Slayer x Pyre 1x1

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

"I know I should but...this is really important. The longer I postpone it, the more likely you all will wind up hurt because of me and I'm not going to let that happen. Once I remove myself from their service, I'll drop off their grid and then there won't be a need to worry." Or at least Tahra really hoped there wouldn't be; the head of the agency said she was the best there was so she had a feeling the man would have a hard time just letting her go. Walking back over to the bed, a smile grew on Tahra's face as she leaned closer to Niko. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she leaned up slightly to place a tender kiss against his lips. "As much as I'd like the company, I have to say no. It's going to be a voice chat and I don't want those assholes seeing your face. They'll try to id you, think that maybe you're just trying to use me or get into my head for information, and it'll lead to a whole different slew of problems. It'll be better if you just wait for me with the others, or you can stay here. I dunno, whichever is more comfortable for you."

When Sophie finally relented, Kaito gave her a gentle smile before placing another soft kiss to her forehead. "Good girl. I want you to be open with all of us, just as I'll be open with you as well. There's nothing to be scared about, Sophie. Things will work themselves out in the end." Even if the road was bumpy along the way, it had to be worth it in the end. There was no way they lived this life of theirs just to end up dead like the rest of their brethren; Kaito wasn't going to stand for that. "Cheer up, okay? What do you say we go and talk to the others right now? The sooner, the better I think. That way we can be on our way to see what we can do for your family.

Livia was lost in thought, thinking about not only her own life growing up but also finding her thoughts were on Sahara again. The other hunter was just trying to help and took the brunt of an attack to save Mai; Livia only wished that they had believed her when she called Livia a traitor. The former hunter could live with that kind of title but she really wanted to believe that they wouldn't kill Sahara. Not until they had answers, which would take time to get since she'd have to recover from the wound first. Hearing her name suddenly made her thoughts stop and her eyes drifted over to the scientist. That was a really good question and one that Livia wasn't even sure she had an answer for. Her shoulders shrugged some as her gaze glanced towards the kitchen. "I don't know. All I know is that I want answers, which means I have to get to my father. I have a feeling that this isn't going to be the last confrontation these dragons have with the organization so...I'm hoping they'll let me stay with them a little while longer. I...want to help them. I don't want things to continue as they are now, especially not with what's being done to them. When you first told me some of the things being done...I didn't believe it. I thought that you were exaggerating, that there was no way my father would allow such heinous acts to be done. Rescuing Tahra sure proved that thought wrong. I'm going to confront him and demand answers." There was a strong determination in Livia's tone, one that showed she wasn't going to back down no matter what. Slowly, her gaze settled on Mai before she nodded towards her. "What do you want to do, Mai? You have to make the decision for yourself about how you want things to play out for you. Essentially, you're free even though you'll more than likely have to live on the run now as well. What do you want want to do?" She repeated the question, wondering and sort of hoping that Mai would feel the same about at least staying with the dragons.

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

Mai blinked, Livia had said she needed to confront her father. "...Your father...he's a hunter...or..." Mai had been passed out when Livia had explained her lineage, the scientist had no idea she was the daughter of the head of the hunters. Regardless of what she'd meant by that, her question made Mai think. It was similar to what Sahara had asked her. What was it she wanted...? She furrowed her browns, and hid her face against her knees. "...I don't know" she said softly. Everything she'd ever done was for the sake of someone else. She'd done as he father had asked and gotten Niko his scale back. Didn't know what to do next. It was amazing how much her life had revolved around her promise to her father. She sighed and peeked at Livia again. "...What do you do when your life 's purpose has been fulfilled?" she asked softly.


Niko frowned, but he wasn't going to push the issue. He wasn't worried about being identified, what could these people do to him the hunters hadn't... "if you insist love" he said with a smile. He wrapped his hands around Tahra's waist and held her there for a moment. "I'll wait for you here, kay?" he pecked her on the forehead before letting her go. If for some reason Tahra's employers weren't willing to let her leave, he'd be more than happy to grind a few bones into dust. A small show of force went a long way in the seedy underbelly he and Tahra were accustomed to. However, he hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. He opened the door to let Tahra out, only to find Sophie standing there, her hand was poised to knock. She blinked, surprised as the door opened. "Uh...I..."
She stammered, nervously for a moment.

She also looked as if she'd been crying, Niko shot a look at Kaito. Had he said something to upset her...? He doubted that, Kaito didn't strike him as the kind of guy to reduce a woman to tears. At least, not intentionally. "Whats wrong guys?" Niko asked as he crossed his arms.
Once she'd calmed down some, Sophie nodded and took Kaito's hand. She didn't want to talk to the others on her own, so she lead the water dragon past Livia and Mai and to the master bedroom. She wasn't sure what to say, now that she had Niko and Tahra's attention. "I...uh...I" Niko arched an eyebrow and looked to Kaito, and Sophie knew he had to be wondering why she'd been crying...

"This isn't because of him its...I...uh..." Sophie stammered for a second before she took a breath to calm herself. "...There's...something wrong...back home I...my...father and brother are missing..."
Niko's eyes went wide. "Well...that is...definitely not good"

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

"Hm?" Livia tilted her head in slight confusion before it clicked; she had forgotten that Mai was passed out when she announced her family history to the dragons. Maybe it wouldn't be such a good thing....oh who was she kidding, none of that mattered anymore. Her father wouldn't even care if something happened to her anyway. Her mouth opened to say something about it but Mai was already answering the question of what she wanted. Or really lack thereof. "You're really young, Mai. If you're whole life purpose has already been covered then you make a new one. Make a bucket list of things you want to do, places you want to see, things you want to eat. Make a new purpose for yourself, whether it's a bit selfish or involves others is entirely up to you. Live your life for yourself and what you want, not what other people expect of you. That's...what I plan on doing from now on. I'm not going to follow what I've been taught because it's all been a lie. My father...he's the head of the hunters' organization. Lucky for him I look more like my mother and I kept her last name to keep people from figuring it out. I lived most of my life doing what he wanted me to do but I'm going to do what it is that I want now. You should do the same."

"Okay, thanks for understanding." Tahra gave the fire dragon a gentle squeeze before she let go and headed to the door. Only, it seemed like she wouldn't be making the call any time soon since both Kaito and Sophie were right outside. The air dragon looked pretty beaten down too. She stammered a bit, so Kaito gave her hand a gentle squeeze to try to give her some more courage. It still took a little bit for the words to come out but finally Sophie said what was on her mind. Some of her family was missing. Tahra couldn't say she understood that feeling since her family had been taken from her but it wasn't a good feeling regardless. A soft hum left her lips as she stepped outside the room, pausing so she could place her hand gently on Sophie's shoulder. "We needed a new destination to go to since we can't stay here for very long. This works out nicely, it kills two birds with one stone. Finding your family and getting us the hell away from here."

"So you're really going to stay with us then?" Kaito asked with a bit of surprise in his tone. His eyes met Tahra's good eye and after a moment of staring, she finally nodded her head.

"I had my reasoning for trying to keep you all away. But I'm about to get off the grid with that reasoning, so it should be fine. I have to make a call right now but keep me posted on when we're going to leave and if we're going to take the baggage or not." She gave them all a quick wave before heading towards her locked up computer room to make the call.

"Baggage...oh. Livia and Mai." Kaito glanced in the direction of the living room, his free hand coming up to run through his hair. "Well...she's in for helping. What do you think, Niko? I would like to do what I can to help but I want us all to be on the same page as well. It'll be better if we stick together and I feel like we should keep Livia and Mai around as well."

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

Sophie was as surprised as Kaito at the news Tahra was going to be staying with them. She'd made it clear before that she wanted them gone from her life before long... She wondered if Niko had a hand in changing her mind... Regardless, Sophie was thankful she was staying. It was safer in groups, and she knew Niko liked her. If she were to go, Niko might've gone with her, and that wasn't something she wanted to fathom. He was like an older brother to Sophie after all... She took a shaky breath and waved as Tahra left, off to make some sort of an important call. Her remark about baggage reminded Sophie that they now had two humans in their party...

"I think they should stick with us..." Niko said, looking to Kaito. Livia could have useful information, and Mai was his responsibility. He'd promised the girls father if something happened to her, to help any way he could. She was just a kid, and her entire life had just been turned upside down. To leave her now was a death sentence. However... His gaze switched to Sophie, who was fidgeting with a stray lock of hair. A nervous tick the girl had, it kicked in often when she had something on her mind. "Sophie...your parents...they don't let humans into the santurary...do they?" he asked softly. Sophie looked to Niko and nodded. "No humans are allowed..." she looked back toward Mai and Livia. "...Especially former hunters..."

She wanted to trust these people, they'd done nothing to earn her ire, but Sophie was raised to be cautious...even when it was tough. "...I'd have to talk to my mom to get them permission to come..." She wasn't sure if her mother was going to be so lenient, not when her father, and the clan leader was missing. Her dad had made the rule on no humans after all, and Sophie's mom followed his example and rules when he was gone. However, Sophie didn't want to leave Livia and Mai, not after everything they'd done. "For now...we...can catch a train to take us to the northwest...toward the mountains..." she sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I can tell my mother to meet us at Glacier Pass...and go from there" Although, if things went bad, it could be terrible for Mai and Livia.

Mai blinked. "...A...bucket list...full of things I want...?" she didn't understand. "...How does writing a list on a bucket tell me what to do with my life?"

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

Livia nodded at first when it seemed like Mai was contemplating the idea; only the girl didn't quite get what a bucket list was it seemed. Livia couldn't help but laugh quietly as she shook her head. "No, no. You don't write on a bucket, it's just an expression. The list is called the bucket list but you still write it down on a normal piece of paper with a normal pen. It's a list of achievements or experiences that you want to do during your life. So if you've ever had the urge to ride in a hot air balloon, you'd write that down on your list. If you wanted to own a pet, it gets written down. If you want to go out of the country to tour the world, it gets written down. No matter how small or how large, if there's something you want you put it on the list. It's just a means of helping you to remember all the little things you want to do."

So Niko and Kaito were on the same page at least, that was a good thing. Now all the water dragon had to worry about was Sophie; with her attitude earlier towards Livia, he knew there was no way she'd be too keen on helping much. Or at the very least, he wasn't sure if she would or not. The fact that no humans were allowed wherever this place was didn't sit well with him at all. Still, he stayed quiet so that Sophie could finish speaking about the potential plan of taking the train and meeting at this Glacier Pass. It seemed like a solid enough start so overall he was fine with it. "It's a good start, so we should probably pack what we can to take with us if Tahra's all right with it. However, the fact that Livia is a former hunter and Mai is a former scientist for the organization is something that only the four of us know and the hunters know. No other dragon would know unless we opened our mouths and said it. It's not a good idea to bring up that fact and I think we should keep it on the down low even with your family, Sophie. It'll be safer that way for them." Kaito brought his arms up to cross over his chest as he stole a glance back towards them again.

"If they still end up not being allowed into this home of yours, I'll be staying with them wherever they end up staying. I don't want to leave them alone, especially if this is a sanctuary where more than just your family resides. They fought to protect our own, so I'll fight to protect them if it comes down to it." He just hoped that Sophie could convince her mother that it was all right but if it wasn't, then he'd do exactly as he said.

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

Niko nodded in agreement with Kaito. "I think its best for everyone if we all stay together..." If Livia and Mai weren't allowed, then someone was going to have to stay with them. He didn't want either of them being attacked while they were gone. Ideally though, Sophie could convince her mother to let them come. Kaito was right, so long as they kept quiet on who they used to work for, things should be fine. Sophie looked less than thrilled at the concept of lying to her mother, but she didn't want to upset Kaito and Niko. Truth be told, it was Livia Sophie didn't trust, Mai on the other hand, was just a kid, and needed someone to protect her. The air dragon scratched at the back of her neck. "...I'll do my best to convince mother to let them stay..."
The path to the sanctuary was treacherous, which normally wasn't an issue, given the dragons could fly there. Livia and Mai would either have to ride up, or find an alternate path up the mountain.

Riding would be easier. "...I'll call my mom and tell her we're coming" Sophie pulled out her phone and stepped into the other room to make the call. Her mother wasn't going to be happy, but Sophie was hoping the idea of meeting new dragons would be enough to distract the older dragon from the fact her daughter was doing the opposite of what she'd been told.

Mai blinked. "...I...always wanted a pet..." she thought for a moment. Preferable something with scales, as I am allergic to most furry creatures" Cats and dogs sent her into sneezing fits. Mai had always thought having a pet in the lab would make the work more enjoyable, but she'd never plucked up the courage to ask for a pet. Aside from that though... "...What's on your bucket list Livia...?"

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

"It's a shame you're allergic, cats are some of the best pets a person can have." Not that Livia was ever allowed to have a pet of her own but she always wanted a cat. "You could get a lizard, or a snake. If you're feeling adventurous you could get something bigger but those are easier to manage from what I heard. One of the other hunters in the academy kept snakes mostly because they were easier to hide from the room checks since pets weren't allowed." Livia chuckled softly at the thought before she heard Mai's question. "My bucket list?" That was something she hadn't thought about in a long time. "I've...always wanted to see the Northern Lights for myself. I've read that it's so beautiful the way the lights dance across the sky, almost majestic in a way. That's actually the number one thing I'd want to do. Travel in general is another, since it'd be hard to travel with the hunters as things stood. It'd be all about business and no pleasure, which wouldn't be any fun at all. So...now that we're free of it I feel like I can actually do those things one day." Still having to stay off the radar of course since the organization would be looking for her but it'd be worth it.

Again, Kaito was quite glad that at least Niko was on the same page as him. It didn't seem like Sophie was very keen on the idea of actually trying to convince her mother but Kaito was going to be hopeful. Regardless of how she felt about the hunter, the woman did risk herself by helping Tahra get out of that hell. That earned trust points to Kaito easily and hopefully Sophie would learn that on her own. Livia could have easily tried to kill them in their sleep if she was really still with the hunters. But she didn't. Giving her a nod when she walked off, a sigh left his lips before he looked over Niko. "So much for catching a break. Is Tahra doing all right? Did she mention anything hurting at all?" Kaito didn't doubt his abilities at all but he never knew if there was a spot he might have missed given just how many injuries she had.

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

Niko shook his head. "She said she felt fine all things considered..." Still, he wished they'd had some time to allow her and Mai to rest some. Now they had to get packing and shit... Niko scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "We can rest on the train, it's practically a cross country ride from what Sophie has told me" Which wasn't much, but he knew Crystal City was quite the ways away from her home. The train ride itself worried Niko, the last thing he wanted was a public confrontation that put innocent people at risk. He looked to Kaito and chuckled. "Well hey, look on the bright side. It's my first road trip with my girlfriend" he chuckled. He figured a little light hearted teasing would help to lighten the mood some. Things would look up...eventually. They had to.

Mai blinked. "the northern lights?" She'd heard of those, fantastic colors that lit u the skies of the far north...and south. They were a popular tourist attraction. "...I've read about those...its really cold up there..." She frowned. The idea of going somewhere so cold didn't appeal to her much. Mai liked to be warm... "...I'd like a snake..or a spider..." She said, going back to the pet issue. She liked snakes, they were interesting creatures. Mai also enjoyed the fact they lacked legs, and still managed to get around. Maybe she should write her own bucket list... "...Do...do you think Sahara had a bucket list too...?" she asked, looking to Livia. If so, Mai hoped the woman had gotten a chance to accomplish something off it before...

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

"Yup, cold doesn't bother me too much so I don't mind about that. It's places that are too hot that make me want to stay away." Livia much preferred the cold over the heat any day. Sweating and not being able to strip down any further due to decency issues was always a problem. No, Livia would much rather be all bundled up in front of a fire if she had a choice. A soft hum of acknowledgement left her lips when the girl mentioned what kinds of pets she'd be interested in getting. Maybe not right now but certainly when things settled down again, she should definitely get one. As Livia began to sip at her almost forgotten coffee, a small glare was sent towards Mai with her next question. "Why are you talking about her as if she's dead?" Livia refused to believe that the other hunter was killed; the organization was far too ruthless to just let her die like that, even if they were planning one day to do it themselves. "Lots of people have bucket lists and I'm sure Sahara has at least some things she'd like to do. One of them I know is getting revenge for her sister's death but..." The one that killed her sister was Niko, or at least that was what Livia understood from everything that had been going on at the time. If it came down to it, would Sahara try to kill him? That wasn't a pleasant thing to think about so she quickly shook her head. "The girl's too stubborn to let herself get picked off so early in her life."

"Mm, that's good. I was hoping I didn't miss any spots or anything." Kaito let a relieved sigh leave his lips as his hand came up to rub the back of his head. "Well, Tahra and Mai can still rest until we leave as well. They don't have to help us pack things up, it shouldn't be too much we'll be bringing with." Probably just some provisions for the journey, maybe some change of clothes, but nothing that would weigh them down too much. Hearing Niko say something about a bright side brought Kaito's gaze back to the other dragon in slight surprise. "Your girlfriend?" That was quick a shocking thing to say, especially since the only female dragons were Sophie and Tahra. Which Sophie was out of the question since Niko had been teasing Kaito about getting with her. The only one left would be Tahra and she really didn't seem the type to actually want a relationship. "That's...surprising, I'm sorry. Not sorry for you and Tahra being together, but sorry that I'm so surprised. She just...didn't seem like the type that'd go for something like that." Not that he knew it was because she never wanted to put someone in danger by being close; he just didn't link the two together since it wasn't certain what she did as a career. Only Niko knew. "Regardless, congratulations. Have you told Sophie yet or is this more of a thing that just happened?"

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

Mai blinked. "...Because in all likelihood she is dead...". Mai was certain that Sahara's injuries alone were enough to be fatal. The close range gun shot had nearly taken her arm off, the amount of blood she'd lost in those few, precious moments before Livia and the rest of them had fled was more than enough to be fatal. Regardless of what the organization did, or didn't do, Mai believed Sahara was buried in an unmarked grave somewhere off property. However, Livia didn't seem to share this opinion, citing Sahara's stubbornness was too strong to simply die. Even if she was alive...she was stuck behind enemy lines, chasing after her former allies. If they suspected for one second she was a traitor, she'd be killed. "...Assuming she was alive....and came back here" Mai's flat eyes looked to Livia. "...Would you fight for her, when she tried to get her revenge, or the dragons?" Mai knew about Sahara's sister, who had died from complications to severe burns. It was Sahara herself that had claimed Niko was responsible, Mai was certain if the two were to meet again, one would perish. Mai's voice betrayed little emotion as she spoke, as she revered back to her usual, apathetic nature.

Connecting with others and actively displaying emotion was not only tiresome, it was detrimental to work, so Mai had never learned the ins and outs of social norms. It wasn't as if there were a lot of people her age in the organization, even if their were, Mai's work had kept her far to busy to socialize. Sahara was the only person who went out of her way in order to talk to her. Though it had been annoying most of the times, Mai missed the random interruptions, hugs, and all around presence of her so called "big sister". At least, that's what Sahara claimed she was.

Niko shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, but hey, I suppose all this shit made her change her mind". Niko had no doubt being captured played a role in Tahra wanting to stick around, simply for the fact she now had proof she was safer with a group. Especially when it was a group willing to walk through hell to save one of their own. That being said, Niko liked to think his charm and good looks had played a role as well, but he kept those thoughts to himself. He chuckled as Kaito mentioned telling Sophie. "Not yet, as soon as she knows it'll be 'oh you two are sooo cute congrats' and shit" he laughed quietly. Looking to Kaito, he arched an eyebrow. "...So, is this road trip a double date or...?" he smirked.
"What are you talking about?" Niko jumped as Sophie walked back, having finished her call. "Nothin Sophie, how'd that go" Niko motioned to the phone. Sophie sighed and flashed a small smile.

"Well, I got us train tickets...Mom isn't exactly thrilled but she wants us to be safe so she got them...".

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

The fact that Mai was being negative was a sign that the girl wasn't thinking all that well in Livia's opinion. Or the girl just didn't know the hunters like Livia did, one of the two. Livia was one hundred percent sure that Sahara was being patched up and kept alive if only to get information out of her about Livia and Mai themselves. If they suspected anything, then yes they'd put her down but if she just played the part of being used or Livia being the one to hit her then she'd be fine. For now at least. Livia just didn't want to argue that with Mai when the scientist seemed so damn adamant about her not being around any longer. Her thoughts stopped when she heard the scientists words that made her brows furrow together some. "Neither, as both of those options would leave to someone dying and I'm tired of that already. I don't know the circumstances of Niko's past nor do I know what exactly went down between the two of them. Sahara deserves her revenge to a degree sure but at the same time, Niko deserves to live freely; he has gone through too much in his life I'm sure and this kind of situation shouldn't happen. I feel like my whole train of thought on dragons have done a one-eighty in the past couple of days and as odd as it sounds coming from me, the dispute between them needs to be ended civilly. Not physically. So I would intervene to stop them from fighting if it came down to it."

"How interesting." Livia jumped slightly hearing another voice and turned towards the door to see Tahra leaning against the door frame. "If this other hunter does come and find us, you realize she won't be alone." Tahra stated while straightening up and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Of course not. Hunters operate in pairs at the minimum, although with you four I imagine they'd send in some of the higher class hunters. Maybe even the elite ones. But it doesn't matter how many they send, until I get my answers I'm not going to back down from fighting them. They need to know what the truth is and I have to find it to show it to them." Eventually she'd find out where her father was actually at and she could confront him. The in-between of what's going on until that time was still undecided though.

"Such conviction, I'm not surprised though given your upbringing." Tahra shrugged her shoulders slightly before making a motion to the two of them. "We need to leave as soon as possible. I might have other clothes that could fit the two of you, although it might hang a little loose on you." Tahra spoke to Mai since she was more petite than Tahra was. "There's two hiking backpacks in the far room down the hall on the left. Grab whatever you want from the closet in there but make sure it's enough for several days. The journey we've got ahead of us might be a long one."

"Regardless of why she changed her mind, I'm glad she did. We'll all be much safer if we stick together." Even saying that, Kaito had the feeling that it wasn't so much a group setting that changed her mind; it was more Niko's doing than anything else. Niko and whatever really happened to her in that facility. He ended up laughing as well with the fire dragon's impersonation of how Sophie would react. He could easily see Sophie doing that as well, even though a part of him still wondered if maybe she didn't like Tahra still in some way. Which brought another thought: Sophie didn't like Tahra in the beginning and she didn't like Livia now. Was it a woman thing maybe? That was an interesting thought but one that he didn't really have time to dwell on either. Niko asked if it was going to be a double date and it threw Kaito off. His mouth hung open as he was going to reply but Sophie showed up at the very same time. So quickly he closed his mouth and cleared his throat. "So, all we need to do is pack up then and then head out. Is she really fine with Livia and Mai coming into the sanctuary though?" Kaito assumed that was what she meant but he just wanted to make sure.

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts
​

Niko chuckled as Kaito stammered and then closed his mouth, it seemed he still hadn't put the moves on Sophie yet. Sophie looked at Kaito confused. Why was he acting weird...? It seemed whenever she left him and Niko alone, something strange went down... She shook her head to chase the thought out of her head before answering Kaito's question. "...I told her I had five friends looking to come with me...I didn't tell her two were human" That wasn't a fight she wanted to have over the phone. "Once we meet her at the train station, I'll talk to her about it. At that point, it would be too late to send Livia and Mai away. Sophie's mother was a kind person, hopefully she wasn't going to make a scene about it. "...I didn't want to fight with her on the phone" Sophie said with a sigh. Niko nodded. He supposed that made sense, though they'd have issues if her mom turned the humans away. "The train leave tomorrow morning, at six..." Sophie said with a sigh. The idea of being up so early was daunting.
"Well, we'll hope for the best, for now...we should get packing" Niko trailed off for a moment, as Sophie moved closer to Kaito and rested her head against his shoulder. The air dragon looked pretty down, she had to be worried sick about her father and brother.

Niko snickered and winked at Kaito. "Well, I'm going to find Tahra, and start packing" he waved at the pair before heading in the direction Tahra had, chuckling under his breath as he went. Once the two were alone, Sophie looked up at Kaito with tired, but happy eyes. Though everything felt like it was falling apart all over again, one tiny bit of good had come out of this. At least she knew Kaito was at least remotely interested in her. The very thought was enough to make her blush some. She wondered if she'd really been so obvious... That had to be it, how else would he have caught on. She had a thousand questions but when she opened her mouth to speak, all that came out was. "...So...uh...n-now what?". God dammit Sophie, she cursed herself mentally.

Mai didn't see why Tahra was unwilling to accept the fact that Sahara was likely dead. Her injuries were severe, and the human body can only take so much abuse. She kept these thoughts to herself however, because Tahra entered the room, and was addressing Livia. Mai wished she could have the same resolve that the former hunter had, however, that wasn't her lot in life. And now that she'd completed her ultimate task, Mai was unsure of what would come next. She imagined Livia and the others wouldn't allow her to simply go her own way. It seemed the group would be on the move soon enough.
Mai didn't know where they were going, but it seemed they'd be leaving soon. Baggy clothes were of no issue to the scientist...given her lab coat was several sizes to large for her.

"All done with your call then?" Niko asked as he stepped into the room. It seemed the earth dragon had filled in the girls about what was going on. "Sophie and Kaito are packing, I suggest we do the same. Sophie got us tickets, train leaves tomorrow at six am..."

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

So Sophie really hadn't mentioned it on the phone; which meant that this was going to be one hell of a conversation once they met up with her mother. Well, Kaito already knew what he was going to do if the older dragon was going to refuse Livia and Mai. Someone had to stay with them, which just meant their group would have to temporarily be split into two. It wouldn't be right to leave them on their own given the dangers they now faced. Kaito had no doubts Livia could fend off her own but he wasn't so sure how she'd be facing a lot of them and having to protect someone else. No offense to Mai but she didn't seem the type to be able to put up much of a fight. His train of thought paused when he felt Sophie start resting against him, so he glanced down and instinctively put his arm around her. The snicker was responded to with an eye roll but he couldn't help but smile at the same time. Niko excused himself to find Tahra and begin packing, which just left Kaito and Sophie again. Her question made him tilt his head in thought for a moment. "Well, we need to start packing too. So I guess while we do that, you should think about us as well. We both admitted to liking each other, so can it be safe to assume that we're going to start dating each other now? Just think about it some and let me know when you come to a decision."

Kaito leaned forward to place a kiss to her forehead before he reached out to take her hand in his. Then he led her in the direction of the rooms, not that there was much to grab in the first place. Or so he thought. Two large bins were in the room they had slept in along with two hiking backpacks; one bin had women's clothes and the other had men's. "I suppose we should thank Tahra for these." He chuckled slightly before separating to start gathering some for himself while Sophie could get some for herself. How Tahra had all the men's clothes was still a mystery to him but he wasn't going to complain. It'd be enough until he could get some proper fitting

Tahra turned her head when she heard Niko's voice behind her and gave him a small nod. "Yeah. They weren't too happy so I had to threaten them with sending all their information to other agencies. That shut them up real quick but I don't think it's going to be the end of them. Which is why I want to get out of this place as quick as possible. One of the agents I worked with before knows this location so if they come looking for me, they have a good place to start." She explained just enough since he now knew what she really did -mostly- for a living. Hearing when they were going to leave made her nod her head before looking the humans over. "Chop, chop. Come on. You heard him, we have to leave bright and early." She spoke more in a teasing manner than anything to the other two to get them moving before she led Niko to her room. She had gathered some of the boxes from the garage and placed one in Kaito's room for him that she thought would fit him and another for Niko to skim through. The rest of the night was spent packing the bags, including the most important bag for Tahra: her chips and drink. She couldn't just leave them behind but she knew she had to leave the majority. By the time everything was all packed up and ready to go, it was late in the night so they went to bed without a hitch. It was only a few hours of sleep before they got up to leave for the station. They split into two and took her two babies that were left to the train station and from there, Tahra found two people that seemed like they would be good for the cars and gave them the key and the signed title. She wouldn't have a use for it and could easily buy herself another once they settled somewhere.

From there, they were able to board the train without any worries and settled down. The ride itself took about five days; five long, boring days where nothing happened except for some stops to pick up and drop off various people. Some days the train was packed, others it was just them in the car. Overall though, nothing eventful happened and that wasn't such a bad thing at all. Tahra ended up attempting to take off the bandage around her eye on the third day but she didn't like the way her eye was different now. The color was much paler than her good eye and there was small but deep lines coming out of her eye where the knife had chipped away. Because of that, she chose to re-wrap it and put a fresh bandage on. At least until she could get used to seeing it, until then it would stay wrapped. By the time that they finally made it to their stop, Tahra was itching to get off of the train and Kaito really couldn't say he didn't feel the same. Trains were never really his thing since he much preferred driving. Livia seemed the only one of the three that didn't care either way. Once all of their belongings were gathered up and they went to check in with their tickets, Kaito glanced around for a moment before settling on Sophie.

"So is your mother meeting us here? Or do we need to rent a car and meet her somewhere else?" He asked curiously. He knew that they were meeting the older dragon but he didn't know if it would be at the station or not. Either way it shouldn't be too much of a problem but he just wanted to know so they could go in the right direction.

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

Niko smiled. "Well, if for any reason any of them give us trouble, I'd be happy to send them running, with their pants on fire". He chuckled and slid an arm around Tahra's waist. "Mai, make sure you bring enough clothes okay?" He spoke to the scientist, who blinked and nodded slowly. "...Yes sir" she replied in her usual robotic tone. It was actually kinda creepy, Niko shook the thought from his head as he followed Tahra back to the bedroom. "...You think Mai will be okay?" he asked Tahra as he started looking through the clothes Tahra had left out for him. The girl had never known a life outside of her job, and now she was tossed head first into the world. He hoped she'd be alright, but at the moment, he couldn't think of anything to do to help the teen. So, he busied himself with packing, he picked out mainly tee shirts and jeans from Tahra's collection, he had no use for hoodies and coats, given he rarely got cold. He chuckled as Tahra packed away a portion of her stash, but he didn't really blame her. Plus, he was probably going to steal some of those chips, so it was a win win...

Sophie blushed bright red at Kaito's words. Dating? She'd honestly never thought she'd get that far, given she never would've had the courage to tell Kaito how she felt. She never got this far and now... "I...uh....uh..." she stammered nervously and shook her head. "O-okay...I'll t-think about it" she managed to get out. There was nothing to think about really, her heart was going a mile a minute, she was certain Kaito could hear it. She wanted to say yes right then and there, but they needed to pack. Plus she was afraid she wouldn't be able to get the words out... She smiled as Kaito kissed her on the forehead, she could get used to this. As she followed him into the room to pack, a new thought hit her. If they were to start dating..that meant it would be the first time she brought a boy home. Oh god...
Mai wasn't sure where the group was going, but it seemed they were leaving first thing in the morning. So, she packed, as best as she could. She was still rather sluggish from her time in bed, but she managed to pack a bag full of clothes she thought would fit her. Of course, she kept her lab coat, as she wasn't willing to go anywhere without it.

That night, Sophie was restless, she barely got any sleep, given how late it was when they went to bed. The next morning, she and everyone else were up bright and early. It was like being back home again for the farm girl. They got everything loaded into two cars, and headed for the train station. Once they caught the train, it was five long days of traveling, which Sophie spent either reading, chatting with Kaito, or sitting with Mai. The young teen seemed so...well...detached from the world, so Sophie tried to make her feel more welcome. This often included sitting and blabbing to the teen, anything Sophie could think about. Mai didn't seem to care one way or another, but that didn't stop Sophie.
Niko spent the bulk of it sleeping, usually next to Tahra, he didn't like traveling, and sleeping made it go by faster.

By the time they rolled into mountain country, five days later, everyone was tired of the train. Once her feet touched the platform, Sophie couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Well...she's supposed to be meeting us here..." She said, looking up to Kaito. She'd spent the five days contemplating what she was going to say to her mother about Livia and Mai, she also had to explain her new...well... Sophie leaned up and pecked on the cheek, eliciting a snide comment from Niko as unloaded the luggage from the cart they'd used to move it outside the station. "I've never brought a boy home before...so we'll see how this goes" she flashed Kaito a small, nervous smile. That was the best way she knew to say yes, I'd love to date you.

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

'Supposed to be' wasn't very comforting to hear at all. That meant it wasn't a guarantee that the dragon was coming in the first place. Well, hopefully she would but Kaito couldn't help but have some measure of doubt after everything that'd happened so far. Their luck wasn't exactly the greatest. He glanced over to Livia and Mai, the former hunter more in particular as she had been quiet during most of the trip here. The water dragon was wondering what she might be thinking about but it was hard to actually ask her anything. At least during the trip. She had seemed a little on edge part of the way and it wasn't until they got out of city areas that she relaxed. It probably had to do with the location of hunters' headquarters throughout the land. The dragons didn't know of the locations but she would since she worked for the company. Maybe every time she went on edge, they were near a headquarters? That marked quite the number of places for the hunters to accumulate and grow; which made their job as dragons surviving that much harder. His thoughts stopped when he felt movement beside him and he glanced towards Sophie in time for her to kiss his cheek. That caused him to blink a couple of times in surprise before he couldn't help but grin with her comment. He knew what it meant; it meant she wanted to be his girlfriend after all.

Kaito's arm wrapped around her shoulders to pull her closer before he placed a kiss to her temple. "Save that lovey dovey shit for later, kay? Or are you planning on making us women carry everything?" Tahra spoke in a teasing manner, motioning to Livia and Mai as she said 'women'. A smirk was on her face as she just wanted to mess with the pair that finally hooked up. This seemed to draw Livia out of whatever thoughts she had been having and a confused look was given to the redhead.

"What?" Livia didn't hear what had been said but with how Tahra waved off the question, it just made her more confused.

"Quit messing with us." Kaito spoke in a playful stern tone, which just caused the redhead to stick her tongue out at him before the two of them chuckled. She was right though, it wouldn't do too well to get too excited just yet. They still had to meet Sophie's mother and if the older dragon didn't like him....well, he'd figure it out. Tahra grabbed her bags and slung them over her shoulder right before Kaito did the same. The redhead then walked over to Niko and gave him a small smile; at the same time her hand reached out for his so she could hold it. "All right, Sophie. Let's go find your mother, lead the way."

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts
​

Mai looked on, uninterested in the dragons interactions. Such relationships were not logical to the girl, she grabbed her single bag, a ratty old backpack, and secured it on her shoulders before looking to Livia. The other hunter had been fairly quiet throughout the trip, perhaps because the train had taken them past several hunter outposts. If Livia was who she claimed to be, which Mai didn't have any reason to doubt the woman, then there was no doubt that there'd be a force of hunters searching for her. It was understandable for her to be nervous. Niko took Tahra's hand, bringing it to his lips he kissed it before flashing a smile. Kaito wasn't the only one who could be cheesy. The fire dragon looked to Sophie. "Lead the way". Sophie took a breath, pulled out her phone, and sent her other a quick text. She got a reply immediately. "She said she can see us...", Sophie said, looking up from her phone.
Looking out over the platform, Sophie caught a glimpse of an older woman with graying hair standing by the exit. In spite of how nervous she was, Sophie couldn't help but feel elated, seeing her mother again, alive and well, took a weight off her shoulders.

"There she is!" Sophie grabbed her bags and dashed over to the woman, in her excitement she left the group behind her. Niko smirked at Kaito. "Your girlfriend ditched you" he chuckled as he followed after the air dragon, leading Tahra by the hand as he did. Mai followed after Livia, and observed everything with her trademark blank expression. "SOPHIE!" The air dragon was met with a bear hug as Sophie reached her mother. The older woman wrapped her daughter in a hug and held hr tight for a second. "Oh sweetie, I really wish you would've just stayed where you were..." She sighed and reluctantly let Sophie go. Sophie smiled. "I'm glad we didn't..." she looked back at the group and beckoned them closer.

Sophie looked a lot like her mother, they both had the same, bright brown eyes, though her mother's were lined with winkles and lines that gave away her age. She was a tall, tithe woman, with long, blonde hair that was starting to gray. She looked over the group as they approached. "And they are...?" She looked to Sophie, who nodded. "Mom...this is Niko" Niko raised his hand. "Tahra, his girlfriend" Niko pointed to Tahra. "Livia and Mai" Mai blinked as her name was called, before slowly raising her hand. "And this..." Her mother arched an eyebrow as Sophie took Kaito's hand. "Is Kaito...my uh...boyfriend"
Sophie tried to pretend she wasn't nervous, but the look her mom gave her was enough to even make Niko shift slightly. Man he was glad he didn't have to worry about this with Tahra.
Wait, no, that sounded terrible, he wasn't glad she didn't have a family it was just... He shook his head, as the entire train of thought was messed up.
"And guys, this is Maria, my mother"

"..." Maria looked Kaito over. "...And...when did this happen?" "...Recently..." was Sophie's nervous reply" "Hmmm"
Maria approached the couple, and Sophie squeezed Kaito's hand. She gave the water dragon a hard stare for what felt like forever, but was in all actuality only a few minutes. Then, Maria smiled. "Well, I'm happy for the both of you...we can talk later...for now, lets get going..." She pat Sophie on the shoulder before turning and headed for the exit. "There's a car waiting, though it might be a tight squeeze..."
Sophie let go the breath she'd been holding and smiled at Kaito. "...I think you passed...".

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

"She can see us?" Kaito repeated as he glanced around, though who he was looking for he hadn't a clue. He was hoping the older woman looked similar to Sophie which would make it easier to spot her. His thought had been right too because soon Sophie was rushing off to give the older woman a large hug, the group following slowly behind. "It's all right. It's for family, so there's nothing I can do." Kaito shrugged his shoulders some since he didn't mind the teasing this time around. As they neared and the pair of air dragons said their greetings, Livia stayed more off too the side of the group lost in thoughts while Tahra was right by Niko's side. Kaito sort of stayed somewhere in the middle with a smile directed to the older woman. When the introductions were given, Tahra gave a salute of sorts when she was introduced while Livia just gave a small nod as a greeting. When it was finally Kaito's turn, he glanced to Sophie with a small smile that faltered slightly when she introduced him as her boyfriend. He had expected it of course but at the same time, hearing it out loud like that really made things real. The look from Sophie's mother caused a nervous chuckle to leave Kaito's lips but he stood his ground nonetheless; his arm kept Sophie close and for a moment, he felt like he was holding his breath as he was judged.

In the end, the friendly smile never once left his face as he continued to stare at the older woman back. Finally she seemed to concede to the idea and went to shake his hand, which he returned with a firm but gentle shake. He wasn't shy by any means so there wasn't a real reason to be nervous around the woman. "Thank you." Kaito nodded again to her when she said she'd be happy for them, which in a way meant she accepted it...right? Sophie must have been thinking the same thing since she said he passed. "For now at least." There was a slight nervous chuckle in his tone as he wasn't sure how long that would stick.

"Don't be such a baby, if you like her then you like her. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, even if they're family, so long as you and Sophie are happy." Tahra spoke in a tone so that only Kaito -and in turn Sophie and Niko since they were both near- could hear. She didn't see any reason why it mattered about having other people care too much. That was likely because of her growing up without family though.

"Yeah, well...it'd still be nice to have them like me all the same." Kaito's response elicited a shrug from the redhead. She wouldn't be able to understand why and Kaito wasn't going to press it either. So he turned his focus back to Sophie instead. "How far is the sanctuary from here?"

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

Niko chuckled as Kaito squirmed under the air dragon's gaze, it had to be nerve wracking. He was with Tahra though, there was n force on earth that would keep him from someone he cared about, even if it was family. But once again, he didn't have to worry about that with Tahra. He looped his arm around her shoulders as they followed Sophie and her mother. Mai continued to observe quietly, walking along side Livia. She looked to the former hunter as they followed the dragons. She wondered what Livia was thinking about, whatever it was, it must've been important. Mai was wondering about their current situation, Sophie had mentioned her mother was not aware there were two humans in the party. When was this going to be revealed? Mai could only watch and wait.

"We'll have to drive a couple of hours to reach the mountain range, after that, we go up" Maria chimed in, answering Kaito's question before Sophie could. Sophie nodded in agreement as Niko spoke up. "And how far up do we go exactly...?" Maria chuckled, she stopped in front of a mid sized sedan. "...let's just say, we'll be going high enough, that my little flutter bug here" Sophie turned bright red and Niko choked down a laugh as Maria pat her on the head. 'Will be able to stretch her wings...course that goes for the rest of you" The sanctuary was so high up, and on the far side of the range, so humans rarely ventured close. It was only reachable by air. "Once we're up high enough, we'll fly the rest of the way" Sophie paled, she'd forgotten about that. Mai and Livia would have to ride there...and...they'd...be very cold.

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you..." Sophie spoke up as Maria took her bag. "It can wait sweetie, we need to get going" "This is important". Sophie said. "it can wait love, now everyone..into the car" With the double row in the back, there was just enough room for everyone, though it was going to be a bit of a tight squeeze. Maria walked around to the drivers seat, it seemed she wasn't going to hear what Sophie needed to say until they were on the road. Sophie sighed and looked to Kaito. "...I suppose we get in then" her gaze flickered to Livia and Mai. "You guys uh...just sit tight okay" Looking to Kaito, she sighed. "...For now...I guess we go..." She pecked the water dragon on the cheek before getting into the passenger seat.

Mai crawled into the back, Niko sat beside Tahra, and hoped this ride would go fast, as he disliked being in tight spaces.

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

A couple hours in a tight, enclosed care with five dragons and two humans. What a way to drive. The thought almost made Kaito want to sigh but he refrained from doing so since it would gve away that something was wrong. Although when it was mentioned that they'd have to fly once they arrived, his gaze flicked to the two humans with a growing worry in the pit of his stomach. He really hoped that they packed something warmer to wear than what they had on now. Or maybe they could fly on Niko and it'd be fine? He had to wonder but his thoughts were distracted when he heard Tahra chuckle. "Flutter bug? So cute." As much as Tahra wasn't going to let that go any time soon, she did really think it was cute. It suited the air dragon a lot. The fact that they'd be able to stretch their wings caused Tahra to beam a bit excitedly. Kaito didn't have wings but he understood the reference and was also a bit excited himself about the idea. As they walked out to the car, Sophie seemed to try to tell her mother likely about the humans but the older dragon wouldn't hear it. It'd just have to wait until they were actually on the road then.

All of the bags were placed either in the trunk until it was packed or on the laps of their owners; Livia sat in the far back next to Mai with her bag in her lap. Kaito sat with them, mostly so that Tahra and Niko could still sit together in the middle. It was indeed a bit cramped and uncomfortable but he wasn't going to say anything about it. They'd be home free so to speak soon enough. Much like the train ride, the car ride itself was tediously long if only because of the cramped space. It took as long as the older air dragon said it would and at some point during the ride, Livia pulled out a long-sleeved leather jacket to slip on. She remained quiet though overall, even outside of the small talk that was being given by the dragons to pass the time. When the car finally pulled to a stop by the mountain range, Tahra and Niko got out first before Kaito, Livia, and Mai could get out next. The redhead did a few quick stretches as even she felt cramped even though they had more room sitting in the middle. Kaito rolled his shoulders a bit and looked up towards the sky, wondering how far they'd really have to fly up there. His eyes again darted over to Livia and Mai, the former hunter looking up too. "Hey, it'll be okay." Kaito spoke reassuringly to her and Mai, causing the huntress to look his way.

"I wasn't worried about that." She retorted, clearly referring to having to ride on one of the dragons' backs. No, she was more worried about why the place looked a bit familiar than anything else. She'd never been here before but she knew without any doubts she'd seen the mountain range before in one of her training sessions. But what was it about? She couldn't remember right away and it was starting to bug her. The thought was kept to herself however, so when silence remained in the air Kaito shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Sophie." Kaito turned his attention to her and walked over to wrap his arm around her waist with a tender smile. "I think it's time." He was indicating telling her mother about the humans of course. It had been made apparent by his slight motion towards the two of them. He then leaned in closer to place a gentle kiss on her forehead that was meant to give her luck more than anything.

"Save the PDA for when you're alone, sheesh." Tahra's voice spoke in a teasing tone near them and Kaito turned to glance at her. She had her arms wrapped around Niko's with a grin on her cheeks. Her head rested on his shoulder as she looked up at him. "You're going to see me for the first time, for real. I'm actually a little nervous." She told him more quietly, thinking about her dragon form and already itching to shift into it. It had been far too long since she'd gotten to stretch her wings so she was quite excited about this as much as she was nervous about what Niko would think. That was an odd feeling since she wasn't used to feeling like that. How others felt hadn't mattered before but she knew without any doubts she cared what Niko thought.

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

The car ride there was spent catching up, Maria prattled on and on about the growing clan, and Sophie's brother and sisters. Well, Maria called any child that made their way to the sanctuary her child, and therefore they were Sophie's brothers and sisters. Sophie was happy to hear about how everyone was doing, but at the pit of stomach, there was a bundle of nerves. She didn't know how her mother was going to take the news. She often looked into the back seat at Kaito, Mai and Livia, wondering how to break the news to her mom. Sophie also told her mother about their recent brush with the hunters, including how Niko had gotten his scale back, and how they'd rescued Tahra. She didn't mention Mai and Livia were former hunters.
The two hour car ride seemed to fly by in a flash for Sophie, soon enough they were at the base of the range, her mother had driven them to a scenic look out point which overlooked the base of the range. It was very pretty, but as Kaito wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, she knew she couldn't put this off any longer. Her mother was helping them o grab their bags, Mai was waiting patiently for her backpack to be uncovered. Maria was watching the girl closely, now that she was closer, something smelled off about her.

"I can't wait..." Niko said as he kissed Tahra on the forehead. It had been ages since he lasted shifted, when his scale had been broken, he couldn't muster the energy to do it. But now... Niko was also itching to get into the air. He held Tahra by the waist. "You'll be seeing me for the first time...allow me to spoil it for you. I'm just as amazing, if not more so" he chuckled. He was itching to get going, but they couldn't until Sophie addressed the elephant in the room. At the moment, her mother was helping Mai get her bag, but there was a look on her face... One that Niko didn't like. "...Hang on a sec love..." Niko said as he released Tahra and walked over to the car. For now, he was just watching.

"...Here sweetie" Maria grabbed Mai's backpack and held it out to her. As Mai reached out to take it, Maria grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her close. Mai's opened wider, alarm flashed in her eyes briefly as the elder air dragon held her close and seemed to be sniffing her. Mai held still, she knew dragons had a keen sense of smell, even in their human forms. Honestly, she was surprised it had taken this long for her to notice. Maria's eyes narrowed as the familiar scent assaulted her senses. "Sophie" she growled lowly and the younger air dragon rushed over. Suddenly the air felt very thick and heavy, and Mai started coughing, as it was getting harder to breathe. "Mom, I can explain...". Sophie began, but then, Niko cut in. "Let her go" the fire dragon growled as he placed his hands on Mai's shoulders. The teen's body was shaking with the force of her coughs, she leaned against Niko for support. "Mother, stop it" Sophie said sternly. She knew what her mom was doing.

"Why, in God's name, did you bring a human here...?" Maria spoke calmly, but there was a coldness to her voice that hadn't been there before. "Because they're..." "They're!? There's another one" Maria's gaze shifted from Niko to Tahra and then finally to Livia. "...its her...isn't it" Maria spoke, pointing to the former hunter. "You ought to know better Sophie. You know what happens to humans who get too close" Sophie gulped. "Mom please..." Sophie spoke again. "I...I know the rule on humans...but these humans...Mai and Livia are our friends...". Maria arched an eyebrow. "Oh really...?" She looked from Sophie, to Niko, Tahra and then Kaito. "...This would've been something to mention earlier love"

Sophie sighed. "I tried...you wouldn't listen...please Mom...they have no where else to go..." She didn't want Mai and Livia seperate from the group, because that would mean Kaito would stay with them. "Just...let them come, they can stay in the alcoves...away from everyone else...no one has to know" Maria didn't looked convinced, and for a second Niko thought they were going to have to fight her. She shot Livia and Mai a distasteful, distrustful look before sighing. Mai gasped as she sucked down a fresh gulp of air. "...Alright...fine...but if they so much as look at someone the wrong way" Maria glared at Sophie. "...then they die". Sophie gulped as Maria turned and walked toward the cliff they were parked by. "Follow the trail..." She pointed to the path which lead up the mountain. "Sophie can tell you where to shift, I have to move the car"
Sophie watched as her mom got back into the car and drove off. She sighed. "Well...that uh...could've gone better" Niko snorted. "You think?" he looked to Mai. "Are you okay kid?" Mai took another deep breath before nodding. It had felt like she was suffocating.. .So that was the power of the air dragons...

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

Tahra ended up rolling her eyes a bit even as she laughed at Niko's words; he was pretty amazing, so it would be quite interesting to see him in his dragon form. The smile on her face faltered though when she was told to hold on. Her gaze went towards Livia and Mai, the former hunter staying a distance away from Maria. Not because she had to but because she wasn't trusting of the older dragon. For good reason too. As Mai's bag was handed off to the younger girl, the air dragon snapped and pulled her close to sniff her. Out of instinct, Livia's hand reached for her gun but Tahra was already at her side to stop her from drawing it. The redhead shook her head, silently telling her to let the others handle it. A glare was sent to Tahra but Livia ended up conceding nonetheless. It was a serious problem though because Maria was using her power to hurt Mai and Livia was so close to just stepping forward to put a stop to it. Niko stepped in though but it didn't seem like any words were reaching the older dragon. When the gaze settled on Livia, she found her hand on her gun again but Tahra stepped in front of her almost in a protective manner. That was quite surprising given the situation but Livia wasn't going to say anything about it. After what felt like an eternity, Maria seemed to cave but she still threatened them at the same time. It made Livia roll her eyes but her had stayed on her gun. She really didn't trust Maria one bit.

"Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to either of you." Kaito seemed confident enough as he spoke to Mai and Livia after Maria got into the car. He scratched the back of his neck slightly and nodded in agreement to Sophie. That could have gone a lot better but it was better that it was said now than when they were at the train station. It would have meant that the humans would have been left behind there.

"She seems to be a ball of sunshine." Livia spoke sarcastically as she finally let her hand fall from the gun to cross over her chest.

"What do you expect when hunters are at our throats trying to kill us off? Be grateful she doesn't know where you two are from or she really might have tried to kill you both." Tahra spoke up as she stretched her arms above her head.

"Not that we would have allowed that to happen." Kaito added, earning a nod of agreement from the redhead before she glanced in the direction they were supposed to be going.

"It doesn't matter either way. I won't be dying until I find my answers so she can threaten me all she wants. It's irrelevant." The confidence from the former hunter was a bit surprising to Kaito but it was also more than welcome. It meant she'd survive just fine even when surrounded by a bunch of dragons like they would be soon. With all of that now out of the way, he took a small breath before once again wrapping his arm around Sophie's shoulders. "Well, lead the way Sophie. I assume we can't just shift here, right?"

"Oh." The question reminded Tahra of something and she glanced between Mai and Livia. "Obviously you guys won't be able to make it up on your own so you'll have to ride on one of our backs. You can pick who you want it to be after we shift, just so you can figure out who might be more comfortable for you. I'd suggest bundling up into something a bit warmer though cuz it looks like it might be a long flight up."

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts​

Sophie breathed a sigh of relief as her mother drove off. "...I'm sorry guys..." Though truth be told, she could've just killed Mai right here, Sophie was surprised she didn't honestly. Her mother was very distrustful of humans, any humans who got to close to the sanctuary tended to go missing. But like Tahra had said, anyone would be paranoid if hunters spent their days trying to kill them. She shot Livia an angry look as she mocked her mother. "...If my mother had wanted you dead, you'd be dead, before you pulled that gun out" she pointed to the holster. "...Keep that thing hidden, if someone sees it..." Sophie didn't want to think to much about it, simply because there were several ways either human could die if they were outed. Having said her piece, Sophie turned on her heel and stalked toward the path. She was silently wishing her mom had just offed Livia, she didn't mind Mai nearly as much as the older woman. She didn't seem to appreciate the situation she was in, and how precarious it was. She wasn't going to argue with the former hunter, she just wanted to get going...

Mai shook her head, her head was feeling clear again, she took a step forward, moving out of Niko's grasp. "I am fine..." She said as the fire dragon opened his mouth to protest. "Lets keep going" Mai said as she fell in step with the group. Niko watched the girl, but she seemed to be okay. That had been close, but he agreed with Tahra and Kaito. These two were allies, he wasn't going to let anyone hurt them. Even if that meant going against Sophie's family...or Sophie herself. The air dragon seemed disgruntled, he hoped once they got to this sanctuary that she'd calm down some. Sophie lead the group further up the path, and it started growing colder as they walked. She didn't seem phased though, and Niko, honestly, he was a little hot.
He fell in step beside Tahra as they walked, and kept an eye on Mai, just in case she were to stumble or fall.

They hiked maybe a mile up or so, but the time the group reached their destination, Mai was shivering. She had her coat buttoned around her, but the biting wind was going right through it. None of the dragons seemed affected, Sophie was wearing shorts and a tank top, and looked fine. Mai felt slightly envious. Sophie took a deep breath, loving the feeling of the crisp mountain air. Turning, she looked back to the group, Sophie grinned. "Well...this is where we can shift...nobody comes up here"

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

Despite how Sophie claimed her mother would kill Livia if she wanted, Kaito shook her head to the hunter to let her know that wouldn't happen. Even if he had to fight Sophie's mother -and it pained him to think Sophie herself- he would stop them from harming both Mai and Livia. He strongly believed that they had shown enough risk by helping Tahra escape that place to earn his trust. He just hoped that Sophie would be able to convince her mother to not get to that point if it came down to it. He watched as Livia rolled her eyes again but she still tucked the holster further to her side, lifting her shirt up and over it to cover it more. Tahra followed after the air dragon while sticking close to Niko's side but Kaito stayed back until he could walk beside Livia. "I understand you're nervous but I have to ask that you try to keep certain thoughts to yourself. If you put Sophie more on edge than she already is, it could wind up very badly. I really don't want anything happening to you or to Mai, and trust me when I say I'll do whatever it takes to keep you two safe from whatever we come across. We all will." All of them except for maybe Sophie, she was still questionable about the whole thing.

"I'm not nervous-"

"I'm a water dragon, remember? Part of our gifts is empathy as much as it is intuition. Try and hide it all you want but I can feel your feelings." In a way he could, it was still something he was working on more or less. The thought caused Livia to glance at him with slight confusion before her expression became unreadable. "I want you to trust us, Livia. At the very least, trust in me. I'll keep you safer until you can get your answers." He was fairly sure Niko and Tahra would be agreeing too about that but he didn't want to speak for them either. Livia seemed like she wanted to say something else about that but she ended up glancing to the side instead with a nervous look crossing her feature. Finally she seemed to nod her head so Kaito wrapped his arm around her shoulders to half hug her. "Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me." She grumbled, clearly getting more nervous about the closeness so he took the hint and just chuckled. At least it was a step in the right direction. The rest of the walk seemed to go by rather quickly and they soon found themselves at the point where they could shift. Finally. Livia had her leather jacket zipped up all the way and fingerless gloves on her hands, which her thoroughly stuffed into her pockets. It was cold but she didn't seem as bothered by it as Mai was. The moment that Sophie announced they could shift, Tahra threw a fist in the air excitedly and kissed Niko's cheek before stepping further away from him. There was a pep in her step and once she felt she had enough distance, she closed her eyes and took a small breath. A light green haze began to form around her body that changed to a thick, dark green once she was completely engulfed. It lasted several seconds, and each second that passed her body grew larger and larger. By the time the haze died away, Tahra loomed over the others in her wyvern form. Her spiked tail wagged back and form and her wings expanded out as large as they could before settling on the ground. The claws ends acted as small front feet when the wings were down. Her scales were a variety of shades of greens and there were patches of browns all along her body. Her right eye was a piercing golden color but the left was a much duller color in comparison; even in this form she didn't have sight in that eye.

"Well someone's excited." Kaito teased, to which her response was shaking her whole body as she got used to the feeling again. "Guess that means it's really time then." He couldn't hide his excitement either as he jumped back some distance and allowed a blue haze to engulf him. Much like how he had shifted at the facility, his form appeared within a matter of seconds in a more snake like pose than anything else. His golden serpent-like body twisted and stretched in the air and the long whiskers danced with the wind. Livia couldn't help but to stare in awe at the two before her and somehow fighting one of them just seemed like an impossible feat. How had the hunters managed to kill so many of them when they were so grand? She couldn't fathom the notion of it. There was even more than she didn't know and was starting to suspect that her father was hiding more than she originally thought.

 

[StarryKnights]

Niko Medina and Sophie Stolts
​

Mai stared wide eyes at Tahra and Kaito. "...Serpent and wyvern..." she spoke softly. As far as she knew serpent was common for water dragons, as well as air... Wyvern was common in fire and earth dragons. She wondered if Niko and Sophie would provide examples of the other types the hunters were aware of, Amphithere and European. Niko whistled and watched as Tahra transformed, standing in the shadow of the wyvern he grinned. "Impressive love" he said with a smirk. He hadn't been expecting a wyvern, he supposed that made him the only stereotypical dragon then, given he knew that Sophie was an amphithere. The air dragon currently had her eyes on Kaito, though she'd seen him before, that had been from some ways away. She couldn't help the grin that came to her face, and for the moment, her troubles with her mother were forgotten. "Well, I suppose that makes it my turn then" Sophie turned around as Niko spoke. She was curious as to what the fire dragon looked like, he'd said it had been years since his last full transformation. He couldn't do it before with his scale fractured. Currently, Niko was stretching, and seemed just a tiny bit unsure. He wished he was like Sophie and could fly without transforming.

He sighed and looked up at Tahra, he'd promised the earth dragon a show... "Alright...lets see if I still remember how to do this..." Niko chuckled and walked toward the edge of the clearing, which was on top of a cliff. Sophie offered him an encouraging smile. "...be careful, I know its been a while" She said teasingly as he stopped at the edge of the cliff. Niko snorted, turning around, he smirked. "Me? Careful...as if" he laughed, held his arms up, taking a step back, he fell over the side of the cliff. Sophie just arched an eyebrow . "Showoff". Sophie chuckled. A few minutes went by, each one that passed made Sophie more and more nervous. "Niko..." She walked toward the edge and peeked over. "Ni-"

A loud roar pierced the air, Sophie covered her ears as a red blur shot upward and into the air. Mai covered her ears as well as the sound reverberated in the air. Niko's flapping wings kicked up a mini wind storm, sending snow, dirt and grass into the air as he landed. Folding his massive wings at his side, Niko snorted, a short bursts of flames appeared as he did. He stood taller than Tahra, proudly on four clawed feet. His scales were a deep, crimson color, they grew lighter as they neared his underbelly, which was a lighter, reddish orange color, the same color as the undersides of his wings. His eyes were a bright yellow color, and his tail had a fork at the end of it. Niko shook himself, it felt strange, being so large again . Looking to Tahra the fire dragon let out a snort that Mai was fairly certain was supposed to be a laugh. Sophie beamed, she was so happy for Niko. Despite how things looked at the moment, she couldn't say everything that had happened hadn't been for nothing. Niko stretched and then laid down, even like this he as massive. Turning, he looked expectantly toward Sophie.
"Your turn, flutterbug" Mai blinked, as Niko's moth moved, and this deep, throaty, half growls speech like pattern came out of his mouth. It was believed that the dragons possessed some sort of language that only they spoke, Mai figured this was Niko speaking it. The scientist could hardly wait to record all of these new findings. For once, Mai actually looked excited, she looked at each of the three dragons before settling on Sophie.

Sophie chuckled. "Hate to disappoint you, but..." She chuckled as she slide her arms out of her sleeves and twisted her shirt around. The air dragon tore two long slits into the back of her tank top before putting it back on correctly. The air dragon closed her eyes and a light blue haze circled her, Mai thought for a moment she was going to shift, but that wasn't the case. Sophie grimaced slightly as a pair of bony protrusions extended from her back, the frame for a pair of wings. The haze enveloped them, and when it faded away, there was a pair of silvery blue, feathered wings sprouted from her back. Sophie grinned and gave them a few test flaps before hopping into the air. "I don't need to shift to fly" she chuckled at the definite scowl Niko gave her.

"Cheater". Sophie rolled her eyes and flew up a bit higher, even without shifting, she was probably faster than the others...except maybe Kaito. She chuckled, especially as Niko gave her a flat look. "What, I can fly just fine like this thank you, faster than you too you overgrown salamander" she teased the fire dragon, who just rolled his eyes. "Yes yes, I'm well aware" Niko made a strange laughing sound. Mai was still awestruck by all three of them, but she was also cold. She was actively shivering, and sneezing. "Achoo!" the teen rubbed her nose as she tried in vain to keep warm.

Looking toward the teen, Niko blinked. "Right...so you two...who do you want to hitch a ride on?" Niko had no issue carrying either one, or both of them. *If your looking for heat, I'm your best bet*. Mai blinked. "...We don't know what your saying Niko" Mai said. Sophie blinked and floated down, so she hovered above the women. "He's asking who do you want to ride on...?" She looked from Mai to Livia. "...If your cold, Niko's your best bet, he's the warmest". That peaked Mai's interest, she was freezing. Niko looked to Tahra and Kaito. "I can carry them, that way they don't freeze. Flutter bug over there won't be doing it" he teased Sophie, who just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. As much as she would've liked to shift, she knew there was no need to. Shifting for for emergencies, this was not one of them.

That was what her mother and father had taught her at least. Niko got down onto the ground and looked toward the humans expectantly. Mai took a step in his direction, but paused and looked to Livia.

 

[pyreshadow]

Livia Hayes, Tahra Casey, and Kaito Iwasa​

As it was Niko's turn to shift, Tahra seemed to sit up with a bit more excitement than she would have if it had been Sophie. Obviously since she was really curious what Niko looked like in his natural state. She watched as he dropped off the edge of the cliff and tried very hard to be patient. Much like Sophie though, the longer it took the more she was started to get worried. She was about to make a move to see if something went wrong but the roar told her everything was fine. Livia covered her ears with the roar but neither Kaito nor Tahra seemed bothered by it. Probably because they were in their natural states already. Tahra lifted up on her hind legs as though she were about to take to the sky when she saw the flash of red but there wasn't a need to do so. As Niko landed near, she walked over to him and looked as though she were beaming. Niko was larger than her, as were most European dragons compared to a wyvern. Europeans had their strength and mass while wyverns had speed and strength, along with whatever their element happened to be. Wyverns weren't as strong as Europeans but made up for it with the speed; just as the speed too, they weren't as fast as air dragons but were stronger than them. Each dragon had their own strengths and weaknesses.

As Niko laid down, Tahra seemed to almost purr in a way; one almost reminded Livia of a cat, more so when the earth dragon bent slightly to rub her head along Niko's. All that was left was Sophie now, all eyes turned to her but she didn't give them anything. She only half-shifted, which caused Tahra to snort softly. "All dragons with wings can do a half shift like that, Sophie. We might not be as fast as you or as angelic but we can still do it if we wanted to. We don't need to actually be in our dragon forms to fly, it's just far more fun to be in this state....well, those of us with wings anyway. Kaito's kinda out of that one." she spoke in a teasing manner towards the water dragon, who merely shook his head with a chuckle.

"I don't need to shift to be in water. That's where I can half shift and where I'm most comfortable anyway, so I don't need to have fancy wings like the rest of you. I'm perfectly content flying in this state." He missed being able to stay like this for long periods of time but it was just too risky in this day an age. One wrong move, one sighting by a human, and it was all over just about. The hunters' would be on you faster than you could even prepare. Their reach was incredible given how little they actually knew about why they were fighting so hard. The sneeze brought all of the dragons' attention to the two humans. Livia was looking them over with a very curious gaze as she was quite impressed with what she saw. It was still hard to imagine how humans took down such beasts without sustaining hundreds of casualties but it was done for some time now. Maybe it was just the advance in technology over the years; maybe back in the day, there were tons of casualties and the hunters of the past had to figure out better ways of hunting? Well, whatever. It didn't even matter anyway since it wasn't important to know. What mattered was finding her father after all of this was said and done. Since Niko offered them to ride on his back -according to Sophie anyway- Livia tilted her head a bit curiously at the notion. He was a fire dragon, which meant he'd be able to keep them warm during the flight but...

"You don't have to worry." Kaito's voice sounded only in Livia's head and it caused her to jump slightly as she looked towards the water dragon in surprise. "Telepathy is a gift of the water dragons. All the elements have their own unique gifts, which I'm sure you'll see soon enough by staying with us. But that's besides the point. I told you already that we will not let any harm come to you and I know that both Niko and Tahra feel the same to a degree. They will not let anything happen to either of you." Which meant everyone but Sophie. Kaito noticed the way that Livia glanced towards the air dragon and he couldn't help but chuckle; it was like a low rumble deep within his chest and it even looked like he was grinning. "Trust in me, Livia. No one will harm you or Mai, I promise." The reassurance was enough for Livia to give a small nod of her head before she walked over to where Niko was waiting. Once there, she waited for Mai and offered the scientist some help getting up if she needed it. Once Mai was settled, Livia climbed on next and settled behind the smaller girl. "All right, we should be all set now." Kaito spoke to Sophie telepathically this time as it was just easier for him to speak like that, most of the time anyway. "Go ahead and lead the way, my adorable little flutter bug." He also couldn't help but to tease her some with the name too as he found it cute and quite fitting.