Val flinched as she heard the snap of Lirens neck and Drake's growls.
"My queen, don't. You don't know if he's still…himself." calrise warned
"I know him well enough." Val got dressed into a nightgown and walked out of her room to the hall, standing a few feet from the scene "Drake?" She glanced down at Liren, he stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't hunted that day
Drake didn't take his eyes off of Liren as he snarled, his claws flexing, the sharpness catching the light. Some sane part of him screamed at him to stop as she wasn't a threat but he couldn't.
"I'm not going to do what I didn't before. I'm not locking you up." She had seen the flicker of movement and knew well enough he was still reeling in his dragon. "Thank you, for helping Clarise and myself. And putting an end to Liren."
Drake placed his foot on Liren’s face, twisting it so he could see the look on it. His claws clenched and unclenched, a low rumble that wasn’t quite a snarl or a growl passing his lips as if he was saying You’re welcome. He was calming down but still not sane.
She walked up next to him and glared down at Liren "he had this coming when he decided to Lay a hand on her." She crouched and hauled Liren by the shoulders, shaking her head when servants came running to help "don't worry about it, you all need rest." They nodded reluctantly and went back to their rooms. Val minded little about the blood that stained her dress and the floors, only wanting to get the body out of sight
Drake growled a little, not wanting Val to touch or go anywhere that retched man. A forked tongue slipped out and tasted the air, the coppery tang of blood coating it, along with the lingering taste if fear.
Val managed to drag him outside to the back of the castle, where beach stretched out into open ocean. Standing straight and sighing, she caught her breath and dragged him out to sea, water reaching up to her calves as she shoved the body away from her. She shivered as the moon shone above through some clouds, her other form begging to come out
Drake had forgotten the feel of sand under his feet, and, because of this, he somehow managed to talk his shoes off, wiggling his toes in the cold sand.
She walked back to the shallow beach and layed down, letting the cool water wash over her and calm her nerves. Digging her hands into the sand and sighing relief. Relief from getting rid of Liren, reliefe that Clarise was safe. Relief that she could finally move on.
The calming waters managed to cool Drake and his dragon down, his claws forming hands once again. He released a long breath, dropping to his knees.
She glanced back at Drake "you alright?" she whispered, not moving from her spot. she glanced up at the moon and smiled "hello old friend."
Drake nodded a little, staring down at his hands as if he’d never seen them before, “Yeah…” He breathed quietly.
She glanced at him in concern and patted the spot next to her "somehow I don't beleive you." She said softly
Drake swallowed a lump in his throat, sitting next to her. A small flicker of flame sparked from his palm and he flinch away from it. For the first time in a very long time, he was scared of himself.
She saw the flicker of fer in his eyes and shook her head with a smile "don't tell this was your first time killing." She glanced around them at the landscape
“It wasn’t,” He replied, “It definitely wasn’t the first time.” He felt his dragon smirk and he frowned because of it.
Val tilted her head in confusion "so whats wrong? " She drew shapes into the sand, old runes and symbols she remebered
“I promised myself a long time ago I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t kill someone ever again after…” He shook his head, “I have too much power for one person…” He muttered.
She shook her head "you're not the only one…" she muttered, almost to herself. "After what?" she asked
“Before I met you, before I lived in this part of the world, there was a battle, between dragons and humans… it lasted months and… and many people died because of me. After that I swore I wouldn’t kill again. My dragon he… he developed a dangerous love for killing and it came out today with…”
"I remeber learning about that, The draconae war, we called it. Terrible times for both sides." she recalled "that was the reason you and your family seeked refuge here, right?"
“Just me, they didn’t survive the fight, not many of us did.”
She nodded "you and the dragon are one in the same drake, you are not two different beings, you are him and he is you."
Drake snorted, “I know that, try getting that through his thick skull.” He was quiet for a moment, then muttered something in a different tongue to his dragon that sent him chuckling.
"Ok maybe I was wrng, if you can have a full fledged conversation with yourself, then there are definatly two of you in there." she said pointing at Drake "tell dragon you I say hi." she joked
Drake nodded a little, “I will.” He paused for a moment then grinned, “He says hello.”
Her eyes widened slight as she nodded "uhm,I wasn't expecting him to say anything back…hello." she said dumbly, not knowing what to make of the situation
Drake chuckled, leaning back in the sand, “He says you can just talk to him normally, like he’s a human. I mean, he is a bastard, don’t mind that part.”
She nodded "umm so what was the speach you used before, the old language?" She was curious about the symbols from when they flew around as well, wondering if that had anything to do with speach
Drake shrugged a shoulder, "It's an ancient form of dragon speech… it can take years to learn and master the tongue and the Wyrdmarks."