Julius dismounted in a clearing within a forest. Persephone was becoming more and more tired by the minute. She hadn't had enough exposure to the flora of the land to recover from last night's journey. Persephone was never one to complain, however. Gaius Julius "Ace" Malthus knew this well, and she could drop out of the sky in fatigue without saying a word of warning. He felt it in her wings. Traveling over the mountains was always a problem. So cloudy, lacking vegetation; rocky and unpleasant. Here, the sun shone brilliantly through the leaves of the trees above, and Persephone, along with Ace, was at peace. The massive green dragon was curled up in the clearing, taking most of it up, with a bored-looking biologist sitting knees up between her forelegs and hind legs. Persephone snored quietly and pleasantly. She always smelled like flowers, old girl. Ace grinned and stroked her scales in the smooth direction, as he had learned. He felt the presence of more of such dragons and their riders. He'd met some in the past. Well, one, at least. Her name was Alicia, a young girl...Agrethia was as majestic as Persephone was, and both were amicable, if not the best of friends. He knew there must have been more. So far, he had no heroic deeds to his name, just a smooth, calculative personality. Either way, it was good to give his "daughter" a rest.