War Has Come

It was a hard fought battle on both sides- but the dragons turned the tide in the end. Mowing swaths of destruction in their wake, the dragons sent men scrambling from their formations, effectively slaying them as if they had used their own claws. Those brave enough to stand up to the mighty beasts fared no better- left to be crunched between powerful jaws, eviscerated by swiping claws, or crushed by wildly swinging tails.

The few who managed to make it through the dragons guard were quickly faced with the beasts rider- whether wielding claw, sword or spear, they were equally quick to defend their reptilian companion, and just as equally deadly. In the end, the battle lasted a little over an hour, and left the field a mess of churned earth and blood soaked grass. Bodies littered the ground- sunlight glinting off of scale and armor alike as the victors took a toll of their casualties.

"Ow. Ow!" Adriana pulled her arm back with a scowl, green eyes narrowed at her unfortunate tormentor- Cece. The orange haired girl grinned brightly, shaking the spray canister in her hand that she had been applying to Adriana's arm, and the gash that had cut through the bicep- effectively making it useless.

"Oh, stop being such a baby. You know we have to de-magnetize that wound before we even think about healing you. Now, suck it up like the Princess you are." Adriana didn't think she would ever want to smack Cece as much as she wanted to punch Zac on a daily basis. She was coming very close to that line. It didn't help that getting injured half-way through the battle had severely hindered her fighting capacity. One arm for dual claws did not a good combination make.

"Well, if you hadn't blown up that catapult right beside me, I wouldn't be in this condition right now. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I might just say you did that on purpose." Adriana's words had no effect on Cece's large smile- or the glint of mischief she could see in those dark eyes. There was no denying it now. She had definitely done it on purpose. Cece caught the suspicious look Adriana sent in her direction, and her only response was to aim another spritz of liquid at the sluggishly bleeding wound.
"Ow."

87. Eighty-seven. It was like the signing of a life's sentence in jail. Damnit, damnit, damnit! Adriana immediately turned her ire upon Cecelia- who having known Adriana for most of her life, quickly hopped away under the guise of 'getting some more bandages~'. A lie, considering the first aid kit was sitting beside her this entire time. 

Adriana couldn't think of a worse feeling then having to admit she lost. Not even a date with him could be that bad. Though... His growing grin- smug as anything she could think of- was more then enough to make her re-think that statement. She turned on Zac, thrusting one finger in his face in a rather threatening manner.

"Rule number one- absolutely no touching! I don't care if I'm about to get hit by a bus! Do not touch me- actually, don't even think about it." Lifting a second finger, Adriana continued on. "Rule number two. You are absolutely prohibited from any of your normal lecherous activities. If you even look at me wrong, I'll consider that the end of it." Holding up a third, and final finger, Adriana finally dropped her hand to prop it upon her hip. "The third rule? I reserve the right to  make up new rules as I see fit."

eighty six. Riew piped in, peering over Adriana's head much to her irritation. She shot him a look- one he accurately translated as 'you traitor'. She managed eighty six. Very close competition.

It was official.

She was going to murder everyone.

As if things hadn't been bad enough- with Cecelia teasing her all through the ride home, and even Joel wearing a smirk- unusual enough for him but made even more humiliating by his next comment.
'You know, you'd make a good couple.'
That alone- she might have been able to deal with. She would go home, take a long relaxing bath, mentally prepare as she sealed her wounds and go out for what would probably end up being an incredibly short date. She doubted he would be able to contain himself for more then the length of a single hour- that was her estimate of when she'd manage to successfully leave without technically breaking her word.

He had, after all, agreed to her 'rules'.

But what happened next, was something she only thought possible in movies. Or cheesy romance novels. Both of which these were not. Joel, having realized he forgot his 'key' to the roost, borrowed Adriana's in order to let all of the dragons in while she was making her mission end report. That hadn't raised any flags. What had, however, was when she emerged from the meeting hall to find no one but Cece in sight. No Joel, no keys.

No house.

Of course, Cece so generously offered her wardrobe to the temporarily homeless officer. Not that Adriana had much of a choice- it was that or go on the date wearing her torn and grimy- blood splattered body suit. It was a conspiracy from the start. Now Adriana only had to wonder if Zac had a hand in all of this. It seemed likely- but anything was possible with her team.

So this was how she had managed to get where she was. Standing outside of Cece's house- she'd insisted that she'd sent him a message telling him where to pick her up- wearing a shirt (one that Cece had insisted was a dress- and one that Adriana insisted needed some kind of shorts), and currently trying to block out the ridiculously loud moans coming from the door behind her.

Cece's 'insurance' so Adriana couldn't go back to her place. 

She could only pray that Joel took pity on her, and either returned her keys- or let her stay at his place. She didn't even have her wallet to rent a hotel.

"I don't want to know, and I don't think you do either. We're moving on." Let's get this over with. With a decidedly red face- who held the door anymore? That kind of gesture was decades old- Adriana clambered into the black vehicle, careful to make sure her dress/shirt stayed exactly where it was supposed to.

She didn't trust Zac any further then she could throw him.

At least she could say he had a nice jeep, obviously well taken care of- unlike the old beater she had at home. An old restored bug, one that survived more through sheer force of will then any combination of mechanical skills. One of the reasons she preferred to walk everywhere she went.

"All right, so what's the plan?" Adriana kept her eyes carefully averted, opting to stare out her window in the most disinterested fashion she could manage. Had she ever been alone like this with Zac before? If she had, she certainly couldn't recall.