When Ruins Reply [1x1]

He cocked to one side at that, another word as well her name before she sailed a string of words at him that were a little too fast for him to grasp the meaning thereof. His brows furrowed, perhaps one thing they both seemed to have in common, at least, if a little strangely.

She pointed then and he followed her gestures. The chair, the ruins... his head cocked the other way as he thought, only for another string of peculiar words aimed at him.

What would he say if roles were reversed... Perhaps that was the better way to look at this. He scratched his nose with a claw before he pondered. If he had been dumped in a place he knew not where, what would his reaction be? First thought would likely be to ask as to where he was... but she had only pointed towards her chair and the ruins.... So perhaps not where she was but rather... how to go back? Back? Was that what she was trying to say?

Atelon returned to the notebook then and drew the circle of ruins, a basic diagram... he drew her, or rather his best simplified version of a stick...person? He didn't know what she was either. He showed her the diagram before he peered back at her and pointed to her, "Kat?" he then gestured deliberately and slowly behind him, trying to indicate going back, "Ki'at."

The word was pronounced kee-aht but whether she would mistake that for her name was something else, but he supposed she might take that to mean much in the same thing in the end.

Atelon shook his head... he had been coming to these ruins for years and never knew they had symbols on them before now. They were so small but had they been there before? he was not sure. He could have to research this, and find out, and that was likely the only way he could potentially return her to where or when and where Kat was from.

He then drew some angry faces around his diagram, with basic animal forms around the faces... One was cat-like, another dog-like, another sort of matched the beast he rode on before but seemed more scary looking. He drew arrows converging on the ruins he crew and added a moon shape to one side. Atelon knew they were riding on borrwed time when night fell. It was not a land you wanted to be out alone on, and that was going by Nolfian standards... She appeared to lack any immediate means of self defence either through weapon or teeth or claws. He was worried about her safety till they worked this out, but it was conveying this problem to her...

Atelon just hoped it wouldn't take an actual beast turning up wanting it's dinner that would convince her to go with him to safety. Chance was a fine thing.
 
It sounded like he said her name, and then messed it up? Maybe it was whatever their language's version was of her name? Maybe? She wasn't sure, and she didn't know how to find out. It was clear her words were going completely uncomprehended. And now he was... drawing pictures? Mr. Wolf seemed to understand she was asking questions and was attempting to understand and answer, but there was only so much a girl could do to make herself understood when she could barely get a coherent thought across in her native language. She had no clue what he was trying to say or if he understood a single word of what she was trying to say. This was all so messy.

Wait, more pictures. Animals? She was pretty sure those were animals. And a moon. Animals came out at night? She glanced around nervously. There wasn't much to see now, but she remembered in movies and a few documentaries that was how it worked. The animals came out at night looking for prey. Lovely.

Cautiously, she stood up from her chair and took a few hesitant steps toward the wolf-man on now very tender feet. "Okay. You are warning me about vicious animals. Right? Does that mean you want to help me? I guess I don't have many other options, so... alright. What are we doing?" She stopped well out of reach with her expression and body-language guarded and untrusting, but she was willing to give him a chance. If it came down to a fight between them, she had no illussion who'd win, but she had every intention of returning as much pain as she could while going down.
 
Atelon watched her with blue eyes that were worried, concerned and yet curious all at the same time. He wasn't even sure if his mother or anyone else for that matter had come across this in space, nevermind in the grounds of their own capital state. He hoped she grasped his meaning or it was not going to end well for either of them, and he had more natural means of defence than she appeared to. He didn't know if what she was had any hidden defenses he couldn't immediately see.

She moved and he tensed somewhat, ready for her to just bolt again perhaps but no... no... this time she was coming closer towards him. She was still cleary afraid of him, perhaps more because of what he looked like, he supposed. Other worlds had their own nasty monsters after all... perhaps he looked like something from her world and thus the immediate fear.

Kat stopped short of him and spoked again, all to quick for him to grasp words but he could read the questioning in her tone, and then ascent, as if understanding they had to do something... Whether she understood exactly what, he wasn't entirely sure but she seemed less willing to run away and willing to maybe go with him to safety.

Only place he could think of to take her was his home. At least for now... They could both think later as he retrieved a whistle and blew on it. There was no sound that she would be able to hear, but it was one he clearly could if his ears were any indication and clearly something else. The Rok'sa was soon heard to amble back to towards them.

He cleared the drawing and then drew anew. This time he drew the Rok'sa, with two little stick figures astride it he then drew a line, hoping she would understand that to mean that there was some distance to go before he drew what he hoped she would recognise as a homestead. He scratched his head, erased the 'homestead' drawing he had drawn and then replaced it with a box with slanted lines on the top line before Atelon showed her the drawing.

Atelon clicked his tongue softly and the Rok'sa lowered itself to lying down, its large head looking towards the pair with large doleful eyes with the innocence and curiosity of cows as it chewed on its cud, awaiting it master and apparent guest.
 
Kat stared at the beast. Up until now, the only time she'd seen an animal bigger than a large dog had been at the zoo or when driving down the road and she saw horses and cows out the window. This was a whole new experience for her. Not one she particuarly cared to enjoy, either.

"Um. You want me to get up on that... thing?" she questioned doubtfully, glancing from the beast to the drawings. "Uh... this is... not..." She gave up. What was the point of talking to this "guy?" She presumed guy. It felt male, whatever the heck that meant. He couldn't understand her, she couldn't understand him, and all they had was a few drawings and some hope for common ground. She took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "In the highly unlikely event that this is a dream, I would very much like to wake up before I get eaten or trampled."

She stepped forward and cautiously examined the creature. It took her a bit, but she eventually managed to clamber up onto its back, her movements going from ginger and cautious to something closer to desperate clawing. She achieved uprightness! She was shaking a little and clinging tight to whatever she could hold onto, but she was up. Alright. Now what?
 
Her reaction to his intention for them both would have been really amusing had it not been for the severity of the situation. She looked unarmed and likely was considering she had not pointing anything at his face or chest so she was riding on a lot of faith in this. She had to be. With their lack of being able to communicate beyond simple pictograms, it was very touch and go.

However, Kat seemed to have grasped the concept of that the beast was for riding and that it would get them from here to where she would be safe from the other animals that would undoubtedly come to investigate her scent. Atelon wished he could afford to take the seat she had arrived on with them too but he very much doubted the Rok'sa would want that disturbing her this hour of the night. He nodded, pointing gently to his awaiting Rok'sa, Haza. Haza was a good natured mount, there was fortune in that, at least. Had he been on a more spirited one, he doubted Kat would have stayed on or considered the notion.

No, Haza would bear them both with a soft, loping gait that would get them back to Ku'Sar Capital in good time. They could gallop there, but atelon suspected that riding was one thing. Racing would be a little too much. he had no idea what manner of transport her world had and if there was anything remotely comparable.

He put away his notebook, and then moved to help her but she seemed to have grasped the saddle in the very least. Good, that indicated perhaps there was something similar back from where she was from. Something at least that required a saddle and bridle. Haza bore all of this with a steady gaze but did not startle or shy at her attempts of mounting the saddle on her back. Atelon wasn't surprised. Rok'sa were intuitive creatures and often read into a situation more than their owners. It was a good thing that often saved lives.

Not sure she could save me from my mother if she found out, however, he mused to himself as he then got onto the saddle as well behind her. He gestured to a saddle horn on the fore of what Kat was sitting on and then gripped it before gesturing to her hands as gently as he could without scaring her. She would need to hold on even if he was able to catch her easily if she slid away. Atelon then took the reins and lightly tapped Haza's side.

Haza arose much in the same manner as she had laid down, only in reverse, much in the way camels lay down and rose. The movement was initially a little jarring, even by Nolfian standards but Atelon was ready should Kat be caught out by it. He then turned her away from the ruins, leaving Kat's chair at the centre. If he could, eh would come back for it tomorrow. For now however, it was more imperative to get her to a place of safety and warmth.

Haza loped gently onwards to the capital, her stride gave her a smooth quadrupedal gait with opposite legs touching the grounding before rotating the other opposite pair with a surety. haza knew the way home to a warm stable with nice comfortable straw.
 
Kat clung to the front of the saddle and hung on for dear life. The gentle saying felt like a death sentence, but after a bit, she realized it was not that much worse than straddling a girder of a high-rise building, and certainly a lot closer to the ground. She took deep breaths and tried to relax into the swaying. This was not the worst experience she'd ever had.

"Alright. We're on a weird dinosaur thingy. We are literally riding a dino," Kat mumbled to herself, trying to calm her nerves. "Aunt Heddie would die of shock. I mean she believes dinosaurs are a myth made up by the government to..." She hesitated. "What was it? Something about animals in zoos and trading terrifs. I can't remember. I never paid attention. And now I'm riding one. In a strange world. With a wolf-person. This is not so bad. Yeah. And soon I'll be seeing flying pigs in a frozen hell. Not too weird at all!"

She kept her eyes fixed on the dino-thing's neck for the most part, but eventually, she raised her eyes to look around. She was in a strange, new world, after all. She should at least try to seem interested in what was around her.
 
It would take them around an hour to reach his apartment in the city. The city skyline would begin to light the sky thirty minutes before arrival with pricks of light into an ever darkening canvas. The Rok'sa knew the way home and thus required very little in the way of direction, Atelon was happy for the great creature to remember and carry them hence.

Large triangular ears shifted as he picked up on her mumblings but understood the pitch and tone and didn't interrupt her mumblings, such as they were. He didn't understand her words. Once they got back to his apartment, they might have more luck. His translator would be there... somewhere in a drawer. He often forgot he had one... a present from his mother and at the time he had thought it silly. What need would he have for a translator on a world where a singular dialect had conquered them all? Well, his mother was having the last laugh on that one, it seemed. However, it offered them a communication that both would be welcome to...

Atelon was aware now that he would be to her as an anchor, a point of reference or somewhat known face in a sea of the unknown. She was an alien here, a foreign being on his native soil. Then again, he felt like an alien here too... he was a child of two tribes and often got strange looks from those who were what the old term would have been called of pure tribe, pure blood...

He pushed those thoughts out. The war was won. They were all equal to each other now.

The Ku'saran Plains turned from the wilds to deeper farmland, with fencing, buildings and homes dotted between the lengths of long lines that would have been easier to mark out during daylight hours, rather the nightscape through which they travelled. A raucous cackle sounded off in the distance, answered by a second and then a third. The first made even Atelon flinch as he understood those predatory calls for what they were. Still, they were far off and he was glad they had left when they had. Much later, and it might have been a different story.

Thirty or so minutes into the journey, lights appeared on the horizon, small at first but they grew larger and quickly but the city skyline rose as if a standing army. The night didn't do the city as much justice, he thought and wondered she was thinking of it. Atelon hoped not many would be about but he sat forwards a little, his arms shortening the reins a fraction when they neared the city's edge. The light showed colour on the streets, which seemed to be orderly and precise with buildings that were clearly lightly coloured, had geometric shapes to them with details running around their edges such as the windows and doors.

The streets were wide-set, clearly used to having large beasts such as the one they rode going through the city, which in the morning, the sun would reveal to span for a very large breadth of area. Atelon, however, was perhaps fortunate his apartment was oin the city outskirts and that they would not have to further in to the city just yet. There was hardly anyone about and it was fairly deserted but even still, Atelon did his best to keep her close, catching her attention long enough to put a clawed finger vertically against his muzzle in what he hoped was universally a sign of silence.

Atelon desperately wanted to get her to a place of safety and to get proper communication established so that trust could be better applied without adding more Nolfians to complicate things... it had to be scary enough with him given her initial reaction to him... a whole crowd? He didn't want to risk that just yet.
 
Kat frowned as she watched the city rising up before her. Something about it looked familiar. Not that she'd ever been here before, but with how strange everything else had been, she was expecting something closer to purple huts or walking houses. These were all very nice. They looked like something she'd seen in a movie or in pictures. A certain style. She wracked her brain trying to remember. Oh! Right! The roaring 20's! What was that called? Art Deco! It was not pure Art Deco. There was another style in there somewhere, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe Gothic? Something like that? In any case, it was nice to have something familiar to focus on rather than letting her mind run wild in panic.

The lights illuminated the dark path, but there were no people. No one anywhere. Not even a slight stirring. Strange. Why was the place so empty? Shouldn't there be someone somewhere? It was not that late, was it?

Then her heart plummeted. Was the entire place abandoned and this wolf-fellow the only one alive? Was that why she was here? She was fairly certain he was male, and she was female, and if there was no one else around... What kind of twisted monster romance/erotica sci-fi novel had she landed in?!

Then the wolf caught her attention, making her jump. She looked up at him, barely containing her panic at her imagined future. He wanted her to be quiet? She pressed her lips together visibly and gave a slight nod, settling down a little. If he wanted her to be quiet, that meant that there were other things to hear. Hopefully, those other things were more of him and not enemies or something bad that wanted to kill them both. If there were more of him, than the whole monster romance thing was unlikely. She leaned forward just a little, getting a fresh grip on the saddle as she tried to keep herself calm and quiet. Her butt was getting sore from the ride. She hoped it'd be over before she lost feeling.
 
She jumped within her circle on the mounted beast but she seemed to understand his meaning. He was glad for that as Atelon pulled on the Rok'sa's reins and turned them to the left down another wide street and then took a right later on by some hundred yards or so. As they got a little deeper into the city, more people started to be seen on the sides of the streetways... there was no discernable means of a pavement for pedestrians as such but where they walked was still very much to the side, allowing transport to go past. There seemed to be very little in the manner of motorised transport and the roads were all impeccably neat and tidy suggesting it was valued enough to keep a high maintenance thereof. It was a little more than a simple sand track but seemed to be this way for very good reasons. The numerous dents on the sandy surface suggested there had been a high throng of traffic at some stage and Haza plodded with surety through it, seeming to appreciate the sandy granules between her scaly toes.

The other pedestrians were much like Atelon in the same setup, a humanoid wolf creature but as more went about their lives en route to Atelon's apartment, the differences could not have been more obvious. A female caught an unruly boy that had been about to run in front of Haza, pulling him back and nodded an apology to the rider without giving him much attention as so much to scold her son. The woman was more red setter with a coat of long reddish wavy fur with a long thin but curly tail that was adorned with longer fur. Her build too was far more athletic and lithe than the strong outline of the Nolfian behind the human visitor.

Atelon only inclined his head to the woman, carrying on along the path before he turned down another sandy path and came to a large stable block that was attached to a larger building. Low brays could be heard from under the sturdy and well cared for structure. Atelon got Haza to shift to a parallel stance with the structure's entrance before she lowered again. Atelon put an arm across Kat's frame to stop her from lurching and falling off Haza's withers. He doubted neither female would appreciate that level of humiliation. Once she was level, he dismounted and offered to help Kat down from Haza's saddle.

Once she was down and on her own two feet, he removed the saddle, resting it over a shoulder before patting the scaly side. Haza was clearly something of an intelligent beast for she rose again and entered the block by herself, finding her own assigned stall and turned within it to feed from a bucket. This allowed Atelon to deal with the saddle before he turned to Kat. He motioned at her to follow him closely, he didn't wish to lose her in the maze of a building complex that would be completely alien to her even if might prove to be simpler than he made out. It was all done by a grid and block layout, each apartment following the same layout depending on what side of the stairs it was on. However, he led her to one side, opening a door. Within proved to be an alcove with no discernable doors or other apertures by which to go into. It had a panel on the wall. He gestured for her to enter before him before he followed her, closing the door again with a soft click and a hiss of the locking mechanism.

He was not sure if she was accustomed to this form of transportation, but it was quicker and more silent than the stairs and he knew Per'cha was often lurking around the stairs smoking what she should not. Atelon shuddered, it was the huge downside of living here but he put the woman out of his mind before he pointed at the floor and then indicating upwards. He then stabbed one button followed by two more. The floor thrummed into life and began to rise with hardly a shudder, smooth and swift. It stopped when it reached the topmost floor. There was a perk to being the General's son and not one he took for granted. He still earned for it and paid for his means but it was his little bit of home without mother getting underfoot.
 
So, there were others like him. Remarkable! Families. Streets of a sort. Civilization despite looking a lot like wolves. Or dogs in the case of several she spotted. Shops and stores, maybe? It was a whole other world filled with life. She wasn't entirely certain what to do with all the information currently flooding into her brain, and it left her feeling numb and lightheaded. There was just... so much.

They stopped at what looked a lot like a horse stable (at least, going by pictures and movies she'd seen), but it was for the dino things. The wolf-person put it - his? - arm around her as the thing dropped like a camel. She appreciated the support even if it did feel discomforting to have such a hairy appendage around her waist. She let him help her down and watched as the creature lumbered off.

Her legs shook from exhaustion as she stumbled after the wolf-man, her body aching from bruised feet to sore butt to aching back to overloaded mind. She couldn't even question what was going to happen next, and she had no energy to fully register the rising platform inside the building. It was too natural. It was not strange enough. That by itself should have been enough to shake her out of her stupor and almost was, but she was too exhausted to do anything other than giggle quietly in a haze of shock. Elevators in the wolf-man's art-deco slash gothic highrise. What could possibly be next?
 
The lift within the cylindrical elevator shaft continue its upward path before slowing to a halt. A computerised voice that was clear and concise but not too loud on the ears spoke a couple of words with Atelon's name in the line. A doorway slid opened and allowed them to disembark the elevator at their convenience. Atelon gently ushered Kat through before he stepped through and closed the door. The lift would automatically begin a descent as the door closed.

The room in which they were now stood appeared to be a sort of reception or hallway, he had cold weather gear hung up on a hook, there was a stand with a couple of stick-like things that were comparable to umbrella's for when it rained. There were no shoe racks but there was a pair of sturdy boots that seemed fashioned for protection. There was a small seat next to the boots, a block of wood with a cushion. Nothing fancy.

Atelon preferred function over form and the decoration of the rooms would very much mirror that preference. He had art on the walls, all perfectly straight and framed with a small light above. Some were paintings, others were sketches of various things and others were diagrams of layouts.

"Truna, truna," he said, gesturing at her to follow him, his long tail idly flicking in a slow relaxed motion whereas before it had twitched at odd unsteady moments. He was more at ease now that neither of them would have to concern themselves with predatory creatures of the wilds beyond the city limits or others of his kind to ask questions that she might not be in a fit state to answer. Atelon knew there would always be a need to find time to just process... He was sure had he been pulled to her time, he would need the same thing. He still wondered fervently about where she was from, what her world was like, how did they manage the world they were in... it was a bunch of questions he would have to exercise patience for.

Firstly, they needed to communicate.

He headed for the main living space which was comfortable enough as the room began to warm to the right level for a Nolfian at nighttime. She might find it a little too hot... he glanced at her again. Her minimal show of apparent fur might not lend well to his world and he spoke, lowering the room temperature a little. He would not be discomforted, his fur could stand much colder temperatures thanks to his father's genes.

Atelon gestured to the functional but comfortable lounge benches, a sofa a Roman might well recognise as he moved for another room. All the doors seemed to slide open and close automatically when they senses encroaching movement or the lack of it. He emerged again not a minute later holding two devices. Until he could figure out how to get her back to the world she knew, she would have need of these to understand those around her. He sat down, turning the devices on and then offered one to her.

He smiled as gently as he could without showing too much in the way of pointed teeth, motioning to what he had just given her and then made a gesture with his hand that opened and closed. He touched his muzzle and then his large upright ears and spoke, "Kat jraes d'ra tranin."

The translator would need to 'hear' her speech to begin searching through the universal database of languages of the species his own had met and then running comparisons. Hopefully, her tongue would already be in the mix... he did not know if she was from the past, present or future or if their two species had previously met. There were a number of 'pinkskin' like species out there in space but whether she belonged to even one of them was unclear to him.

"Tranin," he said again, encouragingly, miming an act of speaking to the device and gently poking his ear.
 
Kat's neck was beginning to ache with how much she was twisting around to see everything. This room, a living room by the looks of things, it was far too normal. Far too normal! How was this supposed to belong to a creature that was part wolf and part human? Or whatever he was. Thinking of him as a wolf-man was the most her brain could handle right now. Some tiny part of her knew he was most likely not a "wolf-man," but she couldn't deal with that right now. Right now, it was all she could do not to wonder why a wolf-man would want such nicely displayed artwork in such a spartan room. Not bad spartan, per-say, just... much less than she had expected. She wasn't entirely certain what she expected, but it wasn't something that looked like a big-city loft. Furs and giant pillows and maybe a wigwam or something similar had played a big part in her vague expectations.

When he indicated for her to sit down on a chaise lounge, she flopped down without hesitation. She knew she should keep up her guard, but her legs were too tired for any shows of bravado, and her dirt-covered feet ached! She slumped over, resting her elbows on her knees as she tried to process what was happening. Her over-large shirt and comfy pants - thankfully held on by a drawstring or else they'd have long been gone - were dirty with patches of dirt and bits of grass and leaves stuck to them. Her freshly washed hair had managed to stay clean, but now it hung around her face in tangled ropes begging for a brush. This was not how she anticipated her evening going. Not by a long shot!

The wolf-man sat down near her and held out a device with what Kat could only assume was a smile. He jabbered a few words, and she was fairly certain she caught her name in the mix, but she wasn't sure what he wanted. She watched him mime for a bit before cautiously accepting the device. She had a good guess what he wanted her to do, but she took her time. She studied it for a minute, but engineering and electricals were only on the fringes of her wheelhouse. She knew how to fix a lot of things and Frankenstein a shocking amount of other things in order to get a job done, but figuring out an alien bit of tech was beyond her. Finally, she lifted the box closer to her face, taking great care not to get it too close, and spoke into it.

"Is this what you want me to do?" she asked.
 
Atelon kept the space between them, after all he was aware of his own size but also of just how different everything must feel to her. Here she was in a species' living room with not much else of personification beyond the art and the sketches on the walls. He did have a few skulls presented on stands in various places, all of which seemed old, fragile and looked like something even he would not have been too familiar with had it not been for his profession.

He kept his patience as she clearly processed what he was trying to get her to do. He wasn't about to rush her, but the sooner they got a line of communication, he knew the more they could deal with this odd situation. Those ruins were surprising, fascinating and terrifying... They had never reacted like that before today. He was entirely perplexed by the whole ordeal.

She spoke and the little device whirred and clicked before settling again as it processed her spoken words, processed them through the database and then whirred once again with a soft and happy 'prrrp' sounds, much akin to a noise made by a feline. Atelon peered back to his own device and then pressed a couple of the buttons on the touchscreen. They both made the same 'brrp' sound before they heard her words repeated in the air.

He blinked, her language was in the database! That meant that in the very least her race was still present in the vastness of space and had been a race his mother had encountered. It was by no means perfect, but there was enough in the syntax for the translator to estimate the missing words from the structure of words and questioning tone. Given the nature of his own work, languages was something he had an interest in, but this was not a language that he was surrounded by on a daily basis.

"Yes..!" Atelon was elated and blustered on, "More you speak.... more the device... learns," he replied, struggling somewhat to get her words through a maw not really used to wrapping those words through the muscle of his lips, tongue or throat. "You are, uh, a,... uh... hoo-mon, yes?"
 
Kat stared at the wolf. Then at the device. And back at the wolf again. Then she closed her eyes and leaned over, holding her face in her hands. "I really, really want to wake up," she groaned. "Wake up and find out that all of this was a bad dream. Maybe that wind blew a branch through my window and it smacked me on the head. Maybe part of my ceiling fell down. My apartment wasn't exactly in the best of shape, so it wouldn't surprise me. Anything to be back home."
 
The device went into a whirring whizz as words exploded from her as if there was a release from her. He blinked, head cocked to the side as he listened, words filtering in the air as he struggled to comprehend and understand. She seemed to believe she was caught up within some dream. He supposed that might have been one way to deal with what happened... to believe it to be some dreamscape. Interesting. If that were the case, was there something in her world to have caused all of this or to recognise by his appearance alone he could have meant her harm, although he hadn't? A monster perhaps?

She listed reasons to be so caught in a dream then, which to him, seemed entirely logical and not something that a mad person might have constructed in their line of reasoning. She did not appear to be hurt, sick or concussed... just tired, worn and very put out. Atelon did not wonder to the 'why' of that one.

"I am sorry... I do not know why those ruins reacted... nor why they brought you to this world," he apologised, feeling bad for inadvertantly bringing her to his world. He did not know why it chose her, or her race, or why it was even there. It was evidently technology from an old world, an older race perhaps.

"I am Atelon. You are in the Ku'Sar Capital Province of Ku'Sar. The planet is called Nolfia," he explained, wondering just how much a dream could pull that information from the abyss if this were so... Perhaps he was in the dreamscape just as much... Perhaps they in reality were both unconscious still by the ruins. It was a very elaborate dream on his part if that were so.
 
Kat stayed where she was for a moment until a slight wiggle in her shirt pocket brought her back to herself. She sat up with a sigh and raked her hand through her hair, pulling it back away from her face. "I've never heard." She paused, remembering the device, and held it up so she could speak into it. "I've never heard of any of that. I don't even know how to say those words. I was on Earth. Good-old, boringly named Earth. My nation was America. Well, the United States of America on the continent of America. We aren't known for our naming abilities. I lived in the city of Boise in the state of Idaho. I just got off work. I was going to watch an old lady show and then," she waved her free hand, "here I am."

She eyed him suspiciously, trying to figure out how to read a canine's facial expression. "You really didn't bring me here on purpose?"
 
Atelon sniffed the air, aware of another presence in his apartment but the scent was equally strange and as foreign as she was to his and thus he had surmised that whatever the smell belonged to, it was hers. He didn't want to sound accusatory even though he was indeed just curious. Everything about her was curious.

She knew nothing of his world it seemed. He scratched his jaw as he listened. perhaps she just hadn't been away from her own world but that she was perhaps from the past seemed all the more likely. A space program always brought attention and no matter how remote you were fro such, you knew something regarding it.

He had no recollection of 'United States of America' but he nodded at the word of 'Earth'. Earth was in their database of known worlds of the universe in a far flung galaxy many many light-years away. 'Boise' too had no meaning for him. he was going to have to go through every report or file he had access to about Earth and its inhabitants.

"I know of Earth. I have not been," he confirmed that much, he had only been to a few offworld locations and Earth was not amongst them.

He looked at her at the question, his large triangular ears drooping somewhat and his brows furrowing, "No... I had no idea what purpose those ruins were for. I have been studying them for many cycles. They have done nothing until tonight. There were symbols and I had touched them before but they did nothing. Tonight, however, some other factor must have been at play, the ruins of a older culture brought you here. I know not why."

"I am sorry if my appearance scares you... I did not mean to cause fear or terror to you," he added, feeling guilty.
 
"Knew of Earth but hadn't been," how was she supposed to take that? He said it so casually! As if visiting other planets was no big deal. As if visiting Earth for him was like her visiting... what was a good comparison? Canada! She'd never actually been to Canada, but lots of other people had, and it seemed simple enough. Or maybe visiting the UK since there was an ocean between them. She rubbed her face to get herself back on track.

"Look, Alton," she said, accidentally getting his name wrong, "I don't understand what you are talking about with ruins and stuff. When I got wooshed over here, it felt like getting sucked up by a tornado à la Wizard of Oz style while I was sitting in my chair in my living room. Which was smaller than yours, by the way. I was just sitting there, and then wind and noise and..." She trailed off and closed her eyes with a soft gulp as the adrenalin tried to spike once more at the memory. Her heart sped up and her hands shook, but she forced the emotions down with what little willpower she had left.

Opening her eyes, she said, "I don't understand how I got here, but the only assumption I can make is that you did something somehow some way because there is no way anything I did triggered it. I've done that exact sequence a thousand times before, maybe even millions, and so have a billion other people. Yet none of us are here." Then, almost to herself, she added, "Unless that explains some mysterious disappearances."
 
He glossed over that she had pronounced his name wrong, he could see she was getting more stressed out again... something he said? Very likely. His mother was better at these kinds of situations. he half debated calling her but equally it would set him back. This woman had no idea, or seemed to, about how she got here. He had no idea of what or who 'Wizard of Oz' was, and it showed his face, his face quizzical, curious but absolutely blank on that reference.

Atelon rubbed his face, still listening but trying to work out what to do, how to do it and it was very much one big headache.

"It is a fair assumption," he concurred, how could it not have had something to do with those runes, symbols... buttons?! Had he stroked them like that before? He was uncertain but he doubted that alone had done the magical trick of pulling her here. The darkness grew more so from outside, the view of the city twinkling from the side wall.

"I will do what I can to get you home... I will need to study those ruins and see what I can get out of the archives... "

He regarded her for a long moment, he genuinely did want to get her back to her own world even though he had no real clue as to how he would do such a feat but those symbols must have had something to do with it all. The manner of how he had touched them? Some other outside factor? The weather?! He might have well chased the Aht around the trees. It dawned on him then how scruffy she looked and knew most was due to her bolting from him through the wilds of the outskirts.

"Look... I know this is all... hm... strange, foreign... With rest, we may be able to think more aptly come the morn," he breathed, "You are safe here, my home is yours for as long as you are here... I have a spare room you can use, with showering facilities... Do you hunger?"

He had no idea of how her people kept clean or what their food preferences were, did they even sleep?
 
Kat wasn't sure she felt safe here, but it was better than out in the open with the grass. Especially since the wolf-man - Ate-lion? something like that - had acted worried. There were lots of wild animals that could take down a human on Earth. No reason to believe there weren't some here, too. She stared at the canine muzzle, not really listening but vaguely appreciating as he rattled off offers for a shower and food. There was no way she was going to strip naked in some random guy's house for a shower no matter how much she might need one and no matter if he was some form of fuzzy wolf and not a man-man.

Speaking of fuzzy wolves...

"There are animals on Earth that look a lot like you," she said impulsively. "Some are pets, tamed, all that jazz, and some are wild and dangerous to humans. Not too dangerous. They usually prefer to avoid, but they can still be fatal if they want to be."

She was reaching out her hand before she thought to stop herself. She touched his nose gently. Wait, what had she just done?? Her finger lingered half a second longer than she meant as she registered what she'd done. "Boop," she muttered hazily, dropping her hand.
 
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