The drake's nostrils flared, heat rolling from its breath as it glared down at him. "You expect me to agree to that without an answer?"
"It's not like anything I say will change your answer. If I said I wasn't going to do anything with it, you wouldn't believe me. If I said I was going to use it to turn myself into a dragon, you wouldn't believe that either."
The words made the drake's claws dig into the stone. For a long moment, neither spoke. The only sound was the drake's heavy breathing.
Finally, it lowered its head slightly. "If this is another one of your tricks—"
Noah cut it off. "You'll kill me, I know. You've said that before." His tone was almost boring. "Now stop wasting my time."
He stepped closer, tentacles began to release from his body, ready to begin treatment. "We are both gaining from this. Besides, this won't be bad for you either. If you do your part well enough, perhaps we can negotiate again on better terms."
