouldn't find reasons to use, but were she to find accident, her armor would fulfill its basic functionality despite its shields being completely unfunctional.

Vnkest complied with Alliance regulations in exempting his "personal armada of devices and the like."

What concerned Zac the most wasn't rations or weapons, however... It was their complete and utter lack of medical supplies. The med bay had been trashed in the crash, vented with Magi that ruined any supplies to unsalvagable. That would present problems, since he knew nothing of the Serenghe's medical capabilities, and Kurai was lacking in the complex magical knowledge to heal severe wounds. Not to mention, the stasis pod that kept their charge in a safe, hazardless sleep was predicted to fail late into the next day.

He didn't want to deal with it until morning, however. Sleep took him before he could really think or do aught else.

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With morning came noise. Trouble, but at least he slept 'till morning, meaning Kurai safely returned. Vnkest was clicking and screeching in his equivalent of an ear, waking him abruptly, but he was up, on his feet quickly in the lighter gravity, blade in its handle form at ready. It took a moment to realize that there was little strange but Ontanias and Thom stirring from their own slumbers. Kurai was gone, however.... And the Stasis Pod was powerless, laying at an odd angle on the ground, hatch wide open.

"Dammit, Kest, slow down. Translators can't take it." Growling at this misfortune, he was at least thankful his mind was working quickly. "Ontanias, follow Vnkest. You comm in if you find anything. Thom, stand guard here, hold things down until I return."

"But Zac-"

"No time, Thom, stay!" Ontanias and Vnkest rushed towards the front of the manor, and Zac took to the courtyard, trees and other foliage packing the open space, but not too tightly, with fortune. Guess he'd get that flight after all, but it seemed it would not be calm one.

Brilliant wings of silver and grey spread to their massive span, ready for Zac's ascent. He brought them down in one great motion, no buildup like most flighty races. A Drenjan flew on strength, not speed. One great sweep threw him off the ground, but he hadn't learned his lesson from the similar gravity of earth. He was brought too fast into the air, and he veered off to one side. A loud crack resonated throughout the courtyard. Not from Zaconis himself, but the breaking of supports and snapping of the wooden wall on the second floor as his weight and power was brought into it. No time to worry about such, another motion from the wings brought him above the manor, this time more controlled and deliberate.

The surroundings weren't unlike the courtyard, merely less dense with flora. To the north buildings of some sort or another were off in the distance. He figured that'd be the first place their mission objective might wander off too. It wasn't too unlike that damnable town from a distance...

"Kurai, report," Zaconis hovered in the air, bouncing heavily with each small stroke of his considerable wings.

"Sire, tracks lead due north towards structures," Zac had already figured as much, he pitched forward. "And... I'm sorry, Zaccy. I don't know how..."

"It's fine, Kurai, nobody knows what these... People are capable of." He flew forward, while not with great speeds, it was a brisk, enduring pace.

Marcelina and Zurok dismissed themselves and went opposite directions, the former going down the same hallway her sisters had disappeared down a little while ago, and Zurok heading up one of the staircases. apart from any movement the crew made, there was general silence in the manor, which was part of why Zurok liked it being so far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. even smaller towns didn't sleep at night, as Serenghe were both diurnal and nocturnal. usually those with an affinity towards Fire, Air, or Light were diurnal, and those with an affinity towards Water, Earth, or Darkness were nocturnal, but various duties and schedules sometimes flipped these around, and there were always the exceptions.

Marcelina didn't go directly to sleep, but Zurok did, and Zerlinda and Zimani were also both asleep. both of them would have liked to b night owls like their sister, but the academy they attended was in the morning, and thus they had to adjust their schedule accordingly. Zurok did what she pleased, but it seemed that she chose to sleep during the evening... at least this time.

thus, there was no noise from these bedrooms however, and other than nature playing her normal games outside in the rather serene weather, there was silence.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Zurok was awake in her study nearby, as she said she would be. Zerlinda and Zimani got dressed for school and briefly passed the team (prior to their splitting up) on their way out the door. unaware of what was going on, they simply waved, and the two girls in matching little school uniforms disappeared, closing the door behind them.

Zurok remained a few rooms away, and Marcelina remained asleep, but after a while, the former of the two disappeared down another flight of stairs towards the basement (as the sound of her steps indicated, at least), and no noise was heard.
Marcelina woke up by the time Zaconis' crew had dispersed for whatever reason they had done so. [PS--yes, I know why they did. Marci does not.] she peered in to check on them, and found only one of them remaining, muttering things to himself.
'Hey, Thom, your gonna guard an empty pod and some water and food, capiche?' -Of course- sir, I'd just love to stand 'round while y'all go and hunt down what quite possibly destroyed a city in th' blink of an eye, sure thing boss-man... God dammit..."

she peered inside, and asked the first questions that naturally came to her head.
"uh... where are the others... and what are you doing?"

"Oh. Y'know.. Guarding an empty sac... Some mattresses... Hoping we all don't die.. The works. Oh, th'others? Chasin' a WMD. No I dunno if ya Suh-ren-peoples know what that is, but on Earth we call 'em -an I'mma go real slow for ya- Woman of Mass Destruction."

"oh... so like Zurok then?"
"Err... Sure... Good to know... Uhm... Why?"
"just wondering."
".....Hrm... Speaking of women... are there any men among ya, or d'they all look like women?"
"uhh... what?"

"Well.... Y'all reproduce asexually, right? An' if ya don't know, then tha' means ya pro-gen-uh-rate on yer own."
Marcelina turned a bit red from the awkwardness. "what? what idiot toldja that? we've got men and women same as most others..."
"Ooooh..... So yer men just 'ave breasts too? Wait... You a man? 'Cause that'd just be awkward as all hell." he raises an eyebrow curiously, shifting his broken glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"what!?! no! I'm a woman! trust me... if you see a man, you'll recognize him as such immediately."

"Ah. I understand now.. Just the od were a bit weird, y'know? First contact an' all we see are four women.. In a row. Sorru, jus' been seeing all shades of weird since I left Sol.. My home system. Gals with kitty tails an' ears, half-dragons, not ta mention a freakin' -bug- in a doggy suit smarter than twelve Einstein brains all packed in a can." He shrugs, his fractal rifle almost falling off from the strap over his shoulder.
Marcelina shrugged. "Fair enough... I suppose it's a good thing y'didn't run into Zaderei first then. I heard that back in the 1st Age, the rest of us Serenghe once thought the same thing about them."

"Ah so you have a sub-gee-nome of yer people that's asexual. Got'cha." He grinned proudly at his new 'knowledge'. He knew it wasn't likely from the beggining, but he had to impose. After all, as far as he was concerned, their lives might end at any moment.
"no!" Marcelina slapped her forehead, "there are male Zaderei as well."

"Gah! Stop confusin' me, I'm just a Human. Our men are three shades o' dumb compared to yer extra-t'restrial brains." He grips at his hair in psuedo frustration, throwing his fractal rifle onto one of the mattresses.
"how am I confusing you. there are boy Serenghe and girl Serenghe, and boy Zaderei and girl Zaderei... do I need to explain what happens when a man and a woman love each other very much?"
He sighs, calmer now. "No, no. I know that part... Wait... Yer.. Uh... Genitals are different... Right? From yer men, I mean."
"uh... last I checked, aye..." Marcelina scratched her head, her face red again

"Ok... But now I'm all curious... But I don't know how t' go about figurig out if yer private pieces are different from Humans." He rubs his chin with two fingers in intense thought, pondering how to approach the subject.
Marcelina blushed furiously. "there are other ways to tell!" she gasped,

"Well.. Our translators can't do written word. Pictures would do some well, though. But a first hand demonstration would be all the better." He winks with this, a wicked grin on his face. Above all, Thom loved to get these kind of reactions from people, aliens especially.
Marcelina's hands went to her belt. "what!?!"

"Quick on the draw, eh? I like that in a woman," Thom says as his hands go to his own belt, beginning to undo it. "Well this'll be fun." Still that wicked grin.
Marcelina stares at him skeptically. "...what are you doing?"
"Huh? I thought we were gonna demonstrate with eachother... Ah well, yer loss." Redoing his belt, he slings his rifle's strap over his shoulder. He was still grinning, and now even laughed a bit to himself. "By the way, you Serenghe are cute little things what with yer faces all red like that."

Marcelina crosses her arms, showing an extra bit of lower lip. "are you utterly incapable of identifying male and female?" she exclaimed, mostly skeptical rather than trying to be insulting
"I guess I am. Have this conversation with ev'ry new species I see. Shoulda seen it with Vnkest. Never even got past the asexual question. I was all 'So.. Yer species reproduce asexually, right?' And I was about to go on and explain what it meant when he just cut me off with an 'Affirmative, Thom' and scurried away.. Yeah, scurried, he's a little bug inside that doggy suit of his."

Marcelina raised her eyebrow. "well..." she simply nodded, not knowing how to react to the new information, but at the same time, she had a few words to add. "well, answering aye or nay *is* the simple way about it, but I'd like to think that creatures who reproduce sexually are a bit more complex to describe than those that aren't--at least when it comes to reproduction."
"Yup, 's why this conversation is always hilarious. Yer people seem pretty similar t' Humans, though. Emotionally, a' least. Kurai's pepople just are so terribly emotionless. I still got bruises an' broken ribs from havin' this talk with an Awkwonai. 'S what Ontanias is. Them gals are something fierce. Only their women are warriors, too... But I'm sure this is all off topic, yer prolly more interested in why our team 'as run off after a little girl who we think might o' blown up a city.. Maybe a planet... Dunno, yet."

"women warriors? that's about as common as they get 'round here... and so... wait. if this is all just done for laughs to you... can you at least clarify if you know the differences between male and female Serenghe, or do I *really* have to show you?"

"Well.. I think I'm still a tad curious. An' ya never can know for sure untill ya see." Hides a snide grin.
"let me guess... some guilty pleasure you hu-mans have?" Marcelina rolled her eyes. "well fine. if you want to see, then hopefully I can help enlighten you with reality." she shrugged. She had no qualms against disrobing, and so she undressed directly in front of him, stripping completely naked except the gloves around her hands and forearms. they were not hiding anything; she had just chosen not to remove them.
Marcelina's body was an athletic build, like most Serenghe of both genders were. her physical features seemed to be very similar to those of humans, only on a proportionally smaller scale. while she had not turned around, her wings connected to her back right near her shoulderblades. Marcelina stared up at him, her deadpan expression still prominent across her visage. other than her hands and forearms, she was completely naked.
the only other thing that may have stood out was that there was no sign of any hair on her body apart from her head and her eyebrows. Serenghe simply didn't have it.

she held out her arms as if to show herself off. "this is called a woman..." she remarked in a deadpan tone, "unfortunately for you there are none of the male species here to show, but considering that you appear to be a male of your species as well, I suspect that this is not a problem."
Marcelina stood there, awaiting some kind of reaction, and preparing some other quip or witticism just for the heck of it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The city of Akobo was a smaller town that was rather quiet compared to some of the more major cities. street vendors lined some of the major roadways, and the occasional merchant's cart would go by being pulled by various creatures. some smallers ones were pulled by the owners themselves. it was just day-to-day business. some Serenghe took to open plazas and sparred with each other, but they stayed far enough away to prevent disrupting other matters.

naturally, upon seeing strangers appear on their streets, most Serenghe stopped what they were doing instantly, and stared at them with a natural curiosity of seeing something that they had never seen or heard of before. they remained just as wary as the sisters had, but suddenly the streets were lined with merchants, warriors, citizens, schoolchildren, families, city officials, wanderers, and other such people, curious to see who these newcomers were, why there were here, and what they wanted.a hushed silence followed them as they moved.

[OOC--if they need/want to pick someone out of the crowd to ask about something, go right ahead. I probably have a character to determine it as, and if not, it never hurt for me to make one. xP]

Thom let out a low whistle, grinning lightly at Marci's nude form. "Yeah. No need to see a guy. 'Sides, you look alot like our women under them clothes." Thoughts took him away a moment. "Hm... If ya didn't so much mind showin' me that, what was it that you were blushin' on before? Maybe... Doing something with a particular guy?" A wink. "Perhaps a little fun with yours truly, yeah?"

He was joking, of course. It wasn't common knowledge even for those who knew Thom and how defective modern Humans were 'born' exactly what he was missing since infancy. Not to mention Thom had no clue of the more tame sexual trends among Serenghe themselves.

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The town was small by Drenjan standards, and from the looks of it, compared to the potential of architecture shown by Zurok's manor, it wasn't large by Serenghe standards, either. However, this wasn't exactly a priority on the team's mind, but instead it was the girl who now roamed the streets somewhere that posed their minds.

Countless eyes watched first the odd, dirtied woman moving like elegant lightning, too fast to fully comprehend as she darted through the streets, sometimes over small buildings, scaling them as if they weren't even a rock in her path. Unimpressive, perhaps, to a winged species that knew well flying over any obstacle, but being wingless and comparably small to most Alliance species, Noiren were experts at moving quickly over any terrain on foot. Structures were no exception, but her expert tracking held little use in any urban environment and she found herself perched on the corner of a building roof, too focused to care of the winged onlookers as her goggled eyes scanned the alleys and streets, tail swaying behind her.

"Sire... Target is cold," she uttered regrettably, her comm humming as she spoke. But she was greeted with silence. An occupied connection? Comprehension of Khent technology was not exactly Kurai's specialty. In fact, few outside the little bug-people knew much of their technologies. "Uhm... Zaccy?"

Her gaze was brought to a ruckus large enough to break her solid concentration. Ontanias was going about being her usual destructive self. Awkwonai were never known for being graceful... Ever. Their every motion was persistently brutal and feral, and the Awkwonai Warrior who now barged through the town's streets was the very epitome of this as she strode through the streets, uncaring of anything that entered her path. She was being unnecessarily rough with any Serenghe that barred the way, but completely merciless with any cart, stall or other temporary structure.

"Zaccy... We've got a problem... Ontanias is getting moody again..." Despite the comment, Kurai's voice was steadily monotonous. A racial trait, indeed. "I think we-" The target stumbled into the very alley Kurai stalked over, the child was obviously disoriented, a result of stasis common in those too young for prolonged containment, but they had little choice in the matter at the time. As far as they knew, this scrawny, confused, dark-haired girl with her odd, golden eyes was capable of impossible destruction. At her own volition or not was of no consequence, only that it was all they could do to prevent further cataclysm.

And here she was, before the Huntress, ambling in an unknown land in a state of torpor directly below her tracker. This child is so naive. Kurai, however, knew how to identify a foolish assumption during a hunt. She waited until the last moment, to be sure she'd catch the kid unaware. But a Noiren so rarely considered their shadows in times of fatigue; such didn't exist on their canopied planet. And the child saw the shadow first, turning just in time to see her assailant midair.

The next was the blink of an eye. A bright flash of blinding light. Silence lingering a moment. Then an audible scream, not that of a child, but a grown woman's shriek. The yell was not in pain, but something else, something different. But soon came the inhuman three-voiced battle cry as the loosely armored warrior in her glowing orange tattoos nearly toppled a portion of a building as she burst through the corner of it, support and all. She took no heed nor lag from the shoulder she just broke in the process.

Ontanias was in a rage at the endangerment of among her last comrade, and her vision was keen on the fearful child that stood over a keeling, screaming Noiren-- not even caring for the large shadow that passed over them. She lunged far and quick, swiping with her battlestaff, the weapon emitting a whirring noise as its mass manipulation drives came into life. The child stumbled back in her fear, the weapon barely missing her nose by a mere hope. Ontanias lost grip of the device, easily believable as its own weight and momentum brought it through the nearest wall, and Seren know how much further. Her own arm even popped sickeningly as the object was wrenched from her grip.

Eirasa, the child, immediately turn to run from the menace that threatened her very life. The kid only made a few strides before a humming spike pierced through her thigh, the grim, chain-mounted weapon from Ontanias' gauntlet fulfilling its terrible purpose as flesh, blood and bone was beginning to be absorbed into the Bio-Spike. A second one was released into the air, aimed to kill and rend the warrior's foe into oblivion.

Never finding its intended victim, the spike only thunked into much cooler, thicker flesh after Zaconis crashed into the ground. His scaly arm resisted as the brutal tool attempted to dig deeper into thick hid and dense, strong bones and muscle. "Vnkest!" Zac roared out, his words complimented by a wave of white flame. Even a berserk Awkwonai reeled back, guarding her face with forearms. The burst of flame was short-lived and was too brief to seer Ontanias, but as she stumbled from the feign attack, tendrils of light wrapped about her wrists and ankles from behind, Vnkest's tow beams dragging her to the ground.

The Commander sighed. Losing control of any member of the team was not forgivable even under stressful circumstances. Zaconis had wounded to attend, however, including himself.

Almost as if he was triggering it with a switch, Marcelina's cheeks went red again, and she put her gloved hands to them for a brief moment.
"No! it... it has nothing to do with that... I'm not sure how much you know about is... but to me it sounds like you're implying that I should be having your children..."
she took a deep breath, and hoped to change the subject by approaching Thom's first remark.
"So..." she glanced down at her body, "this is what your women look like? what kind of differences are there?"
she idly adjusted the straps on her gloves, and it was because of the need to undo them to remove them that Marcelina had kept them on; like some people and shoes, it was just a matter of convenience, or perhaps laziness, in this case.

she looked back up at him, her hands at her sides, and her privates uncovered, waiting for an answer. this man intrigued her... not necessarily a bright fellow, but he seemed kindhearted enough. she knew that nothing between them would ever work out, but she didn't see anything wrong with befriending him, despite his unusual antics and his opinions on her body.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

hundreds of pairs of Serenghe eyes followed their every movement. most followed in the distance on the streets, others were inside some of the various buildings. towards those who did not harm them, they paid little attention. to those that did... it seemed that the Serenghe weren't exactly a species to turn the other cheek.
Several Serenghe, including at least three female Zaderei, a dark-skinned male Serenghe, and two opposite-gendered twins, were following closely behind the largest offender who was causing the most damage, though they remained wary, not sure who she was or what she was capable of doing. nonetheless, they were not about to shrug the damages off that were caused.

after the incident, there was an immediate buzzing of language, some of it the common tongue, other parts of it in Zaderic. the three women pursuing Ontanias closely were jabbering away at each other in fluent Zaderic, while a few others nodded in agreement, even if they couldn't speak it. it seemed most of them had some sort of loose understanding of it either way.
a few curious Serenghe continued to approach and surround them, but kept a respectable distance, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. the six or seven belligerent Serenghe that wanted a fight were still there, watching with fixated eyes on their target. the man stood in front of the sharply dressed twins, an arm sticking out in front of each one to prevent them from moving forward. it seemed to be enough to keep them back.

the commotion also drew attention from the local academy, where Zerlinda and Zimani were. a few students managed to peek out some of the windows and see something in the distance, but Zerlinda and Zimani were not among those who could tell what it was. for the record, the academy was not in close enough view to see the incident.

however, Zurok was on the scene for some reason, though it was not clear where she came from. she calmly made her way through the crowds until she was in front of Zac once again.
"I dare say, that I am intrigued as to what has happened here," she said shortly and sweetly, "would you mind enlightening an old woman?"
she waved her hands dismissively at the crowds, some of which dispersed. it seemed that once they realized Zurok was involved, a lot of people suddenly didn't want to get caught up in it.As usual, Zurok's tone was soft and patient, and she did not seem angry at all, only very curious as to what had happened.

"Oh, so that's what ya Serenghe get right shy of, yeah? Well if ya wouldn't mind bearin' my children, hell it's worth a try," he chuckled, now more clearly joking. "But yeah, the real differences are that Hum' women tend t' be taller," a motion of his hand about level with his own head, "and without the wings there.. Not to mention bigger.. Err..." Now his hands made circular motions at his chest. "Either way, even with Human standards, ya got a good body under dem clothes. If I were any other man, I'd pro'ly be fantasizing all sorts of pleasures with ya... But I was raised a gentleman, even if good ol' mum was a lab."

He sat on the mattress he had thrown the pulse rifle on, and began handling it, disassembling it from memory. "So how is day-to-day life for your people? I'm right curious, really. Since leavin' my own planet, I've seen right queer shades of societies an' the like." He'd practiced so often with the routine assembly and cleaning of the device that it was almost second nature to him. Almost. Drenjan weapons were yet familiar to him, but such arms were his greatest strength, though he was only an acting pilot for this mission right now.

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The crowds had gathered, and some were near to picking a fight with the restrained Awkwonai, but a man held two twins back, and Zurok stepped from the mass of people, diminishing the number of onlookers in doing so. She faced Zaconis as his gaze was ablaze with anger and impatience, notable even in the alien glare.

"Now is not the time, Zurok," he spat, turning around. "I must-" Now the Commander stood before the child, her skin-tight suit was covered in white, like a flowing gown of pure light adorned her body. Eirasa's hair and eyes matched this trend as the globes of pure white looked straight into Zac's, her feet far off the ground to match his height.

"So imperfect, impure. You must be made true, again," a light voice, with age to defy the small body in which it resided lapped over the child's voice smoothly. before the shocked Zaconis could react, a hand shot out to his arm. Another flash, this one restricted to his contours. When it cleared, the spike was upon the floor with several plates and scale-shaped pieces of metal as well as some sort of metallic twine. The half-dragon form was frozen in confusion, but the small, quick houndlike body released a visible streak of electricity. It struck both the Commander and the Child without discrimination. While the Drenjan was resilient enough to such a stun, the child was not, and she fell to the grown with the light about her body diminishing.

Such happened so swift, only the shock finally brought Zac to his senses. Slowly at first, he was able to bring himself to, fully comprehending the situation before his team. Lean, muscular arms swept up the dark-haired child in her unconsciousness before the Drenjan turned to face Zurok again. the underside of his wings and from his chest to his stomach was white where once only grey had dominance. "I am sorry, Zurok," strangely, it seemed he had found unusual calm in light of the otherwise frantic situation. Odd, too, was the site of the small, frail child in the arms of such a large being.

"But this child... We believe she is dangerous, far too much so to be roaming the streets as thus." Brilliant orange eyes scanned across the Serenghe who had gathered. "But now.. Is nary a time nor place for this... I had wished our presence discreet, but I suppose only fitting to have any such comfort ruined... We'll have to discuss this further at your estate." With this said, he spread his wings and was off the ground. The only other movement was Vnkest as he wrapped Kurai's motionless form in an odd violet energy that lifted her from the ground to follow the sleek exosuit as it clambered over the nearest building to lead back to Zurok's manor. Ontanias stayed, pulled up against an unbroken wall, spitting blood from a cut lip to the ground.

Quietly she cursed to herself as her adrenal responses refused to cut out the pain from her broken shoulder blade and dislocated arm. She knew the others must have figured she was in little condition to travel back. In her mind, all she could think was it was a notion of spite for her actions, and even she felt she deserved it. After all the blood and life lost for their goal, she had almost ruined it all. Ontanias' eye went skyward, looking upon the blue air above. It was something artistic even an Awkwonai could appreciate, but her attention was drawn to the crowds about. Were they angered with her, she wondered. Perhaps, and if such were true she pondered how quickly she could make it to her staff before they could overwhelm her. Her sapphire gaze fell to Zurok, her visage collected now. All she wanted to do was to sit and think over her mistake; but all she had been able to think about was another loss from what few remained of those she considered her last kin.

So graceful an escape, flight... Now I think I understand why Drenjans pride their wings. Now more than ever she was content with waiting to see what would happen next. From what she observed thus far, these people weren't the type to react severely, but such didn't mean they wouldn't remain docile towards her obtrusion.

Marcelina looked up at him, and could tell by his laugh that he was not being serious. still... t was a touchy subject for Serenghe--not so much a sensitive one, but a very intimate one, as the starting of a family was serious business in their society.
she nodded at his descriptions of human woman. if they were like human men, it was not surprising, though Marcelina was still a bit intrigued to see someone that had most of the same features as her--two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two arms, two legs, ten fingers, and probably 10 toes as well.

his hand motions did get her looking at her own breasts, however. she looked back up at him. "well. I'd kind of hope so, given that they're taller and larger than us. just sayin'. but uh... thanks?"
a compliment from not only a strange, but someone from a completely different world and completely different species, was difficult for Marcelina to process for a moment, because she wasn't quite sure how to take it. the red in her cheeks still dominated, but she wasn't about to be reduced to random babbling.
she assumed a lab was some sort of fancy human term, and so didn't bother trying to ask for details. she'd accept that. besides, one's parentage only meant so much. while it was important to Serenghe for reputation's sake, she couldn't base any kind of rep on someone she would never meet.

he asked her an interesting question that she knew the answer to by heart, but might not have been able to put into words. "well..." she remarked, "I gotta admit that normally it doesn't involve me stripping naked." she joked, though she glanced around for her clothes and started putting them back on, "though it's happened... anyhoo... it depends on what you do with yourself, I guess. I'm a warrior, so most of my days are usually spent training or sparring... just some way to keep the ol' claws sharp and the chi flowing. otherwise, it's just day to day work. we've got teachers, merchants, travellers, warriors, architects, constables, farmers, weavers, hunters, priests, politicians, and whatever else most decent societies have... I can't say what they all do, since I'm just a warrior, but it's not like we have some daily ritual at the 15th hour every Umena or whatnot..."
Umena was one of the days of their week.
Marcelina finished putting the remainder of her clothes back on, and waited to see if he had any other questions. she'd be glad to answer if she knew them.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Zurok was not the type to take that as an answer, but she would deal with getting that information at a better time. she was shameless in her approaches, never backing down until she got a concrete "no". even then, that was not often enough to dissuade her, and instead would only make her take a different approach, or devise some sort of strategy where she would require different knowledge.
Zurok closed her eyes for a moment and then suddenly turned her unblinking focus to an official looking woman who was conversing with a man and a few others that looked like some type of law enforcement officials. there was a moment of silence, and then the word was passed along.

"move along now," the woman started dismissing the crowds, "it's just another of Zurok's games gone awry. she'll pay for the damages."
hearing it from what appeared to be the mayor of the city and her law enforcers, seemed to hold more weight in the crowds. prior to Zurok's steely gaze, she seemed just as curious as the others about this scene. perhaps Zurok had pulled a few strings without the woman being aware of the situation. whatever the case, Zurok did not seem to have qualms against paying for any damages. she was more than happy to take control of the situation.
she cast similarly quick glances at the twins, who had not let up their aggression so easily. not all the crowds dispersed, but a great majority of them had gone back to their business.

she turned back to Zaconis. "very well. I admit to being eager to hear about it." she replied, and she opened her wings, before turning to the twins.
"oh, and Lars; Nina... do play nice for Aunty Zurok... just this once, please?"
the twins appeared to know Zurok, but if there was a familial relation it was unclear. Zurok was the type to likely have mothered many, many children and grandchildren, but they lacked some of the telling physical features that Zurok had. while Serenghe might have had siblings or parents with different hair colors, eye colors, wing colors, or evne skin colors, the telltale sighs of blood relations were in the shapes of their physical features, particularly those on the face. Lars and Nina were very clearly related to each other, but their facial structure differed from Zurok's quite a bit.

the twins muttered a few things and then seemed to agree to step down. the crowds continued to disperse, particularly as these "agents of Zurok" started heading back in the direction they knew Zurok's estate was in. Zurok lingered with Ontanias, not wanting to leave any of Zaconis' crew behind this early on. the last thing they or she needed was more trouble, accidental or otherwise.
she folded her wings up, knowing that Marcelina was back at the estate, and that the younger girls would be home soon. she trusted that at least one of them would be able to help with the situation if necessary.

"so tell me," she cooed, glancing up at Ontanias, "what's on your mind?"
she was very direct, but didn't want to try peering into any minds just yet--she had to first test the waters. that, and she wanted to know why this woman had not gone with her peers back to Zurok's manor.

Thom listened with intensity, despite reassembling the now-clean weapon in his hands and setting it aside. He had understood well enough what she spoke of, and could assume Umena was some form of time frame of theirs, a day from the sounds of it. But one word she used did strike him as odd, something from the history of part of Earth's long-forsaken culture, but he doubted it had the same meaning, but held some similar purpose that the translators chose that which he knew best to relate to it.

"Chi," posed questioningly, he raised a thin brow at the familiar word, wondering if the concept was the same. Though he recalled Chi on his home was basically just a concept of manipulating one's spiritual energies and those within themselves to improve physical and mental performance, a concept that proved to be less false than previously believed once the Drenjans saved Humans' sorry asses from extinction and proved the existence of Magi. "Hmm... I don't know if it's the translators, but that word there is one I'm familiar with. At least the one it was filtered to. Tell me more."

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Abandoned by her squad, Ontanias set her arm back into place, straining through the pain of the opposite limb's broken shoulder. The joint popped into place, the warrior gritting her teeth through the resulting sharp shock. Breaths were heavy, more kin to pants as Zurok turned to her, the crowds becoming naught but a few remaining curious, or perhaps hostile Serenghe.

Striking her as an odd question, she slowly raised herself. "Why would my thoughts concern you? I am in shame, and have been left to reflect on my failures today as punishment... Is it not obvious what is on my mind?" But there was something else, she knew. This was unlike Zaconis to ever leave another behind, even as punishment.

Reviewing his words, she looked for anything out of the ordinary. There had been a moment his eyes passed over her, his mention of the danger of the child as he made for his gaze to seem as if scanning over the crowds that had been gathered still, but now were dispersed. You keen demon, you, she thought, wondering what Zac was up to this time. She disagreed with his less direct methods, but even in recent experience it had kept the entirety of the Drackos-Prima unit from the grips of death instead of the two-thirds that were at rest in The River. She thought perhaps she was reading into it too deeply, but the act had been too strange for the otherwise excessively concerned Drenjan.

She slide a few steps along the wall, calling out in her Awkwonai tongue. From the ruins of the wall her staff had toppled, a hooked chain shot out, caught in her relocated arm. Her weapon followed suit, retracting the chain until it replaced the hook in her grip. "I will cause no more harm to your structures, and so long as I am left to my own nor will any people come to harm," she looked back to the few of the small, winged people who remained. She wondered how tough they really were, but knew it was not something she should test. She had an order, at least so she thought, but indeed all that she could truly think of was her actions on the entirety of this mission, not just her mishap today.

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