It's gone by the time she gets there, of course, and flying creatures don't leave a trail. It was headed northerly, back towards the seaside, last she caught a glimpse. There are more cliffs there, though these are steeper and less hospitable to people unable to fly or walk on vertical surfaces and without the sandy beach at the bottom that characterized the immediate area of Serenity's landing zone.

There are also several large cave entrances in the cliffs, conveniently sized to shelter a large creature.

She can sense chakra, which extends at least some to this strange world - which hopefully means she'll notice any large concentrations of interestingness before she gets too bored wandering the caves.

Interestingness such as perhaps the clusters of magicful eggs loosely concealed at certain spots in the floor, guarding paths and intersections much the way she would use traps and tripwires?

Definitely one kind of interestingness.

She deftly avoids them as she wanders, of course, muffling her scent and sound and the movement of air due to her passing, and wrapping her chakra tight under her skin. 

Then the floor of the cave vanishes from underneath her.

She falls into a larger cavern, wide and tall. Blobs of magical flame adhere to the ceilings and walls, casting the space in a flickering orange glow. Most of the space, generous as it is, is taken up by a vast reptilian bulk covered in dark scales. A horned head, bigger than the girl's body leans in close to examine her, sniffing to take in her scent.

She lands on her feet, and doesn't move as the creature sniffs her - even stops muffling her scent.

"You caught me."

(Her sharingan is active, of course, and she examines the creature in turn.)

(The creature is very magic. Has a distinct resonance with the earth, seems to be infusing it in some fashion, now that she looks at it from this perspective...)

"But what have I caught," it rumbles. "Little human, sneaking around my home with less noise than a mouse."

"Perhaps a cat," she purrs.

(She smells like lightning, like the heavy dry wind of oncoming thunderstorms, like smoke and ash and flame. And, yes, rather like a cat.)

"And whose home have I had the honor of sneaking into?"

(She's also very magic.)

"My name is Ellisaria, of the Black Dragonflight. What mischief do you bring with you, little cat?"

"Curiosity alone."

"Curiosity, hm. A bold sort of knowledge seeking, to traipse so blithely into a dragon's lair."

"I'm a bold sort of cat, who's been very richly rewarded already."

"Indeed, for you are still alive."

"And I've met someone very interesting, and exceptionally pretty."

(Somehow her brain kept screaming every time she noticed Ellie was pretty, but - she's not having that, right now.)

Dragonish huff.

She giggles, just barely under the verge of hysterically.

"Your magic's interesting - this whole world is - which is why I went looking for a closer glimpse."

"I will assume, then, that you had something to do with our extraterrestrial visitor."

"I'll inform them they aren't as invisible as they thought."

"The ripples were subtle, but detectable."

"Detectable to skilled magic users, then?"

"And those in tune with the natural order."

"Are you both, then?"

"Yes. As a dragon, I am Azeroth's guardian. As a being five thousand years old, I have had ample time for study."

" - That's older than my world has writing."

"Indeed? It is young, then, or else poorly kept."

Shrug. "There's been wars, I guess."

"There will always be wars. For writing to be lost entirely takes a cataclysm."

"Well, there's reasons I left that world."

"I'm sure."

Mrrrrr.

"Does this world have libraries?" she asks instead.

"It does."

"I'd like to - see what's written here. What an older civilization can produce."

Dragonish hum. "The nearest and best libraries would be in Silvermoon City or Dalaran. Neither are welcoming of outsiders, but Dalaran at least has a human population."

"Unwelcoming of outsiders seems a poor trait for a center of knowledge."

"Elves are distrustful of humans and mages are wary of anyone not themselves a mage. With good historical reason, in both cases."

"People."

"Quite."

"Learning from you seems more likely to be pleasant."

"Perhaps. It has been some time since I had a student."

Teasingly: "A couple millennia?"

"More or less."

"Perhaps I'll be a refreshing break, then."

"And I could teach you something of my world and its magic, in return."

"I would like that. Agreed."

"Excellent."

"Then the bargain is struck."

"Do you have any immediate needs, little cat?"

"None right now."

"Good. As you can see, my home is not designed for creatures such as you. Adjustments must be made."

"I'm not a normal human, you know. I hardly need stairs."

"I surmised as much from your facile entrance. I was referring more to the scale of the rooms, the construction of the wards, and the lack of appropriate furniture."

"The large rooms are nice, and I'm used to very sparse furniture. I probably have a futon and a few mats in my storage scrolls, actually. And I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable with something smaller."

"But if my presence interferes with your wards, that's another matter."

"I would be shifting to a form similarly sized to you. That is more convenient for teaching."

"All the time?" Awwwww but Hisame likes big Ellisaria.

"No, not all the time. But more often than I do now, which is almost never."

"I'm not sure I'd spend much time human-shaped if I had other options."

"It has its uses. Dragons are overall superior, of course."

"Very clearly so."

"Such clear thinking is an admirable trait in a student."

Heeee.

"Good that I'm already impressing."

"It bodes well for your future success."

"And our future work together, that you recognize it."

"Indeed. Then let us begin."

And in a flash of magic, Ellisaria is suddenly only slightly taller than the little cat, rather than enormously taller.

At least she's still tall, though. 

"Pretty in any form, then."

"Thank you, little cat."

Heee.

"So what can your magic do, Ellisaria?"

"Many things, limited only by one's supply of mana. Creation, destruction, control of the elements, summoning servants, animation, healing, enhancement, levitation, teleportation..."

"A little more than mine - I can't teleport, and levitation is mostly a side effect of other techniques. Though my magic is limited as well by skill, physical condition, mental acuity, the balance of physical and mental strength, and some innate traits like affinity or bloodline. And access to materials and specialized knowledge, for some subfields."

"That does sound more complex."

"Most people can't handle it."

"Few here as well bother to take conscious control of their power."

She laughs. 

"Even among those who seek power, those who find it are exceptionally rare."

"And you are one of those exceptions?"

"And more."

"Good."

"Would you like a demonstration?"

"If you would be so kind."

"Here and now?"

"How destructive do you intend to get?"

"There's a range of possibility, depending on how much you want me to show off. But the most powerful shinobi can rearrange the landscape decently well."

"I prefer the landscape here to stay as it is. Why don't you start small?"

"As you wish."

Mm, yes.

Her eyes gleam crimson as she meets Ellisaria's gaze.

She tries a light probe, a gentle veil of genjutsu over the dragon - nothing major nor even subtle, given she's currently just making herself look like she's sparkling.

"Is this illusion?"

"Yes. A very basic one."

"Interesting."

"It is not perceptibly different than reality, to my senses."

"It takes a lot of training to catch them, and knowing you're under a genjutsu - an illusion technique - is easier than breaking one."

"How powerful can they be?"

"...Some people never break out from the most powerful. They can be fully immersive,  including altering perception of time. The absolute most powerful can affect thoughts and actions relatively directly."

"Concerning. If I discover you have placed such a thing upon me, I will kill you."

"...You'd be right to."

(She was supposed to be showing off not suddenly on the verge of a breakdown.) 

"If you recognize that, then I doubt it will be a problem."

...Nod.

"You seem to be in distress."

"Unpleasant memories."

"Related to this technique?"

"To the more powerful versions."

Hum.

...Shrug.

"What other tricks do you have, then?"

Hum.

Well, shadow clones, and she can show off wall walking and great speed and the less destructive elemental techniques...

The speed is most impressive to Ellisaria. She can cast mirror images and manipulate the elements with equal facility to the little cat's demonstration. This she proves by summoning up some earth elementals, animated chunks of earth and stone pulled from the walls of the cavern and bound with magic. They can act and fight independently with at least a basic degree of skill, which makes them good target dummies.

Are her mirror images solid, capable of operating independently, capable of using their own techniques, and return their memories to her when destroyed?

Everything except the memories.

A very useful type of technique, isn't it?

Depending how habitually one engages in subterfuge.

Subterfuge is the lifeblood of many shinobi. Though, Hisame finds that's one of the most boring uses of shadow clones.

What others does she find more interesting?

Well... To start, her shadow clones learn everything she does, and can use the sharingan to memorize vast reams of information quickly, same as she can -

It'll take a very large library to entertain Hisame for long.

Does comprehension follow memorization so easily?

It feels like the memorization follows comprehension, for her.

That certainly does sound convenient.

And not just for studying - her clones can experiment with dangerous techniques, or travel short distances, or coordinate with her on projects...

Slightly more versatile than a mirror image, then. She stands corrected.

She laughs. "They're me. Physically more fragile, with less raw power - my chakra stores are split among my clones - but me all the same."

"An interesting technique."

"Enjoyable and useful, too."

"One of the greats, then."

"Certainly up there."

"Would you like a demonstration of a few benefits?"

"If you're not worn out already."

"You'll need to get a lot more involved to wear me out."

"So noted."

"Interested in trying?"

"Not in here. Let us move outside."

"Fun." She'll let Ellisaria pick the arena.

She transforms back into her natural form and leads the way to the entrance, launching herself out to skim across the wavetops before circling around higher to head inland.

She laughs and - almost on a whim, exhilarated and wanting to keep up - activates the Mangekyou willingly for the first time since she was imprisoned.

Susano'o unfolds around her, brilliant and sleek - a shifting, glowing thing, made of dark red chakra that flickers like fire, an enormous humanoid she sits at the heart of - one with a cat's face under an ornate helmet, a cat's tail emerging from the complicated armor, four arms ending with cat's paws holding an ethereal bow, sword, and dagger - and enormous black feathered wings that gleam like a raven's emerging from its back.

Her wingspan isn't quite as wide as Ellisaria's - but she's actually decently close, and she takes off into the sky with powerful beats, pursuing Ellisaria.

"Quite the clever trick, cat not-so-little."

"Not quite as teachable as the rest, though." Swoop!

She tucks her wings and dives low, skimming the treetops.

She's new to flying - but a quick learner, and that looks fun - 

She follows after, and then tries to pull ahead. 

They can go out a little further than Ellisaria had planned. No need to cut this race short.

Certainly not on her account. 

Excellent.

Then through a sufficiency of twists, turns, dives, and tricks, they come at last to a flat-ish area midway up a mountain that will make suitable arena. Ellisaria settles in for a landing.

Her Susano'o folds in as she lands, wrapping closer around her. 

"This location will serve. There is nothing important in a radius of several miles. Do try to contain yourself within that."

"I'll be good." Mostly. 

"We'll see." Her tail lashes. "Now, where to begin..."

A dance, or a fight? 

Let's say a dance, til they get used to each other's movements.

Then a dance it is. (Her chakra flares again.)

Ellisaria uses her entire body as her weapon, teeth and claws and tail and fiery breath, dangerous in all directions. She stakes a claim to a certain space, and owns it. And more, she does not do so alone. Constructs of stone summoned from the earth, elementals of fire and ash animated from the trail of her breath, expendable soldiers to guard her flanks and further harry her foe.

Black fire that eats even stone trails from her wings, and black lightning crackles around her blades and arrows, and she responds to Ellisaria like everything they're doing was choreographed well in advance. 

It's certainly a more even match than she was expecting.

She stops holding back a bit.

The girl matches her, step for step.

Fun.

For both of them. 

Indeed.

The battlefield is a smoking, gouged ruin by the time their dance is finished.

She winds to a stop with a sweeping bow.

Ellisaria dips her head.

"Well run, little cat."

"Well danced, big dragon."

"Are you feeling any more worn out?"

"The edge has certainly been taken off."

"Good."

"You're the best dance partner I've ever had, you know."

"Leaving your own world was the right decision, then."

"As was coming here."

She nods.

Languid stretch!

"You're even more beautiful when you're flying."

"Oh, really?"

"Really," she purrs.

Big stretch, showing off the full flex of her muscles and wings.

"You have interesting taste, little cat."

Ellisaria might have just taken her breath away, so.

"I'm an interesting woman."

"I begin to find how much I agree with that."

"Good."

Ellisaria extends a leg to lightly brush her with a claw.

Tiny pleased shiver.

"Are you feeling sufficiently exercised, little cat?"

"In some ways."

She laughs, a low bass rumble.

"Do you require this space to sate your remaining appetite?"

"I'm very flexible, so no, not particularly."

"I will take us back to my lair, then." She bends down, presenting the side of her neck. "Climb up."

She does so, using chakra to secure herself.

Then off and away.

Ellisaria will kindly demonstrate what it's like to experience some of those flight tricks as a passenger instead of a pilot.

She laughs, delighted.

Heh. Good.

And at last, back home.

The ride's over all too soon.

Perhaps. But certainly there will be other days.

She's looking forward to it.

Indeed.

What would the little cat like to do next?

Perhaps explore her more interesting tastes...

To one of her sleeping rooms, near the back of the cave complex.

Wiggle.

She doesn't actually know what she's doing here, with any combination of body plans, but that's what exploring's for.

Ellisaria can guide her, in whatever configuration of forms she prefers.

The current one to start...

Then she'll have quite a lot of ground to cover. But Ellisaria will make sure she misses nothing.

Excellent. 

Most excellent indeed.

She actually gets tired by the time Ellisaria's tour is concluded.

Ellisaria's perfectly content to lounge here if she is.

Absolutely.

Then the dragon will curl up around the little cat, a warm, rumbling cushion.

And the little cat will sink into a contented, nightmare-less sleep.

Cozy.

Ellisaria has her wards and her sentinels, so feels comfortable dozing off herself.

Zzzzz.

Ellisaria lets her sleep.

She instructs her elemental servitors remotely to rise and begin preparing a room for her guest to feel more comfortable in, in case she wants it, to dust off the library, to fetch some fresh food...

Her guest doesn't sleep for very long. Certainly not as long as most humans do - but she wakes up looking refreshed all the same.

"Sleep well, little cat?"

"Very well." Languid stretch.

"Good. Are you hungry or thirsty at all?"

Hum. "A bit of both."

"I have food prepared, if you care to get up."

"I can be convinced." Stretch! And to her feet.

Ellisaria will shift to human form to guide her. (The better to enjoy some of the food herself.)

What's available?

Meats, cooked, raw, or salted. A variety of local fruits and vegetables. A little fresh bread, some rice. Spring water, elven wine, dwarven whiskey.

She's definitely most interested in fruit, followed by vegetables then bread then finally cooked meat with the air of someone focusing on 'probably I need protein and iron.'

For a drink - she pulls out a scroll and unseals a block of tea and a kettle and two cups. 

"Tea?" she asks.

"Very good tea. Would you like some?"

"I would, if it's no trouble. The climate here is not suited for growing it."

"Absolutely tragic. I'll have to build a large stock when I get the chance."

And: tea! 

She savors it. The first cup she's had in a long while.

She'll need to correct Ellisaria's deficit.

"Very generous, little cat."

"Only with special people."

"And you consider me to be among those?"

"So far."

"Good to know."

"Have you a name, little cat?"

"...Not one I care to claim."

"Perhaps you need a new one, then."

"Might damage my air of mystique." But it's a nice thought.

"Perhaps one in Draconic. An unknown language to mortals."

"A wonderful suggestion... Though I can't say I know the tongue either."

"Fortunately, I do." She tilts her head, thinking. "To begin with the most obvious candidates... 'little cat' would be moxtcalti." Her voice turns into something not quite human to pronounce the word, voice low and growling, rasping across the consonants.

(Shiver.) "A lovely word... Though are you sure you want to share your little cat with the world?"

"Would you prefer that stay hidden?"

"Hmmm... Perhaps. A little secret for a little cat."

Heh. "Very well. We will look elsewehere for inspiration, then."

"I still Iike draconic as a tongue, though."

"What are a few more words you might like your name to mean, little cat?"

(Shiver again.) "Hmmm... Beautiful, fierce, secret, shadowy, strong... Or fire and lightning are always very aesthetic..."

"Sjachletni, the shadowflame, like the dark fire you wield. Dastudr, strength. Lightning, itpro. A secret is irthos, unspoken. Beauty would be lerovup, to be fierce j'nah.

Oh, she likes the sharp hiss in that first one. "Sjachletni," she purrs.

"An exquisite choice. Now, to turn the base into a name. Were you a drake, we would add the suffix -ia. For a sworn drakonid, it would be -ak or -aka. This would translate as 'she of the-', more or less, with connotations of innate dragonishness. As you are not a drake and nor have you sworn to me, neither of those rules apply. Sjachletni is a compound word, so it would be fair to leave it as is. Though often in that case we translate it back into the common tongue..."

...Thoughtful hum. "Sjachletni is fine for now."

"A pleasure to meet you then, Sjachletni."

Tiny wiggle! "The pleasure is mine, Ellisaria."

Cute.

"You will certainly turn the head of any other dragon you meet, introducing yourself by that name. Shadowflame is thought of as a magic peculiar to the black dragonflight, though a demonstration of your variety will show the difference readily enough."

"Can you demonstrate your version of it for me?"

"Of course." Ellisaria breathes in, then exhales a thin streamer of fire. It's purple tinged with black rather than orange or yellow, and as she makes the ribbon dance across the air, there's a faint sound like a scream just on the edge of hearing.

Practically a melody. 

"Beautiful," she breathes. 

"It is, isn't it?"

"The fire, too."

"Cheeky brat," she laughs.

"I think you like it."

"It's not the worst."

Smirk.

"That's a good look on you."

Preen!

"Matches you well."

"It has been many years since I have kept a companion. I am glad that I have not broken my streak for one that does not match me."

Charmed giggle. "I can say the same - though for a much smaller 'many.'"

"Little years for a little cat."

"And big years for a big dragon."

"Quite."

Softer smile. "You're worth the wait."

Ellisaria leans across the table to give Sjachletni a kiss.

Heeee!

(She'd thought she'd feel weird about a human face, but... She knows who Ellisaria is, so.)

Kiss?

Kiss. (There are things to do with human bodies, as well as dragon ones.)

She'll need another introduction...

Ellisaria remains a willing teacher.

And a talented one.

It is a pure pleasure to live up to the expectations of an eager student.

And she'd be hard pressed to find a more eager student than her little cat. 

She doesn't see the need to try.

She better not, or her little cat might feel quite abandoned...

Wouldn't want that now, would they.

It'd be very tragic.

Ellisaria disprefers tragedies.

They're in agreement then. 

Indeed.

Deserves another kiss. 

A sign of their accord.

And many more kisses to strengthen it. 

Perfect.

They are.

She'll have lots of time to prove it, if Sjachletni plans to stay for the long term.

...She does, she thinks.

(It's a weird thing to realize.)

Good.

Ellisaria will work on altering the wards to take that into account.

"You don't mind reshaping your home around me?"

"It's about time I made some changes in any case."

"I'm good at changing things up, then."

"Do let me know if you have any ideas for alterations in the layout."

"Plenty, actually..."

They can start working together on plans, then.

Sjachletni enjoys stretching herself - and the opportunity to get creative about decorations. 

Ellisaria tends toward a more utilitarian setup, so Sjachtletni has plenty of opportunity there.

She can restrain herself a little if her and Ellisaria's tastes clash. (Though she'd rather not.)

As long as she's not planning to rip out the roots of the mountains, Ellisaria will deal.

She wouldn't. Promise. 

Then they will have no problems.

Except, of course, for the marauding troll warband that shows up about a week and a half later.

Hardly a problem at all. 

"Will killing them all cause issues for you?"

"Not in the slightest. That is in fact the only way to deal with them."

"Oh, good." Tiny wiggle. "I'll have some fun, then."

"Try to leave the forest intact."

"The added challenge will be fun."

"We aim to entertain."

"You succeed."

"See that you do so as well."

"No worries there." Languid stretch. 

Approving hum.

"You're more than welcome to watch the show."

"Lead the way."

Outside, then, to plan her attack. 

She knows the terrain fairly well by now. The trolls have set up camp in a hollow to the southeast. There are a few dozen, perhaps forty or fifty total. The camp is organized around a central bonfire, fortified with wooden walls and sharpened stakes cut from the surrounding forest, and the beginnings of pit traps being dug. The shamans are daubing the walls and warriors with ritual paint, and the hunters lope out in wider and wider loops, scouting the area.

The hunters are the easiest pickings, then - a good way to stretch herself after all this time without a proper kill.

She stalks them, of course, follows them through the forest - traps them in illusions - scares them, before finally cutting them open. 

Their response to the fear is to whoop and shout about it, alerting their fellows.

Or to think they do. 

A bit hard to actually shout, when you're wrapped so tightly in illusion. 

Alas for them, then, who die without knowing the same fate awaits their tribesmen.

She can get through six before a cry goes up from the camp. The absences have been noticed. The spirits have blessed their hunt, and a Silent Death now stalks them, according to one shaman. That which cracked the sky and scarred the earth is now within their reach.

Oh dear. Whatever shall she do, with the element of surprise so ruined? 

She moves silently, quickly - faster than human eyes can track, wrapping herself in illusion - to a perch above the head of the shaman who so named her, and loops a sharp garrote wire around his neck. 

A careless move digs the wire into his neck and he starts to choke, cut off mid-rant.

She channels a hair of lightning through it - enough to make him dance. 

And dance he does. (Also seems to be dying of this slightly less quickly than a human would be.)

There are gasps of alarm and astonishment among the other trolls, and they begin wildly looking about for the source of this attack.

A touch of chakra - and the wire cuts through his neck - and she stands, removing the illusion hiding her. 

"It's de Death! De Death!"

The shamans start chanting spells and the warriors throw their spears.

She laughs and dashes forward, drawing her sword and cutting a bloody swath through her enemies. 

(She keeps playing with them, of course. They're hardly a match for her actual skill.)

The best of them are high genin or low chunin in terms of martial skill. Clearly practiced, but not elite enough to challenge her. They also die pretty hard- a debilitating wound for a human only slows a troll.

Gives her more playtime. 

She'll have to be careful about drawing playtime out too long. A troll on the verge of death can get a surprising burst of speed and strength.

Nothing she can't handle with ease. 

"Well done indeed," Ellisaria says, rejoining her once the last troll is dead.

"It was fun enough."

"Good." Kiss.

Very kiss!!! And eager wiggle. 

"This has gotten you excited, I see."

"Very." Another hungry kiss.

Mmm.

"Clean up your mess first, little cat. I've no desire to let these bodies rot where they lie."

She laughs and forms a few shadow clones, and sets them to - carefully - burning away the bodies and structures.

Excellent.

"It seems a celebration is in order, then."

"Very much so," she purrs.

"To the victor go the spoils. What would you claim, Sjachletni?"

"You."

"Your dragon form." And then, with her excitement sweeping away her fear, her reservations - "Holding me tight." She steps even closer. "Hurting me."

"Uncommon, for a human. But a request I am more than willing to oblige."

Mmm.

Ellisaria transforms, grabs Sjachletni in her claws, and takes off into the air in one smooth motion.

Giggle! (And wiggling, just enough to challenge Ellisaria's grip.)

Ellisaria tightens her claws enough that the sharp edges dig into her skin.

Gasp and tiny moan.

She'll have five bloody lines cut into her by the time Ellisaria returns them to the lair. (More, if she struggles.)

Oh, she absolutely struggles.

No less than she expected.

When they get to the room, Ellisaria pins her down flat on her back and licks gently at the bleeding cuts with the tip of her tongue.

Eeeeep!

She arches into Ellisaria's tongue, as best she can. 

She'll earn herself a few new cuts with that.

"How hurt do you want to be, little cat?" Ellisaria asks, pressing a little more of her weight onto her foot.

"Very."

"Shall I crush your bones? Filet your muscles? Roast your flesh?"

Wiggle! "All of it."

"Bold as ever. Are you sure you can heal yourself of that?"

"Sure enough."

She huffs a laugh-

-and breathes out a lick of fire with it to kiss Sjachletni's face.

Moan.

What a lovely sound. Ellisaria would like to hear more of that.

Fortunately, as a firebreathing magic dragon, she has many, many tools to apply to this problem.

And her little cat has so very many sounds to give her. 

Delicious. She could just eat her little cat right up. In fact...

!!!

Sjachletni fits very neatly into her mouth, it turns out.

Chomp chomp fire breath.

Then toss the little cat up and snatch her out of the air a few times.

(Her healing is, amazingly enough, keeping up with this. Though something about being in Ellisaria's mouth makes her a bit - well. Hazy. And her healing does actually need to be actively maintained.)

Sjachletni very slowly starts accumulating injuries faster than she's healing them, though it'll be a little bit yet before she's in a dangerous zone.

Ellisaria starts slowly winding down to compensate. She doesn't want this to be the only chance she gets to play with her cat.

That seems to strike a good balance psychologically for Sjachletni, too - keeps her just under the edge of overwhelmed - until she's finally too out of it to keep going without drawing too deeply on her reserves.

Excellent.

Ellisaria can curl up around her after that, keeping her cozy and warm.

Perfect. (Warm dazed snuggles.)

Yes indeed.

And, not long after -

A little paper bird approaches Ellisaria's home.

Clearly magical, but it is neither hers nor Sjachletni's.

What does this bird have to say for itself?

"Hi!" it chirps, in a feminine voice. "I'm Villanelle - your guest traveled with me a bit on Serenity, and I wanted to let her know we're heading out soon, since she said she'd want to say goodbye before we left."

"Ah, the other alien visitors. I had wondered about you. I shall inform her of your message. Will she know where to find you?"

"She should - we're bringing the ship back to where we dropped her off."

"And we have time to chat, if you'd like. My companion's pretty interested in dragons."