~Kegokec finished up and sat down cross-legged on the floor next to Nanashi's chair, smiling sweetly.

"As long as I'm out of this town and I'm with you, I don't care where we go." she whispered sheepishly.

She blushed and looked away from him.

"What about you?" she asked. "Do you just wander aimlessly? Or are you looking for something or somewhere?"

She scooted closer and laid her head on his knee. She let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes. She could hardly believe it. She was actually going to get to leave this accursed place! And she had a handsome dragon to lo-

She caught herself in mid-thought and blushed, biting her bottom lip even though Nanashi was sure to be paying attention to something else and not her face, since she had her eyes closed. She finished the thought herself. 'A handsome dragon to be friends with , protect and help protect her.'~

Nanashi blinked and looked away with a blush when she leaned her head against his knee, though he absently raised one hand to stroke along her hair again. He loved her hair, mostly just because it was so smooth and silky. After a second he raised his hand to his own tangled mop of red hair and tried to make it lay flat, though it wasn't cooperating.

"Yes...normally I just...wander, but...I am looking for something." He whispered quietly as his eyes traveled to the window. "...I want...a home." He said quietly. "...A home...somewhere where no one cares what I am, where I'm from...what I've done... Just somewhere that I'm allowed to live..." He knew that was asking something outrageous, or it seemed that way anymore at least. He glanced down to Kegokec and saw her with the traces of a blush still on her face. "I know... It's a stupid dream... there is no such place, but still..."

~Kegokec laughed softly, opened her eyes and looked up into his. Her eyes glowed with a green fire of passion.

"You and I can find a nice place and make the world you speak of." She flushed and hastily added, "As friends. And we can find nice people to live in the beautiful place we find. Maybe a valley. Near a lake! How wonderful that would be..."

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and noticed that he'd been messing with his hair. It was even messier than it had been before. She stood up, got her brush and started brushing his hair again like she had the day before. She hoped he wouldn't jump this time.

Kegokec hummed the same sang she always did. The wordless one that she remembered from her childhood. The one she always seemed to remember to hum while she worked or did anything of importance to her.

"We can stay here for a while, if you wish to rest." she offered again, tugging the brush gently through his amazingly red hair.~

Nanashi smiled weakly when she mentioned making the place themselves. "Yeah... That would be a little too good to be true." He said softly. "...But it would be wonderful."

He blinked when she got up and looked back at her until she returned with the brush again. This time, he didn't jump, though he sat very still as if afraid to move. He didn't want to offend her, but he was a little tender headed. "...I am rested...or at least as well as I can be for now. We can go anytime." He told her again.

The top layers of his hair were easy to brush and smoothed out nicely, shining different shades of red every time the climb ran through it and the light hit it differently. However he started to fidget when she got around ht middle layers where the bandanna was tied and lipped occasionally when she caught a knot and pulled. Some of his hair was tied into the knot at the back of the headband, but if he so much as thought that she was tugging at the strings that hung down in the back and about to untie the thing he would probably bolt to the other side of the room and leave half of his hair behind in the comb. However as long as he had no notion that she was trying to take it off, he would sit there and bare it.

~Kegokec frowned a little as she brushed Nanashi's hair. She figured he was just as tender headed as she was with the way he fidgeted. She tried to be gentle but his hair was tangled in his bandanna. She thought he must have had a big scar there, since he didn't even let her wash the bandanna. She had an idea, but she needed to talk to him first.

"I think we should leave tomorrow morning." She suggested. "Right as the sun comes up. We can get you a bit more rested and then have breakfast here before heading out so we don't waste food we might need on the way to...wherever."

She didn't wait to let it sink in, hoping he was still distracted enough by the suggestion to let her do what she wanted.

She sat the brush down, placed her left hand gently over his forehead to hold the bandanna on and started to undo the knot at the back. She knew how self-conscious he was, so she whispered close to his ear, "I'll hold the bandanna in place, Nanashi. I just want to get the tangles out of your beautiful hair." She blushed a little and undid the back of it. She picked the brush back up in her right hand and started to run it through his hair again, her wordless tune picking up right where it'd left off as she waited for him to answer her question.~

Nanashi listened to her suggestion and winced slightly as she picked at a knot. "...If you wish..." He said softly, "That is fi-haow-in..." He said making a face. He was able to keep his comments in as long as his mouth was closed, but it was harder when he was talking. He sighed and lowered his eyes, though he sat bolt upright when she put her hand on the bandanna and stared at her with wide eyes.

He was just raising his hand to swat hers away when she whispered in his ear. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and slowly lowered his hand. "..." He closed his eyes as she untied the back and lowered his head a little, his ears drooping. He sighed softly as she started to brush his hair again. Finally, he raised his hand and placed it over hers, just to make doubly sure that his forehead stayed covered. He relaxed a bit more as he listened to her hum. "...That's a pretty song..." He said softly.

~Kegokec stopped humming and kissed the top of his head.

"Thank you." she said, a bit sadly. "My mom thinks it's a song my birth mother sang to me when I was born."

She finished brushing his hair, which was shining, no longer dirty or tangled. She slipped her hand from beneath his, retied his bandanna and changed the subject.

"Uhm..." she hesitated. "Is there a worse scar under there? Because, I have something stronger I can use to get rid of it if you want it to be nearly gone..." she offered before moving to sit back down at his feet.

She stared up into his glowing eyes and smiled a little, trying to keep her gaze off the bandanna.

"I've never told anyone this for fear it'd get out," she started, "not even my parents. But, I having healing powers. They're not that strong but I've been practicing!" She smiled joyfully.

Nanashi looked at her and then away. "...No.. It's nothing, I...I just don't like to take it off." He said quietly, "There isn't a scar..." He told her. He didn't lie, well not really. There wasn't a scar there, but it was a little more than nothing.

Now he tried to change the subject himself and get her mind off of he bandanna. "So...healing powers?" He asked softly, "I see... that must come in handy sometimes."

He reached out and pushed his fingers back through her hair and tilted his head. "You have a lot of interesting attributes." he said simply. His ruby eyes locked on hers for the first time and he stared into those fiery green orbs. "...I love your eyes..." He whispered.

~Kegokec nodded as he told her it was nothing, though it did strike her as strange. But, she pushed it out of her mind. For now.

"I haven't really tried it on anything but mice and chickens, really." She laughed a little. "But, practice is practice. And it works."

She started to blush as Nanashi's eyes locked onto hers. She was about to look away when she changed her mind. She wanted to stare into his eyes for once. He really had such lovely eyes...

She was so lost in thought that she barely caught his words. She giggled nervously but held his gaze.

"Thank you." she said, simply, too embarrassed and shocked to say anything else.

Kegokec wanted to gaze into his eyes forever. They were drawing her in and she was completely powerless. Was she in love...?~

Nanashi smiled slightly whens he held his gaze and finally blinked his long black lashes before averting his eyes and looking away. "You're welcome." He whispered. His bronze cheeks were tinged with red again as he sat in front of her and his tail swayed gently, dusting the ground.

"When we leave tomorrow... we can head west to the mountains... I'm... I'm sure the scenery will be nice." He said softly, "And...maybe we can find that valley you were talking abo--" He cut off and reached out quickly, shoving her to the side a bit roughly just before he threw his other hand in front of his mouth and nose trying and failing to stop a sneeze. Flames shot from his mouth, covering his hand and sooting toward the floor, fading out just before they reached the carpet, though if he hadn't moved Kegokec she would have gotten a face full of flames.

He clamped his hand over his mouth once the flames where gone as he cough, choking on black smoke that escaped from around the corners of his mouth. His hand was burned slightly, but not too badly. At least he'd used his right hand so there wasn't a sleeve for him the catch on fire. Being a half breed definitely had it's drawbacks. His humans side was not equipped to breath fire the way that his dragon side was, so he tended to burn himself like that a lot.

He hoped to god that he wasn't getting a cold. He had been out in the elements a lot the past few days and it was rainy... he never had gotten along with water too well.

~Kegokec blinked in surprise, stunned. For a moment, she said nothing. Then she was laughing. And couldn't stop.

About five minutes later, with a stitch in her side and tears in her side, Kegokec got a little control over herself and managed to choke out the words "How...cute!" before collapsing again in another fit of giggles.

Three minutes after that, she stood up, dusted herself off, wiped the tears from her eyes and, still chuckling a little, made her way to the kitchen to make Nanashi something that would ward off a cold and, at the same time, cool his throat.

While she was in the kitchen, Kegokec regained full control over herself.

"Nanashi," she asked sheepishly, "you know I wasn't laughing at you, right?"

She waited for a moment.

"I just thought it was so adorable."

She headed back into the main room with the soup-like drink and handed it to him, smiling.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," she said. "We need to get up early so the townspeople don't see us leave."

Kegokec stood, kissed his cheek and walked to her room. She left the door open.~

Nanashi was still choking on smoke while Kegokec had her laughing fit. It took him almost as long to top coughing as it took her to get a hold of herself. By then his eyes were watering as well, though he didn't find this a bit funny. His throat burned as if it had been set on fire, of course....in a way it had. He was not fully equipped with everything needed to breath fire as easily as a real dragon. He could manage it without really being harmed as severely as a human would be if they breathed fire from their throats, but it still hurt to do, so he tried not to do it, though whenever he sneezed he couldn't control it.

He sat waiting with his head down and his hand on his throat as Kegokec went to the kitchen. He was blushing madly now after realizing just how much she had been laughing. Right about then he heard her voice from the kitchen and sighed. Well, at least one of them enjoyed it. He only looked up again when the drink was offered to him and nodded in thanks. He took a sip and swallowed making a face as it slid down his sore throat. "...G-good night..." He said quietly in a slightly crackling voice.

He finished the drink once she was gone, grateful for the soothing feeling that it left in his throat. Once he as finished he took the glass to the sink and washed then put it with the other dishes to dry before starting down the hallway. He noticed that Kegokec's door was open and glanced in for a moment before looking away and scurrying into the other room before he could see too much and closing the door behind him. He took off his shoes again and lay down, burrowing under the covers and resting his head against the pillow. He closed his eyes and drifted off soundly. It was hard not to fall asleep when laying on something this comfortable.

~Kegokec snuck quietly into Nanashi's room. She'd been up for an hour or so and had done all her chores and cleaned the house. Everything was packed and ready to go.

She stood perfectly still and watched Nanashi sleep for a moment. She smiled, not really wanting to wake him up. He looked so sweet and happy asleep.

But, she grinned mischievously and jumped playfully on Nanashi, careful to avoid being near his face or claws in case it scared him too badly.~

Nanashi was curled up in a tight ball while he slept. He looked peaceful for once and a a quiet sort of purr emitted from deep in his throat. He was sleeping a bit more deeply than normal, but he still wouldn't be too hard to wake up.

As soon as Kegokec jumped on him his eyes snapped open and he screamed as he bolted upright. He looked around wildly for a moment, though he hardly saw anything as his eyes darted about. It wasn't until he had nearly killed himself rolling off of the bed and standing up to looked back that he really registered what had hit him. He sighed in relief and then narrowed his eyes slightly. "What was that for!?" he demanded, looking more than a little agitated. He relaxed after a moment since he knew that Kegokec hadn't really meant anything by it. "...A simple push would have sufficed."

~Kegokec laughed softly and tackled him, still playfully, to the floor. She pinned him there, leaned down, and kissed his nose.

"Good morning, Nanashi!" she giggled. "And yes, a push would have been easier, but there's no better way to start the day than by getting your heart started!"

She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed some more before getting up.

"Come on sleepy head. It's time to go. I saved you some warm bread with butter!"

Kegokec walked out of the room, still laughing a little, her own heart pounding with the way he'd looked at her.

Nanashi hadn't looked angry or anything. Just stunningly handsome...~

Nanashi blinked when he was tackled to the ground again and half smiled when she kissed his nose. He still wasn't too sure to make of her affection, but he didn't think he minded. "Good morning to you, too..." He said simply after she stuck her tongue out at him. He climbed to his feet and straightened his hair slightly before following her to the door.

He went on the the kitchen to claim his breakfast and ate it rather quickly before looking over everything that she had packed. "Is this all that you are taking?" He asked, "Do you have everything?" He asked, just trying to be sure. He doubted that she would want to have to come back here to get anything once they'd set out. He was eager to get out of town before too many people started to stir.

~Kegokec had eaten her breakfast as soon as she'd gotten up, so she spent the time it took Nanashi to eat running around the house to make sure everything was in order for her parents.

She was so lost in thought about the house, her parents and trying to not miss them already that she almost missed his question. She stopped, looked at him, blinked and shook her head.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I was deep in thought. And yes, that is everything. I have some money saved up from doing laundry and things for people, so even if by chance I did forget something, we could buy it somewhere else or make do."

She smiled a little, took a deep breath and nodded.

"We should leave before everyone starts waking up."

She moved towards her pack, picked it up, shouldered it, walked to the door, turned around and inspected everything one last time. She nodded again and looked at Nanashi.

"Is there anything you need to do before we leave?" she asked. "Did you get enough to eat for breakfast?"~

Nanashi smiled weakly to Kegokec and sighed, "No, I'm fine." He assured her. "...Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked softly, though after a moment he shook his head. She seemed sure enough while she was convincing him yesterday to let her come with him.

He placed his hand on her shoulder lightly after she got her pack on and then reached to open the door for her. "...You know if you ever decide to come back here... I'll bring you back." He said softly, "Even just to visit." He sighed softly and started out, glancing around shyly before starting back into the cobblestone walkway. He looked up toward the sky for a moment and sighed when he saw that the clouds were returning. "It may rain again soon..." He said softly, glancing back toward Kegokec. "That is all it seems to be doing lately..."

~Kegokec blushed when Nanashi put his hand on her shoulder. She nodded at his offer, smiled, stepped out and closed and locked the door behind her. She took another deep breath. She could smell the rain coming.

"If it starts to rain, my blankets will work as cover. I put a special blend of herbs on them a while back and it kind of...repels rain." She smiled innocently and walked forward.

She grabbed his hand gently.

"So, where to Nanashi? The mountains as suggested?"

She blushed. She was going to travel with this handsome half-breed for a long time. Her mind started to wander from her question and she started to wonder whether or not he liked her as much as she liked him.

She shook herself out of her daydream before she got a goofy look on her face and blushed again, waiting for his answer.~

Nanashi blushed slightly when Kegokec took his hand and he nodded slightly. "Sure... why not?" He started to walk silently, gently closing his fingers over hers. He half smiled as he thought about the rain repellent blankets. "...Is there anything that you can't do?" he muttered quietly.

He glanced over to Kegokec after a moment and then looked away as he felt his cheeks turn a darker shade of red. He was somewhat glad of his bronze skin since it concealed his blushes a bit. He couldn't believe that this elegant little creature wanted to travel with him. He knew that she would probably be better off traveling on her own, even though he was glad to have her and knew that she would indeed be useful. She made him nervous the way that she looked at him sometimes and he usually found himself near a loss of words when he tried to talk to her. He wanted to say that he liked her, but at this point, he couldn't bring himself to think of her more than a very kindhearted and affectionate companion...and maybe a friend...that part was yet to be determined.

~Kegokec nodded and pulled him gently Westward.

"I know a path that isn't used much that we could take." She gave him a sidelong glance, hoping it wouldn't take it as 'I don't want to be seen with you'. She wanted to protect him from idiots who would find him repulsive.

She led him to the road that would take them into the mountains and places beyond. She made sure not to look back at the place she'd called home for nearly eighteen years. It had been a cage for just as long, even with 'friendly' faces and people.

She held a little tightly to Nanashi's hand and as they walked, she slowly moved closer to him.~

Nanashi glanced over to Kegokec as she pulled him along. He nodded in approval when she mentioned the unused paths. Those were just the kind that he preferred to travel. He hated bothering with going through well traveled areas and dodging flying rocks from kids.

He blinked when he felt her grip tighten on his hand and glanced over to see her move closer to him. "...Are you cold?" He asked simply, tilting his head. He knew that it was pretty nippy once you got into the mountains, which really wasn't all that great for him. Fire dragons commonly dwelt in hot, sandy places like the deserts or near the volcanoes, but a full dragon could brave the cold fairly easily. Nanashi was a little more like a lizard than a dragon in that respect; he got cold very easily, though his human blood helped him stand it a bit better even though it was what dimmed most of his dragon properties.

Ferocious and mystical as they were, if you stripped them of most of their magic, dragons were essentially giant lizards. Nanashi was missing most of the magical properties of a dragon, though obviously, he could still breath fire.

~Kegokec's face flushed and she moved away a little.

"No." she smiled innocently. "But if you get cold, I have two cloaks in my bag."

She smiled again and looked off into the distance, trying to keep her mind off the handsome halfbreed by her side.~

Nanashi smiled weakly, "Thank you." He said simply as he walked. It was a nice quiet walk for the most part. Nanashi tended to keep the conversation to a minimum most of the time, but he would talk whenever Kegokec brought something up.

It was getting to be late in the evening, and they had made good progress nearly halfway to the base of the mountains when the rain started. They were half sheltered by the trees of the forest, but the cold rain still filtered through the leaves and pelted them. Nanashi was already a little chilled though when the rain started to pelt them he began shivering, though he didn't complain. It had hardly given them time to do anything before it was dumping buckets on their heads; that was what you would call a cloud burst. "Damn..." He muttered, shaking his head.

~Kegokec laughed and took a few dancing steps in the pouring rain.

"Wow!" She shouted over the thunderous sound it made. "Now this is what I call raining cats and dogs!"

She stopped under the largest tree she could find close at hand and pulled the waterproof blankets out. The tree was as wide around as Kegokec was tall. Instead of bothering to ask if he wanted to stop, Kegokec set up camp with the two waterproof blankets by laying one of the blankets on the ground with one edge of it slightly up the trunk of the tree to keep the water from running in. She then used four sticks, two longer ones and two short ones, to hold up the other blanket as a roof. It leaned downward a bit to let the rain roll off, the higher end up against the trunk too.

She smiled sweetly at Nanashi, having constructed the little hut in under two minutes, most of which was spend looking for the right sized sticks to use.

She pulled him under the shelter and cuddled up to him a little even as she pulled the cloaks from her bag.

"Cold." she whispered, trying to hide her smile.

Next, she pulled out some dried fruit and handed some to Nanashi to eat, hoping he would like it.~