Braern seemed entirely normal as they went and gathered his belongings from the inn where he’d been staying—Adrissu insisted on paying the rest of the balance, unsure of how much money Braern had on him—but Adrissu could tell that he was barely holding it together as they walked back to the tower. The elf kept his eyes downturned, and his hands trembled as he carried a bag of clothes.
“There’s a spare room you can stay in,” Adrissu said, keeping his tone casual despite his worry. “It might be a little dusty, but it gets a lot of light.”
Braern nodded silently, but when Adrissu glanced back over at him, his gaze was faraway.
When they arrived back in the tower, Braern preoccupied himself with unpacking his things; Adrissu cleaned out the room a bit first, but the elf seemed to want to be alone, so he kept his distance.
He had not expected to have a visitor, so he didn’t have much in the way of food; leaving Vesper to keep an eye on Braern, he headed back out and walked down to the market for fresh vegetables and other grocery items. He had no idea how to make any kind of traditional elvish meal, but he figured that he would prepare one of Volkmar’s favorite dishes and hope for the best.
He could feel a slight hum of concern coming from Vesper when he arrived back in the tower.Crying, she thought toward him, as he peered up the stairs.
He wondered if he should go and talk to Braern, comfort him somehow—but Vesper felt protective, like she didn’t want him to come up, so he resigned himself to making a meal. Eventually Braern came down of his own accord, Vesper following him eagerly.
“Are you hungry?” Adrissu asked, looking over at him. The elf’s eyes were rimmed with pink, but otherwise, he looked better than he had when Adrissu had left him.
“No, I—” Braern started, biting his lip. “I... want to see you. Your true form.”
Adrissu stilled, brows furrowing as he looked him over. “Why?”
“I feel like... I need to know,” he replied, sounding uncertain. “I just... I remember it, a little bit. But I feel like I need to see for myself to know if I can... if I can do this.”
Slowly, Adrissu nodded. It sounded very much like what Ruan had told him once, that he had needed to see him—seeZamnes—to know if he could live with the knowledge that his lover was a dragon. Then, all those years ago, the prospect had made Adrissu afraid, but now he had no such qualms. If Ruan had accepted him then, he had no doubts that Braern would do the same.
“Are you sure?” he said, but Braern already had a look of determination in his eye.
“Yes,” he said with a nod, so Adrissu led him over to the trap door in the front room.
“I don’t know if you remember this part,” he said slowly, pulling the door open. “It’s a long drop. But I’ll hold you.”
Braern frowned, looking down at the drop with some consternation—the ladder obviously only went down a few rungs, and beyond it was only darkness.
“I...” he started, sounding afraid, then visibly shook himself. “Alright. I... trust you.”
“Come here,” Adrissu said, extending a hand. Braern took a deep breath, stepped closer, and wrapped his arms around Adrissu’s waist. Desire shot through him as their bodies pressed together, the scent of his mate wafting to his nose, clean and herbal despite his arduous journey. His long-dormant cock instantly stood to attention in response—but he ignored it, holding Braern tightly against his chest, while trying not to think of his mate finally,finallyin his arms. “Hold on tight. Ready?”
“Ready,” the elf breathed, and Adrissu stepped forward, sending them both sailing over the edge. A cry of fear died in Braern’s throat; he could feel the elf press his face into his shoulder, eyes squeezing shut and breaths coming rapidly. Adrissu counted off the seconds, then let himself transform.
By the time they landed, Braern was trembling against him—pressed to his warm, scaled chest by one claw.
“Can you stand?” he rumbled, causing Braern to yelp in surprise, as he gingerly set the shaking elf on his feet.
“Y-Yes,” Braern stammered. He glanced around nervously. “It’s dark—I can’t see.”
Adrissu laughed despite himself. The deep tenor of it echoed through the cave until it was a low, droning reverberation. “I haven’t been down here in a while. Just a moment.”
He turned, slinking away to light the various braziers and torches set up throughout his lair with streams of fiery breath. When the cavern was finally lit, he turned back around to face Braern, who was looking up at him with wide eyes and a pale face.
“I...” the elf started, only to trail off. Despite the obvious trepidation on his face, his eyes were locked on Adrissu. He did not look away, even when the dragon crouched low to return his gaze at eye level. “You... You look exactly how I dreamt.”
Adrissu stifled a grin, knowing the toothy display was unlikely to bring any comfort to Braern, as obviously nervous as he was. “I would hope so.”
Slowly, Braern stepped forward, until he was close enough to reach out and touch Adrissu’s snout. His fingers felt cool against his scales.
“Do you want me to call you Adrissu, still?” he asked, barely above a whisper. “I know you are Zamnes, but...”
Adrissu shook his head. “I have always been Adrissu with you.”
Braern nodded, and to Adrissu’s surprise, he stepped even closer, holding Adrissu’s chin in both his hands to press their faces together.
