Horae island was a strange place. Strange and beautiful at the same time. All four seasons in one go, so he could literally see the entire year in a day. It was remote, and quiet. There were natives in Ignius but they avoided him and it suited him just fine. He didn't mind the isolation. If he was isolated there was no one to lose his temper on. And here there were such magnificent beasts to be around. He'd been in Terra long enough now that the Arriese Hydras more or less accepted him as one of them, and that was an honor in and of itself. He was observation terms only with the drakes that lurked around the volcano in Ignius, and the Boreas Dragon that lurked around the abandoned keep in Glaciem wouldn't even let him get closer than half a mile of its preferred nest. Venti was easy, it was all fairy dragons there, and they were playful. 

All in all Jace Alzrahi's existence in the world of Revaliir was a solitary but relatively peaceful one. There were only a handful of people who came there, and he avoided them on principle, but he was well aware that this place was considered sacred, mostly to the Rosenites, since for such a long time one of their house heads had reigned as Life and Earth. He was lounging in the wild flowers of Terra, one of the many young Arriese Hydras lounging beside him one of the heads nuzzling his head and a second purring as long black and red draconic fingers scratched it lightly. 

The breeze was sweet with the fragrance, and the sun was warm on his well tanned face. It was utter paradise. At least until the hydras began getting restless. Something was causing them to get agitated and he did not particularly feel like being trampled or bitten. He scrambled to his feet as he small hydra companion ran away. He grabbed onto the back of one of the larger ones that galloped past as they headed towards the safety of the trees. 

Remedy went to the board that was just outside the White Manor. Her green eyes stared up at the varying jobs that were being offered to the soldiers of the court. “You should take this one.” Toya came over to her and handed her a flier. “Apparently someone has been stealing eggs from Horae. I hand raised most of the dragons and hydras there before releasing them… I don’t want anything happening to them.”

She took the piece of paper and looked it over. “Alright… so I just need to catch the thief… but Horae is a long ways off.”

“Take Karith… You may ride her but not command her she is mine.” Her grandmother smirked at her before whistling and a gold dragon came over. “Take Rem to Horae. Don’t help her but please get her home. She is a big girl she can handle this.”

After Toya helped saddle Karith up Remedy hopped up on the dragon. The trip to Horae was quick before her little white wings popped out and she floated down to the island. She talked with the hydras and the dragons before finding out where this apparent egg snatcher was.

Studying him from the distance she flung herself at a high speed. Her fist connected with Jace’s face and it was forceful enough to roll him. She pulled out her bow just as quickly as she notched an electric arrow and put it to his head. She let him feel the sparks of magic hit his hair and scalp. “Where’s the dragon eggs you, bloody snatcher!”

One minute he was astride a hydra's back, making quick tracks towards the mountains, the next he was seeing a flash of feathers and wings, and something rather solid connected with his jaw. The attack sent him flying off the back of the hydra and he rolled several times on the grassy ground. He lay there dazed, trying to figure out exactly what had just happened. A shadow fell over him and he found himself staring up at a drawn bow and arrow merely inches from his nose which crackled with electricity and was making his hair stand up. He blinked, staring at the electricity laced projectile and lifted a hand to shield his eyes as a demand was made of him. 

She was a pretty thing. Petite, almost delicate looking, which he could tell was a farce considering she had just knocked him clean off a hydra's back. Most striking were her eyes, the same type he had seen on the member of the Rose family who had given him permission to live on the island. Her face was haloed by white-gold curls, which he noted were clearly wind blown. And then there was the strange ruff of feathers that seemed to hang about her shoulders. 

He felt a twinge of irritation wash over him, and he stared defiantly up at her with his sharp gaze. He lifted his dragon claw hand and lightly put it on the tip of the electric arrow and pushed the arrow back towards her. 
"You wanna back up and try that again?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Remedy looked him over and she poked him lightly with the arrow more as he gave her a bit of an attitude. “Word is there is an egg stealer around here and dragons say it’s you.” The hydra lifted its head and started to make noises at her. For a minute Remedy was in shock her arrow fumbled just a bit.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU JUST WANTED A TREAT!” The hydra moved one of its heads to the pouch she had on her belt and she blushed. “YOU LOT TRICKED ME! I am supposed to be here getting the eggs back and you want lunch? Seriously? Now I feel like an asshole!” She stomped her little feet as she threw her arms up in the air and let out the most dragon-like roar out of her lips as she was frustrated.

The hydra began to go on a tangent about how hard it was to get her grandmother over. “That doesn’t mean you put in a false report so that we come over here and give you damn treats. You got deer and other stuff. Stop being fat and lazy.” The hydra began to talk more and its heads began to argue with her. “What do you mean you didn’t put in the notice. You little shits obviously knew I was coming!”

Jace was about to retort when one of the hydras that had come to investigate what was going on grunted at her. He composure failed for a moment and he took the opportunity to roll out from beneath her aim and got to his knees while rubbing his jaw. He shot the hydra a betrayed look as she went off about how them just wanting treats. He gave the hydras a disapproving look as he got to his feet and realized, in her tantrum throwing, just how tiny this Rosenite was in comparison to him. Her nose barely reached the middle of his chest. More impressive was the draconic roar she released. 

He chuckled as the hydra explained that they had just wanted to see Lady Toya. But he stepped in when she started accusing them of sending a false report. 
"Actually, that wasn't a false report," he chimed in. "They weren't the ones who sent it in. I was," he explained. He ran his clawed hand through his hair. "I received notice that Toya would send someone to deal with it. I think they may have assumed it was going to be you, but that was how they knew. I told them," he said. "I didn't want them getting riled up over a possible new person showing up on the island…"

Remedy was seething and it showed from the fiery aura that she had. The grass under her feet was literally starting to wither and burn. “I… am so not pleased right now. I could have hurt him! You know how mad Grandma would have been at me? Do you have any idea what her temper is like since Sparrow was born?” She took a moment to do a deep breathing exercise before he started to speak with her.

“Good! At least I know the report wasn’t fake. All you did was make them want treats,” Rem frowned a bit and sighed as she unstrung her bow and put it back on her back with her quiver. “My name is Remedy but most people including Gram call me Rem. I’m going to need help tracking this person down. Since Grandma told Karith not to help I’m pretty limited on who I can count on while here on the island. I doubt she thought about the dragons and hydras being as misleading as they are right now.” She reached into the pouched and tossed out meat bits to the hydra heads.

“I’m a good tracker but I don’t know where to start looking and it might be best if I have someone with me. Since you put the report in I would ask that you come along since you might know more about this person than the dragons do.” Her voice was so meek when she wasn't raising all holy hell. Her demeanor had changed from being on guard to quite pleasant relatively quickly though the annoyed look was still on her face. "Sorry about the misunderstanding… I was led to believe you were the one causing problems."

Jace knew better than to stand close as he felt her fiery aura flare. It reminded him of his father when he was losing his cool, and he took several steps backward. The baby hydra he had been lying with in the grass came up and began nuzzling his legs and hands and he knelt and gave it the attention it wanted while the girl forced herself to calm down. 

He looked at her with a quirked eyebrow as she gained composure and began speaking to him with some degree of authority. At least she was kind enough to give him her name, but she was quick to start ordering him around. The irritation rose again and his eyes hardened. She certainly liked to act like she was in charge. He fought the urge to be snarky in return, though could not help a half-assed salute, though she might not have seen it since she was busy tossing treats to the other hydras. He decided it would be best at least to point her in the right direction. After all, she was a Rosenite, she should be able to handle one little egg thief without too much trouble. 

"Well, that's what you get for punching first and asking questions later," he muttered when she apologized. He realized that it probably wasn't the best way to proceed given that he had just told himself he was going to help her out a little. His irritation, apparently, had won out. "This guy you are looking for, he camps out in Glaciem, near the old fort. But that's as far as I know. That Boreas dragon won't let me any closer than that, and it's nearly gotten me a couple different times for trying," he told Remedy. "I can take you that far, but in order to do that, we need to go to my place in Venti to get gear."

Remedy shot him a look. “You asked for help from us. I’m just doing my job.” There was snark coming from her but her green eyes lost the fight a bit more as she sighed. “Alright, guess it will have to do. I mean if it goes wrong and there’s multiple people there and not just one guy… Well, at least Grandma will miss me?” It was more said with snark than anything.

She began to follow him and looked at the gold dragon who was hiding from her. “I really hate that she is making me do this by myself.” There was muttering on her end. “I hit you because I got told you were snatching eggs. Or did you forget?” She finally answered his own muttering as she lagged behind him.

“Stupid dragons being spoiled rotten. Told Grandma not to spoil them but noooo they are her precious babies too.” There was a fire in her meek voice as she contemplated everything. “If it is one person I should have no problem handling it. Unless the person isn’t human. That’s when things are going to get interesting.” She wasn’t very strong to take on someone like another Rosenite. Just why did her grandmother send her in the first place?

"No, I asked for someone to come and deal with the situation," Jace snapped back. "I'm a keeper and tamer. I don't fight," he said flatly. 

He rolled his eyes as he began off toward the mountain that would provide them a short cut to Venti. "With how much fuss you put up, I would almost think she'd be happy for the break," he muttered, perhaps a little too loudly. 
"Who in the right mind takes the word of a hydra at first glance? I've been here long enough to know you always investigate a hydra's claims first!" he pointed out. "For that matter, why the hell would a hydra let someone who is stealing its eggs ride around on its back?!" 

"Come on, keep up!"

His own temper was starting to flare, and he had to count to ten mentally. Then she started to complain. though it seemed to be more to herself than to him. He didn't respond but instead began walking faster through the grass. The sooner they got through the day, the better. 

About a fourty-five minute walk brought them to the mountains at the center of the island, and Jace began picking his way through the rocks. Ahead were old lava tubes that cut through the island and would shave a good half day off of their trek. Jace had remained in forced silence through the walk, and he remembered as they approached the tubes that he had not given her his name. 

"I'm Jace…"