Mammal War: Chapter 1

Keri checked to make sure all the systems were running smoothly. She knew this would work; she needed to make this work. But of all the people to reject her offer, D’Rek Azbaki, her own father turned her down. That’s why Keri had to prove them wrong, prove her own father wrong; Keri had to travel back in time to see the Mammal War.
What Keri knew of the Mammal War was quite limited, even for a saurian. She knew that before her kind came to dominate the planet, there was another race, a race of intelligent mammals. Supposedly they were all wiped out in the war, but there were always rumors of strange creatures wandering the steppes at night. They were rumored to have pink scale-less flesh and sparse patches of fur.
The portal's systems checked out, it was ready. Keri picked up the remote and activated the gateway, making sure to set the coordinates to the very start of the war. She wanted to make sure she recorded everything. As the portal flashed open Keri's heart leaped with joy, and she stepped through.
“Okay, now, where am I?” Keri asked herself.
She looked around the are in which she landed. Her green scales, accented by the pair of white stripes down her back, glistened in the sun. The terrain was all to familiar to her. She stood right where her house was, rather where it was going to be. Holding her remote tight, she began exploring.
The foliage was dense enough to keep anyone hidden. Bushes and trees strewn about like paint on abstract art. The area seemed devoid of fauna, but Keri just dismissed that as a result of her presence. The soft ground resulted in Keri feeling grateful she had worn her hiking boots. She heard movement in the distance, and decided to take a closer look.

“Hey! Katie! Over here!”
Keri panicked, the voice was masculine, but it wasn't saurian. She fumbled with her remote, attempting to open the portal back home. She could hear bodies moving amongst the flora, and they were getting closer. Finally she opened the portal.
“Look out!” cried a feminine voice.
Keri's reflexes made her look, which was a mistake. The speeding ball landed right between her eyes. The remote landed on the ground as the portal closed. Keri landed next to the device, unconscious.

Two humans and a saurian stepped out from the brush. All three with looks of concern on their faces.
“Do you think we killed her?” Asked the female human.
“No, I don't” The male saurian responded, “I wonder where she's from”
“We'll ask when she wakes up,” The male human said.

Keri's head hurt. She didn't remember what happened. She quickly realized she'd been unconscious. The pain kept her from thinking clearly, she knew someone asked a question, but she didn't remember what. She decided she would let her instincts speak for her.
“How are you?” the saurian voice repeated.
“I dreamed that I went back, before the Mammal War started,” she groaned.
“Uhm... Okay,” the voice was friendly, but unfamiliar, “Could you tell me what this 'Mammal War' was?”
Keri's eyes snapped open. She was looking at a young saurian male. His brownish scales refracted the light to create a rainbow effect. His soft orange eyes were looking straight into hers, and he was showing genuine concern for Keri's well-being.
He was dressed simply, a vest over a shirt in traditional style. His pants appeared to be tailored to fit, allowing room for his elevated heels. On his feet this saurian wore leg-wrappings that were equivalent to sandals.
“I'm L'mar,” The saurian offered, “And these are my friends, Robert, and Katie”
L'mar motioned to the two, as he introduced them. Keri was amazed, she hadn't seen real live humans before. Slowly she got up, to get a better view. Keri knew that they were humans, that's what made them so interesting to her.
The one L'mar pointed out as "Katie" was the shorter of the two. The clothing she wore fit well, a sleeveless shirt, and jeans that almost completely covered her gray shoes. Robert was much taller and thinner, and his clothing fit more loosely. His short-sleeved shirt was long enough to cover his waist, and appeared to have extra material. His jeans only fit at the waist, hinting at the belt he wore. Even with his baggy jeans, it'd be difficult for Robert to cover up his large shoes.
Keri was surprised to see hair on their heads, and took note of the respective lengths. Robert wore his blond hair tied back. Keri guessed it would just pass his shoulders if he let it down. Katie's black hair was much longer, as Keri couldn't see where it ended just below Katie's shoulder blades.
“Hello,” said Robert.
Keri jumped, she didn't expect him to speak to her, but she didn't know what to expect. Keri recognized Robert's voice from earlier. She mustered a small smile, and offered it to both Robert and Katie. It didn't do much to hide her nervousness.
“My name is Keri,” She said to the group.
“Hey, wanna go get lunch? I'm getting hungry,” L'mar offered, “Keri, you wanna come along?”
Robert smiled, and guided Katie out. Keri followed the two, as L'mar brought up the rear. The four of them stepped out of the house, onto a busy street corner. Keri was amazed. There were humans and saurians walking around, and the occasional vehicle would drive by, leaving a foul stench in the air. The buildings she saw were much taller then she expected, standing several stories high. Given what she knew, or thought she knew, Keri didn't expect this level of technology.
“This is different then I expected,” Keri commented.
“What are things like where you come from?” Robert asked.
“Uh... well, it's different...” Keri tried to avoid the question, “Wait! Where'd my- I had a device with me!”
“Oh, yeah,” L'mar said as he pulled the remote from a coat pocket, “Found it next to you.”
Keri snatched it out of  L'mar's hands, “Thank goodness!”
“What's it do anyway?” L'mar asked.
Keri desperately tried to find a way to avoid the question, “It ... uh ... well, it-”
“It's okay,” said L'mar, “You don't have to answer if it makes you feel uncomfortable.”
Keri felt like she just betrayed her new friends. On one hand, she did feel uncomfortable discussing time-travel with them. On the other hand, these people weren't  threatening just curious. To top it all off, Keri was already doing a terrible job blending in. Not knowing what to say, Keri said nothing as she followed along.
“Here we are,” announced Robert, “The Kretak Grill, the only saurian establishment I know of that serves humans.”
“I hope we can get our usual table,” mumbled Katie.
“You seem to always worry about that,” responded Robert, “and, yet we've always been able to get our usual table.”
“Oh, yeah,” Katie realized, “You arranged that, didn't you?”
Robert said nothing in response, but instead just made his way over to the table and sat down. Katie followed suit, and L'mar stopped to help Keri get seated. Katie giggled at this, but said nothing. L'mar pretended not to notice, but Keri knew why and started to feel a little uncomfortable. Much to Keri's surprise, however, nothing else came of it.
The group enjoyed a very nice lunch, served personally by the owner/head chief of the restaurant. Everyone talked, and only the most harmless of questions were posed to Keri, which she happily answered. Keri was glad no one asked her where she came from, or what she was doing when she got hit. She got to enjoy herself, and learn about her new friends at the same time.
“Now what should we do?” L'mar asked.
The table had been clear for some time now. No one really noticed when it happened, they were just content talking amongst themselves. Keri was happy she met people that were accepting of her in this time. She was also exited that she befriended some humans, and she realized she could take advantage of this.
“Um... I've never been in a city like this before. It'd be really nice if I could learn more about the people here,” Keri stated.
“I guess we could give you a tour,” Robert responded,  “You must be from a ways away.”
“You have no idea,” Keri mumbled.
Everyone else had stood up already, and L'mar asked, “Ready to go?”