Nanashi was starting to get a bit full by the end of the second bowl, but he accepted the third gratefully. He hardly noticed the girl's eyes on him as he ate or he would have been sitting there squirming uncomfortably more than eating.

He hardly noticed when Kegokec left the room, though once he heard things shuffling about down the hall, he got the idea. He sat his bowl down and picked up the glass, draining half of it before picking up the bowl again. He'd just taken a bite when Kegokec returned, though he hardly noticed when she came up behind him, given her innate stealth. He startled when she pulled the comb through his hair the first time and almost fumbled the bowl though he caught it before hand and sat it aside again as he shied away from the comb, unsure of what she even had in her hand. He glanced up and sighed when he saw the comb, his ears laying back in embarrassment at the thought of having her sit there and comb his hair. His hair was still a bit damp, so the comb wouldn't have too much trouble going through it, though his bandanna would probably hinder her getting to the under layers, but he wasn't about to take it off.

~Kegokec jumped at Nanashi's sudden movement, still wrapped up in her own thoughts. She gasped and dropped the brush.

"Oh! I'm sorry." she murmured as she picked the brush up and sat back down. "I didn't think...I'm sorry."

She lowered her eyes and blushed a bit, trying to force her thoughts of how handsome he was and how pretty his hair was from her mind.

Before she could stop herself, she whispered "I love your hair. It's beautiful. And your ears are adorable." She blushed and looked away from him instead of just at her feet. "And your wings are beautiful as well."

She stood quickly and grabbed his glass of water, though it was still half full. She needed to get out of the room.

"Your clothes should be about dry by now. Or, you can go in the extra room and take a nap while they finish drying" she said from the kitchen.

She'd sat his glass down and was busy putting the rest of the soup up for later and washing what dishes needed to be washed. She tried her best to keep away from him, not fully understanding the rush of emotions she was feeling, nor knowing what some of them were.~

Nanashi just eyed her for a moment without saying a word. He nodded curtly when she apologized, feeling almost bad for overreacting, though he could hardly bring himself to apologize for startling her after she nearly gave him a heart attack.

He blinked in surprise when she complimented his hair and...well practically everything else about him. He started to open his mouth to say something as his blush deepened and he glanced away uncomfortably. He was glad that someone thought all of these things were great. Personally, he wanted to rip out all of his hair, tear off his wings, cut off his tail, and claw out his eyes just so he could even remotely pass for a human, so maybe something at least a little more acceptable.

He glanced over to his clothes as she scurried off to the kitchen with what was left of his water. He just stood there for a moment and then glanced toward the kitchen, finally picking up the near empty bowl of soup again. He slowly walked to the kitchen, moving almost silently as he came up behind her. He stood fairly close behind her. "...Y-you're...beautiful, too." He tried to compliment her, though his voice was quiet and almost shaky as he said it. In mosts' mind it was wrong for him to say anything to a female unlike him, or at least nothing that would be flattering and make him appear to have an interest. He wasn't too sure how she would feel about it, so before she had too much time to respond he sat the bowl down and hurried out of the kitchen as quietly as he'd come in.

~Kegokec blushed at his remark and nearly dropped the plate she was washing at how suddenly his voice sounded in her ear. She turned to reply, to say anything, and blinked as the tip of his tail disappeared into the next room.

She picked up his bowl and glass and placed them gently in the tub of water, her cheeks pink with the blush still, her hands shaking with the surge of the newest new emotion to her.

She walked quickly and quietly back into the other room to see if he was going to go lie down or just sit back down.

She was dying to ask him if she could touch his wings and ears, for some reason...and if she could finish brushing his hair.~

(Lmao. xD I love brushing my fiance's hair in real life. Kego loves it too. (She's got a few of my character traits.))

Nanashi was half ready to go to the other room to sleep for a while, but for now he just say back down in the chair where he had been, his face still burning as he tried to make his heart stop hammering. It had taken almost every ounce of courage he could muster just to say that to her.

He glanced up when she came back into the room and then looked away quickly. "...I'm sorry." He said quickly in a quiet whisper. He hadn't looked at her face to see if she was angry at him or not and he hardly wanted to know. Kegokec seemed very kind, but so had a few other people. He'd gotten himself into plenty of situations where everything was just fine until he said something the wrong way or something, and then...he was usually getting chased out with a broom.

~Kegokec walked softly over to him and kissed his cheek gently, brushing a strand of his red hair out of her way. She stood up straight, smiling and blushing.

"No one has ever said that to me," she choked out in an embarrassed way. "My parents, of course, but most parents say things like that. The townspeople call me nice and think kindly of me, but I hear them whispering 'monster' and 'creature' when they think I can't hear them."

She gently took one of his hands in her own and raised the other to brush her fingertips gently against his beautiful wings, which were still tucked in close to his body. A joyful smile passed over her lips and her eyes started to glow more brightly as she admired the beauty of the creature in front of her. Her cheeks quickly started to burn with a blush again, so she dropped his hand lightly and stepped back, muttering "Sorry" even though her face still showed the rapture she felt for having the honor of being able to touch and talk to such a magnificent being as Nanashi.~

Nanashi froze when Kegokec touched his hair, half expecting a slap of some sort. His eyes nearly bulged when he felt her lips against his cheek, and he froze. His blush deepened even more and at this rate it seemed his face was going to match his hair pretty soon.

His ears fell back again when she mentioned what the towns people said about her. How could anyone consider something as gentle and beautiful as her a monster?

He gasped quietly and held his breath when she took his hand and stared at her with those wide, sparking ruby eyes as she stroked his wing. He shifted his wing a bit at the touch. When she let go and backed away his eyes followed her and he opened his mouth to say something, but the words froze in his throat. His heart was hammering again, and he felt as if he had butterflies in his stomach. He stared at her with wide eyes and a his mouth hanging open until he started to feel lightheaded. By the time he realized that he wasn't breathing and took a breath or two, it was a little too late. His exhaustion finally caught up with him and he just blacked out. His eyes rolled back and slid to a close as his head fell to the side and he slumped over the side of the chair.

Well, at least he was getting his rest in, though that was hardly how he'd planned it.

~Kegokec blinked in confusion as she stared at Nanashi's limp form. She blushed more as she realized he'd fainted. How could she have been so stupid as to stress out someone who was so tired in the first place?

She lifted Nanashi almost effortlessly and carried him to the extra room. She gently tugged the shirt off of him and away from his wings. She went to the bathroom and got the healing ointment she'd told him about. He'd told her no when she asked, but the vapors alone from the herbal mix would help him relax a bit, even if it didn't make the scars go away completely.

She made sure as not to wake Nanashi as she put the green stuff on his scars. When she was done, she pulled a light cotton blanket over his sleeping form and stood to leave. She suddenly remembered that he'd never given her his bandanna to wash, so she reached to undo it so she could wash it. What caught her by surprise was that it was clean.

For a moment, Kegokec considered taking the bandanna and washing it anyway, but something inside her warned her against it. Not really a curious person by nature, she walked out, leaving the bandanna alone. She went about her household chores as Nanashi slept soundly.~

Nanashi was completely out of it when Kegokec took him to the bed. He was normally a very light sleeper and it was also very difficult for him to find a place to sleep where something didn't disturb him. He never slept in towns, and it was increasingly hard to sleep outdoors with birds and other animals making a fuss in the trees and undergrowth, and lately all of the rain had not been making it any easier to sleep or find shelter. Today was the first clear day there had been in a while, or at least from the way he was traveling. He was at lest able to relax in a bed rather than on the hard ground and the vapors from the ointment did help a bit.

Nanashi slept soundly throughout the rest of the day and the entire night, though by the next morning he was on his side and curled up into a ball with his head burrowed into the pillow. It was almost noon before he finally opened his eyes again. He sat up slowly and glanced around the room with glazed, sleep-filled eyes as he tried to remember where he was or how he had even gotten here. Finally, he slid around, placing his feet on the floor and rubbing his eyes clear before standing and starting for the door. He hadn't even registered that he was missing a shirt yet.

~Kegokec heard Nanashi's footsteps and hurried to the bedroom door with some breakfast on a plate and a glass of fresh milk. She shifted everything to where she could knock lightly on the door.

"Nanashi," she said quietly, "I made you something to eat. I figured you'd be hungry again. You passed out so suddenly yesterday..." her voice trailed off and she hoped he didn't notice the blush in her voice.

She waited for him to open the door before she practically shoved the plate and glass into his hands and plopped him down in a comfortable oak chair at the oaken kitchen table. She smiled at him and sat down to eat her own food. She'd gotten up early, done her normal chores and had waited to eat with him even though she was starving.

"I hope you like it," she said. "If you don't, I can fix you something else. Or rewarm the soup from yesterday," she offered.

She glanced at his bare chest for a moment, having been too into trying to get food into him to notice before. She blushed and started eating her food a little too quickly to escape notice.

On the bright side, his scars were almost completely gone.~

Nanashi had been just about to open the door when Kegokec knocked. He blinked, listening to her voice and blushing slightly when she mentioned him passing out. He remembered what led to that and blushed even more. Finally, he opened the door and looked at her, though he barely had time to blink before she'd shoved the plate into his hands and started to shove him off. Before he knew it he was seated at the kitchen table.

For a moment he just sat there, holding his plate and glass stupidly before setting it down on the table. He just looked at the food for a moment before starting to eat. Again, he liked what he was offered, though he seemed to favor the meat over anything else. Even if he hadn't liked it, he wouldn't have said anything to her. He was grateful just to have food offered to him at all.

He kept his eyes down and then glanced up only to see Kegocec's eyes on him before she went to rapidly eating her food. He glanced down at himself and blushed when he realized that his shirt was missing and the only thing on his chest was the ivory fang necklace. He groaned almost inaudibly and shrank slightly as his shoulders slumped. He then blinked when he realized something else. He put down his eating utensils and slowly moved his hand to his chest, looking at where the scars had been. He could still see them, but they were faint and no longer raised or sunken in, only slightly discolored.

~Kegokec blushed and looked away again as Nanashi started looking at his scars.

"I er.." she muttered, "I hope you don't mind. I thought the vapors would help as much as the ointment..." she let her voice trail off.

She stood quickly and ran to get the shirt she'd given him the day before. Once she was in the room he'd used, she leaned against the wall where he wouldn't see her and held her hand over her mouth, her face feeling like it was going to burn off.

She'd had crushes on some of the school boys when she'd gone to school, but nothing like this. She'd seen young men working shirtless in the fields a little way off from the town, but she'd never reacted this way. Was she embarrassed? Or did she like Nanashi? She couldn't figure it out.

Kegokec grabbed the shirt and forced herself to walk slowly and calmly back into the kitchen. She held the shirt out for him, her eyes on a spot on the wall slightly above and behind his head. She couldn't look at him without blushing.

Never for a second did she stop to think that a half-breed dragon and Elven union of any sort, even friendship was considered taboo.~

Nanashi looked up when Kegokec spoke and then back to his scars. "...No...I don't--" he started before she took off. "...mind." He just thought that using it on him would be a waste, but if she'd really wanted to, he didn't mind. At least he hadn't been awake while she was rubbing it on him or that would have been very awkward...actually, that was still a little awkward.

He sat in silence, staring at his food for a moment as he tried to figure out why she'd run away from him. He figured it out when she came back with the shirt. "...Thank you." He said simply as he took it and struggled into it again. Getting in and out of clothes was kind of difficult for him when he tried to hook his wings into the slits in a hurry. He guessed his bare chest was a little too hard for her to look at. He was well aware that it wasn't all that attractive, though in his eyes, nothing about him was attractive, and he kept forgetting that she saw it completely differently. His mother had been one of the most beautiful creatures to ever walk the planet, both in dragon form and the dragonic 'human' form that most stayed in when in towns and not on the hunt or in battle. He could only vaguely remember her, but he remembered her long waving red hair and bright eyes. He had inherited his looks from her, but to him...they were a curse, not a gift of beauty.

~She watched him struggle into the shirt, her mind working out if she could adjust his shirts to where it would be easier for him to put them on and take them off.

She chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip.

"Nanashi," she started, softly. "I have...a..erm... something to ask you." She frowned, knowing if she worded it wrong that it would destroy his trust in an instant. "I erm...I don't want anything from you but what I answered when you first asked. Your friendship. But I was wondering...if you find me useful, do you think you could take me with you when you leave here? I need to get out of this horrid place...I don't really care where you're going..." she looked away and chewed nervously at her lip again, hoping beyond hope she hadn't asked too much of him.

She glanced at his half eaten food and quickly changed the subject.

"Didn't you like it?" she asked, looking at his plate. "Was it too cold? Or just awful? Would you like something else?"

She quickly made herself busy getting him some more milk.~

Nanashi almost dreaded hearing the question, though once it was asked, his ears perked up and he stared at her in bemusement. This was one girl that he didn't understand at all. Why would a pure blooded elf, even one who had lived among humans, want anything to do with a mixed breed like him? He knew that it wasn't just this town that had something against him, everywhere he went people looked down on him. Humans tended to dislike many species, especially dragons, and dragons saw Humans as some of the weakest beings on the planet, but pure bloods could get along with each other just fine...so long as the blood wasn't mixed. Nanashi had no place in the world, he just was. To the dragons he was an abomination and disgrace, to the humans, a filthy monster, and to everyone else just a worthless halfbreed with barely a right to breath the air around him. So why would this lively, elegant creature want anything to do with him at all?

He hadn't even had time to ponder a response before she was talking about the food and snatching his milk that he had yet to even take more than two sips from. Finally he stood and moved a little closer to her, boldly placing a hand on her arm. "Stop." He said simply, eying her seriously. "...The food is fine, stop..." He trailed off. Stop being so fidgety was what he wanted to tell her, but who was he to talk?

He pulled his hand back quickly and stood silently for a moment before speaking again. "...You shouldn't...you shouldn't want to come with me..." He said softly, "...Not me... It's...not worth the trouble...for you, I mean...being with me..."

~Kegokec blushed at Nanashi's sudden forcefulness and nearly dropped the glass she was still holding. She sat it down as he fumbled over his words. She had no clue what was going through his mind, seeing as her parents had raised her to think all creatures were equal. One was not better than the other. Every person and creature alike had their own special thing they could do, but every creature on the planet, big or small, was needed for balance.

As Nanashi's last words left his lips, her face flushed.

"How would it be trouble for me?" she blushed. "You see how I've grown up, what I've had to go through every day and not just when I get into towns. We've half starved through a few months ourselves when the harvests were bad. I'm not a stranger to hardship, dragon."

Kegokec half wondered if he'd catch that she'd called him 'dragon' and not something else, even though it wasn't on purpose.

But, before she could think of any further, she'd pushed him against the wall and pressed her lips to his in an awkward kind of half kiss, half pin movement.

She let go of him a bit and took a half step back, feeling as confused as Nanashi looked. She buried her face in his chest though instead of bolting like she wanted to. She let one of her hands brush lightly against one of his wings, which she liked so much, as she hid her burning face.~

Nanashi felt like beating his head against the wall when she called him dragon. He had just opened his mouth to respond to her when she pushed him against the wall and pressed her lips to his. His eyes widened and his arms shot up, though he didn't touch her. If he wasn't in so much shock he probably would have pushed her away, or if he'd been thinking straight he may have kissed her back.

Once she broke the kiss he just stood there, staring off at the back wall at a complete loss of words. He only looked down when he felt her face burrowed into his chest. He was taking in quick deep breaths and his heart was hammering so hard that he was afraid she could hear it, though she probably could hear it and feel it considering where she had her head.

Finally, he raised his arms and gently laid his hands on her shoulders. His voice was shaking as he spoke in that quiet, whispering voice of his, but he couldn't do much about it. "T-that's...just it... I-I'm not a dragon....I-I'm a half breed... I'm just a mix... My mother was a dragon, but...my father was just...some human, I don't even know him. Y-you know how everyone is here... but for someone like me...it's everyone, not...not just this town. And if you...were with me, then...they might treat you the same way, and....I...I wouldn't...w-want that..." He stammered. "I...I would give anything to have what you have here... Why on earth would you want to leave it behind for something worse?"

~Kegokec looked up into his glowing eyes, her cheeks still pink. She gave him a pained look.

"We need each other..." she whispered, so low she could barely hear it herself. "We need to stick together. And, I wouldn't care what happened to me...as long as I was with you."

She reached up and stroked his still tangled red hair a little and smiled sadly.

"I don't belong here. I belong less than you. You, at least, are half what they are. I am no relation at all." she sighed heavily. "And, they're only nice to my face. I hear what they say behind my back."

She looked back into his eyes, her hand having wandered off to stroke his wing again.

"Besides, a handsome one like you needs someone to keep him company even though he acts like he doesn't." she smiled mischievously, only to end up blushing again.~

Nanashi looked down at her, turning his head away slightly when she brushed at his hair, though he kept his eyes trained on her. His grip on her shoulders tightened as if he were about to shove her away then then loosened as if he were about to just drop his hands completely, but they stayed where they were. "...Being a part of them is worse than being nothing to them..." He said softly. "...At least among elves you would be acceptable... I am a monster to these humans and a humiliation to dragons... nothing wants a part of me..." He said softly, trailing off. Nothing but her, apparently.

He blushed when she called him handsome and finally looked away. "...You have strange taste..." He said softly, "...to find me handsome."

After a moment he moved his hands to wrap his arms around her. "...I do thank you for...well for everything, but... I do not want to see you hurt... if you must go, go on your own... find another elf to travel with... do not demean yourself by traveling with me."

~Kegokec frowned a little, something she'd done more in the past day and a half than she'd done her whole life.

"If I can accept you," she whispered, "Then why wouldn't other elves, if you and I could find a nice village of them somewhere, since you seem to be so scared of other dragons and humans?"

She kissed his cheek lightly, still holding him against the wall, but no longer pinning him there.

"Besides, how can you be so cruel as to come into my life, turn it upside down in such a short time and then try to walk out and leave me alone again?" she smiled playfully, hoping he'd catch on that she was just picking on him about being cruel.

"I want to go with you. I don't care what these filthy humans would think of me. I've suffered too long here. The only humans who ever showed me true kindness without turning around and stabbing me in my back are my parents." Her eyes were green fires by then. "You, half dragon and half human, should hate me double if everything you say is right. Yet here we are..." she trailed off and rested her hand on his arm, which was around her waist.

Kegokec blushed and looked away, her eyes sparking.

"I'm going with you whether you like it or not."~

Nanashi sighed softly, his ears drooping again when she frowned and he blushed when she kissed him. "...I do not see why any other race would want to deal with me, either... I have no place..." he whispered quietly, though he was cut off by her next remark and a bit taken aback. Cruel? How could it be cruel of him, all he had come here for was a place to eat and rest, she was the one who dragged him here. "You have known he all of one day..." He said quietly as if that should make a difference somehow.

He finally gave up and sighed heavily at her conviction. She was determined at least, though for him that wasn't a good thing at the moment. "...I do not hate you...nor do I hate anyone... That is just the way things are, I have no reason to hate people who hate something that shouldn't exist..." He shook his head then. "...but I cannot stop you from following me..." He said finally. Timidly, he raised his hand to sweep his clawed fingers back through her luscious blond hair and then lowered it. "...But I do not want you to come... I still care about what you do not." He didn't want to see her ridiculed or poked fun at over him if she had enough problems of her own already.

~Kegokec smiled sweetly at Nanashi, blushing a little as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I will be of more help than you think, Nanashi." she whispered as she went to kiss his cheek again. "Even those who say they're loners need friends."

She stroked his hair lightly, then one of his wings.

"When do we leave?" she asked happily. "I have food saved up and some other supplies we'll need if we don't want to live like we're poor." she blushed again. "I've been meaning to leave for some time. I haven't told my parents, but I know they know..."~

(Sorry for how short it is, but I need some help with this part. XP I don't know when they're leaving or how long Nanashi wants to rest.)

Nanashi sighed softly and gave her a forced smile. "...You have been so much help to me already, I hardly see how I could ask for more." He said softly. He tilted his head slightly when she mentioned being ready to leave. In all honestly, before she told him how things were, he would have been surprised to hear just how much she hated it here when she looked so happy.

He blushed a little when she stroked his hair and wing and extended his wing a bit to allow her better access since she seemed to like them so much.

"...We can leave...whenever you like, though... I would like to get back into my clothes first." He said since he really didn't want to go wandering about in clothes two sizes too small for him. "And...I would like to finish my food if you don't mind." He said, glancing at the table. He wasn't about to abandon perfectly good food.

~Kegokec laughed and smiled happily at him.

"I'm glad." she whispered as she kissed his cheek again.

She took off to gather her things and supplies they'd need for the trip.

Kegokec packed some money she'd saved up, a few blankets, food that wouldn't spoil, needles and strong thread, soap and other little things they'd need like that, and extra clothing for herself and some that might fit Nanashi. They could buy pots, cups or anything else they needed later.

"How long would you like to stay here and rest, Nanashi?" she asked while going back and forth through the house getting things. She stopped for a moment and grinned at him. "Your clothes should be dry by now. And there's more food in the kitchen if you want it!"

She blushed as she turned away to continue about her chores and tasks. Although the clothing she'd given Nanashi was too small, he still looked handsome and bright with all the color in his hair, wings and tail. It was safe to say that she was falling for Nanashi. Not just his looks, but his personality too although she'd not seen much of it yet. He was kind and gentle. And he looked at her the way no one else ever had.

She closed herself in her room for a little while and wrote a letter to her parents, explaining everything to them. It explained how she'd met Nanashi, how she felt about him, how she felt about the town and the people in it and how she'd always been planning to leave sooner or later. She told them she loved them in the letter and she was sorry she had to leave this way.

She folded the letter and went out to the kitchen where she put it on the table and placed a cup on one corner so it wouldn't fall or blow off the table. She then went back to checking to make sure she had everything and that the house was spotless. It wouldn't do to leave her parents a messy house.~

Nanashi blushed slightly when she kissed his cheek and half smiled before releasing her from the loose hold that he'd had on her. "Thank you." He said softly when she offered him more food. He watched as she left and then went back to his breakfast, polishing off the rest and devouring a few more sausages before returning to the sitting room. He looked at the chairs where his clothes were hung and snagged them before returning to the bathroom and latching the door while he changed.

After a good fifteen minute struggle he was back in his normal attire and pleased to see that it was actually clean and no longer felt stiff. Nearly all of the blood, dirt, and grass stains were gone from his white coat, and most of the smaller hose were mended, though as he'd figured the tattered ends were apparently beyond repair. His shirt looked more black and less brown now at least, as did his pants. The dirtiest things that he had on were his old walk-worn boots which were still covered in dried dirt and threatening to lose their soles.

Once out he went ahead and washed the dishes and glass that he had used to save Kegokec a little effort, and then went to wait while she had gone to her room. He didn't really care how long they waited to go or really even if they went at all. He let her gather everything that she needed to bring and watched as she fussed around cleaning the house, occasionally offering her help when he thought he knew what he was doing. If nothing else, he was good for reaching the high places to get them clean.

Finally he sighed once he'd run out of things to do and went to sit down in one of the chairs. "...Do you know where you want to go?" He asked after a moment. He didn't particularly care about that, either. He knew the lay of the lands around here fairly well from wandering, but he hardly ever had any set destination in mind, he just went wherever was convenient for the time.