“Caeso!” Gaia rushed over to where her mount had fallen behind her. She gave him a brief onceover to assess the situation and make sure he had no extreme damage done. It calmed her slightly to at least know he was breathing, but she wished he would wake up. A small whine came from the large dragon and she reached out to stroke his side. He may be asleep for now but he would need tending later, she doubted he had escaped this whole encounter completely unscathed. She reached up and into her saddlebags and grabbed a handful of small black seeds. She took a few herself before placing the rest back in the bag, grabbing the small knife she kept on hand.

She paid no heed to the man’s words. Did he truly think they had no other medics? Taking one medic was unlikely to stop anything. She hadn’t yet turned around when she finally found her voice. “Taking me won’t solve anything. There are others who are trained to heal who will step up and take my place.” She turned then, meeting the green eyes of her captor for the first time. She held the knife firm and she hoped he couldn’t see the way her hands shook with fear and adrenaline. She would only use it if necessary, she had taken an oath after all, but hopefully that wouldn’t be necessary. “Now that you have me here, what is your plan for me? For us?”

Tyler whispered something to Fury. "I'm sorry, but we have to ensure your dragon will not hurt us, but we would love for him to wake up." He said something else, and a small Snow White dragon landed, maybe 30 feet long. She grabbed Gaia and held her back. "Sorry" she whispered to Gaia. Titan went and got some chains, putting one around the dragons neck and one on each leg, then a chain holding his muzzle together. They were dragonproof chains, so Caeso couldn't break them. Fury then went over and pressed the same nerve, and Caeso woke up right away. Tyler stepped back out of the range he could strike. The chains were too big for a human to lift, so the white dragon, who's name was Icicle, let go of Gaia. Tyler looked sad, not liking to see any dragon tied up, but he also didn't like to see himself roasted or his dragon in tatters.

Gaia struggled in the dragon’s grasp but soon realized she wasn’t going to get out of it. She watched as the dark dragon that had taken her walked over to Caeso. He was defenseless and unconscious if she decided to do anything there would be nothing Gaia could do except watch. Thankfully, she only seemed to touch his neck before backing away. She heard the chains clink together as her friend began to awaken and once released, she rushed over to him. He blinked his eyes open upon her arrival and gave a small smile before his eyes widened at the realization of where they were and what had been put upon him.

What is going on? How did we get here? Did they hurt you?

“I’m fine, I promise. Not exactly sure where we are except we are in some kind of arena. They took us from the battlefield, snatched me and somehow knocked you out. I’m sure someone is looking for us as we speak.”

What do they want? Caeso turned his head to give their captors a onceover. He glared at the man standing in front of the large black dragon. If he had dared to lay a hand on his rider there would be nowhere safe for him.

“Still not entirely sure. They claim to have taken us to hopefully end the battle sooner, but I am not sure if that’s their only motive. For now, we stay calm and we see how it plays out.” Gaia ran a hand down Caeso’s head in an attempt to help calm him but she knew it would more than likely do very little. He had been protective over her ever since they had become a team and that wasn’t going to change very quickly. “Now do you hurt anywhere?”

Sore, but I’ll be fine. I doubt you have enough in your bags anyway to help me. I’ve been through worse, trust me.

“Fine.” It was only then that she turned back to the man. “You didn’t answer my question. What is your plan for us now? What use are we to you?”

Tyler winced. "I promise I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and comfortable... some of the dragon riders want to have you dead so stay on my good side. I have no idea why my boss decided to make me kidnap you. No one told me anything, I'm just a warrior." Tyler looked very sad that Caeso was in chains. He hated, just HATED seeing a dragon in chains. "Do... do you want us to unchain ... what's your Dragons name?" Tyler asked tentatively. "Do you want us to unchain him? You have to promise not to tell him to attack us. I have four dragons under my command... you only have one. I don't want to hurt him if he starts attacking us, but I don't want him to be unchained. Is that okay?" Tyler muttered lowly. Fury looked at him in astonishment, growling at Tyler. Icicle looked pleased, and Titan looked murderous.

Gaia was surprised by the man’s offer to unchain her dragon. Was he being serious? Could they trust him?

This could be a trap. We don’t know them.

“Yes, but at least if something were to go wrong we might be in a better position. Plus do you really want to stay in those chains?” Gaia spoke softly so that only Caeso could hear. He gave a snort, glancing over at the group a few yards away from them before giving a nod.

I trust your judgment. Now tell him to get these things off of me.

Gaia couldn’t help the smile that overtook her features. She returned his nod before addressing their audience. “His name is Caeso and he will not attack as long as I remain safe. I cannot promise anymore than that.”

"My mission is to make you remain safe." Tyler grunted, approaching Titan. He told Titan something, then the bit at dragon lifted the chains off, glaring at the smaller male the whole time. When he finished he sat back down, huffing. Is Gaia thought closely, she'd remember Tyler said 'I have four dragons under my command' and she only saw three. Tyler stepped back, leaning against Fury and crossing his arms, looking at the unchained dragon. To be sure, he felt much better. He also was terrified that the dragon would claw him to bits. He knew they were honorable creatures... but to their riders not a different nation. He winced as he remembered the giant scar down his back.

Once the chains were off, Gaia studied the group before them. An older golden dragon who was bigger than Caeso, a smaller white dragon, and then the large black dragon who had taken her. This man had all of these plus another under his control? First, where was the fourth, and second why did he need so many? This nation did do things differently than her people, that was for sure.

So what now? We stare at each other?

“Still trying to figure that out, Caeso. Let’s maybe keep a calm head about this.” She turned to face the man again, noticing how he took a step back towards what seemed to be his main mount. Good, she thought, he seems to have some sense of fear. Gaia knew that she was no cause of terror but she knew Caeso was intimidating to say the least. “Where will we be staying?”

"Here." Tyler smiled slightly. "Don't worry, I don't mean up here on the gritty sand. It has an underground bunker that seems to be pretty nice." "And I'm sure you have some questions, so let's go down there, get settled, and I'll answer them." He raised an eyebrow before jumping on Fury and hovering, then pressing a secret hatch door that opened the whole floor of the arena. Somehow all the sand stayed there so you had to fly through a cloud of sand, but there's was a giant underground cavern. Caeso almost fell in, but he was on the very outside of it. "Come on." Tyler called, and he dove into the black cavern. It went down for a good 100 feet (to accommodate Titan's long length) then stopped and went sideways in a passage big enough for the dragons. Titan made sure Caeso didn't fly away.

Tyler led the way through a maze of underground tunnels till they came to a giant room that was carpeted Softly. "This is where the dragons stay, and if they want to stay with Caeso I can get some blankets and pillows. If not, follow me." Tyler walked through a smaller door to a couple bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room/kitchen. They were all furnished like it was built for a queen to live in. "This is the human living quarters. Now, I'm sure you have some questions. I would love to answer them to my utmost capabilities. Ask away." Tyler had walked back out and was now leaning up against Fury's flank.

Gaia felt the ground begin to shift and move beneath her feet as she watched the hatch open up. She stayed next to Caeso until the man and his dragon had disappeared, but she realized an escape attempt now would be futile. “Come on. We best follow him in,” she murmured under her breath as she climbed up onto Caeso’s back. He stretched out his wings to their full width, a grimace tugging at his lips before he dove into the pit.

Upon reaching the room, Gaia beckoned her mount to stop and her dragon stopped not too far from the large black female. He lowered himself to the ground as Gaia began to dismount, running her hand along his neck before reaching his head. “Stay here and be civil. I will see to you once this apparent tour is complete.”

I told you before that I was fine. The grey dragon snorted as he stared into the doorway that the young man had disappeared through. He loved Gaia but sometimes her kind nature could be a little smothering.

Gaia placed her hands upon her hips. “I will look you over again now that we can converse and I will hear no more about it. Do you understand?” She watched him give a nod, realizing that his arguments would get him nowhere. A sigh escaped her lips before she wrapped her arms as best she could around his snout. “I need you to be healthy for when it is time to leave. I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.”

You and me both.

“So we have an understanding. Now wait here and I will be back in a moment.” She didn’t wish to leave Caeso’s side, he was her main form of protection after all but she knew it would be rude to not follow her “host”. Luckily, he didn’t talk long inside. She noticed the comfortable looking beds and living space, but she wasn’t sure she was so ready to accept that this was to be hers. Shouldn’t she be locked up in a cell somewhere? Far away from her mount? Did this nation know anything about keeping prisoners? She nodded at his words but her mind kept trying to drum up ways that she could get out of here. She had no doubt that Caeso could outfly most other dragons, however if they were caught she doubted that he would stand much of a chance in a three on one fight no matter how skilled and experienced he was. She continued running ideas through her mind as she followed the man back out into the larger cavern.

Sure, she had questions but only a few were important enough to actually ask. “What is my purpose here? Who are you? And how long will I be a prisoner here?”