His Majesty's Dragons: The Battle of Britain

[Cynical Cat]

Frostfell glided in, the dragon's blood shockingly dark against his pure white hide. Nathan vaulted from the saddle before the big dragon had completely come to a halt. There was nothing that could be done for his crewman that had gotten hit, Higgs was literally in pieces, but Frostfell was another matter. "Get me a God damned vet!" he shouted over the radio. "Now!"

His feet touched dirt. He laid his hand on Frostfell's neck. "We're going to get you looked after," he said. "MacDonald! Medical supplies. Yesterday!"

"Yes sir!" the dragonman shouted and took off at a run.

[LadyTevar]

Making his way to her Jake got on his knees. "Damnit. Jeb 's your comm. still working? If not where's Judith's? We're gonna need some help here."

"Ah'm thinkin' its still on my back..," Jeb rumbled, wisely backing away a little to give Jake light as he worked, something more than one dragon would never think about doing. Even so, it was clear he was nervous about his Captain's condition, despite the show of trust.

"Hey there lovely. How you feelin'?"

"Ah'm a'wishin' th' sky would stop spinnin'," Judith said, her eyes far too wide as she looked up at Jake. "When'd ya get a twin...?"

While he talked Jake began to look over Judith, inspecting her wound and grimacing at the blood soaked impromptu bandage that was mostly off of her gaping wound. "I've seen worse than this." He muttered as he got out the medical gauze from his small pack and after blinking a few times to focus himself he placed it on her arm, applying pressure, just like his dad had taught him.

"OW! Dagnabbit! Tha' HURTS!" she complained as Jake fussed with her arm, causing Jeb to shift uncomfortably, torn between protectiveness and the knowledge that she needed tended. Once again, this was due to his upbringing as a family member. Judith's paternal granny had taught Jebediah the hard way not to get in the way of her tending hurts (or dealing out a well-earned switchin'.)

[Charon]

Jake tried to smile as she talked about the sky spinning and him having a twin. But those were definately not good signs. That she still felt the pain of the wound was a good sign though. "It'll only hurt until we can get you all mended up. Then everything will be fine. You just need to stay with me right?" Jake began to wrap a cloth tightly around the medical gauze. "So, are there lots of mountains where you live?"

[LadyTevar]

Jake tried to smile as she talked about the sky spinning and him having a twin. But those were definately not good signs. That she still felt the pain of the wound was a good sign though. "It'll only hurt until we can get you all mended up. Then everything will be fine. You just need to stay with me right?" Jake began to wrap a cloth tightly around the medical gauze. "So, are there lots of mountains where you live?"

"Now there's a dumb-ass'd question," Judith muttered, wincing as Jake tighted the bandage tighter around her wounded arm. She was lucky, it was a clean flesh wound; the bullet had torn its way over the major muscles, not through.

"JUDITH! Language!"

"Well? T'was!" Judith protested back to Jebediah, who looked absolutely agast at the cursing. "Naught but mountains... findin' a stretch o' flat land's lik' huntin' hen's teeth. Onna clear day, ya kin see 'em stretchin' out, ridge 'pon ridge, lik' the white n' blue on Jeb's hide..." Judith grinned up at Jake suddenly. "They say th' Scots n' Irish cam' o'er, and stopped there cause it look'd laik home, but wit' more trees. Injuns cam' there inna summer, jis' fer th' huntin'." She was babbling, braggin on her home. "Th' rivers there, they run grass-green... or muddy-nuff-ta-plant-corn-in." The word was ran together, almost like an epitaph. "It's still wild n' free.... Moun-tan-ee Sem-per Lib'rye."

[rhoenix]

(post deleted - continuity issues)

[Charon]

Jake finished with the wrappings, realizing himself that the edges of his vision were beginning to fade. He shook his head to clear it up, it didn't work. You had to keep them talking, that's what he'd learned. Have to keep them talking, or else you'll never get them to talk again.

Jake moved towards Jeb to get the radio. "What about your family? How many siblings you got?" Jake placed a reassuring hand on Jeb's neck, a place that was commonly where a captain would rest their hand to reassure their mount. He whispered to the dragon. "She'll be just fine."

While listening to her response Jake slipped the headphones over one ear and spoke into the mike. "Any friendly who can hear me, this is Jake Collington. Me, Kunja, Jeb, and Judith are down. Kunja and Judith are badly hurt and are gonna need." Jake paused as the world began to disappear before his eyes again. The adrenaline had worn off long ago, the pain of his own numerous injuries and the real ramifications of his actions were coming to him. "We're gonna need some help here." Jake gave coordinates as best he could.

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Waldenderer and Richard here" the dragon said over his comm, detouring from his flight toward the captured dragon and crew.

"We are inbound... right on top of you actually" The dragon wheeled around and dove toward the ground, pulling up for a gracefully landing. The dragon winced slightly at that, having forgotten of the injured rib.

Richard jumped off the small dragon's back, and grabbed the medical kit from the saddlebag

"Waldwanderer, could you go over and assess Kunja's injuries, both of these two will need stitches, Get Kunja wrapped up as best you can, I will be over in a few minutes.

Richard looked over both of the human's injuries while remobing the needle and thread from the kit, as well as some cotton, alchohol and gause.

"This will sting a bit..." he said, looking at Jeb as if asking for permission to treat his captain.

[Dark Silver]

Hermeticus had fallen like a proverbial rock, when the Germans retreated, and had pulled up short of the floor. Unfortunately, the ruse he and Thomas were hoping to employ failed due to the larger German flier heading out.

With the skies clearing of enemies and allies alike, Hermeticus winged his way slowly back towards the base, the vet was already working on packing the wounds from the melee with the Kampfritter with gauze.

It was a good ten minutes after the other dragons landed, before Hermeticus and his crew made their fall, finding a suitable spot away from the others.

Thomas leaped nimbly from his dragons back, calling out his orders to the crew, "Strike a tent, get Hermeticus seen to, requisition a sheep or two, and get him washed down. I'll report to the base commander."

With that, the dark skinned man, sporting a the bomber jacket and flight googles in the style of the US Airforce, went looking for the commanders berth.

[LadyTevar]

Jake moved towards Jeb to get the radio. "What about your family? How many siblings you got?" Jake placed a reassuring hand on Jeb's neck, a place that was commonly where a captain would rest their hand to reassure their mount. He whispered to the dragon. "She'll be just fine."

Jebediah eyed Jake knowingly, and rumbled softly in response as Judith rambled about her two older and one younger brothers, her two older sisters. "We're beholdin' ta ya...."

While listening to her response Jake slipped the headphones over one ear and spoke into the mike. "Any friendly who can hear me, this is Jake Collington. Me, Kunja, Jeb, and Judith are down. Kunja and Judith are badly hurt and are gonna need." Jake paused as the world began to disappear before his eyes again. The adrenaline had worn off long ago, the pain of his own numerous injuries and the real ramifications of his actions were coming to him. "We're gonna need some help here." Jake gave coordinates as best he could.

Oddly, Jebediah stood as still for him as he would his own captain, and helped Jake down carefully. "Yer lookin' peak'd yerself ... why don'cha sit down there by Judith...."

Richard looked over both of the human's injuries while removing the needle and thread from the kit, as well as some cotton, alcohol and gauze.
"This will sting a bit..." he said, looking at Jeb as if asking for permission to treat his captain.

Jebediah had looked up as Waldwander came down, and eyed the young captain warily as he got out the needle and thread. "Wha' in tarnation are ya thinkin' yer doin' -- tain' no time fer sewin'," the backwoods dragon snorted. "Jake's done got her fix'd up fer now..."

[Charon]

Oddly, Jebediah stood as still for him as he would his own captain, and helped Jake down carefully. "Yer lookin' peak'd yerself ... why don'cha sit down there by Judith...."

Jake shook his head. "I've had worse. Once got... bit too close to... a sick baby 'Spitter." Jake chuckled. "I was bedridden for a month." Jake leaned on Jeb comfortably for a few seconds before finally pushing off. "I've got to make sure Jack's alright though..." As Jake began to move unsteadily towards his own dragon Waldwanderer and his captain came down.

Even in his delirium Jake knew that field surgery was completely unneccesary. "Listen ta... Jeb. I've got it covered for now but, we need to get her to a proper medical... place."

Jake moved off again, though he kept an eye on Judith and Jeb in worry over both dragon and captain.

"Jake, you should sit down." Rumbled Kunja as his captain came close again.

"Not yet. Soon, I need to make sure you're ok." Was the reply from Jake as he began to appply gauze to the many large wounds on his dragon. He grabbed his own comm. unit, not really certain of how much time had passed since he last spoke on it. "Damnit, this is Jake. Where's that cart? Kunja and Judith are hurt bad down here."

Kunja only groaned in response as he "gently" bumped his captain, knocking him to the ground. "Down. Now." It was apparent that the likewise injured dragon was in no mood to be ignored and Jake lacked the energy to get back on his feet.

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Alright' Richard said, not wanting to treat a captain with a disagreeable dragon standing right there "But if she gets worse, that wound will need to be stitched, if not by me than a medic. Otherwise it can easily get infected"

He put the needle and thread away, realizing that they probably wont trust him to do stitches and stuck to the alcohol, cotton and gause

"Jake your injuries at least need to be wrapped" he didnt even bother waiting for consent, and started wrapping the larger lacerations with gause, tightly, hoping the pressure would stop or slow the bleeding

[Charon]

Jake muttered something about checking Jack first, that he was fine. But his concerns went for the most part unheeded. The foamed acid was the main concern for the Aussie captain's injuries. Tiny flecks of the burning foam had struck the captain's clothing in many places, and as such there were dozens of tiny holes, but so far there was nothing serious.

[General Havoc]

"Set us down next to them."

Æquitas did not need to acknowledge Captain Rankin verbally, as he winged over and slowly descended, casting Kunja, Waldwanderer, and Jake all into shadow. The Malachite Reaper touched down shortly thereafter, his scales marred by large gauze bandages taped to his side. The middleweight however seemed unshaken, and lowered his bulk onto the ground to permit Rankin and the others to slide off. Rankin had no sooner hit the ground than he was issuing orders.

"Mr. Barington!" he called out, letting Æquitas' medic chase after him as he rushed towards the three downed dragons and their Captains (not knowing yet that Waldwanderer was merely helping). "See to the injured," he ordered tersely, and the middle aged combat medic opened his bag and set to work without a word, applying a neck brace in case of head injury, re-wrapping the bandages over her more obvious wounds with antibiotics and sulfamide powder. As the medic was working, Rankin turned to Jake, who was having his own injuries seen to by another member of Æquitas' crew.

"Do any of you require Dragon Transports back to base? If it's an urgency, Æquitas can bear you all back, but I have DTs en-route to ship everyone back to Tangmere if it's less urgent. Æquitas' radio is down, and I need to see to the prisoner and to Frostfell and that bloody American that showed up midway through, but if you need it, we can get you back by air or vehicle."

*--------------------------------------------------------*

Fulminatus too set down, but elsewhere, near the German middleweight, who was now surrounded by nearly a dozen times his own weight in british dragons. The Bluejacket was still near-frantic, watching for every move of the British humans and dragons, desperate to ensure its captain's safety.

Waldwanderer would probably have been a better choice to speak to the German, but Fulminatus himself apparently knew a word or two of the language as well, though with an accent as atrocious and grating as as nails on a chalkboard. He managed however to make understood the unfortunate occurances that might well befall the dragon and his captain at the slightest show of resistance. The dragon cowered at the words and whimpered as it lay on the ground.

In the distance, enormous Dragon Transporter trucks, as well as British army forces were approaching quickly to take the dragon into captivity, and free up the Britishers to return to base.

[General Havoc]

Six hours later:

The mess hall was ringing with voices all ready, all of them running somewhat more freely than they otherwise would. The rum (a tradition imported from the navy), might have helped a bit with that, but mostly it was the relief at having survived their first contact with the enemy. Midwingmen, lieutenants, and a handful of noisy young cadets were seated along long tables along with the other Captains in the officers' mess. Ground crews and enlisted men were in the other mess of course, but there were still more than three dozen people here.

Captain Rankin stood up at the head of the table, and the talk quieted. This was not the navy, there were precious few rules of conduct, but he had something to say, and this was as good a time as any.

"I won't get in the way of supper," he said to the assembled officers, "but I wish to congratulate all of you on a job superlatively well done. That Jerry squadron assumed they were going to walk right into England and drop their bombs wherever they chose, and we stuffed their ambitions down their throat and sent them packing back to the continent minus several of their number and mauled badly enough to keep them in revetments for the next few weeks. And we did it all without the loss of a single dragon. I can't possibly say how pleased I am, so I'll let Admiral Tolkien speak for me. He cabled us this afternoon as we were setting down. His message reads: "RAF Command and the entirety of 11-Group, salute Tangmere-Squadron for their valiant efforts in defense of King and Country."

A chorus of cheers erupted at this, mostly from the younger officers, and Rankin smiled.

"I'll not take any more of your time. We all know the task that awaits us here. The Germans will be back, and in greater numbers, but we have a few new faces already..." he nodded towards the Captain of the Crimson Angel that had been waiting here when the squadron returned, but whom he had not yet had a chance to speak to, what with seeing to Æquitas and his crew, "... and more importantly we have the support of the entire Empire behind us. If we can continue to fight as we did today, we'll soon be setting our dragons to smoking Hitler out of his bolt-hole in Berlin for use as a mid-day snack!"

More cheers erupted, shouts of "Here! Here", and Rankin signaled for them all to sit and dig in, before walking down the table slightly towards one of the Captains.

"Captain Reynolds," he said, as he arrived before the Canadian Captain, gesturing towards the side of the room. "Might I have a moment of your time? There's something you ought to know."

*--------------------------------------------------------------*

Outside the dragons were milling about, engaging in their own hunts or conversations, catching a nap, letting the surgeons work on their injuries, however superficial, or otherwise relaxing, having done well for themselves.

Capricorn for instance, was gorging himself on a cow that he had poisoned with a splash of nerve toxin, heedless of the fact that the most deadly toxin on earth was lathered all over it. Venomspitters were immune to their own venom, for had they not been, they would all no doubt be dead.

Æquitas, stretching after having downed an entire cow and two sheep, walked slowly towards the edge of the clearing. He wished to speak to the gargantuan newcomer dragon, as well as that strange american whose breed he couldn't identify, but before he got to either, he spotted Fulminatus standing on the edge of the clearing, standing up, and facing out to sea, towards the coast of France.

"Looking for scouts?" he asked as he approached the American middleweight. Fulminatus did not so much as twitch at Æquitas' approach, the gory remains of a cow at his feet and blood smeared around his maw.

"Not scouts," said Fulminatus. "The wind's in the east. They'll be out tonight."

"Not the ones we chased off this afternoon. Most of those won't be flying for a while."

"The heavyweights will," said Fulminatus. "In the Civil War, they'd use Minutemen to do nuisance raids by night. Bomb indiscriminately and kill whatever you could get away with."

"Jerry's been trying that trick," said Æquitas, "but the radar keeps them under wraps, and there's scouts up from the other squadrons regardless. "Besides, anything fool enough to shuttle-bomb us would get torn apart by the triple-A."

Fulminatus did not turn his head or eye. "I wouldn't count on it."

Æquitas shrugged. "As you wish," he said, and turned away. To his surprise however, he had not gone more than a half dozen paces before Fulminatus spoke again.

"Rankin's your second captain?"

The Malachite Reaper stopped and turned back. Fulminatus hadn't moved. "... that's right," he said.

The smaller American Reaper nodded slowly, saying nothing for a long time. The moonlight glinted on the faded medal worn around Fulminatus' neck like an amulet. "Does that make it easier?" he asked after a while. "A second Captain?"

Æquitas lowered his head a bit. "Somewhat."

Fulminatus nodded to himself very slowly, still refusing to avert his eyes from the shore.

"Good."

Æquitas waited a moment or two, but there was nothing else, and shaking his head a bit, he turned and walked back into the covert towards the other dragons, leaving the American Reaper to himself once more.

[rhoenix]

Watching the other dragons thoughtfully, Veritas had given up on his book, though had folded down the pages of his book regarding some of the breeds he saw. More pressing was seeing Fulminatus again, which surprised him - Veritas hadn't expected to see the elder dragon here, though the fact that Fulminatus didn't have a Captain yet didn't surprise him as much as he thought it would. Veritas had watched the elder dragon speaking with another dragon for a few moments - the Flight Commander's dragon, he thought it was. Nevertheless, it had been some time since he had spoken with Fulminatus, and Veritas wished to again, if only to greet a familiar scaly face.

Taking a few careful steps to his right to avoid any direct traffic, Veritas leapt into the air and glided gently toward Fulminatus, landing a few tail-lengths behind him and to the side. He walked carefully the rest of the way, if only to be polite and advertise his presence. Veritas spoke as he looked in the same direction the elder dragon was. "Good eve, Fulminatus - it has been a while. I hope you've been well."

* * *

Captain Braithwaite was enjoying his dinner, and the company of the other Captains in the mess hall, the release of feelings after a sortie palpable in the air. He knew it well, and a large part of him wished that he'd managed to make it in time to join the fun. However, the part of him he fully blamed Veritas for reminded him that things happened the way they did for a reason. So, he simply enjoyed his dinner, and enjoyed conversation whenever it happened his way.

[Dark Silver]

Thomas had arrived later than the others into the mess hall, and missed the first part of Captain Rankin's speech, at the part where Rankin repeated the message from the Admiral.

Thomas nodded to the fellow pilots, truth be told, he hadn't associated with them yet. After his brief meeting and transfer of orders to Captain Rankin, Thomas had gone back to check on Hermeticus. The dragon had taken some heavy hits from the Kampfritter, hits which wouldn't have meant much had he been in full combat gear.

The black captain moved towards the messline, fixed a plate, and found a seat at a table close to the door. He wanted to eat his food, and go back and check on Hermeticus. The sawbones had managed to finish patching up the gashes and other wounds, but another check on the Longhorn wouldn't hurt....

He sat slightly hunched in his seat, arms to either side of the plate, almost like he was guarding it, and began to eat - not devouring it, but not taking his time to savour the flavors either.

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


Hermeticus sat in the light of the stars and the moon, the remains of a few sheep scattered along the edge of his clearing. Thomas and the rest of his crew had gone off to get themselves cleaned up and grab a bite of food.

The Longhorn knew from experience how the other dragons would react to him. Him and his captain. They had experienced it enough at the USAF bases, and at their last assignment in southern England. The dragons would work with him, because they were told to, but they wouldn't accept him as company.

He was a human-breed crossbreed.

The Longhorn Reaper curled up upon himself, and waited for his Captain to return from supper.

[Cynical Cat]

"As you wish sir," said Nathan as he fell in beside Rankin. He flexed his gloved hands. His fingers ached, both from pulling the trigger and from writing the letter home to Higg's mother. Frostfell hadn't been a very cooperative patient the the dragon captain had to figuratively hold the killing machine's hand while the doctors were operating on him.

[Charon]

Jake Collington was a captain that had not been seen at the mess tent for the meal. Something that seemed at first to be extremely odd considering Jake's initial almost outlandish and attention loving self. The Aussie captain had been told a few times about the meal but had seemed not to hear them each time.

In fact since Kunja had been brought in and patched up neither had left the others side as they sat in the field with the other dragons, silently watching the other dragons eat and relax. Jake smiled some as he placed his hand gently behind the ear of his dragon once again. Both captain and dragon were equally relaxed by this motion, and Jake looked out over the other dragons. Jake felt more at home here among these beings than in the ruckus and noise of the human tent.

[LadyTevar]

"Ya shou' go 'n' eat," Jebediah said, announcing his presence as he walked up to Jake and Kunja. The Smoke Devil settled down close by, curling his tail around himself like a cat in front of the fireplace. "Ah kin' understan' not wantin' ta cel'brate... bu' ya shou' least poke yer head in so they knows yer there."

----

Judith was having a good time, even if her left arm was in a sling. The other Captains and crew were careful not to touch it, but she was getting a lot of attention from all of them. The trophy she and Jeb brought back of the Aufseher's shed harness ('Scart it plum offen 'em!') seemed to give the crews as much amusement and morale as the capture of the BlueJacket.

Still, she found herself looking around for Jake, wondering if the Aussie was going to show. Not that she was lacking in company, with the rest of the young single men seeming to all vie for her attention.

[Charon]

"Ya shou' go 'n' eat," Jebediah said, announcing his presence as he walked up to Jake and Kunja. The Smoke Devil settled down close by, curling his tail around himself like a cat in front of the fireplace. "Ah kin' understan' not wantin' ta cel'brate... bu' ya shou' least poke yer head in so they knows yer there."

Kunja let out a low protective growl for a moemtnas Jeb got close to them, but he didn't move or become threatening in any manner. Jake shook his head though at Jeb's requests. "I will eventually. Just not right now." Jake and Kunja both looked up at the tent and then back at Jeb as Jake continued. "I just... don't feel right around them right now. I don't really get them, you know?"

Kunja laid his head down on the ground to relax. "Besides, 's not like they think we're gonna AWOL on 'em and they know where they can find us."

[Dark Silver]

Thomas made little fuss in eating, even less as he picked up the empty plate, drained the glass of rum, then walked out of the mess-tent.

He didn't waste movement as he walked back to his dragon's clearing. Hermeticus gave a low rumbling purr-like sound as he neared. For once that evening, Thomas smiled, before settling down next to the longhorn's head and looked up to the stars.

[LadyTevar]

Jebediah eyed Kunja as he growled, but did not move, simply listening to Jake talk. "Wha'dya not ... 'get' ... 'bout 'em?" he asked, honestly curious.

[Charon]

Jebediah eyed Kunja as he growled, but did not move, simply listening to Jake talk. "Wha'dya not ... 'get' ... 'bout 'em?" he asked, honestly curious.

Jake shrugged some. "I don't know. The love of the ground? That they don't just do something? There's always some kind of way things are supposed to be done that I never really get." Jake sighed some as he looked to Jeb. "You guys, I get. I can at least understand why you guys do what you do, and what that means to you. But other people..." Jake shrugged again.

[General Havoc]

Fulminatus would have had to have been blind, deaf, and senseless not to notice a full-grown Crimson Angel approaching. Even had it not been a question of a full forty-ton heavyweight landing, Crimson Angels fit their description, deep blood-red dragons that tended to stand out in a crowd.
Indeed they were bred to.

The scarred American Reaper, his mottled brown scales looking all the shabbier by comparison, widened his good eye, but only half-turned his head at the Angel's approach. It could not, under any circumstances, be anything but Veritas, for no other Crimson Angel would dare show its face in Britain for fear of touching off an intercontinental war.

The Ulster accent sealed it.

"Hello, Veritas," said Fulminatus, turning the name over in his mouth like a human tasting a glass of wine. "You've got quite an eye for trouble if you've been assigned here. Did the Russians withdraw their complaint, or are the British desperate enough not to care?"

He pointedly did not answer the question of how well he was.

*-----------------------------------------------*

The Longhorn mix was settled down on the side of the covert, and indeed, all the other dragons were too busy to involve themselves directly in its business. But barely a minute had gone by before a most peculiar sound slowly rose from the side of the clearing nearest Hermecritus. It could best be described as that of a bulldozer, but realistically that didn't even cover it. Whatever it was was approaching.

Moments later, the bushes parted and a small lightweight dragon in light combat harness emerged from them, dragging the uneaten carcass of an entire cow along behind it. So consumed with its efforts was the Lightweight that it did not even appear to notice Hermecritus... at least not until it backed into the giant dragon with a thud, and stopped, and turned around, blinking up at the mixed-breed dragon.

For a moment it said nothing, staring up at the Longhorn hybrid, and then suddenly, remembering what it had been doing, it grabbed one leg of the cow and slid the carcass around before it, like an offering.

"Cow?" said Capricorn to Hermecritus in a soft Australian accent, though it wasn't clear if he was offering the cow to the American, or getting its confirmation that the dead animal was, in fact, a cow.

*-----------------------------------------------*

Rankin only took Reynolds aside a few steps. "Captain," he said, "I wasn't certain how you'd receive this news, or if you wanted the others to know, so I'll leave all that up to you. I received word when we returned from the Naval station on the Isle of Wright. HMS Vampire, a destroyer based there on U-boat duties, informs us that the Bluejacket you mauled in the last engagement didn't make it back to France. Vampire saw it go down in the Channel ten miles from Abbeville." Rankin lowered his voice a bit. "No survivors."

He paused a moment to gauge Reynolds' reaction. "Vampire wished to authenticate the kill, and as there were only two Bluejackets in that battle, one of which is on its way to Belfast, and the other of which you engaged... I believe you can claim it as a kill, if you wish. I also assume you'll want to be the one to tell Frostfell."

*-----------------------------------------------*

The soft footsteps of a dragon approached, and moment later, Æquitas' green and turquoise speckled form appeared out of the darkness. Dwarfing both Jeb and Kunja, the Malachite Reaper did not even bat an eye at seeing Jake outside with his dragon, certainly not after everything that had happened this afternoon.

"Are you both all right?" he asked. Jeb had taken a walloping today, and Kunja had gotten an Aufseher angry enough at him to last a month of Mondays. Both could be forgiven for being a bit shaken up, not that either would likely admit it.

[LadyTevar]

Jake shrugged some. "I don't know. The love of the ground? That they don't just do something? There's always some kind of way things are supposed to be done that I never really get." Jake sighed some as he looked to Jeb. "You guys, I get. I can at least understand why you guys do what you do, and what that means to you. But other people..." Jake shrugged again.

Before Jeb could say anything in reply, Æquitas joined them. Jeb figured the squad leader was simply making the rounds. "Ayep... 'tho Ah'm told twern't a tooth shot out, bu' a pistol round caught'n my jaw. Th' Sawbones done took care o' it." The rest of his wounds he considered minor, cuts and scrapes he'd get from any good mating challenge. "So who's wantin' parts o' that harness Ah drug back home? T'aint like Ah can use it."