Florence

"Will you two calm down? People are starting to record this and I doubt that'll be any good PR-wise." I whispered. The two men shut their mouths in an instant and looked at me with mild shock. I was surprised at my small outburst, but the more they argued the more cameras seemed to pop up.

The realisation that I told two warlords to shut up hit me and I pressed myself further into the booth chair. "T-Thank you.." I muttered. Things went silent for awhile and then people started talking again. The restaurant returned to some sort of normal with only a few glances on our direction.

"I feel like I've just been told off," Rian grumbled. He crossed his hand over his chest and deepened his scowl. At least he wasn't threatening anyone. "I'm sorry, Florence. I didn't mean to react like that." Remus gritted out, finally placing his fork down. I sighed in relief and smiled at him. "It's okay. I don't blame you." I told him. He grinned and averted his gaze to the menu.

"Ugh yuck." Rian commented. Remus' jaw clenched up and he went to pick up the fork again but I took it away from him and looked over at Rian. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are you doing here?" I asked. My patience was wearing thin was this man. "I told you. I'm here to eat." He blatantly lied. Now if Eurus was as bad as him maybe I would be able to tell is he was playing me along.

"Maybe if he wasn't being so arrogant about it there would've have been a scene."

"I did not cause a scene! You were the one who barged in here and-"

"Guys please! I just want one normal evening, is that so much to ask for?" I pleaded. Maybe it was too much as I was asking literal sworn enemies to stop fighting. Luckily for me, they stopped almost immediately. Neither of them said another word and continued to stay silent after our drinks were delivered. Rian just snatched his whiskey and sulked some more, though he didn't leave. Remus happily sipped the lemonade I got him with much enthusiasm. Our food arrived a few minutes after and my stomach growled with anticipation. It wasn't until I looked at the ribs did I realise I hadn't eaten anything since last night.

I began eating eagerly. I normally don't like anything that has to do with barbecue sauce but these ribs were so tender and delicious I had to physically stop myself from eating the whole plate.

I licked my fingers of the sauce and wiped my hands of one of the napkins. I looked up to see the amused eyes Remus and instantly felt my face flush red. I was just so hungry I didn't even bother to use my manners at all. "You ate that like a starved dog." Rian gasped. I expected him to have a judgemental look about him but instead he was dumbfounded.

Remus snorted and my eyes brows shot up. Was he snorting at me, or at Rian's joke? I couldn't tell, as he immediately shoved a rib in his mouth. Rian just took a swig of his drink and settled back. The situation wasn't as bad as it was before, but it was still tense as hell.

"So, uh, Remus. Tell me about your family." I cringed the minute the words left my mouth. This was my attempt at trying to start a conversation and by the grimace on his face it wasn't doing so well. "I don't really like to talk about them.." he muttered. I wanted to blow my brains out. "Oh, okay. Let's talk about something else then.." I said, although it was more of a comment towards myself.

"Aren't you going to ask about my family?" Rian, once again, butted in. I turned to him a pulled on a smile. "How's Aubrey?" I asked, remembering her weird comment she had on Remus. Something clicked in my head and a sudden thought popped up on my head. Did she tell him about my plans with Remus? What would motives would she have to send her grandson here?

He scoffed and took another sip of his drink. When he realised there was no more he ordered another. "Don't let her old age and nice demeanour fool you. That women's more demon than she is dragon." He grumbled. I was kind of shocked to hear him talk about his grandmother like that, especially when he spent our entire time in the city corralling her and making sure she was safe. "I could say the same about my grandfather, but like guess, more demon than he is human.." I joked, scratching the back of my neck.

Rian rose a brow. "Isn't your grandfather that old bat on the human high order?" He asked. I stifled a laugh and nodded. "Yeah, my father took his position but after- uhh.." I stopped midway, since I didn't want to dampen the mood with some sad words about my dad. "Afterwards Neil replaced him again." I finished.

There was a quick flash of something in Rian's eyes that I wasn't able to catch. His shoulders dropped for a second and his frown faltered before he regained his sassy and arrogant self. Did he just feel bad about my dad? I wouldn't be surprised if he had heard about him. It wasn't uncommon for most people to hear my last name and offer condolences.

"So Florence, tell me about your friends," Remus insisted. I diverted my attention to him and thought about what to tell him. "Well, Josh was the guy you saw me talking to earlier. I've known him for seven years now and we've been good friends since we met. He's cares a lot for me and is a little overbearing at times," I paused just to make sure he was actually interested and curious gleam in his eyes told me he was, so I told him more. I explained how we met Liza through her older brother and how she introduced us to Sally and Leo. I basically explained my entire social life to him. There was no harm in telling him about my friends, was there?

"Well that's enough about me. Tell me about dragon-shifters," I took a risk in asking this but he didn't seem to be offended. He actually brightened up at the suggestion and placed his rib down. "Well, as you know, we have dragons counterparts but we aren't like werewolves with their wolf half," he started. "What do you mean by that?" I asked. I had never talked to a werewolf before, so I had no idea what it was like living a one.

"Well, werewolves are more like a human and a wolf sharing a body in harmony. Dragon shifters are more or less... lesser dragons that evolved to blend into society, so there isn't another being inside us," he explained. I half shut my eyes and tried to wrap my head around it. I was ninety percent sure I understood what he was saying. Rian indulged himself in a third drink but by the way he was intently staring at Remus I could tell he was listening in as well.

"So are there like.. I dunno pure blooded dragons left?" I asked. They both barked out a laugh and my face tinted red in response. "My dad would've popped a blood vessel if he heard you say that!" Rian laughed. I had no idea why what I said was funny but Rian was actually laughing instead of calling it stupid, so I guess I was happy.

"We are pure blooded dragons. What you're asking is if there's any ancient dragons left, and the answer to that is no. They died out ages ago." Remus said while wiping away a stray tear. I nodded and kinda felt sad for them. "Although we did inherit some genes from them, like being able to read minds," he noted. I went to take a sip of my lemonade but instead I choked on the liquid with a laugh. My nostrils burnt for awhile as I tried to calm down my hacking.

I looked up at them, but neither of them were laughing. They just looked at me like I was crazy. "You're not serious, are you?" I laughed. "I'm not joking?" Remus deadpanned. A sudden fear took hold of me at the thought that this was real. Had they read my mind before? No, that couldn't be. If they could really read minds then if they did need information out of me they would just have to look inside my head! A small flame of hope replaced the fear and the thought that they could actually just be hanging out with me made my cheeks tingle.

"But don't worry, it's insanely rare amongst bloodlines. No northern dragons have the ability," he assured me and just like that the small flame of hope was diminished easily. "I-I mean- shit." He looked frantically at Rian who was already done with his third drink. "Don't look at me," he grumbled, a slight slur to his words. "Southern dragons don't have the ability either. My dad would abuse the shit out of that ability!" He scoffed. Remus looked unsure but shifted his gaze back to me.

"How did you guys get the ability?" I questioned further. He seemed so giddy that I was asking these questions. "Well, before we evolved it's said that we could actually communicate telepathically. But it evolved into just seeing into minds." He explained. It was totally surprising that this man was a geek. "I actually heard rumours that the royal bloodline has produced a few with the ability,"

"You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Rian interjected. It didn't sound like he believed the belief was outlandish but rather sounded like he was just asking a question. "Well how do you think the leviathans won the Great Draconic War? There's no way mind reading wasn't involved, especially when the alliance between the north and the south was about to form." Remus replied. "I spose' there was some foul play but I don't believe it was mind reading. It was a battle for the crown, spies were everywhere." Rian rebutted. They started talking more about this mysterious war which I had no clue even existed.

I let them continue their peaceful debate go on, just thankful that they weren't at each others throats. Their conversation lasted a few of Rian's drinks and by the time their chat ended there were about ten empty glasses of whiskey and a plate full of bones.

Remus turned to me and sighed. "Sorry, I like talking about this kinda stuff," he apologised. I shook my head and smiled. "No, it was great hearing you explain your history. It was very.. illuminating." I brushed off.

A waiter then suddenly appeared behind me and offered to hand us the bill. "I guess we should say goodnight now. It's already nearly ten!" Remus pointed out. I suddenly remembered my curfew mom set. "Yeah, I think it's time," I sighed.

"Would you like me to split the bill?" The waiter offered. A mental reminder of my mom talking about being in debt to Eurus and how it kind of made sense. He didn't have to pay for everything yet he did.

"No, th-"

"Yes please," I interrupted him, fishing for my card out of my pocket. The waiter looked at both of us, still confused. "Florence, I'll pay. I invited you out and actually- I insist-" He was so sweet about it, it hurt me to turn him down. He looked slightly embarrassed. "No, no. It's okay. Split the bill." I decided. Remus nodded at the waiter and he came back with a split bill. I looked over at Rian who was pretty out of it, and his bill wasn't too heavy so I just paid for him.

I had to slightly push Rian to get up so we could leave, and after a few attempts at poking him he got up and allowed Remus out of the booth. He walked us outside where a car was already waiting for us. "I would drive you myself, but like I said, I get nervous.." he muttered. "Hey, it's fine. I'll just catch and Uber or something." I assured him. He smiled down at me and I felt my stomach flutter for a second. How could a man this sweet be a dangerous leader?

I felt large arms wrap around my body and for a split second I didn't know what he was doing. I calmed down once I realised it was a hug and settled in his embrace. "Goodnight." He quickly said as we parted and hopped in the car. I yelled a goodbye as he sped away and turned to Rian. I had no idea how he got here but he was in no shape to drive. Even if he wasn't drunk, he drank way too many glasses of whiskey to drive. "Do you have your phone on you?" I asked him. He had a glassy look to his eyes as he looked down at me. "No. I left it at my hotel room because I was pissed.." he mumbled, leaning on me for support.

"Do you want me to call an Uber?" I asked him. I had no problem spending an extra twenty or so dollars just to make sure he got home safe. He shook his head and sat down in the curb. "I don't want to go to the hotel. My granny is sooo annoying." He groaned.

I frowned. He couldn't be serious. "Where are you going to stay? You can't-"

"I'm staying with you"

"..stay with me."

This man was delirious and it was from more than the alcohol in his system. I was already in the middle of getting him a ride when he clutched my ankle. "I'm not letting go," he declared. I desperately wanted to just kick him away and call a ride for myself but I felt bad. I couldn't leave him at this rib house alone. "Please, Rian. You can't stay with me- you'll regret this when you're sober." I pleaded. I could already hear the snarky remarks he was going to give me if I took him home. "Shut the hell up I'm perf- perfectly sober," he slurred.

I stared hard at him for a minute and at his half closed eyes. Even when drunk he was so stubborn. I sighed and changed the address from the hotel to my street. I knew this was a big mistake. I could easily just drop him off at the hotel or bring him to his room but there was almost something nice about being relied on. I haven't gone out anywhere or gotten drunk with Josh in months so I guess I was used to being the responsible one. Even if I did get carelessly drunk the other night.

The car I was looking for pulled up and I helped Rian get in before I hopped in. The driver stared at us for a minute before turning the volume of the radio up and began driving.

Rian rested his head in my shoulder and I took the liberty of ignoring his small snores and going on my phone. I noticed a text from my mom saying she had gone to bed and that there was a key under the mat. Sneaking him in wasn't going to be a problem.

And that officially makes it two evenings in a row spent with a drunken dragon-shifter.

Ah, I was hoping to get this out yesterday to continue my streak but I just couldn't get it in on time! I included some backstory behind dragon-shifters for you and some explanation for Fraener.

Thoughts on today's chapter? What do you guys thinks about Rian staying with Florence?

<3