Nice to Take a Break [Open/Social]

While still making herself comfortable in the Town til her next journey she thought it would be best to take a nice long bath and have a relaxing evening. The Lady Stumbled infront of a Hotel that was quite traditional most suiting for her. Coming in she rented a room and headed of the the Bath springs in the garden which are divided for Female and Males. Going to the Female Changing room she stripped from her Clothes washing herself first with cold Water. Miyu Wrapped a Towel and putting up her Hair in a Bun

She stepped to the Spring and went in. A Gentle relaxed Sigh slipped from her Mouth as she sank alittle deeper to the hot Water. It soothed her muscles from all the Tension of daily stress. The Atmosphere of Bambu Maid Walls and Japanese Floral Decorations made her of course feel more to home. She perked up as she her the Sliding door open. She looked to the Open door seeing who will accompany her in the nice bath.

Akeya hadn't been to Talonia before, with good reason because it was rather out of the way and it had the strange trait that while it actually provided many services, almost all those services were dedicated to mages who weren't affiliated with any guild, regardless of whether that guild was Legal, Independent or Dark. A very strange trait, since the whole point of being unaffiliated was that you had the freedom to do whatever you wanted, but in return didn't get the benefits you usually gained from belonging to a faction. Akeya herself had immediately joined Blue Pegasus once she had felt ready to leave her village and greet the whole wide world outside, so she never had wasted any time with Talonia.

Still, she was here now for the sake of gathering some information from a man who lived here. She had some prior business with the black market, which meant she had good motivation to keep an eye on the going ons in the underworld of Fiore in case it looked like something was about to go haywire. The dark mages and their Dark Guilds might always think highly of themselves, but in the end there was a lot more to the illegal side of Fiore than the comparatively small group of powerful mages and creatures who banded together in guilds to wreak havoc. Thieves, burglars, smugglers, slavers, fences... The majority of the populace might still walk in the light, but that didn't mean that there weren't many, many people who found advantage in travelling through the dark paths in life instead. And Talonia happened to be one of the places where the presence of the less legal side of Fiore was strong, so it was a good place to get some information about whether it was time to eliminate some unwanted targets.

However in the end the trail had turned out to be a bust. Akeya had heard that there was some man willing to sell information about how a group of thieves was planning to steal important artefacts from the Magic Council, but when she talked to the man personally and let some of her intimidating nature shine through it became clear that the man had been hoping to catch a foolish young mage that he could lead on a wild goose chase before robbing them blind. Or maybe just sell them to some slavers. Someone of Akeya's calibre, a trained and experienced mage and assassin, was far above what the man had been expecting so he quickly chickened out and admitted that he knew nothing but rumours and hearsay. Which is to say, nothing worth listening to.

Akeya was still somewhat annoyed at that. She hadn't hurt the man beyond some very minor roughing up because otherwise it could be traced back to her and cause trouble, but she had really wanted to at least break one of his legs to teach him a lesson. Not that he would actually learn: those types never really did. But she had still felt like it. Restraining herself and leaving instead meant that she was now letting loose a rather threatening aura without even trying, the draconic figure stalking through the streets like a predator looking for some prey to jump on. Which in return meant that everyone else was giving her a wide berth, which suited her just fine since she didn't want to feel with some other idiot who thought that he could just talk big and sound important without paying the price for his stupidity.

Looking around the dragoness came to a halt when she saw a somewhat familiar sign. At least, she had seen that type of sign before. It was a hotel which boasted about including a very good bathhouse, which apparently could be used by anyone, not just guildless mages. Akeya stood in front of the building for a bit, considering her options. She had come all the way out here for what had turned out to be a fruitless endeavour, which naturally left her rather irritated. And baths were one of the few things which could actually help her relax and unwind... Well, she was here anyway, she might as well try to get something good out of this journey by experiencing the baths of this hotel. Stepping into the building Akeya paid for use of the baths, then headed for the section of the hotel dedicated to the baths.

Once in the female changing rooms Akeya removed her clothes and tossed them into her own shadow, where they seemingly just disappeared as if swallowed up. She went quickly through the process of washing herself with cold water before entering the hot baths, her more reptilian nature making her not too appreciative of cold water even if as a shadow dragon she didn't have too much reason to be bothered by it. Once the washing was done she had to spend some time gathering all of her long raven hair and tie it into a bun before wrapping a towel around her head to ensure that none of her hair would get into contact with the water. She always found this part annoying since she thought people looked ridiculous with their hair wrapped up like that, but rules were rules and it was better to at least somewhat respect them so you wouldn't get into unnecessary trouble.

Now fully prepared for the actual baths Akeya stepped towards the sliding door, then narrowed her eyes. She could feel a magic presence on the other side. Not a very strong one, so not someone she should prioritize as a serious threat, but it still meant she shouldn't get too relaxed. Opening the sliding door Akeya's emerald eyes quickly sought out the source of the magic, landing on an attractive young lady who was looking towards her as well. Certainly pleasant to look at, although a bit on the short side in comparison to Akeya's own amazonian figure. The dragoness waited for several seconds to gauge the reaction of this stranger, having made no effort to hide the scales covering her limbs, back and sides, the reptilian tail swaying behind her, the draconic eyes, the large scaled wings folded behind her back. A true half-dragon who unashamedly stepped into the water, staying silent for another couple of seconds before finally speaking.

"Greetings."

Sol was in the town of Talonia for some well needed R and R, his transformation had tired him out immensely and with the recommendation of his castle staff he was off to enjoy some hot springs in this town, however no sooner had he managed to get a towel around his waist and into the water then he heard the bath workers calling for the rune knights to come and arrest him, the slayers ruby eyes darted around trying to find an escape route and he knew he couldn’t hide under the water since it was the first place the men would look.

Glancing around Sol caught sight of a small area that separated the two springs into male and female areas and there was shadows around it, the slayer quickly got up and shifted into his shadow form and hid in the shadows as the rune knights a group of five stepped inside moments later and looked around a bit before calling the woman out on lieing to them. After the slayer was sure the danger had passed he pulled up self out of the shadows using his new claws to anchor him to the ground as he stood with his towel still covering him and he scratched his head lightly with his eyes closed.”whew that was close how the hell did they find me” he said before he opened his eyes and saw both Akeya and another woman in the hot springs and he gained a small blush.”uh good to see you shadow dragon and woman I’ve never met before” he said trying to keep either one of them from screaming. His appearance looked much like the shadow slayers since his arms and legs up to his elbows and knee caps were covered in scales and with his arms razor sharp spines.

It seemed the other woman wasn't interested in conversation, keeping to herself and being largely unresponsive. A bit of a shame, since she was quite pretty, but other than that no skin off Akeya's back. She came here to relax after a failed attempt at gathering information, doing something which she actually liked doing, which was taking a bath. An opportunity to talk to an attractive woman might have been nice, but on the other hand socializing wasn't the half dragon's biggest priority here and the failed attempt didn't really bother her that much either. That just meant that rather than spending her time in conversation she'd just have to enjoy the hot springs in silence, something which she had no problem with whatsoever. So after giving the woman some more time to react she submerged herself almost fully, leaning against the edge of the hot springs and letting herself relax as far as she could. She was still vulnerable in a location which she wasn't too familiar with and where potential dangers could lurk, so it was hard for her to completely unwind and ignore the possibilities of trouble arising.

It was somewhat troublesome how she knew that she couldn't let the underground be, but finding clues on how to keep track of it was difficult. As a Rising Star she had to make it clear that she wasn't actually a criminal, but even if she was good at escaping notice by being extremely stealthy there were other obstacles. It was hard to get reliable informants, the underground was big so it was hard to get a good idea of the overall picture because the people of the underground itself weren't that good at keeping full track of one another. She had managed to enter a hotspot before herself, but she was quite sure that by now that entrance was no longer there (she hadn't bothered to check, since appearances had to be kept up and it had been hard enough to use that entrance once, so going back was a very risky undertaking). In short, most of the easy options were closed, which only left the more problematic ones... and those increased the odds of detection too much.

Another question, of course, was why she even bothered to care. She was a selfish person. She had never bothered even trying to deny this, because it was too true for her to be able to not see it without being extremely delusional or stupid. She acted out of selfish motifs and for personal gain. Even when she still lived in the village in the mountains together with the rest of her family she'd already mostly been doing things which interested her personally, sneaking out at night alone to explore the area around the village. There was not really a lot of reason for her to put a lot of effort into keeping taps on the underground of Fiore and prevent them causing any trouble without even being asked or requested. The best argument she could find in favour of her current behaviour was that the Magic Council would find her more of an asset if she showed some initiative in helping them deal with the criminal part of the country. And even that would only be a guise...

While she was pondering this she began to hear sounds in the distance. Her finned ears spread out a bit to catch more sound, the half dragon frowning and looking in the direction of the sound. It sounded like armoured people coming this way. Akeya's eyes narrowed. She didn't think it had anything to do with her, but she still didn't like the idea of her moment of resting being interrupted by some guards who had some business in the area. Unfortunately the guards didn't agree, as they burst into the hot springs and asked for the presence of some criminal or another. Akeya just glared at them and gave a short negative response, then pointing at the entrance with her tail and telling them to go search somewhere else. Some short arguing later and the Rune Knights left, leaving the women alone with the hot springs... and the man trying to hide in the shadows.

Trying to hide in a shadow when Akeya was in the area wasn't the smartest of ideas, since she had a very good grasp of the shadows around her and was pretty good at telling if a shadow was being occupied or not. So when Sol stepped out of the shadow she just glared at him as well, waiting for him to realize that he was in the wrong location right now. Although for the short duration that she waited she studied him as well. Last time that she met him he had been a poison dragon, but now he was hiding in the shadows and had claws similar to her own. Very curious, since all the other Dragon Slayers had been very slow in developing draconic traits in comparison to Akeya, so for Sol to suddenly already have come this far was surprising.

"Greetings I guess." Akeya remarked as the other woman hastily leaved the bath, apparently not being as appreciative of there being a man in the women's area. She looked quite flustered, really. Akeya on the other hand was more annoyed at the idea of someone intruding on her relaxing time than that a man was in the women's baths. It wasn't like she had that much against her body being seen, especially since if people tried to see her naked form that just showed that they were aware of how beautiful she was. Akeya, being rather vain as a female dragonkin, could appreciate that kind of worship. Still, interruptions were less nice.

"I hope you're going to explain why you had to bring Rune Knights into this place. Also, if you can't even keep that thing between your legs under control you might as well get in the water so I can pretend I didn't see it." Akeya... wasn't very good at being gentle. Or subtle.

Sol rubbed the back of his head as the human women left seemingly not as ok with his presence as the shadow dragon was and he took her advice as he slipped into the water across from the dragon woman and he sighed in content while closing his eyes, after a moment he opened his eyes and looked across at Akeya and he saw that she had an annoyed look on her face and he sighed again before he spoke.”I had no intent to bring the rune knights in here but somehow one of the attendents got the balls to alert the rune knights so I apologize for that” he explained as he stretched his arms a bit.

As he was stretching the attendent who had called the rune knights on Sol stepped into the room to check on the girls and was shocked to see the poison dragon in the pool with the shadow dragon and was about to say something before Sol leveled his gaze on her. “You call the rune knights again and you wont live to see tomorrow” he threatened before the woman quickly left the room in a hurry. “God I don’t feel like dealing with rune knights I came here for the same reason you probly did Akeya I came to rest, my change in appearance was not painless thats for sure” he said as he looked at his own claws before he glanced at the shadow slayers own scales .

He also didn’t feel like explaining to the woman that he also spent the night before very intimately with his mate Ahmoria though depending on how good the womans nose as she might have been able to smell his mate on him, “so what have you been up to lately Shadow Dragon?” he asked as he leaned back and let the warm water sooth his muscles.

"So you're saying that you are a publicly wanted man, but you still went into a hotel which is freely accessible by the public to enjoy the hot springs. In the middle of a fairly prosperous town which isn't exactly isolated from the rest of the country. And you still were surprised that someone would alert the Rune Knights that there was a criminal in here." Akeya's glare intensified as she summed up the situation so far as she understood it. Sol might've had some motivations to come here, but still... "You're lucky that I'm also trying to unwind here, or I might have tried to disable you and bring you to the Rune Knights simply because you interrupted the peace and quiet with that kind of explanation."

Scolding aside, Akeya was also paying close attention to Sol's new claws. They looked a bit strange on him, mostly because unlike she whose entire body was already becoming draconic it seemed that in this case the changes had only affected his arms and legs so far. Still, she would have bet a lot on that being actual dragonfication instead of the side effects of some spell. At the very least something that wouldn't just go away after a while, and if she was correct it would only spread and affect more and more of his body. Considering that he didn't seem too uncomfortable with them she'd have to guess he already had time to get used to the idea and the claws themselves, which meant that the changes weren't too recent. Still, that meant that there was now a Dragon Slayer other than herself who was going through the process at an accelerated pace... She wondered if he also had dragon blood or if there was something else which had forced his body to begin changing already. In her case it had been a combination of her blood containing the blood of a dragon and her soul being suspiciously similar to that of a dragon, which had as effect that when her body then also received the magic of a dragon everything... kind of synchronized and forced her body to become that of a dragon as well, although it was still in the process of happening.

Hearing Sol threaten one of the hotel's employees Akeya rolled her eyes, shooting Sol another glare. "I'm being very tolerant right now, and accepting of the fact that even dark mages need an opportunity to rest and relax. However if you keep causing a ruckus I will eventually run out of patience and capture you." In her eyes there wasn't really any doubt whether she could. Sol wasn't a pushover: she could sense his magic and in terms of raw power it wasn't too much different from herself. However it wouldn't be the first time Akeya had dealt with an opponent of a similar or higher power level and still taken them down quickly and efficiently. His poison would be something to look out for, but overall the shadow dragoness was confident that if needed she'd be able to take the man down. "Having your body forcibly alter its basic structure from the core up isn't a pleasant process no. You'll probably be happy to hear that after the first change it becomes more easily bearable, since at that point your body has already begun the process so it's already prepared itself for any additional changes." When Akeya began to change it wasn't without pain either. It was... well, not something that she didn't want to remember because honestly it had been fairly important, but it was definitely not a fun time.

Akeya sniffed as she smelled an additional scent, her sharp draconic nose quickly tracing down the nature and the source of origin. It appeared that the man sitting in the hot springs had more than one scent on him, and the other scent belonged to a female. Beyond that he had traces of certain hormones on him, which could only mean one thing... "Although I wouldn't expect you to need to come here to relax if you've already got a willing mate to help you out." Once again Akeya wasn't very good at being either subtle or gentle, rather bluntly stating that she was aware of what Sol had already done before. She didn't actually care too much, since it wasn't her business if he mated with anyone (although considering his status as a dark mage if he did actually conceive any children she might have to do something about that. There's already enough dark mages about without them breeding more on their own). However hot springs, while nice, could be considered a bit redundant if you already had the opportunity to spend some time of intimacy with a mate. Or maybe the man had just found a female who was willing to play with him for a single night.

"Well, never mind. Just make sure that you won't cause any further interruptions to my moment of relaxation and you can do whatever. Unless you decide to start committing crimes around here, in which case I'll still be obligated to hunt you down and capture you." Honestly Akeya found it a bit harder to completely relax at this point. Her potential opponent was a Dragon Slayer who both used shadow and poison magic. While the shadow magic shouldn't be an issue since that was her forte and she almost certainly had more experience, more skill and more talent with it, the poison could be a real problem. She couldn't let her guard down, because poison could be very subtle and she'd rather not find her end here just because she was being lenient. So she kept her eyes on Sol and her senses sharp, even as she answered his question.

"Training, completing missions, the usual. I came here because I had heard people from the underground were up to something, but apparently that was just a rumour. And how did a dark mage end up wandering about here in Talonia? They welcome the guildless here, but I doubt they're as welcoming towards a criminal mage."

“ I used the shadows to get thru the streets so I didn’t pop onto the radar utill I entered the building and even then I was hoping the fact that my appearance along with my record would keep the attendents from turning me in. as it seems I was mistaken” Sol grumbled before he heared Akeya say that he was lucky and that should she not be trying to unwind she would have tried to turn him in, at that the poison dragon shrugged his shoulder and just shook his head.”I didn’t come here for a fight and since I’ve been in town I’ve been good so that’s gotta count for something right?” he said knowing with his record it most likely didn’t but he didn’t care much.

The shadow dragon seemed to get more annoyed when he threatened the attendent and mentioned that if he kept causing problems she would capture him and turn him in, Sol sighed and knew he was in trouble if he didn’t somehow fix what he did.”look I only did it to ensure they didn’t try anything I don’t want the rune knights barging in here again and I’m sure you don’t as well” he explained glancing at her with his ruby orbs curiously. The slayer had to wonder if she had the same issue he had with the instincts of a dragon going thru his body, heck even his guild master wasn’t safe from him anymore when she made him angry.

Akeya explained that his body had gone thru the first change and because of that his body was prepairing for any other changes that would happen in the future, that put the poison slayers mind at ease and he grinned a bit. “you can relax Akeya I won’t cause trouble and I have no intention of fightning you I swear on my pride as a dragonslayer we are kin and I have no intent on fightning my sister” he said trying to put her at ease, he could sense she was wary of him and he understood that since despite being dragonslayers they were on two different sides her with the light guilds and him in the shadows of the dark guilds.”even mating with my beloved queen can’t completely heal bones snapping and reforming into something stronger but my mate did help me thru the change” Sol explained as he cained a small smile on his face and for a moment he didn’t seem like a man eating dragonslayer but a man in love .

“I came here hunting for some poisonous ingredients, it seems like here and rose garden are the two best places to find them since they are not normally eaten, but I also came here looking for leads to Acnologias location,” he said as he gently reached into a shadow behind him before he pulled out a single jet black scale, though it was just one the scent of Acnologia could still be found on it and even the echo of his power was there.”This was what triggered my change my scouts found this and it made my magic go haywire” he told the shadow mage hoping she might be able to help him with some of the new things happening to him.

"Using the shadows to make your way through town without being noticed only has a limited effect if you then show yourself to the people of this hotel. Also, while I'm aware that you can make people do or not do certain things if you just make it clear to them that you're in the superior position, believing that they'd leave you alone as a wanted mage just because of your appearance is somewhat optimistic." Akeya lifted one of her own clawed hands, her own appearance still significantly more inhuman than Sol's, as where he only had the limbs nearly her entire body had already been affected by the dragonfication. "If they had been sufficiently intimidated by your appearance they wouldn't have let me inside at all, no matter if they knew that I was a legal mage or not."

When Sol commented that he had behaved so far and that because of that she should leave him alone Akeya studied him closely, her emerald eyes narrow as she considered the options. She didn't actually feel like going through the trouble of capturing him, but now that he was opposing the idea she had to at least consider the option in case he was planning something and keeping her from going after him was part of the plan. She had already judged that if it really came down to it she should be able to capture him and subdue him, but he had become strong enough that it wouldn't be an easy task, and he could have some nasty surprises hidden away that could make it even more costly. Akeya didn't think he'd actually be able to kill her unless she really messed up, but she still wasn't out to lose a limb over something like this. Aside from that, while she was aware that the Magic Council would appreciate some more initiative from her she also didn't feel the urge to begin hunting dark mages who weren't even doing anything at the time and who weren't an immediate threat to her or those who held significance to her either.

On the other hand, if he wanted to use intimidation to make this trip go smoothly he'd have to train some more. First expecting it to just work and then brute forcing it showed that while he might be able to intimidate, he was still something of a novice at it. It was true that with those claws and his magic he should be able to intimidate people properly, but so far she'd judge his attempts as being a bit too sloppy. The dragoness sighed, then leaned back and shrugged. "Behave and I'll leave you be. Simple as that." All things considered while she wasn't going to just relax and become a ready target near this guy it really wasn't worth the bother of getting out of the hot springs to deal with him unless he forced her hand. Under normal circumstances she'd scold herself for behaving in such a lazy manner, but even dragons needed times where they'd be lazy and focus on unwinding.

Although when he called her sister her eyes narrowed again, drilling into his while she spread her wings slightly as a kind of subtle intimidation. Even if he was also beginning to undergo the dragonfication he was still nowhere as far as she was, and she wasn't too approving of him trying to treat her as family. "Just because we're both walking the path of a dragon doesn't make us kin. Dragons can be from different families just like humans. Us being in a similar situation creates a kind of bond, and I will respect that bond insofar as I won't treat you as just another human, but I'm not your sister. And I don't care much for the title of Dragon Slayer either. Looking at the actual effects and results it may once have been a magic dedicated to slaying dragons, but its actual effects are to give humanoids the powers of a dragon. If anything it should be called Dragon Embodiment or Dragon Avatar." She huffed, clearly not too amused by how the magic which allowed one to gain powers and abilities similar to a dragon, and which could actually turn someone into a dragon, somehow had been twisted to sound like it was a magic specifically designed to hunt dragons. With the power of a dragon you could hunt about anything, so that wasn't specific to dragons at all.

"Having a mate already and still I could tell that breaking in here aroused you." Akeya commented once Sol began to talk about his queen. Seeing his loving expression the shadow dragoness didn't really have a response to that, since honestly she didn't care. She wasn't warm-hearted enough to be touched by Sol's love for his mate, but she also didn't feel like giving scathing comments on every single thing he did. While she could probably pull it off it increased the odds of him getting angry and becoming an actual threat, something which Akeya wished to avoid for now even if she made sure not to give that impression. If you gave the appearance of being all too ready to fight people were more wary about trying anything.

"If you want poisonous ingredients I'd go to the wilds. Outside of the black market they will be hard to find, accessing the black market is quite difficult unless you're invited, but in the wilds there's nobody to separate the poisonous plants and animals from the ones safe to eat." At the mention of Acnologia Akeya blinked, not expecting that subject to come up. That dragon who was supposed to be the first human to completely get taken over by the Dragon Slayer magic (and giving her, another mage who was undergoing dragonfication, a bad name by giving the impression that turning into a dragon turned you stark raving mad). When Sol pulled out the single scale Akeya immediately focused on it, her sharp senses picking up on the memory of power that the obsidian scale contained. That was definitely the shard of a being of great power, although Akeya hadn't actually ever met Acnologia before so she couldn't say for certain that it was him, although the powers coming from the scale DID indicate that it was a dragon...

"Keeping tap on that dragon's location is not my task. Despite being a black dragon he isn't a shadow dragon, and beyond that he behaves more like a calamity than an actual person. Aside from that he hasn't showed up close enough to my location for me to ever have memorized his magic. If you want to know how the scale affected you, the stronger the dragon magic inside you the more it'll transform you. In your case your innate magic power wasn't good enough to begin the dragonfication, but that shard contained enough power left from Acnologia to break down the barriers that made you firmly human, after which your own magic power could begin the actual transformation. Gathering more shards most likely isn't going to do you much good, since I doubt you'd actually want to absorb his power and now that the barrier has already been broken it doesn't need any further breaking."

Sol could only sigh as Akeya seemed to have a point and he was a bit naive about how he approached keeping the rune knights off his back today and he simply shrugged his shoulders, “yeah you may have a point none the less I’ll behave Akeya no worries” he said a he stretched a bit making sure his shoulders and arms were well stretched but when he started to stretched his fingers the popping they made was almost like bone snapping.”ah they are still a bit stiff” he grumbled as he put his hands back into the water to sooth them, his joints were having trouble since he haden’t completely adjusted to his change just yet.

The poison dragon couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed when Akeya shot down his kinship and mentioned that while they had a bond due to be the most along in their transformation they were not siblings and she was not his sister, she also voiced her distaste for the name of their magic stating that it wouls better be called dragon avatar magic.”very well we have a bond that is as far as it goes, I respect that you don’t want us to be kin so I won’t call you sister, as for our magic it gives us the power of a dragon which is true but against such a beast nothing works except more dragon magic the side effects must have surfaced much later” Sol said gaining a thoughtful look before he blushed when she jabbed at him being aroused when he appeared on the womans side.

“I am male shadow dragon and despite having a mate you are very beautiful on a fool would think otherwise .but I’m not a pervert I didn’t break into this area I hid to avoid the knights” he explained trying to be level headed about this since he couldn’t help but find the shadow dragon beautiful though in his mind Ahmoria was much more beautiful.The slayer nodded at the womans explination that the best place for poisonous items would be the wilds but there were some items that were only found in the black market.

Akeyas explination of how his change happened made sense and Sol smiled slightly before he remembered some of the other things that bothered him along with Akeya mentioning him wanting to possably absorb the dragon kings power.”I have no desire for that Bastards power if I want the throne I want it with my own power not the power that disgrace of a king has” he growled lightly he wasn’t mad at her but at Acnologia. He calmed himself before he spoke again.”Akeya you’re the only other slayer besides myself to progress in Dragonfication do you have any trouble with instincts and the mind set of a dragon?” he asked

"I hope you do." Was Akeya's last comment regarding the issue of whether Sol would behave or not. She really hoped he was speaking the truth and wouldn't interrupt her time of relaxation any further, because the interruption so far already had been rather annoying. As long as he kept his cool from this point on she'd consider the matter forgotten, or at the very least not important. She watched as the other dragonkin suffered some of the after-effects of having his body begin to change into an entirely different creature. Which did remind her of when she herself had started on the road of dragonfication. It hadn't been a pleasant sensation, that was for sure. Having your skeleton suddenly rearrange itself to allow for a tail and wings had been the worst bit, but having her arms and legs break out in what was basically the worst rash ever to allow for the scales to form wasn't pleasant either. Akeya had been able to keep herself from scratching her skin open, but even if that might have been better in the long run for the duration of the transformation it had been a real pain.

Well, she was past that now, although from the looks of it Sol still had to go through the process of growing his wings and tail. Akeya could already tell that he wasn't going to like that one bit, but she didn't feel like warning him. It wasn't like he could do anything about it even if he knew, and even if she herself did think that dragonfication was the right option it was still an important decision one had to make for themselves. Having him experience the full sensation without any warning might help him realize the gravity of the decision he was making, that he was in fact abandoning his humanity and whatever else he might have had before for the sake of becoming one of the dragons, one of the strongest types of creatures to ever have existed along with demons and gods.

"Claws aren't as flexible as fingers, so while they'll become a bit more supple after a while you won't actually return to the same level of dexterity as you had with your fingers." Turning into a dragon wasn't completely without drawbacks, even if you didn't care whether people thought of you as a monster or not. While dragons did have thumbs and could use their claws to grab things, they still weren't appendages with as much nimbleness and dexterity as that of the monkeys and the humans, whose entire survival had depended upon being able to make tools and use them expertly. Akeya had with a lot of practice managed to retain a reasonable level of control, but she could still tell that when it came to flexibility fingers beat claws hands down. "And I'm sorry to say, but I'm betting your mate will be able to tell the difference once you try it out." Akeya did smirk at that, finding it pretty amusing to poke at the other dragonkin's relationship and see him be awkward about it.

As for the whole 'we are kin' thing... would you call two humans from different nations brothers? If she were to walk up to some random person on the street (disguised as a normal human) and called them her cousin or something, would they actually be happy about that or would they be confused and uncertain? Akeya was pretty sure it was the latter, since it wasn't like most humans would just be like 'and you are my family as well, let us have a drink together'. Even if both she and Sol were shadow dragons they still were of different families (especially since she didn't even know the dragon who added the dragon blood to her family all those ages ago, but she highly doubted Sol was related to them). Other people might like to call friends family and all that, but so far as Akeya was concerned if you wanted to call her sister you better bring proof that either your father or mother was also her father or mother.

"From what I've been able to gather it was known from the very beginning that the magic was granted to us by dragons, and allowed us to have the same power as dragons. The reason why it works so well against dragons is because the dragons who couldn't fight other dragons didn't survive for long enough to teach humans the same flawed magic. The reason why it's called Dragon Slayer magic is because the humans used what the dragons gave to them to fight the dragons, and over time the humans just forgot and assumed that they devised the magic themselves to fight the dragons." Akeya snorted. "Since I'm in favour of using everything you can get your hands on to get yourself an advantage I can't be too angry at the humans for betraying the dragons like that once it became more convenient than staying allies, but those dragons should have been more cautious with their gift, and it's amusing that the humans who preach about love and friendship have turned out to be some of the biggest backstabbers this world has known." She snorted again. "Hypocrites."

Akeya rolled her eyes as Sol defended his reaction to seeing her naked. She was well aware that arousal was a biological process which didn't translate into someone not being satisfied with their own partner. Sure, there were some people for whom love was so important that once they found someone to love they no longer felt any desire towards anyone else, but for the most part that whole 'you can't like looking at other women' was just something females said because they wanted to feel like they were special and didn't like the idea that they didn't somehow occupy the entirety of their male's mind and left no room for any other female (of course males also didn't like it if their woman looked at other men, but Akeya found that either males were more inclined to look at other females, or females noticed it earlier and found it more irritating). Rather silly so far as Akeya was concerned. It was probably that same kind of reasoning which resulted in humans finding monogamy so natural and assumed: they wanted to feel special, unique, the most important. Sharing their husband or wife with others would ruin that sensation, so the entire culture as a whole did its best to make that impossible. That and they probably were just greedy.

When Sol began to talk about taking Acnologia's throne, however, Akeya first blinked, then began to laugh. Unlike her usual smirks this was an actual full-blown laugh, the dragoness looking genuinely amused at the idea as she shook her head. "Silly hatchling." She chuckled, then pointed at Sol with a clawed finger. "Do you actually think that Acnologia is the king of dragons? He's naught but the king of ruins, and that's one throne you should never aim for. Do you ever see any dragons obey Acnologia's commands? Do you ever see them praise him or act in his name?" She snorted, still obviously amused. "He's nothing but a calamity, both for the humans and the dragons. He's a former human who gave in to the bloodlust while fighting dragons, and him becoming a dragon himself only meant that he had enough strength to keep going. A monster, if you find that easier to understand. He might be strong, and I'm guessing that he could help me give birth to some strong hatchlings if I played it right, but beyond that he's not something anyone should care for or want to be like." She paused. "Well, wanting to be a powerful dragon isn't bad. But that one's insane, and insane in a bad way. Not worth looking up to beyond the raw strength."

"Also, there is no such thing as a king of dragons." Her eyes narrowed now. "That's just your still human mind thinking that it could somehow climb to the top and rule all the dragons. I suggest you forget about it. Dragons may be prideful and arrogant by nature, and they might also be greedy, but surprisingly their pride, their arrogance, their greed is still surpassed by you humans. And yes, you are still a human, even if you have already begun to leave that part of you behind. Let me make this clear." The sharp claw that tipped her finger seemed to be a lot sharper now as she glared at him. "There is no such thing as a king of dragons. Dragons don't have royalty. Each and every one of us is a solitary ruler of our own territory. The only thing we bow to is superior might or wisdom, and then only for as long as we can't find a way to surpass or topple it. If I learn that you actually fancy yourself some kind of dragon king, someone who could rule the dragons..." She withdrew her clawed hand to study it instead. "If a human who happened to find the path to dragonhood got that unreasonably cocky I would have to kill them. And ensure they would never be found, revived, reanimated, brought back to the land of the living, etc. Dragons are solitary creatures and we have no reason to want a king, and I'm not tolerating anyone trying to change that."

She kept studying her claws even as Sol asked his next question, answering it without hesitation. "As you've already proven, despite your changes your mind is still primarily human. Which is why you have trouble with your newfound instincts: your mind is in conflict with itself. I've never had that issue since my mindset was unusual for a human from the very beginning, but quite suitable for a dragon." She glanced up at Sol. "We dragons are cold, cunning and solitary. We are not group creatures, so unlike humans we have no desire for company. Or rather, we have no need for it. We might make friends, we will choose a mate later down in life if fate is willing, but a large portion of a dragon's life is spent alone, and unlike with humans and other small creatures that is not a curse, or unfortunate. We don't care for romance either, we are by and large not sappy or sentimental. All these lesser creatures we interact with can be interesting and useful, but there's no reason to treat them as indispensable. Also, while we do have greed we know better than to aim too high." Her emerald eyes drilled into Sol's. "You'll lose the need for company as the dragonfication continues, you will no longer see the humans as the most important creatures. If you want to continue going down this path you're better off not fighting your new instincts. Instead do what every dragon does, and try to utilize them to their fullest potential."

Sol couldn’t help but laugh at  the comment Akeya made about his claws and how Ahmoria would most likely be able to tell the difference as he went thru his transformation, however once he was able to shift back to human form his claws wouldn’t matter that much since he would be able to manifest them at will.”I suppose I will get used to it but I gotta say you don’t need knives or swords when you have claws like these” he said as he flexed his fingers and examined the deadly talons that tipped his fingers. It was true that his claws could rend flesh better then any blade now and he knew his bite could rip thru flesh and bone like it was nothing.

At the mention of dragons teaching  humans and being betrayed by them the Poison dragon could only nod in understanding. “it is true that they should have been more cautious and also more observant of who they taught the magic but I agree that humans are more often then not backstabbers, they may hide it under  how advanced they say they are but in truth humans are a savage and brutal species” he said finding humans to honestly be pests more then anything and something he wouldn’t care about if they went extinct. At the mention of acnologia and how he was not someone to look up  apart from strength the slayer growled.”that lizard is no king I never said he was king but the fact that he says that he is  makes a mockery of all other dragons I honestly want to see his  head removed from his body and by my own hands if I get the chance” he said his crimson eyes burning with hatred for the black dragon of apocalypse .

Akeya seemed to have a very different opinion of dragon royalty then he did but her words made him wonder, only Acnologia was arrogant enough to call himself the dragon king however he had heard of such dragons as Igneel the Fire Dragon king so some dragons of certain breeds were kings.” I may be arrogant but  to be king of all dragons seems  a far stretch even  for me but I seek to prove I am the mightiest Poison Dragon” he explained now that his thoughts and goals were shifting and he was questioning things now. The shadow dragon explained about how his insticts  were conflicting with his human mind which was causing trouble but if he wanted to continue down this path he needed to embrace them and not resist them.

“I’v never seen humans as important honestly I find them to be pests but I nearly listened to an urge I had to rip my guild masters throat out because she poisoned Hera in my castle and then shrugged off my anger, I have never felt so disrespected and outraged I almost couldn’t control the urge I had to rip her apart. I suppose I should make sure my mistress knows not to piss me off” he said with a chuckle at the end but in truth the slayer was still very angry at Famine for what she had done.” I will take your advice though I plan to follow these path I am on, I took this magic and I will accept my change into a dragon and everything that comes with it” he said with certainty in his eyes.

Akeya studied Sol as the man stated that now that he had claws he would no longer need swords or knives. On one hand it was true that claws did quite a good job serving both as cutting and stabbing implements, so he was correct to some extent. On the other hand, there was still some advantages to using weapons, the dragoness wondering if she should inform Sol or leave it be. Even if they were relaxing in the same bath now and talking they were still technically enemies, so maybe she shouldn't get too comfortable revealing too many potentially dangerous things to him. On the other hand... The dragoness stayed silent as she contemplated this, watching Sol as the man continued to talk. At least he seemed happy being able to converse about the dragonfication process, so he might not notice that she was being more silent than usual. Granted Akeya was a rather cold and distant person anyway, so someone who didn't know her well at all should have trouble guessing whether she was being quiet because she was thinking or because she simply didn't have anything to say.

After some more thinking Akeya decided against mentioning the benefits that sharp weapons still had compared to claws. He might figure it out on his own, but if he ended up actually forgoing any weapons in the future because he was confident in his claws that would make him easier to deal with if Akeya actually had to take him down. Which was a realistic possibility, since she was a legal mage who also served as a professional assassin that the Magic Council liked to make use of. Sol, despite acting friendly towards the only other dragonkin he knew, was still a dark mage and a wanted man, so if he became too big a threat the Magic Council might actually ask Akeya to try and hunt him down. In which case any advantage would be welcome, since she didn't think Sol was going to be as easy a target as some of the people she had been tasked to take care of before.

"Human nature is one of pride and greed. The greed is a natural result of wanting to be stronger, and the pride is a result of them having managed to climb so high above most other creatures even though they started out so small and weak. I can hardly blame them for either trait, but it does mean that it's strange for them to try and portray themselves as virtuous when they're no better than the monsters they tend to look down at." Akeya didn't exactly dislike humans, but she didn't have too high an opinion of them other than that some humans were quite good at using whatever method they could find to rise up, an attribute the shadow dragoness was a big supporter of since she herself considered pragmatism and opportunism very useful traits to have. Rather than relying on morality or decency, one should focus on what works and take advantages when they are offered, because a speedy improvement is not actually worth less than a more steady gain unless you didn't solidify what you gained from the opportunity.

"Don't get too angry now. Acnologia may be a monster whose existence is a threat to all that lives, but remember that you are part of that group. If you ever come across that black dragon it'd already be difficult enough to merely survive if you kept your cool, so I suggest you don't get too worked up." A safe thing to say, since if Sol was going to lose his composure when facing Acnologia some warning words from Akeya weren't going to change that, and if he was going to manage staying in control anyway it didn't matter whether she advised caution or not. Different from with the weapons, since that would actually take a moment of insight from the poison dragon of which the shadow dragoness wasn't sure if he could produce that moment on his own or not.

"Becoming the mightiest of a dragon type is going to take a while regardless of the route you take. Well, if that's what you want to try then good luck to you." No reason to dissuade him from that, although Akeya personally was sceptical of how far he would get with that particular dream. Becoming a dragon did make one more powerful since dragons were just naturally that strong, but a human who managed to turn into a dragon still had to compete with dragons who had been a dragon for all their life. Granted, Akeya herself wasn't the kind to settle for the idea of being weak, which was another reason why she wasn't going to waste time trying to keep Sol from trying: not out of a feeling of similarity, but because she knew that while trying to become a king was stupid, dragonkin like her and Sol weren't going to just give up because they were told they couldn't become the strongest.

Although when Sol began to talk about how now that he had become dragonkin he had nearly attacked his guild master in a fit of rage the shadow dragoness frowned. She didn't look too pleased with what Sol was describing, even going so far as to raise a clawed hand and support her chin with it, looking both thoughtful and annoyed even as she kept her eyes on the poison dragon. She waited until he finished speaking before responding herself, her tone now rather curious but also cold.

"Hmmm... If you didn't already have those urges before you became what you are now that's rather strange, since I've never had that kind of problem." She narrowed her eyes. "Now, why would you suddenly feel such beastly urges... maybe a different type of dragon? Well, regardless, you're out of luck if you were hoping to hear of the other dragonkin facing similar challenges: my path to dragonhood does not include anything like the rush of rage you just described, so it either has to do with exactly what type of dragon you are turning into, or that's just your own nature showing itself now that your humanoid self is slowly fading away, weakening restraints you put upon yourself before."

Sol could only nod at Akeyas description of humanity since they truly embodied both of those sins though he himself held both as well but that was to be expected considering his goal and how he was raised. To be honest though the poison slayer was hoping that once he was strong enough he would be able to wipe them off of the face of Fiore not that he would ever tell his fellow dragon kin his desire.as the shadow dragon told him to calm down and that if he didn’t keep his cool when he faced him then his chance of surviving much less winning would be zero he sighed and seemed to relax. “my apologies Akeya my parents opinion of Acnologia was rather strong and it carried over to me, I honestly just want that lizard and any of his bloodline wiped out, as long as he lives he stains the name of dragon slayer and dragon alike” he said his face was set in a serious expression as he spoke.

Normally the slayer was against harming a child unless the job required it or they got in his way but with the so called dragon king any of his progeny could be considered a threat and deserved to be put to the sword in Sols mind after all who knows if Acnologias madness was genetic. “I know it will take time lucky for us the lifespan of a dragon far exceeds anything a human could ever wish” he said, as far as Sol knew dragons were ageless and outside of sickness and death thru battle they could live eternally but since the former was out of the question for him he would have to fall in battle to have his existence end..

The shadow Dragoness seemed to question if his urges he felt were connected to the type of dragon he was or if it was just his true nature showing now that he was changing from human to something else.”I dunno Akeya but I’m normally not one to get that angry but something about what She did inside my castle set me off, I didn’t think or her as my guild master or even an allie all I could see her as was an Invader in my territory and a enemy. Maybe its just my dragon instincts making me territorial or it could be like you said and it could be something to do with me becoming a poison dragon” he pondered as he cracked his neck a bit

Truth be told, Akeya at least appreciated the fact that Sol was taking the time to listen. Not that she found the conversation terribly important (the topics weren't bad, but for someone like her who mostly focused on her job this casual talk was always a bit out there), but it was a lot better than if he had interrupted her relaxing moment and then didn't even have the decency to listen to her when she was talking to him. That said, she found her fellow dragon slayer too focused on Acnologia and his hatred for the dragon. Akeya herself wasn't a fan of the fake dragon king either, but honestly she thought it better to leave the monster alone if possible. The creature's claim to royalty was ridiculous, but it couldn't have survived for even a year afterwards if it hadn't been strong enough to destroy anything that came after it, be it human or dragon. It would be for the best if Acnologia disappeared, but given the chances of that happening it was better to treat it like a wandering disaster and avoid it.

That said, when Sol claimed that he'd wipe out both Acnologia and any of his brood Akeya's eyes quickly narrowed, and the poison dragon slayer would find himself the target of her killing intent. It wasn't too strong, since she wasn't actually picking a fight, but as usual it was unusually focused and cold. Akeya didn't kill out of anger or hatred. She killed because she thought that something was better off dead, or because she was hungry. Anger and hatred didn't come into it except for really rare cases, and while Sol's words annoyed her somewhat this wasn't one of those rare cases yet.

"I hope you aren't suggesting hunting down all of Acnologia's descendants after I just pondered out loud the possibility of tricking him into helping me give birth to some strong dragons. I might not have a reputation for being very caring, but if I found that you would plot the demise of my own children I'd have to take the most direct approach to ensure their safety." Her emerald eyes were focused on Sol like a beam trying to gaze right through him, the implications behind her words completely out in the open even as she idly scratched one of the stones at the edge of the water with a sharp claw. She kept the glare up for a bit longer before relaxing, looking at her claw instead (although she was still keeping an eye on Sol: it would be foolish to first threaten him and then not stay on guard in case he defended himself pre-emptively). "Well, other than that it's all up to you. I don't find hunting the creature too important, as long as it doesn't get in my way. And I don't care for any of his other brood either, so as long as you leave my potential offspring alone you're free to do as you like."

Back to the topic of power, it seemed Sol was still determined to try and become the strongest, although Akeya had already been expecting that. If he didn't desire strength he wouldn't have been so calm about turning into a dragon in the first place. She didn't plan to actually let him overtake her, but she wasn't going to waste time trying to convince him not to bother with trying to get strong. "Just remember that the dragons you're trying to surpass also have that lifespan. Other than that, do what you want to do, just don't get in my way."

It seemed the poison dragon didn't agree with her assessment about why he had felt such a rage: he found it more likely that it was some kind of territorial instinct. Akeya herself still found it somewhat unlikely, since she had never had anything like that, but maybe it was worth considering. She raised a clawed finger to signal Sol to stay silent as she contemplated it for a bit longer, the dragoness looking at Sol as the gears turned in her head. The most important thing was that Akeya herself never had that kind of sensation, which meant it either wasn't a result of dragonfication, or it showed a difference between her and Sol. Assuming that it was the latter... She was a pure blood shadow dragoness whose development had been gradual and with her putting a lot of attention in making sure she developed the right way. Along with that she had already been a cool-headed and focused person when she was still fully human, and becoming dragonkin had only made her mindset more reptilian. Meanwhile Sol was a cross between shadow and poison, and while he wasn't the most emotional of people he also wasn't nearly as cold-blooded as she herself was: it was one of her more notable traits. In the end she shrugged.

"If we assume for a moment that it's not merely a dysfunction or another issue, I'd guess that it has to do with the fact that I'm fully shadow while you're a mix, and I wouldn't be surprised if poison dragons tend to have worse tempers and worse personalities than shadow dragons. After all, unlike with humans who just grab some magic they like for dragons their element is part of who they are, so the personalities are more likely to match the element. Beyond that... I wasn't too emotional to begin with, so maybe rather than territorial rage I just see such things as threats to eliminate. I'm still inclined to believe it has to do with you being you, but you might be right that it also has to do with you being a poison dragon."

Her tail went from side to side once beneath the water surface, the water swirling as the dragoness glanced towards the wall. "So, how are you planning to get back out of here without being caught? The Rune Knights aren't that stupid that they'll just let you go without a fight, and while I doubt they'll come back in here they'll probably be keeping an eye out for anyone using magic."

Sols eyes narrowed dangerously when he caught the threat that Akeya threw at him, “considering you would most likely raise them well and better then any of his other offspring your kids I could overlook, just the same should I find out you would plan the death of my legacy there would be nowhere on this earth you can hide from me” he said his words held a threat equal to hers as well. Ruby met emerald for a moment before she relaxed and he just sighed and scratched the top of his head lightly.”very well I’ll leave your children alone and in turn you leave mine alone fair enough” he said. He didn’t show it but he was on guard incase Akeya pulled something but he made sure not to make any movement that the shadow dragoness could take as a threat.

“I apolgize for upsetting you it was not my intent, I would rather we not leave here on bad terms even though our alliances are different” he said honestly as his eyes held a calm look in them and his tone was sincere. When she mentioned that it was most likely him being him or his poison dragon half causing his temperment the Poison Dragon nodded.”most likely Ballom was rather temperamental as well I was lucky to get on his good side and was trained by him but he demanded respect and the few times I didn’t got me knocked thru a tree. My body still remembers them “ he said as he grimiced at the memory before he suddenly felt a spike of pain in his back around his shoulder blades and his tailbone and he let out a sharp hiss for a moment.” ah crap I think I’m going to get my wings and tail soon” he grumbled as he sunk lower into the water to make his back feel better.

He sighed in content as the pain seemed to fade and when she asked how he would escape from here since the rune knights were most likely on high alert since his presence was known.” Hmm I was considering dipping into the shadows and using the darkness to move thru alleys till I got to the city entrance but that might go out the window if they can sense me in the shadow” he said as he crossed hims arms and closed his eyes as he seemed to ponder what he could do if that failed.

"You assume that I would run." Akeya returned her glare to Sol once he returned her threat, not too happy that the poison dragon would return the favour instead of taking her warning and heeding it. Granted, considering that the both of them were dragonkin and Sol had already revealed that his transformation had included a more aggressive instinct it wasn't too surprising, but Akeya still would have preferred it if she could have managed to make the poison dragon slayer heed her words without feeling the need to provide his own threat in return. Although in any case, it was important to make it very clear to Sol that if Akeya had ill intent towards him and his kin she wouldn't hide. At least, not any longer than would be necessary to find the right time and place to strike, and when she would strike she'd do her best to eliminate as many as possible.

After Sol apologized Akeya released some of the tension she had been showing during the little stand-off. It looked like Sol would rather treat her as an ally than an enemy, or at the very least a non-hostile acquaintance. Akeya herself didn't feel the need for the two of them to be allies aside perhaps giving her a better position to study the dragonfication process in another person, but considering the fact that she didn't came here to fight not having to leave with a fight did seem like a good thing. Which is why the dragoness simply nodded her agreement, making a small dismissive motion with the tip of her tail.

"As long as you understand the situation it's fine." As long as Sol understood that threatening her kin was a good way to get Akeya's killing intent bearing down on you it should be fine, since she figured that even if Sol wasn't going to act submissive he still put enough value into being on acceptable terms with her and respected her abilities enough that unless her kin did something tremendously stupid he wouldn't do anything. Of course, if he did try anything she'd have to respond with disproportionate retribution to ensure that there would not be a shadow of a doubt of what the shadow dragoness did to anything which threatened her kin. The poison would be a problem since it could be extremely insidious, not to mention make approaching Sol difficult if he knew how to spread poison through the air... and since he was a shadow/poison hybrid he might have some way of applying poisons even on her shadow form. On the other hand, since she was a pure-breed shadow dragon and he was a hybrid she should easily have the upper hand with shadow magic, so that part of his repertoire shouldn't be too much of an issue... But Akeya didn't like taking unnecessary risks.

"I'm not upset. I just feel like I should make it clear that I won't tolerate threats to my kin, regardless of whether those threats originate from another dragonkin." Akeya left it at that, because she had the suspicion that neither of them wanted to bow to the other in this regard, so instead of continuing to throw threats it would be better to make it clear that she wasn't going to bow down. With some luck Sol would recognize that neither of them felt inferior to the other and agree to the unspoken cease-fire.

Listening to Sol's recalling of his dragon tutor resulted in Akeya raising an eyebrow. Whedalsin had definitely been a different personality than Ballom. The shadow dragon had become annoyed from time to time during the training, but it seemed he had spent too long slumbering followed up by meeting a human who'd willingly take the path to becoming a dragon to really put effort into being aggressive, hostile or demanding. Whether that was because of him being a shadow dragon while Ballom was a poison dragon, or if that was just a normal difference in personality. Although Akeya was still pretty sure that she didn't have anything like that territorial rage that Sol had described in herself. Sure, she didn't like people messing about, but she hadn't ever felt like there was a rage inside of her threatening to swallow her rationality and leave her a menace to everything around her.

"Challenging the dragon who's teaching you is something that will most likely get you knocked down a few pegs yes. I'd say you're lucky he didn't give you any scars to remember him by." Akeya shrugged. "However I'd still advise you to try and gain control over that rage of yours. I don't have it, but I'm suspecting your life will become a lot easier if you don't let that kind of thing control your actions at what could be crucial moments." The times when a territorial rage could activate were also usually the times where you needed to be smart, so if Sol didn't actually gain control he'd most likely end up regretting it in some way or another.

"If you have reason to think your wings and tail are going to develop soon you should seek out a remote location. Even if your body has already adapted to being dragonkin the transformation might still be unpleasant, and it's better if people don't see it happen. It'd be easy for them to get the wrong idea." Akeya gave this advice because she had done the same herself, not really trusting the humans around her to stay sensible if she were to grow her new draconic traits in plain sight. When Sol explained how he'd try to use the shadows to escape Akeya pondered briefly what to do. Well, getting in his way didn't really have much benefit for her unless he got caught and betrayed the fact that she'd willingly let him escape, in which case she could be seen as sympathizing with a criminal. Hmmm...

"You might be able to escape with the shadows, or you might not. I'm a pure shadow dragon slayer so I'd probably be fine, but as a halfbreed who's still getting used to his new nature you might have more trouble. Still, I won't get in your way as you try to escape, if you do something in return. Letting you escape is not something I should be doing, being a Rising Star who is supposed to help deal with criminals. If the Rune Knights do end up capturing you you can't breathe a word about be. If you do I'll silence you permanently afterwards." She kept her eyes on Sol with a steady gaze. She wanted him to be aware of the importance of keeping his mouth shut about her, because if he talked she'd have to deal with some issues herself.