A lesser man might be slightly emasculated due to the battle that Scott recently witnessed. Even as a dragon, he did not have what it took to beat Sonja in a direct confrontation. At least, not yet. Once he had a few more levels under his non-existent belt, and a bit more combat experience, things could change. Ashton would possibly win against as well, but the gap between them was far smaller.

Sonja smiled at Ashton then offered her a recently made sandwich. The fox girl eyed the offering like a serpent might eye a mongoose. It was no doubt edible, but there was a certain danger in attempting to claim it.

The Valkyrie chuckled at Ashton's nervousness then leaned against her slightly. "Come little sister, you need to regain your strength..."

"Since when am I your little sister?" asked Ashton in an annoyed tone.

Sonja merely chuckled and thrust her sandwich toward the girl once more. Ashton shook her head and leaned away from the girl.

"So, you ladies get what you needed earlier?" asked Scott while he munched on the last of his popcorn. Still in dragon form, his amused expression took on a slightly menacing appearance.

Ashton shrugged, but then glanced sideways toward Sonja. "I wasn't exactly the one who started the fight."

Sonja chuckled at her once more. "You fought well."

Her good humor died away a moment later, however. "I have lost quite a bit due to my captivity. The children of my village would laugh at me."

"We'll both get stronger," said Scott around a mouthful of popcorn. He waved his paw around briefly. "There's a whole world out there to explore."

The ghost of a smile reappeared on Sonja's lips. "That is true."

Several hours passed while the quartet got to know each other better. Scott called out of work, while Ashton had the day off. However, they did not spend it together. Ashton finally went home to rest properly. She would need to work on her glamor skills in order to hide her injuries when she finally returned, though they would heal soon enough. Scott had the excuse that he collapsed due to illness the day before, and no one thought it odd that he would need to rest more.

Eventually, the sun began to set and Shara bid her leave. Apparently, justice could not sleep as that was her excuse once again.

Left alone with Sonja, Scott soon found himself in an awkward predicament. There was a lot to discuss, but he had no idea where to start.

Sonja drew in a deep breath then slowly exhaled it. She did not speak otherwise.

The long awkward pause continued for quite some time while they stared at the television. Sonja began to lightly play with her hair, while Scott tapped the top of the coffee table with his foreclaw.

"So—" began Scott only to be cut off by Sonja.

"Yes?" she asked quickly, a certain excitement in her tone.

"It's still early... Would you rather visit town again, or head back to your world so we can go hunting in the graveyard?" asked Scott.

She offered him a smug smile. "A strange farmer is he who asks the opinion of his cow."

He chuckled softly, but then shook his head. "I'm clearly playing favorites with my livestock."

Her smugness slipped into a warmer expression that soon turned playful. "Is there anything of this world that you would like to show me?"

Scott grew quiet for a moment. After coming to a decision, her nodded. "There are several places... but if you're going to put up with me for a while, there are a couple of people who would probably like to meet you."

"Oh?" asked Sonja curiously.

He nodded his head then proceeded to change back into human form. "If you would like to go with me, I'll introduce you now. Otherwise, I will return in a few hours."

"I would like to go with you," agreed Sonja gently.

The spoke quietly for a moment, then Scott set about tidying up the place slightly before they left. Once they returned he intended to return to the dream world as quickly as possible. Akin to withdrawal symptoms from a drug, the need to return was quite palpable.

Silence reigned for a time as they walked slowly toward their inevitable goal. Scott seemingly lost in thought, made the necessary turns without conscious effort. Sonja busied herself by looking around at the strangeness of Earth, but Scott's silence continually drew her attention.

"Do you think that your family will like me?" she asked softly.

Scott blinked quickly, his thoughts disturbed by her quiet tone he did not look at her when he answered. "I doubt they will have any complaints."

His tone was somber, but not particularly cold. In truth, his mannerisms set Sonja on edge. Just who were the people he intended for her to meet?

Sometime later they approached large steel gates that allowed entrance through a stone wall. "This place..." said Sonja after they walked through the open gates. Headstones in neat little rows lined the pathway ahead. "Your family lives here?"

"They are here, yes." Scott offered a slight smile that soon faded.

Noting the tone of his answer, she grew silent once more. She followed him until he reached a fork in the path and they turned left. After they passed through a second gate, he led her over to two head stones that were situated off to one corner of the cemetery. It was as though those two graves in particular were segregated from the rest of the graves around them.

Moisture welled up in his eyes as Scott smiled down at the headstones. "Dad... Sis... I have someone for you to meet."

Sonja looked to the gravestones then back to Scott. The slowly spreading smile on his lips was belied by the tears that began to slip down his cheeks.

He turned to look at her, his eyes slightly out of focus, even as his smile increased in intensity. "This is Sonja... She's my... well, it's complicated but..."

Scott made an attempt to explain the situation to his sister, and father. He spoke openly and regaled them with their harrowing tale.

Seeing how he talked to the graves of his family as though they were people who stood before him caused her stomach to knot. Her eyes slid toward the gravestones then back to the man who owned her. Another piece of the puzzle that was Scott was unveiled to her in those moments.

Though he smiled, even laughed, the joy did not reach his tear-stained eyes. He moved his hands in an animated manner to emphasize the events that he related to his long dead family.

"H-hey, don't tease me Liz," said Scott with a nervous laugh. "I mean... yeah, she's really pretty and all but we barely know each other..."

Sonja reached over and took Scott's hand. He froze up immediately. The conversation came to a stop. However, despite the fact that his eyes never left the gravestones before him, his fingers lightly squeezed hers.

They stood in silence for a moment, hand in hand. The sense of peace that pervaded the cemetery could not last, however. Scott noticed something odd near the side of his sister's headstone.

"What?" he asked, his voice strange in Sonja's ears.

Scott stalked forward to check the oddity. It was a stain. He looked behind the headstone then froze up once more. Tear-stained eyes narrowed quickly. A low growl escaped his lips as his expression shifted into a cold mask of barely constrained rage.

Crushed beer cans and cigarette butts littered the area just behind both gravestones, but he largely ignored them due to something else that he discovered behind his sister's headstone. There was a stain on the back of it that coincided with a yellow-white discoloration in the grass below.

His low growl intensified, even as his eyes glowed bright red. "That hateful piece of shit..."

Sonja stepped forward to see what was happening, but her motion caused Scott to snap his head toward her. The Valkyrie's steps faltered and she even took a step back. Waves of energy, visible to her eyes when a normal human might see nothing, radiated outward from the man. Briefly, that energy shook her but it did not take long to overcome the absolute sense of impending doom that coursed through her body.

"Scott..." she whispered quietly, "I'm not your enemy."

He glared hotly at her for a moment, his chest rising and falling quickly in time with his rapidly beating heart. When she did not approach him again, or even speak for a time, he slowly began to regain himself.

Quietly, the energy that radiated from him dying down along with his rage, he knelt down and began to pick up the trash. Neither his sister, nor his father, deserved this disrespect.

Sonja moved to help him, but his head snapped toward her once more and the baleful gaze he leveled toward her brooked no questions. This was his business. Stay away.

This time, however, she refused to acquiesce to his gaze. She walked around behind the headstones.

Scott's anger returned full force and he rose quickly to growl at her. His pupils narrowed to serpentine slits, but he did not attack.

Sonja's hand rose up then reached out toward his cheek. He snapped his teeth toward her hand light a frightened animal, but did not bite her.

Slowly, she reached toward him again. A complicated series of slight twitches and quirks in his face lent an animalistic appearance to his expression. He did not bite at her hand again, however. Once her hand reached his cheek, he flinched slightly then looked away from her.

She looked down and took note of what caused his strange behavior. Nostrils flared, a slow sneer crossed her lips. The trash was already a terrible desecration. That was not the worst part, however. Given the stains on the back of his sister's grave and the discolored grass below, it became obvious that it was intentional. Someone pissed on his sister's headstone.