closed .

[alphaophiuchi]

on the loose .

It hadn't been that long since Draco had graduated from school - just a scant few years, really - but things hadn't changed too drastically since then. People were still far from fond of him, so he took instead to the world; there was so much out there, after all. He travelled, he vacationed, he explored far reaches of places he didn't really understand. And that was fine by him, really. It was sort of nice to explore it all, to stay in places his family had honestly forgotten they owned.

He was led to a castle one stormy evening, run inside as the rain began. No one wanted to spend the night out in that mess, after all, least of all Draco. After everything, he was still a rather delicate thing, and now he hid, shivering quietly under a found blanket as he watched the rain fall just outside the window. Outside, there were more noises than just the rain, the thunder, but he couldn't quite tell what. Just-

Something.

Comments

[lyriumburned]

With the heavy clouds and rain making the evening a dark, pitch black, combined with the sudden cold front, it was the perfect conditions to hunt and capture a Diaz dragon. It was difficult to discern the rumbling explosions and flashes of fire from the rolling thunder and crashing lightning, especially with how far from the castle they took place. The animalistic shrieks and the sounds of men yelling were much more discernable, and getting closer. Snapping trees and bellowing hounds soon joined the cacophony, bright fiery flashes lighting up the forest here and there.

Whether it was chance or fate, Fenris blindly crashed into the side of the castle and scrambled up over the wall, half flapping one of his wings uselessly. He was hopelessly tangled in nets and chains. In the dark, he looked like a writhing shadow, but his scales were a shiny black mixed with stripes of a pearly, iridescent white, scales that were spattered in blood, hooks and arrows sticking out of his body. His dark coloring hid many of his injuries but his disoriented movements betrayed how effective the hunters had been.

The flashes of light had all but blinded him. This place stunk like human and his panic continued to rise, assuming the trap he'd been flushed towards was set to spring here. A few moments passed, the dogs baying in the forest, the shouts of the hunters still too far to make out what they were yelling, but nothing was happening here. And then he got a waft of magic.

Stumbling and tripping over the entanglement of magical ropes and chains, he backed up to press his body into the corner of the courtyard and took a chance, reaching out with his own magic, hoping to communicate.

//help me, human... help me and i will be in your debt...//

He couldn't see anything, but he could feel a magical presence here, and a favor owed by a dragon was a powerful thing. Not something that was given lightly.

[alphaophiuchi]

He edged towards the window slowly, as the noises grew more and more, finally swelling into discernable sounds. Everything still sounded like a mess, but one he could tell apart. It was with a frown that Draco leaned close enough to the glass to feel a chill against his skin, peering to see where the sounds were coming from-

-a smash, a crash, a heavy thump-

-and he jumped, softly squeaking as a dragon, of all things, hit the wall so close to his window that he could feel it rattle. Only after a second did he manage to spot some of what was going on: the nets, the shimmer of chain and scale alike, things sticking haphazardly out of the creature's flesh. There was a knot in his throat as he tried to conceive of the situation that brought them both to this moment, and then, in his head, a voice.

It drove him to distraction for a moment, his eyes unfocusing as he listened to the words, then ran them over again in his mind to himself.

Sure, Draco had always hated Care of Magical Creatures, but that was because of Hagrid, not because of the creatures. And what sort of person would he be if he shunned his own namesake? There was no doubt in his mind that he had to go; he pushed off of the wall, casting a quick spell to lead the way. It was easier to follow a thin trail of gold winding through the castle, finally leading him to the courtyard in question. The rain pounded down harder than before, and he was soaked in seconds as he emerged into the open space, pausing to take in the entirety of the dragon before him.

He swallowed thickly, he inhaled deeply, and finally, Draco hurried forward again, stopping just shy of the creature, one hand tentatively reaching out. "I-

"You're the one who called out, aren't you?"