While they were talking, he had slipped across the makeshift room after hearing a sound outside, "Most likely ve vill." Todd muttered from near the entrance, watching some flying lizards snatch food from the forest before swooping up to ledges and eating whatever it was they had caught.

"No one managed to grab any of that extra meat from last night, did they?" Divya asked, By looking to Solomon, then over at Todd. She was already hungry for breakfast.

Leilani froze as a small sound from further in the cave caught her ear, she looked to the other three sharply, "There wouldn't... happen to e more of you in this cave, would there?" She asked softly.

Solomon opened his mouth to say yes, he'd grabbed a few slices to ruin the inside pockets of his trenchcoat with, when Leilani's caution shushed him. He cocked his head slightly, looking out deeper into the cave. "If there are, they're not with us," He said, one hand on his revolver.

Divya slipped her helmet on and lowered the visor, just in case. "We didn't hear anything from there last night." She said, mainly to herself. "Probably another dinosaur?" she assumed, grabbing out her laser pistol as well.

Solomon looked to Leilani. "Do you know how to use a sword?" He asked, hoping her renaissance style clothing and her old-sounding speech would reap a fencer.

Leilani glanced at him briefly and nodded, she reached to her waistband and revealed the hilts of two short swords which had been cleverly hidden in a sort of pocket sewn into the hip of her dress, "I am... proficient." She said evenly.

"Good," Solomon said. I guess we'll just have a spare. There must be some reason everyone got here armed and ready for combat, and I'm not going to like it when I find out why. He turned, hand resting on his revolver, and went back into the main cave, throwing his trench coat on over his shoulders and tucking the damp shirt into the back of his trousers to hang behind him till it was dry enough to wear. It was muggy in the cave, but he buttoned the coat up anyway to cover his chest and returned to the cavern further in. "If it's another dinosaur, run outside. This is not a good place for a fight."

Seeing the hidden weapons made Todd smirk, his teeth glinting briefly before his lips faded back into his familiar frown. "Proficient... an interesting vord..." He tilted his head to Solomon when he came into view from opposite of Leilani, and watched Divya with her resumed composure from before the incident with Emireth. Who would die next? He thought to himself.

Solomon took bullets from inside of his jacket and reloaded his revolver. Damn, my last round, he thought grimly, with one bullet to spare. He spun the chamber and flicked it back into place with a click. The sword was still hanging in his trenchcoat, which was about as useful as giving a gerbil the code to a nuclear launch; even if he did manage to use it, it wasn't going to end well for anyone involved. He felt silly just standing around and waiting for whoever wanted to ambush them to show up; it's not as if they knew the strong points in the caves enough to use them to their advantage. "Divya--on me," He said, cocking his head. The light from the entrance of the tunnel somehow bounced off the reflective walls deep into the caves; he followed it, gun drawn.

Anna tread lightly over the rocky crevices, growing more accustomed to carrying the flashlight as she went. She could hear voices now, English ones, and with accents stranger even than the ones of her new "companions." Her ears barely heard the faint click echo off the walls--metal against metal. Bullets. Knives or swords, maybe. Perhaps these were more fellow travelers that had lost themselves here. Disregarding her own advice of staying quiet (as she often did), she ventured a greeting. "Oi!" she called, just above typical speaking level. "Skin or namhaid, eh? Ye 'bout t'fire on us? It'd be a curt'sy t'know, y'know, for a proper face-off."

Divya had moved around to the side of the tunnel to give Solomon cover. "Abort-" she said quickly in a hushed voice to Solomon. Her fighting stance eased a bit and she stood straight. Though she kept her gun drawn and her eyes locked on the dark void, she spoke to Solomon next to her. "I think...there is an insane person in there." As Anna turned the corner, Divya's visor picked up her humanoid frame in night vision, "It's more humanoids."

"Jesus, Divya, she's just Irish," Solomon muttered back. Her accent reminded him of his grandmother's lilt. "No offense meant, stranger," He called back. "Would that I had known it were you waltzin' down the way, I would've thrown a parade. Took you for some villainous barbarian from a distance, y'unnerstand, can't be too careful, eh?" He kept his gun cocked. "D'you bring any friends with ye?"

Divya lowered her laser gun and raised the visor on her helmet. She shot Solomon an odd glare from his sudden accent, "You sounds like a fuckin' idiot." In the back of her mind, she was glad that the two of them were back to their 'normal' selves after last night's little scene.

"Not all of us are of your culture, Divya." Todd muttered, slipping on his goggles and catching sight of the newcomer. "Guten Tag, maddam." He looked around her, seeing if there were any others.

Anna immediately grinned and let out a bark of laughter, hopping down the last few steps in the slope of the cavern. "Ello! Man o' me blood, eh? 'Ow's the craic, head?" She stood with the scythe at her side and the flashlight aimed at his chest so as not to blind him. Her gaze traced him down and up again in one smooth motion. He looked a little closer to the types she was used to, but if this man was a true Irishman he was certainly not from the Ireland she knew--if even from the same time, she reminded herself. The outfit he sported looked almost military to her, and draped over him, possibly concealing himself and any weapons he might have. Her expression didn't change as she took count of their numbers and noticed they each seemed armed and ready. She nodded in turn at Todd, taking the German lilt as a greeting. "Aye, friends ah've got. Seems t'me so've you. Might I ask where you hail from, strange'as?"

"Chicago, 1961," Solomon replied, lowering his gun. The way she was dressed and her impossible accent, she was certainly from further back than even Todd. "And I'll warrant you're even earlier, eh? Haven't heard the old language since me mum passed."

"Chicago... 1961?" Leilani gaped, before quickly composing herself, "I am from... someplace else, early 10,000." She frowned, "Are we all honestly from different times? What, I wonder, could be the purpose for our being here?" She held her hand loosely over the hilts of her swords in thought.

"Ah, good man. Straight n' to the point." Anna cleared her throat lightly and nodded. "Balfast. Round'bout 1848, or so. Hard times." She quirked a brow in Leilani's direction. "Ten thousand, eh? My, a bit far. I see you've established our...rather peculiar predicament, sahs and ladies. Seems we've become unstuck in time, as it were. But," she added with a smirk. "Bit of a comfort t'know the three o' us aren't alone in it." She looked over her shoulder at Enzeru and Kelly briefly before turning back to Solomon. "Quite certain there's no exit this a'way, so I'm assuming you're comin' in whilst we're headed out. In from where, though...?" she asked.

Divya sighed and rolled her eyes at Leilani's comment, "A bit slow aren't you?" However, she couldn't help but bring her attention to the loudmouth, ho-bo dressed redhead. "Anyone from the 26th century? Anyone?" Divya looked at Kelly and Enzeru briefly, coming to an unfortunate conclusion, "No. Of COURSE not. I'm stuck with a bunch of primitive lifeforms on this prehistoric, dinosaur-infested Earth. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing you all don't exist in my time." she grumbled lowly. She could tell already that she wasn't going to enjoy this new addition to their gang of misfits.

"Ah, Divya, was it? I'd appreciate if you'd keep the snide comments to a minimum. I'm going to assume that it's going to get you into trouble if it hasn't already. You could be a little more courteous, I understand that you don't like the situation that you're in, but you need to understand something- neither do we. All of us had lives before this, and so it's clear, I am several centuries younger, and I've gotta tell you, that hyped up gear you've got, it goes out. Intergalactic wars and travel stretches humanity thin. Your time's nigh on it's end." Leilani said crisply, losing her generally calm attitude.

Divya shot a death glare at Leilani, "Excuse me? What the hell do you know about intergalactic wars? You are an Earthling from the past! Not only that- but you don't know a THING about me or my supplies! I know stuff that could shatter everything you know and hold close! Do you really WANT to know what happened to Earth three thousand years ago?" she tested, stepping closer to Leilani and puffing up her chest a little.

"I already know." Leilani replied testily, "I'm not from Earth, by the way... I mean, my ancestors were originally, but not myself and my people. So climb down off that high and mighty horse now while you're still able."

"Uh huh...yea, ok. So you aren't from Earth and yet your dressed like that. I get it, you are annoying AND insane." Divya glared. She wondered in the back of her head what exactly a 'horse' was but chose to ignore it.

"Oh yeah, I'm insane. At least I don't mouth off to everyone around me, trying to push them away for god only knows what reasoning goes through that tin-foil covered head of yours." Leilani said crisply.

"Ladies..." Todd uttered in a quiet, yet commanding tone and stepped between them, "We are humans surrounded by dangerous beasts, let us not begin a var between us." His eyes narrowed within his goggles, annoyed. Two strong willed woman in one room was one more than he coud tolerate.

Enzeru, who'd been quietly studying the new addition to their group in silence up until this point, then smiled as he slid what little of his sword was showing back into its sheath, and stepped forward from Kelly and Anna, going to Leilani and Divya and bowing at the waist respectfully. "Lovely to meet even still more beautiful mistresses on this journey of the Gods." he said softly, taking Leilani's hand and kissing it, then doing the same with Divya's. "My name is Enzeru Gomoshi, Imperial Guard of the beloved Emperor of Japan. And who might you two lovely nightingales be?"

Divya jerked back and immediately wiped off any saliva on her hand onto her pants. "Personal space, bub or I'll break your nose. An' I don't give a shit who you are. DON'T. TOUCH. ME." she said darkly, keeping a deadly stare on him. "Divya Meejiti, Chief GPD." she said it more to everyone here, not just because he asked.

Leilani blinked in surprise, her earlier rage dissipating almost immediately, "Leilani." She said simply, ignoring the prickle of irritation at Divya's comment to the man, honestly Divya was as prickly as a cactus.

Enzeru watched Divya's reaction with an honest look of surprise and he instantly fell to his knees with his head down. "My apologies, mistress! My customs are not like any of yours I've encountered yet thus far.. If I come off as... intrusive, please, forgive me!" he stammered, keeping his eyes down, even at Leilani's response. He had too much respect for women to allow this to happen. He had already ticked off Anna as well, he was not off to a good start.

"Oh, for the love of God," Solomon groaned. "I need a cigarette." He stepped away from the little band of people, now that he knew they weren't a threat, and shuffled through his pockets, finding a cigarette box and a book of matches. He walked towards the waterfall-end of the cave and lit a cig, breathing in the much-missed smoke and re-coating the inside of his lungs with tar.

Divya raised a brow and refrained from laughing out loud at this guy's display. She rolled her eyes and waved him off, "Yea yea, stop acting like an idiot and get your ass up." She placed a hand on her hip and looked at the group, "Alright, listen up! I'm hungry." Divya said flat out. "Solomon has some meat left in his coat but it's clearly not enough for all of us. We need to hunt down another dinosaur. What are your weapons?" she asked the newcomers, including Leilani in with them. 

PD? Wonderful. She's the razz, Anna thought bitterly, avoiding her eyes, although upon taking in the woman's appearance and unreasonably high temper she couldn't help but let it slide and chuckled. This whole thing was just one big joke. "Deeno-sour?" Anna repeated with a smirk. "What'n bloody hell's that, then, lassy? Ah pussycat, eh?" She laughed again, a little scornfully, and her eyes shone with an uncovered tint of malice. Her tone remained as charming as ever. "I don't much like takin' orders, y'know. Helluva a way t'start a partnership, forced or no. I won't be hunting a bloody thing til ye calm yerself down n' stop being a right ol' bitseach."

"S'a dragon," Solomon said from the entrance of the cave. "A behemoth, a monster from beyond the edges of your maps." He chuckled at Anna's insult and took another drag on his cigarette. "Th'pussycats here've already killed one of my companions, an' nearly took me along with'im."

Kelly had been silent the entire time, "My name is Kelly Smith, I fight with a kantan, and I know what a Dinosaur is." she said stepping out of the shadows so everyone could see her.

Todd nodded to Kelly, then to Enzeru. "T'eh dinos are more capable hunters t'en t'eh large Katzen." He kept his blades hidden and his goggles on.

Divya did her best to hold her frustration in for the time being. Her stomach was much more important then babbling with these idiots. Divya looked to Solomon and took a few steps towards him, "Want to try round two against the...dragons? I'm hungry again and whatever is in your pocket isn't enough for all these people."

Solomon sighed in exasperation and finally pulled the four cuts of meat that had been ruining his pockets out, shoving them into her hands. "It'll feed us if we're good about portions. Quit nagging me about it, will ya?"

Divya scowled at the fleshy clumps of meat that Solomon tossed into her hands. For once she attempted to not yell while speaking to him and this was the result. She surely won't make that mistake again. "Fine! Stay in this smelly cave with your annunciation-challenged friend over there!" Divya clenched the meat in her fist and stomped a foot on the ground. Her large boots ignited on the bottom, causing her to hover. She turned on a dime and boosted out of the cave, through the waterfall and into the open.

"What're you doing?!" Solomon yelled after her as she took all the rations they had and ran off to find a dinosaur. "Yer takin' the---" She was gone. He threw up his hands in exasperation and grit his teeth. After a moment of standing at the waterfall, he turned around again to face the rest of their merry band. "Are you carrying any extra shot with that rifle?" He asked Anna.

Anna's mouth pulled into a displeased scowl and she watched in an expressionless awe as Divya somehow floated out of the cave, but she shrugged when she left. Better this bloke than some crazy bitch in a Bobby bowl, she thought. She gripped the small leather bag dangling at her side, shaking it with a quiet rattling, and cursed under her breath in Irish. "Aye, but no' much. I was just back from huntin' meself before I wound up in this place. But...I do have this," she said and tapped the scythe on her back. A set of sheep-shearing blades staid tucked into her boots for now, untouched. No need to know about those just yet. With a sigh Anna put on a grim smile. "So, 'dragons', y'say? Size o' dogs o' size o' a barge, eh?"

"Size of a bloody cathedral, more like," Solomon replied. He gave the scythe a blank look. "I'm sure it'll come in handy if we run across any rampaging wheat fields." Hell, from the roughness of her...hand, she probably WAS a farmer. The other...well. His father had told him of wounds like that on his friends in World War I. She knew how to use that old musket, alright. "In the meantime, we've got a few choices. We can go 'dragon' hunting, we can--well, I can go find Divya and talk her down enough to get that food back, or we can sit here and wait for her to get back so we can prostrate ourselves afore the mighty captain in hopes that she'll share whatever she's killed." He looked from Anna to Todd and Enzeru. "Unless someone else has been keeping steaks in their back pockets. I of all people am not in a position to judge you." He glanced from Kelly to Leilani.

"I say we hunt." Leilani said, "Personally, if the rain's stopped, I'd like to stretch my legs and obtain my own food. That woman..." She shook her head, "I won't say anything badly of her, she's more'n likely dealing with her own troubles being pulled away from her home. She probably has it worse than the lot of us due to the technological dependencies of her age." Leilani paced a few steps towards the entrance and back, "Besides, I'd like to get a general layout of the land, any maybe some supplies if we plan on staying here for any length of time."

Enzeru slowly stepped forward after recovering himself from the dirt from Divya's dismissal, and dusted off his knees before looking at Leilani and Solomon, who seemed to be in charge of all this. "We can't stay in this cave. This cave is made of iron ore... staying in here too long is bad for the lungs and senses. Besides, wherever we are, we need to keep moving if we're to find out why we're all so suddenly placed here." he shrugged. "I'm with Mistress Leilani about the hunting. I can track and hunt better than any poacher of my time." he boasted with a small smile. "Of course, I'd also be more than happy to stay towards the back and help protect anyone who feels they cannot fend for themselves." He looked around at the women with raised eyebrows, obviously offering his assistance full-heartedly without a hint of sarcasm or chastation.

Leilani blushed and turned to Enzuru, "It's just Leilani, you have no need to add the 'mistress'. And I'm fairly certain that women like Divya find that a bit... well, insulting. I don't think you have any need to worry for the strengths of any of us, we must surely be here for a reason. And I do agree about not staying here long, however, we are in unfamiliar territory and may not be able to find decent shelter again."

"You should take point, Enzeru," Solomon said. "We'll see if your honed tracking techniques can find us a three-story breakfast." He buffed out his hat and donned it, stamping out the spent cigarette. "This way." He passed through the waterfall into the stifling heat of the jungle.

Todd followed wordlessly, one hand slipping into his jacket and pulling out the carved stick, handling it like a sword. Of course, only Solomon would know what it really was. His goggles were on his face and his blood red scarf trailing from his pocket.

Enzeru blinked at Solomon's order and he nodded once firmly, looking back over his shoulder at Anna and Kelly with a friendly smile. "Glad to see these people were friendly." he said softly with a chuckle and gave another glance at Leilani before turning and heading after Solomon, his hand on his sword and the other lax at his side. The instant he was met with fresh air after stepping out of the waterfall, he breathed in deeply and sighed, then took a moment to look around at their surroundings, as if trying to figure out where they were. He had already deduced that they were in a mountain slope if the cave they had emerged from was iron ore, and the waterfall had helped him realize that it wasn't at the very top of a mountain either. He could see in a downward slope, plenty of foliage and open space between thousands of tall trees. Old trees. He gaped at it all. "My gods... this place is... ancient." he whispered, wide-eyed.

Kelly followed Enzeru and the others out, she looked around as she hurried to catch up to Solomon, "If it helps, I'm skilled at knowing what kinds of plants have edible berries on them and I can tell what kinds of mushrooms are edible as well." she said as she got closer to Solomon.

"Excellent," Solomon said in stride. "Keep an eye out. Be careful, though. The plants may be different during this time than you're used to."

"Yeah, but I've studied all types of plants including prehistoric, I'd though it would be fun, but I never thought I'd need it, now I'm glad I did study them." Kelly said to Solomon with a friendly smile.

Leilani shielded her eyes against the brilliant prehistoric sunlight. It was muggy and already moisture formed on her brow. Large creatures circled in the sky overhead, and further along towards the horizon she saw a smaller shape that appeared almost humanoid, "So what's the plan?" She called to the others ahead of her.

"Always good to have a hobby," Solomon replied. Nerd, he added in his head. The future must be lamer than he thought. When he was her age, he sure as hell didn't spend his free time nosedeep in ancient botanical books. "So far, we've been trouncing around, making as much fuss as possible, and then we kill whatever notices us," He said back to Leilani. "Enzeru's tracking us down something to hunt, on the off-chance that doesn't work."

"It's not my hobby it's just something I studied when I was in school, it was part of a school project." Kelly said looking at Solomon.

Anna followed Leilani out into the sun, also shielding her eyes with a whistle. She was grinning, evidently more than content with the situation. Anything outside of being in her own hellish war-torn Ireland was an improvement. "Blind ya soon as look at ya, eh?" she commented, though Leilani had moved far enough away that she felt as though she was speaking to herself. She was about to head out herself when the floating figure in the air caught her gaze. "Oi, there, missy!" she hollered and laughed, hopping down out of the cavern to catch up a bit. "I do believe our friend Miss Tyrant might be having a spot o' trouble soon. Some nasty wing-rats over yonder, y'see?" She pointed through a clear spot in the trees, glancing at Leilani nearby and at Enzeru a few feet further. "Think she'd mind us eating her for supper, eh?"

"She vould most likely eat us, not t'eh ot'er vay around." Todd commented, remaining solemnly quiet. He kept an eye on the lone figure of Divya, slightly worried about her, however... he caught himself at that thought. Better not to resort to it and scare everyone here.

"Jesus!" Solomon exclaimed, taking off his hat and staring up at the sky. "She's gonna get herself killed!" He was a good shot, but not so good he could hit anything from here on a quick draw.

"She's in trouble." Leilani said, "If we're going to save that woman's life... We need to move now." We need a plan, those things can fly, just like that woman, but none of us has a weapon that can move accurately at such a distant range.

---

Meanwhile, Divya had put some distance between herself and the others. She flew high enough so that nothing could get her. Divya scouted the surrounding area, examining the several different herds of dinosaur in the fields and forests below. Thankfully the skies were clear blue and held many white, cotton-like clouds.
What she didn't know however was that this part of the country also had many dangerous flying animals as well.
If someone was looking, they would be able to spot Divya's silhouette against a fluffy white cloud.
Divya looked around, noting how big some of these creatures were. If they could take down another yearling...they would surely have enough food for everyone.
After getting a good look at the area, Divya turned to head back to the cave. But that's when she already spotted them on the outskirts of the rocks cliff side. This separation time, even if it was only for a few minuets, calmed her down from her the spat she had with Solomon earlier. Divya had practically completely forgotten. Heading back towards the cave now, she descended in altitude. What the police officer didn't know was that the two gawking pterodactyls had left their perch and were gaining on her backside.

---

As she got closer, the pterodactyl gained. When she descended down to the group(now only about 25 feet from the ground), she could faintly hear the large flapping of bat-like wings behind her getting closer. In combination with the look on her comrade's faces and the large shadow it caste on them, she kept her stride but spun around. It's total wingspan was at least 40 feel from all together. Divya screamed for her life as she stared up at the hungry flying dinosaur.

The creature brought it's claws forward like an eagle in an attempt to snatch Divya. She reached for her pistol but it grabbed her before she could pull it out. From their momentum, they both tumbled onto the ground next to the others. Although it was a crash landing, the pterodactyl kept Divya in it's claws. Propping itself back up, the beast readied itself to fly off. It was awkward and very slow on the ground. If the group was smart...they would attack the thing before it flew off again. 

The other pterodactyl ascended and looped around to attack.

Leilani acted before she could think, drawing both swords she dashed forward, swiping at the first pterodactyl's wings, forming long thing slashes in the thick membranous material. "Two of you keep that other thing busy and the others help me free Divya!" She grunted.

Solomon ran forward, closing the distance as Divya tumbled to the ground in the clutches of the huge flying monster. He drew his revolver and stopped running long enough to steady his aim. The shot rang out through the jungle and hit the huge bat-thing in the shoulder. The other monster was still in the air; he tried to stay aware of its location as he readied to shoot again.

"Kelly, go help the others! Anna, can you hit the flying one?" Enzeru asked, his sword also drawn in one hand, a few of his poison throwing needles in his other, poised between his fingers and drawn back. "Just bring it down!" he growled, standing ready. Come on... just a little closer.. he growled in his head.

The pterodactyl squealed as it was shot and it's wing sliced. It held tightly to Divya in it's right claw which caused the talons to dig into Divya's side. She struggled but it was no use. The beast reared back and came down on Leilani and Solomon. Even though it wasn't very mobile, it could move it's beak and frighteningly fast speeds.

The other pterodactyl circled around and swooped down to help it's mate. It glided along the grassy field, directly aimed at Anna, Kelly, Todd and Enzeru. As it quickly closed distances, it reared it's claws forward in an attempt to snatch up Todd. It was planning on snatching him up and swooping back into the air.

Solomon was enough of a distance away to avoid the pterodactyl's attack, but Leilani was right up agaist the beast. He fired again instinctively when it lunged, blowing a hole through its cheekbone.

The dinosaur that Solomon shot reared back and let out a gargling screech as it's face was shot open. It's tongue flapped freely now that it's jaw wasn't even relevant anymore. It fell to the ground, pinning Leilani down under the membranous wing as it also held Divya in it's dead claw.

Leilani gasped as the pterodactyl's beak tore through tissue and bone from her shoulder, her weapons dropped from her numbed grasp just before the beast fell and pinned her beneath it. For the time being she was trapped and everything was dark.

"Mistress Leilani!" Enzeru shouted, having scene this action take place over his shoulder in the blink of an eye. The gunshots had startled him enough to make him turn around. He then faced the oncoming pterodactyl and let fly his poisonous darts just as he rolled out of its way, taking Anna with him. "Shoot it down!" he told her, then turned and sheathed his sword, running for Leilani's body beneath the first large bird-like creature. He knelt and examined her beneath it, then growled as he struggled to lift the massive wing off of her.

Solomon ran forward, holstering his gun, and lent his shoulder to the wing Enzeru struggled to lift. Together, they pushed the massive limb up off Leilani; Divya still lay buried under the bird's claw and torso. "Pull her out!" He groaned to Enzeru.

Enzeru nodded and quickly did as he was told, wrapping his arms around Leilani's midsection and gently pulling her out from under the massive bird, dragging her a few feet away before gently situating her to lay still and straight, kneeling beside her. "Mistress Leilani... can you hear me?" he whispered, putting a hand against her forehead.

Dodging the second flying creature's dive, Todd rolled to the side, eyes behind goggles watching its flight. It screamed, sweeping around for another attack. With his right weapon out, the blade hidden within, he waited. It tucked in its wings and swooped down, aiming for him. He waited for the last second, then with a might swing he brought his weapon around, while leaping over the wing. The blade was released into its brain, lodged within its skull while Todd was thrown backwards from the collision.

Anna had watched these creatures, somewhat stunned by how large they were up close. She couldn't recall ever having seen such enormous beasts, let alone birds. Enzeru's voice brought her out of it and she nodded curtly. Show time, mate. Make it count, she told herself, kneeling with her rifle and quickly loading it with powder and ammunition. She shoved a rod into the barrel and tossed it aside, moving just in time to get out of the way of Todd and the creature. The pterodactyl screeched in agony as it hopped briefly on the ground before taking off again, jerking as it flew, and Anna could see the blade lodged into the back of its head as it continued. Somehow it had managed to stay conscious and had now swung back into the air several feet above them, keeping its distance momentarily. Anna rushed to an open space in the trees away from the others and hollered, grabbing its attention. As expected the beast went in for one last attempt, screaming all the while. Kneeling for a better angle, Anna took in a breath and held it, placing all of her focus in aiming for the final kill, and for only a moment it felt like she could see all of its movements as if played in slow motion, watching every twitch of its wings, every jerk of its talons. When it drew just within range she fired, staying just long enough to watch the bullet drive itself through the beast's chest before dashing out of the way. It hit the ground hard, skid a ways, and finally fell in an unorthodox heap against a nearby tree. Anna was breathing hard from the adrenaline but grinned proudly and whooped, swinging her rifle through the air. "Oi!" she called to Todd, remembering he had probably had a hard landing himself.

Solomon struggled with the dead monster, pushing with all his might to get it off of Divya. He paused and watched the death of the second monster with amazement as his companions moved with preternatural speed and grace to bring it down. However, Solomon was not superstrong. "Todd!" He yelled, struggling to push the monster over onto its back. "Help me!"

Shaking his head to clear the haze, Todd stood, a little shakily. "Good shot!" He called to Anna, then raced over to Solomon. Grunting, he helped keep the weight up and off Divya with the other man, hoping someone could crawl under and grab the policewoman.

"Hold on a moment!" Anna called, rushing over to Divya. "You'd best be thankin' ol' God I'm savin' yore arse, Miss Tyrant," she breathed with a smirk and tossed her rifle aside, then shrugged off the shawl that usually covered her arms and shoulders, revealing only a threadbare dress. Her left arm was riddled with pink scars that went spiraling up past her shoulder and across her neck and cheek. Steeling herself, she grabbed Divya's arms tightly and pulling back with all her strength and weight.

There was a scream of agony as Divya was pulled free from the beast's claw. There was a cut in her side and on her thigh and she was bleeding pretty badly. Her helmet had fallen off of her head and the visor was cracked.

Solomon groaned under the weight of the massive creature. The moment Divya and Anna were free of it he eased it off his shoulders back onto the ground. He ran to her side. "Divya! Can you hear me?" He asked. He owed her his life, bitch or no.

Todd also dropped the weight, but didn't rush forward, instead he fingered the back of his head to make sure he wasn't bleeding. Then, after retrieving his weapon from the dead mate he turned back to the group.

Leilani groaned and blinked, "Not so loud..." She muttered she had a splitting headache. Immediately her hand went to her shoulder, the fabric had been torn and was drenched in blood but the wound was no more than a partially healed scar now.

Divya was concious, for now, but her pain tolerance wasn't high enough. "Auugh...dammit!" she cussed, breathing hard as she hit her head against the ground under her. The talons had cut through her clothing and blood was filtering out of her side.

Enzeru frowned down at Leilani and examined her shoulder, biting his lip. "I'm so sorry, mistress Leilani... I should have been paying more attention or this would have never happened to you." he whispered. "Do I have permission to tear your clothes? I must inspect the wound."

"Don't worry about it." Leilani waved him off and rose slowly to her feet, dropping her hand from her shoulder, "I got too close, not your fault. And didn't I ask not to be called mistress? It's Leilani... just Leilani."

Pulling out his scarf from his pocket, Todd knelt at Divya's side, seeing that no one was tending to her wound and began wrapping it up tightly.

Solomon pulled his now dry shirt out and took a look at the wound in her thigh. He didn't want to do a tourniquet on it because then she would lose her leg. "What did you do to me when I was out? The drugs, whatever, do you have another shot of that?"

When Todd knelt down to Divya, her nose started to bleed profusely. This was certainly no help to her well being. As the two men tried to help their friend, Divya did her best to stay conscious. She stayed flat on her back, "My gun." she said, holding in her agonizing moans.

Solomon drew the weird laser gun out of its holster at her hip and examined it. There was a dial on the side, but all the settings were written in a strange, scrawling language. "What setting? How do you use this thing?" He asked.

"Parasitic reconstruction." Divya grunted, "Don't use 100%..."

"Parasitic...?" Solomon muttered, looking at the strange markings. He clicked the dial down two marks to a symbol that looked more helpful than the others. He grabbed one of the steaks from her pockets and shot it first. It caught fire. That was obviously not it. Well, it had to be the other setting, then. He popped out the dial and turned it, plugging it back in and aiming again. When he shot, glowing blue goop sank into the flesh of the steak and bubbled up healthy red muscle. That was probably it then. "Alright," He muttered under his breath, wiping the blood from around the wound to see it more clearly. "Here we go." He took aim and shot the blue goop into her leg.

Anna watched over his shoulder, somewhat concerned even for this woman she'd known only moments. Despite her appearance, she couldn't stand watching wounds fester, watching allies writhe in pain, watching the blood pool. Her nose twitched at the strange liquid oozing from what she had assumed was some strange weapon. "What's that then, eh?" she said softly, curious and a little awed, not for the first time that day. "Won't burn a bloo'y hole in her, will it?"

"With any luck," Solomon replied. "It's the same stuff that saved my life last night." His coat had been opened to get to his shirt, showing the fresh scar on his chest, pink and sprawling. As Divya's wound knit itself back together, he waited for the gun to cool down enough to use it again in her side.

Divya closed he eyes tightly together as she felt the little worms rebuild her tissues. As Todd was still near, the blood from her nose still flowed. It ran down the side of her face, but she was in too much pain to realize it.

Enzeru gave Leilani a weak smile and nodded. "Yes.. my apologies, Leilani..." he said softly and grabbed her hand, helping her stand. He turned back to watch the group bustling about Divya and he decided that since Leilani seemed to be in sprite shape, now it was time to check on the wondrous flying woman. He jogged over quickly and watched the scene. "What can I do?" he asked Solomon, his stance saying he was ready for anything.

Solomon felt the gun cool down. It should be ready to shoot again. "Carve up one of the monsters," He told Enzeru. "Unless you have any medical expertise or morphine to offer." He took his handkerchief and wiped Divya's face. "Any head trauma?" He asked her gently. "I'm going to shoot your side next, alright?"

Divya nodded, wanting this all to be over. "No- it's only my leg and side. She honestly had no clue why her nose was bleeding. It had done this when she first met that ninja in the jungle.

Leilani massaged her shoulder, the ache from the momentarily intense pain still lingering and the newly formed flesh tingling. She was lucky, if she'd been anybody else the pterodactyl's last furious attack would've ended her life. I've never seen one of those before... She thought, gazing at the weapon in Solomon's hand.

Anna grimaced audibly at the strange sight of flesh reforming under a gun and shook her head. She grinned suddenly. "Come, Mister...mm...Angel, that was it. Looks to be we're on butcherin' duty. I say we start with my kill, eh?" Clapping him on the shoulder as she passed, she reached down for her shawl and then her rifle a few feet away, swinging the gun onto her back and replacing it with the scythe. As she headed toward the other beast, she took up an old Irish tune, swinging the scythe along as if today was the best she'd see in many weeks. Truthfully, it really was. No guards after neck--in fact, no humans of any kind, if the state of this jungle and the things in it were any indication--a good clean kill, the company of amusing strangers...today was indeed shaping up to be a good one. Grunting through a part of the tune and not breaking stride, she hoisted the scythe over her head like an axe and cut deep into the pterodactyl.

Enzeru frowned down at Divya, but nodded at Solomon's words, seeing the other males seemed to have her well enough on their own. He turned at Anna's words, heading to the pterodactyl and pulling out a dagger of his own from his belt. He walked to the large bird's face and studied it, finding his poisonous darts stuck deep in it's cheeks and beak, pulling them out with a bit of a struggle. "Strange.. I've never met a creature that my poison darts could not take down." he mumbled, studying the needles with a frown. "But... this strange creature is massive. Perhaps I just need more poison." he shrugged, tucking them away in his belt and then began to cut into the pterodactyl's throat, with some difficulty. The skin was so hard and caloused. "I've never seen such--ugh--odd birds." he grunted, stepping aside as he finally made his way across the throat, letting the blood drain.

As Enzeru and Anna butchered the monster, Solomon unwrapped the wound from Divya's side. He pulled out his handkerchief and gave it to her for her nose. "Three, two, one," he shot into her side at the same setting. The gun burned his hand and he dropped it with a clatter. He glanced up and noticed something in the bushes. "Tend to her," He told Todd. "I'll be right back." With that he drew his revolver and disappeared into the jungle.

Divya took the handkerchief and didn't waste time to hold it on her nose to stop the bleeding. Her eyes were closed loosely as the little energy worms from her gun burrowed into her flesh. As her tendons started to mend together, Divya grew quite tired. Despite her situation, her stomach growled for some of the pterodactyl meat.

Nodding to him, Todd watched though his goggles as her technology worked its magic, unable to do more for her then watch.

Anna looked up at Enzeru without pausing in her work, noticing Solomon's disappearance into the trees with mild interest before returning her focus to the task at hand. As he cut the throat, she pulled her scythe through the gut, not even grimacing at the feel of still warm blood on her hands. "Odd buzzards--odd place," Anna commented, wiping her somewhat clean wrist at her forehead (though it left a thin smear of red behind). The trees here seemed old, ancient. Even the soil under her feet felt ancient. Compared to dirty shredded Belfast it was a wondrous sight indeed. Beautiful. Peaceful. It made her smile. Put her at ease. And yet...Anna reminded herself that she was among strangers, most of whom seemed more than well-off in the fighting department and all of whom were from entirely different places and times. She couldn't let herself let her guard down so easily. "What d'ya think o' these chaps 'n such, mate?" she ventured quietly to Enzeru. "Safe enough, ye reckon?"

Enzeru looked over his shoulder at Anna as she asked her question, then studied the group from his spot with a concentrated frown. "I can't be sure." he whispered back softly. "But the Solomon one seems... odd to me. He puts me on my guard, and puts me off his friendship." He straightened and tucked his bloody dagger away, then rolled up both sleeves of his robe, expertly tying them back with a piece of sash that had been tied around his waist like a belt before. He quickly looped it around his upper arms to keep his large sleeves tucked back, then around his neck and waist before tying it behind his back, sighing when his arms were free of the heavy fabric. He then walked to Anna's side and approached the animal's now opened carcass, and began to sift through the large organs, inspecting them for edibility.

As her nose started to stop bleeding, Divya slipped the handkerchief under her belt. Her mobility seemed to come back as the little maggot-like being sewed her back together. With a heavy grunt, she sat up slowly and looked at her helmet a few feet away. Having her pride hurt, Divya started to shimmy towards it, wincing as she reopened her wound a little.

Trying as hard as he could to ignore the sounds of the butchering behind him, his eyes tightly closed and his body went stiff. Todd could feel the soul squirming within him as the blood lust was being pushed back. Being as he was, he didn't hear Divya's movements.

Solomon returned from the underbrush, a troubled look on his face. He had seen something, he was sure of it. The stone that had grown over the crucifix swung gently on the chain around his neck; he left his jacket open on account of the heat. "Your patient is crawling away," He told Todd, watching her shuffle back to get to her helmet. "How long does that stuff usually take, anyway?"

Divya reached out and snatched her helmet as her mobility came back. "Depends... I should be good in an hour or so." When she discovered that her helmet's visor was cracked in several places, she grunted, "Dammit! Ack-" Giving up on staying moody, Divya took a slow breath. "I'm not having a good week."

"Ve're all in the same shit hole you are." Todd said quietly, after opening his eyes finally from overcoming his issue. "At least now, Divya, we have lunch t'anks to you."

"Medium rare, please." she replied, mildly amused. Divya sniffed back any dried blood that was in her nose. "Uh...gun?" she looked at Solomon and Todd, forgetting who actually had it last.

Solomon picked it up from where he had dropped it on the ground. "Here," He said, holding it by the barrel, which by now had cooled. "We'll need to stay put until then." He turned to Leilani and suddenly stopped, seeing the fresh scar on her shoulder surrounded by blood on her clothes. "Can everyone heal that far into the future?" He asked her.

Leilani frowned, hand falling from her shoulder as she focused her attention on Solomon, "It is unnatural and unwelcome among my people." She managed after a few moments, "It keeps me from death where others would perish and at times I wish that I did not have it."

"Sorry to hear it," Solomon said. But good to know. No wonder she ran up to the huge bat-things with no care for her safety; she could heal from the worst they could dish out. That could come in handy in the future.

"Oi!" Anna interrupted, poking her head up from behind the carcass. She held a wide slab of fresh red meat in one hand as she leaned against her scythe with the other. Her face was smeared in places with dark blood and her arms were soaked in it, though this didn't seem to bother her at all. "Anyone 'ungry o'er there? Got some, uh...steak chop 'ere, methinks," she said with a grin. She chuckled and looked over Enzeru's shoulder. "Or looks like this 'ere buzzard's got a liver n' the like if'n anyone cares for some-aught else."

Divya grabbed her gun and slid it into her belt as she waited for her wounds to heal up some more. She glanced over at the red head, Anna. "Translation?" she said to the people in her circumference.

"Lunch's ready to cook." Todd reiterated, inspecting one of his weapons for damage. The blade's were true however, and he ended up retracting it and stowing it away. When everyone went to move forward he stayed where he was. "I'll go get vood for a fire..." He said, then was gone a moment later.

"Y'warrant there's enough meat on that bird to feed alla us?" Solomon asked.

"Without doubt, mate. This thing's bigger'n two o' me. Granted s' not saying much...but you get the picture." Anna was holding two large slabs of meat in her arms now, held sturdy within a cloth. She winked at him and laid the meat on the ground by his feet. "Perhaps ye'd be so kind as t'fix the thing up? We've done the hard part. All you need is to carve it up nice like n' make it good enough t'eat. A feast is what we'll have! To celebrate our new companions all," she grinned widely at them all, surprised to find herself speaking mostly the truth. Divya caught her eye and she knelt by her, offering a smile. "You alright, mate? Took quite the fall."

Divya made an uncomfortable face. It felt awkward to have this loony so close to her and act so....concerned. At least she was speaking English? Either way, she wasn't good at reacting to something like this, "Yea yea, I'll be fine." Divya was very prideful and didn't like how weak she appeared right now. Sucking it in, she forced herself up onto her feet. Her gashes were still in the process of healing, but she didn't care. Divya held fast to her helmet, squeezing it tightly as her wounds stung. "Alright, let's get back to the cave and get this thing prepped." 

"Won't take but a moment to get the fat off," Solomon reassured the two women, taking out his pocket knife and cutting out the slag. "Last time we brought down a beast like this we didn't really have the opportunity to preserve it." He sliced the meat into portions as he had done many times before at hunting trips and barbeques when he was young. "Let's go." He picked the cloth back up and tied it at its ends, one hand supporting the bottom of the makeshift bag.

"Should somebody maybe help Todd gather firewood?" Leilani asked as she drew closer to the group again, ignoring the weakness that flooded her limbs as she did so, "I don't think that any of us should honestly be alone out here with creatures like these two and more out there..."

"I'm sure he could use the extra arms, but I wouldn't worry," Solomon said. "Todd's in his natural element here. I'm more concerned about getting Divya and you to a safe point."

"Oh, you've no need to concern yourself with my well-being." Leilani blinked in surprise.

Solomon glanced her over. "Right," he said. He shifted his grasp on the bag of meat and took the lead back to the caves. "This way, folks, step lively if you want to eat." They made it back to the waterfall without incident, and once everyone was inside Solomon set the meat down. He took his knife out and laid the cuts out on the cloth, continuing to trim the meat. When he finished, he straightened and shoved his hands and the knife into the waterfall, cleaning them off in no short order. "Now, all we need's a fire," He grinned. All in all, not a bad morning. He was almost feeling optimistic.

Divya sat herself down against a rock as she watched the others. Feeling something prob her hip, she reached into her belt compartment and pulled out some dried meat that she had stolen from Solomon. Cursing in her head, she looked over at Solomon, "Hey- come over here for a second, will ya?" 

Solomon walked over and crouched next to Divya. "Whattaya need?" He asked in a low voice, thinking it was related to her wound.

"Alright, so I don't do this very often but-" Divya paused, offering the dried meat back to him. "Sorry about earlier and..." Again, she paused, "Thanks for, for you know..." Divya glanced down at her cuts.

Solomon's eyebrows inched up his face and then a grin grew on his lips. An apology and a sign of gratitude in the same sentence from the mighty Police Chief Divya? A rare thing, indeed. "Not a problem. You are very welcome." He took the meat back from her. "And thank you for tracking down breakfast for us. You feeling any better?"

"Yea, the cuts are all healed up." Divya said, peeling back the torn part of her uniform on her hip to reveal a scar. "Just a bit sore. Though I feel my hunger more, so I guess that's good. Unfortunately, that was the last of the worms...so now we're screwed." Divya was submissive to Solomon(for the time being) since he had pulled her out from under pterodactyl.

Enzeru watched Solomon and Divya from across the cavern as he crouched beside Anna, his eyes studying them with a seemingly blank expression. Finally, he looked to Anna and smiled. "Perhaps you can supply us with the fire once again, Mi--Anna." he said, having to catch himself again. He frowned at the floor, still finding it strange that these people did not prefer to be labeled with respect. It completely went against his teachings from the priestesses. "I can assist--Solomon, was it?--to finish portioning the meat." He gave Anna's shoulder a soft pat, then stood and headed to the waterfall first, rinsing his hands and arms of the drying pterodactyl blood from before, but then he stopped and turned to Kelly. "You have not said much.. Are you alright? You did not get hurt, did you?" he asked softly, drying his hands on his pants.

"We'll just have to be more careful," Solomon said. "If we stay as a group and avoid freeform hunting we shouldn't need any more." He glanced up as he heard his name and nodded to Enzeru.

A sound echoed through the cavern as the water was parted for a moment, and a drenched Todd appeared through the darkness. "Here." He dropped a good load of wood from each arm, somewhat dry from being under his coat tail while going through their water door way. Hopefully no one would question some of the blood on the end of the sticks, as he had not had a boring little excursion.

"Good timing." Divya said when Todd walked in. Her and Solomon were getting a little too close. Though this time they were both conscious enough to not sleep on one another. "Achem- let's get that fire rolling." 

Leilani pushed herself upright, her body feeling drained beyond anything she'd ever known. She didn't know what was causing the strain. She frowned as she gazed between her odd companions as Todd reentered the cave. Why us? What reasoning could there possibly be for people like us to be taken from our homes and just... dumped here?

Kelly glanced up at Enzuru briefly, her complexion pale. Her lips quivered as though she would respond before darkness blanketed her vision and she slumped against the cave wall.

Anna followed Enzeru to the waterfall to wash her hands and the blade of her scythe, smoothing her palms over it like it were precious beautiful. She pressed her damp palms to her face and sighed at the cool touch before stepping away, shaking the water from her hands and blade, which she swung about into its sheath. "I can manage a fire, mate," she offered, already headed towards the wood pile, gun withdrawn. She paused kneeling with one log in hand at the sound of a limp body, a sound she usually associated with death, and looked over her shoulder at Kelly. "She alright there?" she asked without much concern, seeing no mark of death on her. "Must've been a bit much, all this blood n' the lot. I'll get us a fire going. She'll be right in but a moment's time."

Solomon stood at Kelly's slumping against the wall and moved to investigate. Enzeru was closer. "Poor girl's too young for all this," He muttered.

Now that she had gone and apologized already, Divya actually felt better about herself. Instead of sulking and examining her helmet for repairs, she forced herself to mingle. Getting up with a grunt, she went to Todd and the pile of wood. In the same pit as earlier, she arranged the branches together.

He silently helped her, more comfortable with her then the rest because of their little group besides Solomon. Layering the sticks so that it created a crosshatched square, he assisted in breaking some of the larger dry branches so that Divya could place them in the middle.

"You didn't get hurt, did ya? I'm out of my worms." Divya said, seeing some blood on her hands from handling the sticks and branches. Luckily the branches weren't too wet and should be easy enough to light.

Todd shook his head, "Nein. Ran into t'eh owner of t'hose sticks. Only dry ones vere in a nest." Speaking of which, he pulled out a mottled egg about the size of an ostrich egg, "Grabbed t'is as vell." The German took off his goggles, moving the lense so that it focused the light against the shell, showing the clear insides. "Anyone for an omelet?"

"Woah woah- hold on, you managed to fend for yourself while collecting wood AND you had the time to grab that thing?" she took out her gun to light the fire, "Either way, next time you bring a partner, alright? Buddy system." Divya warned.

"I'm better off by myself. T'at vay I don't get myself killed trying to protect someone else." He looked her in the eye, "Trust me, I am t'eh exception to t'at rule."

"Please." Divya rolled her eyes, "Even with my stuff, I'm not completely invincible. Listen, I went out on my own and had a shitty time. To prevent that, buddy system." 

"Yes... I am not invincible... However normally if I can see it coming, generally I'll be fine." He mumbled something to himself in German after, not wanting to explain it to her.

"I agree, at least in pairs there's a greater chance of defending ourselves against the creatures out there." Leilani spoke up, "At least until we can familiarize ourselves with anything and know we can take care of ourselves alone."

"Exactly. Now- is that meat ready yet?!" Divya raised her voice and looked over at the dead pterodactyl and those in charge of cleaning it off.

"'Old your dog n' bone, there, lass," Anna huffed with a light scowl. What's all this? No please n' thank you, no respect... she rambled in her head. "Need some'aught t' cook our lashing's o' scran first, eh? Anyone perchance happen t'ave a pot or pan? Something metal, at the least?"

"Best I can offer is an overjeweled spit," Solomon said, straightening and pulling the dead man's sword from where it hung in his coat. He took a match from his pocket and set the fire ablaze before handing the sword to Anna. "Didn't warrant on camping this weekend, so m'afraid it'll have t'do," he said with an apologetic half-smile.

Divya rubbed her temples. Why the hell was Anna's slurring sputter of language, contagious? Ignoring the matter all together, she lifted her helmet up and examined the visor. It was cracked in three places. Sitting herself on a rock, she slid it on and checked to see if it was still able to work.

Backing away from the group, Todd sort of stuck to Divya, looking curiously over her shoulder at her device. It would be too bad if it was beyond repair in this ancient place.

Divya's ear twitched as she felt someone in her aura. Seeing it was Todd, she turned her body to show him the inside of her helmet. "It doesn't look good."

He tilted his chin in a nod, "I vas hoping it vould be okay." However she had taken quite a fall, and it wasn't too much of a surprise. "Maybe if ve get taken to somevhere else you vill find someone to repair it."

"Take us somewhere else? You weren't in another world other then this one and your original...were you?" Divya asked, looking at his face now.

Not having his goggles on, he resisted the urge to look away. "Vell... my history isn't t'eh best, but... ve vere attacked by large cats originally. I... I don't t'ink dinos and t'em vere at t'eh same time."

"What? Why didn't you mention thi-" Divya stopped herself and blinked slowly, "You really think we could go to a time other then this one?"

He shrugged, "It is possible."

Kelly started to come to, and she rubbed her head, "What happened?" she asked aloud.

"Hey, you're awake!" Solomon said, crossing the cave over to her. "We just went out and caught breakfast. We're trying to figure out how to cook it now. You feelin' alright, kiddo?" He asked.

Kelly looked up at Solomon, "Yeah, I think so, what happened?" she asked confused.

"Wish I had that optimism." Divya said honestly. Her body was still weak and she was too tired to argue at this point. Her stomach growled but she just ignored it and went on tinkering with her smashed helmet.

By now Enzeru had set up several spits using broken pieces of the firewood that Todd had brought back, the met wrapped around them like red slugs. They were propped over the fire now and he smiled at them, smelling them cook before reaching into his belt and pulling out another small pouch. "A good cook never goes anywhere without his spices." he winked at Anna and sprinkled pinches of it on the meat, making the smell permiate the room pleasantly. "Just a little longer." He tucked he pouch away, then looked up at Kelly when she came to. He frowned and got up, walking to her slowly and kneeling beside her. "Kelly... You blacked out.. Perhaps you are dehydrated? Or all the excitement got to you? You're okay, though.." he smiled reassuringly. "If you're thirsty, we are hidden behind a clear-spring waterfall." he said and motioned to the doorway. "And food is almost ready, so you're in good hands."

"Just take it easy, yeah?" Solomon told her. He took the sword back from Anna, as it hadn't been used, and put it back in his coat. "I'm glad we found a cook," He said to Enzeru with half a grin. "Anymore of my charred meals and we might've just opted out of food altogether."

Kelly looked at Enzeru, "I don't know, maybe I did get over excited, but I'm sure I'll be ok." she said with a smile.

Anna sat stroking a callused thumb over her lips methodically, staring blankly into the fire for a time, watching the meat dry and warm over the flames. "So...besides the obvious precedent of survival, which methinks we've at hand now...anyone like to venture a guess as to the purpose of our meeting in the first place? I'm quite certain the idea's crossed a mind or two here, eh? Best get t'the 'eart o' it." She chuckled lightly, sifting a hand through the tight dirtied curls of her hair. "I'm not much into the black stuff of divinity, but mind you, I sense a fair 'and o' it at play. What of you, sah?" she said, waving the cloth around her wrist in Solomon's direction. "What say ye to this...cosmic mess o' things?"

"Well, if the good Lord deems it right to drop me in the middle of nowhere, get mauled by a giant cat with teeth the length of my arm, survive for two days afterwards and miraculously be healed and live in the company of historical relics and people from the future, who am I to question His Divine Providence?" Solomon said, leaning against the wall. He paused. "You wouldn't happen to be carrying a semiprecious or precious stone on you, now would you?"

Kelly looked at Solomon, "You mean like a diamond?" she asked him curiously.

Solomon turned to look at Kelly. "Yeah," He said, "like a diamond. You got one, sweetie?"

Having heard what they were talking about, Todd perked up a bit and paid attention, having his stone thudding at hi chest.

Divya half listened as she tinkered away at her helmet. What the hell was Solomon talking about and how was it relevant? Maybe the situation finally got to his head and he'd gone mad along with that Irish character? Divya just took a deep breath and rolled her eyes, getting up from her rock to check on the meat.

The corner of Anna's mouth twitched a little at the question. "Precious things? You mean jewelry? Ha! I'd have all o' Ireland clawin' at me hide for such a thing. Would've sold it long before anyways." Although, there is that, she thought. Hardly a matter to tell of to strangers, though. Her hand came up slightly to a spot amidst the rags against her abdomen, then it moved again, almost in one fluid motion. "What need of you of a diamond, sah?" she pressed curiously. "Plannin' t'court a fair maid here?"

"Just thinking," Solomon replied mildly, "If we run into any tribes, it'll be good to have shiny baubles to bargain with." He thumbed the loaded crucifix around his neck absent-mindedly, feeling the smooth surface of the red-speckled stone. Its existence didn't make any sense, and yet there it was, pretty as you please. It had practically leapt out of his chest when it got close to Todd's stone; maybe if they amassed enough of these strange rocks together, it would be enough to ship them home. He was certain Divya would understand the forces well enough to call it science, but as long as it got him back home he didn't care if they were bits of leprechaun shit.

"My mom gave me her necklace with a heart shaped pendant and the heart is made-up of real diamonds." Kelly said looking at Solomon.

Enzeru smiled at Kelly as he watched her, making sure she was okay before he went back to the meat, turning the make-shift spits and adding a bit more spices where needed. He frowned at them in concentration, then smiled and sniffed. "Almost there." he whispered, more to himself. "How do you all like your meat?" he called around the cave, reaching to pull a throwing needle from his belt, slicing each meat slab open only a little so he could study the inside for unhealthy redness. Surprisingly, the pterodactyl meat was similar to that of beef or deer. "If anyone likes it rare, please speak up now." he chuckled.

"I like mine well done thanks." Kelly replied with a smile in Enzeru's direction.

Enzeru smiled at Kelly and nodded. "Well then! You can have this one!" he said and used his sword to pull the steak off the fire and place it on a flat rock that would serve well enough as a place, carrying it to her carefully. "It was placed on the fire first and is ready enough." he smiled and placed it in front of her. He then kneeled beside her and smiled. "You said you had a pendant of diamonds? How lovely... I've never seen a diamond before. We don't have them were I'm from."

"I'll take a medium well," Solomon said, taking out his pack of cigarrettes and striking the bottom on the heel of his palm idly.

Divya leaned over and looked at the holes in her uniform. Peeling them open, she examined where her wounds were. Nothing but scars remained. "Same." she said plainly before setting her half broken helmet on the cave floor. 

"I prefer my meat well cooked." Leilani replied glancing over at the group from her position near the entrance to the caves.

Kelly looked at Enzeru, "Well you can take a closer look if you want." she said pulling her necklace out so the pendant was showing.

Enzeru nodded at all the requests for the meat and smiled at everyone. "Then give them time to sit for a moment longer." he chuckled. He then looked down at Kelly's stone and his eyes sparkled. "Such a lovely jewel! You're very lucky to have something so precious, Miss Kelly!" he gasped, reaching a polite hand forward to take it. But when his fingertips only lightly brushed the diamonds that glimmered up at him, he gasped and pulled back, his entire arm stinging. He gritted his teeth with a growl and watched in horror as every old scar reopened and began to bleed fresh. He stared at it, both mystified and horrified, then backed away from Kelly. "Black magic..?" he grunted, cradling his arm to himself.

Kelly's eyes widened in surprise, "OH, Your arm! what happened, did my necklace do that?!" she exclaimed with a face that was a mixture of horror, and confusion. "Enzeru, I'm so sorry, this has never happened before." she continued stuffing her necklace back inside her shirt hurriedly.

Divya had went on and served herself since Enzeru got lazy. Though when Kelly started yelling, her attention shifted. "What what?!" she asked loudly, stomping over in her big boots.

"When Enzeru touched my necklace his scars reopened, I don't know what happened." Kelly replied as Divya came over.

Todd looked over curiously, though said nothing. He was waiting for the right time to get involved.

Enzeru groaned and cradled his bleeding arm to himself, hissing softly in pain. "It's.. ugh... quite alright, Miss Kelly.. It wasn't your--ugh--fault." he grunted, trying to wrap his arm in a piece of cloth.

"I'm still sorry, can I do anything to help you?" Kelly said looking at Enzeru.

"Mind if I take a look at that necklace?" Solomon asked Kelly.

"If you say it's magic, I'm going to lose all respect for you." Divya warned Solomon, placing her hands on her hips.

"Divya, half the things you're capable of doing are just as bizarre," Solomon replied. "Sure, you might understand it, but I doubt you could explain it and I'll bet my fedora you can't recreate it." He stretched one hand out to Kelly. "May I?" He asked politely.

Kelly hesitated, "Ok, but be careful, it was my mom's." she said taking her necklace off and handing it to Solomon.

"Thank you," Solomon said, feeling the point of the heart poke his palm as she lowered the jewel into his hand. Scars unopened, and a notable lack of hemmoragging in the chest. He stopped holding his breath with a gentle sigh and tilted the diamonds in his fingers, letting it glint in the cool light of the cave. Rubbing the chain along his fingertips, he took the burdened crucifix from under his coat and tapped the two against each other.

Kelly watched Solomon curiously as he tapped his necklace against his crucifix wondering what he was doing.

Divya became bored and wandered back over to Todd. "Well that was amusing for about 15 seconds." Though when she got into close proximity to Todd, her nose started to bleed for the third time. Placing her fingers to her upper lip, she then looked at their crimson color. "Dammit!" she swore, tilting her head back to try and clot it. Unfortunately it didn't work. Blood ran out and down her chin and throat. It started to bleed so profusely that the front of her uniform became splattered with it.

Kelly looked at Divya, "Is that the first time that's happened to you Divya?"

"Ack- Noh." Divya said with a nasally voice as she pinched her nostrils shut. "Et's been fawking happanin sence I got 'ere."

"I have some tissues if you need them." Kelly offered to Divya.

Divya now had blood seeping through her fingers and all over her hands. It was almost as if she had cut a main vein or something. "Don'cha tink et's a little extreem for dat?!" Divya said, still with her nose plugged.

"They're two-ply and you can use as many as you need." Kelly said smiling.

The two stones made a strange noise the first time Solomon clicked them together, but after that there was nothing unusual about it. Divya spontaneously nosebleeding again, on the other hand... "Jesus, Divya!" He pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it to her fingers again. "C'mon, let's get you some air." He lead her out of the cave, Kelly's necklace still interlaced in one fist.

Divya didn't resist as Solomon helped her outside. At this point, she had become lethargic and dizzy from blood loss. Her feet stumbled a little, but she managed to make it out without falling. A trail of crimson streaked behind her.

"C'mere, sit down," Solomon ordered, lowering her down to sit on one of the drier boulders and sitting next to her. He was careful not to let the diamond touch her, in case she was like Enzeru. "We need to get some food into you, kiddo. You've lost a lot of blood today."

Kelly slowly got up and went outside, "Has Divya only got nosebleeds around Todd?" she asked curiously.

"Kiddoooo?" Divya asked, swaying back and forth like a drunk. She was too hazey to really hear Kelly's question, yet alone answer properly. Surprisingly the bleeding had ceased when they exited the cave. Divya had gotten three nosebleeds since she arrived in this time and had always blamed the atmosphere and dry air. Though...the air was quite moist in the jungle region and the fact that she soared at high altitudes seemed to rule out both of those excuses.

Solomon shook his head. "Yes, but they've been in close quarters before--this is very recent." Unless... "Stay with her, won't you, Kelly?" He asked her, standing up and going back into the cave. "Todd," He said, tapping his shoulder, "A word." He walked to the back of the cave for a bit of privacy.

Kelly nodded and sat next to Divya so she could keep her from falling over sideways, "As long as you stay still you should be fine."

Nodding, Todd, still silent followed him.

Once they were in some kind of privacy, Solomon quietly asked him, "The stone you showed me back in the jungle--can I see it again?"

He looked at Solomon with hesitance in his gaze, but sighed and reached for the silver chain around his neck. It practically hummed at him when he lifted it from his chest, but Todd moved it anyway and handed it to him. "It is a moonstone."

Solomon took the stone from him and compared it to the other two, which oddly enough were also pendants(although the crucifix had started out as another necklace entirely). "Interesting." When the moonstone touched the others, the stones vibrated in his hands and small sparks jumped from stone to stone. "Hm." He pulled the stones apart, and they calmed, except for his own, which felt heavier than before. "When you buried Emireth, did you find anything like these?"

Todd hesitated again. If he did this... "Yes." He handed Solomon the speckled stone, hanging on a leather throng. "It was in his pocket."

"Ah...shit." Divya rubbed her head, "What a headache-" She wanted to get up and wash her face, but she was barely able to hold her own head up.

Kelly looked at Divya, "Do you want me to get you something to eat, maybe it'll help." She suggested.

"Thanks," Solomon took it from him. The sword was poking him, so he took it from inside his jacket as well. He had noticed before that the hilt had a large ruby on the pommel, but he hadn't thought it was important before it started to glow and rattle the blade. When the stones touched a flash of light filled the cave, almost making him drop all of them. Behind him, a portion of the cave wall was missing, revealing a tunnel that hadn't been there before.

"Vhat t'eh..." Todd took a step back, startled and just a little on edge. "T'at is strange... don't believe in magic, Solomon?"

Solomon dropped the stones and the sword, which fell to the ground with a clatter, and stepped back. "No..." he replied faintly, "no, I don't."

Kelly heard the commotion, she carefully picked up Divya so she wouldn't be alone. "What's going on in here?" She asked walking into the cave being careful not to get to close to Todd incase Divya got another nosebleed.

Anna had been watching without much interest, lost in her thoughts, but was pulled from them at the bizarre rattling sensation against her belly. She placed a hand over the spot as she watched Solomon and Todd toying with their set of gems. When the flash erupted through the cavern, Anna jolted and yelped, gripping one hand into her abdomen and shielding her eyes with the other. Growling she pulled a small cotton pouch off her belt and tossed it aside about a foot, looking somewhat bewildered. She got to her feet in a hurry, training her eyes on Solomon before she noticed the new tunnel burrowed into the wall behind them. "A Dhia dhílis...I must say...haven't seen quite a magicking in all my years..." She stooped, softly touching the pouch which seemed not to react to it now. "I must also confess a lie, gents. Seems I misjudged the importance o' the little thing." Picking up the bag she removed a sliver of a bluish gem hooked to a silver chain. She looked hard at Solomon and looped the chain about her palm, letting the sapphire hang there. "Tisn't much, but evidently tis a bit violent with the likes o' others."

"What the hell?!" Divya shouted, taking her arm back from around Kelly's shoulder. "How did that happen?!" She seemed to be back to normal, but she still had dried blood on her face, as well as on her clothes. "Solomon- what did you do?"

Enzeru was mystified at the sight of the suddenly appearing tunnel, his arm still wrapped in cloth that was now spotted with blood from all his scars being reopened, but the bleeding had stopped the instant Solomon had taken Kelly's necklace outside and away from him. He blinked at the cavern addition and stammered, then smelled the faint scent of burning meat and cursed. "Baka!" he spat, turning and pulling the rest of the meat off the fire. "Someone said well done, right?" he asked and chuckled a little, shaking his head. But still... That tunnel wasn't there before. He remembered because Anna, Kelly and himself had come from inside the cave and the cave had only gone in one direction before. He tried not to wonder about the stone he carried around his own neck... He wouldn't bring it up until someone asked.

"I just--" He spread his arms at the stones lying on the ground. "I was holding them, and they touched and set off some kind of reaction--" He looked behind him at the tunnel that everyone else was looking at. "It must've opened this." He looked into it, but it was dark and hazy. "Are either of you carrying something like this? It might be embedded in a weapon, or a necklace--anything."

Divya whipped her face on her sleeve, clearing her chin and nose of blood. "Um...I don't think I have anything like that on me." She didn't wear any jewelery, unless a badge counted. Divya looked down at the stones that Solomon had laid out. Reaching to her belt, she pulled out her gun. "Why would there be a stone in it?" Bringing it up to her ear, she shook it quickly. "Nothing."

I don't know why, but I can't stop staring at that tunnel. Kelly thought to herself as she continued to stare at the tunnel, transfixed.

Enzeru finished dishing the plates of meat until the last steak was pulled from the flames and he sprinkled each one with a little more seasoning from his pouch before raising an eyebrow at Solomon. "Oh yes... You mean something like this..?" he asked, reaching into his robes and presenting a lovely silver chain with a dragon pendant at the end of it. In the center of the dragon's grasp and body, which wrapped around it, was the shining red-orange fire of a garnet stone. "The priestesses at my temple where I grew up gave it to me. Said it was very precious, fell from the sky, and was a lucky omen." he explained, showing it off. He eventually took it from around his neck and wrapped it around his arm and wrist like a string of prayer beads, which it closely imitated, the dragon and stone laying in his palm.

"I hope they're right," Solomon replied. To Divya, he said, "What is it that focuses that green whip thing you have?" He asked, meaning the goo cord she had used on him earlier to get him up a tree safely.

"I'm not the engineer... I just shoot it." Divya said, not very amused by this whole epiphany that Solomon was having. She stared down the barrel of her gun, not really wanting to break it open based upon mere speculation. "I don't think there is anything like what you mean in my gun, Solomon. Seriously- this is stupid. So everyone has jewelery, what's that matter?" While still staring down into the barrel of the gun, she switched modes with a flick of her thumb. "Maybe the heat is getting- wait...what the-?" Divya stepped closer to the fire and used it's light to see deeper into the gun. "I think there is something there...."

Leilani frowned, her hand closing around the cool surface of an amulet in her pocket as it vibrated against her thigh. She set her food aside and stood, approaching the others of the group as they stood around the new tunnel in the cave, her muscles grew lax and she stumbled a few steps, balancing against the cave wall. W-what's going on?

Kelly shook her head and looked at Leilani, "Leilani, are you alright?" she asked walking over to her.

Divya hesitated, "Yeeaa.... I don't want to break my gun open on a hunch that there's a gem in it." She glanced at Solomon.

"No need," Solomon said. "I just needed to know for sure." He carefully picked up his crucifix, mindful that it didn't touch any of the other stones. "Anyone got a flashlight?"

"If someone does and they really were picked out of their place and time at random, I quit." Divya said with a scowl, sliding her gun back into it's holster. "Seriously, if one of these nut-jobs have a flashlight- I'm going to question there place here anyway. Anyone that prepared probably was expecting this. Thus....a suspect." she rambled. Divya walked over to the fire pit and lifted up a large branch with one end ablaze. "Here is your flashlight oh fearless leader." she mocked.

Kelly remained quiet about having a flashlight because she didn't want to become a suspect, "Solomon, may I have my necklace back now?" She asked looking at him.

"Certainly," Solomon lifted it carefully from the ground by the chain without touching the diamond and gave it back to her. To Divya, he smirked. "What, you have a vaporizer but not a flashlight? Even cops in my day don't resort to fire torches," He teased, taking it from her. "I'm glad I don't get to live to see those budget cuts." He picked up the sword again and hung it back in its place in his coat. It hadn't killed him yet, so it was unlikely it would kill him now. He took his handkerchief and wrapped his steak, shoving it in a pocket once again. "C'mon." He started down the tunnel, torch held high.

Kelly took her necklace back and put it back on, she then followed Solomon into the tunnel.

Divya took a second glance at the stones laid out on the cave floor before she hurried and ran up next to Solomon. Taking out her gun, she turned it on and aimed forward into the black abyss. The weapon hissed as it booted. Divya kept her eyes ahead of them and if anything moved, she would blast it.

Retrieving his moonstone, it hummed in annoyance at leaving him, which he ignored as he slipped it back over his head and goggles. Todd then followed Solomon and Divya to the unknown.

Enzeru watched everyone with a confused frown, looking at Anna in confusion. Should they follow as well? He bit his lip, then started to throw the cooked steaks into a pile on the piece of cloth he usually used to tie his robes back when cooking. He tied them up while they were still hot, then proceeded to put out the fire. There was no reason for them to go without a meal. They would need the energy. He made sure he had enough, then slung them over his shoulder and smiled at Anna, offering her his hand. "M'lady." he smiled warmly. "Shall we too venture off into the unknown?"

Kelly stayed close to Solomon and Divya with her hand on the hilt of her sword, I hope there aren't any dinosaurs hiding back here. she thought to herself as she followed Divya and Solomon.

Anna didn't answer at first, gaze trained on something far past and beyond the tunnel. Something seemed to itch in the back of her mind, a warning maybe. It'd been a while since she'd felt something of the sort, not since she'd heard news of brother's hanging. An emptiness formed in her belly at some thought and her mouth and nose twitched simultaneously. As if he had just appeared, she looked to Enzeru and smiled thinly. 'Methinks this be the lad t'trust,' she decided finally. In a motion of friendship she tapped the back of his upturned hand, refusing it politely, and nodded. "Aye. Nowhere else to go I suppose. I've a feeling this may be where we're meant to be goin' in any case. Something up ahead...just a feelin', y'see," she added, tying the pouch which contained her tiny sapphire back onto her belt and withdrawing her rifle. "Come' Best we be going. That little Razzlass might 'suspect' us o' some treason, eh?"

Divya kept her gun aimed forward, "So you really think that stone keeps making my nose bleed? Isn't that a little farfetched?" she asked Solomon. She immediately regretted her words, realizing that none of this was logical to begin with.

"Stranger things have happened in the past few days," Solomon said. "We're gonna get to the bottom of this." His jaw was set in grim determination as they walked down the tunnel, the torch casting long, flickering shadows behind them.