Val had stopped reading a few hours before morning and had exhaustedly shifted into her wolf form. She curled up among the books on the floor near the fire and fell asleep
The queen and her dragon (open)
Eventually, Drake headed back to the castle. He'd calmed down, slightly and headed to find Val. When he found her asleep in front of a pile of books, he sighed, staring to quietly put them away.
She jumped awake with a low growl before relaxing a flopping back tiredly. She whimpered softly and nudged a book towards him, showing him a title
He sat down next to her, running his fingers through her fur as he picked up the title, “Val… half of this book is in Draegon Runes… do you… want me to read it out loud or when you’re not as tired?”
She yawned and stretched beneath his fingertips before settling into a comfortable position. Her paws out in fronto of her her as she nudged the book again with her nose and then flicked her ears towards him
He sighed softly, flicking through the pages, "Maybe later, you need to rest."
Val growled softly and nudged the book again. She glanced up at him tiredly but was determined to stay awake.
He rolled his eyes, scratching behind her ear as he went back to flicking through the book, trying to find something of use.
She snuggled close to Jake and rested her head in his lap. She scanned over the pages with him and nudged her snoot on a page he had flipped to depicting to Draegon a but not of the same species
Drake stopped, running his free hand over the image. He almost seemed to tense just slightly, "Terians…" He sighed, "It's what Herna, is, a Terian. They're the lesser species of the Draegon's. They have different gods, different stories. Even though most see them as 'lesser' they see themselves as superior."
She whimpered softly, ears flattening against her head. He sniffed the page and scanned the words. She tilted her head slightly and stood to find another book. she nudged the book open and flipped to the page where it showered a similar image.
The image this time showed a shadowy red dragon, the silhouette of a man in front of it, "Herna… He's ruled over the Terian's for hundreds of years. He started wars within his own people and yet they still follow him."
She tilted her head and flicked her ear in question, nudging the book to another page which showed more like Herna
"That's them, well, more specifically his warriors, they do most of his dirty work," He flipped through the pages until he found one that depicted a Terian but slightly smaller and of lighter colour, "Normally they look like this."
Val nodded tirdly in understanding before standing and stretching. She trotted over to the large window and curled up on the overhanging windowsill. SHe gazed up at the sky and sighed through her nose What was she going to do….
Drake watched her for a moment before heading over, sitting down near her, "Whatever happens I'm going to be with you through the whole thing, Val."
She glanced up and nudged his shoulder with her head in thanks. She glanced back over her shoulder at the books before focusing on the wind. why would you stand beside me after everything that's happened?
He nodded back, staying quiet for a moment before he sighed. He gently ran his fingers through her fur, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts.
Val leaned her head on his shoulder. She settled besides him and slowly drifted off to sleep for a few hours, breath evening out and heartbeat slowing.
Drake stayed with her the entire time, thinking. He kept petting her, cradling his fingers through her fur and eventually drifting off himself for about an hour before he woke again.
Val woke up around the same time and stretched out her back. She shook out her fur and bumped her head against Drake’s in thanks for staying with while she slept. She trotted around the room and nudged all the books to the side so it didn’t look like a mess as much
Drake chuckled lightly, standing and heading over. He started stacking the books, placing them neatly on the table.
She sniffed around before sitting in the middle of the room and swishing her tail back and forth
Drake finished cleaning, then turned his attention on Val, arms crossed, “You gonna go back to bed or what?”
Val looked and him and shook her head. She gave a bark and flicked her tail towards him. Are you?
“No. Not if you’re not,” He replied, “You should go to bed, you didn’t sleep all night.”
She shrugged and trotted to the door.she Pulled it open with her mouth and slipped out into the hallway.