The power, ever the more stronger then her own fought back a bit before receding deeper into Rowan, almost curling around his spiritual being instead of leaving, seeping deep into his bone marrow and his physical being, akin to a bonding between a human and dragon yet something off, something foreign and ancient. Causing a strained moan to be pulled from his lips, his hands flexing instinctively. The magic almost felt like a warm blanket in his unconscious state. He wheezed as the magic found itself deeper and deeper within him. His eyelids fluttered suddenly before the icy blue irises opened up. Immediately his pupils expanded to a unnatural size yet again, akin to the dragon above him. He gasped before he groaned. "What the hell," He whimpered. his hands moving to rub at his eyes.

Arlaina’s heart skipped a beat as Rowan’s eyelids fluttered, revealing the unnatural expansion of his pupils. The icy blue irises—those weren’t human eyes. They were the eyes of a dragon. Kaelath, sensing the strange magic in the air, growled softly, his massive form shifting uneasily at her side. The air around them thickened, and Arlaina instinctively stepped closer to Rowan, her hand ready on the hilt of her sword just in case.

“Easy,” she murmured, more to herself than to him. Her voice was firm but gentle, the way she would speak to Kaelath when the bond between them wavered, when the world felt like it was about to shatter.

Rowan groaned again, rubbing at his eyes as though trying to clear the fog from his vision. Arlaina’s gaze narrowed, noticing how the strange, ancient magic clung to him still—like a fog rolling over his skin, as if something had already begun to bind him, something that wasn’t entirely human.

“What the hell…” Rowan’s voice was thick, strained, as he pushed himself up on his elbows, his breath shallow.

Arlaina hesitated for a moment before she knelt beside him, her expression unreadable. She didn’t want to alarm him further, but there was something in the air she couldn’t ignore. The magic she’d invoked to try and rouse him had reacted with his body in a way she hadn’t anticipated. She could feel the pulsing presence of the dragon nearby—the one that had been standing over him. The bond between them was forming.

“You were unconscious,” Arlaina explained quietly, her voice steady. “I tried to wake you, but something... else was already at work. Your eyes—they’re not... human.”

Rowan’s hands went to his eyes again, rubbing them frantically as if he could dispel the blue that had taken over. He seemed unaware of the dragon’s presence, of the strange energy wrapping around his soul like a shroud. His body was reacting to it, struggling to push it away. She could see it in the way his fingers twitched, like he was reaching for something just out of his grasp.

Arlaina’s gaze flicked to the dragon that had been guarding him, a massive creature with deep amber eyes. It was watching them both carefully, its stance protective, yet strangely… patient. Almost as if it knew something she didn’t.

“Do you remember anything?” she asked softly, trying to pull his focus back to the present moment. Her voice was laced with a subtle tension as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Where did you come from? And who’s this... dragon?”

Kaelath shifted uneasily behind her, his wings half-spread, clearly sensing the foreign energy within Rowan. The dragon’s eyes flared with an unspoken question, the connection between them deepening with every moment they lingered.

Rowan frowned as he kept rubbing at his eyes, his body heaving with every breath. "Shit.... Unconscious?" He groaned out, blinking slowly. Trying to take in his surroundings even if he was still susceptible to the lighting around him. His chest expanded and shrank with each inhale and exhale. "Ummm, what are you yapping on about?" He muttered, not all there at the moment. "Not human?" He tilted his head, trying to get a glance at the woman. "What do you mean not human?" He grumbled, rubbing furiously at his eyes again. When he removed his hands from his face again his gaze looked distant, either something was happening again or he was just thinking. "I believe the umm, military base I was at had a rouge dragon, killed his 'owner and a whole lot of people, it was quiet, I remember that I went unconscious and I guess that rouge dragon took me here?" He sounded as if he barely even believed his own words escaping his lips. "But I do not know that dragon nor do I want to know that killer," He hissed with disdain as he went back to rubbing at his eyes.

Rowan's brows furrowed. "Wha-?" He could hardly take in her words, both from his slight delirium and because he hardly understood what she meant. "What do you mean, you're being very vague," He huffed as he tried to sit up, to get onto his knees and hopefully stand up, movement caught his gaze within the grass. His pupils shrunk down to near slits as he spotted a wooly caterpillar, his gaze suddenly attracted to what he had always thought was a worm. his muscles instinctively tensed and he had to physically grab his wrist with his other hand to not just straight up grab the insect. A predatory instinct urged him to grab the caterpillar and do something stupid, which he blocked the instinct to the best of his ability. Though his gaze was predatory, watching the slow-moving creature with a hawk-like gaze, usually he'd freak out, but not anymore. He was suddenly aware of the dragon's presence yet again, causing a shiver to go down his spine.

(Sorry for disappearing into the wind, will respond soon//

Rowan blinked once, twice, thrice before he could see clearly again. He took a deep breath and looked at her, finally taking in her form again for real instead of being 'blank' and practically blinded. He could practically hear the blood rushing in his ears, how his teeth and jaw ached with tension, just wanting to bite something, causing him to grit his teeth momentarily.

---

The dragon's eyes bore into the woman's head. It sensed the turmoil within them both, and if it was alone with the two, there was a high chance she would have been dead and thrown into a ditch. But with her own, bonded dragon nearby, it kept its composure, even if it was unsure about her. It shifted unsteadily on its talons for a moment, it's tail curling around the nearest bush.

Rowan's brow furrowed deeply, a look of profound anxiety settling on his features as he slowly shifted his gaze upward, locking eyes with the imposing figure above him. Each blink was deliberate, his eyelids heavy with the weight of uncertainty, while his muscles coiled themselves tightly, a tangible manifestation of the tension that coursed through his body. Worry gnawed at him like a relentless tide, rising ominously and pulling him into a maelstrom of doubt and fear.

Hovering just above him, the dragon loomed like a dark storm cloud, its massive wings outstretched, casting a shadow over the ground like an approaching night. A low, rumbling growl issued from its throat, a sound that resonated deep within Rowan’s chest, sending chills down his spine as it recognized the strange, electric energy emanating from the woman standing before him. The dragon’s sharp, glistening teeth were bared in a ferocious snarl, a warning of its predatory nature, as it fixed her with a wary, piercing glare that spoke of both curiosity and danger.