Chiro's wings lifted slightly, in response to Malachy's words. They still had life to them, despite their sad appearance. But he put them down carefully and folded one over the other. "N...no..." He shook his head. "No, just... I haven't seen myself in a really long time is all. I've never really thought about it, either. I just... I guess I'm curious now..." He lifted a hand, grasping something in the air. Around them, the breeze grew still and dry, and a thin plate of ice appeared in Chiro's hand. "Here we are... A... a makeshift mirror, if you will." He smiled lightly, and then looked into the reflective ice before it melted from his hand.

His skin was woody, like trees. But it didn't hide the dark shadows under his eyes. And his eyes. Long lashes, one could barely notice how dull they had become. The green looked washed out. Like it had been through a lot. His hair looked uneven. He had tried to cut it from time to time into the right length but it had become longer in the front than the back. And the back no doubt looked a bit crazy. It had to make him seem incompetent. But he didn't look old at all. In fact, he looked the same as he had... so long ago. Only a bit more tired and sad. He shook his head, dropping the ice and crunching it under his foot. "I'm sorry. I was just... so curious. I don't like to spend much time staring at myself." Chiro lowered his head, glancing at Malachy. The leaf. He could give it roots and let it take plant.

Chiro's footsteps paused slightly when Malachy's hand fell on his arm. The roots of the nearby trees nearly tripped him up, but it was his own fault, because he was looking down and away and letting his hair fall over his face. "Um... Th... thank you." Why did it make him feel so... odd? It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was strange. New but familiar. A bit kind. "You..." His voice caught. There was a complement on his tongue, but he couldn't speak it. Malachy was beautiful, for a young male fae. Strange and unusual to him, he'd never seen it before. It was nice. Easy on the eyes. The pale colors, the gold tint to the skin, the beautiful pink mixed in, seemed spring-like. Flowers. Honey.

The wind threaded against his face, cooling the burning that had come up to rest on his face. His other hand twisted a little around the bottle bag and kept them up and against his side. He was sure a few had broken, but it was why he had gathered so many. Perhaps in the days leading up to their arrival he could practice his serum creation. With the earthy environment that they called home, there were plenty of mediums to use. And already the sky was growing dark. He looked toward Malachy. "Erm... When are we... stopping for the evening?" He wasn't tired. He had walked for days from time to time, because he had lost track of where he was and how long he had been going.

Chiro tilted his head, pausing and looking around them. A... meadow or clearing seems so... open." He mentioned. "Perhaps... I could make a safe place for us, using the trees? I... do that. Nowadays. I've constructed small homes out of tree branches and vines that are very safe havens. If you would like to stop, I mean... I could walk until we arrive... I've made a habit of that because I don't fly anymore. But I don't want to pressure you..." He turned to face Malachy directly, concern showing obvious on his face. He didn't want to wear Malachy down. He probably flew to the city the first time and now was relying on intuition to get him back to his familiar home.

Chiro tilted his head, blinking hard at the sight. Malachy's feet were soft, just by the look of their soles. Walking so long had to be painful, and it was evident by the blemish on one of the pads. "Oh... no... That doesn't look good at all... Are you not used to walking?" He shook his head and set the bag of bottles down. "No matter, sit... Sit please, I can take care of this..." He set the bag down and stepped into the middle of the half-path, something that could hardly be called such a thing. His hands were in the air and in a moment the trees were creaking, ballooning out and forming a circular movement. Then vines burst up from the ground and twined around the trees, crisscrossing over the trunks of the trees and binding up the bare spaces between tree trunks and then bedding over the ground, sliding underneath their feet and bulging upward, leafing out carefully. A slit in the area gave way for a door.

He nodded, looking up. The vines had knotted branches together to form an umbrella, in case rain came in the night and tried to soak them. "There we are... This will protect us from most. Or at least... warn us when danger is near." He looked at Malachy. "I can make a fire if it gets too cool... And perhaps... heal that injury...?" He set the bottles against the side of the small, circular room and indicated the soft floor of the temporary lodging. "Sit anywhere you like... It's open..." He turned to face the bottles, setting them up right then siting alongside them. "Would you like me to help, now?" He sounded almost hopeful, but he wanted to help Malachy in any way he could. Even carry him.

Chiro bit his lip and said nothing at first, crawling a bit closer and taking hold of Malachy's foot. "Thank you..." He muttered brokenly. He had come to rely on these small dwellings, forming them in trees most of the time, shifting the branches into the very same orb-like pattern and then letting them go when he moved on. He snapped his fingers, a small spark forming a larger spark, forming out into a wisp of fiery light so he could see. Then his fingers went over the painful-looking pocket of fluid that had formed over time and pressed in. "I'm sorry if it hurts at first... I just..." He put his hand over it, rubbing slightly to feel the raise. Unnatural. An injury that came with overuse of one's feet, especially sensitive feet. His had toughened over time, and now only the sharpest of rocks could cut into them.

His hand warmed, the glow around the runes in his palm and lining his fingers emitting their own light and forming slightly around the injury. Then a light hissing met his ears, which was quickly extinguished, and the light fell away like a gentle curtain, the skin repaired. "There..." He sighed slightly, shaking his head. Actual healing took energy out of him---handling skin, wounds, was more complex than handling and taking care of wings. But he shook his head and brought himself up a bit more. "You don't have to walk..." He said, sitting backward a bit. "I..."

He wanted to offer, but it felt... strange. And at the same time, Malachy couldn't walk far without his feet coming to harm. So Chiro breathed in slightly. "I could carry you, perhaps. If you held my bottles..." He bit back a grimace. The offer sounded so... flaky.

Chiro's wings folded against himself and his fingers teased the self-sustaining fire in the middle of the area. He shrugged lightly, glancing at Malachy for an instant then snuffing the flame in the air. "I... just... well, I thought it would be... easier on you." He bit his lip, settling back against the curved wall made of vines and trees and fishing in the bag for a small bottle. He found one, and in the darkness he pulled moisture out of the ground below them and bottled it in a small mist. He grasped it lightly and corked it again.

After a moment he glanced up to Malachy. "If... you don't want me to, that's fine too... I just thought... it might save your feet... since I can't fly." He pursed his lips and turned his gaze back down. "I'm sorry, never mind... I just... feel like I should help." He blinked several times, forcing back the burning sensation that indicated he was nearly crying. Malachy was going through a lot just to get him back to that crystal city. Feeling the sensation of so many ghosts of the past, taking on a lot of Chiro's own heavy emotion, letting him live in his home, and then walking back instead of flying. It didn't seem fair.

Chiro blinked. He was more surprised now than before---he hadn't been so close to someone in... far too long. It was almost shocking to the point of immobilization, feeling the somewhat heavy, somewhat light weight of a fae's head lying against him in some way. But he slowly relaxed, settling back against the soft earthen wall behind him, and one hand lighted against Malachy's hair, brushing it back and away from his face and winding his fingers through, untangling it, though it didn't seem to need such work. "I wish you didn't feel everything I feel." He sighed. "It's... nothing that anyone should have to deal with." He did because he deserved it. He flew away like a coward, flew away to let his kind die. He could have helped them until his final breath, but his life was spent in denial, running from that past, trying to ignore it while knowing far too well what followed him, and dragged him down.

He set the bottle of water aside and closed his eyes. The darkness allowed for an effortless sleep, but his was rarely effortless. It sometimes took half the night to fall asleep, but tonight seemed different. Perhaps because of the heavy dose of excitement he'd had. Meeting someone, going through the city he once called home, remembering such terrible details... And then looking upon the peak of the mountain where his companion still resided, perhaps as pristine as the day Chiro had sealed him. And now. Now he was headed to a new city. A city full of people. Alive and well, beautiful, it had to be. Life was beautiful. Chiro half-closed his eyes.

He fell asleep rather quickly, into dark, shaded dreams that churned like disturbed water. He could see forms. His old home once again back to its amazing, stately self. Fae flew and walked, worked on their plants and water and fire and earth. The mountain seemed to steam with life and indeed, it did steam from one side, the effect of the fire district working on their mechanics and their element. He was there with his old companion again. Like he had never even left. He could feel his wings behind him, powerful and thick, twice as large as his body. They were wrapped around each other protectively, though he itched to unfurl them and take to the wind. He wished he could, but something was holding him back. Something around his leg...

He shook himself awake and looked around. Everything was familiar, but in such a negative way. The ball-like temporary home made of vines and trees, but also something new. A weight on his leg, and warmth under one of his wings. Blinking slightly, he glanced down to the small, brightly colored fae lying on the bed of vine and leaf underneath them, against one of his legs. His right wing had come to rest over Malachy's body as a makeshift blanket, though not that good a one, as it was tattered and still let Malachy's feet poke out from underneath.

He shifted a little, looking up through the laced vines and tree limbs to the sky. It was layered pink and blue, morning had arrived, early though it was. His free hand, the one not resting over Malachy's head lightly, went to the vines below him and pulled something. It started to grow, change color, then began to fill, like a bubble until it popped off the vine. A large fruit, red and round---it looked like an apple, but would taste like a few different citrus fruits that grew near the seas. Carefully, Chiro's other hand started bothering Malachy to pull him gently from sleep, a sleep that had him clutching Chiro's leg too tightly.

Chiro couldn't help but chuckle a bit, a light smile flickering over his lips. Malachy was sweet, perhaps too much for his own good. Or was it just the way his kind tended to lean toward? Folding his wings behind himself, Chiro sat up straight and offered the fruit he had created---or at least, had pulled from the vine that would have held such a thing eventually. "It is morning." He confirmed. "And I suspect you'd be hungry... You haven't eaten for quite some time..." Lifting the younger fae's face to look up, he pressed the fruit into Malachy's hand and worked on another. It wasn't the creation of a fruit so much as awakening it and accelerating its growth with a little coaxing. Even after so long, he hadn't gone off his vegetarian diet like some fae would. He had heard of it, the way certain fae, exiled and forced to wear a chain that cut their power, would cut their wings off and begin eating animals, something Chiro couldn't even consider.

"I hope you don't mind if I carry you, as I mentioned yesterday." Chiro said, picking the skin off his own fruit. "I feel it would be... easier? I could travel through the rest of the time it would require, and you could sleep whenever you like." And he would keep up his energy if they stopped only for breaks and to eat and rest. And all Malachy would have to do is point the way.

Chiro ate haif his fruit, though he had absently picked away at the skin of it and kept it littered around the vines he had been resting on. But he let the rest age drastically in a few moments, and fall through his hand. "I hope I don't... insult your strength." Chiro said, standing and raising his hands in a slow motion. The vines unraveled, the trees bent and cracked and the earth settled, and the vines slid underneath the earth and grass and left them in the relative open. Chiro breathed in carefully, closing his eyes and savoring the cool morning air. "Just... hold onto the bottles, and I'll be able to handle the rest." Passing the bag to Malachy, he made sure the young fae had it held tightly and then scooped him up. His race of fae didn't fly quite as much as others today. And anything they could do without magic, they did, beyond practicing and killing each other with it. Malachy, even with the bag, was lightweight in his arms, and he started off at once.

With Malachy's direction he walked, and kept going, loving that they were in the shade when the hottest parts of the day passed. And when the night fell, he kept walking, hanging onto the young fae as he fell asleep and woke back up, and they paused from time to time so Chiro could rest his arms and legs and they could find food from nearby bushes or trees, or natural patches of fruit or vegetable that grew in small sunny places.

Their walk was a long one, though he didn't notice it. Chiro was too busy focusing on keeping his face placid and bottling his roiling emotions. It was hard, though. Perhaps Malachy could still sense it all, though. He could pick up on such vague emotional changes and sparks, and it seemed to effect him greatly. When Malachy slid to his own feet, Chiro took the bag of bottles from him and twisted it around one hand, and Malachy's hand suddenly grasping his other. He didn't pull away as he might have just two days ago, when he didn't know the young fae well and he didn't necessarily want to be taken to face so many others after thousands of years in absolute self-imposed exile. But now it didn't seem so difficult. Maybe he was lying to himself---maybe it would be impossible to feel completely okay with being around so many people. It was hard enough to adjust to Malachy's constant presence, and even still, it was hard.

But the meadow was beyond anything he could have imagined. While Malachy had described it, the view itself was nothing he could have established in his mind. The scent on the breeze was intoxicating, the open air and beautiful grass and rolling hills. At the same time, it seemed they were alone. Perhaps it was too early for many to be out, but he wasn't going against that. Chiro still doubted his nerves would stand up to being seen by so many. Then he saw the stone buildings, glittering crystal, dotting here and there in beautiful little mounds with purpose. What did the inside look like? What did the insides of the flower homes look like?

He was pulled into a pink rose, but he stepped carefully while he did so. It felt so soft underfoot, like he would rip a hole in the floor at any moment, with any badly timed step. It wasn't dark, but at the same time, the orbs threw a gentle glow over the surfaces, and Chiro could barely speak. His hand went down, releasing the bag beside his foot while his eyes stared about in shock. "So... beautiful." He breathed at last. "I... I've never seen anything like it... Is it... sturdy?" He glanced sideways, to where Malachy stood, still holding tightly to Chiro's hand.

Chiro smiled a little, looking up. The flower's petals came to a layered roof above them, intricate and alive, and giving off a light, easy scent that kept him calm. He was surrounded by so many others, but protected at the same time by a living home, a dwelling that seemed to have a life, that did have a life. And in a way, it seemed to welcome its owner back. But then he felt like he... didn't belong. But he listened to Malachy, going around a little, setting his bag down and then taking a seat on the oddly soft floor. It was comfortable. Curiously so.

"I don't find you odd for naming something that's alive... it---she---gives you... a place to live. And seems to be alive." He slowly moved his wings to cover his shoulders in a bit of a cloak, giving himself a bit of comfort. "When... will I meet others...?" He asked after a while. "Or... what will I do while I'm here?" He had to help... somehow. Rather than being a constant presence, a leech, an invader, he had to do something to help around the place. While it might not be in his ability to help Malachy's patients with something that might let them relax, perhaps he could help Malachy himself.

They already knew he was here? How did Malachy do that...? Chiro had never seen anyone else around during their walk to the pink rose home. Perhaps they could communicate with their living homes? That was an amazing thing. He had understood long ago that his kind could send message via vines that wrapped through their homes, but never the way Malachy had---with his mind, it seemed. He huddled down a little, breathing out a calming puff of air.

"I can... create serums and potions. They can be used to cure any number of illness, with the right ingredient and enchantment. And they can create calming effects. They can induce sleep and good dreams, or hypnotic states in case someone becomes pained with bad dreams. I can mix poisons for fungal blights that would normally kill crops or trees, to battle outbreaks. I can assist plants in growing and make them healthier... Erm..." He paused. So many things he could do with mere water, berries, soil, and other specific things imbued with his own magic. He hadn't done it in a long time, however. "I can do quite... quite a bit." He finished lamely.