“Well, they’re awake. Might as well get ready to welcome them.” One rumbled out, dusting himself off. “Haven’t seen ‘him’ yet either, funny enough. He’s a glutton for punishment- he’ll show up if we shake things up. Come on.”<br/><br/>-------<br/><br/>LeBlanc could feel it- southerly, whispering through the concrete and glass canyons that encompassed this vast and horrible prison of a city- a less cynical person, or perhaps a less practical one, would describe them as winds of change. LeBlanc knew that they were more likened to a hellish gale. They harkened a terrible fate for whichever poor souls had been deposited here. The dragon had met a number of people since he’d gotten to the island, and he could absolutely stand to have not met any of them if it meant never having been brought to this place.<br/><br/>Because LeBlanc knew. He<span style="font-style: italic">knew</span>that none of them decided to come to this place. Someone brought them here, and he had a good idea of who it was. What he didn’t know, however, was why.<br/><br/>There was a light shimmer from a rooftop up ahead- Taka was in position and was giving him the all-clear. Another pause, a few more shimmers.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">One down on the roads. Another on rooftop. Second at half-mile, first three blocks east.</span><br/><br/>LeBlanc held up a hand, and the flickering stopped. Their system was well practiced and simple, but it had kept them both alive thus far. The signal for Taka being in trouble was simpler- usually the sign of gunfire. LeBlanc was expected to handle himself well enough until Taka noticed he was in any real danger.<br/><br/>LeBlanc could see Taka start to signal towards the other rooftop resident that he couldn’t see. Morse code with a flashlight. Easiest way to be sure it would be understood. LeBlanc sighed and started walking down the pristine streets. If only they’d been able to hijack that<span style="font-style: italic">awful</span>PA system, things would be much better off. He was close, though- it didn’t make any sense to the dragon that the island’s central network was so secure.<br/><br/>Or that the island had a central network when the rest of the technology in the public areas seemed to be from the nineties, yet the central network was some real space-aged monstrosity. Every time he thought he’d figured it out, it seemed to adapt. For some reason it struck him as something he’d seen before.<br/><br/>LeBlanc stopped at a corner and peered down one of the streets. Quiet, pristine- readymade for a city’s worth of holiday vacationers, and it was unused. The food was fresh and stayed fresh, the air was clean, the power was on. Only areas outside the usual public sight ever showed signs of age, and even that was inconsistent. Some looked like they’d been left to rot for a half century, some were just dusty. The place was a city forged from a puzzle.<br/><br/>Another block. Stop, look. He’d lost sight of Taka above, now. Alone. Good- he wanted to be alone sometimes. In all honesty, he oftentimes thought that poor Taka would be much safer with Roxxie. Not just because they had no certain proof that the lighthouse was definitively safe from the monsters’ intrusion, but because LeBlanc was quite disturbed by his own thoughts. He was fairly certain they weren’t memories, but he couldn’t be sure. All he did know was they were graphic, violent, and made his heart soar with pleasure that his more lewd and endless sexual musings did not. There was a rage inside of him he could barely contain, and he had no idea why. Taka was a sweet kid- he didn’t want him to get hurt.<br/><br/>That was another quirk- physically, they were of similar age. Roxxie as well; but LeBlanc couldn’t help but see them both as comparative children, both in intellect and general existence. Perhaps he was older than he thought? Another block. Stop. Movement.<span style="font-style: italic">There.</span><br/><br/>His mind ran away with thoughts before he could reel himself in. Female, five feet,<span style="font-style: italic">vulpes anthropomorphus</span>- probably. Armed, young. New. Upwind- no scent of perfume. Alert, uninjured.<br/><br/>Salvageable.<br/><br/>LeBlanc put his clawed fingers to his lips and let out a short whistle that echoed through the cavernous concrete spaces between the buildings. Sound was a bad way to get attention, but LeBlanc had a theory he wanted to test. Sure, it might put all of their lives in danger, but that was a risk he was willing to take.<br/><br/>He raised his arm up to catch her attention, eyes scanning the rooftops and streets. He had to be here- he was never far from the new ones. He<span style="font-style: italic">had</span>to be.