[CC] Hatchery Quest: Xato

Xato wasn't sure which was worse, the bitter cold lands of northern Sherok, or the disconcerting gaze of the dragon that he was currently.... 'employed' by. It was almost impossible to discern what the dark hybrid was thinking of. "Well?" She asked, as Xato glanced about, the purple eye on her chest gleaming at him while her head seemed to be 'looking' in his direction, her long tail only visible in the snow for the halo that hovered around it. He didn't immediately answer her, though the snow made tracking difficult at the best of times, sometimes it could 'preserve' certain bits of information. "See how the snow is shallower here?" He finally responded, pointing towards a swathe of the white stuff that at first simply blended in, or could be mistaken as just the lay of the land; but this area was exceptionally flat. "That shows that part has been recently disturbed, since i can't see any larger clumps that would mean it had been cleared up to allow the wagon to pass, its more likely it was compacted down as it was traveled across." He stepped onto it, and as he suspected, he didn't sink quite as far as he should given the amount of snow that fell.

Nyx, as his companion was called, nodded, but gave no other indication of well... anything. Xato returned to his task, tracking a cluster of bandits, something that seemed to occur quite often this far north; he doubted they'd headed south towards the inhabited fort Nyx and her rider called home (not that he'd met her, Nyx having hired him for this), so north seemed the most likely option. Since he'd left home, he'd encountered many dragons, but Nyx was the first he'd worked with for any length of time, and she was a far different cry to either his parents dragons. How sheltered they were. A rueful smile crossed his face as he began moving northwards, his attention for anything that was out of place; his mother had taught him all she knew, until eventually the farm he'd grown up on had seemed too small, and how trapped he felt. He remembered his mothers pride and sorrow at his leaving, his fathers... anger that the farm wasn't enough, and the bitterness of some of his siblings. He still kept in touch, but returning to his family home...

A mechanical hand grabbed him suddenly, and he halted, having spotted the faint ember glow of a fire in the snowstorm, this far out.... it could be one of two things, a lone traveler.... (though they'd be more likely to bunk down than light a fire) or the bandits they were tracking. Dropping down, Xato snuggled into his furs as he crept closer, going against the wind, his nose wrinkling at the smell as he took in what he saw, there was no doubt these were the bandits, huddling down to wait for the snowstorm to pass; the wagon braced against the ongoing wind to help shelter them. He turned to beckon the dragon, her eye winking at him, his job was done.

Nyx slipped into the shadows as the young boy backed off. She hadn't really needed the boy to track the bandits, but she couldn't deny his skills were good for his age, and a dragon her age knew that some needed... to 'impress' a dragon, an old test that sometimes cropped up. She grinned as she appeared within the bandit camp, dealing with this mob... the boy a mere side thought now as she dealt with them... one less set of bandits to deal with.... though by now you'd think they'd learn to stay away from this sector..