Mellisa swallowed hard and shifted nervously on her mount as a shiver travelled down her spine.

As a Sky Warden, over the years she had met many strange and exotic creatures but never had she met one whos gaze could cause her to feel such instinctual terror as the one to her side.

Taking a deep breath of air, Mellisa repressed the urge to command her bonded to turn and flee before speaking in an exceedingly polite tone as she bowed her head slightly. "Please? It is only a formality, and as long as you or your bonded have no ill intentions to the city or its inhabitants, you will be free to go after a day or two."

Although not as prestigious as some of the other governmental positions, the Sky Wardens held an exceedingly high rank in society, and while usually maintaining a professional air, anyone seeing this scene would believe Kai to have an impressive background.

Seeing the change in attitude, Kai's pupils narrowed yet as he analysed the woman. However, he could not sense any falseness from her words and so, relaxed slightly.

While he held no positive impressions of humans, her submissive behaviour instantly reduced his irritation and made her seem less of a threat.

On top of that, he knew that he wouldn't be able to combat one Vermillion bird, let alone the five or so that were hovering at the edges of his perception.

"Lead the way, human," responded Kai as his muscles somewhat relaxed and he contemplated why he had such an aggressive reaction in the first place.

Almost immediately, as if a bolt of lightning had hit him, he realised it was because he initially wasn't given a choice in the matter, even if was only politeness.

The lack of respect irritated him on an instinctual level.

However, when the woman had added please and explained some more, turning her demand into a request, it made the whole thing much less provocative and acceptable to the young dragon.

Kai hissed in annoyance at his own, seemingly irrational behaviour, causing Mellisa, who was about to take the lead to jump in fright.

Slightly panicking, the woman started to consider whether it was a wise move to turn her back on the strange flying lizard.

While she had confidence in her peers, it was still likely that if anything were to happen, even if they avenged her, she would be dead.

She somehow knew this from the bottom of her heart. The Vermillion bird underneath her had the same feeling.

Before this encounter, the Vermillion bird considered itself the king of the skies. However, now it was close to Kai, the natural monster was struggling to obey the bond and not escape at its fastest speed.

The hiss released just now only added to its nervousness.

Kai noticed the change in behaviour and internally sighed.

He was currently in the midst of his first, somewhat neutral encounter with the dominant species on the planet and he lacked any knowledge of the world. The current situation was an outstanding opportunity to learn more without having to become too entrenched or kick off interactions with others and, it wasn't like he had much choice.

A dragon's adaptable behaviour instantly reared its head yet, even so; Kai found the next words he spoke an incredible struggle as if he was fighting against his nature.

"Apologies... I was frustrated by my lack of knowledge regarding... these things."

While his tone was still tyrannical and oppressive, the weight Mellisa and her Vermillion bird felt they were under seemed to lift, as if a potential storm had just passed on the horizon.

"Were you just using a skill?" asked Mellisa, her voice still somewhat shaky.

"Innate ability," responded Kai after a moments thought, his speed slowing so he could fly slightly behind the Vermillion bird and indicating it should take the lead as though he was previously flying aimlessly, now he had a destination he didn't want to waste time.

"Activatable or constant?" Mellisa was cautious and, while she couldn't fully trust the words of the strange creature, she wanted to start a conversation as it released some of the tension she felt in her heart.

"Aura based ability innate to my species is activated and varies depending on the mindset and emotions of the source. While it can be suppressed, it takes a lot of effort and concentration and is incredibly distracting." Kai's response came from an ancestral memory, and while he was slightly cautious about revealing too much, his nature was to be upfront and honest.

While most information on the various beasts and monsters were well known, mainly due to the bond and prestige that came from owning high-level creatures and infatuation with them as children, Mellisa was shocked that Kai responded in such a factual and concise way.

"Thanks."

The Sky Warden's impression of Kai improved, and her self-esteem returned believing that her fear was down to skill and not that she had been intimidated by a mere glance.

Squeezing her right calf into her bonded, indicating to change direction, the Vermillion bird, still nervous, turned and started flying to the east at a steady speed.

Taking a quick glance at Kai, her instincts still insisting that there were danger and her own experiencing telling her never to trust a stranger fully, Mellisa took a small, yellow stone from her pocket and raised it to her mouth.

"Suspect cooperating and believed to be ignorant of flight zone. Returning to headquarters to investigate and debrief."

Kai's ears strained, but even with his powerful senses, he couldn't hear any response as Mellisa continued to talk into the crystal.

A dragon's curiosity, especially presented with something seemingly magical, couldn't be restrained.

The moment Mellisa had finished speaking and was about to put away the device, Kai couldn't restrain himself anymore. "What's that crystal? Is it a communication device? Does it use world essence or mana? Is it wave-based or dimensional? What's it's range? Can it cross world boundaries?"

Mellisa was shocked by the sudden barrage of questions and twisted her body to look back at Kai.

Her temporary change in concentration when reporting to her superiors helped the Sky Warden momentary forget the appearance of the creature behind her yet once she saw Kai again, her heartbeat increased rapidly, and a bead of sweat appeared on her forehead. -"I think I know what my new nightmare is going to be about."

While Kai wasn't acting threateningly, the fact that a sleek, black-scaled, flying lizard that appeared to be built to kill and destroy was flying so close behind, its golden eyes passionately burning with hunger, even if it was of an intellectual type, at her, caused the woman to shudder.

To cover her embarrassment, Mellisa coughed once. "It's just a standard communication crystal. They are present in every house. How do you not know this?"

"..."

Kai's mind raced for a moment. "I grew up in a cave and have only been out in the world for a few months, most of my time was spent sleeping."

"You're a hatchling?" Mellisa's eyes went wide with disbelief. If the creature flying behind her was a hatchling, then what would its adult form be like."

"Adolescent..." snorted Kai as if she had offended him. A burning need to correct the mistake appeared on his chest. "It takes thirty years for my kind to mature. I am eighteen of cycles old and so, would be considered to be in my teenage years by human standards."

"Sorry if it sounds rude, but what species are you?" Mellisa had been dying to ask this question since the start, especially after every time Kai referred to it, but it was considered extremely inappropriate to inquire openly.

"Pureblood Black Drake," responded Kai, revealing the cover story had had painstakingly come up with during his flight.

"..."

Mellisa was speechless.

Purebloods were considered the royalty of the non-human species. Sub categories were even rarer, usually possessing unique traits and abilities, and even more shocking, drakes were a natural, high-class monster that only a few of the oldest and powerful human bloodlines might possess.

-"Where the hell did this creature come from? What is its background?"

Mellisa seriously started analysing their interactions as she fell into silence, checking over her memories before her pupils went wide and her eyes snapped to the Kai's. "You're an enlightened being aren't you?"