#haikane

The black haired girl pulls up her purple hood, hiding most of her face underneath the shadow it casts. She looks behind her, to her home- her village. A small smile grows on her face as green eyes linger upon the familiar sight. She'd be back soon, but for now, she had somewhere to be- someone to meet.

Akane's head turns and she breaks into a run before anyone hanging around the pathway to the village could stop and speak with her. She enjoys the rush, the thrill that comes with escaping her daily life. She darts past trees and into the forest. Her run only comes to a slow once she is certain that she's out of sight from the village.

She takes a moment to catch her breath as she walks, adjusting the backpack that is slung over her shoulders and hoping that her run hadn't unsettled the contents. She keeps a steady pace throughout the forest, easily finding the path she has walked so many times. Her gaze drifts upward, past the towering trees and she has to squint to fight off the sun's rays to see if she'd find a figure in the sky. There would be a shadow passing over her if that figure was flying by, but there was none. Perhaps he wasn't in the skies today.

Trees around her begin to disappear, slowly, making way for a small clearing, a dead end blocking her path. There's a cave hollowed out in the wall here, one far too large for any bear or other mammal to call a home.

Her smile that had yet to leave her face had widened upon finding her destination. She does a quick glance upward, expecting to see someone sitting upon the cliff above or in the sky again. But, with nothing there, she stands at the entrance and takes in a huge breath.

"Ryouhei!" Akane shouts as she cups her hands around her mouth. She hears some wildlife rustle behind her to the sudden sound, but she stands firmly at the entrance, waiting for a sign. And one does come in footsteps. Ones that make a loud thud with each step taken. The closer it gets, the louder it becomes and she swears she can feel a small tremor underneath her feet.

The footsteps come to a stop and from the darkness of the cave, two red orbs could be seen. There's a low growl that follows from the darkness. Leaving the shelter of the shadows, a dragon appears, mouth slightly open, head dipped down to look at the human standing before him. It was a grey, ashy dragon in color, had a smooth set of scales with the occasional rough and rocky patches, namely around his arms and legs. Symmetrical horns protruded from the side of his head, dark spines ran down between them all the way to the tip of his tail. Light grey wings were tucked by his side, having no need to extend them, especially under shelter. He was large in size, head being able to meet with the top of the cave if he extended his neck.

He hadn't always been this big, Akane recalled. The dragon had been smaller when they had first met. But he really had grown into a ferocious beast.

Akane does a little jump once the dragon had shown himself. Hearing her bag's contents shift makes he realize that she shouldn't be moving so much with that still on her back.

"You're here!" She chirps before making a quick walk over to the beast. The dragon's head lowers close to the ground, close enough for the human to come and press her body against his snout. She attempts to wrap her arms around it, but they never reach. The dragon lets out a huff through his nose, mouth slightly moving into that of a smile (or she thinks so anyway). Akane lets out a light laugh as she begins to nuzzle her cheek against his scales. She stays there for a moment before pulling away and patting the dragon's snout.

"I'm happy to see you," she says to him before turning on her feet. She walks over to the side of the cave, finally setting down her backpack, relieved to have this weight lifted off her shoulders. Meanwhile the dragon watches as the girl fiddles around with her bag, head looming over her to try and see what was inside today.

His curiosity makes him pull his head back, thinking he'd have an easier time seeing this in another form. The dragon begins to pull his body close together, as if trying to squeeze into a tight space. His mouth opens and a dark fog escapes from it, one that begins to surround his body, completely engulfing him. The darkness swirls around his large figure, though begins to shrink down in size. It eventually stops, and where a dragon stood, a human was there in it's place, or something sort of human.

The dragon took the form of a human male. The transformation wasn't a perfect execution, he hated how much strain it was on him to do so and managing it for a long period of time would only sour his mood. So, he took one that didn't require so much energy, though it would leave him impossible to blend in with humans. He had long gray hair, tanned skin. His chest was left bare, no clothing to hide the patches of scales that remained upon his shoulders and around his torso. From fingers to elbow and toes to knees, dragon skin had remained, so had the claws. Wings were still present, still pressed against his back but now the tips would touch the ground. He wore navy shorts, a tail coming out through the back and resting upon the ground.

When he moves towards the human, his steps are much more quiet compared to before, the earth didn't tremble around him either. Ryouhei stands beside her, now curiously looking over her shoulder. It was definitely easier to look into the bag now.

"You're not supposed to peek," she says, eyes glancing over to the dragon.

"I'm not peeking."

Akane pouts at him, waiting for Ryohei to take a couple of steps back. When he moves, she pulls out a quilt, a new one with a design he hadn't seen before. It had looked like some star pattern, but he wasn't so sure. She begins to set it on the ground for them. Ryouhei takes a seat upon it, poking a claw at the soft, human fabric.

"I brought you something," Akane says with a grin, hands held behind her back.

"What is it?" Ryouhei asks, giving her a curious look.

She hums as she takes little steps over to him. Standing right before him, she pulls out the surprise behind her back. It was a long strip of cloth with a small design at the end (it looked like a dragon- like him). He's sworn he'd seen something like this before, something she used in colder months.

"Ta-da! It's a scarf!"

Without waiting for a reaction, she begins to wrap the cloth around his neck. It's quickly done, not wanting to put it around him too tightly and lets it hang over his shoulders.

"I know you don't need one, but seeing you like that always makes me think you might get cold. So, I made you one. I just hope it can still wrap around you when you're bigger."

Ryouhei had waited for the scarf to be wrapped around him. When she was done, he couldn't help but sniff at the cloth, try to carefully take it into his claws without accidentally tearing it. Human clothes were always so fragile, this kind softer kind was anyway. For a moment, he thought it would make a nice pillow to use if he were to remain in this form.

"I'm glad you like it."

Her voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He huffs in response, some smoke escaping his mouth before he tries to hide his reddening cheeks behind the cloth. She giggles before taking a seat across from him, pulling her bag beside her.

"How's you're medicinal thing going?" Ryouhei decides to ask, voice muffled slightly behind the scarf.

"You mean being a healer? It's a little hard and not that easy to get my hands on herbs to work with. The library we have only has so many books I can read to. It's hard, but I'm not about to give up!" She has a determined look on her face that fades as her eyes wander over to the dragon. "You didn't ask that because you got hurt or anything, did you?"

He shakes his head, pulling the scarf down from his mouth. "Course not! I'm only asking cuz I haven't heard you mention it for a while. I'm perfectly fine." He spat out. And to prove that he wasn't he extends his arms, his wings, even lifts his tail into her sight to show the lack of injuries. Her eyes narrow as she stares, but she's unable to find a single scratch upon him.

"That's good. There isn't a lot on how to patch up dragon wounds. Though, I'd do all I can to help you."

"I can take care of myself," he mutters as he lets his body rest.

"I know…but anyway- it's time for a human lesson!" She chirps before reaching into her bag. She pulls out a couple of plates and strange looking items along with it. One set is placed before the dragon, another set in front of her.

"I know I've told you we don't eat like you do, so I think it's time I show you how." She then pulls out a small wooden container. Opening it reveals two sandwiches; she places one on his plate before hers. "It's not the ideal food for this example, but we can always pretend it is."

Ryouhei picks up the sandwich seconds after it had been placed down in front of him. Claws dig into the bread as it's held up to his face. He sniffs at it and glances to hers. His looked different, filled with more meat compared to hers. Not to mention it smelled a little better. It was tempting to just take a bite- his mouth even opens, revealing his sharp teeth. But when he hears the girl clear her throat, he sighs and sets it back down on the plate.

"You have to be patient, Ryouhei."

"Not my fault it smells good."

"I made it just for you," she says. "But this is a lesson and you can't just shove everything into your mouth. I think we're getting closer to you passing as a human. Just a few more lessons and I'll be able to show you my home!"

With that said, she began to teach the dragon about human eating manners. She had gone off saying to pretend the sandwich was like another meal, something that would require them to use a fork and knife. She also had to tell him not to take a huge bite out of it if that were the case, or use his claws to swipe it up either. Ryouhei had nodded along with the lesson, remaining quiet and doing his best to commit her words to memory. She had a way of making these lessons interesting, even making him smile and chuckle on certain occasions to, although rare.

When this lesson had came to an end, he was allowed to eat the sliced sandwich as he would normally. Still not accustomed to this form, he had gone and tried to stuff the whole thing into his mouth, trying to just take down in one bite. It was something he could have done if he was in his normal form, but this one required him to take smaller bites, sadly. The sight had made the girl hold back a laugh. The dragon only hissed at her when he caught her stifling her laughter.

It was so strange how she could laugh around him and talk to him as if he were human. It was even stranger to think that they were…friends. A human and a dragon. A fire breathing monstrosity and a kind little being. The girl had never feared him, even from the very start, when they had first met. He could recall the human's eyes lighting up with curiosity instead of fear. Any normal human would have pulled a sword on him or run away screaming in terror. She had done neither. She had offered friendship instead of war. Even when he had tried to be threatening, she had remained with her offer.

"I think we can be friends. I promise I won't tell anyone we're friends either."

It was a risk she'd be taking, putting her life on the line for…what? Friendship? She was a silly a girl, a naive human. But…he was grateful for that. Ryouhei liked her this way, as herself. He liked having the girl around him. Without her…he would be alone in this cave, in this world. He didn't like thinking about that. A world without Akane was one he couldn't even imagine these days.

"Aww," the girl whines which causes the dragon to look at her. Her gaze was focused outside, looking up at the evening sky. "It's starting to get late. I should get back before it gets too dark."

The forest wasn't safe for a human, especially at night. Even if he could escort her back, he could be spotted by other humans, be found out. He didn't want to risk her safety, to be persecuted for being seen with a dragon. So, it was best she left early. Although, he often thought asking her to stay with him, she'd be safe for certain but her parents would worry.

Ryouhei gets to his feet before bending down to pick up his plate and the utensils. But, upon picking up the plate, he feels it almost slip out of his grasp, causing him to try and grip on it before it could fall and hit the ground. In doing so, he manages to catch the plate, but his strength had caused the plate to break in half. He wasn't even aware that he'd been clutching onto the utensils and had bent them as well. The dragon remains in place, looking at the broken plate and then the now damaged utensils before looking to Akane.

"Sorry," he mumbles out, wanting to try and put things back together. He's not sure how, but he wanted to fix his accident.

He expects her to sigh, to scold him, but she doesn't. Akane picks up her own side of the set and places it in her bag before getting up and taking his. They're placed in the bag as well before she looks straight at him. The dragon looks into her eyes, trying to find…anger, disappointment. But he just can't.

She smiles at him, an unexpected thing. The girl takes a step towards him and puts her arms around the dragon. He freezes to the sudden contact. It's not unusual for her to hug him, but it always caught him off guard. Even if he liked her hugs, her warm embrace, he was never prepared for them.

Returning one was always difficult. It was something he could hardly do. Just as he would try to return it, his eyes would catch his claws, his scales. These natural weapons of his could easily harm her if he wasn't careful. He could hurt her with just a flick of his tail and it was a terrifying thought. Dragons were stronger than humans and he disliked raising the chances of harming her. But, god, did he want to hug her so badly.

So, he takes a chance. Slowly moves his arms around her waist. Contact is kept at a minimum, but there's an attempt. The dragon does press his head against hers, nuzzling her just as she does when he's in his normal form. He's unable to see a bright smile on her face.

"I'll try and come back tomorrow, okay?" She says softly before pulling away from him.

"I'll be here. Don't let those soldiers get suspicious."

"It's fine. We've been seeing each other for years and no one knows I'm friends with a dragon."

Once parted, she begins to pick up her quilt and stuff it into her bag. She hopes that her broken items don't gather too much attention at home, but she'd think of something if the topic rises. As everything is packed away, the backpack is back on her shoulders.

"You're safe to go."

The dragon had spoke after taking in the scent around them. He could only smell so far, but the area around his cave was clear for the time being. He was the most dangerous thing around so far.

"Thanks for checking. I know if I were to get in trouble though, you'd come to save me," she states matter of factly. With that, she walks to the entrance of his cave. The girl comes to a stop before turning and waving to the dragon. "See you tomorrow!"