Nathan

(Or, Why I hate mountains.)

"Brrr. I thought this was South. South means more heat, right?" Nathan asked, shivering.

Jyn winced. "Uhm. Yeah. I don't actually know if this is South."

Nathan stopped.

"What?"

Jyn turned to face him. "I don't know." he said simply.

"So you're telling me," Nathan began, "That we've been wandering aimlessly for MILES now?!"

Jyn nodded calmly.

"GREAT. We're LOST." Nathan growled.

"Those who wander are never-"

"If you try one more Gandalf quote, I'm melting your face off."

"Fine."

Nathan sighed in disgust, looking away from Jyn but stopping when a purple glint caught his eye.

"Wait, is that-"

Jyn followed his gaze, then let out an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah."

He never noticed it before, but Nathan tried to hold back a smirk at the sight of Jyn's sheath and sword strapped to Jyn's back leg, glinting painfully purple in the moonlight.

"Your sword-"

"Isn't compatible with Magic-tech hybridization, yeah. It never left my side, so to speak, heh heh… I can't reach it."

The straps wrapped around his leg in tight loops, leaving Nathan to wonder how his circulation hadn't been cut off.

We'll need all the weapons we can get.

"I could've helped you with this earlier, you know." Nathan pointed out accusingly.

Jyn shrugged with an embarrassed expression. "I didn't think it needed helping?"

"Terrible excuse." Nathan muttered.

"Just get the straps undone already."

Nathan smirked as he turned away, fitting a talon under one of the straps.

"Sheesh, these are tight."

"All the more reason to hurry up." Jyn growled.

"Okay, okay, I get it."

Nathan caught one of the leather straps in the curved edge of his talons, and tugged, slicing through the leather like packing tape , the tension instantly releasing and making the other straps go limp, allowing Jyn to comfortably slide the sheath off on his own at this point.

"Better." He grunted.

Nathan picked up the sheath, wrapping up the straps. "A thank-you would do just fine, frosty."

"Frosty? The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Nathan shrugged, grinning. "Well, you're obviously built for the cold, since your scales feel like my ex girlfriend's heart, heh heh."

Jyn raised an eyebrow. "A pun. Huh. Okay then, whatever." He turned around and continued through the moon-illuminated valley.

Nathan laughed again, looking back down at the sword, which, now that he thought about it, was around his size….

"Hey, uh, can I have this?" He asked, raising the sword and sheath.

Jyn twisted his neck around to see. "Oh. Sure, I guess. Less stuff for me to carry."

Nathan smiled. "Great. Thanks."

Now let's see…. I think I can shorten the adjust the straps enough to loop around my arm….

He did this, shortening the buckles to the second sockets in the leather.

"Okay, let's see here," he muttered to himself, draping the sheath on the ground in front of him.

"My arm goes….here, and this strap goes around on this side…"

He examined his handiwork.

The straps were a tangled mess.

Uh.

He undid these, retrying.

Maybe this was supposed to loop around this side instead of the other…

Upon examining it again, he took pride in the fact that he'd been able to adjust the strap to accommodate his arm's sudden volume.

"Sweeeet." he exhaled.

He left after sliding the sword back into the sheath, because, you know, you can't have those things in while making adjustments. Come on guys. Sharp things hurt people.

"Jeez, I'd like some diversity for once" he heard Jyn mutter distantly.

"Hey Jyn, how do you…." he trailed off, not seeing the pale white dragon anywhere in sight.

Uh-oh…

I'll just keep walking. He's probably somewhere up ahead.

He stepped forward, shivering in surprise at the sudden damp coldness of the grass.

Brr.

Just up ahead, the ground faded quickly from wet, dew-covered grass to smooth, cool stone.

The path narrowed, matching the canyon walls and hardly casting any reflected light.

Jeez, how did he even squeeze through here?

Nathan wondered, frowning as the wall rubbed against his scales uncomfortably.

He'd had to have sit here for hours trying to find a clear way to wriggle through.

He emerged on the other side of the crevice, into a box canyon, with a lake in the center.
The area echoed with the sounds of small frogs and crickets, all calling out in separate deep and shrill tones that vibrated through the night air.

A dead end, basically.

Nathan thought painfully.

Jyn was sitting by a small pond, talking….to himself…?

"No! I just need more time, I think I can remember it." Jyn muttered.

He waited, then spoke again.

"No, no, the cure was simple. Something like, I don't know, it grew everywhere in Mexico!" He complained, scratching his head in frustration

"I don't know. I think it's like, a baking ingredient or something."

Jyn froze again.

"Maybe. Vanilla…. Kind of a weird suggestion, but we have to try SOMETHING."
Jyn finished, nodding his head and turning around, flinching startledly when he saw Nathan behind him with his arms crossed.

Jyn rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Uh, heh heh, how much of that did you see?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Enough to think you might have finally lost it."
"What do you mean, 'finally'?" Jyn asked, tilting his head.
"Don't change the subject. Are you okay? Like, in the head? Do you need some Tylenol?"
Jyn flinched. "Uh. We don't have any Tylenol."
"Stop changing the subject! Were you talking to yourself, yes or no?" Nathan insisted.

Jyn hesitated. "Erm… no…."
"Well then who? Are you going to tell me you have a phone or something?" The RainWing asked, his scales fluctuating between red and orange.

(Anger, and Orange I think was….frustration? I gotta do some more research….)

"Uhm….noooooo…."
"Then who!? Stop avoiding the question!"
Jyn fidgeted nervously. "Well… remember that A.I. I had?"
"The one that went insane and tried to kill us with some power armor sets? Yeah, you can't forget something like that. Wait, are you saying-"
"Yes." Jyn finished quickly.

"That….THING is in your head?!" Nathan yelled.
Jyn nodded glumly.

"Is he the same? Trying to drive you insane at least?"

"No….he's been kinda helpful so far…."
"What do you mean?"

"He's been helping with our current problem, since the infected dragon incident."

Oh, that's what. He was trying to figure out what the cure for the neurotoxin.

"Huh. You guys figure out where it came from yet?"
Jyn blinked. "Uh….yeah, kinda."

"Well then where?" Nathan asked, flicking his tail impatiently.

The pale dragon shivered uncomfortably, his spikes on his neck rattling. "Spectre said the only people who had samples of the neurotoxin after it's supposed 'eradication' was the Protectorate, and the U.S.C.M."

Nathan sat down, confused. "So you're saying the U.S.C.M. are HERE?"

"The Protectorate died along with the Earth from Cuia and Crusoe's dimension, so yeah." Jyn said simply.

"How did they get here?"

"Probably the same way we did."
"Oh." Nathan sighed, resting his talons on his sword. "That's not good."

"Tell me about it." Jyn grunted, then ending with a sigh. "By the way, Spectre's finally loaded a geographical map. You were right."
Nathan's ears turned slightly yellow. "Uhh, right about whaaaat?"
"This isn't south. It's east."
"Uh-huh. Next time, I'm choosing the direction." The RainWing replied.

How's this for diversity, Jyn?

Jyn sliced a claw through the water in front of him slowly, the ripples distorting his still reflection.
"So, where to now?" Jyn asked absently.
Nathan tapped his chin. "Hmm. I think we should keep going this way."
"But, it's blocked off." Jyn began. "And what if it gets colder?"
Nathan shrugged. "Well I guess it gets colder. Nothing we can do about it."
"Yeah. Maybe we can-" Nathan held up his talons to signal for him to be quiet.

He placed a claw up to his mouth. "Shh. Do you hear that?" he whispered, scanning the small canyon warily.
"Hear what?"
"I know it's a cliche, but that's exactly what I hear. Nothing." Nathan muttered grimly.
Jyn eyed the entrance to the canyon. "But, there's only one way in other than from above. They'd give themselves away too early."
Nathan shook his head. "That's exactly my point. Animals usually know when something dangerous is around, and I don't hear anymore of those crickets, do you?"
"Fair."
Nathan stared at the pond intently. It was quite large, actually, now that he was seeing it from up close. The murky body of water was fed by a stream with similar characteristics, looking almost large enough to fit a dragon in….
Wait, the pond water was disturbed. That could only mean-
Shock and adrenaline instantly pumped into his bloodstream.
"Jyn-" He was cut short as two dragons leapt at him from out of the stream and pond, both either a lime-green or sky blue.
"AH!" Nathan winced at the sudden weight of the dragons on top of his back, pinning him to the ground. He tried raising his head, but talons forced his snout into the ground. His scales flashed rapidly from light green to crimson and black.

"Hold on!" Jyn yelled, batting away another attacker that rocketed out of the sky, trying to knock the white dragon to the ground. He ducked, avoiding the SkyWing that'd swooped from above. Suddenly, three other dragons came out from the water, but didn't possess the same colored scale patterns the first attackers had.
Nathan writhed under the weight of the dragon pinning him in the moist soil, his tail lashing angrily.
"Huh, a RainWing? Just as weak as I expected, really." The voice above him muttered, chuckling.
"Fuck. You." Nathan managed.
Jyn was being circled by the other four dragons, soon to be five when the dive-bombing SkyWing landed.
We can't fight these guys, He realized.
He saw Jyn was beginning to see it too, the look of dismay clear on his face.
"Surrender now, IceWing. You're surrounded."
The voice on top of Nathan spoke up. "Yeah, or we might have to hurt your little friend here."
"Call me little again. I fucking dare you." Nathan growled defiantly.
"You don't look like you're in the position to make any threats, tiny." The voice mused.
A SandWing turned away from Jyn. "Coast!"
"Whaaaat?" The voice above Nathan whined, who he could now identify as someone named Coast.
"Shut up."
"Okaaaay."

She turned away, facing Jyn once again as a blue dragon talked to him.

"Never let me have any fun…." Coast muttered, grumbling unsatisfyingly.
Jyn's gaze darted between the multiple colored dragons surrounding him, a MudWing, one blue like Coast, another green with similar features, the SandWing who'd quelled Coast, and the approaching SkyWing.
"W-we don't want any trouble, we're just passing through." Jyn stammered.
The green dragon stepped forward slowly. "Riiiight. Somehow it's not very convincing, especially when the travellers are a RainWing and an IceWing. Not very subtle, if you ask me." He mused.

"We uhm…" Jyn faltered, losing his voice.
Awwww, nooo. I thought he was over this!

The IceWing's knees were buckling, shaking in utter fear. It had been a problem Jyn had quite a long while ago, but Nathan thought he'd somehow gotten over it in that short of time.

Apparently not.

"'We um' what?" The other dragon demanded. "I need answers not a blithering sound of a coward! Speak up!"

Jyn only responded with a whimper and ducked his head lower, looking scared.

Oh, why do I have to look younger than him?

The green dragon growled, then spun toward Nathan.
"I don't even think it's worth even asking something as useless as you a serious question." He grunted with a certain level of disgust, beginning to face away once again.
"I could say the same thing to you, motherfucking fake-ass Fidel Castro." Nathan responded.
The dragon turned back toward him, his eyes narrowed. "Mmm-hmm. Alright, we're taking them. We've been in the open as long as it is."
The SandWing nodded to Coast and he proceeded to wrap a blindfold over Nathan's eyes.
"Hey!"
Coast's weight came off his back, but he already knew he wouldn't be able to run away with the blindfold over his eyes.
Coast guided him toward the stream, shoving him in snout-first.
Nathan yelled and rubbed his snout which now stung from the water. "Freaking asshole." He muttered.
A grunt came from behind him, followed by a splash before the talons reappeared again, cold and wet against his scales.

Where are they talking us?
"Hold your breath." Coast mumbled behind him.
"Wait, wha-" Nathan was plunged underwater, Coast's talons guiding him into a small underwater tunnel, which Nathan was able to feel from the temperature drop between the water from the main stream and the water from the tunnel, along with feeling around the craggy ellipse-shaped hole.

Interesting.
He swam in, moments later resurfacing in what he could tell from his echoing breaths was a cave.
Certainly low-key.

The blindfold was taken off his head, allowing him to see.

He was in a small pool inside an old aquifer from the looks of it. Four torch-illuminated hallways stretched outward, like some kind of subway junction almost.
"Gee, thanks, it's always nice to have a wet rag on your face." Nathan muttered, climbing out of the pool and watching as Coast leapt out of the cold pool, shaking freezing droplets of water on him.
"Hey!" Nathan complained.
Coast grunted, then walked away down a torch-lit hallway.
Jyn surfaced not long after, lead by the blue dragon and followed by the rest of their captors.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Nathan snarled, baring his teeth at the blue dragon.
"Hey!" The SandWing barked.
The other dragon held up his talons. "Relax, Thebes. He wants answers, he'll get them. Eventually."
He continued on toward the hallway in the center, signalling for Jyn to follow.

"Follow me." He said simply.
Jyn was already doing this, Nathan hesitant to do the same.
The tunnel rounded out into an extended room, only two other dragons inside, as well as multiple shelves filled with liquids and organic materials.
The green dragon stopped. "Oh, how rude of me, I never introduced myself. I'm Nautilus, the leader of the Talons Of Peace."
Jyn perked up. "Crusoe mentioned you. You guys are an underground peacekeeping movement, right? What's the big idea? Why are you taking us captive?"
"Mm. We're low on….available dragons, at the moment." He replied, grabbing two vials off a shelf.
"Here, drink these."
Nathan drank it without hesitation, having been oddly thirsty for a while now.
"Mmmm, blueberry!" He exclaimed, licking his lips.
Jyn eyed the vial warily. "Aaand what is this, exactly?"
Nautilus smiled. "Why it's Cotathus sumatrigenius."
Jyn frowned, shaking the vial. "Huh. Never heard of that before."
The green dragon grinned. "That's because it's poison."
Nathan choked. "W-wha-at?"
Jyn threw the vial on the ground, shattering the fragile glass on the cave floor. "Poison!?"

"Poison." Nautilus confirmed.

Nathan growled. "You dirty-ass motherfu-"
Jyn stopped him. "Why? What do you want?"
"I needed to make sure you didn't just abandon the task I'm about to give you next." He replied.
"And what would that be?" Nathan demanded, his scales radiating hatred and anger.
Nautilus scratched his chin. "Well, we've been unable to receive any messages from one of our camps, and anytime we send any dragons out there to investigate, they never came back. We're suspecting it's a trap, and we're running low on dragons with enough time away from their other duties to go do some reconnaissance."
"So you're asking us to go do it for you." Nathan growled distastefully.
"I'm not asking you anything. I'm just saying, if you want to live, you'll have to tell me who or what is capturing our dragons. I'll give you the antidote upon your arrival back here. You have, eh…, around forty-eight to thirty hours before the poison begins to take over your body. I'd hurry." He said, exiting the room on that happy note.
"Well this is fucked." Nathan grumbled.

(In hindsight, I thought this would have been a cool twist, but it's actually misused later and I'm sorry for that.)