Calan yelped, and dug his feet into the ground. It was the only way to stop himself from toppling over when he got an armful of dragon-turned-human. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around the amethyst haired dragon, and pulled him close. "Lila ..." So warm, warmer then a human. Calan rubbed a hand across the dragon's back soothingly.

"I need to leave to get the herbs I need to make an ointment for that wing of yours." Though leaving Lila's side was the very last thing Calan wanted. Such a beauty! Golden horns curling away delicately from a fine featured face, enthralling yellow eyes, specks of amethyst scales scattered across purple tinted skin ... As a dragon Lila had been fascinating, as a human he was entirely enthralling. Calan found himself running his fingers lightly through long strands of silken hair, playing with it, and wondering ... What would have happened if he'd left the cage? Walked out and seen Lila approaching from the sands? What if he'd been gone, and the dragon returned to suffer alone? The thought was unbearable.

"No..Please!" That feminine voice nearly shouted the words. Lila didn't want to be alone, he also didn't want to be hurting and clinging to a human for comfort. He wanted to cling to something stronger, another dragon. One that could protect him and keep him safe from all harm. Though right now his only friend in this world was this young man.

His wings twitched, sending pain through the injured one, causing a pained whimper to leave him. It only made him clutch at the human tighter. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I put you in that horrible cage!" Lila was crying. Tears the color of a bright blue sky were raining down his face. "Please! Please don't go!" What kind of dragon begged a human to stay? A desperate and lonely one. Calan had said he was only going to go look for herbs, but Lila was afraid if he let the human go, Calan would not return.

Also, what if that dangerous man with the spears was out there? What if he were tracking Lila to the cave? Calan wouldn't be safe, would he? Though surely that human wouldn't throw his spears at Calan, after all both were humans. Lila'Vjola should never have gotten injured at all, his speed and agility, his gracefulness, those things often saved him from arrows and flying spears and any other thing a human could throw at him. Though that spear wielding man had snuck up behind him and that had not been fair. He looked up at Calan's face, his own streaked with those blue tears. "I only wanted to stay free." Those words were offered, as way of explanation for why he had put Calan in that cage.

He butted his forehead under Calan's chin, much the way a cat might, he was mindful of his horns, even though at the way they angled back it would be hard for the points to touch or harm the human. Those fear and pain filled eyes had closed and he nuzzled Calan again. How wonderful it felt, to just be held. Even though the strong arms around him belonged to a human.

It was too much! Calan struggled to breathe as the dragon coiled against him, clung to him with more then human strength. Then he forced himself to relax, to lift his hands to pet the dragon's soft hair, to run his fingers across the golden horns. He didn't know what to say, couldn't find any words to express how confused he was by the sudden change in the dragon's behavior, his attitude.

"Alright, I understand. You can stop apologizing, and begging. I'll stay. Just ... could you please relax a bit? You're quite strong, you know." The wing worried him. The tear looked less then pretty. Ragged edged, flimsy ... Would it ever heal without being sewn together again? Would the dragon ever fly again? Calan let out a long sigh and pulled Lila closer.

"Will your wing heal even without being taken care of?"

The human would stay? Lila almost didn't believe it, but Calan said he would stay. The dragon did relax some when Calan pet his hair, ran his fingers over those golden horns. He tried to relax even more when the young man asked him to, but Lila was afraid. Afraid Calan would use his weakness to his advantage and try to tame him, afraid Calan really would run away, and afraid that the man with the spear would find his cave. Lila shuddered, clutching at the human even harder, then he let go. He shied away from Calan, coming to rest with his uninjured side pressed against the cave wall.

His wing. Would it heal properly? He didn't know, he'd never been hurt like this before. Sky blue tears slipped down his face and he chewed his bottom lip gently, a hand reaching up, reaching for that wing. His fingers stopped short, those eyes on Calan. "...C-can you fix it? Can you make the pain stop?" It ached, but that was almost nothing compared to the ache in his heart. Lila thought he heard a noise, and his head snapped around to look warily towards his cave entrance. Paranoia. There was nothing there. A frightened dragon, he must seem so pathetic. "What if..what if he comes here. The man with the spear, what if he finds my cave?" He didn't tear his gaze from that cave entrance.

Calan sighed, and glanced at the damaged appendage. Carefully, he reached out to press his fingers against the wing. "I can't make any promises. Healing is not my strong point. I just know enough to get by, really. But .. I can probably find some herbs that could help with the pain, if you'd feel up to coming with me?" He didn't even suggest leaving the frightened dragon alone again.

Instead, he shifted closer, and pressed a reassuring hand onto Lila's arm. "It would take someone who knew you could change shapes to follow you, a professional dragon ... tracker." Calan didn't say what he thought, dragon slayer. "I don't think he'd be able to find the cave. Since you flew here, and trees were probably making it hard for him to see where you went."

Lila didn't want to go back outside, no, he would never go outside again! He shook his head, that was foolish. He wasn't some coward, he was a dragon. A dragon! He needed to act like it more, he needed to be fiercer and then things like this would not happen at all. He inhaled deeply, and when Calan pressed that hand against his arm, Lila moved. Pulling his arm away so he could lace his fingers in Calan's and hold the human's hand.

A dragon tracker? Maybe...though it could have just been a brave, angry sheep herder from the nearby village. Lila was rather fond of their livestock. It was convenient, close to home and delicious. Slowly he stood, his fingers tightening against Calan's as he moved. The dragon was afraid, it was easy to see that, but he would go with Calan to find herb's that way he could make sure his friend didn't run away. "...Maybe he was just a villager." He spoke those words, as if trying to convince himself of that. He gave Calan's hand a slight tug. Under any other circumstances, friend or not, Lila would not have clung to a human in such a manner. At least, that was what he kept telling himself.

The young man stood, shrugged his shoulders, and took the lead. Calan glanced at the sea, and wondered what had made Lila decide to live alone, far from his own kind. When they walked into the forest, Calan found a worn animal path and followed it. Branches snapped periodically, and animals crept about. Birds sang, and rabbits scurried, squirrels jumped from tree to tree.

Calan would crouch down when he noticed wild herbs, clumped together and shaded beneath a tree. He poked and prodded, muttering softly to himself. He settled on picking up willow bark, some wood and an spiky looking herb. The bark of course had been the hardest thing to find. "How are you holding up?" Calan looked at Lila worriedly.

Lila kept his hand tightly around Calan's when the human took the lead, every sound seemed to make Lila's heart pound hard in his chest and cause him to jump. Being attacked seemed to make him rather jumpy, even at noises that he could easily recognize as the sound of a squirrel or rabbit or other forest creatures. His grip on Calan's hand would tighten whenever he heard such a noise. Even if he himself stepped on a branch and snapped it.

He let go of Calan's hand, the first time the young man crouched down to look for herbs. Moving over to the closest tree and gently leaning against it. As Calan moved to look for the next herb, Lila would move to the next tree closest to Calan and lean against it. Both hands on the trunks but his eyes watching the human. He was still afraid the young man would run off. When Calan asked him how he was holding it up. "...I want to go home." There was a small frown on his lips.

Lila's wing ached terribly, but he was trying to keep the pain from showing in his features. His head jerked up, and he looked around, golden eyes narrowing. He was sure he had heard something now, something that wasn't a normal forest noise. Was the spear man looking for him? He shuddered. Would the spear man hurt Calan? No of course not, because Lila would protect his only friend, he was sure he could be vicious and strong to protect his friend...or rather he hoped he could be.

Calan leaned back on his heels to look up at Lila. The dragon's tiny scales sparkled in what light filtered through the trees. For a moment, the young man forgot why he was there, what had brought him to that spot with herbs in his hands. He was captivated, entranced. Then a noise brought his back to reality. Calan jumped to his feet and stared at a spot between the trees.

"Going back to the cave sounds like a good idea. We wouldn't want to be found." Music. He had heard he strains of an instrument, something being plucked. Travelers were probably following the path up to the village. The thought of them seeing Lila made Calan cringe. He grabbed hold of the dragon's hand and tugged him towards the beach.

Why had Calan been staring at him like that? As if he were something pretty to stare at. Lila'Vjola was not a dragon to be admired, at least not in his opinion or the opinions of other dragons. Though Calan seem to think he was pretty. Those golden eyes blinked when Calan grabbed his hand, but those fingers curled almost comfortably around Calan's hand as he let the human lead him back towards the cave.

"I...I'm not..I'm not weak or anything like that. So don't go thinking things like that. I'm a dragon and if I decide I don't like you anymore I'll roast you alive." Lila was frowning, would Calan see through his bluff? The amethyst dragon couldn't even make dragon's fire. A sigh passed his lips, he wasn't even entirely sure his cave was safe anymore. What if the spear man was inside of it waiting for them? "I think I'll need to look for a new home." He spoke the words a bit dejectedly. Still if he did find a new place that was suitable, at least he didn't have a large horde of treasure to move.

Most dragons settled into a place and stayed there most of their lives, but Lila was to afraid that the man would hunt him down and find it. "Calan." It was the first time Lila had said the human's name, or any human's name to be exact. The word felt strange on his tongue, strange but nice. Human names were odd he supposed. "Calan.." He said it again, and it felt less strange the second time. "...Tell me again, how pretty I am."

Calan smiled despite the threat in the words. He knew very well that if the dragon truly wanted to kill him, it would be an easy feat. "I know." He paused when Lila mentioned having to find a new home. Calan hated the thought of that. It would mean not being able to see the dragon anymore. Calan had spent so long watching the amethyst scaled being, admiring him every time he could, that to think of the loss of that ... It sent a stab of sadness through him.

The emotion slipped into Calan's voice as he spoke, despite the fact that the dragon had spoken his name for the first time. "You're not pretty, Lila." The young man smiled suddenly. His eyes caught on amethyst hair, traveled to lock on to golden eyes. "You're beautiful, and breathtaking with an intriguing quicksilver personality." He wouldn't mention how endearing he found the dragon. Intriguing served as a much better term.

Lila had only nodded slightly as the young man didn't seem to catch Lila's bluff about that dragon fire. That was good. Though when Calan said he wasn't pretty, Lila's expression began to fall, it didn't have far to fall though, his expression was already a bit grim anyway. Though it seemed to soar when the human called him beautiful, and breathtaking. A sweet sound erupted from Lila's lips, a giggle of pure delight. It was harder to hide his emotions and feelings in this form. Perhaps not harder, just that human forms were more animated when it came to emotions. A dragon's face wouldn't be able to contort into the kind of smiles that human faces could.

He pulled away from Calan skipping ahead a bit, and twirling on his toe, so that his purple hair swirled all around him. His wings were twitching, the injured one making him wince a bit, but Lila ignored it as best he could. "Tell me then, Calan, what do you like best about me?" He had stopped twirling, standing in front of the human and blocking his path. Lila clapped his hands lightly in front of himself and leaned forward slightly, as if to peer closer at Calan's face. There was still pain in Lila's golden eyes, but he was doing his best to not show it. His every action seemed more girlish in nature than masculine. But Lila was assuredly a boy.

Lila's delighted reaction to his words made Calan smile. The dragon-in-human-form danced and managed to captivate him with so simple a movement. It was the way he moved. The way he was. Calan laughed a bit, and leaned forward in an unconscious echo of Lila's move. "It's hard to choose, most definitely. I do like the amethyst color of your scales, and the way they shine in the light. I like your eyes, their warmth and golden color. I like the delicate curve of your horns too, but what I think I like most is what I know of your personality." He didn't know all. Calan knew that. He wanted to know more.

Lila had giggled again, it was such a girlish sound come from such a girlish looking boy. He clapped his hands as well, as he straightened up a bit and hopped back a few steps before twirling once more, again making those long strands of purple hair flow around his body, they seemed to all fall back into place when he stilled. This time his back was to Calan. "Calan, if you were a dragon, you wouldn't like me at all." That mood, it seemed to have plummeted again, but he had used the human's name once more. He rather liked it on his tongue.

He began walking, ahead of Calan, so that he was leading now. That wing twitched, making Lila stop for a moment, the pain wasn't getting any better, and it wasn't getting any worse. Though it seemed if he was happy it was easier to ignore. He turned suddenly, and threw himself at Calan. Delicate arms wrapping around the human's neck. "Calan, I suppose you are somewhat easy on the eyes. For a human at least." There was the barest hint of a smile, the beginnings of a teasing tone in his voice. Then he was nuzzling Calan's neck gently. "Calan, are we friends?"

The young man shook his head. "I doubt that." Calan watched as Lila twirled again, and took up the lead. He fell into step behind the dragon easily and took the opportunity to admire the towering trees all around them. Those trees were probably a good part of the reason why dragons had learned how to shapeshift. He shook his head. There was so much about them humans didn't know.

A yelp escaped Calan when a body threw itself against his without warning. Then he smiled, and lifted his arms to pull Lila close. "Why thank you. And of course were friends, despite what happened when we met." Each of them had tried to capture each other in a way, and Lila had succeeded. That was something Calan didn't hold against the dragon.

"It's true, Calan. If you were a dragon, you would be huge and strong. With muscles and brimstone breath. You wouldn't even look twice at me, unless you were going to point out my faults." Lila was pouting, but his arms were still around Calan's neck. Lila seemed to enjoy saying the human's name. As he seemed to be saying it as often as possible. "Calan, are we really friends? Isn't it some trick, so you can tame me? Humans are good at that, aren't they? Lying and tricking." Lila shivered the slightest bit. His arms tightening for a moment and then he released Calan.

He hopped a few steps back, and turned. Though this time as he turned the ground seemed shift a bit under his feet and Lila found himself on his butt. A small whimper escaped him and he reached out to touch his injured wing. Falling had jarred it a bit, sending a new jolt of pain through him. He turned his head slightly, to look at Calan. "Calan, make the pain stop. Please." That pout on his lips, but he was being rather sincere. It was taking to long to return to the cave, though it was only a small distance away now.

Lila was rather impatient. Besides, the sun felt good on his skin. He turned his face from Calan to the sky. "Calan, will I still be able to fly?" The human probably didn't know the answer to that, even Lila didn't know. Only time would tell he supposed.

Calan stared down at Lila, confused. The dragon just couldn't seem to decide on a subject. He hopped from one thing to the other without a second thought, truly living entirely in the moment. Then the dragon fell. Quick as could be, Calan crouched down by his side. "The moment we get back to the cave, I'll do my best," said the amber haired man as he slid his arms gently beneath the dragon. It was a good thing Lila had chosen to walk around in human form. Under any other circumstances Calan wouldn't have been able to carry him.

Cradling Lila close, Calan walked the path to the beach much quicker then they had been before. Soon sand shifted under his feet. "I hope you'll fly again. Thinking of you land bound is ... Unpleasant." It was horrifying! Lila ... Unable to fly? Calan couldn't even bring himself to try and imagine it.

Lila hadn't expected Calan to pick him up, it was strange, and made him feel even less like a dragon. He wriggled a bit, then sighed and wrapped his arms around Calan's neck. "Calan, I'm glad you aren't a dragon." He nuzzled the young man gently, and made a soft sound of contentment, close to that of a purring kitten. He felt weak and vulnerable, but also safe in those human arms. Feeling weak and vulnerable wasn't really new to him, but feeling safe in the presence of another was. Especially when that other was a human.

Calan was right, the thought of being land bound was very unpleasant. There were some dragons that didn't even have wings, Lila always thought that was sad. Though how could those dragons miss something they never had? To take flight away from something so used to it would be rather cruel. "Calan, do you like my treasure? I don't have very much yet, but it's still a hoard a dragon can be proud of..isn't it?" No, it wasn't. Lila knew that if other dragons saw how little he had they would just tease him about it. Still, humans didn't know any better, so perhaps in Calan's eyes it was a lot or just the right amount. Somewhere close to that.

Calan couldn't help smiling. He kept marveling at how easy it had been to just pluck up the dragon. There was a warmth radiating off Lila, though that could have been entirely Calan's imagination. He tilted his head, rubbed it lightly against the amethyst haired dragon. Dragons were amazing beings. It was near impossible to understand why it was Lila was glad Calan wasn't one.

"You don't have much in quantity, but ... I think what you have has superior quality, so yes. I think you should be proud of what you have." They were in the cave. Rock blocked the sea wind partially, even though the salty scent of the ocean still pervaded the cave. Calan glanced at the cage apprehensively while searching for a place to settle Lila down.

Lila had seemed pleased for a moment when Calan tilted his head and rubbed it against him. For a few moments he practically beamed at the human when Calan said the quality of his treasure was good, and it was something to be proud of. When they were in the cave, Lila stayed in Calan's arms for a while longer as the human glanced at the cage rather apprehensively, and then began to look around, as if searching for something.

The dragon wriggled and squirmed and writhed until he had slipped out of Calan's arms and was standing on his own two legs. A hand reached up to scratch his head lightly, near the base of one of his horns, then both hands reached back to gather all of his long purple hair and pull it over his shoulder. There was so much hair, he combed his fingers through it a bit, even nearly tripped over the long strands as he took a few steps forward. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet, but his wings had fluttered a bit, as if to help keep him from falling, and that had made him grimace slightly.

Lila'Vjola moved towards his pile of treasure, and laid down on his stomach. He wriggled a bit, and then made a soft noise of contentment. It wasn't as comfortable as usual, but that was because he was laying on most of his hair, holding it out of the way so that Calan could tend to his injury. Dragons did love sleeping on their treasure and Lila was no different, in either form this one or his dragon one it was nice to lay on that glittering treasure. He glanced at Calan expectantly.

"Calan, tend to me." It was almost like a superior ordering a servant, but the slight smile on his lips seemed to keep the words from coming across so haughtily. His hands were already busy, sorting through a tiny pile of treasure in front of him. Letting the jewels and gold coins slip through his fingers. He enjoyed the sound of them as they hit the rest of the treasure, the tinkling, clanking noise they made. Perhaps if Calan did a good job, he would give him something nice from his collection.

He laughed and watched with concern as the dragon settled down on his gold. "I need to get water first." Salt water wouldn't do. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten to pick any up from one of the streams, out in the forest. "I'll be back soon." Calan ran out of the cave, over the beach and into the forest again. This time he'd grabbed a water pouch from somewhere. He slipped it into the first clear stream he found, and waited impatiently for it to fill.

Then he ran back, fast as could be. The young man crouched down by the dragon's side, and began mixing the water with the herbs. The paste he made, and strained through cloth, then got slathered gentle over the dragon's delicate wing. "If only I had more experience with this kind of thing ...." He didn't even have what he needed to sew the tear back together again. Gently, he teased at the damaged flesh, trying to see just how bad the damage was. It didn't seem quite so bad as he'd through it was at first. Perhaps it would be alright ...

Lila had blinked at Calan when the human mentioned water, and then darted off. The dragon frowned deeply, chewing his bottom lip a bit. Perhaps now the human was using this moment to escape? Lila whimpered softly, he would wait a bit then, and see. He hoped Calan would come back, but he only half expected him to.

The dragon was almost sadly, running his hands through his treasure pile that he lay on when Calan returned. That head snapping up when he heard the human enter his cave. At first afraid it would be the spear man, but relieved and pleasantly surprised when it was Calan.

He squirmed a bit and then stilled as Calan approached him. Lila did his best to be still while the human tended to his wing. Only making the slightest of noises if Calan caused him pain, of course it would be hard to touch that injury without causing a little pain. Lila didn't speak until Calan was nearly done. "Calan, I was afraid when you ran off that you wouldn't come back. Even though you said we were friends." The words were spoken with a matter-of-fact tone. He turned his head to look at the human.

The young man rolled his eyes. "And leave you all alone right now? When you need help? As if I would do that. Really, Lila. Do you have so little confidence in me?" His hands moved to other parts of the wing. The feel of them was amazing. They were so soft under his touch, and slightly springy. He'd never come across anything like them, so delicate seeming and so strong all at the same time. They were quite the representation of the other man. A show of who Lila was. "So beautiful ...."

"Well, you are a human, aren't you, Calan?" It wasn't really a question, more a statement of fact, and explanation. The way he said it though, was as if it were already obvious and he shouldn't need to explain it at all. Though soon he was making a soft noise of contentment, that noise that was similar to a comfortable kitten's purring. It felt rather nice to be caressed in such a way, with those human's fingers roaming over his wing. It was dangerous, Lila might get used to such a feeling.

His eyes were half closed, but his hands were moving through the gold and jewels and various other shiny things he had collected. Wanting to give Calan something lovely from his collection but not quite sure what would be most suitable for his friend. "Calan, I'll let you pick out anything you want from my cave, but only one thing." He seemed to wriggle a moment, as if trying to squirm just a bit closer to those gentle hands. It felt so nice, being adored and touched in a gentle manner. Lila could certainly get used to this kind of treatment.

"Anything inside the cave? Anything at all?" Immediately his thoughts went to the squirming dragon. Smiling, he shifted his touch to Lila's shoulders and started rubbing them gently. His fingers moved deftly to work the muscles, to try and loosen them. A massage, it was something he'd had more practice with then he'd ever wanted. Though now it seemed his skills were going to be put to good use. "If that's so, I would love ..." Calan leaned down, nuzzling his way to Lila's ear. He let his lips over there. "Why I would love to choose you." His fingers kneaded those shoulders. "But you might not like that at all."