Cynthia
The Ursinoid found herself stalking through the forests of Kadho, hunting for something to eat. She wasn't too hungry yet, but it would take time to catch and prepare something. Thankfully, now that spring was finally here, the trees and plants had regained much of their green leaves and colorful flowers. While Sonja was by no means small, it still made hunting that much easier than it might have been otherwise.

But as the large Beastkin carefully moved through the trees, being sure not upset any plants or leaves, a strangely similar sent caught her attention! She paused, sniffing the her for a moment, before turning in the direction it seemed to have drifted from. Surely it couldn't be what she thought it was, right? Determined to get to the bottom of this, Sonja temporarily abandoned her quest for food, instead pursing this strange smell that had piqued her interest.
David
Besidws the grass and faint smells of prey items, a pair of very distinguished, yet distant scents wafted on the wind. Vague as they were, the general idea was easy to pick of what these things were. What smelled of produce and metal, and another that smelled like blood, scales, and leather. Only shortly did she has to travel before she came across what mightve been believed to be the source of the smells. 

There was a huge... Ass... *Dragon*. Just, laying in the grass, sleeping away. While it was already abnormal and quite frightening for such a beast to be sleeping out here, there another thing that blatantly stood out; a leather saddle strapped over its back. Looked to be hand crafted, with all sorts of designs etched into the Hide exterior. Strangely, the beast seemed to be alone out here... Though surely the rider wasn't far off, and by the smells, she was already here.
Cynthia
As the Ursinoid huntress laid eyes on the massive scaly beast, she froze in place. What the heck was that?! It looked totally foreign to Sonja, who had never heard of dragons before, let alone seen one in person. Not wanting to take her chances with this particularly tough looking creature, the Beastkin bear was about to call it quits and return to her previous scavenging. But something caught her attention: the saddle.

Apparently, the imposing monster was domesticated? Sonja found that hard to believe, but it seemed they weren't alone. Yes, that familiar scent was stronger here. Perhaps they were even this beast's rider? How curious.

Keeping a watchful brown eye on the sleeping dragon, the Ursinoid took a moment to separate these strange scents. There was fresh grass, scales, leathers, blood... Perhaps the monster had had a meal and was passive for the moment? Sonja could only hope. Then, she smelled it again! She slowly began to follow the scent, careful not to disturb the sleeping dragon as she searched the nearby forest for its presumed rider.
David
The scent was right on the other side of the beast, it seemed! She was so close, and so careful yet... Careful as she was to sneak around the beast, it left a cold huff out from its mouth and it's piercing orange eyes opened up. It glared at Sonja as she tip-toed across before lifting its head and letting this loooow rumble out from within it's breast. It seemed ready to defend itself, and presumably it's rider too, but it didn't quite act yet. It simply laid there in patient waiting, before another sound piped up from below the wing on the other side of the beast.

*"Ssshhhh, shut up, if it's another fox I'm going to smack you."* The voice mumbled in Runrant from below the wing.
A language that unfortunately, Sonja did not know. But a voice that she likely recognized. The voice - and specifically that *Thick* Mentian accent of a certain dog.
A dog who, despite the current circumstances, did not at all seem even remotely concerned with the current happenings. She didn't even leave from below the wing of the beast, instead opting to try to go back to sleep.
Cynthia
The scent was right on the other side of the beast, it seemed! She was so close, and so careful yet... Careful as she was to sneak around the beast, it left a cold huff out from its mouth and it's piercing orange eyes opened up. It glared at Sonja as she tip-toed across before lifting its head and letting this loooow rumble out from within it's breast. It seemed ready to defend itself, and presumably it's rider too, but it didn't quite act yet. It simply laid there in patient waiting, before another sound piped up from below the wing on the other side of the beast. *"Ssshhhh, shut up, if it's another fox I'm going to smack you."* The voice mumbled in Runrant from below the wing. A language that unfortunately, Sonja did not know. But a voice that she likely recognized. The voice - and specifically that *Thick* Mentian accent of a certain dog. A dog who, despite the current circumstances, did not at all seem even remotely concerned with the current happenings. She didn't even leave from below the wing of the beast, instead opting to try to go back to sleep.

Sonja froze as the beast awakened. She could see—and feel—its piercing orange eyes fixed on her. That *Really* Didn't seem. Her fight or flight instinct was kicking in now, and given the truly massive size of the scaly beast, Sonja wasn't sure even her large greataxe would do anything against it. But before the Ursinoid could make good on her flight, a familiar voice wafted through the air, though the words themselves were meaningless to Sonja.

Between the scent and the voice, there was no more doubt in her mind. But rather than try to confirm it visually, Sonja chose to stay still, perhaps worried about what the scale covered monster might do.

"...Carlyn!" The Ursinoid half whispered, half hissed. "...It's Sonja. Are you under there? What is this... *Thing?*" She wasn't sure what to call it.
David
Carlyn's response was immediate, and her codeswitching kicked in almost instantaneously to Hasaapian.
*"Sonja?! Wha-"*

The brown haired kemono pushed her way out from under the wing of the dragon, who protested with a groan and almost smacked Carlyn with her wing, though eventually lifted it up and let her free. Without word, Carlyn lunged forward into Sonja (complete with damn near losing her footing, she was already on the move before even standing up) and giving her this great big hug - as big as she could manage on a woman much bigger than she was.

*"What are you doing here?! I-I hadn't thought I'd see you for months to come! But- like, y-."*
Carlyn reached up and stepped back, placing her hands against Sonja's arms to take a good look at her. The dog looked as happy as ever, if not more than usual.
*"You're here! You're here, in my home, and not at that... Stupid little village we were holed in!"*
Cynthia
To Sonja's surprise, Carlyn emerged from under the monster's wing without injury. She was relieved this creature hadn't been planning to eat her friend. Before the Ursinoid even had time to react, the friendly dog had pulled her into a great big big hug! Sonja remained rigid at first, almost awkwardly so. She wasn't used to being hugged. It was a foreign sensation, but warm. Perhaps it would have also been easier to relax if not for the large scaly beast lurking just yonder.

"I... Well... Yes." Sonja affirmed with a nod, one of her brown bear ears twitching. The serious bear even managed a faint smile at the sight of her happy friend. Sonja seemed about as big as she had been before, and while she still dressed rather plainly, it was clear their lucrative escapades as a mercenary group had helped her acquire better gear.

"Work brought me this way." That was one way to put it. "And... I heard there was good fish here." She cautiously explained, before reaching out to give Carlyn a gentle pat on the head, ruffling her ears. "...How have you been? Who's the giant lizard?"
David
She appreciated the pat on her head, before backing away and giving a thoughful nod about seeking work. Truthbetold, she had come back home to make a bit of money whilst their duties in Tellemuiler were on standby. She hadn't wanted to sit around all day waiting for the call to action, and clearly Sonja hadn't been inclined to, either.
Interestingly, Carlyn dressed quite *Differently* Than she had when in the village. Most of the time, she wore nothing short of 'rich people' clothing. Probably all her best stuff from home. She made her appearance, particularly any sort of 'cute' factor stand out. It was either that, or the exact opposite, with her reinforced full maille armor on. But here in the middle of the damn woods? Shotty tunic, rugged pants, and no shoes. Almost looked homeless, funny enough.

*"La'Vera, my pet. I'm surprised you don't remember, this is the dragon we saved almost half a year ago now. He's quite obidient... Usually. But he's also good company when I'm out in the woods."*

Carlyn started speaking at the beast in Runrant again, holding out her hand and walking towards it. The beast lowered it's head and let her pat it's snout with a huff.
Her head turned back over her shoulder, giving Sonja a bright smile and saying, *"I've been quite good, actually! I came back home to make money at the shop again. Besides that, I've just been enjoying sleeping in my own bed again. Even if being back here is temporary, I'm enjoying it. And, yeah! The fish here is incredible! No surprise, this is a port town after all, but in my opinion the ones that go through the rivers out here are better than any of the ocean fish."*
Cynthia
The informal garb of Carlyn certainly threw her off. Why, the dog looked almost as homeless as Sonja was! She decided not to comment on it though, concluding that the remote location must have been the reason for it. After all, who would want their fanciest garments frayed by dragon scales and marked with grass stains?

Hearing the name, Sonja did a double take, glancing between the dragon and Carlyn skeptically. Finally, it clicked for her, and she nodded slowly. "...Oh, from those raiders. Yes, I remember now." Although a bit surprised that Carlyn had kept such an imposing (and large) creature around, she supposed their comradery had been apparent, even back then. "I can only imagine where you keep him..."

While the prospect of working a shop didn't sound particularly enjoyable to Sonja, she could tell that her friend seemed to really appreciate all familiarity of home. The Ursinoid supposed she would have happily taken a job in a shop too, if it meant she could go back to her home one last time.

"Your... Family shop?" Sonja wondered, seeming to recall the dog girl had mentioned something about that many moons ago. "I'm glad to hear business is going well. Maybe... I could even buy some fish from you." She mused with a soft chuckle.