A southern development.

The three of you make your way into the dining room where the others sit waiting. You and Nadine take a seat as a second Dawn appears and quickly fades into a screen on the wall.

"So since watching our small territory through the satellite worked so well I decided to take a closer look around when I could. Just to keep an eye out for other potential threats, and that included the Lizardfolk to our south. At first it was difficult to determine exactly what they were doing as a majority of their living seems to be underground, but they do things above ground as well. It all seemed pretty normal, but something did catch my eye the other day. One of them was hiding something in a secure spot and seemed wary of the others as they did it" Dawn explains as the screen zooms in on the village where a single lizard person sneaks behind a building, deposits something, covers it all up, and then sneaks back in.

"I made sure to watch and see if what I suspected was true or not. Today my suspicions were correct. One of them carrying a pack on their chest and towing a small child along made their way to the spot, packed some things into their back, and then started heading north without the others noticing. They made it about three hours before a group of four followed. The group of four seems to be tracking them, and they seem to be catching up to them. I would assume the small child and things the adult are carrying are what is slowing them down. I would estimate that the pack of four will overtake them in roughly half an hour" she explains as the screen zooms out to show the two groups.

"They've not done much to hide their trail it seems, nor have they really deviated much and seem to be going pretty straight. Either they have no knowledge of tracking or they were expecting to get farther before they were found to be missing" you muse. "How long would it take us to reach them if we left in five minutes" you ask Dawn.

"If you leave within the next five minutes you would arrive right around the time the pack of four would catch up to them. I am preparing things as we speak" she replies.

"What do you all think? Should we intercept and provide sanctuary, or allow them to be caught" you ask the group. The girls slowly turn their heads as if you just called them all a bunch of cunts. "I'm more than willing to help them, but we have to consider they may be afraid of us and not want our help, and I'm betting that helping them might sour any future relations with these Lizardfolk. Seeing all your reactions it is clear you all agree we should try to help. So who all is coming" you ask. Again all of the girls look at you like you are an idiot. "Ok...I'm clearly on a roll with stupid questions. So let's get geared up and moving. If we're lucky we can get there before the pack of four does, although the vehicles I want to take will leave easy tracks to follow. Confrontation is likely here, so hopefully we can talk them out of it" you warn.

Without any further delay you all get armored up. You attach your sword to your back, and as you are putting magazines of ammo into your utility belt you are surprised to see Copper come into the armory already saddled up. He strides over to you nudges you with his head towards the saddle, and looks expectantly at you. You smile and give his side a pat before mounting up. You grip the saddle tightly as Copper excitedly spins several times and triumphantly warbles and barks.

"Yah, we haven't had as much time together as I'd like either buddy" you say and then pat his neck. Jane smiles up at you as she hands you a rifle, but you can also tell she's a bit jealous as she starts patting Copper's neck.

"You know, there is another dino here that needs a saddle. Then we'd have two dinos to ride. I wonder if there is a skilled person who can create tack for them around" you ask her with a smirk. You can see her eyes light up letting you know she now has her own personal mission to accomplish after this. It is a little reminder how things have changed so much that priorities they used to have may have been pushed aside. You set a mental not that you'll have to make sure you give them all enough time to do the things they love. Otherwise what is the point of all of this if you all get lost in conflict. Certainly something to think about and discuss with everyone when time allows. Today isn't that day though it seems.

The girls load up onto some ATVs and your group sets off with Dawn remaining behind to prepare. The ride is pretty fast. Mostly because the entire time your brain is flooded with a thousand worst case scenarios, and you play them each out trying to figure out how best to deal with the upcoming encounter.

"John, what is the plan, or at least the basics" you hear Annabel through your helmet.

"Deescalate as much as we can. Reason with them, or even bribe them if we have to. **** will be our last resort, but since we don't know anything about how they might react to us keep your guard up. Weapons will be strapped across our chest, charged and ready to fire. If it comes to it try to get the fleeing group behind us" you reply.

"Understood" Annabel replies.

Dawn's estimate seemed to be exactly right. The moment you saw the fleeing group you could also see the pursuing group not that far away. Your group quickly closes the distance. The fleeing group stops in their tracks. You can tell they are unsure of what to do, and you're betting they were not expecting to encounter anyone this soon. You order the group to circle around behind them as you ride up to them on Copper. You only have a short amount of time to talk with them before their pursuers arrive. You can see the fear in their eyes, but the adult seems to also look determined, and neither one of them seem to take their eyes off of Copper. Dismounting from Copper you hold your hands out trying to appear as friendly and non-threatening as you can.

You take a look at them now that you can see them up close. The adult has dark grey skin underneath their leather clothing. Their face is definitely reptilian. The structure of their head looks almost similar to Copper's head. Batwing ears on the side of their head remind you a lot of the dragonkin pictures in your old Dungeons and Dragons books. Scanning downwards they are definitely a woman, unless the men in their species also have breasts. You were almost expecting no breasts. Another feature they have are claws where you'd expect fingernails, and similarly their bare feet have similar claws. You are also slightly surprised to see that their skin, while definitely appearing to be reptilian in nature, is entirely without scales. The woman's head swivels to you finally, and you notice her eyes are almost entirely black and are forward facing. Giving her an almost predatory look.

"Stay back" the woman says as she shifts herself in front of the child. You can see her gripping the hilt of a small dagger attached to a belt.

"Oh good. We speak the same language" you reply and stop moving forward as an idea of what to do forms in your head.

"Look" you say craning your neck to look past her. You see the girls getting off their ATVs and forming a protective line between the pursuers and their prey. "We don't have a lot of time here. You're going to have to make a choice. We are here to help you. You can believe that or not, but I suspect you know exactly what the intentions are of them" you say pointing past her at the pursuing group. The woman turns her head to glance at the group of pursuers, and then looks back at you.

"I'm offering you sanctuary. Food, shelter, and safety. For as long as you wish. All you have to do is get up on Copper's saddle here, and he'll take you there" you tell her and point at Copper who lets out a gentle trill. You can see the turmoil playing out in her head. You can certainly sympathize with her predicament. Time is running out though. The woman let's out a rather feral snarl, and you aren't certain what it means, but she tugs along the child past you to make her way to Copper. Copper kneels down on the ground to make it easier. She only briefly hesitates to mount Copper, but she quickly gets into position, and you lift the child into position in front of her.

"Keep them safe and head right home ok buddy" you tell Copper as you give him a pat on the neck. Copper lets out a bark as he stands up. "Copper here will take you right to where you need to go. He's good with inexperienced riders so all you need to do is hold on. Once there, you'll be greeted by a woman named Dawn. She is already expecting you, and will help you get settled it" you tell the woman. She seems to want to say something in return, but instead she only nods, and you step back as Copper takes off with his two riders. You swear you heard the child squeal in delight, but maybe it was also fear. Shrugging your shoulders you turn around and head to the line of girls.

"Dawn" you state aloud.

"I'll have every thing ready for them when they arrive...be safe" she replies. You reach the line just as the pursuers arrive. They stop a few meters before your group, and you step forward through the line of women. Looking at the four male Lizardfolk they appear to have all the differences you'd expect between males and females. Their features are more square, they are more muscular, their skin seems more rugged. If you met one of these men back in your old world you'd probably shit yourself in fear, but it isn't fear you're feeling right now. One of them steps forward towards you, and his hand on the hilt of his sword does not go unnoticed.

"Return them to us" the lizardman snarls.