Ladon had been waiting at the lair, for some time now. Kept within the company of only her creations, they were quite dull. Well, not to many who would be intrigued by their unusual nature, but to him at least. Though he did take pleasure in stealing Salil's food, the poor sea-like serpent starved of his meat stash for the morning. Oh how dreadful he was. Though it was sickening to see how much of his humanity was drained. Now he was nothing more than a mere beast, his mind solely on food and primitive wants. But, it brought a sadistic pleasure to him. He was glad to see the monster he was now. It was worse than the death the dragon could have granted him indeed. Leaving the poor beast to starve he exited the chamber, still wandering about the lair as he had nothing much to do. He had flown her there to the isles within the sky, something he vaguely knew about despite the wise old dragon he was, for a reason of her usual plans. He didn't think much further upon as to what she was going to do there before he promptly returned to the mire. Now to keep himself entertained he actually picked up a duster and began cleaning. Oh now pitiful a once, great dragon could be. He was known for his wisdom, for the sake of his lonesome he had advised many. That's what he was known for. And that was still who he was, deep inside his now human heart.

But, now he was much more like a servant rather than the magnificent begin he once was, both in body and mind. He would remember the fog that clouded around him, his black snout as he awaited whoever sought him out by the river. Those memories flooded back to him, in a blur as he cleaned. What was there even to clean within a murky place like this? Well, that did not matter to him. He did not even wish to be a human. Meeting the prince was only a chance encounter. However he now knew that even their relationship was shortly lasted. That's how humans were. No, that's how most other races were. Everything lasted short. But even for a dragon as such as him, his many centuries by the river had ended when the war had brought dragon hunters to slay them. Those times came to an end. But even as he knew everything that had a beginning, had an end, he didn't expect this. This is how dragons were now. Trapped within the own bodies of mockery of the other races. They had no place of belonging in this world no longer. Not as a dragon anyway. Only as a mere human, who still did not age like a regular one. Indeed, they were in peril.

As he thought as he continued to clean, dusting off a little off the cages before accidentally brushing against a wyrm-hound's nose before it promptly bit the cleaning tool. He tired to pull it out from its mouth before the ground had shaken, sending him and the hound nearly tumbling forward from the might of the shockwave. What was that? Ladon turned around. Was there something here to get rid of her lair? Preparing himself to defend it he left the duster in the dog's mouth as he moved away from the room and near the entrance, further placing the dark coat that hung around him. Moving outside as his tall black boots trudged through the thickness of the dark violet marsh, he only walked for a few moments before spotting a grand sight beyond the trees.

Not knowing what sort of creature it was, Ladon moved closer to it with caution. Suspecting that it must be another of her experiments or perhaps a creature that sought refuge within the wilderness, Ladon walked near it by the head of the creature, slowly as to not perturb it. But, as he moved around it, he spotted large, silver markings around one eye. It took him a moment to register, but then it hit him. Eyes briefly widened as a foot unconsciously faltered backward, taking in the surprise before him. He saw the wings. This was a dragon. But that marking. No, it was Shimmer!

Baffled by her appearance, his form suddenly regained itself, keeping his posture upright as he looked upon her with seriousness. She appeared to be in a weak state, and had a crash landing no less. Though, he couldn't say he was too surprised, but, were all her experiments, his blood, was it all for this? Taking one step forward, he looked at her directly.

"Shimmer, is that you?" he asked, although rather bluntly as if he were unamused. He wanted to see if her sanity was still intact, unlike many of her creations such as Salil.

He didn't really know what she meant by her comment. What? She had expected him to go? Well Ladon was going to stay here, he was purposeless after all. And if Luhan ever returned, then it would be here he would, Ladon assumed. Still, he stood in front of her, gazing upon her with his usual seriousness. He didn't move, didn't step back or near as she acknowledged his presence. He continued to look on at her as she peered at him, appearing to make herself comfortable in that very spot. He did not answer her comment about him staying for it was expected that he would. However her next words rang true. As he looked about her form, dark yet colorful, smaller than an average dragon, yet still one. He disliked it. He had been pondering about it when he first laid eyes upon her unique marking around her eye. "I do," he said simply. No use in hiding the fact. That was when he then came a bit closer, stepping a few times before halting again. His dark eyes gazed up to meet hers, his face expressionless.

Now why in the world would she want to become a dragon? Ladon had not felt much about it since Luhan left, however he did remember all of the horrors of what happened to him in the recent years before the treaty was signed. He was no longer bothered by it, but prior he had been dreadful about it. How the dragon hunters had slain the others. He was just by himself yet there were many after him. All alone by the river in solitude, yet he was still hunted anyway. They were all to blame for what few did. However many indeed had plundered villages and burned them, hoarding treasures in their lair to be the villains of tales told. This is why they had to take human form in the first place. Yet, why? Why would one be so foolish to take a dragon form, here and now? But Ladon wasn't one to wonder about her stupidity. Her choices were her own, and he would see her fall. But, he still owed her his favor, so, he couldn't let her fall now.

"Why?" he asked, looking at her with now a curiosity that had been peaked, with undertones of grief. "Why turn yourself into something that has been hunted for years until extinction?" His head tilted slightly, looking at her in wonder. Though, none of that mattered to him. He didn't care about himself nor the dragons. Not any longer.

How could he not understand...? Indeed that was the question as he let the dragon-mage speak. He listened, hearing every single word that came from her mouth. Listening keenly. As she spoke his eyes narrowed, still standing in his current stance however he did shift a little. As if he felt uncomfortable by what she was saying. His boot stepped further back, one step into the mud behind him. The look he gave, was something far less subordinate than what he normally gave. Something of defiance. Upon hearing those words. His brown eyebrows furrowed from underneath the blonde bangs. Shimmer talked as if she knew dragons. Knew what they had gone through. All she could have done was study through books. How would she have known, about dragons? Anger boiled within him, a rather unusual trait he showed around her indeed. His chest began to heave, as he looked at her with distaste. All he could do was stare at her in silence. But, it had surprised him when she said that she had encountered another dragon. He didn't understand how or where, but her tok her words as truth. It could have been him, but he assumed that it wasn't. She must've known bout dragons, about wanting to become one, before she even encountered him. He took it as an insult that he would rather hide behind the soft skin of a human. He was no coward, only wise enough to know that remaining a dragon was not a good idea. Even though her idea of dragonkind rising again was tempting, there was no doubt that what might have occurred will happen again. Though, his main concern was still finding the prince. How could she think about him abandoning that idea? As much as he just wanted to leave it all behind, to spread his wings again, at the same time it disgusted him.

No, this was not success. Not to him. But if this was her goal, he wasn't going to stop her. But, he was certain that it was going to end in vain. Ladon knew of the ways of the other races, they were not just going to sit by and watch as dragons take the skies again. They were low in number as it was, almost near to extinction. In fact he wasn't sure if there were any other dragons present other than the few he had encountered and now. There will always be that fear. Perhaps now was not the time to discuss the reign of dragons. Were it before Luhan went missing, perhaps it would have been a favorable idea to him. But now this was who he was, he was not the dragon he once was. He had lost so much within a short period of time. He did not enjoy this. He never enjoyed this form. Not in the least bit. But he did not have a choice. How could she be so foolish?

Taking a step forward, it splashed some grey mud across as he put his foot down, looking at her angrily. "I don't," he said in a deep tone. "It is because we were hunted down. That is something upon the which someone like you would never understand!" he bellowed. "You are a mage! What do you possibly think you can achieve from this?!" He saw the idea as totally useless to be exact. "You do not know... You don't know anything about us," he said eyeing her directly, a scornful eye that was aimed at her. "You have no idea what it was like, to be hunted down for over hundreds of years. We had no choice!" He was yelling, a disobedient act yet his emotions were boiling within him. He didn't care about the fact that she was still more powerful than he at the moment, but the fact that she acted like she knew everything about him as a dragon. That life he tried to leave behind. "My kind was killed near to extinction! But it is not by our fear, it is by your foolishness which will bring another end!" His eyes flashed white then, a deeper voice that perhaps sounded much like from his dragon form leaked out into his vocal chords.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes as she spoke. It was true that he remained because of Luhan. Or what happened to Luhan, anyway. Everything she said was true. But he still held his doubts. Sighing, releasing his anger, she had spoken of a cave for shelter. Ladon walked in her direction, following her. "Fine. However if you bring another end to the dragons, that will be your own fault. I will not be there to aid you when it does," he said dismissively, trying to calm himself down as his eyes closed shut. His footsteps brought him alongside her, walking beside the large creature through the gloomy mire. It was true that he really didn't have anything else. Anything or anyone. He was purposeless essentially. He had no other purpose in life other than to survive. But now with the prince gone... He could do anything. Go off and become a normal occupation. He didn't need to stay with her because he needed shelter. A shelter hidden so that he and Luhan could have lived in peace. His boots stepped into the piles of the murky marsh, creating small splashes as he walked. After a while of silence, he didn't speak. He just was thinking of the possibilities. Of what could have been. But, they were all gone now.

"Is there anything you need for me to do?" he finally asked, dark eyes averted up to her. He needed something to keep himself busy. And being the mage that she was, indeed she needed many potions and ingredients that needed fetching. Rather than having her go and do it herself, he could do it instead. He also wanted a change of scenery. Somewhere far out from this swamp where the memories of Luhan and Salil were so vivid in his mind. The thought of Luhan being taken away by a kelpie or falling into the marsh. He did not want to think about it anymore.