Near begging... (lin only)

[Draetrialis]

Draetrialis was hovering above the village, just waiting. "Am I really going to beg...?" He asked himself. The dragon shivered a little, since he was in the frigid height, higher than most mountains. "I have to get her to vouch for me... but there has to be another way..." He was running through multiple ideas, and hating them. His metal armor was cold to the touch, and it did nothing to help with the -10 degree temperature of the air. Sighing, he started to descend, going at maybe 175 miles per hour, wings tucked close to his body. The resulting wind was roaring through his helm, nearly deafening him. When he was almost a hundred feet from the village, he flared his wings, bringing his descent to a screeching halt. He slowly dropped down to the village, slipping his ring on when he was about 10 feet from the ground.

He walked through the village, through all three sections of the market, but didn't find Lin. Drae sighed, thinking he was out of luck. He kept walking through the village, shooing away any girls that came to talk to him, and hoped he would get lucky... and knowing him and his luck thus far, it would take all day to find Lin.

[Lin]

Ah the market, so many different shops regardless of which section you looked at. The goal for the day was to find a new book. Lin had run out of books to read in her home in the village. Although the castle had an extensive library she always worried that she would lose one of the books. After looking at the many shops and stands, Lin found a quaint bookstore and stepped inside. There were numerous books lining shelves everywhere. It truly was a wonderful site for Lin. After examining some of the shelves she found a wonderful book of a pair of lovers searching for immortality. The book was thick and was well written. The bookstore's owner was an older man in his seemingly middle ages. After paying for the book Lin opened the book and began to read. A habit of hers was to walk around reading using her peripheral vision to avoid bumping into her.

The bustling streets were comforting sounds to Lin whether it was a buyer bargaining for a lower price or two men fighting because of a misunderstanding. She had just recently encountered the dragon Draetrialis again when he was disguised in his human avatar. When Lin found out that her opponent was the dragon, she wasn't surprised. The boy was too fast for any other creature and he knew runes, which was not common knowledge even for dragons. What really gave him away was when he used an energy blast on her. Unless he was an extremely powerful human, he wouldn't have been able to do that. Lin didn't really care whether or not the boy was Draetrialis, as long as he didn't attack her or pose a threat to anyone who was an innocent by-stander she wouldn't bother him. Something inside of her made Lin feel that Drae was up to something. It obviously wasn't revenge for defending Ceana or he would have attacked her while she was in her weaker human form. Whatever it was, she only hoped that no harm was done.

A sudden rush of wind caught Lin's attention. She looked up from her book and saw Draetrialis landing inside the village. That was very peculiar; Draetrialis was not a very social dragon to say the least. So why was he here? Lin went back to her book and moved to an area where he wouldn't see her. She'd observe his actions before confronting him if she needed to at all. Girls began to gravitate towards him, trying to gain his attention. Lin smirked behind her book, looks could be deceiving and in this case, they were. After following Drae in the village keeping out of sight, she decided to stop. From what she had seen, he was looking for someone. Lin had no interest in finding out whom and began to walk aimlessly again. Eventually she found a bench and sat down and crossed her legs. The book was very interesting and she didn't want to follow the dragon just to find he was looking for a stall that sold a certain kind of fruit or something.

[Draetrialis]

Drae sighed. He looked around again and, when he saw Lin, he went to her. "Lin... I have to talk to you..." he said, doing qa little formal bow to show he had good intentions. "In fact... I don't just need to talk to you... I need to ask a favor of you..." he said, his mind trying to function with anxiety. "I'm not sorry for attacking you, since you were trespassing, but still... we both know you will defeat me in any long-term fight... and it is because of this reason I decided to come to you now... along with one other reason..." he muttered, looking down. "I... I have to earn Valerie's trust... and she said that you had to vouch for me... so I'm asking... nay, begging, for you to do so..." The dragon looked around, a little nervous, which was a surprise to himself. "I... I love Valerie... and she knows it. I revealed it... and I know she loves me too, but I did betray her and I have to regain her trust... please... I can pay you with almost anything you want. My blood, gems, gold, whatever. So long as you don't ask for my head." His eyes shifted to red as he pleaded. If she refuses... I'm doomed...! Just as this thought raced through his head, he held his breath, waiting for Lin's answer. He was obviously desperate, and he hoped that because of this, she'd help him.

[Lin]

The sound of approaching footsteps caught Lin’s attention. Looking up, she saw Draetrialis. Now what could he want? Surely he wasn’t here for revenge of any sort out here in public. "Lin... I have to talk to you..." Drae asked bowing slightly. Lin snapped her book shut, the formality was unusual for him. When his true form was revealed last time, he had dropped all formalities and departed without a backwards glance. "In fact... I don't just need to talk to you... I need to ask a favor of you..." He continued and she looked at him questioningly. He was definitely plotting something, but it was too soon to know what. “Pray tell what you require from me.” She said while setting her book aside. Her eyes scanned everything about Drae, his body language to his expressions. He seemed, nervous, a trait that Lin assumed he wouldn’t normally show. "I'm not sorry for attacking you, since you were trespassing, but still... we both know you will defeat me in any long-term fight... and it is because of this reason I decided to come to you now... along with one other reason..." Drae continued breaking eye contact. Lin nodded in acknowledgement. He had rightfully attacked her for trespassing upon his territory. "I... I have to earn Valerie's trust... and she said that you had to vouch for me... so I'm asking... nay, begging, for you to do so..."

A small smirk played upon Lin’s lips. Why would he need Valerie’s trust? She knew already how badly Valerie dislike Drae. "I... I love Valerie... and she knows it. I revealed it... and I know she loves me too, but I did betray her and I have to regain her trust... please... I can pay you with almost anything you want. My blood, gems, gold, whatever. So long as you don't ask for my head. Love could change a whole person for the better or for the worst. Lin knew well enough that Valerie was smart enough not to let emotions get in the way of decisions that could affect her life in a very big way. “Spilling everything out aren’t you?” Lin said dryly, “So you basically want me to help you gain my dearest friend’s trust that was basically destined to shatter when you decided to base it upon deception?” Sighing Lin stood up, carrying the book under her arm. “You do realize she might be deciding whether or not she wants your head on a platter, right? Walk with me.” Lin began to weave through the crowd. Drae was a cunning dragon and a master of deception. “My friend is very dear to me, convincing me to vouch for you with material items is meaningless. Rather than offering me those, I want you to do a few tasks for me instead.”

“Your kin have a dark past. I want you to clear yourself of any crimes they have committed. To do this, I want you to meet a complete stranger and help them. Then make peace with the griffin you wrongfully harmed. Finally, I want you to do something that will assure my friend herself, that she can trust you.”

[Draetrialis]

"I've already done the last task... I fixed the gardens and bribed the gardeners to forget the damage." Drae said, sliding in step behind Lin. "And so you know... once this is over with, I'll just go back to how I was... at least for everyone but Valerie..." he sighed. "At least I can't do any grand scheme or something... I don't have power enough to do that." It was obvious he didn't like the idea of helping a total stranger. Then he was tossing one thought around. Make peace with that griffin...! He drew his sword and sliced the dirt, leaving a clean gash in the road, before sheathing his sword again. "You had to chose for me to apologize to the griffin... didn't you?" He growled, wanting to tear Lin limb from limb. The dragon stepped in front of Lin and said, "I will do that, understand that, but after this, I will go back to my old bitter self. That is just how most Shadow Dragons are... always returning to their old personalities... so you had better be careful what you do after this... because it will make a difference... maybe you will also find a way into my heart, as a friend, and maybe you will remain as you are now. Just be careful..."

[Lin]

Annoyance sparked inside of Lin. He’d done a task already had he? “If you already did a task to gain her trust then why are you walking with me asking me to vouch for you?” She asked with a smirk. Was Draetrialis really worthy enough to be Valerie’s lover? At this rate he wouldn’t if he tried to bargain with her over his tasks. "And so you know... once this is over with, I'll just go back to how I was... at least for everyone but Valerie..." This caused her to frown, the point of the tasks were so that he would learn. Valerie was a social person and Lin didn’t want her to have to sacrifice that just because this Shadow Dragon couldn’t learn to change. That was why she chose the first two tasks. It required Drae to break away from his solitude. The last however was to help Valerie be able to rely on herself for making decisions like this in case Lin was no longer around.

The sound of a sword being drawn behind her told Lin that Drae was strongly annoyed. Lin ignored what to others would be a possible threat and perhaps it was. He wouldn’t be able to try anything here where there would be many witnesses not to mention that it would immediately put him out of Valerie’s favor. Stones clinking against metal were sounds that implied that Drae was dragging his sword in the dirt. “You’re going to get your sword dirty that way.” She said casually. Drae sheathed his sword after a few moments. "You had to chose for me to apologize to the griffin... didn't you?" Drae growled behind her. Lin imagined the gruesome things he probably wanted to do right now.

Drae suddenly stood in front of her, eyes blazing, "I will do that, understand that, but after this, I will go back to my old bitter self. That is just how most Shadow Dragons are... always returning to their old personalities... so you had better be careful what you do after this... because it will make a difference... maybe you will also find a way into my heart, as a friend, and maybe you will remain as you are now. Just be careful..." Lin rolled her eyes. She promised herself this, if Drae didn’t change after doing the three tasks she still would not vouch for him. “Well I hope you aren’t part of the “most” group then.” She replied, “Just remember this Drae, if you do anything that hurts Valerie, I will not hesitate to slay you. Other than that, I wish you luck and hope you learn from the experiences soon to come.”

[Draetrialis]

A faint smile touched Drae's lips. "I will say this... You certainly are brave. Nobody calls me Drae. At least, only those who are very close to me do. Maybe you will turn out to be on my side after all." He muttered, turning and stalking off. She is crazy... making me apologize to a griffin... Oh well... I may as well do the task of helping a stranger first. He wandered a while before he found a man struggling with a few boxes. "Need some help?" the Shadow asked, and the man nodded. Tapping his ring, Draetrialis shifted his left arm to a draconic limb and picked up two of the boxes, carrying a third under his right arm. "Wait... aren't you the Shadow of Ammon, Draetrialis?" the man asked. Drae nodded and said, "I have a few tasks I have to do, and assisting someone is one of them. Let's just say, I would perfer to do the tasks to humiliate me than have my sanity, or what's left of it, be shredded." The man and the dragon finally got to the man's house and Drae set everything in the boxes up, struggling not to roar the entire time. Once he was done, he shifted back to his dragon form and flew towards Rebellion territory, towards Ceana.