Kaylum, however, did glance in Nik’s direction for a moment. He let out a sigh. Slowly, he uncurled himself and stood up, not really in the mood for whatever Seren had planned.
“I’m staying in dragon form,” he said stubbornly.
Seren narrowed his eyes. "Absolutely not." he replied, frowning at Kaylum. "You will shift into human form, and remain like that."
“Yeah?” His ears twitched. “And what if I don’t do that?”
He almost wanted to see how far he could go with this, but deep down he knew that at some point he would have to comply. He was obviously at a disadvantage here.
"Then your soulmate here suffers the consequences." Seren replied, shrugging his shoulder.
Apparently, he couldn’t get very far. Kaylum froze. How did he know? He glanced at Nik, then back to Seren. Several possibilities went through his mind, but he didn’t have time to dwell on them. He sighed again, shooting the human a look of disgust. Wordlessly, he shifted into a human.
Nik didn't move, just kept his eyes closed and his body still. He had not known Seren knew; he had not told the man, but it had only been a matter of time before Seren found out.
Seren smirked. "Thank you."
"Uh-huh." Kaylum raised his hands behind his head, twisting his dreadlocks together into a bun. "Let's just get this over with." His hands fell to his sides, and he did not make any effort to move.
Seren turned away, heading towards the door. "If you do not follow me of your own accord, I will have my guards drag you along." he said, without turning around.
Kaylum remembered the other times the guards had man-handled him, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was difficult, but he should probably just cooperate. He did not need to make this any harder for himself. His hand lowered to cover his mouth, and he hesitantly followed Seren.
Seren stepped out of the room, leading Kaylum out of it. The door was closed and locked behind them.
He shivered a little. Still following the human, he began quietly praying to his ancestors. Both for himself, and for Nikolas. Grant me strength. Remind me of my dignity.
Seren silently led Kaylum through the camp, a guard trailing just behind the prince just in case Kaylum did something to try and escape.
Though he is human, protect my soulmate. Nikolas’ ancestors, whomever you may be, do not blame him for his curse. Watch over him.
He either kept his gaze on his feet or Seren, knowing that looking anywhere else would cause him anxiety.
Seren led him through the camp, silent.
Kaylum was also silent, and soon his mind fell silent as well. His ear twitched, though he wasn’t sure why.
Seren led Kaylum into a tent. This one was not, seemingly, a torture tent; it held a desk, and some seats. Seren took a seat, gesturing to the other. "Take a seat."
He quickly looked around before sitting down. He curled up his body again; pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on top of them, almost as a protective reaction. Kay kept his eyes on Seren.
Seren watched the prince silently. "Let's talk about Tesh." he said, eyes still resting on Kaylum. "And your line of succession."
Suddenly, this reminded him of conversations he’d had with his parents. The thought both saddened and amused him. “Let’s talk about…” and then whatever they were griping about that day. Kaylum sighed, allowing a small, almost imperceptible smile to cross his face.
“Mhm.” The sound was just like the one he used in response to that prompt. Not really interested, not really caring.
The older man's gaze narrowed. "With your parents dead, who is it that holds the right to the throne now?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Kay’s eyebrows, meanwhile, knotted together. “I think you should be able to figure it out,” he said. His resolve to cooperate had vanished.
Seren sighed. "You can either cooperate, or get hurt. I would prefer not to hurt you, as it would send the wrong message to your people, but I am not averse to it. Or, if your own pain will not motivate you, what of your soulmate's?"
Kaylum raised an eyebrow. Send the wrong message to his people? It was a bit too late for that. He then shrugged. "I'm just saying. You're a pretty smart human. I don't know why you need me to answer your questions when you can clearly figure it out for yourself."
Seren shook his head a little bit. "And I don't see why it is so difficult for you to cooperate."
At this, he raised his head a little bit and laughed. “You don’t? Alright, I take it back. You’re not as smart as I thought you were.”