Master Of None

"I understand. I will rise to your wishes, lord." Illia did not hesitate again. She may have only been witness to royals a few times in life due to her lower standing. But she knew that if the human in front of her was speaking in such a way and had Adair backing him, then he must be a royal now. Illia had never known Adair to cater to any dragon unless it was the ancient royal water dragon above her. 

"Good, you did very well. You will get used to being called lord in time. You requested compensation without giving any room to deny it. Your voice did not waver and you also controlled your facial expressions well. I believe with practice you will be able to present yourself to the royal court in some months. Just remember, they will know of you and will have high expectations. You will need to be able to exceed those." Adair was not so foolish to ignore that whatever she said to other villages would be exaggerated to a degree. Therefore, it was important that Walker exceeded whatever fantasy the other dragons came to know. 

"Then I will do that. With armor, More training, and practice I should be able to. I did just gain a pretty good skill from this practice though. Although, I still expect Illia to do what she promised me. However, since we are not in a court and not in front of another ancient or royal, please relax. I am very unhappy due to your actions but Midnight and Onyx are safe. We have learned a lot. And you are not being unreasonable any longer." Walker was directing this at Illia because he hated the fact that everything would be stiff and full of grand acting. 

'The skill poker face has been taken from the trickster system. The skill poker face has been automatically learned through constant emotional acting and interactions.

Poker face- passive

The user is able to better control the face they show to others. The better they practice this the better they will become better able to control their facial expressions and even the tone of their voice. This skill is often part of the demonic systems.'

It was a simple skill but one that could be very valuable. Walker had long shown how he felt on his face and done a great deal to get better at showing his shock or awe. But now he was better able to hide away his feelings for the most part. 

"This was practice?" Illia was a little angry hearing that she was used for practice. 

"Your apology was real. His attitude and actions were practice. You are still expected by him and myself to assist his family that accompanied him. They will only stay for a short time and what they learn will be the seed for their growth. I will also be attending the royal court in the coming months. You will follow and learn. There will be a lot to see and witness." The thought process of Adair was simple, go to the royal court and learn as much as possible when Walker and Midnight are introduced. 

"I will do my best. I have some centennial ice I already gathered along with other things. It was going to be used for the gift we are making for our lord." 

"Then do not give it to me. We took what we needed from the ice we did not know was yours. If we ruined your relationship with the ancient royal water dragon that allowed you a village it would cause unnecessary tension before we even made it to court." Walker was not planning on starting a feud with the other dragons. To be honest, he was more interested in helping Midnight learn than actually becoming part of the royal dragon court. 

"I have broken scales you can have for forging then. I do not need them and they are used to trade with the dwarves every few years. They have made some parts of royal armors in the past. The herbs for your other family are easier as well. There is a field of snowbells that are very good for cooling purifying potions. I am the only one that is able to use them for my training. The flying spiders are easy as well. I will have some dragonkin gather twenty or so from a nest we should have exterminated earlier this year. Flying is simple. I will show and guide." Illia was slowly relaxing her voice and posture. 

"That all sounds good. Su might be hard to show any guidance in battle. She might be better off with the dragonkin warriors. But any idea from a fresh mind can spur a breakthrough." Walker didn't expect Illia to act so proper still. It was a wonder the difference that was happening. 

"I will share my thoughts. I would be a better partner if I could find my method for shifting in to my dragonkin form. But I am still lost. I may still be too young to do it." Now Walker was feeling like he was seeing the true Illia. She was showing the weakness she had in lacking a dragonkin form. That and she was not looking down on him with scrutinizing eyes any longer. He could now see the frosty clear blue eyes she had that matched her scales. 

"You are a frost dragon. A unique form of water dragon. You have already exceeded the limits thought for your age. If you manage to gain a dragonkin form you will represent this village as a symbol of the water dragons' power. Remember that." It was both encouragement and pressure that Adair gave in this sentence. 

Midnight stepped forward with a lot of huffs and growls toward Illia. "I apologize again. I will swear never to take another dragon from its family before I speak properly. I was wrong." Midnight seemed pleased after hearing this. She had wanted to hear Illia admit the mistake since she had been sent from the cave. 

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