The Chained Watcher

The Dragon

"I'm baaaaaack! Did I miss anything?"

Finally back at base, Grian updated the map before heading off to socialize with the couple people he knows here. He found Scar terraforming the nearby scenery to make it more scenic, so his new destination was whatever was being worked on over there. Flopping dramatically next to him, Grian rolled across the newly placed grass before stopping facing the sky.

"Grian? When did you get back?"

"Just a little bit ago. I spotted you working over here so I figured I'd drop by! Did anything happen while I was out?"

"Hmm, not too much really. The base got improved, the map got filled out, and some people are working on translating the local language. Other than that, nothing outrageous happened."

Flipping himself upright, Grian stretched. "Well, I'm gonna go talk to Phil. Found a place across the ocean that's run by hybrids, plus they've got a volcano area where the kid he picked up can go live. As interesting as it would be to bring them home with us, they would have to learn an entirely different language, plus this is their home world in the first place."

"Alright, see you around!"

Heading off to find Phil, Grian wandered around the recently refurbished base. Artful vines have been placed trailing down the building walls, and custom bushes were sculpted to add more greenery to the streets. Several shops had opened up, turning this into a much more lively place than it had been when they'd just arrived.

Phil was picking out pastries from a bakery when he found him, looking up as he called out. "Oh hey mate, you're back? What'd you find?"

"I found a place run by hybrids, though the land seems more wild than here. There's a settlement in a volcano area, so the kid can live there safely without worrying about any discrimination from human populations.

"A-ah... Were you planning on leaving right away?"

"Soon, yes. A day wouldn't hurt, but I'd rather set off before something weird happens. When things go wrong, they tend to go wrong very quickly."

"Alright, I'll gather her things."

So the kid was a girl? Huh. Looks like Phil was buying the pastries for them, probably as a treat. Either way, he should probably go get some sleep before Xisuma finds him and gives him the death stare again.

~~~

Philza had ended up deciding to come along to check out the hybrids' land, so the two set off with Grian carrying her. Phil had wanted to be the one to carry her, but after hearing how far they would need to fly he relented. 

A kid this young wouldn't know what a Watcher was, so Grian boosted their speed more than he had done to get there the first time around. Phil was a bit thrown off by the sudden increase in speed, but got used to it fairly quickly. This level of magic flushed his wings bright purple, so he'd have to lighten up on the usage once the shore was in sight. Wouldn't do to have someone more knowledgeable spot a suspiciously purple winged figure, now would it.

Using more magic cut the travel time down to only a couple hours, and soon enough the continent filled the horizon. Letting his wings fade back to lilac, they slowed down as they approached the land. Grian led the way to the volcanic region, noting how Phil started sweating from the ambient heat emitted by the volcano.

"I'm gonna set up the translation magic so you can talk to people then go off and check for something, k?"

"Okay, I just want to make sure she'll be happy here."