Her complement fueled the color in Cinead's face, but he did his best not to turn away with the show of weakness. Instead, he focused on what she was telling him, watching her as she began dancing with him. After a moment of observation, he began to mimic her actions, Gradually smoothing out his steps, finding himself instinctively moving along with the rhythm of the music. Abruptly, he grinned. "this is unexpectedly fun." He admitted, making sure to shout over the music so that Anna would be able to hear him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cin watched as another couple danced nearby, the man with his hands on a girl's waste, bodies Close together. He wondered if Anna was expecting him to dance with her that way... Hesitantly, he took a small step forward, going with the music. And then he was hit with an unexpected fluttering in his stomach. Apprehension. Worry. Fear. Excitement. He traded several similar descriptions in his mind to what the unexpected feeling was. They all seemed to be connected to the idea of reaching out and putting his hands on Anna's waste. A low growl quietly rumbled in his chest in response to the increased negative stimulation, his dragon self asserting it's self in a denial to the weakness. Gold swimming in his irises, Cinead confidently reached out, stepping closer to Anna and putting his hands on her torso, too tall to comfortably place his hands on her waist.

Anna watched her student get into the rhythm of dancing and the current song that was playing. She offered him a small smile when he told her that he was having fun. "I'm glad you're having fun!" She looked around the dance floor too, seeing some friends on the other side of the dance floor, some classmates trying to leave the dance floor and etc. She had been lost in her own world by the time Cinnead put his hands on her. "Oh! Sorry, I kinda spaced out. Wanna dance together?" She giggled.

Her distraction only really bothered him in the slightest amount, something that Cinead was easily able to brush off and instead focus on moving with Anna to the music, on the zing of nervous excitement that actually having his hands in contact with her sent through his veins. The experience had him baring his teeth in a momentary fierce grin. "Yes. I do." He responded simply, but enthusiastically.

That simple phrase had given him energy to keep on dancing with Anna for what felt like hours to Cinead, his heart pounding and his emotions high. They had called a few breaks in between songs, mostly so that Cin could get pressed into trying even more of the snacks and even a few of the drinks. He had quickly put his foot down about soda however after his initial taste of the bubbly stuff had sent an uncomfortable tickling through his nose that left him spluttering and provoked a huge sneeze. He had stuck to water after that.

Finally, after the current song came to a close and the shifter let his body come to a stop, Cinead was more than ready for that break he and Anna had talked about. Breathing a little heavier than normal, he tilted his head down so that he was closer to the shorter woman's ear and managed to get out, "Are you ready for that walk then? I could really use some quieter atmosphere." He admitted.

His slight burst of excitement and boldness surprised her. He wasn't one to initiate physical contact too much, but it was nice. Anna felt the blush cover her face when his grin appeared on his face. It oozed confidence and, dare she say, a teensy bit of enthusiasm. His tone when he answered her question confirmed her thoughts. She then just focused on helping him learn to dance with a partner.

Cin had been a fast learner when it came to dancing with a partner. They soon settled into a rhythm of dancing a few songs, taking a break, having Cin try things, chatting a little and dancing again. It had only been for a hour and a half by the time Cin requested a small time away from the party itself. She almost didn't hear him because of the music.

"Ok!" She yelled, taking his hand and began leading him towards where she believed an open meadow was nearby. As they walked, the music got lower and the sounds of the forest soon surrounded them. Anna was surprised to hear the squeals of a wild hog or boar here and there too. Anna had been wondering if she would take this chance and confess her feeelings to the taller guy. He seemed to be sharing her feelings at least a little...

"Here we are. A nice quiet meadow for all types of relaxing." She purred, jogging and falling into the grass a few feet away from him and in the middle of said meadow. She almost didn't see it coming.

There were more boar squeals and in came the beast running, literally breathing fire out of its snout. Anna yelped when she was almost trampled an burned, managing to escape and find herself against a tree.

"C-Cin! Help!" The boar had turned around. She gusssed she became it's new target.

The feeling of Anna's hand in his was starting to become a familiar and comfortable sensation, Cinead realized, as she had grabbed his hand and began to pull him off, away from the party. He was grateful for her ready acceptance of the idea and the gradual fading of the music. He was ready to court her formally. And the music was starting to give him a slight headache.

Walking at a comfortable speed, taking in lungfuls of The sweet woodsy air, Cinead simply let himself enjoy the moment. He took mental notes on everything around him as he relaxed with the walk. The feeling of Anna's skin against the palm of his hand, The feeling of electricity at the contact, the whisper of leaves rustling in a light breeze, the smell of dirt and growing things, the distant squeal of a boar... This last sound brought him up Short, something elusive tugging at the edge of his thoughts and starting to make him uneasy. But he couldn't quite put his finger on why. If anything, the sound of a wild pig should make him hungry, not nervous. The odd contradicting sensation disturbed his relaxation, making the muscles in his shoulders begin to stiffen. He struggled to shake it off, but to no avail.

It wasn't until Anna had dropped his hand as they reached a meadow and jogged away from him towards the center of the lush grass speckled with wildflowers that Cinead was finally able to pin down the elusive uneasiness, Remembered why the strange double tenored scream of the boar had his senses on high alert. At that instant, the moment where she fell back playfully into the grass, the wind shifted. He smelled Anna, Forest, blood, and ashes. And he knew without a doubt what was stalking The woods this night. An ember boar. As soon as he reached this realize Asian, the creature itself came bursting into the clearing, barreling down on Anna with flames spouting from both nostrils, eyes glowing like embers, it's massive black shape flickering and glowing randomly in shifting patterns that gave the impression of burning coal.

"NO!" Cinead practically roared, fearing the worst. But Anna somehow managed to roll out of the way just in time, scrambling away from the shrieking beast and over to a nearby tree, pressing her back up against it. Her cry for his help sliced through him, igniting a fire within him. As the boar turned it's burning eyes in her direction, pawed at the ground with one of its front hooves and lowered its head to aim gore stained tusks at the small woman, Cin finally did roar. He reached out to one of the trees close at hand, ripping a thick limb from the trunk with an you're splitting crack, Bringing his hand up and over his body and throwing the branch like a spear. Unlike an actual weapon, the wood didn't pierce the boar's hide, Not completely, and instead opened a shallow gash along the beast's side before tumbling to the ground engulfed in fire.. but the projectile had served the purpose he had wanted it to, distracting the ember boar from Anna. The massive pig swung its head around and shrieked at Cinead, flames flickering from its open mouth and nostrils as it began charging in his direction.

Human strength was not going to be enough to take down this monster. Not even in Hanst human strength. Cinead inevitably came to this conclusion as he dug a partially covered Stone from the ground and launched it at the boar, the rock as effective as a pebble against an oncoming bus. He realized it, but he wasn't happy about it. But there was no other way to save Anna... and she could not die.

Before the boar hadd covered more than half the distance between Cinead and Anna, Cin had hurtled forward at surprising speed, leaping into the air as if he were planning on landing onto the monster's head and tackling it to the ground. But halfway through his leap, a shimmer of golden light momentarily flickered around his body before his shape exploded outward, his clothing shredding in the process. One second, it had been a tall, seemingly insignificant human jumping headlong at a furious fire spitting boar, and in the next Instant, a massive sinewy white and red dragon was slamming huge taloned paws into The oncoming beast, throwing it backwards several yards back into the clearing where it fell heavily on to one side with a crash. Cinead put himself between the boar and Anna, arching his long neck and parting his maw in a menacing hiss that showed off two rows of gleaming white fangs.

In comparison with the boar, which was roughly double the size of a horse, Cinead averaged Moore on the size of a small house, with massive Batlike wings that gave the illusion of doubling his size when they were fully extended. As it was now, they were still Half furled against his body, ready to snap out at a moments notice. Even in the darkness, it was evident that the majority of his body was covered with bright white scales, but the colors darkened into a rich Crimson along the edges of those on his face, tail, and paws. Each of his wings looked as if he had dragged them through paint of a similar hue, The color haphazardly bleeding down onto the backs of the leathery appendages. Four clawed paws supported his long lithe frame, Extended by a sinewy neck and tail. On his triangular head, two almost delicate looking white horns extended, a gentle curve to their shape. His golden yellow eyes were focused intently on the boar struggling back to its feet, slitted catlike pupils dilating slightly in the dim light and the rush of adrenaline.

Anna had been watching the weird boar as it literally breathed fire at her. She had been shaking and pressed herself futilely as some stray embers singed the hem of her dress. She wasn't sure what in the world caused this...creature to be so hostile..! The party! Maybe the music angered it? She hadn't even heard Cin's roars, being to focused on how she was going to escape this...thing!

Both her and the boar snapped their attention towards Cin when the limb struck the boar. How the heck was Cin going to take care of him?!

She watched, paralyzed as the boar roared back at him. He charged and started spewing fire. It even seemed that Cin's second attack didn't seem to do anything but provoke the huge boar further. Cin seemed to emote somewhat, she saw his fear only deepen before gaining a resigned look and running at his opponent with what seemed like inhuman speeds before...a yellow flash blinded her.

Anna managed to stand up and managed to catch the sound of clothes ripping loudly and the terrifying surprise of...A DRAGON WHERE CIN SHOULD HAVE LANDED?!

It wasn't hard to piece it together...his almost exclusive craving for meat, awkwardness with humans and social etiquette, his...alluring yet mysterious-no. Bad Anna. How in the heck was she supposed to feel?! He was a dragon! She had no chance! Especially not with how big he naturally was as a dragon to begin with! She was tiny compared to him, and what kind of dragon would he be if he was interested in humans!

...Yet...she still felt electricity as he hissed protectively. The desire surged through her and she almost didn't know what to do with herself and this seemingly misplaced feelings.

Maybe...he would try? She'd have to confess. It would kill her to know what he actually thought now that she knew about his...true self. It certainly played a factor in whether or not he'd try anything with her.

She snapped out of it when the boar, recognizing it's natural preadator squealed again and hightailed it away from them. She found herself staring at his eyes after watching the boat run away and shivered a little.

"Cin..? I-Is that you?" Stupid question, but she knew it'd be better to just be clear.

Cinead had half expected the boar to disregard the Dragon staring it down, to come in full force and attack with even more fury, but he wasn't surprised when the creature released a squeal of terror and instead scampered off in the opposite direction, eyes wide with shock. Ember boars weren't the smartest creatures, but this one was evidently smart enough to realize a more dominant predator then it self, Recognizing his shape as one of the ancient hunters of its species. They were nearly as extinct as the dragons, but it seemed nothing could dampen the natural aversion the beasts had to his kind. Cinead snorted at the retreat, head lowering to regard the still smoldering branch that he had thrown at the creature and put one of his front paws onto it, smothering the flames. No doubt about it, he was going to have to go hunting for the creature soon. He didn't want it starting any wildfires...

"Cin...? I-Is that you?"

The soft voice stupidly caught him by surprise in his preoccupation of the inevitable hunt, every muscle in his body stiffening until he was a statue. But then, like ice melting, Cinead slowly, exaggerating each movement, folded his wings tightly against his body and turned around to face the woman behind him. Dread was his dominant emotion is he very slowly lowered himself onto his belly, folding his front legs beneath him much like a cat would, and lowered his head until it was nearly on a level with Anna. He regarded her intensely with one of his golden eyes for several seconds,, noting her fear and shock, feeling intensely chagrined at the exposure of his secret. Finally, he answered her question with a single nod of his massive head. He wanted to do more, wanted to release a growl or grumble and his chest, but he didn't want to frighten her more than she was already. Undoubtedly, it was only a matter of time before Anna ran away, screaming. No need to add fuel to the nightmare.

She guessed she wasn't the only one dreading this. Mutual feelings were good...right? He moved mechanically and made sure to come down to mostly eye level with her before nodding. Ok, he could understand her while like this. Good to know. He seemed hurt, waiting for something. Maybe he thought she was terrified? Well, she was but it's was more shock over the reveal rather than terror for herself. She was surprised she was taking this well.

Anna, after a moment of staring him down, then took a step towards him, wincing a little. The boar's embers got her left thigh. Nothing she couldn't handle, but the pain was there. She continued towards him after taking a deep breathe. Soon they were close and she slowly reached out a hand to touch his snout.

"Thanks for saving me...and telling me your secret..? I, uh, don't think you meant to though..." She joked a bit lightly and doing a somewhat awkward chuckle. He probably wanted nothing more to do with her right now.

As Anna stepped forward, closer to him, Cinead felt A ripple of surprise. She was moving towards him, Instead of running away at full speed like he had predicted she would. The brief grimace that flickered across her face as she did so did not go unnoticed, though he quickly noticed that part of her dress on the left had been singed during the attack, so he assumed it was Moore in response to pain rather than him. The idea of the boar having had any opportunity to hurt Anna made him instinctively want to snarl, Though he managed to refrain from doing so once again. He really didn't want to give the wrong impression. And then something completely unexpected happened. Anna reached out with a hand and actually touched him on the nose. Electricity felt as if it zinged through every scale on his body, caused his stomach to flutter and his eyes to blink. The reaction was so much stronger than it had been in his human form, shock momentarily rooted him to the spot. What could this mean?

Anna once again broke through his surprise with a soft thank you, for both saving her life and for sharing his secret. She was spot on when she followed up her gratitude with a soft chuckle and speculation about how he had probably not wanted to divulge that particular bit of information. He snorted softly, a low thrumming sound in his throat indicating a dragon's version of a chuckle before he gave a very minute shake of his head. No, he certainly hadn't been planning on telling her. After a moment, he shrugged his massive shoulders, using one of his wings to gesture in the direction the ember boar had fled, Indicating that he really hadn't had much choice. For good measure, he finally released a soft growl before gently nuzzling against Anna's hand.

She visibly held back a giggle after hearing his version of a chuckle. "You kinda sound like a cat, I'm sorry." She added with a small grin. Anna had looked up in slight awe of his wings and nodded, the message bein loud and clear. "Yeah. I can guarantee you didn't really have much of a... Wait! Does this mean Unicorns exist?!" Her eyes widened and a wonder-filled grin grew onto her face. "Oh!!!! That would be awesome!!!!" She paused in her thoughts when Cin made another noise and nuzzled her hand. "You're too kind, for a humongous lizard." She joked again before taking a step back and look him over properly, now that she wasn't worrying for her or his own life.

"Really explains a lot. Your body was always way too warm to be human!" She smiled fondly. "I...I'm gonna tell you my own secret then. You don't have to be in agreement with it, I won't out you no matter what, alright? I jut would prefer ya to be human...unless you'll come back naked. In which case, please stay a lizard."

Cinead couldn't help but stare aut Anna for several seconds when she burst out excitedly about unicorns of all things. Unicorns? She had nearly been killed by a fiery pig and been saved by a dragon, and she was excited about the idea of the existence of unicorns? Truly, there were still so many things about humans he didn't understand. True, Unicorns did exist, but they were very, very rare. And no, he didn't know how to find one. Maybe it would be better to hold off telling her that information until a later date...

He then snorted much more loudly when she referred to him as a "lizard"A moment later. Pulling his head back, he gave her a disapproving look before he found himself tilting his head to one side when she spoke of her own secret. What sort of secret would Anna have that she now felt she had to tell him? Glancing briefly down at his own scaly body for a few seconds as he thought of the conundrum of turning back into his human shape and the inevitable nakedness he would indeed have, Cin rose to all fours as he swung his head in the direction of where he had been before he had changed. Gaze running over the grass of the meadow, he quickly located several scraps of fabric that had been his clothing and gathered it together with one of his paws before gathering the material into his mouth and squeezing his way through the trees to a spot behind a clump of bushes. He hoped Anna grasped what he was doing and wouldn't come charging after him in the middle of his transformation.

With a secondary golden shimmer of light, And much concentration, the massive white and red dragon shrank quickly down into his two legged shape, huffing Saufley with the effort it took. Rubbing his hands briefly over his face for a moment, he then crouched down to examine the pile of shredded clothing he had spat out onto the ground. The pants were unfortunately completely useless, as were his underwear and socks, but there was enough of his shirt that he thought he might be able to work it into suitable coverage. At least, enough that it wouldn't make Anna too uncomfortable. With a little bit of creativity and effort, Cin managed to work out a sort of loincloth looking thing that covered up the entirety of his waist and part of his thighs. Not perfect, but it was going to have to do.

Taking in a deep breath, feeling more nervous than ever, Cinead finally quietly padded out from the cover of bushes and walked silently up to Anna, stopping a few feet away where he found himself swallowing hard and unable to articulate the thoughts racing in his head. Instead, he blinked thoughtfully at her, shifting his weight from foot to foot, and braced himself for the worst.

His disapproving look was met with a sheepish yet still mischievous one. "Ok, I get it, no lizard comments." She giggled, watching him look around for where his shreds of clothes were and picking them up with his mouth. She assumed he had a plan to be able to wear his shreds and hear her secret in person.

As he change back and fixed his clothing situation, Anna took a few deep breathes and tried to figure out what the heck she was going to say. 'Cin, I wanna make out with you and your scaly self?' Too weird and goofy. 'I really like you!' Nah, he'd take it as her reaffirming their friendship. 'Go out with me?' Too straightforward. She mentally warred with herself and froze as he came out to her. Ok, wasn't expecting the loincloth. She figured out how'd she do it, and only hoped he didn't think she was cheesy for it.

"O-Ok...Come here and I'll tell you." She requested a bit softly. As soon as he was close enough, she grabbed his face and kissed him. Cue being shocked with electricity as soon as their lips made contact.

Of all the things she could have done, all the words she could have said, Cinead had not expected Anna to reach out her hands, take his face between them, and pull his mouth down to meet hers. He had never experienced a kiss himself before that moment, had only seen it portrayed in movies or books, glimpsed couples with their lips pressed together. He didn't realize until that exact moment how powerful such a thing was. As soon as his lips touched Anna's, warm and soft, The strongest surge of electricity and fire he had felt yet coursed through his body. And he realized that she cared for him just as deeply as he cared for her.

In that instant was when it happened. He called forth his magic, Magic he had never dreamed of using, and surrounded him and Anna in it's wash of power. He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her closer to him, lifted her off the ground, and then used one of his hands to hold her face against his, deepening the kiss. As soon as he realized that she was excepting him, still wanted him despite knowing what he was, every cell in his body cried mine! and that's when the magic reached out, took a hold of both of their souls, And bound them together in chains of fire. She was his, he was hers. Cinead, his irises now The brightest of golds, opened his eyes just in time to see the magic, dancing around them like heatless flames, caress along Anna's skin and leave behind an image in it's likeness, proclaiming their bond. And he realized with a thrill of victory that he had just claimed Anna, his Anna, as his mate.

The kiss had been unlike anything she had ever felt before. She felt such a mixture of love, acceptance and pure joy all in the few minutes that they had lightly made out. The fact that he even kissed her back made everything so much better. He liked her just as much and possibly more as she did him. Anna hadn't been expecting him to pick her up but was happy to be in a better vantage point that made it easier for him to kiss her back. Her arms moved to wrap around his neck. It was around this time she felt a sort of cozy heat surrounding them.

She broke the kiss and panted with her eyes closed for a moment before slowly looking up at Cin. She was surprised to see his eyes so bright as he looked at her. She felt a pointed bout of warmth on her neck and felt the skin. Anna grunted in confusion when she felt nothing.

"Heh, I, ah, really like you, Cin." She panted, a small smile adorning her features.

By the time Anna had finally opened her eyes to look up at him, the magic that had surrounded them had faded away and Cinead felt surprisingly drained as soon as it had. Gradually, his eyes returned to their usual human hazel as well. He managed to smile tiredly with Anna's breathless statement and a chuckle of his own rumbled in his throat. "I now know this fact very well my Anna." He huffed in return, his Welsh accentuation strong. Briefly, he pressed his forehead to hers, rubbed the tips of their noses together before carefully setting her back onto her feet and using one of his hands to brush his fingers against her neck. "I have to admit that I feel very similarly. I was surprised, at first, by that fact, as you might imagine... but I can freely admit to you now that I... adore you Anna. I wish for nothing more than to be yours and you mine. You are mine." Again, That realization sang like a victory through his veins and he couldn't help but kiss her once again, though he quickly broke it off himself to release a short laugh.

Anna had glanced around them for a moment to see if there was anything, attributing the strange warmth to Cin somehow after finding nothing. She observed his eyes change color as his disguise fully set in and giggled a little at his response to her confession. "You know, your accent gets a bit stronger when you actually emote." She grinned, happily nuzzling her nose with him after he initiated it. She took his hand after he put her down and looked up at him as he caressed her neck.

"My, someone's being assertive tonight. As you can tell, I feel the same way. I am yours just as you are mine. Never forget it." She cooed, leaning on him a little. "Now. 2 things. 1: Is there something on my neck? Felt something there when we kissed. And 2: I think we should head home or something so you can get clothes." She gestured to his loin cloth to showcase her point.

Her comment about his accent made Cinead's lips quirk up at the corners. "that sort of thing used to happen to my father as well. I can't help it." He explained briefly, giving his head a small shake. He then gave Anna's hand a gentle squeeze, even as he tilted his head to one side, a send Seshan pulling on the edges of his concentration. For some reason he could not explain, on the edges of his joy and excitement, he felt a momentary stab of... concern? Embarrassment? Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. But one thing he did know, he was completely separate from the flutter of emotions on the edge of his awareness. And he didn't quite know where they were coming from.

Blinking thoughtfully, Cin made A concerted effort to focus on answering the question Anna asked and responding to her concerns about his current wardrobe. Again, he brushed his fingertips along the skin of her neck, across her new marking, and felt a momentary stab of worried that she might be upset by its presence. But he quickly brushed the feeling away and spoke honestly. "yes. My magic left a mark upon your skin. A... mate's flame as we call it." He admitted, Pausing for a moment before adding, "I didn't know that the mark would present itself on a being that was not a dragon. A couple such as you and I have not existed as far as I am aware. As for your other concern, how do you propose we make it back to my apartment? I do believe my current state of undress would cause something of a scene if I were to walk through the party."

Anna had been feeling tiny stabs of worry over what was on her neck, not necessarily wanting to look in case it was a scar or something. Honestly, she didn't know what could be so bad about whatever it was, but the fact that she had something was enough to make her worry, if only a teensy bit.

Feelings of awe and excitement had replaced the negative emotions Cin had felt a moment before, mirroring her face. "You claimed me? Aw! I'm so happy!" She cooed, moving to see if she could find his. "Do you have one? I guess the fact one appeared on me means that we can have children or something? I dunno." Anna shrugged before thinking again. "Well, we don't need to go through the party, as the woods has many ways back to the parking lot. We will need to go near it though, so we may run into drunk people. Mainly because that's the way I know specifically to get in and out." The human explained.

And then, all at once, the negative cloud of emotions that Cinead had been puzzling over quite abruptly shifted into a thrill of excitement and he found himself blinking abruptly with donning comprehension. Could he actually feel what Anna was feeling? Momentarily overwhelmed by the implications, he carefully shuffled his suspicions off to the corner of his mind to be reviewed at a later time and place and instead focused his attention all on Anna. He smiled as she expectantly inspected what she could see of his exposed skin, hunting for a mark that would mirror her own. He couldn't help but glance down himself, twisting his arms this way and that, looking down to either side of his body. "I should... I remember my parents having matching marks. But if we can't find it now, there's always later." His lips briefly quirked up again at the corners before his expression momentarily faltered. Her thoughts had jumped so quickly to children. Why was that? Brushing curiosity into the corner with the other thoughts he would consider later, Cin nodded his head to her plan about getting back to the car. "that's doable. And if that doesn't work, I can always take us back." He used The fingers on his hands to mimic flapping wings to get his point across.

Anna was confused as to why she now felt like she a realization and later confusion as her and Cin continued to speak. Maybe it was the mark/bond between them? She didn't know but would ask after Cin was clothed. Her mind drifted to what it would be like if they ever did have kids. Would they be half? Mating marks wouldn't happen like this unless they were genetically compatible enough...right? Then again, most theories of Science she didn't think applied so much to Dragons and the like.

She looked at him. "Don't tempt me~." She joked, staring to lead him. "I already want to start bugging you in your natural state." Anna teased happily. "Where does it all go anyway?! You're massive!"