It's been an exciting and rather surreal day. The Holy Bacon, (a homing beacon actually) has been used, and it brought Copernicus and some Chirr'T'Thar, along with Charon and his remotes, including Chimera. Most of the group has settled down for the night shortly after Jarik arrived back at Samantha's tree home, where Michael and Chimera are starting to talk, with Samantha nearby after having checked on her children.
The human (apparently) and the odd cross of dragon and other, sit down near the river by Samantha's house. Michael's curiosity about the strange being apparent.
The moon peaks through the canopy of trees and leaves overhead. The small firepit in front of the house behind them sends a few more shadows as they sit on the grassy bank above the river.
Michael asks of Chimera, "You are from where?"
Chimera says, "Lothrhyn."
Michael says, "Where?"
Michael finds a mossy river stone big enough to sit on, and does just that?
Chimera says, "Lothrhyn made me. I came here with Charon though. Lothrhyn is a person more than a place, but she's also a place."
Michael says, "Charon is who?"
Chimera points back to the glade with the Chirr'T'Thar lander in it, and up at the invisible Stelya-rhyan hovering above it.
Chimera says, "He's my cousin, I suppose."
One of the felitaurs flies over head, apparently heading out to hunt at night.
Michael says, "Charon is Trrt'to-baq?"
Chimera blinks, "I don't know that word. What does it mean?"
Michael blinks, then blushes slightly. "Oh. Trrt'to-baq is 'cat-man-dragon'. Very..." Michael pauses to search for a word, but has to satisfy with "weird"
Chimera says, "Oh. Charon is more.. whale-bird-dragon?"
Michael says, "Whale? What is?"
Chimera says, "An animal that lives in the ocean and grows very large.."
Michael blinks, understanding what the words mean, but not much more.
Michael says, "Oh! You mean sideways-fish?"
Samantha pads over, stopping a short distance away to see what's going on.
Michael smiles.
Chimera blinks three times. "The tail moves up and down, yes."
Michael furrows his brow. "Charon is not like sideways-fish."
Michael says, "Is he?"
Michael looks very confused.
Chimera says, "He's very big like that, and similarly shaped."
Michael mutters, "Maybe I saw wrong trrt'to...whale?"
Chimera turns to smile at Samantha.
Samantha nods back.
Michael says, "Next time, I will have better look."
Michael nods to himself.
Chimera nods to Michael. "And you are human?"
Michael says, "I am what?"
Chimera says, "You are human?"
Michael looks at himself.
Michael says, "human is what?"
Chimera says, "Your kind."
Michael thinks. "Ah! hu-man...I know what 'man' is...What is hu?
Michael says, "My kind? Hmm..."
Chimera changes course, and asks, "What are you then?"
Michael says, "Hu is bald maybe? Everyone calls me bald-man. Sometimes, hairless man."
Michael hmms, thoughtfully, nodding.
Michael says, "Tell me about your kind?"
Samantha pads slowly over towards the two of you.
Michael looks up at Samantha. "Hello."
Chimera says, "What do you want to know about them?"
Michael says, "Everything?"
Michael smiles
Chimera says, "I can't tell you everything. I don't know everything."
A cloaked figure approaches the group near the river...
Samantha says, "Hello."
Michael doesn't see the figure, as his back is turned. "Are all your kind fur-dragons, like you are?"
Chimera shakes his head. "I am unique."
Michael blinks, "The rest are like what?"
Chimera says, "They are like what they are. Everyone is unique, but similar."
Michael says, "Weird..."
Jarik says, "Hello again, Michael..."
Michael turns, seeing Jarik there, finally. "Oh! Hello, Jarik friend."
Chimera smiles up at the cloaked figure, "Greetings, Sir Jarik of Crydon!"
Jarik hms and looks for a place to sit, "You know me...?"
Samantha nods. "Good day."
Chimera says, "I know you through my sibling, Envoy."
Jarik blinks, "Envoy... Then you're related to Kainudy!"
Michael says, "Kainudy-dragon?"
Jarik nods...
Michael says, "This Kainudy dragon is many places."
Chimera smiles, "Yes, she's my Grandmother, sort of."
Michael says, "Oh?"
Jarik looks almost hopeful, "You haven't seen her recently have you..?"
Samantha shakes her head, trying to piece all this together.
Jarik blinks at the other stranger, "Hello... May I ask, who are you?"
Samantha says, "Me? My name is Samantha. I live here."
Chimera says, "I haven't seen her, but she is on Tharhome."
Jarik blinks, "Tharhome? Where and what is that...?"
Michael keeps quiet and looks from speaker to speaker
Chimera says, "The homeworld of the Chirr'T'Thar. Where the scout ship came from."
Jarik smiles to Samantha, "I'm Jarik. Pleasure to meet you. I think I've met your daughter once."
Jarik raises an eyebrow, "There? Oh..."
Chimera takes a moment to thank Samantha for her hospitality.
Samantha nods. "Acera, you mean?"
Jarik nods, "Ah! Yes, her and her friend Nalae. Nice kids."
Michael smiles.
Samantha smiles warmly. "Yes, they are."
Jarik gives up and sits on the ground, "Is there any chance I could get ahold of Kainudy?"
Samantha says, "Actually, that brings up another question..."
Chimera nods to Jarik. "Certainly. Send a message with the Chirr' T'Thar before they leave."
The same felitaurs who went out hunting now fly overhead again, back to their ship for the night.
Michael watches them go by...
Michael sighs a little.
Jarik hmms, "There's someone ELSE I need to talk to it seems."
Samantha looks at Chimera. "Nalae isn't from around here. She's not any species I recognize from this world, and I've seen a lot of them. I was wondering if you'd seen anything like her."
Chimera says, "I don't recognize her exact species."
Samantha frowns. "Hmm."
Jarik says, "I don't either, and I've world traveled a bit."
Michael says, "I have not seen many things you have."
Samantha says, "Too bad. Much as I like having her here, it would be nice if we could figure out how to get her home."
Jarik says, "How did she arrive...?"
Michael sits and listens, scratching some moss of the rock he sits upon.
Jenora says, "I don't know, I didn't see her arrive. Acera saw her after she'd arrived, dragging herself out of the river."
Jarik hmms.
Michael stands up on his rock and stretches.
Samantha sighs. "She's like a poor little lost cub. Still trying to figure out how things work here." She smirks at Chimera. "Of course, the rules have just changed on the rest of us anyway."
Michael says, "Rules?"
Chimera says, "What rules?"
Samantha says, "Social rules, the way things work. Now that we know the aliens have come back, a lot of people are going to be figuring out how to deal with it."
Chimera says, "What is there to deal with?"
Michael says, "Aliens?"
Samantha looks at both of you. "This could take a while."
Jarik chuckles, I'm an alien to this world and no one had to learn to deal with it."
Michael blinks?
Samantha smirks. "Yes, but you're not quite so obviously alien. Nor do you have a ship like that to back you up."
Michael chuckles.
Chimera suddenly figures it out. "You've had the beacon for a long time, but you've never used it before?"
Samantha nods. "Most of the people probably wouldn't believe it would work, much less know how to make it do so."
Michael says, "Beecon?"
Samantha shrugs. "To most people it was some sort of holy artifact from days gone by."
Jarik sits quietly. He knows nothing about space travel.
Michael glances over at Jarik and smiles a little, recognizing that look from knowing even less...
Samantha shakes her head. "There was some furor going on anyway. My son was involved in an attempt to steal the beacon."
Chimera says, "Steal it from whom?"
Jenora says, "Its place in town."
Chimera says, "Are you going to take it back now that it has been used?"
Samantha nods. "The lad who knew how to get it working said he was taking it back to where it's displayed."
Chimera says, "Then what will be done with it?"
Samantha says, "Put back on display for historical purposes."
Samantha says, "It's been sitting in a museum."
Chimera says, "So they don't particularly want aliens to contact them?"
Samantha says, "Some people don't... as I said, most people didn't think the beacon worked anymore anyway. And some didn't believe it ever did."
Chimera says, "What did you want to contact Kainudy about, Sir Jarik?"
Jarik says, "It was my impression that Kainudy knows a lot of information about many things. I hope she can answer a few questions or be of some help to me. I don't have much time before something must be done."
Chimera nods to Jarik.
Samantha shakes her head. "I'll want to ask you more about your people soon, but right now I've got something cooking and I don't want to let it burn."
Michael smiles.
Samantha nods to Chimera. "When were you planning on leaving?"
Chimera says, "Leaving? I still have too much to learn here. I wasn't planning on leaving for awhile."
Michael nods. "Much to learn..."
Samantha nods again. "Good. I'll see you soon, then." She gets up and brushes herself off.
Jarik waves to Samantha...
Michael waves, also...
Samantha says, "Good day." And wanders off.
Chimera waves to Samantha!