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The moment the woman hit the ground, both Draconians were already poised for combat: crouched, wings open, and claws extended. Despite how peculiar she seemed to them, that did not make the pair any less wary. Though they had never seen one before, they had heard enough stories from the older Draconians to know what a human looked like.

Without thinking, Lanuk spoke in their native tongue as he asked "Who are you, human?" Lani bared her teeth for a moment, the Draconian equivalent of rolling her eyes, realizing that the woman probably had no idea what he was saying.

Their language was somewhat similar to Dragon-tongue, but time had altered it considerably. Simply put, to a Dragon it would be akin to someone scrambling some of the words around and speaking with an extremely thick accent, and to the woman it would probably seem like a bunch of gibberish.

Probably.

The siblings narrowed their eyes as she spoke, both in concentration and suspicion as they carefully deciphered her words, which sounded as strange to them as their language did to her. They were unable to understand most of it, but managed to catch her name, as well as 'I' and 'No harm'. After that, they turned away from her, and quickly engaged in a quiet, fast-paced discussion.

"She does not appear to be much of threat. I think she is just lost," whispered Lani to her brother, who bared his teeth in derision.

"Don't be naive. What are the chances of a human just washing up on shore, on today of all days? When the other humans are supposed to arrive? I think that she's some sort of spy."

"If she really is a spy, then she is quite terrible at it, which is why I believe that she is not. In any case, we should take her to see The Wise Ones or our Chieftain, and let them decide what to do with her."

"Well if that's the case, we should restrain her, in case she tries some sort of trick or attempts to escape."

"There is no need for that. What could a frail creature such as her do to the likes of us? Not much. And if she tries to run, it should be a simple matter to track her down. Besides, if she really is a spy working for the humans, imprisoning her would only anger her people, and remember what The Wise Ones said: No matter what, we must try to avoid upsetting the humans. No. Matter. What."

Lanuk growled to show his displeasure, but he knew that she was right, and nodded grudgingly. Finally, they turned back to Asherah, and Lani spoke to her slowly, telling her what the two of them had decided to do. Lanuk stood behind her, watching the woman with suspicious eyes.

Lanuk snorted quietly, and moved behind her, his eyes fixed upon her intently. Lani, meanwhile, made a motion for Asherah to follow.

"Stay close, and do not leave the trail. If you make any attempt to run away from us . . ." At this, Lani's expression hardened and she motioned to her brother, who flexed his claws ominously and flashed his long, slightly yellowed teeth.

Then her expression softened once again. "Now come," she said, and turned to march off into the foliage of the jungle. Lanuk waited for Asherah to go next, and he would follow behind her.

Behind Asherah, Lanuk opened his mouth to speak and tell her that she had no business asking what their names were, but Lani beat him to it. She turned her head to the side so she could focus on the woman with one yellow eye, and spoke, cutting off her brother.

"I am Lani, daughter of Terna." Then with a nod of her head, she gestured at the larger Draconian behind them. "That is my brother, Lanuk, son of Rekhis." At the mention of his name, Lanuk snorted.

"Just because you are willing to give away your name to a human so willingly, sister, does not mean that you have the right to give her mine."

Lani huffed, and spoke once again to Asherah. "Do not pay him any mind. My brother has always been a sour fruit, even from the moment that he first pushed his way out of the eggshell." Lanuk growled softly, but didn't respond. His lack of a good retort caused Lani to smile, and she clicked her jaws shut twice, an expression of triumph as the three of them continued to push their way through the foliage.

Even before the sentence was halfway out of Asherah's mouth, both Draconians were already extending their claws as they turned to look in the direction from which the sound had come. Their nostrils widened as they strove to catch a scent, but to no avail; whatever it was that had made the sound, they were upwind from it. Though they could not smell it, it could smell them.

They stood there and did nothing but watch and listen for almost a whole minute. When nothing else happened, Lani made a few hand motions to her brother, and abruptly took off into the jungle, moving with a surprising lack of sound for such a large creature. As she disappeared into the growth, Lanuk stepped closer to Asherah, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Lani thinks something is tracking us, and I agree. You and I will continue along the path. She will stay behind to make sure that we are not followed. Now come, and don't fall behind." With that, Lanuk moved around Asherah and began jogging along the path, glancing back to make sure she kept up.

Lanuk assumed that she was talking about the amount of time until they reached the village, and said. "A half-hour, if we keep up this pace. Now be silent."

With that, he continued jogging along the path, and would keep going for another twenty minutes or so until, suddenly, the sound of something moving through the brush immediately up ahead brought him to a halt.

Lanuk snarled, and backed towards Asherah, so that she stood directly behind him as he extended his claws once again. "I may not like you very much," he said to her as his eyes focused on a patch of jungle about thirty feet ahead, where the sound originated. "However, my sister has entrusted you to my protection, and I will not violate her trust. Be grateful for that."

The crashing noises grew louder, and moments later, the screen of foliage parted to reveal . . . . another pair of Draconians, one orange and the other brownish-red, garbed in similar attire to Lanuk's, from which they brushed leaves and bits of woods. Once they emerged on to the path, their attention zeroed in on Lanuk . . . . as well as the woman behind him. Both sneered as they caught sight of her.

Lanuk tensed as he recognized who they were, and spread his wings wide, shielding her from view. "I have no quarrel with you, Balik, or you, Shattil. Let us pass."

Balik, the orange one, growled. "Indeed, we bear no ill will towards you, Lanuk, but that human is another matter. We cannot let her go. She does not belong here, nor do any of her kind. Besides, what do you care about some human? If you are smart, you will let us have her and just continue on your way."

Lanuk shook his head. "No. I hold no love for her, but it is my responsibility to see that she makes it to the village safely. I do not break my obligations."

Balik sighed. "It is a shame, but if that is what you choose, then we have little choice . . . ." Slowly, the pair marched forward, flexing their claws as they closed the distance to Lanuk and Asherah.

Lanuk snarled, and dug his feet into the soil, ready to stand his ground.

Balik stumbled back in surprise as the earth split beneath him, nearly falling in as he did so. Fortunately for him, he fell off to one side instead. Snarling, he returned to his feet, and stared Asherah down as snapped his jaws menacingly. Shattil started towards her, seemingly unfazed by the display of power, but there was a loud *THUD* as an enormous blur of green scales collided with him, knocking him several feet back along the path.

Lanuk, though he had been surprised by Asherah's sudden leap into combat and her earth-shaking attack, did not allow himself to be distracted. So, when he saw that Shattil wasn't paying attention to him, he struck. Now the both of them wrestled violently with one another in the dirt, claws flashing, jaws snapping, and tails thrashing.

As for Balik, he started to circle the woman slowly, studying her intently. Normally, he would simply take flight and start strafing her with his deadly claws, but the dense jungle foliage on either side of the relatively narrow path prevented him from opening his wings, so flight was out. And since she obviously possessed powers, he was wary of her for now. He was a skilled combatant, and he didn't get that way by being brash and underestimating his opponents. For now, he was on the defensive . . . .