It had been quite sometime since things had began to change. Seasons had come and gone already, the weather was still chilly but signs of spring were beginng to show. Even more moons had passed since that one fateful day when he had crawled here in hopes of making sure his lover was safe.
The hybrid was nearly completely changed since that day. He had learned to start acting like an anthro instead of continuing to behave as a feral. He had faced his family and set things right so they would leave him and everyone else around him alone. So far his family seemed to understand and respect that agreement but for how long he was not sure. Hell, the hybrid could not care less in the present. He was more than happy with how things were beginning to turn out.
Dracul was able to speak again, though not nearly as fluent as he probably could. He was wearing clothes that suited more to his age. And he seemed less weary of strangers, even when they eye the patch over his eye. Though it could be sown shut and he could get rid of the patch, the hybrid had still chosen to keep it.

The day had been a nice one and it was too boring for him to stay at home, so he had decided to come into the gardens and wait. Dracul didnt mind having to wait on Aubri to get out of classes for the day. He often found some entertaining things in the mean time to do. Today he was six hours early to picking up Aubri and walk home with him so he chose to visit the gardens, whereupon he stole up a bench near the tulip patch.

The headmaster was having a particularly slow morning, nothing much to do in the way of paperwork, no discipline he needed to perform on students, a nice slow day. He chose to walk out onto the balcony above the garden and take a deep relaxing breath. All those lovely scents floating their way up to him, hmm, and the scent of someone out there too. The towering red dragon looked down and spotted the stranger, well, not quite stranger. He'd heard a bit about him from various sources and wanted to know more on his own. Supposedly a big money guy, kind of wild, incredibly strong too. At one point he was rumored to be among the beasts in the woods that would from time to time lead to a student or other person disappearing. Certainly didn't look like that kind of person to him now.

Drake spread his wings and stepped up onto the railing of his balcony, hopping off and slowly gliding down to land a respective distance from the guest at his school. He gave a little nod and a friendly smile with a soft greeting. "Hello. Pleasant morning isn't it?"

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It was all but quiet come a few minutes later when he heard a rusling noise. No not a rustling noise. More like that of something gently falling with ease. Gliding was definately not in his definitions but it would always remain on the tip of his tongue. As the stranger dragon landed, those odd ears perked up and listened to the greeting.
"Yes 'tis."
He responded as cheerily as he could in that gruff voice of his. It no longer sounded like gravel but it was still rough.. as was his speech at times.
"How goes?"
He meant to say how goes it but he voice cut before the it could make it out. One must understand after decades of not being used, one has little control over the vocal chords when speaking.

Drake smiled. So he wasn't the best at talking, that's okay, neither was he really. The headmaster gently nodded his head to the bench as if asking permission to be able to sit with him. "Very good thanks. What brings you here to the gardens this morning? Just want to relax for a bit?" He did wonder if this stranger was the kind that enjoyed a simple life or if he craved something more elaborate. His voice implied simplicity but anyone that could appreciate the lovely aroma of those flowers, the complex beauty of flowers, was anything but simple.

Dracul smiled and nodded after he looked to the empty spot on the bench beside him.
"Please.."
He gruffed a little, trying to keep his voice from crackling. As he listened to Drake's next fewquestions, he thought for a moment on the wording he should use to reply with. He knew what to say it was a matter of getting his vocal chords to agree.
"I waiting for Aubri to off school day. Always walk home him."
The hybrid smiled fondly. He could vaguely remember the dragon seeing as he was the one who fixed his eye and fixed up his wounds that day. But something told him this dragon did not remember him at all.
"I know it bit early, like flowers here."
He said in an apoligetic tone but his gestures kept to the flowers.

Drake probably didn't recognize him because the last time he saw Dracul he wasn't dressed so nicely, or even able to speak really. It was hard to believe the change in the other male. "Aubri huh? He's a good guy, handsome, nice, strong, good to have around. The flowers here are almost as nice as he is." Heck if he was a little more into feathers Drake probably would have flirted with the gryphon a lot more. Ohh, why did the handsome ones always end up here at his school? This one was a little strange with that voice of his but it was actually pretty interesting.

"He's nicer than flowers."
Dracul blushed a little as he looked down at his hands. The suit he was wearing did seem to make him ten times more sophisticated than he should be allowed to look. He raised a clawed hand to the patch over his left eye. He removed the patch as he gently traced a claw over the empty cavity.
"It been long time since first met Aubri. He helped Shimmer when this lost to bear."
He spoke quietly, trying to avoid scratching it as the wind rustled the fur near the empty opening. He glanced to Drake and held out a hand to him.
"I Dracul."
He gave a wide toothy smile but making it more gentle. He wondered if the dragon would remember him now. Dracul may not know Drake's name but he certainly did remember him.

"Ahh, now that I remember. Good to finally have a name for the face. A pleasure Dracul, I'm Drake." Yes, he definitely remembered working on that eye now. And hadn't had the highest hopes but did figure it had a chance. Not much of one but still a chance, and he was a little sorry to see it didn't work out but Dracul didn't seem bothered by it much. "You're always welcome here, and in the rest of the school if you want. I could see about getting Aubri out of classes a little early too." He knew the gryphon was doing well in his classes, skipping one probably wouldn't do too much harm to his grades. Drake could hardly give any sort of lecture, he did have a boyfriend that he sometimes had sneaking out of classes. More like a fiancee really... maybe these two were in the same sort of situation.

Dracul shook Drake's hand with a smile. He was glad the dragon finally remembered him, and glad that he finally had a name for the one who helped him on multiple occasions.
At the offered request of getting Aubri out of his classes early, Dracul's ears noticably perked up but the hybrid shook his head. He would never ask Aubri to skip classes just to go home withDracul early. The gryphon had done enough of that when this creature was feral and terrorizing most of the people who dared to hike on the trails he hunted on.
"No no. Aubri schooling important. He made promise since we live together now. Thanks but his classes more important."
Dracul continued to smile. With as much as he wanted to be with Aubri at all times, he knew better than to keep him from the schooling that would become important later on down the road. With that having been said, Dracul replaced the patch over his empty eye socket.

"That's good. So the two of you can rely on each other when he's done school instead of him having to come to you for everything." Living together now? Aubri didn't have any money that Drake knew of, and he knew all of his wealthy students. So this fellow that had been acting like a wild beast in the woods for a while had something more to him? Very interesting, the dragon headmaster was having fun piecing this puzzle together and learning more about him. He could take care of himself now hopefully, and wasn't getting in any situations where he would put the other eye at risk.