What an understatement it had been, 'adventure'! It found them quickly enough.

On arrival to the Elan location, the Bayaran and single Budak running the place immediately fawned all over the trio. Xan got a little huffy - that was supposed to be her job! But things settled into a routine. The Zekirans learned to feed and clean up after the little growing dragons, and the dragons learned everything they could from them.

Ciana was strongly psionic, and got a workout when she decided to start spying on people. It was a good thing she did though: one of the recent additions to the hunt park's staff was stealing lost items he would find in the field, things which were meant to be taken back to the mansion and given back to their proper owners!

As time passed, and the babies grew older, Xan was also almost an adult, and would very shortly be surpassed by all three of the babies in size. However, they would always look up to her for 'motherly' assistance - and a playful romp in the woods.

At night, but particularly during twilight hours when the fireflies and bats would begin coming out, the three glowing dragons would play hide and seek with their fourth, who became quite adept at her teleportation powers to avoid being caught! After all, she could see them coming, bobbing along - that's why they played at twilight, as any later and it would just be a dead giveaway.

However life at the hunt park wasn't all light hearted fun. It was not only serious work, learning the locations of boundaries, and keeping away from the other animals there. After all, this park was a "hunt" area, where dangerous and elusive prey lived naturally. Ciana's skin saved her from sure death, as one of the larger, but slower giant snakes came out of hybernation in Summer. It would have attacked anything - steed, human, prey - because of its long slumber-grown hunger. But while it didn't quite break its fangs on her, they didn't exactly pierce her skin either.

They learned where those snakes slept, too, and quickly. The venom running down her pale cream hide was as deadly as ever, until it was carefully washed off.

And then there was the night of their first Alien attack.

Several families and their children of various ages along with Emiel and Xan and the other three, were camping out. It was a pleasant mid-winter night - the forest covering much of the estate grounds kept the snow largely at bay, but they were in a wide clearing with temporary tents set up, and Xan providing the warmth in addition to the fire crackling gently.

"What is that?" Catahecath said, breaking off from a rousing musical game with the younger children. He was looking into the sky, and his year-old mind couldn't quite grasp what could be making that odd streak through the cloudless night.

Cold, Emiel said, "get into your tents, all of you," but of course the two adult men and one woman with their families wished to remain - perhaps to fight.

Emiel quickly told Ciana to teleport back to the mansion and see if there was an alert going already. If not, to tell one of the Bayaran to send an urgent message to the Elan council. Aliens were attacking, in the middle of the night.

Though Elan wasn't a big city like some, it was home, and suddenly Shikobath was all business. He paced around the tents, listening to the worried families, and chided Catahecath for wanting to continue his song even when there was something obviously wrong.

"No, no," Emiel said, distractedly, "he should keep it up. Keep them calm and feeling safe, Cata, that's your job this night."

The purple nodded, he was now around fifteen spans long, but would continue to grow - he placed himself where Xan had been (enjoying what was left of her warmth, since she'd moved) and let out a gentle crooning song. While he was busy with that, Shikobath was growing a bit impatient.

"What about the--" he said, and then they all heard a certan screeching rumble, a craft was landing nearby!

Without pause, Shikobath stood, and before anyone knew it, he had extended himself to a strangely big length! His hind end and tail were still in the camp, but his whole front end and nose were already out past their torch lights, sniffing out this alien craft.

"He will be fine," Xan told Emiel, "he will frighten them away just by looking at them. You watch."

And he did: as Ciana came back a bit winded from jaunting across the length of the park, she informed them that the Council had been notified, and help was on its way. The city was under attack, they all knew it, distantly there were similar sounds of craft landing or strafing into the woods. Fire would surely erupt but the snows would put it out.

A shrieking and gibbering noise came from where Shikobath had gone, and they followed his glowing frills into the dark woods. Emiel and the others went carefully with their hunting equipment, never without it in a wilderness park, but when they got to the area they had to laugh.

Here was Shikobath having pulled a strange, squirming alien from its 'shell' of a craft. He was looking at the creature like it was something good to eat - but Emiel asserted that they didn't want to do that. They would escort this creature back to the estate, where it was given to the authorities, and the craft as well would have to be pulled out.

The next day, the dragonets enjoyed a surprise party on their behalf, everyone did their part, stayed calm, and had defeated the enemy. "Good work," High Master Engell said, on arrival to his son's estate, "and it's good to see you three again too," he laughed. Guiltily he glanced at Xan, "and you too of course."

*** to be continued!***

Name: Xan-tial
Sponsored By: Emiel
Colour: Black-blue-silver
Gender: Female
Size: Medium-Small (10 feet)
Additional Abilities: Miracle (1 unselfish wish granted every 7 years), Verbal Speech (all languages), Telepathy,  Warmth (projected sphere of warmth w/ 10ft radius), Blood Magic, Frost-breath (nonlethal)
Personality: funny, witty, humorous, fond of children

First Name: Ciana
Last Name: Prisca (all offspring will have this name unless bred with another Quiric Generation from the Conservation)
Gender: Female
Generation: The Conservation's Quirion One
Breed: Draserta (Chrome/Mutt)
Colours: Butter and Ice Blue
Size (as baby): Four feet long
Abilities: Impervious Skin; Psionics; Ice Magic; Empathy; Flight; Teleportation
Personality: Bright; Committed; Loyal; Excitable
Parents: Ting & Izotz Diarin

Name: Shikobath
Gender: Male
Generation: The Conservation's Moree One
Breed: Draserta (Vella Crean/Dragon Whorling)
Colours: Blood Court Blue
Size (as baby): Three and a half feet long
Abilities: Intangibility; Blood Magic; Verbal Speech; Size Shifting (1' - 60')
Personality: Reserved; Calm; Cautious; Reliable
Parents: Quiradath & Winddancer

Name: Catahecath
Gender: Male
Generation: The Conservation's Moree One
Breed: Draserta (Vella Crean/Dragon Whorling)
Colours: Blood Court Purple
Size (as baby): Three feet long
Abilities: Telepathy; Verbal Speech; Song Magic; Blood Magic; Flight; Teleportation
Personality: Serious (to Strangers); Playful; Adventurous; Willfull
Parents: Quiradath & Winddancer