* * *
Dulcy's jaw dropped so far it nearly scraped the ground. The new dragon simply cocked his head to one side and studied the new arrivals. "Who are they, Misha?"
"They're guests, Sky Lynx." He said, though Sally heard more than a little irony on the word 'guests.'
"Sky Lynx?" Dulcy asked. "Is that your name?"
"No actually, but since my parents named me in the ancient dragon tongue, and no one here could ever HOPE to pronounce it correctly--" Mikhail flushed as if embarrassed that there was one language he couldn't master. "--I chose to go for as direct a translation as I could. My name means, roughly translated, 'One who flies in the air with the grace of a feline,' so they took that to mean Cat of the Air, and from that they got Sky Lynx. So I guess you can call me Sky Lynx, son of Gwaihir,"
"Well, my name's Dulcy, uh daughter of Sabina. Pleased to meet you." Dulcy said earnestly.
"Likewise." Came the bland response. Turning back to Mikhail he said, "You can tell the Colonel that I did what he asked. Now, I'm going to bed."
"Okay, Sky Lynx. Pleasant dreams." The dragon just snorted in response and sauntered off to the barn where they met Abdullah. He walked in, closing the door behind him with his tail.
Dulcy just 'harrumphed!' in annoyance and crossed her arms. "Wasn't he just friendly?"
"He's been out all night and all morning." Mikhail said defensively. "He's just worn out."
"What was he doing for the Overlanders?" Bunnie asked.
"That, I'm afraid, is solely the Colonel's business."
"Then why did Sky Lynx report to you?" Sonic asked bluntly. The corners at Mikhail's mouth bunched together and he visibly bristled.
"That's really none of your business." He said as coolly as he could. "I agreed to be your guide, not your stool pigeon."
"HMMPPPPHH!" Antoine huffed. "I cannot be understandzing why any loyal subject would be cooperated with an mere Overlander." He said in derision. Sally was about to stop Antoine before he managed to put BOTH feet in his mouth, but held back. She decided that she should see what Mikhail's response would be. Perhaps it would shed some light on things.
Meanwhile, Antoine kept on rambling. "Why, I am ze Royal Guardsman! It is zour duty to be assisting myself in defending ze honor of ze House of Acorn against ze Overlander scum!"
Later on Sally would question the wisdom of letting Antoine run off at the mouth. She would wonder whether or not she should have stepped in before it got to the boiling point. But for now, Sally could only watch in amazement as Misha stormed over to Antoine and drew himself up to his full height. Visibly seething with fury, he smacked Antoine across the face with an open palm.
Still quivering with rage, Mikhail managed to slowly ground out a calm, almost cool response that sharply contrasted with his appearance. "I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a buffoon. That's the only reason why I didn't do a hell of a lot more than just slap you. Hopefully that was enough to smack some sense in your head. To answer your inquiries, perhaps you should consider the possibility that I am NOT a 'loyal subject' and that I'm damn proud of it! Perhaps you should consider that these people, these 'mere Overlanders,' these 'scum' as you called them, have done more for me, for everyone here, than you and your blue-coated trash ever could! This tour is over!" He finished angrily, tears of rage running unashamed down his face as he stormed away.
Almost as an afterthought he turned around. "And as for the House of Acorn, perhaps you should ask how I can defend something it doesn't have?" He spat angrily. Only he wasn't looking at Antoine as he said it. His eyes bore straight into Sally's. She saw the same look of hurt and anguish that she saw when he first heard someone call her 'princess.' After he stormed away, Sally turned back to the others to gage their reactions.
Antoine was still stunned, absently rubbing the side of his face as if he didn't realize he was doing it. Sonic looked at Antoine with a look of disgust and rolled his eyes, suggesting that Antoine had it coming and in truth, he probably did. Rotor took his cap of his head and absently fiddled with it. Tails looked at everyone's face, silently waiting for someone to explain to him what just happened. Unfortunately, no one had an answer for him. Dulcy seemed shell-shocked and just shook her head in amazement.
Bunnie summed up the situation best. "Ooo-wee! What do you suppose that was all about Sally-girl?"
"I really don't know, Bunnie." Sally answered evenly. Her voice hardened slightly, remembering Olivia's deflections and dodges. "But I intend to find out."
* * *
Dulcy's jaw dropped so far it nearly scraped the ground. The new dragon simply cocked his head to one side and studied the new arrivals. "Who are they, Misha?"
"They're guests, Sky Lynx." He said, though Sally heard more than a little irony on the word 'guests.'
"Sky Lynx?" Dulcy asked. "Is that your name?"
"No actually, but since my parents named me in the ancient dragon tongue, and no one here could ever HOPE to pronounce it correctly--" Mikhail flushed as if embarrassed that there was one language he couldn't master. "--I chose to go for as direct a translation as I could. My name means, roughly translated, 'One who flies in the air with the grace of a feline,' so they took that to mean Cat of the Air, and from that they got Sky Lynx. So I guess you can call me Sky Lynx, son of Gwaihir,"
"Well, my name's Dulcy, uh daughter of Sabina. Pleased to meet you." Dulcy said earnestly.
"Likewise." Came the bland response. Turning back to Mikhail he said, "You can tell the Colonel that I did what he asked. Now, I'm going to bed."
"Okay, Sky Lynx. Pleasant dreams." The dragon just snorted in response and sauntered off to the barn where they met Abdullah. He walked in, closing the door behind him with his tail.
Dulcy just 'harrumphed!' in annoyance and crossed her arms. "Wasn't he just friendly?"
"He's been out all night and all morning." Mikhail said defensively. "He's just worn out."
"What was he doing for the Overlanders?" Bunnie asked.
"That, I'm afraid, is solely the Colonel's business."
"Then why did Sky Lynx report to you?" Sonic asked bluntly. The corners at Mikhail's mouth bunched together and he visibly bristled.
"That's really none of your business." He said as coolly as he could. "I agreed to be your guide, not your stool pigeon."
"HMMPPPPHH!" Antoine huffed. "I cannot be understandzing why any loyal subject would be cooperated with an mere Overlander." He said in derision. Sally was about to stop Antoine before he managed to put BOTH feet in his mouth, but held back. She decided that she should see what Mikhail's response would be. Perhaps it would shed some light on things.
Meanwhile, Antoine kept on rambling. "Why, I am ze Royal Guardsman! It is zour duty to be assisting myself in defending ze honor of ze House of Acorn against ze Overlander scum!"
Later on Sally would question the wisdom of letting Antoine run off at the mouth. She would wonder whether or not she should have stepped in before it got to the boiling point. But for now, Sally could only watch in amazement as Misha stormed over to Antoine and drew himself up to his full height. Visibly seething with fury, he smacked Antoine across the face with an open palm.
Still quivering with rage, Mikhail managed to slowly ground out a calm, almost cool response that sharply contrasted with his appearance. "I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a buffoon. That's the only reason why I didn't do a hell of a lot more than just slap you. Hopefully that was enough to smack some sense in your head. To answer your inquiries, perhaps you should consider the possibility that I am NOT a 'loyal subject' and that I'm damn proud of it! Perhaps you should consider that these people, these 'mere Overlanders,' these 'scum' as you called them, have done more for me, for everyone here, than you and your blue-coated trash ever could! This tour is over!" He finished angrily, tears of rage running unashamed down his face as he stormed away.
Almost as an afterthought he turned around. "And as for the House of Acorn, perhaps you should ask how I can defend something it doesn't have?" He spat angrily. Only he wasn't looking at Antoine as he said it. His eyes bore straight into Sally's. She saw the same look of hurt and anguish that she saw when he first heard someone call her 'princess.' After he stormed away, Sally turned back to the others to gage their reactions.
Antoine was still stunned, absently rubbing the side of his face as if he didn't realize he was doing it. Sonic looked at Antoine with a look of disgust and rolled his eyes, suggesting that Antoine had it coming and in truth, he probably did. Rotor took his cap of his head and absently fiddled with it. Tails looked at everyone's face, silently waiting for someone to explain to him what just happened. Unfortunately, no one had an answer for him. Dulcy seemed shell-shocked and just shook her head in amazement.
Bunnie summed up the situation best. "Ooo-wee! What do you suppose that was all about Sally-girl?"
"I really don't know, Bunnie." Sally answered evenly. Her voice hardened slightly, remembering Olivia's deflections and dodges. "But I intend to find out."
* * *