Drake didn't dream after that. They both fell asleep  beside the fire together, and the Elvish woman breathed softly against his scaly chest. Drake woke with a start hearing an odd sound. He laid there for a moment, listening to it, but then Tarathar woke beside him and was aware of it as well.<br/><br/>"What is it?" she asked, "Some beast?"<br/><br/>Drake closed his eyes and strained his ears. It was like a loud buzzing noise that varied in pitch at different intervals, and another sound like a beasts growl, varying in pitch like the buzzing. The odd thing was that the sound seemed to be echoing off of something flat through a narrow space, like a stone tunnel.<br/><br/>Now on his feet, Drake faced the woods from where the sound was coming from, trying to find the point from which the monster would emerge, but still the sound  seemed to be coming from the whole forest, until a bright flash blinded him for a moment, then three small lights came bouncing through the trees.<br/><br/>Drake dodged to the right as one light flew past him, and Tara went left as the bigger one barely missed her. Drake turned to watch the smaller one head towards the lake, then fly off the bank into the water, trailing a red light behind it. Someone was riding whatever it was and Drake saw them land further away from their ride in the lake with a loud splash, and the other bigger machine skidded through the trees and down a ravine nearby.<br/><br/>The two stood surprised for a moment, then it was Tarathar who spoke first to get them moving.<br/><br/>"You go after the smaller one, I'll see to this one." she said pointing to the path that was cleared by the large machine.<br/><br/>Drake flapped his wings and flew out to where the person landed, then hovered over the water for a moment to peer into the darkened water below. Then he let himself drop into the cold water, diving down to see the silhouette of someone desperately trying to reach the surface. Drake swam down and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to the surface, not far above. Once above the surface, Drake held her firmly so she couldn't struggle and brought her to shore, helping her to the fire. It was there that the dim light from the fire lit up the oddest helm he had ever seen. A smooth, onyx helm that seemed to be made of glass, yet hid the face of the wearer. It was obvious from her clothes and form that she was female, but Drake couldn't tell what age she was without looking at her face. Her clothes were something he hadn't seen before either. She sat before the fire coughing and trying to catch her breath, but Drake knelt on one knee to bring his towering form a little closer to her to scrutinize her more closely, which seemed to go unnoticed to the woman.<br/><br/>"Are you alright?" he asked.<br/><br/>----------------------------<br/><br/>Tara ran after the large machine, bounding over broken logs and trenches. A particular large log crossed her path but didn't make her slow down. Jumping from a large rock, she sailed through the air, and her body was suddenly surrounded by a flash of light, then a large black panther landed on the log, it's sharp claws digging in to pull it up and over. Using her agility, Tarathar continued on down the small hill towards the machine in the ravine, bounding from rock to rock.<br/><br/>When she neared the machine, it was still running but the man inside was groaning in pain. Before she came into his field of view, she changed back into her normal form and called to him.<br/><br/>"Hey! Are you injured?" she asked, coming to a stop beside the side door. The metal now dented and bent, would not come free, so Tara took on the form of her Bear spirit, then dug her claws into the door to rip it open. A moment later, she had the man out of the machine and on the bank where she changed back once more to inspect for injuries, her healing magic making her hands glow a soft, green hue.