To everyone's bewilderment, Hotshot followed a straight path quite well. Though honestly that may only be because of the trail of prints he used as a guide.. but let's let him have this, just this once. 

Hotshot was fast, but due to the brush surrounding the area he couldn't transform and speed ahead like he would have preferred. 

"Hotshot! Slow down! We don't know what's up there!" Medix reached forward and grabbed his wrist, slowing him momentarily. 

"Reelaax! Nothing bad will hap-PEN!" Hotshot lost his footing on a large root, Medix yanked his arm back before he could hit the floor and steadied the firebot with hands on his shoulders. 

"Right. and I'm not certified to give first aid." Medix walked ahead of Hotshot, who's head was still trying to catch up with the near fall he just had. The medic scanned the floor, watching the prints carefully.

Hoist came to his side, "There kind of scattered here.. like whatever made them frequents this area," He eyed an area where the prints wore the trail down, they disappeared under the brush. "This is an old path.. maybe it lives here."

Medix grabbed Hoist's shoulder before he could continue. "Won't we disturb it, then? I don't know if we should.." 

"Oh relax, we can just move the bush away and then put it back before it knows anything-" Hotshot came rushing to the front again, Wedge and Whirl close behind telling him to stop. Hotshot never stops though, he steps up to the brush surrounding the worn path, pushing the plants apart with ease. 

The path continued for a while before a decently sized hole could be spotted in the ground, the plants around were singed and blackened with soot. This drew some concern from the firebot, had there been a fire here? Was someone coming into this area to light fires? His friends behind him grew silent in thought too, a little glad their friend had rushed through like that. 

"That's not good, whatever that is. think someone's hiding something in that hole?" Wedge stepped up, ready to dig into it if he needed. He peered forward, leaning down to peek into the hole.

He sees two small dots reflecting back at him. Wedge lurches back, stumbling into his friends. "Something's definitely in there!" He moves behind his friends, not wanting to explore further.

Medix, the resident animal lover, steps forward with a newfound curiosity and concern. "If it's an animal in that hole, the burned plants make me even more worried," He kneels down, trying to look as small as possible despite his inhuman size. Medix spots the dots, they're stock still, staring directly back at Medix. 

"That's an animal alright, tapetum lucidum, it's a reflective layer in an animal's eyes that make them 'glow' as some might say." In the midst of his fact, Medix outstretched a metal hand to the hole as an invitation. "Come on out little guy, this place doesn't seem safe.. we'll get you out of here."

No movement or reply.

"Hm, usually that works." Medix sticks his hand further in, a digit grazing something soft before a large talon swipes at it, leaving a light scratch in the metal. Medix isn't injured, of course, and reaches back in. He can feel the animal thrashing around, but the dark hole leaves most of it to imagination. "Come on little guy, you can't stay here." He manages to get the hand behind its neck, something solid sticking out from the back of its head clangs against Medix's arm before he finds its scruff. He grips the scruff gently, lifting the creature out of the den with the utmost care. 

"There we go! Now we- oh my.." The surprise alone is almost enough for Medix to drop the thing.

Purple feathers are dropping everywhere as the thing wiggles against the hold on its neck, it lets out soft whines and growls, almost similar to a puppy, Medix notes. It's not just the unusual color that stuns the group, but the observation that this thing is definitely not anything they've seen on earth. Whirl is ecstatic.

"Wow! Is that a dragon?! I thought they weren't real!" She dashes up to Medix, trying her damndest to not reach out and touch the startled thing. 

"They.. they aren't. I've read about them, dragons are only mythical, stories made up by humans hundreds of years ago." Hoist does the opposite, taking a cautious step backwards. Wedge follows. 

The dragons pointed ears lay pinned against its head, it whines and flutters its wings, trying to turn its head enough to nip at Medix's arm. The medic simply reaches underneath it with his other hand, cradling its body and holding it in place with the hand he'd previously held it with. The sudden shift in hold seems to have an immediate calming effect.

"This is strange. Maybe dragons are real and we've just never seen them.. I think we should research this more, should we take it back to the academy? Cody and the professors may know more." Medix turned to the group. Hotshot was still stunlocked, he of course knew about dragons, he was the one who showed them to his friends, saying that they were so cool because they fly and breathe fire. 

Nobody else seemed to have a retort, they were mostly confused if not a little guilty. What if dragons were real? What if they were just extremely elusive, were they taking it from its home?

The dragon in question was looking between each of the bots, clearly still startled and uneasy about the giant metal.. things.. that basically just kidnapped it. Though it's not like struggling was on the table, these things were strong. 

Before they could doubt themselves any longer, the recruits decided to do what they felt was right in the moment, bring it back to the academy and figure out if this was the discovery of a lifetime or if they'd just harassed an innocent animal for no real reason.