Leif was familiar with the two Dragon Clan representatives who approached them. They were known as two of the rising young dragons of the second tribe under the Dragon Clan's original tribes: Ladon and Thorn.
Ladon, like most of the tribes that belonged to the original tribes, had silver hair and silver-gold eyes. His hair was long and tied in a single braid, with shiny pearls with bluish color. He only wore leather armor, but it was made with exquisite materials that resembled the scales of a water dragon.
In contrast to Ladon's long silver hair, Thorn's was short and messy. His eyes were also more golden than silver, which gave him a more fierce expression than the other representatives. His leather armor was also made with exquisite materials, resembling a gold dragon.
Leif immediately warned her fellow representatives to remain silent through telepathy. After which, she put on a smile and directed it at Ladon, who had a better temperament between the two.
"Lady Anahia, we have met once more," Ladon greeted before Leif could say anything.
Anahia was the Lacus representative that Leif changed into. Based on the information they gathered from their items, she was the daughter of an Elder and the leader representative for this year's hunt.
For the record, the Lacus Clan representatives only had one female; thus, Maren was currently disguised as a male.
"Lord Ladon," Leif greeted while lowering her head slightly at him, then at Thorn, "Lord Thorn, it is a pleasant surprise to meet you so soon after arriving at the platform."
Leif carefully chose her words to avoid suspicion while subtly probing for information.
"It is," Ladon replied with a slight smile. "You seemed to have been held up a bit... did anything happen on your side?"
Leif did not sense any hidden meaning from his question, and thus, she responded at once.
"Because the portal opened way ahead of time, we barely entered with enough supplies," she smiled bitterly before continuing, "Which is why, as soon as we got in, we took our time to sort everything."
Ladon nodded his head in understanding, "I get what you mean. We normally complete our preparation before entering the portal, but this time, we had to complete everything after we entered."
He then smiled at her and added, "In any case, it is good to see that your clan could participate in this year's hunt."
"Yes, indeed."
"Humph," Thorn suddenly snorted on the side and said, "If it weren't for our clan helping you secure a portal, you wouldn't have been able to participate. We expect you to show a level of sincerity, at least when you choose your representatives, but what is this?"
He looked at the others with Leif and scowled, "Apart from you, the rest are weaklings."
Cove and Irving, who would normally refute when belittled, did nothing to refute Thorn. After all, what he said was true.
Compared to the Dragon Clan representatives, the Ogen's representatives were truly weak.
"Thorn," Ladon gave Thorn a warning look. Before he could apologize to Leif for Thorn's behavior, however, the latter had already approached Cove.
"And you," Thorn said while scowling at Cove.
The Dragon Clan assisted the Lacus Clan in securing a portal for themselves. After which, the former seemed to be keeping tabs on their progress of gathering their representatives. The fact that Kyran's information was not included probably did not sit well with them.
Before Leif could come up with an explanation for Kyran's participation, the latter had already replied, which almost made her faint in shock.
"Who the hell are you," Kyran repeated with raised brows, "to speak to me like that?"
Thorn's gold eyes flashed, and a snickering smile appeared on his face. "Oh? You have a good member with you, Lady Anahia. Can I borrow him for a moment while we wait for the tower to open?"
"That's—."
"I don't belong to the Lacus Clan," Kyran corrected Thorn with a shrug. "Don't assume that I am one of her members."
"Not someone from the Lacus Clan, and yet you're here."
"A-Actually, uhm..." Leif suddenly became tongue-tied after realizing that they had not chosen a name for Kyran to go by yet. She wanted to give Kyran a warning look, but it would have been too obvious with Ladon and Thorn's observant eyes.
"I came with them, true."
Apparently, Kyran did not want Leif to cover for him as he responded to Thorn's subtle provocation. He continued, "But that doesn't mean I am one of them. If you don't believe me because my features did not differ from them that much, I can prove it to you."
"Interesting. How are we going to go about it?"
"Thorn!"
Ladon's voice carried more weight this time as he looked at Thorn.
"That is enough."
"He is the one asking for it, Ladon."
"You started it."
Before Thorn could say anything else, Ladon turned his attention to Kyran. His eyes did not hold the same warmth it did when he look at Leif though. His silver-gold eyes glinted with intensity as he said, "I don't know what your relationship with the Lacus Clan is. But don't expect that since we treat them kindly it will be the same for you. If you provoke us, I will personally put you in your place."
Kyran had always thought the Dragon Clan was righteous. Or at least they had a similar moral code to the Regis Clan. But Ladon and Thorn's attitude disillusioned him.
Rather than keeping a low profile and treating others with respect regardless of their affiliation, the Dragon Clan was only friendly towards clans who had good dealings with them. The rest be damned.
Somehow, that did not sit well with Kyran.
"Put me in my place, huh?" he muttered as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Do you have what it takes?"