Scene #2107:

Owner	Pose
Auron	It's not altogether unusual for a solitary rider to be traveling at a leisurely pace down a rural road in the Planetary Plains. This particular rider, however, might seem odd to some people. Not because of the rider. But because of the mount. The mount is not a four-legged equine derivative. Rather, it is a large, yellow, apparently flightless bird. Much like an ostrich, but with a thicker neck and legs. The rider himself is an older man with greying black hair pulled back in a ponytail. He's wearing a gray leather breastplate, loose dark gray pants with a pinstripe of white down the front, and a pair of heavy black boots. Over the breastplate he wears a red coat that is only work on one arm. His right arm is down the sleeve normally, with a bracer strapped around the wrist, but his left remains out of the coat. He's foregone his dark shades, since night has fallen, and his heavy collar. What's brought him out here? Typical task. Wolves too close to a town, so he's driving them off. Not killing them, driving them off. The ecosystem needs the wolves to remain alive so they can keep the populations of smaller animals from exploding. That wouldn't be good for the environment OR for the farmers' gardens, as cute as fluffy little rabbits are.
Valka	While a rider alone in the area may not be unusual, to Valka, everything is unusual. In her time since arriving in the Multiverse she has spent a large portion of her time simply learning where things are - portals and the like - as well as the location of her village in relation to said portals. Getting home to the familiar is always a good thing. The night is clear and cool with a full moon and a gentle breeze, making it much easier for the rider to get an easy view of his quarry and, perhaps, allowing him to notice the dragon flapping lazily above the endless plain, heading approximately in the same direction that he is - toward a campfire built beneath a stand of trees in the middle of a wide field where, it seems, someone is sitting and waiting, quietly.
Auron	...Oh dear. The locals didn't tell him anything about a dragon in the area. Auron frowns, tilting his head up to look, even as his chocobo stops in its tracks and starts fidgetting. It's a bird, giant lizards are sort of its mortal enemies. Auron makes a "Tsst!" sound to the bird and pulls on the reins, and it seems to calm the bird somewhat. Well, that needs to be dealt with, either way. And obviously the bird isn't going to do him much good if it's nervous this far from it. Auron dismounts the chocobo and turns the bird back towards the village. There's a stable there, and the bird is smart enough to find it. Chocobos are, luckily, not as stupid as they look, with the perpetually slightly vacant expression on their avian faces. With the bird headed back to the stable, Auron starts for the stand of trees where the dragon appears to be heading. There's someone there... hopefully the dragon's not about to attack the person! Auron quickens his steps, hoping not to arrive to a bloodbath...
Valka	The person around the fire doesn't seem to be concerned, or even notice the dragon heading their way. Observers can tell that she's moving back and forth from the way the light fades as she passes in front of the fire - spreading out a blanket or setting up a tent more than likely. The form whistles as she works as well, an odd song that hearkens back to songs sung to babies in their cribs. The dragon, at the whistling, seems to increase its pace, dual sets of wings beating as it makes a beeline to the fire, plummeting at a great rate of speed and landing with a thump, blocking the fire entirely. There should be a scream right about now, but there isn't....
Auron	Auron no longer has Jecht to remind him of the severity of situations with four-letter words. But that doesn't mean Auron doesn't generally think them anyway. Force of habit by now; he'd heard them for so long and missed them, so his mind just sort of added them when not present. That in mind, Auron's got quite a few comments for the situation in mind that he keeps quiet. Not only because there's no one here to hear them anyway, but because they're not for mixed company anyway. Either way, Auron's switched to a full-on run by now. Thankfully his training here in the Multiverse has made him faster than he was all those years ago, so it won't take him an hour to get where he's going. So it won't be long before he barrels into the stand of trees, sword drawn, looking for danger... and generally looking rather like he's here for trouble!
Valka	As he gets closer, Auron doesn't hear the crunching of bone, tearing of flesh, hideous screaming, or anything morbid like that. Aside from the dragon's tail swishing in the tall grass making a sort of hissing noise as the scales brush over the dry blades with the underscored sound of the campfire crackling. And then? "Did you fill your belly, you big lug? Stayed away from the farms, I'd hope...." And then the singing starts again.
Auron	Had Auron been newer to the Multiverse, this would all have been very confusing to him. But with the person in the stand of trees apparently speaking calmly to the dragon and it not trying to fly off and harm her, he gets the feeling that no, the dragon's not hostile. At least, not here and now. Putting his sword away on his back again, Auron approaches the campfire. His steps will be noticed before his shape is outlined be the firelight. "Pardon me..." he begins when he's close enough. "I noticed the dragon in the area... yours?" he inquires evenly. It's not unheard of, that's what the Rookery is for, after all. Well, when it's under Union control, anyway.
Valka	At Auron's footsteps the dragon's head swivels like an owl's would, fixing him with a baleful yellow gaze, baring teeth, flaring frills...all that scary stuff a dragon does when people try sneak up on them. And at the words, those frills go down when a hand reaches up to pat him beneath the chin. After a moment, climbing up to peer over the dragon's shoulder is a girl. A woman, really, with long red hair in braids, dressed in leather armor that seems well made but certainly hand-made. Her eyes are green, her face is sun-kissed, and she's tall - at least, when she's standing on a 1200+ kg dragon, she seems to be! "You could say that. Twenty years, this big boy's been with me." She gives the dragon an affectionate pat near one of his horns, a spot that seems to calm the dragon a bit more. "He's not mine and I'm not his. We're partners, more than anything." She chuckles softly and leans down on crossed arms to peer at the man. "Were you coming to rescue me from the dragon, hmm? How very noble of you."
Auron	Auron draws back somewhat when the dragon begins to threaten him, but when it calms, he relaxes. Suddenly there's hand patting the dragon, and Auron looks to the source. The woman receives a nod of greeting from Auron, and he listens to the explanation. "I see," he replies. "My apologies. I saw the dragon approaching so quickly and saw that someone was here." As for coming to her rescue? Auron actually smirks a little at that. "Stumbling on situations I didn't expect is common here." He means in the Multiverse proper. "I came out to chase away wolves from the farms and villages, and saw the dragon." He does also notice the interplay there, between the woman and the dragon. It does look like they've been together for that long...
Valka	The woman, long of leg and slim of body, clambers over the dragon's shoulder to sit between his shoulder blades, sliding down his back while deftly avoiding any of the plates on the back that are used as fins for flying, alighting on the grass with a deft, dainty step. "No, it's all right. Where I come from, Dragons are still feared in some areas, but here?" She looks around the plains for a moment, the moon bathing the world in a soft light. "Here, and in many worlds, dragons are considered dangerous from my understanding. It's my hope that, in my time here, I can help people learn that that isn't entirely the case. Oh, and retake the rookery from whoever holds it. The..." She gets a thoughtful looks. "con...con...confederals, I think."
Auron	"Your world has learned to live with dragons," Auron surmises. The tone makes it hard to tell if it's a question or not, but the brow of his remaining eye raises slightly in question. A nod. "Some worlds they are unequivocally evil. It tends to vary, no pattern that I've noticed. But I didn't want to take any chances." As for the Rookery? He nods. "The Confederates currently have it," he confirms. "It's a difficult location to get to without flight." And from the looks of him, he's a pretty normal human, so... heprobably doesn't have flight capabilities. He gives a nod and introduces himself. "I am Auron. Good to meet you."
Valka	"We have. Thanks to my son and my work, we have. A small island of sanity in a world that, slowly, is growing to accept that dragons aren't all killer and fiends. I've not met a bad dragon yet, although, if this place is as convoluted as I've been led to believe, I might end up meeting them." The woman straightens to her full height - easily more than six feet. "And I am Valka. It's good to meet you." Valka pauses, looking Auron over for a few moments, noting the sword, the arm beneath the jacket, the breastplate, and the like. And then, she speaks. "Care to join me by the fire? I've got a couple of rabbits roasting, and Cloudjumper, here." She pats the dragon lightly on the back. "Has already eaten." Without waiting for an answer she walks around the dragon to where the fire is and adds some wood to the fire, turning the rabbits so their skin can get nice and crispy.
Auron	Auron actually smirks at the mention of how convoluted the Multiverse is. He didn't know about that island Valka lived on, but he did know one thing. "The Multiverse is definitely as convoluted as you have been led to believe," he assures her. "Possibly moreso." She's actually a little taller than he is, in fact, he notes. It doesn't disturb him, but it does give him pause. The mention of going to sit by the fire gets a nod. "Thank you," he replies, following her around the dragon. She she notes the dragon's name, he tilts his head. "Cloudjumper?" He looks to the dragon, noticing the details for the first time. Four wings. Very large crown ofsome kind. A fascinating thing to look at up close, really. Once he finally sits, he draws his longcoat back up on the left side, tucking his left arm into it. "It's interesting to see a dragon up-close. They're... not so polite in my world." Then again... in Spira any 'dragons' would be fiends. Or Bahamut, and he's gone now.
Valka	The large dragon watches Auron as he walks around, head swiveling, making sure that Valka is in absolutely no danger from the man with the sword. Only when the man sits and his sword is not within immediate slashing distance does the large dragon relax, lowering his head closer to Valka's and giving her a bump before peering out into the distance. "Cloudjumper. It seemed to fit and he answers to it readily enough." Her tone is conversational, the rabbits turned again, and a waterskin is pulled from the bags near the small sleeping bundle set on a pile of quickly harvested grass. "I have no idea what he calls me, but I do get puffs of wind from time to time followed by a growl, so it may be what he calls me, or humans, or women in general, or what have you." She shrugs, taking the meat from the fire to cool. "As much experience as I have with dragons, I still can't understand their calls more than in the simplest forms." Valka motions to Cloudjumper. "Look all you like. Assuming we're both part of the union and you don't want to take parts of him for magical components or armor construction, he'll let you even touch him." She chuckles.
Auron	Auron notices the dragon watching him, and offers a small smile of reassurance. Not to worry, he has no intentions of harming anyone there. He listens to the explanation of how Valka understands the calls. That sounded like animals in nature. "...Are they like normal wild animals?" he inquires. Some wild animals are trainable after all. Though it's dangerous. He actually emits a chuckle at the notion of using Cloudjumper for magical reagents or armor. "I've no use for magical reagents, not to worry," he assures Valka. "And I only wear leather armor. Anything heavier makes it difficult to move." Though he does look at the dragon. It's a very distinctive creature, that's for sure. And almost seems cute! When looked at from the front, the face seems rounded.
Valka	Very much like an owl - a big scaly owl, but still, kind of like an owl, the dragon is. He settles down around Valka protectively, his tail forming a perimeter around the fire and the two humans, to go to sleep, but he's still alert. "Yes, in a way they are, but in many other ways they are more intelligent. Just because they do not make sounds like we do does not mean that they do not communicate. If another dragon appeared, you'd see a little dance where they feel each other out, you'd hear a lot of vocalizations, and eventually, they'd settle in to talk." She twists a hand around lightly, offering one of the rabbits to Auron. "Gods know what they speak about, but they do speak. And good! He's my closest companion, and him, as well as his brethren, shouldn't be turned into gloves or ingredients for potions."
Auron	Auron nods, listening to the explanation of dragons from Valka's world. They must indeed be more intelligent than a normal wild animal. That makes sense, too; he's heard of dragons being of varying degrees of intelligence. Perhaps the ones from Valka's world are similar to the ones at the Rookery? "I see. the dragons at the Rookery are similar. I've never heard one speak. Though there are dragons in the Union who do." He accepts the offered rabbit with a nod. "Thank you." As for the turning of dragons into ingredients or articles of clothing? "Do they shed scales? That could be lucrative, selling shed scales. Provided they retain their toughness when they fall off."
Valka	"Oh, yes. One of Cloudjumper's favorite things is for me to help him get the few scales he can't reach. I swear he views me more as a dragon than a human." Valka laughs merrily, tucking into her rabbit, and the two speak late into the night.