he Chamber of Secrets was vast. It never ceased to amaze Adrian every time just how far his echoing footsteps rang. Interspersed with the occasional hollow drip, humidity seeping through his cloak until it chilled his skin.
Despite the eerie atmosphere, Adrian walked over the expanse with no worry. He halted his steps, peering at a few of the stone statues of various serpents curiously. He hadn't ever investigated the statues; the craftsmanship was impressive.
"Adalonda!" Adrian called out cheerfully, his hisses reverberating like hundreds of whispers. "I've returned!"
"Great serpent!" Lutain crowed in turn, flicking his tongue wildly in the musty air. Despite the location and the cold, Lutain always looked happiest in the chamber.
The tunnels and clearing remained empty, dark and thrumming silently with pulses of something ancient. Adalonda was clearly not there, which was somewhat a disappointment.
Adrian frowned, allowing his disappointment to bubble obviously as his lip twitched into something of a pout. He wanted to talk to the serpent, especially since it had been so long since he had seen her last.
Realistically it was foolish to assume she stayed in the Chamber of Secrets all the time, especially with how the tunnels opened to the Forbidden Forest or even further. It was childish of him to assume and be annoyed when she didn't come at his single beckon.
"Ah well," Adrian sighed, trying to dispel his frustration as he looked at the box in his hands, rattling slightly in his grip. The box was a recycled one which had held a pack of Pumpkin Pastries, although the squeaking inside signified there was certainly no sweets in it anymore.
The box Adrian was holding squeaked incessantly.
Lutain scoffed sourly when the giant basilisk failed to appear, although he seemed to be in calmer spirits.
"Set down rat and practice." Lutain sulked, although the two of them had agreed on the plan prior to venturing down.
Adrian did so, setting the spare box on the cold ground and lifting the lid to remove the sticking charm.
Immediately a large rat sprang out and darted across the floor, pausing a few feet away with one leg in a puddle and his nose twitching incessantly.
"Shift back," Adrian ordered with a small frown, twisting and incantating a light charm, allowing the peals of sunlight to permeate the vaporous mist in the shadowed corners.
The rat squealed, scrabbling across the ground as it could see so much better. Its scaly tail, completely unlike Lutain's, thrashed across the ground.
Adrian felt the prickle of annoyance as he pointed his wand at the rat; it froze.
"Change back or I will force you, Wormtail." Adrian seethed between clenched teeth.
"Should have just bit him," Lutain sighed wistfully.
The rat's flesh bubbled, morphing and twisting before it exploded outwards and began to reform. It was by no means attractive, and quite horrendous. Adrian had seen Sirius Black shift into his dog form once or twice, the movement for that was smooth and almost mystifying to watch. Even James Potter seemed to leap into his transformation, not having any unsettling midway.
Wormtail was a hunkered mass of distorted skin and gory details, something Adrian wrinkled his nose at. The man whimpered, it was testament to the hideous visage that Adrian could not tell if the whimper was from pain or fear.
Wormtail curled down on himself, anxiously lifting his gnarled fingers towards his mouth. His fingernails were brittle and shattered.
"Wormtail," Adrian smiled thinly, "This is the Chamber of Secrets."
The man's eyes widened in horror as he began to choke out stuttered sounds. Adrian ignored them.
"You'll be staying here, as part of my orders. You won't be detected by the school wards here, not to mention there is plenty of room."
"Tell him about Adalonda!" Lutain hissed excitedly, lounging about contently.
"Of course, do not bother the basilisk and you'll get along swimmingly."
"Basilisk?" The cowering man shrieked, eyes bulging obscenely, "You- you're leaving me here with a basilisk?"
"Oh, I'm sorry my father's accommodations for you aren't gilded in gold and ivory." Adrian snapped out, feeling a primal sense of satisfaction when Wormtail paled and flinched at the idea, "Obviously, if you teach me the transformation faster, the sooner you'll be out of here."
Wormtail pawed his fingers, folding them over and over as if to soothe himself.
"I still need to have the leaf in my mouth for another week," Adrian added informatively," The piping system is elaborate here- the wards will not detect you until you leave the pipes. There's plenty of water, and I'm sure you'll find food somehow. Try not to look at the Basilisk in the eye, will you?"
"I will wait for Adalonda!" Lutain added, excited and pleased to speak to the mighty serpent once more. Adrian nodded slightly, turning to walk away with a hop in his step.
"W-wait!" Wormtail shrieked behind him, making movements to follow, "Where- how. My wand?"
"You think I'm a moron?" Adrian looked at him incredulously, "Your wand is back at the manor, I'm not letting you get out of here and blow my cover. If you even try running, I'll have the basilisk hunt you down. Am I understood?"
Wormtail paused, jaw dropping in surprise and indignation at the threatening response. Something must have crossed his face, or some sort of epiphany struck the rat like a club over his head. Wormtail snapped his jaw shut; his nostrils flared and his eyes stared wide in something like anger.
"You're just a-" Wormtail's words were vicious, stewing and angry.
Lutain hissed threatening, sliding to the ground carefully and sending Wormtail reeling as if shocked.
Adrian watched the man carefully, feeling inexplicably unsettled, "...Lutain, keep watch."
Wormtail scowled and shifted into his rat with the noise of joints and bones snapping and wet skin squelching. With nary a sound, the man skittered off to the darkest corner he could find.
Draco Malfoy was a self-centered prick that neither understood his place, and knew his place in the wizarding world all too well.
Draco knew that in a standard fight, he would almost certainly lose. Despite that, the act of attacking or targeting Draco would result in swarms of masses then attacking the attacker for days if not weeks afterwards. You could win a fight against Draco, but you would never win in combat.
With that in mind, Draco was overconfident for his own wellbeing, too sure that his fans and other ambitious classmates would take a curse for him without a second thought. This made him both interesting, and aggravating at the same time. A princely child ready to throw a tantrum the moment a warm body disagreed with his ideas.
The fact that Adrian himself had withheld not only information, but relevant information was both impossible to comprehend and a grievous error in Draco's mind. Why would anyone fail to inform him that they were (distantly) related to him?
And in the unique self-centered way the Malfoy's possessed, Draco took it as a personal slight which only further caused tension both in and out of the common room.
Adrian slipped into the common room, carefully. He had full intentions of heading straight to his room to start on the first assignment of the year assigned to him by Hagrid for Care; he was exhausted, especially after dealing with Wormtail.
He made it only halfway to his room when he heard the first snide comment from Draco, aimed directly at him from the couches he always shared. Adrian should have ignored it- he should have. Lutain would have told him to keep walking, except Lutain was keeping watch in the Chamber to inform Adalonda of the situation.
There was nobody to tell him to not respond to Draco, and plenty of eyes watching, silently begging him to respond.
"Looking a bit peckish, Selwyn? Then again, you always looking a bit foul."
Against his better judgement he turned on his heel and looked directly at Draco, observing his tight jaw and flinty eyes.
"Not as foul as your temper, Malfoy." He found himself saying, already striding over to the couches where his other Slytherin yearmates were accommodating room, "What's wrong, Granger already show you up?"
Draco's jaw shifted, and his hand curled into a fist. Dozens of eyes were watching, too curious for their own good.
"You're the one hanging around Mudbloods," Draco's eyes narrowed pointedly, "What would mummy think with such filth?"
And there it was.
Daphne straightened slightly, drawing an ear to the conversation. Theo shifted unsure with how tense the atmosphere was.
"Draco…" Theo trailed off unsure, not liking where the conversation was escalating; he likely wasn't liking how chances were, he'd have to break up a fight very soon.
"I wouldn't care," Adrian hummed calmly, smiling something bordering on feral as something harshly raged how dare he. With one hand, Adrian tapped along his jaw right where he could feel a raised border of mutilated skin, "Mummy isn't very fond of me."
Draco's nostrils flared- ah, Adrian could see where the boy misinterpreted Adrian's careless retort as a slight against both Bellatrix and thus, Draco's family.
"I wouldn't be either, especially now that you associate with Blood Traitors and Potters, or were you simply living with them because nobody else wanted you?"
Adrian's yearmates inhaled sharply and shifted away from him. Draco looked victorious in the way his knuckles relaxed and his shoulders rolled slowly.
Control yourself. Control yourself.
Adrian exhaled slowly through his nose, "Careful, Draco. You're looking jealous."
The blonde flushed angrily but Adrian didn't stick around long enough to hear the rebuttal. He had a Care essay to work on, not to mention he had to find some sort of way to gather the shreds of his background story to try and twist this in his way.
(He chose to ignore the way how three students and Theo all had wands hidden under their books, pointed at his back.)
"Be quick," Adrian whispered, gently smoothing his thumb over a stray feather which stuck out near Hedwig's eye. She affectionately clicked her beak, her glaring eyes somehow calm. She spread her wings, flapping twice with an audible clap. She ascended, white wings flapping away into the afternoon sky and out of sight.
Adrian admittedly didn't understand the Triwizard Tournament. It wasn't something he had heard of before, through whispers in the walls or Nagini's hisses. It seemed unplanned, random and a variable he didn't know anything about.
It was possible the entire scenario was a twisted form of chance, an ironic twist that somehow was not related whatsoever.
Yet, that still didn't address how Skylar got his name in the cup; the ward was cast by the Headmaster himself so evidently a very powerful curse breaker or wizard would be needed to befuddle the cup.
Perhaps father is involved, and he thought you too useless to be of help.
Adrian left the tower, shuffling through his bag to make sure he had his finished essay for Care. Lutain peered up sleepily from his bag, mumbling nonsense before he drifted back off to sleep.
Adrian shook his head and smiled affectionately at his friend, making sure not to jostle him too badly as he traveled across the stone pathways.
The sky was overcast but still bright, a few birds flew overhead and tittered happily despite the quickly approaching chill in the air. Not too many students were outside, especially since the tournament had quickly offered new classes for this year with a mixture of new subject topics.
Adrian descended stairs towards Hagrid's hut, pausing in his steps when he saw Skylar Potter walking alone down towards the same building. What was more unusual, was the mediocre job he was doing at hiding behind the stone obelisks, staying low to the ground.
Skylar on his own was abnormal, generally his two lackeys followed him closely and stuck to his every movement. Given with this new behavior, Adrian instantly was curious and suspicious as to what he was doing.
Adrian followed a fair distance away, tilting his head as he spotted Draco emerging from the forest at some point and heading up towards the castle.
Skylar was following Draco? What was Draco doing in the forest in the first place?
The two spotted each other, and with the grace of two wolves preparing for battle they drew their wands and shouted words Adrian couldn't hear over the distance.
Adrian drew closer, pulling out his own wand when he saw the first flash of a red stunner.
He shouldn't interfere, mostly because he didn't entirely know the situation. Why was Malfoy on his own, unprotected near the Forbidden Forest? Why was Skylar following him to begin with? Where was Skylar's own crowd of people, and why had they began attacking almost instantaneously.
Then again...Draco was alone, and spells were already flying.
Nobody would be around to stop you, or witness.
Adrian worried his bottom lip, already feeling himself become persuaded to the concept of flinging a few curses. After all, nobody except Skylar was around to see it.
Malfoy needs to know that he won't always be protected.
Adrian gently removed Lutain and his shoulder bag, resting it carefully near the base of a stone obelisk. He advanced, pressing his back to the rock as a misguided spell singed the grass with a blue smoke.
Just one curse. Maybe two.
Adrian exhaled through his nose calmly, and stepped to the side and into visible range.
Draco saw him first, jolting in surprise with Adrian's appearance. Evidently, he hadn't expected anyone to intrude on the mock duel, both participants were looking worse for wear.
Skylar looked behind him in confusion, nearly stumbling with Adrian's sudden appearance, "Adrian!"
Draco glared, lip curling back angrily, as if Skylar's acknowledgement suddenly confirmed that Adrian was in fact real. "Stay out of this Selwyn!"
"Oi! Don't talk to him like that!"
"What, all chummy with Potter, Selwyn?"
Adrian's cheek twitched as he brandished his wand, "I'll be honest; I am sick of both of you."
Draco snarled, "Time to teach you some manners, titillando!"
Adrian twisted to avoid the clear hex, eyes widening at the action. He didn't think Draco would lash out so quickly, he had anticipated a monologue.
Adrian's jaw tightened and he brandished his wand sourly. If that was what he wanted.
Skylar shouted in protest, shooting off a stunner at Malfoy who took cover behind a rock.
Hagrid or a teacher would notice all the spells being fired, they weren't exactly being subtle.
"Langlock!" Skylar snapped out, nearly hitting Draco when he peered out from the stone.
"Flipendo!" Malfoy snarled, shooting off the jinx twice at both Adrian and Skylar.
It caught Adrian off guard, hitting his leg and knocking him back onto a decently sized rock protrusion on the side of the hill. The breath was knocked out of him soundly, leaving him wheezing and blinking spots from his vision. He had idiotically thought that Draco would go for one of them, not both.
Merlin, Adrian was performing mediocre in a fight against Draco. No wonder his father had...had left him in the dark.
His temper snapped and he dragged himself to his knees and glared at Draco, if possible his eyesight would have been tinted red.
Draco paused, and his breath hitched as he realized what was about to unfold.
Adrian snarled out a minor curse, something that his father had struck him with when he had been particularly snarky over lunch. The curse spread like a wave, smacking both Draco and Skylar. It rang like two boulders crashing, knocking them to the ground and where they clutched their legs in pain. Adrian twitched, feeling the spasms of dark magic tingle over his arms like pins and needles.
Adrian dragged himself upright, limping over the distance with heavy infuriated pants of breath.
"You two are being ridiculous," he hissed out furiously. Glaring at the paling Draco who just now seemed to be understanding the ramifications of his attack.
"He started it…" Skylar protested, growing quiet when Adrian pointed his wand between Skylar's eyes.
You should send a blasting curse. Blow his skull to shrapnel.
Kill him.
"I should bloody stun both of you, and leave you here." Adrian spat angrily, his entire body trembling "now smarten up or for Merlin's sake I will curse you two until you can't even think."
Draco's jaw clicked, "Bite me, filth."
Adrian yanked his arm back and smashed it forward, clipping Draco's neck with his fist. He recoiled and struck again, twice, three times, over and over until the repetitive and fast frequency of his blows made up for the sloppy form.
He didn't know a spell that he could cast- a curse that was allowed on the Hogwarts grounds that was fitting for the boy. So, he punched, until Draco had keeled over and then he was kicking with his dragon scale boots that always clicked a bit more than other shoes.
There was something horrifyingly satisfying about kicking and hitting something pliant and giving. Something obscenely muggle and crude about it all, but so positively wonderful.
Until Skylar Potter managed to get to his feet, legs stinging and trembling under his weight, and he tackled Adrian to the ground.
"-at's enough!" Skylar panted, in obvious pain although not from tackling the taller boy the ground. Adrian grunted, feeling the weight of the other boy as they sprawled onto the grass.
Draco was whimpering quietly, curling fetal and twitching slightly from the pathetic pile he resembled.
"Merlin," Skylar winced, looking thinly at Adrian although trying admirably to smile and seem calm, "Bloody nasty jinx that was. Come on, I think Hagrid can get you something for that."
Skylar pointed at Adrian's face. He swiped against his cheek, looking at surprise at the tiny flecks of smeared blood.
He wasn't bleeding, it was Draco's; Skylar didn't realize that.
"I'm on my way to see him already." Adrian seethed out between clenched teeth, his jaw was already burning from the pressure.
"Ah, okay." Skylar nodded, not looking upset at the blatant dismissal, "I ah, I think I need to take Draco to the hospital wing."
"Leave him here," Adrian grumbled, and Skylar shook his head with a low breath.
"I can't do that. He's an arse but I'm not leaving him out in this weather."
Skylar got up before Adrian did, and left towards something. Adrian stayed sprawled on the grass, staring at the sky as Draco's blood began to flake across his skin.
I have his blood on my hands now.
Something about the thought made him want to laugh.
"Here," Skylar returned, gently lowering Adrian's bag to the ground. Thankfully, the ruckus hadn't woken Lutain. Adrian tugged on his bag, uncomfortable for how the strap pulled on his chest.
Adrian stumbled past Skylar, ignoring both the boy and the whimpering Draco on the ground as he hobbled towards Hagrid's hut, hoping to turn in his essay and head up to the hospital wing or find someone with a bruise salve.
He knocked twice on the wooden door, smiling widely at the large man when he opened the door.
Obviously, he didn't look alright with how Hagrid's expression fell.
"Adrian?" Hagrid asked in alarm, holding the door open and inviting the student inside, "What'r you doing down 'ere? Wha' 'appened ter ya?"
"I finished my essay early and I have arrangements for Friday so I wouldn't be able to visit." Adrian robotically responded, sliding past Hagrid's large hound to take a seat on the oversized chairs.
Hagrid nodded in understanding although was moving slowly and timid. Hagrid fumbled with the thin roll of parchment Adrian provided, pausing before setting it in a basket and stumbling towards the kitchen.
Adrian blinked in alarm when Hagrid handled over a grey tea towel, dampened with water.
"For yer…" Hagrid motioned to his face, and Adrian numbly swiped across his face. The towel came back with specs of red.
Hagrid had a frown on his face, something deep set and almost sad looking. He sighed, looking out the window as Adrian continued to scrub at his face, then his fists and arms.
"Who're fightin' out ther'?" Hagrid rumbled, reaching for a large mug to hold in his palms.
Adrian stilled and fumbled with his words, "N-nobody."
Hagrid gave a huff of a laugh, "Yer alway' pickin' fights now'er days?"
Adrian shook his head and didn't respond.
"How yer feel 'bout Moke?" Hagrid asked spontaneously, looking painfully eager to change the topic.
Adrian blinked, thinking about where he knew the magical creature. It was a shapeshifting reptile as far as he knew, able to alter its size at will. He didn't know about the color,
"Fascinating creatures," Adrian mumbled, clearing his throat and sniffing loudly. "They're difficult to house due to the size."
Hagrid deflated slightly, "Yer right, beautiful creatures though. I'd love ter 'ave one, one day."
Adrian nodded slightly, feeling oddly detached.
"Yer seem like one ter 'ave one." Hagrid added, a commendable effort to try and lift his spirits, "'Ave lots 'er space at home?"
"Father would kill me if I brought home another magical creature." Adrian muttered, flinching in alarm as he realized what he just said. Hagrid didn't look like he took his words with any weight, and instead was looking at Adrian's bag where a sleepy black snake was beginning to poke his head out.
"Master?" Lutain asked sleepily, peering out and nosing his way out of the bag.
"Oh!" Hagrid enthused excitedly, "yer familiar! Heard 'bout him, beauty." Hagrid gushed, watching Lutain as he slid out halfway and looked around the table.
"Oh, the giant." Lutain flicked his tongue curiously, "Why are we here."
"Beautiful," Hagrid echoed, reaching out one thick sausage finger to gently trace along Lutain's back.
Lutain jolted but only watched curiously as Hagrid continued to rain praise on the vain serpent.
"How ye get 'em?" Hagrid asked curiously, "Exotic this one."
Adrian's head snapped up curiously, "You know what type he is? I've never found a name."
Hagrid looked excited, gentle as though Adrian was still something to be careful near, "Yes! Australian this one- Taipan, I think."
Adrian peered down at Lutain deep in thought, "Hear that? You're a Taipan, Lutain."
Lutain preened under the attention, coiling gracefully. Adrian smiled, something soft and wistful as he gently traced one finger across the snake's shiny scales.
"You smell like blood," Lutain informed Adrian cautiously.
Adrian's fingers stilled slightly.
"Yer know what else," Hagrid spoke, voice low and conspiring, "Yer know the first task?"
Adrian nodded shortly, tilting his head curiously.
"There be dragons," Hagrid spoke, eyes wide with wonder.
"Dragons?" Adrian's eyes widened in surprise as well, his entire body tensing up curiously. Instantly the dread vanished, replaced by curiosity and wonder. "In the forest? For the first task? Dragons?"
"Aye," Hagrid grinned, "Ron Weasley's brother brought 'em over, Charlie, from Romania! Heard from Lupin tha' yer might wanna see 'em!"
Hagrid's smile fell slightly, replacing that was an honestly sincere expression, "I wasn' suppos' ter. But yer seem like yer havin' a rough day. Wanna see?"
Adrian smiled breathlessly, and honestly happy, "That would be brilliant."
Hagrid stumbled through the woods, talking on and off to Lutain who was cozily snuggled around the large man's shoulders. Hagrid seemed completely smitten, happily offering the exotic and 'rare' snake anything he could think of, despite the fact he couldn't even understand what Lutain was saying.
"I like this," Lutain enthused from the man's shoulder, "This is nice."
Adrian smiled and wordlessly continued through the woods to the clearing where the dragons were being stored.
He heard them long before he saw them, great chaotic masses that roared and broke through silencing wards. Bright flashes of fire illuminated the dusk, nearly setting trees on ablaze and charring the earth and moss with glowing coals.
"Beautiful, aint they?" Hagrid let out a low whistle, patting Adrian firmly on his shoulder, "Jus' got 'ere yesterday! Come on!" He corralled, pushing the smaller boy closer to the cages.
"Hagrid!" A large scarred man shouted, giving a wave, "Sent by Dumbledore again, aye?"
"Not this time, Kakor!" Hagrid laughed, jerking one thumb over towards Adrian, "Showin' 'round my best student 'ere!"
The man's smile faltered, looking skeptical at Adrian. His eyes quickly glanced through an expression of pity, no doubt Adrian's scars looked horrifying with the dragon's fire.
"You sure, Hagrid? This no place for a uh, student."
Hagrid didn't look deterred, "No worry! Look 'ere at 'is famil'er!"
On cue, Lutain lifted his head up and peered at the dragon keeper, who inhaled sharply in awe. The snake was nearly invisible in the dark, his bright yellow stomach plates caught the light and shimmered as the fiery orange casted flickering designs over his back and length.
"My!" The man gasped in surprise and adoration, "What a beauty! Absolutely gorgeous boy, an elapid, aye?"
"Taipan!" Hagrid corrected eagerly, "Docile as a Kneezle!"
Adrian almost commented on how most students couldn't even control a Kneezle kitten.
The dragon keeper, Kakor looked approving, "Come along, mate! You'll fit right in, what's your name?"
"Adrian," he explained, reaching up with one arm for Lutain to uncoil and travel down, looping over his throat and neck happily, "Adrian Selwyn."
"Well, nice to meet you Adrian, and your familiar. Beautiful boy- Geomi back at the preserve has got a, uh," The man stumbled in thought for a second, "A uh, a occamy. Great big feather snake, golden eggs. Sucker for skrewts."
"I know them, I've never met one but I know them." Adrian explained, following the man as he took him on a round path around the furthest edge of the huge cages.
"We were going to bring in a few for the task, but they're already under threat," Kakor explained sympathetically, "Dragons were easier, ah, look here! Isn't she beauty? Smallest short snout we had."
The dragon inside grumbled low in its chest, sliding one membraned eye to peer at them from behind the enchanted cage bars. It had a very short maw, rounded and angry like a hound's muzzle. It had an impressive horn breaching from above its nostrils and curving up over its skull like a rhinoceros.
"Such strange creatures," Lutain commented, peering at the wings with veiled confusion.
"And here!" Kakor enthused, pointing to the next cage, "Now this girl was a hassle to pack up."
It was a disturbingly warped dragon, face scrunched and oddly shaped like a drawing of a child. Its snout was long and flared at the end, scrunched like a seahorse. Its scales suggested something more aquatic, although its antennae were completely out of place.
"Catalonian Fireball," He grinned, patting Adrian's back twice, "The wild ball of dragons. They don't breathe fire, they spit it."
It made a strange gurgling purr, turning to peer at them with strangely luminescent eyes.
"And here!" The man continued, moving to the smallest cage of them all, "We were thinking about bringing in a Horntail, but she was a bit ill after a bad cow. Here we got a Peruvian Vipertooth, only dragon with venom." The man grinned, gesturing to a strange dragon that appeared like its scales had feathers.
It made an odd chuffing noise, dragging its legs out and to the side as it awkwardly shifted between slithering and walking with long clawed legs.
"Venom, like all noble creatures." Lutain sniffed happily.
The dragon quizzically tilted its head peering at Adrian directly, it made a strange noise once and nuzzled the bars.
"She's a real sweetheart," Kakor grinned, "likes her trees and perches though, more like a snake this one than a bird."
"Hello!" Lutain hissed happily towards the Vipertooth.
It chuffed and tilted its head, "k-kello"
Adrian jolted slightly, trying not to make a scene. The dragon chortled happily and repeated the noise over like a parrot, jumping at the bars happily.
"And here," Kakor continued, gesturing to the last dragon, "Is a Ukrainian Ironbelly! Just a baby of course, since they're the largest species ever found. But wicked thick hide, can't be cursed either."
The dragon rumbled lowly, looking more like a large black and grey boulder in the setting sun.
"Amazing, all of them," Adrian smiled, looking back at the Vipertooth which was still mimicking Lutain's words earlier, "How will the champions select them?"
"At random," Kakor shrugged, "Nothing assigned, they just need to protect an egg or something like that. Unlucky bunch they are, wouldn't want to annoy princess over here," He jerked his hand at the Vipertooth.
Adrian smiled at the beautiful dragons, dazzling in their own ways, "Am I permitted to return?"
Kakor smirked lopsidedly, "You got yourself a Taipan, dontcha? Reckon' these beasts are more afraid of you then you of them."