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Jade grimaced as she was shoved harder into the ground, but relaxed her muscles in a way that she hoped would encourage a less violent restraint. She refused to fight a protective parent who was as much a victim as any present, but she also was not fond of the idea of being destroyed in the process. Turning her head so she could better call out, she shouted in her most carrying voice, "Stop fighting! Yield, friends, yield!"

This seemed an almost blasphemous order from the fierce woman, but it was further enhanced by the sight of her unmoving in the grip of the dragoon's leader. Or who she assumed to be the leader. When Olechriss began jumping around and shouting his question, she heard several raspy inhaled of breath from the rescue party that, she realized with a turn of horror, suggested they were preparing to exhale something particularly hot and damaging. And Mar with his sword glinting in the sun was not helping matters, either.

"I said yield!!" She shouted once more, grunting as her arms were shoved firmly into her spine.

"I do not know why, and I do not care!" Snarled the dragoon who was on top of Jade, in reply to Olechriss' question. "You will return my son or all be destroyed as punishment for your crime!"

Jade twisted a bit in an effort to look up at the man, but could not move enough to do so. "Upon my sword, Master Dragoon," She gasped in the same dracon that the others were using, "We did not take your son, but we did find his egg and have cared for him by the will and strength of the Four-"

She was interrupted by a sound that by now the Chosen would have grown somewhat accustomed to: the sound of a baby's wail. Zai had, unsurprisingly, been awoken by the great fuss. And at the sound of the hatchling's cry, every dragoon head (that hadn't been present in the company before) lifted as one and stared in the direction of the makeshift crib. The large man who had pinned Jade released her and sprinted in the direction of the box that contained the infant without so much as a second glance.

Jade quickly lifted her then free hand to signal for him to be left alone, attempting to quickly catch her breath. Several of the dragoons who hadn't been put to use holding down one of the Chosen's party had surrounded Olechriss, their massive scythes held upright and ready to strike at the slightest provocation. It was a dangerous situation, where the actions of a single group member could result in the fiery deaths of all.

Slowly, Jade eased into a crouch, resting her hands on her knees and keeping her back straight in the most submissive, nonthreatening posture she could manage.

The lead dragoon seemed to either not hear or, more likely, to not care about Mar's threat. He had eyes only for the cradle he approached, where the infant's cry was sounding from. When he reached the box that held his son, something nearly miraculous occurred. All of the ferocity in the hard young face evaporated, and Zai's wails slowed as the babe caught sight of the strange face that he has as of yet never seen before. But when the Clan's leader opened his mouth and spoke with words so gentle it seemed as though a completely different being altogether were speaking, the hatchling emitted a soft, delighted coo and waved his chubby arms in the air as though in recognition. He had likely heard this voice throughout his entire existence as an egg, and recognized it now as a sound that accompanied some sort of comfort.

In a single quick movement, the dagoon shrugged off his vest and used it to carefully wrap up the precious child before scooping him into his arms with all the tenderness that could ever be expected of a new parent. The tribesmen around the Chosen and barraging Havin's shield rose up in a victory shout, waving their scythes in the air and fluttering up from the ground briefly to celebrate their success.

Jade exhaled slowly once more, remaining in her crouched position. Perhaps now the dragoons would be more open to conversation, with their treasure retrieved. Carefully, very carefully, she rose to her feet. She stared directly at the dragoon holding Zai as he stalked back over to her, his eyes fierce.

"We cared for him as best as we could," She explained quietly, using dracon to be polite and keeping her eyes locked with his. "We believe your son was taken by someone who wanted to rile up your numbers, perhaps to cause war with the surrounding humans. We found his egg left in a merchant's caravan that had been attacked. Ask any of my friends, they will tell you the same without provocation."

The dragoon's eyes narrowed for a moment, his powerful jaw tightening as he stared down the halfling woman. He turned, fixing his sharp gaze on Lars and Aryn, who seemed least likely to have understood what it was Jade said. He called out to him, his accent thick and slurred, but distinct enough to get the question across as he cuddled the now fully awake hatchling to his chest. "You there! Where did you find this hatchling?"

Jade blinked as the moment was suddenly interrupted by some drunken fool (she presumed) suddenly lunging into the crowd. The man roared out something only partially coherent, then fell flat on his face. Jade blinked once more, staring between her comrades, the dragoons, and the newcomer...and suddenly realized that she recognized the fool.

"Wolf?" She asked, experiencing one of those rare moments of surprise in her life. Zai's father seemed to no longer be prepared to slit her throat with his free hand, so she quickly made her way over to the man that had left the group weeks ago. She dropped to his side and rested one hand on his back, rolling her eyes. "Get up, you bloody git. If you can walk in a straight line, that is. Now really isn't the time for theatrics."

Zai's father was contenting himself with stroking his son's cheeks and listening to the hatchling burble in excitement as he whispered to him, and the rest of the rescue party were gathering around him to get a look at the newest member of their Clan now that the Chosen had proved themselves to be less of a real threat.

Crouched down some hundred yards away, a group of men clothed in dark red hissed in unanimous anger. Their faces and physical features were all hidden by the red cloth they had draped around themselves, making even the identification of their race impossible, but it was clear that the lack of screams and fire from the camp that had intercepted the egg did not sit well with the group.

"Those vile lizards should have annihilated them by now!" Growled one, leaning forward in his foliage covered seat.

"Indeed, brother." Another grumbled, crunching his knuckles against a bit of bark. "Perhaps we should have acted sooner. Retrieved the egg and planted it again. At this rate the Southern Clan is never going to act on the tension between them and the surrounding humans."

"Should we tell the master?"

"No, you fool! We haven't exhausted our resources here yet. This is not yet a complete failure." The smallest of the crimson bunch spoke in a gravely voice, his wiry frame seeming to curl forward in agitation as he looked towards the non-violent camp. "Perhaps they just need a little push. Jacobi, Hysfrael, go. Try to stir them."

And two of the imperceptible strangers snuck off into the dark, going in separate directions towards the Chosen's camp.

Quick as any lightning, the tip of a blade was pressed to Wolf's throat. Jade's glowing eyes had narrowed nearly to slits, and she growled out to the returned man who had challenged Mar, "You will do well to keep your soddering drunken challenges to yourself, mate. The last I can recall, you didn't see fit to keep up with our jolly group. Mar has done more for our cause in a day than you did the entire time you were tagging along. Do not make the mistake of thinking that waving your temper about is going to get you a cushioned seat back in our numbers. Now lower your blade."