24.2

If it were me I wouldn't go through the trouble of fighting alongside me at all. The bad PR the government had spread about me would definitely make him look bad. Sure the people that would be under my protection directly would enjoy the extra help, but the guild itself didn't benefit all that much from allying with me in any way shape or form. So why was he choosing to work with me instead of taking me down? Then there was the information I got when I was given the quest.

Erik was doing experiments on archaic beasts. He may not be doing the experiments himself. In fact I was fairly certain he wasn't doing the experiments himself. He had too much work to do as a guild leader of one of the larger guilds to hole up, and work as a geneticist. That had me circling back to the original question.

Why choose to work with me? My lip curled up slowly. I didn't like being here. I kept my tail curled around my feet, and stayed on the other side of the line. The tip of my tail flicked casually.

I debated on taking human form again. I didn't know if I wanted to know what Erik actually wanted by bringing me here. I opened my wings behind me just enough to allow the wind to fill my wings. The snap of the membranes as they went tight was very satisfying. I stayed there as I eyed the movements of the people on the other side of the line.

I waited for them to come to me. Ethan stayed with me while Savannah, and Jax moved through the line to talk to whoever was in charge. It didn't take them long to find Raul. He didn't seem to very happy about dealing with us twice in the same day. It seemed like that wasn't the only thing irritating him either.

He'd probably been sent down here just to run point with me. That meant they had some sort of vehicle to move people around. I stopped myself from smirking since it would probably send the wrong message. Savannah had started discreetly opening a space for me on the other side of the line as she talked with Raul. Once the space was big enough for me to stand in I jumped.

Clearing the harpoon launchers that were nearly as tall as I was easily. My hands hit the ground first. My feet hit the ground a bit harder then my hands, but I managed to land neatly with minimal damage to the ground I was standing on. It was obvious that they'd been staking this place out for a long time. The ground I landed on was mud.

I shook some of the muck off my hands as my scales stood on end. I was a bit annoyed that I'd gotten mud on my hands, and feet. I couldn't do anything about it for now. I was stuck in the mud for now. I lowered my head so I was at the eye level of the humans.

I made sure to get a good look at the people that were now moving as far away from me as they could. I stayed standing in the muck since I didn't want anymore mud on me. My wings twitched as I looked off into space.

"What would you like me to do?" There was humor in my voice, "Boss man?"

Raul hadn't heard me speak in my true form before so it wasn't that surprising when he looked at me with a shocked expression.

"What's the matter?" I stopped myself from chuckling, "Are only human shaped creatures allowed to speak?"

I couldn't stop myself from showing a gummy grin. I'd kept my teeth in. My gums looked much more harmless then my finger long teeth. It wasn't any less unnerving.

"Not a lot of teeth for a predator of your size," Raul commented nervously.

My teeth snapped out. Clicking against each other. Raul took a few steps back. I retracted my teeth. I shifted in the muck as my lip went back down.

There was no need for me to show off my teeth or my gums. These people were my allies.

"If you don't have any orders then am I free to act on my own?" I smirked.

"Take a radio," Raul didn't argue with me leaving.

"Savannah," I turned my eyes to her, "I'd like you to come with me."

Ethan shifted uneasily. He didn't want me to go without him, but this was something private for the two of us.

{Don't pick any fights,} I let one of my eyes rest on Ethan, {That's my job.}

Ethan barely suppressed a chuckle. Savannah seemed a little concerned that I was asking her to come with me alone. I hadn't gone anywhere alone with her since we first bonded. I reassured her mentally. Nothing was wrong.

I wanted to talk to her about advancing her bond. If she decided to say yes then I already had the cores needed. Ethan tossed me his bag. I caught it in my mouth, and dropped it into my hand. Getting mud on the bag in the process.

An irritated hiss whispered over my tongue. I helped Savannah up onto my back, and jumped into the air with practiced ease. I flew for nearly an hour before choosing a place to land. I scanned the surroundings for movement. There weren't many beasts around here.

Most of them had probably fled when they realized they were pinched between the predatory wyverns, and the aggressive human guild members. That was good for me. I wanted privacy.

"So why are we out here alone?" Savannah yelled from my back.

"I wanted to talk to you about advancing our bond," I splayed the scales on my hands and feet to knock off what was left of the dried mud.

"Like what you did to Ethan?" She looked a little concerned.