Reporting In (Lin, then Valerie)

[Draetrialis]

Draetrialis put on his ring and shifted into his human form, landing on one of the parapets of the wall before flipping down onto the ground and landing on his feet. "Lin should be here by now..." he muttered, looking around. He could tell Valerie was still at the pool, if not in it, thanks to the fact he hadn't been gone for too long, and the fact that he could vaguely pick up her scent, tinged with chlorine. He sighed before looking around, trying to find Lin. "Where are you now, Lin...?" he groaned. The dragon decided to lean against the wall and he examined everybody. Unless she's still at the market... Then I may be here for nothing... Where the heck is she?! he thought, but then he leaned his head back and sighed, closing his eyes. Soon, he fell into a light doze, but thankfully for him, he mastered the art of staying somewhat consious, even when asleep. The sun was slowly setting, and Draetrialis soon roused himself. Lin wasn't here yet, and he groaned, "Where is she?! If she isn't here, then where is she?!" The dragon groaned again and wandered out of the courtyard. I guess I'll have to wait... he muttered to himself.

[Lin]

The sun was slowly reaching the horizon, but it wouldn’t be another hour or so before sunset occurred. Lin was sitting in the library with Valerie across from her and a window viewing the garden behind her. Lin had her legs crossed with her arm resting on her knee and her chin on knuckles. “It has come to my attention, Valerie, that you and the Shadow of Ammon are in love.” She said looking at Valerie in the eye, “Earlier this day in the market, Draetrialis approached me with a request to vouch for him.” Lin leaned back against her chair and rested her right hand over her left hand. Although just minutes earlier they were talking of other casual things, she wanted to address this situation before the day ended.

“I gave Drae three tasks to gain my vouch. One, help a stranger. Two, make peace with the griffin he attacked, I believe you remember that story. Three, have you trust him completely without my vouch.” Lin could tell Valerie would likely say that she needed her to vouch for Drae in order to trust him. She uncrossed her legs and leaned over placing her hands together. “I gave him these tasks because I wanted him to learn about the citizens of Ammon and the Rebellion. I didn’t want you to be in a relationship with someone who can only socialize with you. I gave him the last task for your sake. I will not always be here to help you make decisions such as this. Like my parents, I may have an untimely end due to my status. I’m not saying I’m going to die right any minute, but I want you to be prepared in case the worst comes to pass. I know you want my vouch, but think of it more like an extra precaution rather than a guarantee.”

Lin stood and looked out the window. She could see Drae standing in the garden looking around. “It seems your lover is here. If he has finished the tasks and learned from them, I shall grant my vouch. Just remember what I’ve just told you. Speaking of which,” Lin turned and walked towards Valerie and took her arm and began walking down to the garden. “Do you trust him regardless of whether or not I will vouch for him?”

[Valerie]

Valerie listened with a calm appearance as Lin went on about the tasks she gave Drae. Well, I'm not surprised that she brought it up...though her bluntness is incredible. Oh well, this is the Lin I've known for a while. She thought. "No, I'm not relying on you! And yes I know you won't always be around to help me, I just wanted to give you a chance to give your opinion since he had tried to injure you." Her anger showed through at just the right amount to get her point accross but not enough to offend too terribley. She glanced out the window to where Lin had pointed out Drae. I may love him, but I do know something; he can't be completely trusted. She crossed her arms at that thought and replied to Lin. "And to answer your question, no I don't completely trust him. You've told me of the things he's done to you and he already tried to kill me. He may say he's changed his ways, but there is no way I'll completely trust him, ever. I'm just cautious even though I appear to throw myself at him." She smiled at her own cleverness in dealing with the situation. "Though I will have you know that I do love him, I just will always keep an eye open for any signs of treachery." She said as they were walking towards the garden where Drae was. "But please keep this between us, for if he were to find out of my mistrust of him, he might try to kill me again, though I still could probably kick his butt." The last part was full of the smugness she felt in knowing she could probably harm him more than he could for her.

She looked down and used her free arm to smooth out her semi-formal dress that she had changed into after she had come out of the pool, though she still smelled slightly of the chlorine the keepers used to keep the pool clean. Her gown was a medium shade of blue with darker blue trim that bordered the patterned blue-black strip of velvet that ran down the front of her dress. Her sleeves opened up at the wrists in the classic medieval-style. Her shoes were her low-noise flat ballet-style slippers.

[Draetrialis]

Draetrialis looked up and saw a faint shadow pass the window. They're both here... But what can I do now...? he thought before he stepped foward. He shook his head and decided to walk forward. He waited by the door and when he saw Lin appear, followed by Valerie, the stream of words he had planned dried up. He sighed and stepped to the side, looking down. "I finished your tasks, Lin..." he muttered, still not looking up. "I... I just..." He didn't even finish the sentence. He merely leaned against the wall, completely unsure of what to say now. His eyes shifted to a faint red, clearly showing his distress at the entire situation. After a few minutes, he looked up and said, "I... I've been forced to change, thanks to you, Lin... And... I don't know whether it's for the better or for the worse... You have forced me to go against my entire personality... no... my entire psyche. You are the cause of a possible disaster... if not by me, by my unchallenged power. Because I was so cold, I had some control... but now... I don't know!" He looked at Valerie and said, "I'm sorry... Not only am I possibly the last Shadow Dragon... I am one of the most powerful, and I learned to control my power through solitude... And now, I don't know if I can control that magical force. I know you still don't fully trust me. I understand why. I don't care, I really don't. Distrust me all you want, at this point... All I want is your love. Promise me that, and I will go and try to contain the power that will possibly spell disaster... Then I will have to go to the Shadowlands... My old home. I have to see if I am truly the last, and if that is true... I will return and be forever changed... if it isn't, then I will bring back those who can help us." When he finished speaking, tears actually started to flow. "Just promise me your love..." He sobbed.

[Valerie]

Valerie, who had been standing next to Lin with her arms crossed, took a step back, utterly shocked. Wow, he must be really desperate. Maybe he actually learned something. Her eyes narrowed at the distressed dragon in front of her, realizing something. Unless, he's trying to simply see if I'll fall for the bait... But her doubts dried up when she saw that his eyes were red, a true sign of distress. Or, maybe not... She lowered her arms to her side, trying to stay calm. "You want me to declare my love just so you can vanish and possibly not return! How does this make sense? You claim that you've changed and that you now are at the mercy of tons of power? You know nothing of the control you claim you had! I'm an Air Master, having been at the mercy of my Master and the boundless air Energy. You've felt my wrath before." She winced as she remembered that night, when she nearly killed the one she ended up loving. "That is only about half of what I can do. You always act so tough and mighty but you are actually not as strong and powerful as you claim!" She tried to stay angry at him, since this change was obviously a trap but it was impossible. That's weird, my head tells me its a trap but my heart tells me he's serious...which do I believe?... She turned to Lin. "What do I do? It's obviously a trap but something about how he's acting makes me think it's not an act." She said in hushed tones, not wanting Drae to hear in case it really was a trap.

[Lin]

Lin pondered what Drae said and sighed. It was true she forced him to against his nature, a test of perseverance to see how he would cope. However she did not believe her actions would cause destruction. Lin knew of the huge amount of power that Drae possessed and knew that a dragon that could not control their powers would either go insane or destroy everything around them. Some dragons even died from the amount of power they had. She raised an eyebrow when he begged for Valerie to give him her love. She listened to Valerie in silence. Drae was asking much from Valerie and it was on something he could or could not pull through on.

"Your solitude wouldn't have helped you much if you pursued this relationship with my friend in your past state. Valerie is a social person and I doubt you anti-social attitude would spark a healthy relationship. Valerie is partially right when she says you are not as strong as you think. You have not trained under a master and have only been able to scrape up only a little of what potential you have. The only reason I waste so much energy on you is because I don't like killing unnecessarily and it takes longer to contain you than kill you. My tasks only gave you some trust; trust is not equal to love. How can you just ask my friend to give you her love when you haven't even worked hard to make sure she is safe around you? What if your powers kill one of her friends? What if you hurt her when you get emotional? One of the most dangerous things is raw unrefined power."

Yes, this would be the defining decision that would determine how safe and how changed this dragon really was. "The prize is Val's love. Now work for it."

[Draetrialis]

Drae seemed to struggle, and as he did, a strange black aura surrounded him. With a groan, he cradled his head and the aura dispersed. "You're right, Lin. I can't be sure... Fine." He looked up and, though they were still red, his eyes burned with emotion. "I'll leave for the Shadowlands then. There has to be at least ONE Shadow Dragon out there, and I will find them. When I come back, I will be a changed dragon. One worthy of love." When he finished his little speech, he turned and took a few steps. The Shadow paused and looked over his shoulder. "I will come back. I swear it on all of the gods that I will come back. And I swear I will not be alone." he said, his voice heavy with the truth behind his words. He continued walking, slowly shifting to his draconic form, clad in his gem-studded armor. Drae looked back again and he growled, "All that I do now is for you, Valerie, as well as for all of Ammon." Looking away, he flared his massive wings and took off. I will return... Nothing will stop me from returning. Time for me to go home. he thought, letting out a roar.

[Valerie]

Valerie watched as Drae left, tears coming to her own eyes. He may have said that he will get back but I'm not sure if he knows how dangerous it really is. She uncrossed her arms, her worry showing. "Good luck." She said softly, knowing he was out of reach. "He may be a dangerous cannon, but I love him none-the-less." She said, turning to Lin. After he was well out of site, she turned, hiding the tears that were coming from her eyes and walked back inside, to head back to her chambers where she could be alone. "But one final thing Lin, if he cannot manage to control himself, no matter how dangerous, I will leave with him to go where he cannot hurt anyone. I know he could hurt me as well but I love him too much to think of us parting, forever."

Once in her room, she closed the door and locked it. Once she knew no one could come in, she turned her back to the door and leaned against it, slumping to the ground. What have I done? The Dragon I love is the one who can hurt me the most. She cried, lowering all her defenses. He may be gone temporarily, but it will feel like an eternity for me. She sobbed, closing her eyes. I wonder if he feels the same way about me...he'd better! She said, suddenly opening her eyes, her sobs disappearing. If this is just a sick game by him, he's gonna pay! Thoughts of punishment for such a cruel trick ran through her head and she used the change of emotion as a way to distract herself and allow herself to read. While the door was still locked, she headed to her desk, whipping away her tears and sitting down. She picked up her reading book and lit the lamp on the desk.