Everything had been cleaned, cooked, and seasoned with care, spreading a symphony of delicious smells that filled the Hydra's nostrils and made her stomach rumble in anticipation. Faluel's mouths salivated at the sight of the food, her body craved nourishment after suffering so much. Yet she couldn't overlook the Drake's care and the implications such a kind gesture had. "Is this all for me?" One head said with an awkward expression while the other six stared at the plates like kids in a toy shop. "Yes, but I can keep you company and eat a few things myself, if you want." Ajatar nodded. "Are you sure?" The head looking at Ajatar blushed a bit. "I mean, we've known each other for a long time, but I've never thought about you that way." "What way?" He asked in confusion. "Wait, do you think I'm hitting on you?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢 Among creatures the size of a Lesser Divine Beast, a home-cooked meal was the human equivalent of a bouquet of roses and a jewel pendant. Just the ingredients were expensive and cooking them took time, effort, and care. It was something one would do only for the person they loved, a long-lost friend/relative, or to thank a benefactor. Most Emperor Beasts had no time to waste cooking, so most of their meals consisted of raw cattle or trees eaten whole. It made cooking the most precious gift after a powerful artifact, but gifting one usually meant betrothing. Awakened had laxer social protocols than humans, but dropping to one knee and asking someone for marriage on the first date was deemed no less foolish. "What's with the disbelief and your mocking tone?" Faluel's seven heads now stared at the Drake, her pupils reduced to angry slits. "I'm quite the catch, and you have no other reason to offer me this feast." "You a catch?" Ajatar sneered and was about to say even worse before he realized that the friendly mockery they usually exchanged would have offended his host due to the misunderstanding. "I mean, you're not just a catch. You're a Dragon's hoard." "Nice save." She grunted. "If it's not courtship, to what do I owe your visit?" "To thank you for including me in the research for Dragonhood." Ajatar gave her a deep nod, the quadrupeds' equivalent of a bow. "There are no evolved Drakes among Thrud's surviving generals. "Without your recommendation, I wouldn't have been involved in the project until it reached completion." "Oh, that." She sighed in disappointment. "It's nothing. We've been friends for a long time, and you deserve it. You've helped my disciples countless times and even kept the secret of my Hands of Menadion from the rest of the Council. "I know I can trust you, and we Hydras can use someone with your brain." "And you've helped mine and kept the secret of Spirit Fusion." Ajatar dismissed the compliments with a shrug. "I consider us even. By the way, you sound disappointed. Did you want me to hit on you?" "I'm not disappointed!" She said too angrily and quickly to be believable. "I'm just surprised. I mean, I don't deserve a full-course meal just for including you in a still-fruitless research. Please, share this meal with me." "If that's what you want." Ajatar dropped the subject and started eating. Faluel, instead, was facing a conundrum. Eating with all seven heads would have caused the flavors to mix and the food to disappear in the blink of an eye. If only one head ate, the others would snarl in envy and anger, ruining her meal. 'Usually, I would eat in human form, but for some reason, I find the thought of Ajatar watching me gobble such a fancy meal like a famished troll embarrassing.' She thought. 'Oh, screw it.' She shapeshifted into her human form, stretching her mouth enough to take a significant bite of the serving and make it last enough to savor it. It was a disturbing sight, so she checked Ajatar's reaction. He shapeshifted as well and kept eating without batting an eye. "Why are you so harsh with yourself?" He said in between mouthfuls. "Thanks to Ripha's help, we have a solid starting point. Sure, reaching Dragonhood will take time and effort, but enjoying the Dragon Eyes even if we can maintain them for just a few seconds is more than I've ever dreamed." At those words, Faluel choked on her food and needed sheer willpower not to spit it out. "Excuse me?" She said after ensuring the fit of cough wouldn't waste Ajatar's delicious shrimp risotto. "You have experienced Dragon Eyes?" "Yes. Many times, now." He said with a nonchalant attitude that she found as infuriating as his earlier dismissal of her attractiveness. "I mean, that's the obvious first step to understand the process. You must have done the same, right?" "Wrong!" Faluel replied in outrage. "I mean, yes, I did, but I've never achieved Dragon Eyes. Just some kind of proto-form which gave me insights on what I'm doing, but no clear understanding." "Really?" Ajatar's flabbergasted tone only made her anger surpass her hunger, which at the moment was far from a small feat. "Really!" She snarled, feeling mocked and humiliated. "I've gotten seven heads, the Hands of Menadion, and Ufyl's life force as a template, yet you've surpassed me. I should be the one offering you a meal." Faluel put down the dish just for her stomach to growl in protest. "This is weird." Ajatar cleared his throat in embarrassment. "You've been working on this longer than me, and the path is straightforward. Stimulate the mana organ until it forms an eye, and then the secondary organs related to the brain. "I didn't do much else, and I refuse to believe you haven't figured this out already." Sharing his knowledge with her and the trust he had in her talent were the greatest compliments Ajatar could give Faluel. "I did, but how did you rule out the smaller eyes and identify the correct secondary organ so fast? I ended up like this just to check on a few of the alternative evolutionary paths." Sharing her doubts made the Hydra feel better, but admitting her struggles was beyond awkward for someone as prideful as her. "What alternative evolutionary paths?" Ajatar replied in honest disbelief. "As I said, the process is straightforward. You just need to flood the mana organ Baba Yaga pointed out with mana, and once it develops, move on to the atrophied organs revealed by the changes in our life force." "It's not straightforward at all." Faluel shook her head. "Why do you think the entire Hydra bloodline is still stuck at-" The realization hit her like a freight train. "Gods, we are a bunch of idiots!" Faluel's vision blurred as the room started to spin around her. "We Hydras are so dumb! All of us!" "Calm down and explain this in a way I can understand." Ajatar stored the dishes back inside his dimensional amulet before they got cold. "I'm sorry, but I need time to collect my thoughts and food to regain my strength. Please, wait until the end of the meal." Faluel picked up her plate, taking big mouthfuls of risotto before ruminating on both the food and the revelation.