Izzavin tried his best to keep his laugh back, but failed. Miserably. Bursting into a fit of laughter, the green haired male reveled in her question. His pointy canines looking charming as always beneath his gleeful grin.

"Well, unlike Cyrah and the king, I wasn't trying to run away with your mother." Even though she had a new question and told him to forget her comment, he just couldn't let it go. She asked so she might as well know why.

With soft exhale he stopped moving and took Zalanna's hands into his own. "Like you, I lost my mother. And I never knew my father. Tsuri's parents tried to raise me but dragons require a lot of resources, of which they didn't have. I was... put into an orphanage. It... it didn't feel like home so I ran away."

Pulling away, he crossed his arms over his chest and glanced down. "I lived like that for quite some time. It was just me. Any friendships made didn't last. It seemed that, no matter how hard I tried, everyone just left me." Gaze fixed on a blade of grass, his tone continued to gain sorrow. "One day, I was out on the streets. I saw a little girl who hadn't eaten in what looked like weeks. I stole her some bread and the merchant decided he had had enough of me. Gunning for my head, I made a break for it. Only, before I could truly escape, I collided into a leg. Dazed, I lazily remember rolling my head back to spy an ageless face of pure radiance and beauty. Never before had someone smelled so sweet and kind. Her body was decorated with jewels and marks. And the crown atop her head? It was foreign to me.

"The merchant still pursued and pointed his carving knife at me. But your mother, she put her foot down and said that no man should ever harm a hungry child. At that moment, she insisted that all street orphans be provided a place to say and enough food and water to survive.

"Calmly, she extended a hand and asked me if I wanted to see the palace. Who wouldn't? So I bashfully nodded my head yes. Ever since, the castle... it... well it became my home. She took me in. Changed my name. I was no longer Izzavin Larrak. I was Izzavin Kennyrathem.

"I might not be a royal, but she always treated me, as well as every other palace worker, as one."

He stopped to bite his lip. "Some said she had become my mother. That's..." he fell silent. "That's not the case. I loved my mother... and I could never replace her--and the queen knew this. She just... took up a mother-like role, knowing that I needed someone in my life to cling to when I got scared. But she also knew that somewhere, deep down, I would have the courage to protect her."

A small smile grew on his face. "I might not have been the strongest, but she always trusted me. I never knew why. Still don't. But she had faith in me just like I know she has faith in you." Turning around, he placed his hand on Zalanna's heart. "So yes, I loved her. For over fifty years, she was the only family I had." Gliding a finger across Zalanna's cheek, Izzavin smiled. "It's why--" he stopped himself. No, it wasn't time for that. He exhaled. "I'll... I'll explain... later. It's... complicated."

Pivoting on his heels, he resumed their march. "As far as the Royal Guard goes, it was painfully boring. We lived in a time of peace and harmony. So we didn't have to fight or kill. Instead, we got to wander the kingdom and aid anyone who looked like they could use a hand. Back when I first joined, I wasn't this tall. But within a year, I grew up quite a bit. I was constantly getting asked to reach things or pick things up on the top branch. I'm also fast, so your mother often had my flying out to far reaches of the globe to pick up items. Spices and such; she loved to cook. That apple pie that magically appears from time to time was her recipe."

Rolling back his neck, his golden orbs smiled. "Okay, so it wasn't always boring. The other knights and I would sprawl and practice-fight all the time. They didn't like going up against me because I was much faster. Earth Dragons are bulkier. Not fat. Just... weigh more. So they aren't as nimble or quick. Cyrah is probably the exception to the rule. But don't let his skinny figure fool you. He weighs over a ton.

"But we all got along. We were all good friends. Well, not Elvain and I. He pretty much hated me. Never trusted me. Didn't like that I was an outsider. Most Royal Guard dragons have served your family for hundreds of centuries. They have good blood and a proud tradition to uphold. So you can only imagine how they snubbed their noses at little ol' me. Still, after giving me a chance, they all warmed up to me. But I was the baby of the group. So naturally I got the kiddish nicknames and tasks. It's probably why your mom hand-picked me to be your knight."

Grinning down at her, he seemed oh-so-cheeky. "Lucky you, I know. Not every day you get a someone as cool as me to guide you across the globe and train you in the ways of both the dragons and the royals." In a haughty tone, he chirped, "And as the lady at the inn said, I am quite handsome." A sly grin crossed his features as he waited to see just how she would respond to his semi-flirtatious comment.

Zalanna's face lit up even more as she bit her lower lip to fight off a pout that was coming from the embarassment of Izzavin laughing at her question. She knew it was dumb, she didn't mean to ask it.

He stopped her, his grasp on her hand causing her to turn and look at him. Her brows furrowed at his tale, a saddness filling her eyes. It was her mother that had saved him from the loss he had first gone though, even when Rita's own family could no longer provide for him. To hear that pleased the shorter woman; if she could even contain an ounce of the kindness of her mother, that would all she would ever ask for.

Izzavin stopped his story short, which filled the woman's face with confusion. That's why, what? What was why? She trotted along beside him, though his comment of not telling at that point was holding true.

He started to address what it was like to be in the guard, the story leading off to collecting items to make a pie that Zalanna had quickly taken a liking too. "Wait," she said staring up at him. "You made the pie? I thought Rita did!"

He wasn't letting her question disrupt him though, he continued on with his tail of days in the guard and sparring the other dragons that were a part of it. His further description of Cyrah told the woman she had his rather bulky image a bit too wrong if Izzavin said he was more on the skinny side.

Elvain, she wondered what that particular dragon was like and why he didn't like Izzy. She could get not trusting someone just coming in from the outside, but if he proved his worth, was upbringing that big of a deal.

When he mentioned how her mom had chosen him to be her knight, she looked at him again. "She did?" She asked and his gaze fell down to her, an amused looking seeming to fill his eyes. She did have to not in agreement; it was quite useful to have someone that was knowledgeable both about dragons and the royal family to guide her. When he made the comment about being handsome, she looked up at him and said, "Well yeah, that's one of the reasons Rita liked you. She doesn't go for ugly guys."

Lifting her head higher, she looked to the sky before asking, "When will I be able to transform again? Is it really so important that I don't?" She wanted to fly, stretch her wings and take to the sky. Well, she wanted to learn to fly; even when she was tiny, Rita wouldn't let her and it had been about 100 years since she last transformed.

Rita. UGH! Izzavin kept his smile up but inwardly he was seething. Really, Tsuri was already interfering with all of this--whatever this was. Naturally, she would. The woman probably gushed about him to poor Zalanna for days. Well, maybe she wouldn't. If she did, Zalanna would want to meet this guy and that just couldn't happen. But then again, Tsuri did love to stir up trouble. Was that how Zalanna came to know of him in the first place? Oh what lies did she tell Zalanna about him?

Head spinning, he stopped thinking when she asked about transforming.

"Let's backup first. Yes, I made the pie. Do you honestly think Tsuri knows how to bake? And bake in such a way that the pie looks like it was bought from a store? You lived with her. You know how unorganized and sloppy she is. The perfect slits in the shapes of dragons... really, her?" With scoff, he turned his head away. "I'm insulted."

Casually, he opened one eye to spy down at the woman. "And I'm glad to know Tsuri is shallow as always. She should be teaching you that there's more to love than just looks. Whatever happened to preaching compassion and kind gestures? Instead it's all looks, looks, looks." With a puff of air, he blew his silvery fringe from his face. "Bleh. If we worried less about looks, I would have to spend less time brushing my hair in the morning." With that, he laughed for clearly he spent no time brushing his hair.

"Either way, Tsuri is just a good friend. And last I checked, red and green don't mix well. With all due respect to her, I would rather we not mar what we have with romance. " He did his best to politely reject Zalanna's notion that Rita and he should be a thing.

"Now back on your question about transforming. Yes, you can. Me? Not yet. Although your powers are growing, you're not radiating enough, dare I say it, Faith to allow me to transform. I envision that after we complete our quest and you bathe in the pools, I'll be able to transform again."

Holding his hand up, he silenced her. "And no, you cannot will your powers back into me. Then I'll be a dragon and you'll be stuck a human." Coyly, he gazed down at her. "Since I doubt your flight abilities, we're sticking to walking. At least I've had over 100 years of experience. You... well, I gave Tsuri strict instructions not to let you fly. There are precautions you need to practice so you don't permanently injure yourself."

With a shifty gaze, he chirped his snide remark again. "I still cannot believe you thought it was Tsuri who made the pie...."

It took Zalanna until he spoke up to realize that Izzavin wasn't walking with her anymore. She rolled her eyes to the side; he really did have a point, Rita had a hard time discerning the appropriate end of the wooden spoon to use when cooking let alone baking a pie of that stature. A look of horror hit the woman's eyes for a moment; they doomed Rita, she couldn't cook, how was she going to survive at this rate?

His 'I'm insulted' brought a giggle from the woman; he was really bent up over this pie ordeal and she thought he had totally ignored it. When he started going into Rita's tastes, the woman rubbed the back of her neck. "Weeell," she trailed off. Her eyes avoided the male for a moment before looking back at him fearing he found the pause to be too suspicious. "Rita was all about looks, she didn't let me out let alone speak to men very often, if at all for that matter." Thinking back on it, Zalanna couldn't recall when the woman had let her really talk to a man outside of work, probably because she never did.

Zalanna puffed a cheek out at Izzy's comment of not wanting romance with the red head. Though Rita told her that she wasn't concerned of wanting him and that Zalanna should find a place in her heart for him, she couldn't help but try.

When he started talking about transforming, a smile grew on the woman's face, though faded when he said he could not. What fun was it if she were the only one to do it? Just as an idea came to mind, Izzavin held a hand up, quickly rejecting the unspoken thought.

She should have understood where the male was coming from about telling Rita to not let her fly, and she did, but that didn't make her any less sore about it. Though, a goofy smirk crossed her features as he went back to the pie thing. "Well, I guess you'll just have to make one to prove to me that you really did do it in the first place," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him before turning and skipping down the path away from him.

"What? She didn't let you out?" Izzavin was on a roll for changing the conversation's direction. "Why wouldn't she let you interact with people? Afraid you'll steal all the men's hearts from her?" Muttering to himself, he added, "Also explains how things go right over your head." He threw on a grin, hoping she missed his little comment. "Still, I can't blame Tsuri. You have grown into a beautiful young woman." He did his best to sound politically correct and without the flirty swing.

"And deal. If you get the apples, I'll do the rest." Smiling, he purposely brushed into her. "I'll prove to you that I'm the better catch." He was referring to Tsuri but after the words came out, he realized it sounded like he was trying to complete with other men for her heart.

Smooth, Izzavin, he chided inwardly.

Glancing up at the sky, a grimace crossed his features. "We should probably get off the main path. Our little episode has altered the weather. And if I can sense this, then I know for certain that other dragons will pick up on this too."

Peeling off the main path, he wandered into the woods. Of course, the second he realized that his horns were at the perfect height for getting caught in the trees, he grumbled. "Seriously, can anything be on my side today?" His height was working against him, Tsuri was working against him, and his little outburst that morning was working against him too.

For so long he had longed to walk with this woman. Get to know her and fall for her yet again. Despite his semi-stalking, he hadn't learned nearly enough. And Tsuri? Ha, she never spilled the beans. She refused to talk for she could see the look in Izzavin's eyes each time he inquired about the princess.

To break the silence, Izzavin came up with their next topic of conversation. "So," he ran his hand over the back of his neck while dodging branches, "what was it like? Growing up with Rita and living the life of a gypsy?" Nervously, he quipped, "I would have raised you myself but... I thought it best you have a female raise you. Not to mention," he silenced himself. No, she didn't need to know that about him yet. Telling her he was known to abandon people would surely cause alarm. He would spill that secret with time.

"Were the books enough? I know they're not the same as learning from a dragon, but it was the best I could do."

Zalanna looked over at the male, not really seeing why he was so alarmed with her not being allowed to talk to men. She just shrugged, finding the whole thing to be of no concern. "I don't know," she said as she looked back towards the path they were following. "She just didn't. She didn't say, I didn't as. I figured if she did something, she had reason to." Which was true as the women weren't always known to draw in the best of crowds. She then smiled softly saying, "I owe Rita much for everything she's done over the years."

Looking up at Izzavin as he bumped against her, the smile widened as she said, "Sure thing! Apples are my specialty. Rita loved them." She then fell silent for a moment, her eyes falling back to the road before poking up at him. "Ooor, was that you too?"

Following his gaze, Zalanna looked up to the sky as well; the dark clouds were looming and as though the male predicted it, a soft shower started falling over them. She took a deep breath, reaching her arms out as she followed Izzavin into the shelter of the forest. "Hopefully its the good ones that find us," she said hopefully.

While the weather and setting didn't seem to bother the woman, the green haired man seemed less inclined to enjoy it as much. "You need but just to ask," she said in a hushed tone. A warm breeze swept up around them, pushing the branches just above Izzavin's head. This much was easy; Zalanna would have to do it while they travelled to hide the path they took.

She was quite at peace with their walk at that point, no questions ebbing at her mind, just enjoying being up and away, traveling and seeing new things. Then Izzavin spoke up. Peeking up at him she thought about his question before her gaze fell back to where they were walking. "It was pleasant when we could relax for a bit, but many times we were simply moving," she stated matter of factly. "I got to see many wonderful people, see the way they lived." Her eyes were distant as though she were truly visiting those places again.

Taking a deep, content breath she said, "Rita showed me her fortune telling, though I really didn't get it, it was still amazing. I learned to dance and people were excited and happy to watch. We visited festivals, saw so many things. Humans are filled with such happiness." She looked up at the male, her eyes full of joy and love.

"Even if you weren't able to raise me, I know you did what you could," she said as he branched into the books. "They gave me hope. Reading those books, time and time again, it filled me with dreams and hopes of a world I didn't know. Humans seemed to know the stories, but that's all they were to them. I may not have gotten to practice as much as I would have wanted from them, but just seeing them helped fill a part of me that I didn't know was missing. Just like now."

The gleam in his eyes answered her questions about the apples. She was a quick learner. All it took was a day of asking ceaseless questions to catch on that the apple-thief might not have been the lovely redhead that raised her.

Much to his delight, Zalanna offered a solution to his height-issue. He didn't want to admit it, but he had to. "Even with so little experience, your ability to control your powers is amazing. You truly have the blood of the royals. I can only imagine what you'll be like at our journey's end."

That thought left a bitter after taste. He didn't want their journey to end. He wanted to stand by her forever, which was odd given that he hated commitment. Still, something about her awoken the side of him that her mother saw. Or perhaps he was just giddy from their lighthearted bickering about who made the pie. Either or, he was thankful to finally walk beside her.

"You know," he said once she finished her story about Rita, "I didn't think you were ready for this. I, uh, have to apologize for my misguided faith in you. I should have known that you would be more than ready to fulfill your destiny and that it was," he paused and zoned off, "me that would hold you back." Izzavin looked over at her with sympathetic eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just," he jerked his orbs away, "I'm not particularly fond of keeping company."

He didn't want to go on. He didn't feel it necessary to explain his backstory. They were still just acquaintances. She need not know his taunting demons and he didn't want her apology or tears. Right now, he needed her to be focused and enthused.

"Thank you," he said again before she could speak, "for not prying further. I will tell you at some point. But... I'm just not ready to let someone in. Not yet." Lifting his head up, he locked eyes with Zalanna. "But trust me, when I'm ready, you will be the first to know. Even Tsuri is blind to the whole truth."

A coldness calmed him. Shuddering, he glanced toward the graying sky. "I know I mentioned that we shouldn't fly but..." a boom of thunder rolled off in the distance, "if you wanted to see what it's like above the clouds, I could show you."

A small grin tugged on his face. "It would at least get us out of this rain and ahead of whoever will likely try to find you."

As the sound of thunder grew closer, his pupils started to shift and become more feral, more dragon like. "If I can ride the lightning up, we'll be invisible to all eyes in the area. And I can begin my decent once night falls, again keeping us from prying eyes."

If she was interested in seeing what it was like to ride a dragon, she knew just what to do. Stopping, Izzavin turned to face her.

"It's entirely up to you. I would never force you to grant me your strength." His voice took a sweeter tone. "I would never force you to do anything you wouldn't want." And with that passion, he held her look in his eyes.

The wordless answer indeed told the woman all she needed; it also made sense seeing as Rita liked to pick around some of the healthier items on her plate. She nodded slowly to that, but the male was already going about the branches. "You'd be surprised at the skills that become handing when you're trying to avoid people," she said with a small smirk.

The idea of what they beyond them was exciting; the fear from earlier seeming to have vanished. Would she be able to bring peace back to their people? She hoped so. She didn't want dragons to have to hide who they were if they didn't have to. To be told you can't stretch your wings was such a horrible thing.

Her head snapped to look at the male as he apologized and later thanked her. The sympathetic look was returned to the male as Zalanna said, "You had and have every right to doubt me. I have been here for 124 years now, I know nothing of our people, our powers or anything. You were the first and only dragon I knew of for all that time." Her eyes then cast to the ground. "Doubt is called for," she added. "But I want to believe that I can do it. I want to learn all that needs to be learned in order to bring back what was lost."

Looking back up at the male she said, "Whenever you are ready to talk, you know I'll listen. Prying only makes people feel uneasy and true strength comes from being able to get over that unease without someone forcing you."

The seemingly serious tone that was had over that small conversation seemed to vanish as Izzavin spoke of seeing the other side of the clouds. In an instant, the woman grabbed his arms, eyes wide. "Really? Can we really?!"

She bit her lower lip and tip toed excitedly as he spoke. He seemed to get serious for a moment as he spoke of ever forcing her to grant strength or anything. Squealing, she grabbed one of the male's hands in both of her own. "You would never have to force me to help you or grant you power," she said, the excitement clear in her voice. Closing her eyes, she quietly added, "You merely have to ask."

With as excited as she was, it was harder for the woman to concentrate, the thought of taking wing and being in the sky was too exhilarating. Focus, focus, she had to find something to get herself engrossed in the world around her, in the powers that flowed around them. A rhythmic pattern of rain falling her her bare shoulders gave her just that; she focused on the sound and smell of the rain and soon, all she could hear was the sound of it falling through the canopies.

The thundering sound of rain was then washed away with the energy of the world they were falling on. A warm wind started swirling around them as Zalanna focused on the glowing spectrum of power before her and much like before, a glittering light seemed to whip up in the darkness. Not as much this time, she told herself as the warmth from before wrapped around her; one of the stream faded away, but that was all she seemed to be able to quell.

Reaching for the power before her, the torrent once again flew towards the other, dancing and swirling around him as it had before. As the last of it reached him, Zalanna watched that world of energy fall dark between them again. Slowly opening her eyes, she fell forward against the male, putting a hand on his chest to steady herself. She felt drained, but not as bad as before; her legs shook and her balance was far from steady but at least this time she could see.

"Zalanna," he cooed as she fell into her chest, "you seem to have picked up a bad habit." The knight petted her hair before slowly aiding her to stand on her own again. "Not that I'm complaining," he purred lightly. Honestly, if he could, he would hold her like that for all eternity. Slightly drained or not, her head against his chest was just so calming. It was soothing.

But fleeting.

Kicking himself for saying that, he collected his thoughts. He needed to stop pretending he stood a chance with her.

Oh hell, who was he kidding. There was no way he could bite his tongue and suppress these feelings. Might as just roll with them. It wasn't like she had rejected any of them. Nor did she ever tell him to stop. So long as he kept it lighthearted and fun, he saw no problem in flirting, casually, with the princess. Taking the leap, he followed his heart.

Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and began to tug her forward. He seemed almost like a child eager to go to a candy store. With each tug and pull, his grin grew. Coaxing her on, the two ran toward the meadow. There, in the mist of dancing grass stood a lone tree. It appeared that was there mark, for Izzavin's eyes were glued to it.

Soon his steps became blurs. Zalanna would have a hard time keeping up for he truly was too fast for her legs. As she leaped, skipped, and bounded in meager attempts to stay by his side, the magic began to happen.

Skin aglow, a beam of light shot out in both directions. Once it reached its destination, he took a dip and began to slowly return to Izzavin's shoulder. Then, like a watercolor painting, the light seeped inward and painted what would become the wings.

Massive, 17-feet long wings from tip to tip, jutted from his shoulders. They were pure white, with scales that mimicked frost and ice. The fleshy piece between the fingers was leather-like in looks, durable yet soft. These were the wings of someone who could truly master both stealth and speed. Off the wrist, much like the points on his shoulder, were more spikes. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme with Izzavin's form, for at every turn, there were three spikes that came together.

As the wings continued to solidify and become whole, his body took on a new shape. Still lithe, it stretched far longer. What was once nearly 7-feet soon grew another 4-feet longer. The shoulder blades grew wider to support the massive wings. The spine grew outward, creating what looked like little icicles up and down his back. They varied in size anywhere from an inch to seven inches in length.

Trailing down the spine soon came the tail. It was long and whip-like. A spade, used for steering, still matched his three-pointed joints. Only, unlike the rest of his body, these three spikes could move in and out, all used to control his direction and speed when in flight.

Where his jeans once were there stood a fine pair of white legs. Three ice-like claws jut out each foot. The claws were long and curved, perfect for hunting and gripping. Much like his human-form, his dragon legs weren't massive in size. They were long and very lean. Still, the presence of muscles were well-noted. Spiky ridges trailed up to his ankle, stopping and then reappearing around his knee.

His arms, much like his legs, were long and nimble. And those once-lizard like arms suddenly made sense. They were truly what his dragon-form looked like. Only now, instead of being proportion to a human, they grew to match his dragon scale.

Chest, still smooth and perfect to rest a head upon, was soft and almost plush-like. It was the tenderest spot on his whole form. It was an odd place, for most enemies would naturally go for the chest or throat. But then, in that same second, a gleam washed over the chest. It was... odd. It seemed as if there were a barrier about a quarter-inch off his chest. But was that possible? Was he equipped with a shield? Was his seemingly vulnerable design a clever craft of nature? A way to lure attacks that close to his...

Maw.

It was, absolutely glorious. He had a duel-layer of teeth, both internal and external. They were all brilliant white and beveled, sharpened to perfection. Protruding from his snout where more spikes that washed over his eyes and toward the horns she was familiar with. Another set of spikes that connected to the spine were also accenting his face.

Stopping, Izzavin flared his nostrils before dipping his head. He expected Zalanna would want to marvel over his form before taking off into the sky. Still, time was of the essence.

Golden gaze, that same golden gaze that always watched her, jolted toward the clouds above. The sky was nearly black and a tingling sensation caused the world to freeze. He could feel it coming. That was his mark. And that was his cue to begin.

In one swift move, he shoved his wing beneath her frail form. Lifting it high, he rolled her toward his back. The spines, seemingly permanent, then flattened, making room for her to sit. The spines beside his wings seemed to grow before splitting into three. They were to be her handles.

Eyes closed, he paused. Breathing in the world around him, Izzavin felt it all. Then, then came the flash.

The second the glow came, Izzavin was gone.

There was no brush of the wind. There was no ripping for the rain. There was just... stillness. An uncanny stillness that simply could not be explained, only felt.

"Well," he spoke but his jaw never moved. Speaking to her via his mind, he chuckled. She could hear it too.

With grace, he flapped his wings and flew toward their destination. He could easily cut their 4-day journey in half by flying, and he had every intention of doing this.

High above the clouds, the world looked so different. Sadly, the storm below prevented Zalanna from seeing the trees from above. Still, it was neat to see how the lightning danced above before it shifted below the clouds.

The sun, though once hidden when on the ground, was now shining bright as ever.

Wings beating without a sound, he soar through the air. His body shimmering as the light kissed it. There were no shadows, no discoloration. Everything about him was as pure and crisp as fresh snow.

"Please keep all arms and legs on the dragon. Wouldn't want to accidentally lose you," he warned calmly. "Although," he jerked to the side, nearly dropping her, "no, perhaps we should wait until we can both transform before we play that game."

He took it back. If any moment could last forever, he wanted it to be this one. Up here, they were alone. No one could hurt them. No one could hurt her. And, as far as Izzavin was concerned, she was his, all his up here.

Zalanna smiled up at the male as he patted her head. Though it was a bad habit, he didn't actually scold her for it; his words were comforting and pleasing, not harsh and condescending. He seemed to have that golden glow about him once again as he took her hand in his and pulled her through the woods.

Her legs fought to keep up with the quicker male and the face that she felt tired from giving him energy didn't help, but she tried. She stumbled a few times, but his constant movement kept her up. Then, as they started reaching towards the center of the clearing he had taken them too, the darkness cast by the clouds seemed to be pierced by a radiant light, only this light was coming from Izzavin.

As the light shot through the clearing, the man stopped just as it started dancing from his shoulders. Beautiful white wings began to spread, a color Zalanna wouldn't have expected from the man to be quite honest. She took a few steps back, watching the massive wings seemingly paint themselves from light. The webbing just seemed to flow into place as the rest of his body began to elongate and scale.

The already tall male lengthened, his body becoming reptilian versus remaining in its human form. His whole body was growing, bulking in some areas, slimming in others. Moving towards the male, now that his wings had finished, she placed a hand on his scaled side, silent tears running down her face. His body was warm, not cold like a snakes or any other reptile for dragons did produce their own heat.

As her hands danced along the scales, the power that she had sent to the male didn't seem to bother her at all. It was unknown to her if it just somehow replenished that quickly (which seemed odd to her) or if she was just ignoring the exhaustion at that point. She watched as the tail finished forming before ducking under Izzavin's wing, stepping towards his front.

His belly was a beautiful gleaming white, the massive head that rose was definitely one that seemed could handle its own in a fight; with rows of teeth and his signature horns, much larger now. As he dipped his head, Zalanna reached a hand up, carassing his lower jaw as he moved. "Izzavin," she whispered for her breath was gone at the site of the male in his natural beauty.

Without a response, as the darkness began to fully loom over head, a large wing swept the woman up, plopping her onto his back where the spines seemed to almost vanish as soon as she got there. Even before she could realize what was going on, the world around them was gone, she had only a brief moment to reach for something to hold onto, a pair of spines that she hadn't noticed before.

By the time Zalanna opened her eyes, she could hear a voice in her head, they were above the clouds and their dance of lightning. She looked around her, smile wide as she threw her arms to other side laughing. Izzy was talking about holding on and it was like she knew what she was doing as he suddenly jerked to one side; if she had been a moment slower in grabbing his spines again, she would have fallen. "Izzy!" She scolded him, but that was about as far as that went.

Looking down at the male's now glittering form, the woman layed on his neck, wrapping her arms around it as much as she could. "You're beautiful Izzy," she said allowed, though in her head, it was probably more than evident that, that was what she was saying even if he couldn't hear her. So beautiful, she thought as she felt herself falling into a light, peaceful sleep, clearly it was the excitement that had woken her up.

With Zalanna drifting off into a light snooze, Izzavin could only roll his eyes. Some company she was. Still, he couldn't complain. They had barely known each other a day and she had already warmed up to him. In fact, every gesture and action invited closeness. From the moment he scooped her into her arms and brought her to the rooftop, she trusted him. She found peace in sleeping beside him and, even now, comfort in knowing that he wouldn't harm her.

And yet, just hours before, he tore into her soul with such cold words and bitter rejection. Was she naive? Or just plain stupid?

Shaking both off, he knew it had to be something more. Perhaps it was something within her that guided her to trust him so openly. To forgive him so easily. Was it the Kennyrathem curse? To be overly kind and thus easy prey for wicked minds?

No, he was looking at this all wrong. Kindness, patience, humility, temperance. They were all heavenly virtues. All things Zalanna practiced and lived by. With inward smirk, he even noted that chastity fell on her list too. Though, perhaps that was a good thing. If she were to practice what her kind preached, she would need to refrain from love until it felt right. And what kind of woman fell for a man in one day? Certainly not the type of dragon Izzavin wanted to mate with for life.

Speaking of mating, a small grimace came over his face. He wondered how Tsuri was doing. She was alone now. How did it feel to be an empty nester? How would she hold up? For 124 years, she raised Zalanna. Heck, if it weren't for the charms she always wore, Tsuri should technically be dead. But, knowing her role in helping guide a young princess into adulthood, she accepted the heavy burden that came with near eternal youth. Still, he knew that somewhere deep down, Tsuri loved every second of it.

To never have kids of her own, that was what deterred Izzavin from her. She was sterile, never capable of producing offspring. This often caused Izzavin's brows to furrow and his heart to sink. At one point in his time, he had considered asking Tsuri on a date but upon overhearing her confess her inability to birth kids... well, he lost interest.

Guilt bit at him. It was a terrible reason to reject someone but he wanted his own flesh and blood. Unlike his dad, who he knew nothing about, Izzavin wanted to be there for his kids. He would also do all he could to protect whoever his future wife would be, assuming a dragon would actually consider him as a mate.

Turning his neck around, he spied little Zalanna asleep on his back. Honestly, things would be so much easier if she wasn't a princess. But no, just no, he had to pick a challenge. He had to be stupidly stubborn to still believe he stood a chance with her. Though, knowing legends of ol' and rules of the royals, there was a sliver of hope for him--and it was that hope that he clung so desperately too.

Somewhere, in the laws of royals, there was a mention of white dragons. As white dragons are few and far between (honestly, Izzavin had never seen another white dragon, save for himself), they make acceptable partners for royals. A pureblood celestial royal could choose to love another royal or a white dragon.

Sure, there had to be exceptions to the rules. But it was with those exceptions that wars broke out. Some lesser royal would get pissed that the pureblood didn't pick to mix blood with his kind. Then, in a fit of frustration, they would go to war.

To Izzavin, it was absolutely pathetic. If you lost, you lost. Why start a war and drag innocent dragons into it? Clearly the heart knew what it wanted, why protest and cause unnecessary bloodshed?

with a shudder, he snarled. The thought of wasted blood pissed him off. Granted, he knew he was a hypocrite for thinking that. With snort, he rolled his eyes. It was time he focus on flying and less on things that would just cause him internal turmoil.

---

"Zalanna," a voice as sweet as sugar called out to him. "My beautiful princess, it's time we start thinking about waking up." His voice far from abrasive. It was a soft, soothing call to stir her. Of course, due to its light nature, it might only cause her to sleep more. Still, he didn't want to be rude in awakening her.

"I know you think I'm cozy and all--trust me, I'm flattered--but I can't keep flying like this without getting some food. You've been asleep for 4-hours."

A light rippled washed beneath her. It was a low, hum-like noise. It was one of those 'dragon noises' often heard during courtship. It probably sounded like a mix of a kitten's purr and a light groan, definitely a noise one wouldn't hear often.

"Zalanna." This time his muzzle reached back for poke her form. Drawing head back, his shining eyes smiled at her. "Did my princess have pleasant dreams while she cooed and drooled on my back?"

The wind was warmed by the rays of the sun as Zalanna flew high into the air. A roar came from behind her and looking, there was a dragon to her right, who's body looked like swirling clouds, wings like a roaring fire. Looking to her other side, there was a beautiful dark dragon, her nearly black scales seemed to glisten with stars, the same way her shimmering purple wings did.

As she looked back at them, watching them catch up to her, she saw a pair of large aqua wings attached to a pure white, glittering body; it was similar to the dragon to her left, only her colors were much, much lighter. My daughter, it is good to see you take flight, the dark purple and black dragon before her spoke through her mind as she came up beside her.

The darkness seemed to be one of the few things that set the two dragons apart, save for the darker dragon was larger than she. Zalanna stared at her for a moment before she thought back to the dragon, Mother? A soft feeling seemed to come from the dragon, a joy and happiness filling her eyes as the dragon on the other side began to laugh.

Now, now Zalanna, don't forget about your dear ol' dad too, the other one spoke. His mental voice was loud, but full of happiness; he was truly a boisterous fellow. Whipping her head around, Zalanna looked at the other dragon; he too was larger than she, but nowhere near larger than her mother. Father? She then asked and he seemed to give her the same reply as the other dragon.

You have quite the task ahead of you my child, her mother said to her; while the kindness was still there, there was also a sterness in her voice. Zalanna slowly looked over at the woman before she hung her head slightly. But I don't know if I can, she sighed. Silence fell around them for a few moments before the woman spoke up again.

Zalanna, you are our daughter. You were born when all said it wouldn't happen. Only you have the power to save our people, as she said this, there were breaks in the clouds revealing a charred wasteland. Bodies of dragons were scattered about and those that were dead were met with a worse fate; they were chained and shackled, force to pull and move things, being led by their human controllers.

The clouds then closed off again and this time it was her father that spoke. Our people have been suffering, their new ruler-- Zalanna cut in and said, Gauss. Her father nodded, continuing, [i]He is a cruel, cruel creature and will stop at nothing until he has complete domination[i].

His voice seemed to warm up again after that. But you, you can stop him. Of course, her mother had more to interject. And Izzavin shall help you. He is a kind dragon, fierce and difficult to detect. Together, you two can save our people. This time when the clouds broke, Zalanna could see the shapes of dragons flying much lower than they were and others even flew past them. The earth wasn't chared, but green and full of life. Humans and dragons worked side by side and in one field, a farmer was chasing off a much smaller dragon having difficulties with flight.

You can save our people, her mother's voice echoed as the image seemed to fade into darkness.

There was something about that sleep that was far more restful than anytime she slept in the past. The feeling of the wind flying past her, the warm rays of the sun; it was all too comforting that she practically missed a voice softly calling out to her.

Slowly blinking her eyes open, Zalanna felt much, much better than she had before. She lay there still, watching the white clouds dance around them as Izzavin spoke about getting food and how long she had been asleep. Her brain was still settling in from its slumber, though she was unable to recall just what she had dreamt about, she felt a little better about everything.

As a low noise rumbled from the male, Zalanna groaned, turning her head the other way. Izzavin was having none of that though as he turned back and poked her with the tip of his muzzle. She glared at him slightly before he asked about her sleep. Sitting up quickly, she wiped the sides of her face, but it wasn't damp. "I didn't drool," she hissed at him, crossing her arms under her chest.

She let out a sigh as she thought about what he said about her dreams and for a moment, she was quiet. "I think they were pleasant," she finally said, though her gaze was cast towards the horizon. She then let the silence sit over them for a few moments as she tried to recall anything from her dream. Looking down at the male, she smiled and said, "We should land and eat. You've been working hard." Reaching down, she scratched the base of the male's neck.

"Ha," Izzavin gloated. "I thought you would protest to such actions. They aren't very princess like." With light nuzzle to her cheek, he began his decent.

"I would tell you to hold on tight but I wouldn't dream of losing you so do as you'd like." Something about the way he spoke almost seemed like he wanted to egg her on. Like he was daring her to stand or outstretch her arms. Not to mention, there was a devious gleam to those golden orbs. Just what was he planning?

Wings angled back in an odd way, Izzavin prepared to lung forward. He would literally blow her mind with his peerless speed. She would marvel over it, begging to do it again. As his lips pulled back in a smile (or at least as close to a smile as a dragon could have), he wriggled his tail. All needed to be perfect to show her the trust speed of a white dragon. Then, the second before the clap came, he recalled something. Zalanna was a frail human, not a dragon. He couldn't break the sound barrier with her on his back. Heavens, if he did, she would break in two!

Readjusting his wings, he casually pulled them back while pointing his entire body toward the earth below. If he couldn't create the thunder-crack, he would have to do the next best thing--let gravity pull his heavy form to earth. It would be just like a pencil dive, only there was no water below to break his fall.

Wings curving around Zalanna to ensure she wouldn't fly away, his speed continue to pick up. Tail out straight, he made sure his perpendicular assault wasn't going to be interrupted by a gust of wind! As they fell down and down, the world would become a complete blur. Anyone on earth wouldn't even see him for he was falling too fast! Why, at some point Zalanna's lips would be pulling back and her hair whipping every which way. And if she didn't keep a hand over her chest, she might have had a wardrobe malfunction too!

Then, like a someone slammed the breaks on a car, everything became still. Zalanna didn't need to brace for impact either for there seemed to be some gentle light that eased her body into the out-of-nowhere drastic slow-down. All became still and the haze that once was cleared. They were now in the middle of a forest. With a quick glance down, Zalanna would see that the two seemed to hover just above the ground. Not to mention, what was once a dragon's body was now the slender human-form of Izzavin. Slowly, the wings melted away so nothing remained. He was man again.

As their bodies continued to float, Izzavin nonchalantly turned to face her. Hand outstretched, he gently closed his hand around hers.

Unknowingly, their bodies lowered. Soon, the cool touch of the grass below kissed their toes. No longer hovering, they were finally on solid ground. Releasing her, the glow that held her in place vanished and flickered off into the beams of light around them.

"Ta da," he dropped into a bow before bringing his head up with a grin. "Smooth landings were always my specialty."

His prideful gestures were put on hold when his stomach moaned. "So," he placed a hand on his hip in a sassy manner, "shall I do the hunting Miss I-befriend-everything-in-sight?" Coyly, he jeered. "Or do you think you can handle killing something today?"

"And picking on the Princess isn't very Knightly," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him as she placed a hand on his massive maw as it rubbed her cheek lightly. The look she gave the dragon as he spoke of possibly telling her to told on told her that she didn't trust that tone.

She grabbed onto the spikes from before and leaned down, nearly like she was when she was sleeping. The way he moved his wings told her that she needed to be prepared for something and his pose told her that it had something to do with speed.

He seemed to be taking a little while to situation himself and soon he reminded her of a raptor divebombing its prey. The woman tucked her head near her shoulder to help protect her face from the wind, though there wan't much she could do about her hair whipping about.

Then, as quickly as the decent started, it was done. A part of her was sad her eyes had been shut the whole time, but they needed to be! Blinking those blue orbs open, she saw Izzavin back in his human form before her. Looking down she then took note as to how their descent wasn't done just yet, though they also weren't very high in the sky at that point.

Izzavin reached out to her, taking her hand in his and that drew Zalanna's attention back up to him. As she looked up at him, her feet reached the cold, wet grass below them. As he was boasting his smooth landing, the woman chuckled, shaking her head as she adjusted her top that still slid slightly even though she had laid as tight against the male as she could.

His attention soon went back to food as his stomach growled and the woman puffed out a cheek at his comment. "I caught a fish," she muttered under her breath as she broke her gaze with him. Eyes off in the distance, it seemed like she had found something as she said, "You can hunt, I'll gather." She then peered back at the male, awaiting his response.

She was right, she did catch a fish. Amazed that he forgot that (he was clearly too busy remembering pushing her into the water), he blushed. "Oh yeah." Scratching his green hair, he smirked at her suggestion. "Very well. If I'm not back in an hour, assume I befriended a bear." He mimicked her in sticking out his tongue.

With it settled, he nodded in agreement. It was probably better he do the hunting. No need for her to get lost. "Just try to stay off the main roads. And if you run into trouble," he paused. "Just don't, okay?"

As he slipped past her, he twirled the purple scarf around her. "You forgot this." She really hadn't forgotten it. It just ended up getting caught on the chair when she fled from the inn. He meant to give it back to her but between the whirlwind and flight, it just didn't seem like the right time.

Twisting around on his toes, he waved her off before rushing into the forest.

---

No matter how hard he tried to find something, not a scent came to his nose. Well, he smelled berries and herbs, but those wouldn't do. He needed meat. There were no birds, which he found strange. And there were no herbivores; also strange. Why was the land so still without a thing stirring off somewhere? He had probably scanned about five-miles worth of forest and meadow, and still nothing.

Brows furrowed, he finally took a seat on a stone beneath a looming tree with luscious sage green leaves. "Where is everything?" Glancing at the clouds, he noted that the rain had let up. It looked like they would have clear skies from here on out!

"Oh." With an eye roll, he realized his mistake. Why would anything purposely graze during a rainstorm, especially one that only lasted a few hours.

Lazily, he sprawled out on the rock. Ears back, he let his senses find Zalanna. Whatever she was doing, likely picking berries, she did it happily. Well, if she was safe and peachy, he saw no need to rush. Might as well take a quickie cat nap after all that flying. He had already slashed their 4-day trek into a 3-day trip. That deserved a spot of sleep, he decided. And so, he curled up against that rock and let his eyes close slowly....

Izzavin must have been truly enjoying picking on the woman with how he continued to do so. Then again, her costant retort probably wasn't helping her any either. This time though, she kept quiet seeing as he was going on about if they ran into trouble. If she were expecting him to offer sound advice on what to do, Zalanna was sorely mistaken; it wasn't like she actually tried to find trouble.

As he started off, a silky object found its way back around her neck. She blushed slightly at even thinking that she had left it behind. Picking the fabric up once again, she admired the gift. By the time she looked up again, the dragon was gone.

She nodded to herself before making her own way through the forest. Following her nose, the first thing she could was a blueberry bush; picking up one of the layers of her skirt, she used it to place the plucked fruit. The forest around them was quiet, the only sound seeming to be the splatter of the rain drops falling from leaves to the ground.

Once she figured there were enough of those, not wanting to take too many for the rest of the creatures of the forest, Zalanna put her trust into her nose again. There was an apple tree not too far off; getting some of those would be nice.

There you are, Princess, a voice echoed in her head causing her to stop in her tracks.

"Izzy?" She called back, turning to look behind her though no one was there. Confused look on her face, she pressed on anyway; she had likely been hearing things.

A chuckle came to mind as she then heard, Now, now, it's not nice to walk away from a guest. The voice sounded closer that time; Zalanna froze, slowly turning around again.

"Ahhh, there we go," a figure said as it stepped from the shadows. The man had done little to hide what he was; a pair of boney, black wings protruded from his back, his face was sharp and angular, rows of sharp teeth in his mouth were only enhanced by the blackness of his eyes.

The man chuckled again as he walked towards her. "You're not an easy one to find," he said, his voice sounding raspy, yet almost like a purr at the same time. "Now, how is it that when we looked back to where your storm was, you were nowhere to be found? Hmmm? How did you get so far so fast?"

A snake-like tongue flicked out from between the male's teeth, a black tail making itself known as it swished behind the male. Dropping her skirt hem, Zalanna turned and ran. She could hear the male chuckle as she did so, his voice echoing in her mind, I was hoping you were going to keep things interesting. You certainly don't disappoint.

She didn't look back though, there was too much risk in that. "Izzy," she yelled into the forest as she ducked and dodged around trees. "IZZAVIN!" Her voice echoed for miles, the trees shuddering at the sudden volume that came from the woman.

As she ran, she realized that she heard no footfalls behind her. Zalanna slowed down to catch her breath; turning around there indeed was no one behind her. "Awww, you don't expect me to be that predictable, do you?" A hiss-like voice whispered behind her.

Zalanna jumped as she turned around, facing the direction she had just been running. This time, before she could take off, the man reached his half blackened arm out, grabbing the woman by her neck, slamming her back into a nearby tree as he lifted her feet from the ground.

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he moved his face towards the woman's. He took a deep breath, his eyes rolling back as though the smell were both pleasant and intoxicating. He took his time exhaling and as he took another breath, his eyes snapped back to her. "Though, sadly, you weren't that much fun of prey to track down," he whispered to her, his nose barely away from her own.

Body jerking up, a feral look set in his eyes. Despite having the body of a man, those eyes and the fangs that grew from his mouth were all dragon. As she screamed his name again, this time in whole, his fingers began to morph together. What was once a hand of 5-fingers now had 3-claws. Horns growing slightly longer, sharper, he growled. No one, and he meant no one, was allowed to hurt or steal his princess.

"I can't say you were much fun either," his voice corrupt with anger came from the side with a pair of horns to follow. Plowing into the creature of darkness, Izzavin put some distance between the attacker and the princess.

He stood tall, protective, before Zalanna. No matter what dark magic this other dragon used, Izzavin was a step ahead. He could sense the black magic from a mile away. Casting a small charm, one that didn't require much magic, Izzavin would use this reflective barrier to keep any darkness at bay. After all, the last thing Izzavin needed was for this dragon to get into his mind and corrupt his already traitorous heart. During his youth, he had experienced this first and he swore to never let someone meddle with his mind again. He had already killed the queen with that kind of plague. There was no way Zalanna would suffer the same faith.

On his tip-toes, Izzavin easily had the upper-ground, at least as far as height went. Hell, even if he was flat on his feet, he would still be a foot taller. Very few people matched Izzavin in his height and of those few that did, none were dragons.

Without taking his gaze off the attacker, he scolded the princess. "I thought I told you to avoid getting into trouble." It wasn't supposed to come out as harsh as it had. Still, he wasn't fond of coming in and attacking people. He already had the blood of three dragons on his hands from yesterday. Did he really need more today? Let alone all those that died so many years ago?

Claws digging into the earth, Izzavin was ready. If the shadow lunged at him, he would jolt forward. He could play this game. Dance this dance. If there were two creatures evenly matched, it would be dark and light. Both fast and sleek. Both capable of great destruction, or on the flip side of the coin, great beauty.

Snarling, his golden orbs forced on the shadows all around. With ears pinned back, he listened for the slightest buzz or shiver. Darkness, at least to white dragons, always seemed to sound like a bug. It sounded so eerie as it swarmed around, trying to consume all in sight.

"Leave," he threatened behind grit teeth.

A horns collided with the man of darkness, Zalanna fell to the ground on her knees. Hands to her throat, she coughed as her wind pipe fought to fill themselves again.

Falling back, the male's laughter echoed around them as he lightly landed a few feet away. His all black eyes began to glow purple where a human's iris would be. "Now Princess," his voice was like a purr as he leaned towards the two, head tilting to the side. "You didn't tell me we had company."

Of course, her yelling a name should have given that away, but so many called for help that didn't truly exist. "Izzavin, was it?" His voice became sharp, his words curt as he started walking in a large arc around the duo. "What a lovely name, what exactly does it mean?"

The male paid no attention to the other, which the shadow dragon fully expected. He scolded the Princess for finding trouble and the girl simply nodded as she kept her eyes off the intruder, her hand massaging her throat.

As Izzavin's claws began to dig into the dirt, a smirk came to the other's face. "Now, now Angel," he mocked; the intensity of Izzavin's power at that point was suffocating and if it were two elements that could recognize each other almost instantly, it was light and dark. "No need to get upset. I won't take your Princess away today."

Izzavin then hissed at the male to leave, a demand that was returned with a smirk from the darker male. "I will return for her though, you have my word on that." The male then vanished in a cloud of smoke, his laughter echoing once again.

A look of disbelief washed over his face. Who the hell was this guy? And did he really just tell him he had a lovely name? Izz-a-vin. Lovely. Really? It sounded like some a name some boy would give a lizard. And the meaning behind it. Hell if he knew! Not like he could just ask mommy dearest the meaning behind the name. Besides, she didn't name him. That bastard of a father did.

Eye twitching, Izzavin cringed before a shudder ran down his spine. "Kiss me." He stared blankly at nothing so it made it hard to follow his logic. Just who did he want to kiss him? Since the attacker had left, did that mean Zalanna? But... why not look at her? And why the sudden desire for a kiss.

"I need to know if I'm gay." He didn't move nor did he blink. He just stood there, still completely baffled by the comment about his name. Honestly, getting told you had a lovely name wasn't that uncommon. Now had the creep called him handsome or cute, that would be a different story. But he merely complimented his name.

Well, sort of.

Then, the trans-like state went away. Blinking, he shook his head viciously before rolling his shoulders back. His dragon-like features still in full swing despair the threat leaving. "AND HE CALLED ME ANGEL." His body went through the motion of barfing, but nothing came up. "I'm just going to go die now."

Slowly, his form flipped back to what it usually looked like. Claws became hands and toes, and the extra set of teeth vanished. Even his horns took on their slightly smaller stance.

Flopping over, his body hit the ground with a large thud. "Just leave me here to perish. Alone. No, wait, he's probably still lurking. Just wants to have my precious little angel body all to himself." He was in the fetal position now. Face littered with sweat and eyes wide with doubt.

It was hard to take him seriously for he was acting downright ridiculous. Everything about his was dramatically overplayed. Almost melodramatic.

Seizing Zalanna by the scarf, he jerked her head right down to his level. Her lips just a breath away from his, he stared into her sapphire orbs.

He was serious about this kiss.

Feeling over her neck, Zalanna felt no real injuries, at least if the male had claws they didn't sink into her flesh. She slowly rolled her eyes up as Izzavin seemed to throw a fit about everything that just went down. Of everything that just went down, the worst of it was he being called angel and getting his name complimented? The thought didn't really cross the woman's mind, but Izzy seemed to be acting very strange.

Though the dark man was gone, the green haired male was still distressed, even as his dragon features seemed to fade away. She didn't quite get why he was so upset or even why it called from the reactions he was giving.

His complaining and dramatic antics continued as he threw himself to the ground beside her and then, even before his eyes were upon her, he was yanking her towards him by the scarf he had given her.

She winced, her forearm landing on the ground just beside his head, leaving her body half draped over his. Her other hand quickly found its way to the soft fabric that was wrapped around her neck; fighting her fingers into it, she tried working to loosen the grip it had on her.

"What, are you doing, Izzy?" She asked as her gaze was met by his own.

Figures, he thought internally. Of course she would completely miss the whole part about needing a kiss. Why was it that whenever he showered her with love and adoration that she magically missed it. Or had no interest in it. Glowing water, pretty colors, the temptation of a first kiss. Nope, nada. Everything went over her head or in one ear and out the other.

Or. No. What if? What if she had heard and saw and decided to ignore him because she wasn't interested.

A sharp pain went straight through his chest.

Which was worse? To be called an angel by a man or to be rejected by the woman you had stalked for the past 124 years? Well, when it put it that way, it wasn't hard to believe that she would reject him. He was just as creepy as the last guy!

Rolling his gaze to meet her, a small smile crested his face. "Oh, nothing. I'm just hungry. I had no luck finding food due to the storm." Relinquishing his hold on her scarf, he draped that same hand across his forehead. "I'm not used to transforming this much. I'm losing my mind."

As he looked up at her, he found himself smirking. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to stop him. How's your neck? Are you okay?" Using the backside of his index finger, her stroked her cheek. Gingerly, he dropped his hand so that he could feel her throat. It was certainly tender.

Rolling up slowly, he pushed the side of her head into his chest. With a firm grip on her, his eyes glowed that eerie white color from before. Soon, two of his fingers glowed.

Like buttering a piece of bread, he slid his two fingers in unison around the bruised area. The sensation should feel pleasantly warm. But, as the fingers slid away, a light sting should follow. It would start outward and then fade inward until the light pain was gone.

Dropping his hand, the glow vanished from both his hand and orbs.

"Better?" He graced her with a smile before rolling back into the grass.

Izzavin was quiet for a while, this worried the woman and as she stared at him, his features gave away no hint as to what upset him. She had clearly missed something in his earlier rant while she was coughing.

He mentioned being hungry and not used to changing. The first thing that alarmed her was that he could have some sort of fever. Leaning forward, she placed her forehead on his, closing her eyes to try and focus on that. He didn't seem warm though, or at least, with how warm he was, his body wasn't giving away any other ailments that would make one think he was sick.

She pulled away as he started asking about how she was doing, apologizing for not being there. She shook her head slowly. "There was no way to know he would be here," she said quietly before massaging her neck slightly. "It's sore, but it will be fine." She cast the male a small, moving her hand out of the way as he lifted his own to check her neck.

He sat up, pushing her head towards her chest, which she didn't fight. Izzavin's chest was slowly becoming a favored spot of the woman; just being near him in general was comfort enough for her.

Closing her eyes, she could still see the glow, she was guessing from the male, through her eyelids. A warm sensation ran across her neck and in time, the dull pain in her throat was gone.

Even has he moved his hand away, Zalanna stayed where she was, eyes shut. As Izzavin laid back in the grass, the woman ended up following as she had been resting against him. As he asked if it was better, she slowly nodded; the pain was indeed gone.

The Princess was quite comfortable with her head on the male, until his stomach growled again causing her eyes to snap open. "Food, that's right," she said sitting up. Looking at her skirt, she recalled having dropped the blue berries she had picked. She stood up dusting herself off before standing, taking Izzavin's hand in her own.

"Apples! I know where there are apples," she said, a smile on her face as she pulled him to her feet and tugged him along behind her. She was learning about how much strength she had, she didn't want to force the male back on his face like she had the day before.

Leading him on a little ways, the finally reached a part of the forest where there were quite a few apple trees growing in the forest. "See, I told you," she said holding her free hand towards the fruit trees, clearly proud of herself.

Pleased with the sudden direction things went, he almost fell back into his light nap. However, his stomach decided he couldn't be caught cuddling with the princess a second longer. So, in protest of his affection, it rumbled. Sure enough, Zalanna was up and ready to go feed her knight.

Curse you, he said while glaring at his stomach.

As she tugged him up, he followed with some resistance. Naturally, her strength and his appetite did him in. Following behind, he jokingly doubted her ability to find the apples. "Running through the woods, screaming my name. Huh. Yeah, I'm not sure you could fi... well I'll be damned." His arms slid over his chest. "Miss Zalanna, you impress more and more."

Hand going on her head, he ruffled her hair before sticking his tongue out at her. It was a childish antic but it just made sense at the moment.

Seeing no need for her to use her powers to pluck apples, Izzavin reached up and started to pull down the little round treats. One by one, he passed them to Zalanna until they had about a bucket-full. Or, in this case, until Zalanna's skirt couldn't carry any more.

Just as he opened his mouth, his ears snapped forward and the dragon-eyes came back. In a blur, he vanished. Then, a moment later, he returned with a rabbit between his lips.

Walking past Zalanna, he dropped some twigs and sticks in a pile. He knew she didn't like her meat cooked, but he had a treat for her that required the rabbit cooked. He was going to make apple rabbit stew and, as promised a pie.

Dropping the rabbit, he skewered it before putting it over the pile of branches. Leaning into the wood pile, he exhaled while flaring his nostrils. Then, he opened his mouth and let a beam of light pierce the logs. In an instant, a roaring fire creaked and groaned as it ate away at the logs.

Not having the flour required for the pie crust, Izzavin would have to opt for a crumble instead. Flicking a hand across the way, he pointed to a rolling field of oats.

"Can you get some of those for me." He didn't look up from what he was doing. Head in his bag, he finally pulled out a jar with what looked like spices.

"Oh," he glanced up, "and this time, don't run into trouble. Okay?"

Zalanna ignored Izzavin's haughty tone about her continuously impressing him and when he ruffled her hair, sticking his tongue out at her she simply smirked. She watched the male make his way towards the trees, picking a few of the apples before walking up, offering her skirt as a basket of sorts.

His height really aided him at that point; these trees seemed to have had their lower apples plucked by the local wildlife. The Princess hadn't really been fully aware as to how tall this man really was until then; she wouldn't have been able to reach them and would have used her powers to get them down.

"I think we should have enough now," Zalanna said as she looked down to the apples in her skirt. While they nearly overflowed over the fabric, the weight didn't bother the woman at all as she didn't actually notice it. When she looked up though, the male was gone. Turning, she didn't hear nor see him, but upon looking foward again she saw the male with a rabbit in his mouth and smiled, shaking her head.

He didn't say anything and just walked past her, she turned, following along. As he started to gather sticks, she knelt down, pouring the apples on to the ground. After doing so, she adjusted her position to watch what Izzavin was watching. She pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them.

Turning her head to see what Izzavin was talking about, Zalanna nodded, slowing standing up. Dusting herself off, she replied back to the male, "It runs into me, I don't run into it."

She then stuck her tongue out of the male before running off towards the golden field. Running her hands over the plants, the Princess walked a few feet into the field before she actually started picking the plants. Pulling her skit up again, she started laying stalks into her skirt before her eyes drifted upward. There was no longer any hint that the storm had happened for it had since moved on; now, the sun was set high in the sky, warming and drying the land around them.

Letting out a slow breath, Zalanna closed her eyes as her hands continued working. This was definitely a different experience than traveling with Rita.

As she ran off, Izzavin prepared the meal. Slicing into the apples with his plethora of blades, he found himself lost in the moment. There was nothing more soothing then going back to those lighter, happier days. Although he never saw the queen as his mother, she certainly did her best to treat Izzavin like a son.

Looping a wing around him, she nudged him closer. Her hands encompassed his, aiding him as he meekly hacked away at the apples. His pattern was unorthodox and messy, causing the juices to squirt every which way. Before he knew it, both knight and royal were doused in enough juice to last them a life time. Still, she pressed him on and never gave up faith in him. Even when Izzavin whined about the absurdity of having to make a pie, she would usher words of encouragement to him.

Smile fading, Izzavin's gaze stretched out across the sea of oats. Zalanna was right. She never sought out trouble; it just found her. As such, he would have to keep a wary eye on her. Or at least always keep an ear on her. Or perhaps his nose?

Watching her dance around and pluck the desired goods, he laughed. "Your daughter is truly a treasure," his voice spoke to the heavens above. "I still don't understand why you left her in my care, especially knowing what I am capable of, but I do thank you." A wave of sadness washed over him. With remorse in his eyes, he glanced toward the sky above. "I... I just... I wish you were here to see her." Brows knitting together, his attention fell back on the meal before him. "She doesn't know it, but she will become queen. I know she will. She'll regain her faith, wisdom, courage, and love. And she'll bring about a new era of peace and prosperity--not just for us, but for all."

His attention flicked forward as he saw her approach. With smirk in tow, he cocked his head to the side.

"Zalanna," his tone was gentle like the wind, "what are you doing?" With her dress acting as a bucket, the princess was showing off just a tad too much flesh to be proper. Blush growing and soon glowing, he shifted his glance aside. "You, umm..." He dared to glance back, causing his blush to deepen. "Uhh," he had to force his head to snap to the fire before him. "You should probably mind your...." It was impossible. How could he tell her to not flash that much leg? It was odd to call a woman out, especially one that lived with a gypsy for so long.

Finally, with a puff of air filling his lungs with confidence, he turned to look her straight in the eyes. "You really should be careful. Showing off too much leg can imply things. Thankfully," he placed a hand on his chest and smirked, "we're in the middle of nowhere and you're only showing off to me. So I suppose I can let you do as you please and not uphold royal standards. Still," his smirk fell into a plain stare, "I cannot encourage such things in public. Like I said, I wouldn't want someone to assume you were open to... things."

Saved by the bubbling of the stew, he shot his attention over to the meal at hand. "It's hot so let it cool." He pulled out to metal plates, both very light weight and yet durable, and passed one to Zalanna. Schlepping some of the stew onto her plate and some on to his own, he smiled. "As I do in fact love apples, I've spent the last fifty years learning various apple-based recipes. You'll have to let me know what you think."