Episode 80

The side door to the long brick house opens up. Shadeesa grips onto the handrail, traveling down the few steps onto the concrete of the attached carport. Adjusting the apron over her looser fitting clothes and large belly, she hands over a small packet of paperwork to a middle-aged emin, presenting a smile on her light gray, white freckled face. "Here are the official test results straight from the Dragon Sciences lab of High Alton, Mr. Frenzacia. Congratulations. Varan is a proper dragon."

Mr. Frenzacia blinks his deep red on black eyes and glances down at the manila envelope. Removing the paperwork, he furrows his brow and uneasily smiles. "Wow... I guess that Professor Blaureiter's hunch was right. Huh... Um..."

He gazes over to a young teen-aged girl with silvery, red tinted hair blowing in the gentle breeze and calls out with a subdued, nervous grin. "Did you hear that, Fawna? Your little Varan is a... Genuine dragon. He's probably going to grow really... BIG..."

Pausing a moment from pulling a firm bristle brush along a small dragon's amber scales, Fawna smiles brightly, joy lighting up her blue on white and blue on black eyes. "REALLY?!"

She barely contains her excitement, briefly shifts her attention to a thought, idly guiding stray hairs over her horns, and gazes back over eagerly. "How big is he going to get?!"

Mr. Frenzacia slides his distant gaze over towards Shadeesa, fighting an awkward smirk. "Vet Serania... What is the damage I should expect when that one grows up?"

Hints of future dread sneak into his stare over at the gigantic Lagi, the dragon spreading both wingspans out for Kaleb. Shadeesa lifts an eyebrow and tilts her head of tied back dark green hair to the side. "Depends. How much land do you have? You've mentioned having a farm."

Searching the top of his mind, Mr. Frenzacia's eyes sort through mental figures, and he reports the results with a confident hum. "Just over a square kilometer between all my plots. I take care a few more of the family plots, too."

Nodding at the figure, Shadeesa crosses her arms just over her pregnant belly, and smirks thoughtfully. "What do you grow?"

Mr. Frenzacia nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders and smiles, pondering out loud. "Honestly... A little bit of everything. We have the usual vegetables everyone buys around here. I've been TRYING to get an apple orchard going on a plot that's not great for much else. And, if all goes well, our frost avocados should fruit this fall."

An intrigued spark lights up Shadeesa's eyes, and she smirks reassuringly at Mr. Frenzacia. "Oh. You should be just fine then. In fact, the larger Varan gets the more useful he'll be on the farm."

Cocking his head to the side, Mr. Frenzacia blinks curiously, resting his hands on his sides. "Really? Why is that?"

Shadeesa grins widely, chuckling amused. "Oh, allow me to tell you all about your new, growing garbage disposal unit."

Out in the backyard near the carport, Kaleb walks around from the other side of Lagi into view. He pets Lagi on his large, armored head, and walks next to Fawna brushing the relaxing Varan. "Yeah, Lagi loved his stiff brush when he was that little. Enjoy it while it's that simple."

Kneeling on the ground slowly pulling the brush over the sedate Varan's scales, Fawna gazes up at Kaleb with a bright, curious smile. "Does it get harder to care for dragons?"

Turning his head, Kaleb gazes at Lagi sunning his massive wings in the sun and shrugs his shoulders with his arms out to the side. He indecisively deliberates, scratching his head of short blonde hair. "Well... Not harder, exactly? I think the right words are... More complicated?"

Glancing down at the completely enthralled Varan, Kaleb shakes his head with a smile and steps over to an open toolbox. He retrieves a pair of large pliers and directs his voice to Fawna, signaling Lagi over. "Soon, you might be filing claw tips, shaping armor plates, and pulling out stubborn scales."

Kaleb furrows his brow, points to a spot under a wing shoulder on Lagi, and inquires, awaiting confirmation. "So, under there?"

Lagi narrows his green eyes at the spot, turns his body towards Kaleb, and scratches at the troublesome area of blue black scales. He wanders between grumbling and mumbling in a complex series of clicks, snorts, churls, chirps, hisses, and growls. Kaleb nods his head, walks over next to the spot, and feels around the outer layer of the dragon, tapping upon the odd scale sticking out. "Yeah. It's definitely close enough to falling out. Just hanging on enough to be annoying."

Rubbing around the base of the thick skin supporting the awkward scale, he clamps the pliers carefully onto the scale and glances over to Fawna, meeting her intrigued gaze. "Now... The trick to it is to be quick right after you've massaged the spot just enough."

Fawna idly brushes the little amber dragon Varan and watches the dragon care lesson from Kaleb. Shadeesa draws a long breath in, sighs with a smile, and finishes up her explanation. "So, really, Varan is going to save you A LOT of money on disposal of most of your processing leftovers. When his digestive tract develops fully, there will be very few things he won't be able to eat."

She pauses a moment, perking her brow, and twists her mouth, hints of past sour experiences slipping out. "Though... You will NEED to teach him he's not allowed to eat from fruit trees without your expressed permission. Otherwise, you will NEVER see a ripe piece of fruit on those trees EVER again."

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Mr. Frenzacia nods, relief growing, and chuckles to himself. "Understood. Well. At least, I guess I can stop buying that gods awful expensive fancy whelp feed now."

Fawna's long, pointy ear tips twitch at Mr. Frenzacia's voice, and she turns her unhappy stare at her father. "Dad! Varan LIKES that food A LOT."

With a waning sigh, Mr. Frenzacia rolls his deep red on black eyes in defeat. Shadeesa quirks her face into a smile, holding a finger up, and signals Mr. Frenzacia to wait, walking inside the house through the side door. A minute later, Shadeesa carefully steps down with a large square of green and brown minced fiber in each hand. Mr. Frenzacia puzzles at the faint sheen on the objects, cocking his head to the side, and inquires with a lift of an eyebrow. "So... What are those?"

Smirking slyly, Shadeesa gauges the gentle breeze passing on by and intersects into the flow drifting towards the backyard. "Oh. It's something Kaleb and I have been developing over the years for Lagi. It's compressed fruit fodder and lard..."

She smiles with a wink. "With just a little bit of peanut butter."

The wind stirs around Shadeesa, and she holds a large, thick rectangular treat in each hand. The faint gust blows across the fragrant slabs towards the dragons a distance away. Moments later, Varan stirs abruptly from his brush induced slumber, sniffing the air with confused chirps, and blinks his aqua eyes. Surprised, Fawna watches the sudden excitement from Varan, glances around, and meets Shadeesa's gaze. "Huh, uh... What are THOSE?"

Carefully leaning over, Shadeesa passes both treats over into Fawna's hands and grins, standing back up with her hands on her back. "Treats for the dragons. Give one to Varan."

Fawna sniffs the strange block and scrunches up her nose reflexively. Eying the strange square apprehensively, she glances down at the small pair of clawed draconic hands expectantly pawing at her arms. Varan alternates his attentive aqua eyed gaze between Fawna and the square treat, visibly pleading and playing up the pity. Fawna blinks, tilting her head intrigued, and holds the large treat in front of the small dragon. Varan quickly grasps hold of the slab of fodder, sniffing of it deeply, and bites off a chunk promptly. Chewing the treat slowly, he halts suddenly. His aqua eyes widen, claws gripping the thick square tighter, and stares entranced at the delicious creation with his paws. A loud series of happy chirps and purrs slip out between chews and bites, Varan excitedly devouring the treat, tail wagging and wings flapping reflexively, subconsciously.

Fawna gazes in sheer astonishment and smiles brightly at the absolute delight plainly obvious on the small dragon. "Wow! You really must like it a lot. I've never heard you make all these noises at once. Not even when I gave you your nice food."

With attention mostly upon the small dragon's dramatic reaction, Lagi's green eyes fully lock onto the remaining treat in Fawna's other hand she idly holds off to the side. With slow, careful movements, Lagi purposefully maneuvers quietly closer. Enjoying the distraction of Varan, Fawna's hand with the other treat wanders away during the Varan's excited consumption of his treat. Pausing often to study the reactions of Kaleb, Shadeesa, Mr. Frenzacia, and Fawna, Lagi eases his massive frame forward into the collective mental blind spot. Gradually threading his neck closer to Fawna, he slowly parts his massive maw. His long tongue eases out, the tip extending ever closer, cautiously towards the treat. The wind blows on by, and the faintest traces of taste land upon Lagi's tongue. Lagi's eager green eyed stare widens, and his tongue closes the distance to the goal, nearly touching the treat.

A powerful, sharp, thunderous snap of the fingers pierces through the air. The large dragon halts his progress immediately in a surge of frightening familiarity. Shadeesa squares her stance, glaring disapprovingly at Lagi, and commands. "LAGI! NO! YOU know better."

Lagi shrinks back away guiltily, shamefully averting his gaze with whimper. Shadeesa rests her hand upon her hip, points a finger at Lagi, and narrows her green on black stare at him. "That's very RUDE of you. Fawna is our guest. If you want the treat, you need to ask her nicely."

Working through the embarrassment, Lagi meets Fawna's expectant gaze, regains his composure, and emits a series of chirps, clicks, purrs, and whines. Fawna tilts her head to the side and glances around to everyone surrounding her confused, seeking some kind of explanation. Sharpening her stare at Lagi, Shadeesa sighs loudly and shakes her head of dark green hair, flicking a few strands over her upward swept horns. "In Americ, Lagi. She doesn't understand that language, and you certainly need the practice."

Lagi gazes pitifully over at Kaleb and whines out a plea. Kaleb crosses his arms, standing sternly, and reaffirms. "You heard her, Lagi. I agree with her. You definitely need to practice."

A mumbling, disappointed grumble slips out from Lagi, and he sits up into a childishly defiant pout. He summons up his resolve and presents a facade of exaggerated disinterest towards the treat in Fawna's hand. Varan's chirps and purrs of joy fill the silent moment, and he munches happily upon a pocket of peanut butter within the treat. Glancing briefly over, Lagi witnesses the small dragon coiled blissfully around the partially eaten treat, lapping up the oozing, delicious mix in his clawed clutches. Each happy noise from Varan and playful toss of the savory square dissolves more of Lagi's resolve, and his attention settles back upon the dragon treat in Fawna hand.

Drawing in a large breath of air, Lagi gazes at Fawna and contorts his mouth awkwardly, flexing his throat in unpracticed motions into rough, approximate vocalizations. "May. I. Have. Treat? Please?"

Both Fawna and Mr. Frenzacia stare at Lagi in honest surprise. Shadeesa smiles happily and claps her hands together encouragingly. "There you go! Very good, Lagi."

Patting Lagi on his side, Kaleb smirks proudly at him and nods. "See! It's not so hard. Just practice a bit more."

Fawna flutters her blue on white and blue on black eyes out of the stupor and smiles brightly in astonishment and excitement, offering the treat to Lagi. "Yes, you may, Lagi."

With a swift lap, Lagi plucks up the treat into his maw, settles down on the grass, and slowly chews upon the treat into a moment of bliss. Fawna catches a random thought in her mind and glances down at Varan. Her eyes widening with possibility, she pauses and blinks bewildered. "Wait... Could Varan talk one day?!"

The dragons enjoy their treats. Kaleb explains the dynamics of dragon vocalization to Fawna. Mr. Frenzacia ponders a moment and turns to Shadeesa, casually inquiring. "How stocked up on baby clothes and furniture are you?"

Lifting an entrepreneurial eyebrow, Shadeesa cracks a plotting smirk. "Nowhere near as much as I should be, of course."

Mr. Frenzacia nods, stroking his beard, and crosses his arms. "My wife has been wanting to clear out the bonus room. There's quite a bit of old baby clothes and a nice wooden crib... among other things up there."

Turning her head towards Mr. Frenzacia, Shadeesa grins slyly and chuckles to herself. "Well, I think an arrangement could be made. Plenty of advice to be shared and treats to be made."

---

The overhead fan's wooden blades gently spin and push a gentle stream of air down upon the middle of the room. A paper bag of corn chips wobbles upon a finely crafted wooden coffee table, rapping softly against an empty beer bottle upon a coaster. Thomas Blaureiter snorts loudly and snuffles upon the couch, shifting his head upon a couch pillow. He unconsciously tosses upon the dark brown leather couch and scratches his thin, tight white shirt with his cybernetic hand. Softly snoring, he stretches out briefly, yawns, and reflexively cradles the game controller closer to his muscular chest.

Without a sound gracing above the quiet ambience, an athletic man appears in the entryway leading into the nicely, modestly decorated living room. He tightens the belt around his house coat, finishes tying back his slick, black hair, and scans the room with his amber eyes. Settling his gaze upon Thomas, he cracks a humored smirk on his olive toned face and slowly shakes his head. "Just one more level... Right..."

With a fluid grace, the man steps silently upon the old wooden floors,his sleek, cybernetic feet deftly applying near-perfect pressure upon the finished boards. Swaying in purposeful motions, he struts in complete stealth around the coffee table and balances upon legs blending biology and technology. He stands in front of Thomas and reaches down, slipping his fingers around the controller. With a few careful attempts, he manages to firmly and gently free the game pad from the tight clutches of Thomas's cybernetic arm. Swiftly pivoting upon the balls of his feet, the athletic man holds the device in his hands and taps a button. The controller flickers to life. A game console lights up on a shelf in a finely crafted, hand-made entertainment center. The large television display brightens back up and reveals the pause menu of a role-playing game.

Quickly pressing buttons and moving the joysticks, the man enacts a well practiced series of commands and glances back to Thomas with a loving smile. Another menu opens on the television. The on-screen highlight moves to a new save game slot in a long list. The man taps a confirmation on the game controller, and a progress bar appears. Pausing a moment, he tilts his head to the side. The process completes, and the progress bar clears out of the way. The man flicks the selection between the fresh and prior save, the playtime differences between meager. With a narrowing stare at the screen, he ponders to himself, a faint, suspicious hum rising up. Exiting the game, he swiftly flips through the large library of games on the system and selects one specific from the long list. He swiftly taps the mute button on the remote on the coffee table. The main menu appears upon a backdrop of a large dragon flying through a twisting course with a rider shooting targets. The man navigates to the high score list and scrutinizes the entries. A bit of relief graces his smirking face, staring at "Albert" upon the top of the roster, and nods confidently.

Albert analyzes the many other entries below his name, shaking his head slowly with a smile at all the variations of Thomas's name, and quietly giggles to himself. "Just can't resist can you."

With a humored grin, Albert glances over his shoulder at the sleeping Thomas and sighs happily. "Keep trying, my dear."

Holding a button on the controller, the console and television dim back to sleep, and Albert softly rests the controller on the coffee table. Without a sound from his footsteps, he struts across the old, wooden floors into the kitchen. Minutes later, the muffled sputtering of a coffee maker rises up into the background of the living room and the crisp, gentle trickles of coffee filling a glass carafe sprinkles into the soundscape.

A few clanks of glass upon ceramic later, Albert steps gracefully out of the kitchen archway into the living room with a cup of coffee in each hand. He stops next to Thomas on the couch and wafts the odor from the mug of black coffee near Thomas's nose. Fluttering his light blue eyes open, Thomas groggily glances around the room and slowly develops enough awareness, noticing Albert holding the coffee in front of him. "Oh... Shit... Uh, I really did mean to go to bed. I just hit the pause menu, closed my eyes, and... Well..."

Thomas scoots himself up to an upright seat on the couch, appreciatively grasps hold of the mug of black coffee, and sheepishly apologizes. "Sorry... Didn't think I was THAT tired."

Albert leans down, kisses Thomas, and ruffles his head of swept-back, silvery gray hair with a smile. "Gods, as if I'm going to be mad at something I've been guilty of myself. Anyway, I saw you paused it right before that dungeon I wanted to co-op with you on."

A faint hint of blush colors Thomas's cheeks, and he shyly smiles. "Yeah. I also found a sword that might work for your dual-wielder build, too."

With a well-practiced twirl, Albert sweeps up a quilt off the back of the couch, flings it open, and floats it down upon him, lowering onto the open spot on the couch. "Ooo. I can't wait to try it out."

Slipping his tan colored coffee, he lifts an examining eyebrow towards Thomas with a playfully accusatory tone. "As much as I love the loot you keep finding, I think next summer you need to teach a class or work at a summer camp. I really don't think this much free time is the best thing for you."

Thomas finishes up a long swig of his black coffee, narrowing an apprehensive gaze at Albert, and grumbles to himself. "I don't know. Maybe, ONE summer course."

He rolls his light blue eyes and sighs out his frustration. "BUT... They usually want you to teach a selected topics course... AND, I really don't know if anyone would be interested in any of them."

Blinking blankly, his mind wanders to the other idea, and he grimaces uncertainly. "As for a camp? Gods. I don't know if I'd be that good of a camp counselor. Children these days probably would think I'm old and boring. They got video games and stuff."

Albert narrows his incredulous gaze upon Thomas and rolls his amber eyes with a sarcastic drone. "Oh no, children. I am so sorry to tell you that your camp leader is Commander Blaureiter. You know, the guy who rode the dragon named The Night Terror and, LITERALLY, flew around and shot stuff with a huge blaster. His stories will probably bore you all to tears. Have your aetherphone games loaded and ready."

Thomas furrows his brow at Albert, grumbling to himself, and sighs. "Please... They don't know who I am. Or, probably even care."

Glancing over to the side, he grits his teeth briefly. "Anyway, I'd probably just have the parents angry at me because I unknowingly taught their kids something they'll misuse. Gods, reminds me of all the random ways my Uncle Jimmy showed me how to make napalm and explosives when I stayed with him over summers."

A mischievous smirk graces Albert, and he snorts into a snicker, shaking his head. "Don't worry. I'll just draft up a legal waiver the parents have to sign and watch them TRY to go against me in court."

Settling into the plush back of the finely-made leather couch, Thomas glances over to Albert with a curious tone. "By the way, any progress on figuring out anything on that Dragon's Right group around Amaranth?"

Albert sighs in vague defeat, shrugging his shoulders. "No luck, I'm afraid, dear. But, my sources haven't found anything that links them with the group lingering around here. So far, the consensus seems to be that it's just some half-assed copycat group. My friends are definitely interested in figuring out if there is some kind of a connection."

Nodding in agreement, Thomas drinks another bit of his black coffee and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Damn. Well... That's probably good news, since they're not backed by anyone. Kaleb, Shadeesa, and Lagi will sleep a little easier. Though, I really don't think any group would be stupid enough to bother Lagi."

Springing his eyes wide with a spark of excitement, Albert smiles at Thomas and squirms eagerly. "Oh! I sent my suggestions for baby names for their son. I hope they decide on one soon."

Briefly grimacing, Thomas rolls his eyes and sighs. "Me too. She's due within two months, if I'm remembering it right. Ah, well. They'll figure it all out. If they can raise a dragon like Lagi, they'll be able to manage."

Albert and Thomas relax on the couch, enjoying their coffees, and idly listen to peaceful morning sounds. Minutes later, Albert stretches his leg out towards Thomas and gently, firmly pokes a toe into the outside of Thomas's thigh. Blinking to attention, Thomas glances over, cocking his head to the side. "What?"

Furrowing his brow, Albert twists his mouth into a grimace and lifts an expectant eyebrow. "It's your day to cook breakfast."

Thomas tilts his head side to side, searching his mind, and wades awkwardly through his confusion. "Wait, what?"

Rolling his amber eyes, Albert releases a mildly annoyed groan. "By the gods, Thomas! It's TUESDAY."

Thomas halts, sorting through memory. His eyes widen in surprise, and he leans forward off the couch. "Oh... Shit... It is."

Standing up from the couch, Thomas's heavy footsteps press onto the old, wooden boards, and creaks resonate out into the living room. He stops short of crossing the threshold into the kitchen and glances over to Albert with a coy grin. "And?"

With a playful smile, Albert crosses his arms and snorts. "Oh. You know what I want."

Stepping into the kitchen, Thomas nods and calls back into the living room. "Cute cat ears and whiskers on your pancakes?"

With a satisfied smirk, Albert wiggles down, relaxing upon the couch, and colors his tone with loving sass. "Of course! I mean, why else do I keep you around? It's certainly not for your time keeping."

Thomas quips back from the kitchen. "And, shoulder massages?"

A guilty smirk appears on Albert's face. "Well, THAT, too."

---

The members of the Flames of the Phoenix idle around the dining table. Chad stands up at the head of the table, surveys the team, and hems for everyone's attention. From her seat next to Chad, Veevi glances up with her dark pink pupil eyes and presents a manipulative little grin on her tan face, tossing back her head of long pink hair. Trakenthin straightens up his tall posture, gradually lifts his stare away from his aetherphone, patiently awaiting. Tassilda narrows her light blue on black eyes towards Chad, twisting her mouth into a suspicious grimace, and raps her long, thick black nails upon the wooden table top. Shuddering from a near doze, Modoran blinks back into full awareness and gradually assumes his typical nonchalant exterior, stretching his arms back. Deedri's furry ears twitch and perk towards Chad, and she sits up attentively. Nearby in the kitchen area, Gerald leans upon a counter and balances the camera on his shoulder, carefully aiming the device for an ideal shot of the meeting. Just outside, another recording team slips in a camera lens and a boom microphone through an opening in the back sliding glass door.

Meeting everyone's gazes, Chad stands up proudly and addresses the group. "It's about time for our team to undertake our next quest. To mix things up a bit and get more involvement from the team..."

Slight twinges of suspicion rise up into Trakenthin, Tassilda, Modoran, and Deedri faces. Drawing in a long dramatic breath, Chad presents a bright, white grin to the team and reveals three packets from behind his back, laying them out upon the table. "We've been given three different missions for all of us to vote on and decide which one to take on."

A wave of surprise spreads through the assembled team. They all gradually show signs of genuine interest, apprehension waning. Noticing the growing acceptance, Chad smiles and nods with a happier tone. "Well. Since you all haven't started to groan and grumble, I'll take that as you all being open to the idea."

He slides the three folders into the middle of the table and signals for the group to investigate further. "I want each of you to rank your preference for these quests. Take some time to fully consider them. I'll need your votes by noon on Friday. Then, we'll be revealing our votes live Friday night."

Tassilda lifts a wary brow towards Chad, leaning over the table, reaching out for the top folder, and inquiries further. "So... What ever kind of missions did they see fit to burden us with now?"

Chad smirks slightly, crossing his arms, and motions towards the packets. "Well. A quick summary. One quest is to escort a celebrity while he is shooting for his latest movie. The destination site is on the outskirts towards the west. And, we may get a chance to have parts in the film."

With an overtly eager grin, Veevi's eyes widen, and she focuses her alluring gaze straight at Chad, stretching an arm out towards the folders in the middle of the table. Chad glances down briefly at Veevi and buffers an awkward grimace fighting against his grin. Summoning back his composure, Chad resumes his explanation. "The second mission is a survey and exploration operation across an area with multiple ruins that haven't been checked out thoroughly in a decade. It seems pretty standard..."

Chad's confidence trails slightly with his tone and faint hints of unease infiltrate his body language. Trakenthin's hazel eyes examine the subtle changes in Chad's exterior, and he lifts his muscular dark bronze skinned arm, pointing between the mission folders. "Which envelope for THAT mission?"

Veevi finishes examining the first page of a quest packet, sneers her upper lip, and turns up her nose. "This one I think. Here. You can have it."

Stretching out across the table in her tight fitting clothes, she disgustedly dumps out the papers in front of Trakenthin and slides back the remaining large envelope to her with a sharp grin. Trakenthin eyes over Veevi cautiously, picks up the paperwork, and studies the contents. Chad reestablishes his confidence, drawing in a long breath, and addresses the group. "The final possible mission is a search and retrieval. Without getting into too much detail, it seems that a research group lost track of a scout drone near a small weird zone in the middle of the woods to the east. They've been able to narrow it down to a search area and need someone on foot to try to find it."

Veevi blatantly ignores the rest of the discussion, her full focus pouring all over the document firmly in her sharp nailed hands. Trakenthin glances up briefly from reading the mission brief, motions towards the remaining packet between Tassilda, Modoran, and Deedri. "Should contain that task."

Tassilda opens up the large envelope, slides out the packet, and holds it in view of Deedri and Modoran. "Interesting. What research group would fund a retrieval mission for something like... A drone?"

Grinning with a bright white smile, Chad nods towards the team, sitting back down into the chair at the head of the table. "I'll leave it to you all to look over everything, and make your own conclusions."

Chad settling into his seat, Veevi scoots over close at his side, eying him seductively, and charms with a faint purr to her voice. "So... You do want to be a movie star someday? I mean... What better chance do WE have than THIS?"

She grins with a sharp smile, flexes her body revealingly to Chad, and flutters her eyes with a flick of her short-hair tail. "Those other jobs sound so BORING... I'm sure you'll make the right choice for US."

Hoisting up an apprehensive eyebrow at Veevi, Chad contorts his face and dismissively shrugs his shoulders. "Well, uh... It's not my last choice. That's for sure."

Deedri's auburn eyes focus upon a line of text in the mission description, and her furry ears perk up with excitement. "Wow! This is a job from the Grand Library. There must be some important research purpose for that drone to be out there."

Blinking back to focus, Modoran's interest piques, and he snaps his attention upon the document. "Huh. Okay. They probably actually narrowed down the search area to something that will be useful. So..."

He smirks with a hint of confidence. "We might actually find it then."

Tassilda sorts through a pile of photographs, maps, and schematics, nodding in agreement. "Yeah... Here's the original flight plan, pictures of what it looks like, and... I think the log from when it last reported in."

Deedri, Modoran, and Tassilda examine the information before them closely. Trakenthin abruptly halts his reading, lowers the paperwork down, and slowly slides it all back into the folder. A souring grimace forms on his face, and he slowly shakes his head, pushing the packet back to the middle of the table. Noticing the change of expression, Tassilda cocks her head to the side and narrows an inquisitive gaze towards Trakenthin. "Oh? What's wrong with that one?"

Trakenthin draws in a long breath and sighs out his disgust. "Possible slime activity."

Silence slams down upon the gathering. All other activity ceases. Veevi's eyes widen in horror, and she stares at the folder, gritting her teeth into a snarl. Modoran stands up, leans over the table, and slaps his hand firmly down upon the packet. "Let me put this where it belongs."

Snatching up the folder tightly, he steps close to the back sliding glass door and puts his hand out through the gap, grinning to the camera crew. "Excuse me."

The crew backs out of the way. Modoran slides the entry wide open, curls his arm back, and flings the packet out into the backyard with a spin. Pivoting back around, he halts for Tassilda, holding her hand out forward and pointing a finger at the flying folder. A mischievous grin grows wide on Tassilda's face, and she quickly gestures out an incantation. With a simple flick of her fingers a small ball of fire leaves her palm, coasts across the backyard, and intercepts the packet in a fiery burst. She turns around, grants a small bow, and struts back to her chair. "I believe we've decided that."

Chad releases a long sigh of relief and smiles appreciatively to the team, nodding. "Thank the gods you caught that one. I wasn't allowed to say anything before you read the mission briefs. BUT..."

He rolls his brown eyes and wrestles with a disgusted grimace. "I REALLY didn't want to do THAT one."

The team shifts their efforts upon the remaining two quests, Veevi stating her obvious favorite with a developing insistent persistence.

---

The door at the end of the hallway opens. Aristespha blinks her violet eyes and heavily plods across the hardwood floors, swaying slightly with each footstep. She runs her ivory fingers through her long, silvery blue hair, stretches her neck, gritting her teeth, and shakes off some of the cloudiness of her daze. Brushing off her loose t-shirt and adjusting her baggy shorts, she sloppily pivots at the archway into the living area and steps through. In a groggy state, she ambles into the room, navigates around behind the coffee table, and plops down onto the couch upon her back. She blankly stares up at the ceiling and releases a long sigh.

Lifting an intrigued eyebrow at Aristespha from her seat at the dining table, Cideeda directs her inquisitive tone toward the evuukian on the plush furniture. "So... What have you been up to?"

Aristespha's very long, pointed ears twitch, and she lifts her head up, gazing over at Cideeda. "Oh. I just got done filing all the paperwork related to the last mission. Guild payments authorized to the party business account, expenses deducted, GAA contractor bonuses received, and processed everyone's cut to your individual guild accounts."

Fluttering her eyes, she flops her head back down and sighs out her relief, resting her hands on her stomach. "I do think everyone will be absolutely delighted with the payout. Very much on the high side."

Cideeda cracks a sly smile, retrieving her aetherphone from her shorts pocket, and taps out a security code. She navigates menus and opens a guild branded app. Seconds later, a wide, toothy grin grows upon Cideeda's light brown face and her long fluffy tail wags energetically. "Very nice, indeed. That will make the retirement fund VERY happy."

Closing her violet eyes, Aristespha relaxes her body gradually with each breath. Her long, pointed ears twitch with nearby metallic clicks and whispered frustration. Propping her upper body up with her arms, she scans the room, furrowing her brow curiously. At the edge of her sweep, she notices Bach and Dretphi at the table and focuses her intrigued stare upon the device both are paying close attention to. "Oh. Hey. What are you two doing?"

Cideeda glances over briefly with an amused smile and smirks pridefully to Aristespha. "Yeah, they're trying out a little trap puzzle I made for Bach. Figured he could get some practice disarming different kinds of trap mechanisms."

Carefully wedging a metal pick in the thin crack between a plate and surrounding frame, Bach narrows his stare. He attempts to gently wedge a thin shim into the divide and applies pressure at the top. Seconds of gradual force later, the pressure plate moves slightly and a buzzing alarm sounds out from the unit. Aristespha cocks her head to the side, pondering a moment, and curls the corner of her mouth. "Okay... So THAT was the noise I kept thinking I was hearing."

Bach taps a reset button on the side of the square block, places the tools in front of Dretphi, and slides the device over. "Your turn. Damn. I really thought I had the pick in there enough."

Slowly lifting herself up from the couch, Aristespha steps over next to Cideeda, studying Dretphi's attempt. "So, you made a practice pressure plate?"

Cideeda nods her head of short, multi-colored hair and relaxes in the dining chair, rapping her claw tips on the table top. "Yeah. Simple enough. And, kind of entertaining to watch."

Aristespha leans over slightly, squints her focus upon the practice plate, and tilts her head to the side. "So... The goal is to put those pieces of metal between the cracks?"

Nodding in agreement, Cideeda motions to a few points of interest on the practice device with a claw tip. "Basically. You use the pick to not only wedge apart the gap between the plate and frame, but to keep the plate from going down by accident. Then, you slip in the metal shims to jam the plate along that edge."

She waves her hand roughly around the practice device. "If you can shim up the four corners, you should be able to put a good amount of weight on the plate without tripping it."

A sly smile graces Cideeda, and her emerald green eyes light up with a mischievous glimmer. "BUT, it gets a little tricky when the shims on one side seize the plate and start to get in the way of what you need to do on the other sides."

Dretphi's steely gray eyes fully focus upon the task, and she carefully slides in a metal shim in the gap near a corner. Guiding the pick point along the divide between plate and frame, she applies gradual force, widening the thin space a tiny amount. The pressure moves the trigger platform off slightly in the wrong direction, and a buzzer sounds out from the base. Dretphi snarls her tan face, muttering a few curses in grath, and grumbles out her frustration. Aristespha slides a chair next to Dretphi out, sitting down, and faces her curiously. "May I give it a try?"

Glancing over to Bach, Dretphi watches him shrug to no contest and slides over the device with tools in front of Aristespha. "Sure. Need a break."

Bach nods in agreement, grimacing briefly. "Yeah, I think we're fast approaching the obsessively stubborn point of this exercise. Was getting a little too worked up to hold the tools steady myself."

Examining the tools and materials, Aristespha feels out the balance in her hands, finding a comfortable grip on both pick and shims, and stretches out her arms and shoulders. Straightening her posture, she closes her eyes, breathes several calming breaths, and concentrates her full focus upon the pressure plate. Using well-trained finesse, she cautiously explores the side gaps between the pressure plate and frame and applies faint probes of force, feeling out the mechanical dynamics. Sensing an entry, she gracefully works the pick into the divide and barely widens the space. She stretches and flexes her wrist off the side. Deftly guiding the shim close to the entry point, she eases the thin metal deep into the gap and withdraws her pick. She ponders quietly for a moment and searches for another safe spot with exploratory applications of minute force.

Sebastian drifts in through the hallway archway, glancing around the room, and spots the gathering around Aristespha. Hovering silently above, he joins Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi, all attentively watching the progress on the trap puzzle. With some visible difficulty, Aristespha manages to fit the second shim into another corner. Hints of concern and apprehension swell on Aristespha, and she grits her teeth uncertainly. "There was not that much give in the last corner."

Crossing her arms with a toothy grin, Cideeda nods in agreement. "Yeah... It gets trickier with each shim. The shims jam the plate against a direction and apply pressure that works against you. If you aren't careful, you could start to lift the plate up when you put another shim in. And... End up triggering it."

Rolling her shoulders and stretching out the tension in her neck, Aristespha draws a breath and sighs out her nervous energy. Sebastian whispers from above and an encouraging grin. "You can do it, dear."

Aristespha cracks a smile, regaining her focus, and starts her attempt. With a number of retreats from forces causing unwanted movement of the plate, she manages to get a workable gap for a shim and navigates the metal into the tight divide between plate and frame. The shim's progress halts early, and Aristespha grimaces tensely. With fine motions, she twists the pick, driving the gap gradually wider. The pressure works against other forces upon the plate. The plate lifts up slightly, triggering the buzzer. Aristespha's long, pointy ears slightly droop with disappointment, and she draws in a long breath. Releases her mildly disappointed sigh, she settles back into her chair. "Damn. A lot less forgiving than most body tissues."

Bach shrugs his shoulders, smirking. "Well, I mean, that's far better than what I've done so far. Pretty damn good, in my opinion."

Dretphi nods in agreement, patting Aristespha's shoulder. "Amazing for your first time."

The team reassures Aristespha performance, and the sliding glass door opens. Sotalia steps through, closing the door behind her. She struts into the room and towels off her fiery orange, wavy hair. Letting the towel drape down her shoulders over her bikini top, she rests her hands at the sides of her bikini bottom and hoists up a curious eyebrow at the group at the table. "So... What have you all been doing in here?"

An evil smile appears on Cideeda's face, and she points over to the puzzle trap on the table top. "Oh, just trying to see who can get the furthest on this puzzle. Want to give it a try?"

A competitive spark glitters in Sotalia's golden eyes, and a confident grin widens on her face. "SURE. What's the score to beat?"

Sotalia swiftly sits down, and Aristespha slides the device and tools to her. Cideeda recites a quick explanation of the process. With an eager zeal and the audience around her, Sotalia starts her attempt and almost immediately triggers the buzzer. Laughing off the first round, Sotalia attempts again. Over the minutes, she cycles through attempts, the failure buzzer punctuating each short effort.

Watching the fumbles and hearing the swears, Aristespha barely contains her giggling, shaking her head. Sotalia eyes over at Aristespha, tinges of annoyance creeping out upon her tight smile. Aristespha sighs, waving off Sotalia, and smiles awkwardly. "Sorry. This reminds me of that one time Sebastian got that huge splinter."

A wave of humored embarrassment washes over Sotalia, and she covers her mouth reflexively. "OH GODS. THAT."

Turning his head curiously towards Sotalia, Bach pries further. "I sense a story behind THIS..."

Sebastian contorts his ghostly face and groans ethereally. "It's NOTHING. REALLY. Just got a really big splinter. Not much to say."

Perking her furry ears, Cideeda glances briefly over to Sebastian and slides her gaze at Bach with a toothy grin. "In his ass cheek."

Sotalia leans back in her chair, grimacing in ill-humor, and draws a long breath in. "Okay... Since it was kind of my fault, I'll tell it. Long story short, I was trying to put Sebastian and Aristespha in..."

She bites her lower lip and rolls her golden eyes at her. "Situations so they would have nice, personal moments with each other. Of course, this was before they were together."

Tilting his head to the side, Bach furrows an inquisitive stare at Sotalia and glances between Aristespha and Sebastian. "Hold up. So, YOU were trying to match up my brother and Aristespha?"

Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes with a groan and shrugs her shoulders. "In her defense, we ALL kind of were after awhile. It was well past endearing and getting to that annoyingly and painfully OBVIOUS point."

Working the playful guilt off her face, Sotalia fights against past embarrassment. "Yeah... I was trying to figure out a way to... Um... Encourage moments. And, let them hopefully arrive at the horribly obvious, to the rest of us, conclusion."

She pantomimes out the scene. "So. After a busy day of tracking down leads to find Noxian, we stopped for the night at a rest area. It was a nice, clear night with all the stars out. And, Aristespha was sitting by herself on a wooden park bench."

Averting her golden eyes briefly, she glances over to Sebastian and motions over to Aristespha. "So, I told Sebastian that it looked like Aristespha was a little disheartened with everything going on. And... MAYBE she needed to hear some encouraging words from the Chosen One."

Blinking at sentence, Bach slowly pivots his head and faces his brother, narrowing a questioning stare. "Really? You can't tell me that YOU didn't pick up on THIS ploy."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sebastian's ghostly form stands with a grimace and motions defensively with his hand. "I, uh... I just wasn't thinking that way at the time, bro. It was different circumstances and... well..."

Widening his blue eyes at his brother, Bach's jaw hangs incredulously open, and he cocks his head to the side. "Wow... The one time YOU weren't thinking THAT WAY."

Sebastian leans forward with an agitated stare at Bach and throws his arms to the sides. "Oh, fuck you, I was TRYING to be better."

Sotalia rolls her eyes, shaking her head, and pulls the attention back upon the story. "SO... He goes over, sits next to her, and they seem to have a nice talk."

With a long, groaning sigh, she rubs her temple underneath her horn and shakes her head. "Then, he slides closer to her..."

She winces and grunts in disgust. "And manages to impale himself on the longest splinter from that wooden bench... That I have EVER seen."

Dretphi lifts up her hands, catching Bach's attention, and demonstrates a gap of over fifteen centimeters between either finger on each hand. Bach cringes and visibly recoils, the realization dawning upon him. He grimaces towards his brother. "Damn... Man... Ow?"

Sebastian winces, past memories rising up in his mind, and his ethereal form shudders. Cideeda snorts out a laugh and shakes her head. "To his credit... They continued talking for an hour after that. AND. He kept a straight face."

Chuckling to herself, Aristespha smirks awkwardly and sighs with a loving gaze at Sebastian. "I was SO hoping he would slide closer. I thought maybe he was just being respectful. Or shy."

She shakes her head and covers her mouth. "I did NOT realize that he physically could NOT."

Cracking a guilty grin, she glances over to Sotalia and rolls her violet eyes playfully. "But, I guess we still ended up having personal, quality time together."

Feeling his pride vacate the building, Sebastian groans out a mix of embarrassment and disappointment, crossing his arms defensively. "I really don't think spending an hour with my pants down..."

He pauses a moment and closes his eyes hard with an uneasy frown. "Laid over a seat in the humvee, while you extracted that splinter, cleaned the wound, and used your magic to heal it... Counts as quality time together."

Aristespha shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, meets Sebastian's gaze with a loving smile, and winks. "Depends on your perspective."

Dretphi snorts, leaning over the table toward Bach, and comments. "Next day was not fun. All the roads were bumpy. All day travel. Needed two pillows."