[center][h2][color=8493ca]Azilon Dantanath[/color][/h2]
Husband of [color=98fb98]Rya Mira[/color] and [color=skyblue]Aeila Snowblood[/color]
Collab w/ PotatoGod[/center]

Aeila gripped the hilt of the dagger, gently willing it to press into his throat and kill him. But the knife didn't move an inch and she slowly came to the conclusion that she couldn't kill him. She wasn't like the rest of her people - she was weak and useless and he easily could have cast her aside. He didn't kill her even though he had the chance to and there she was, ready to slit his throat at a moment's notice. Just as she was to pull the knife away, his voice rose from the tub and she found herself shivering, suddenly finding need to grab the knife once more.

For all her threats, she barely even lasted a few seconds before his blast of water produced a small yelp from her and the knife cluttered to the floor. She expected an outcome a lot worse but being soaked in front of him wasn't exactly gratifying.

Almost immediately, her head dipped in shame and she hugged herself, trying to hold body-heat as she came to the realization that her only pair of clothes were completely drenched. This was bad. Knowing Azilon, she suspected he would leave her in them to suffer but surprisingly, he left and returned, bearing a thin tunic which he quickly handed over to her.

Aeila's eyes went wide almost immediately and she blushed but she knew she had no choice. Hypothermia would set in and she'd be well and truly gone. Even if she didn't have a choice, she still raised her eyes to his and fidgeted, avoiding his nudity. [color=skyblue]"Turn around..."[/color]


Azilon rolled his eyes with a chuckle before glancing down at the shivering child. He hadn't really thought about the fact that she might not have been used to the colder climates. It didn't really bother him any, but he was used to the coolness of shadows and dampness of water... If her chattering teeth were any indication, Azilon realized that she wasn't and now he had just dumped water over her head. Cursing himself silently, the man growled and partially ignored her request to turn around. Throwing the tunic over his shoulder, Azilon grabbed for the closest towel and tossed it over her head so that she could dry the water droplets from her hair as well.

"[color=8493ca]You women and your modesty, it's not like you have anything I want Sprite. But it'll get rather annoying if you're sneezing and snuffling the whole ride home so either you can ditch the clothes now, or I'm going to help you out of them. Which will it be?[/color]" He stated, taking a step forward to emphasize his serious tone. Normally he wouldn't care but she was just so small... It reminded him vaguely of a kitten he had once encountered in the rain. Such a sad creature, so cold and alone... He hated just thinking about it. 

At the sound of his growl, she thought she had angered him and instantly flinched. Her older brother, the heir to the throne, became angered often and she found that the warning signs were a good time to leave. She didn't have that opportunity in that moment, however, so her eyes naturally drifted down to where the knife lay on the ground and she cleared her throat before yelping as her vision was suddenly darkened and something fussy was placed on her head. Pausing momentarily, her hands slowly crawled up to the towel and dragged it away so her eyes were free once more. She didn't trust Azilon and if he wished to do something, there was no one to stop him.

His threat brought a shocked look to her face, painting her as the normal deer in the headlights as she took a defensive step back. No one had ever been that blunt with her before. It served as a reminder of her position but judging by the look in his eyes, his threat was very real. She stopped entirely and was convinced that no action was the best course of action but as soon as he took another step forward, she found her hands reaching up to the top of the dress.

Working the strings loose, she got about two thirds of the way down before she withdrew her fingers and presented her half-exposed back to him. [color=skyblue]"C-Could you help me please...?"[/color]

Azilon hesitated as Aeila flinched back, standing his ground with a scowl as she shakily began untying her own dress. Satisfied by this he crossed his arms and stared off to the side until his attention was recalled by her quiet voice. Shifting his gaze back down to look at her he was met with her mostly exposed back, the last portion of the strings too awkwardly placed for her to reach herself. Sighing at her request, Azilon stepped forward with a disapproving expression.

"[color=8493ca]You've never had to do a damn thing by yourself, have you?[/color]" He asked with a grunt, kneeling down so that he could better see the strings he was untying. Quickly but carefully he loosened the remaining portion of her dress before standing back up to full height and crossing his arms.

"[color=8493ca]Geez, what am I going to do with you? You flinch at every sound, you can't kill anyone, and you can barely undress yourself without help...[/color]" Shaking his head, Azilon sighed again and looked down at her. This time his eyes full of concern. He couldn't understand how a Drakken, no matter how much they took after their Gemminite parent, could be so frail. Scoot was incredibly capable, but then again he himself could barely remember what the guy had been like when he was first brought to the estate. Reaching his hand up, Azilon pulled the tunic from his shoulder and offered it out to Aeila once again maintaining a neutral expression.

"[color=8493ca]I have a question for you if you don't mind my impertinence.[/color]"

She kept quiet as she heard the brush of his clothes while he knelt to the ground and untied the remainder of the strings. Her hand quickly rose to her chest, holding the dress against her torso so it didn't slip down and completely reveal her. She was quick to answer when he first questioned her, eyes surprisingly stormy as she wheeled about on him. [color=skyblue]"I was never allowed to do anything by myself, I'll have you know! Father let me into the royal library and I could sometimes go out into the gardens but it was only when the Warlords and their families had went home for the winter."[/color] Her tone shifted into something surprisingly hopeful as she stared off into the distance. It wasn't long until it took a quieter, more reserved tone. [color=skyblue]"This was my first time outside the citadel walls ever since I was a little girl..."[/color] Giving him one last look, she stayed silent at his next question and took the tunic, turning away from him.

Looking back over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't watching, she allowed the dress to slip off her before she quickly threw the tunic over her head, darting her arms through and instantly pulling it down to cover her nudity. Fixing the gifted clothing, she stepped out of the crumpled dress around her feet and lifted it, folding it silently as he questioned her once more. [color=skyblue]"Yes?"[/color]

Turning on his heel Azilon exited the bathing room, his yet to be asked question an obvious call for her to follow him. Nabbing a robe for himself, he wrapped the expensive cloth around his body and tied its belt around his waist before setting to work lighting a fire in the room's fireplace. He remained silent for a little while, eyes focused intently on his work of bringing warmth to the room, and even afterwards as he stared at the flickering light for a while before backing away. Settling down on the floor, the Drakken Lord crossed his legs and leaned back on his arms to stare up at the ceiling.

"[color=8493ca]This brother of yours... no, the entire royal family sounds like a bunch of bone munching idiots. I'm sure if you had bided your time, eventually you would have been able to kill your brother and earn yourself a standing. Sure you would have been met with some pushback... but you most certainly wouldn't have been the first Drakken in history to kill a family member in order to escape the chains they were put under. So I guess my question boils down to this: Of all the time spent in the castle, the oppression keeping you beneath their boots, why with all of that challenging you did you never try to prove yourself?[/color]" His face was still turned toward the ceiling but his eyes had shifted to look at her as he asked his question. There was something about the way that she spoke, the tone of her voice, that hinted that she had never attempted to rebel however he of all people knew how wrong an assumption like that could be. After all, the longer this girl spoke... The more he realized just how similar they actually were.

She blinked at him, expecting the question and when it didn't come, she stared as he moved into the main room. Pacing into the room after him, she watched with somewhat demanding eyes as he bent down and stoked the fire, bringing it to life and warming the room in a moment before finding a comfortable place on the floor and dumping himself down. After raising his eyes to the ceiling, he finally chose to elaborate on his original question. Sweeping her eyes to the ground, she gently lowered herself down before sliding her legs in under her body so that her modesty was somewhat retained. She waited for him to finish and extended the silence for another minute before finally choosing to answer.

[color=skyblue]"I guess... Well... I always wanted to see outside the Citadel. And I always wanted to see something more than pity in my father's eyes but..."[/color] She didn't know why opening her heart to him served her any good but she'd be dead soon enough anyways. Might as well have someone know. [color=skyblue]"I was scared. Even if I didn't like my condition, it was safe. I had read the history of Drakka, I had listened to my father and his talks of war, I knew that it was a cold, horrid place and I chose to stay away. They tried to make me bite back, to kick and scream. 'It's the Drakken way', they said, but would good would hurting them do? It would make me feel good but then the adrenaline would slip away and the happiness would go with it and then I'd be left an empty shell with nothing left to define me except for the fact that I slit my brother's throat while he slept."[/color] She finally slumped down, intertwining her fingers before finally peeking up at him, large eyes wavering.


"[color=8493ca]What a pitiful way to live.[/color]" He growled though the sound held little malice, seeming more bored than anything. So similar and yet so different were their tales. Their meddling and her suffering had only pushed her further into the paralyzing grip of complacency. Azilon understood the methods they had tried to employ, but unfortunately they hadn't taken to Aeila in the same way they had taken to him. It made him wonder if there was something else to it. Perhaps something she herself did not yet recognize. Shaking his head, Azilon pushed the sentiment aside and yawned before sinking further back on the floor until he was lying flat with his head supported by his arms. His stomach tightened silently with hunger and he found himself wondering where his usually punctual servant had made his way off to. Deciding that it didn't matter Azilon stretched himself out and listened for the popping of various joints. As he relaxed, his eyes drifted shut and his breathing evened out giving off the impression that he had fallen asleep yet again.

"[color=8493ca]The world isn't as terrifying as you've been made to believe. Sure it's harsh and it can be quite difficult, but it is apart of the true 'Drakken way' to accept these hardships and face them head on. That family of yours had it wrong, well not completely but mostly. You've already proven you have what it takes to be a decent Drakken, you just need a little push in the right direction. This should be entertaining indeed.[/color]" He chuckled, his neutral expression twisting into an amused grin.

She thought he would at least have a shred of sympathy but Azilon surprised her at every turn. Sure it may have been pitiful but his life wasn't that much better. Grumbling under her breath, Aeila stood up once more and set about looking a bit busy. She tried to resist talking back to him because she knew that he derived a sort of weird fun from this but she couldn't help it. [color=skyblue]"No. I don't need a push. I'm not a Drakken. I know I have these... Things..."[/color] She made a casual swipe at her horns as she rounded on him. [color=skyblue]"...But I'm not one of you. I don't kill people just to get one step higher on the rung. You think because you're messed up that everyone around you is a murderous psychopath?"[/color] Snorting, her eyes darkened as her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't know why he annoyed her exactly but he did and that was enough. [color=skyblue]"What a pitiful way to live."[/color] She was quite proud of that one.


Azilon sat up, turning his head to stare at the girl. For a moment he wasn't completely sure he had heard her correctly, but the fierce look in her eyes assured him that he had. He didn't know whether to be shocked, amused, or irritated with her so he ended up just staring at her blankly for a solid minute before bursting out in laughter. It was the kind of laughter that cramped at the sides and brought tears to his eyes, shaking his entire body to the core.

"[color=8493ca]Who would have thought I'd be eating my own words, thrown right back at me by a little sprite who rejects her own heritage. I'm glad Scoot wasn't here, he'd never let me live it down.[/color]" He said when he could finally breathe again, eyes focusing back on Aeila with an inquisitive look.

"[color=8493ca]I just don't understand you. You continue to claim that you are not Drakken, yet here you are losing your temper and attacking the person who insulted you... Granted this is the least violent attack I have ever encountered, but a taunt aimed at pride often has the effect of provoking sloppy strikes. Perfect strategy for one your size. But I would like to remind you that while we are both devilishly handsome, I am not your brother and thus do not think like your brother. My goal is not and never has been greedy in nature. I kill to survive and if that means reminding others every so often who holds the power, then by all means I'm going to remind these animals of just how cruel I can become. You're cute Sprite, but I wouldn't try pushing your luck just yet... I'd hate for you to forget who the alpha is around here.[/color]" His voice took on a chilly tone, contrasting greatly with the amusement in his eyes. It wasn't as if he was going to deny her claim that he was a murderous psychopath... After all, what fun would there be in lying?

She remained proud until he started laughing and then her pride turned to annoyance as she regarded him. She didn't open her mouth but her look was enough to tell him she wasn't too pleased. Her petty anger continued as he sat up and his tone took a completely different turn. At that, her anger faded away like the wind, her lips parting slightly as she took a step back. He was right, even if she didn't like it and his words felt like a punch to the gut. She wasn't one of them... She had promised herself all those years that she would never be like them. She wouldn't use anger and bitterness as her weapons and yet here she was, using anger and bitterness. Her chin fell once more and she dodged his gaze as she wrung her fingers together. 

Aeila may have been many things but she wasn't dumb and there was no point wasting her life just to get one-up on him. So, although hesitantly, she swallowed her pride and gave a curt nod in response. [color=skyblue]"I-I'm sorry, I should not have spoke out of line."[/color] Her words sounded fairly fabricated but there was a shaky fear present and that was enough to confirm that his words had affected her.

Looking at Aeila retreat a couple of steps and stutter her way through an apology almost made Azilon feel bad for threatening her the way that  he did... Almost. He had gotten his point across and she wasn't going to forget it anytime soon, however it was also a step back in getting her to act like a proper Drakken. Sighing internally, he realized he had a long way to go though he couldn't quite figure out why he wanted to help her so much. It was very likely that once she finally began acting like her own kind, she would actually succeed in killing him but for some reason the thought didn't bother him much, if at all. In fact, it was almost a comforting thought very much like a promise that one day she would get to bite back at the hands that stole from her. One thing was clear, however... He was going to have to get creative, as the methods that had worked on him were definitely not going to work with her. It was probably similar methods that drove her to such a submissive state. Deciding that he had some serious thinking to do, Azilon's once cold aura returned to its neutral state as he smiled at Aeila.

"[color=8493ca]Don't worry about it. Making mistakes is what the learning process is all about. But you'll have plenty of time to figure that all out later, for now you need to stop inching away from the fire and sit your butt back down here. I told you before, it's going to get annoying real fast if I have to listen to you sniffle the whole way home.[/color]"

The smile seemed completely out of place on his face given his previous outburst but then again, she was also guilty of outbursts. Aeila found an odd comfort in his smile, however. She knew he was nothing like her brother but when her brother smiled, it typically was a bad sign because he was enjoying himself and Rynek only ever enjoyed himself when he was doing something awful. Azilon's moods were much more... Black and white. When he was angry, it was clear he was angry; when he wasn't, it was fairly obvious and in that situation, he seemed safe, relatively speaking. His smile seemed brutally honest and she found herself hesitantly placing one foot in front of the other and closing the distance between them. Finally, she was about a meter away from him when she chose to kneel down close to the fire and offered her hands out in silent prayer to the flames.

After a long pause where only the cracking of the wood filled the room with any noise, Aeila chose to speak up. [color=skyblue]"I don't want to offend you but I would sooner throw myself off the roof of this castle than change into one of the monsters around me. I don't know if it's an odd justification of your lifestyle or just another ploy to sow chaos but you won't change me."[/color] Her voice was firm yet quiet and the entire time, her eyes never left the leaping flames.

"[color=8493ca]We'll see.[/color]"

[@NarcissisticPotato]