A Neighborly Visit

[Kade Lazarus]

It had been a nice meeting, getting to talk to another Dragon Slayer. She was a nice girl, and had made good company overall. Having someone who could actually talk about dragons in anything besides rumors and fantasies was nice. Kade hadn’t been at his best lately, but he was mellowed out before talking to Kotone, so at least he hadn’t made a fool of himself or upset her. He still wanted to spend a bit more time with her.

Kade baked some muffins in the morning, before asking his resident gardener in training to watch the plants for a day or two if he wasn’t back yet. It still wasn’t her ideal, but she agreed to do the task for him, which was all he could ask for. He packed the cinnamon muffins in a towel to keep them warm, and put that in a knapsack. He had on shorts, a t-shirt, and his necklace. He’d finally decided he needed to do something about his hair, so he just pulled it back into a pony tail. He would cut it later. For now it was barely long enough to be held back like that, and he didn’t really care what anyone thought about it.

Kade asked around to where he could find Kotone’s house, and from what she had said, he walked to the front door and knocked. It was midafternoon and he was hoping she was home.

[Kotone]

Kade was lucky. Kotone was home today, and hadn’t had any unexpected visitors who really wanted to try and pick a fight with her in the last few days. She was still in a good mood because she’d beaten that Wolfe guy when he’d interrupted her dinner at the restaurant, and she had found herself thinking of Lamia Scale a bit more than usual lately. Sure, she thought of both of the guilds she had much contact with, but Lamia Scale had been rising in Prominence in her thoughts. Specifically, she’d been wondering how Kade and Ren were doing.

Right now, she was at home sitting on the couch with Sid. She was in her spaghetti-strapped tank top and black short shorts, and she was barefoot. She couldn’t get cold, but she did like to be cooler, so when she wasn’t traveling, that was what she did. She did have her hair in a ponytail as well, but it was a bit looser than normal. She wasn’t much for reading, but she’d uncovered a book of poems she’d found amusing, and while Sid lounged on her lap, she was flipping through them.

A knock sounded at her door, and Kotone sighed, closing her book. Sid fell off her lap with a soft protest, and in the ultimate display of cat laziness, he simply laid where he plopped, stretching before curling back up and falling asleep immediately. Kotone shook her head at him as she walked up to the door. Pulling it open, she spotted Kade, her eyes widening. She hadn’t actually expected him to visit, especially not so soon. She might have blushed slightly, though it was likely because of her surprise and what she was wearing. Her normal clothing might have included a short skirt on most days, but she was overall more modest than this outside. “Kade!” she greeted, stepping back to let him in. “I didn’t expect you so soon.”

Inside Kade was greeted with a strangely girly sight. Pinks and other colors Kotone never wore adorned the furnature and curtains, and plush animals were literally decorating every wall of the room, though that was nothing compared to her bedroom. It looked a lot like a little girl’s dream home, truth be told. Kotone hadn’t cared as much with Fayte, but now that Kade was in here, she was realizing that someone was going to notice her little secret, and she blushed again. “Welcome,” she nodded simply, standing by a wall for Kade to have room to look around and get comfortable.

[Kade Lazarus]

Kotone was part dragon slayer, part human girl. It was interesting to see the two mesh. Kade couldn’t say the same about himself. He wasn’t sure he was that much of either. Certainly not a human girl, but that wasn’t quite what he was thinking. He was part human boy, part… something else. A slayer? What did that mean? It seemed to mean something different to all the dragon slayers, and he was sure that was true of the ones he had not yet met. Whatever it meant, he supposed that was what he was. Still, it didn’t make him immune to the human parts, as previously expressed.

Sure it hadn’t been a long time since the last visit, but Kade still wanted to see Kotone. She seemed like someone who went and did her own thing. She deserved to have someone come and be her guest. And here he was. She answered the door, and was wearing less than usual. He didn’t let a reaction show on his face. He’d seen less and more, it was fine. Part of him saw her as too young to busy himself with attraction, part of him was just too polite to dwell on it. She was cute, regardless. He smiled and stepped inside when she let him. It was a cute house, for sure. Perhaps this was her outlet. This was where the young dragon slayer got to be a little girl. Safe from the abandonment, safe from the pressure and the war and the judgments. It wouldn’t surprise him.

“You have a lovely home, Kotone,” he told her with a big smile. “I hope you’d be home, so I made you some muffins.” He pulled out the towel and unwrapped them enough to show her. No doubt she could smell them already. He could smell them the whole walk here. It was taunting him. Oh well, it was a blessing and a curse for him, he supposed.

[Kotone]

Kotone watched, a bit more curious-looking than normal as Kade appraised her house. Kotone knew most houses didn't look like this, and most people didn't hoard stuffed animals like she did, but she really loved the little house. It was everything she'd ever wanted from a place to stay, aside from a family that didn't abandon her and leave her to live in a little house alone. Not that she'd had the house when she'd had the family. As he looked, she idly picked at her short shorts a bit, paying more attention to him than her own movements.

Kade actually told her that her home was lovely, and for reasons she couldn’t readily explain, she blushed a bit at that. She thought it was lovely too, but no one had ever really told her that before. They’d never complimented the house of the dragon slayer. Maybe it was because she traveled so much. The only other person that had actually visited her house in the recent past was Fayte, whom she didn’t know very well. As her head turned away due to the blush, she mumbled “Thanks.”

She reached out and took the muffins gently, picking one up and taking a bite out of it, making a happy face as she chewed. It was rather good, but the happy face was more to show her appreciation even though she wasn’t using words. She really would have to learn to bake sometime, unless she wanted to come to Kade every time she wanted cakes or muffins.

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade didn’t have any issue with Kotone or her house. It was certainly a different side of her that he hadn’t seen. He also suspected that it was a side most people did not see. How many people did she invite to visit her at her home? He couldn’t imagine her doing this frequently. It would mean opening herself up to the scrutiny of outsiders.

Kotone blushed when Kade complimented her house, and he smiled at that. He wasn’t really sure why she was so sensitive about her house, but he wasn’t arguing. When a cute girl blushed in a positive way at one of your comments, you took it and didn’t argue. “You’re welcome,” Kade said politely when he was thanked for complimenting her home.

Kade wouldn’t have minded Kotone coming to him every time she wanted cakes or muffins. It would give him company, and he liked that. Although he did actually travel sometimes, so she might miss him if she really used him like a cook book. Regardless, he was happy to supply her with some treats. She was a pretty sweet girl, not that he expected her to act particularly sweet. She had appearances to keep up. “I take it you like them?” he asked her in amuses appreciation. “So… what were you doing before I barged in?”

[Kotone]

Kotone was, in fact, rather sensitive about her house. She’d invited two people in in recent memory, and one had only been because she’d been secretly worried about the woman after she’d been found outside her house having fainted. This one was on purpose, and she was more than a little bit flattered Kade went through all this trouble to visit her. She continued munching the muffin, looking around a bit herself. She felt like a little girl when she looked around the house. She wouldn’t change it just because she was slightly embarrassed now that Kade was actually here. No, she was more proud of it than she was embarrassed.

Kade asked her what she was doing before he came over to visit, and she swallowed her bite before looking over to the couch where Sid and a book were both laying. “I was reading,” she told him, nodding at the book. She went over and picked up the book before walking back over and handing it to him. Her expression said she wasn’t quite sure what he would think of her reading poems. She half expected him to make fun of her because it was so out of character, at least in the eyes of most people.

She had a lot of little secrets. Ones that made her look smarter, younger, girlier. It depended on the secret. She just had a general personality people saw, and though it had been slowly falling apart, there were still aspects of it she kept up for people. Letting Kade come in like this… it was letting him enter the part of her head no one else saw. “I uh, I don’t usually like poems,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish grin. “I do read sometimes though. Usually fiction.”

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade didn’t consider visiting Kotone to be trouble. He had legs, he liked to travel, why wouldn’t he visit her? Well, the only reason he could see was that it was unlikely she would be home when he visited. Instead of that causing him not to visit at all, he simply visited sooner rather than later. It gave him an excuse to do a bit of baking, and an excuse to get out of the house. The house certainly seemed like one a little girl might inhabit, but Kade wasn’t strange enough to think that was a bad thing. Were it his house, he would question his sanity, but Kotone was allowed her preferences.

The question of what Kotone had been doing was a logical one. He didn’t want to waste her time if she were busy. He could probably have made a trip to the cemetery or the library if need be. It wasn’t as if he were unfamiliar with the area. It had been so long though, it was like he was walking in a dream. He had reacquainted himself when he left the island though, so he could find what he needed to, if he felt so inclined. Right now he felt so inclined to spend time with Kotone, if he wasn’t bothering her.

He was pleased to hear she was reading. He loved reading. No doubt she had gathered that from the quick visit to his room during their last encounter. “Oh? Poetry? That’s wonderful,” he told her warmly. He took the book and opened it up to see if it was familiar. He didn’t know these poems, but he was sure he would enjoy reading them, “I love pretty much anything I can read, and learning. I seem to be a bit odd in that way. But you… hm, I can see you reading fiction. Probably some grand adventure. But that’s just the impression you give off, people can be quite different from how they present themselves,” he admitted, still fondly holding the book and flipping through it a bit.

[Kotone]

Kade seemed to light up a bit at the mention of poetry books. Kotone grinned happily when she saw it. There was something about his excitement that was a bit infectious, and suddenly she wanted a chance to read the book again. He mentioned loving just about anything else he could get his hands on to read, and immediately her eyes lit up even as he started talking about people giving off different impressions than were true. Quickly, she shuffled off to her bedroom, walking out with about four other books she loved and holding them out to him.

Three of them were fiction adventures. One of them was a History of Fiore. The cover had a dragon engraved into the leather cover. It was hand-written. It was very neat handwriting, but definitely something that could have been written by a child who had especially good handwriting. She didn’t mention anything about it, other than to say “These are my most favorite books I own. You can um… look at any of them you want. The history book is special.” She grinned happily before sitting down on the couch, causing Sid to hop off because of the bouncing. "I wasn't kicking you out, you know," Kotone told Sid as he wandered off with a grumpy meow.

[Kade Lazarus]

Books were one of the best ways to learn. Some might say that you couldn’t really experience things from a book. Perhaps not, but that wasn’t to their discredit. There were things you could never experience, but with the help of a book you could see through a window into that world. It allowed for whole new worlds of interaction. Living through a book was not as good as experiencing something for yourself, but you got a whole different perspective.

Kotone was being adorable. Grinning and bounding off to her room. He took the books from her gently, examining them. Fiction adventures, yes, that didn’t surprise him. A history book. Oh he loved this. He loved history. “This is very impressive,” he told her, examining the book’s cover and contents. He sat down on the couch next to her. Only passing attention given to the cat and his master. They were cute, and Kade appreciated that, but for the moment he was engrossed in this book. Tenderly going through the pages. “It reminds me of things Celtor would keep, or have me keep for him. Or friends he had known. What is the story behind this book?” he asked her, the other three books also in his lap, but temporarily less important.

[Kotone]

Kotone looked at the book for a short moment before looking back up at Kade. “Dad wasn’t as much of a scholar as Celtor,” Kotone told Kade as she looked into his eyes for a moment before blinking and continuing. “But he believed history was important all the same. I wrote down every word he told me just as soon as I could write.”

It was a homemade book, one written by a quill she’d fashioned herself, with her father’s help. “I made everything but the paper,” she told him with a slightly proud tone to her voice. It had been a lot of hard work, but her father had told her it was important, and Kotone had poured her heart into recording history from the viewpoint of her dragon caretaker.

“It’s… one of a kind. You can read it if you’d like. But… you probably know most of it.” She knew some about most of the dragons her father had known. She knew Celtor was the most bookish, and the most interested in preserving history. Kade was probably similar. Kotone felt awkward letting him read it, but she found herself wanting to show it to him, since he would probably actually care. At least she hoped he would.

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade certainly had his foster-father’s quirk of learning and preserving history. It played into several parts of his personality. His need to not fly off the handle, for one. He really needed to control his temper, because the world was not there to be his punching bag. Also his desire to learn about others and get to know them. The world did not revolve around him. Especially as a dragon slayer. It was his job to know what he was fighting for, when a fight was deemed necessary.

“Ah,” he said, looking over it again before turning his attention to her. Celtor certainly wasn’t like all the other dragons. They were each unique beings, but Kade knew his father had the strongest tie to humanity. Less in the nature of looking down on it, and more understanding. He was lucky for those children on the beach, so he didn’t lose all of his level headedness when being thrust back into society.

“That is beautiful, by the way,” Kade told her sincerely, “Preserving all the things he told you… it seems like a guidebook and a journal in one. I would love to read it, but only if you are really alright with me looking at something so personal. And I wouldn’t want to do so right now. I came to see you, and it would be stupid of me to waste time ignoring you, even for such an interesting book,” he explained, hoping she understood.

[Kotone]

Kotone grinned when he told her how beautiful the book was. She wasn’t normally capable of such feats. She had required much of her father’s assistance to turn her notes into a real book, and she couldn’t possibly hope to replicate the job again. She’d had it for a long, long time. She’d kept it safe in her father’s cave for years, in a box where it was safe from the weather. When she’d been given this house, she’d kept it here instead. “Take it with you,” she told him quietly. It was symbolic of the trust she felt for him as a fellow non-crazy dragon slayer. And as a preserver of knowledge. “You can read it and give it back to me later.”

She made herself more comfortable on the couch, adjusting her tank top slightly as she turned to face him by resting on the arm rest instead of the back of the chair, legs crossed. “In the meantime, what do you wanna talk about?” she asked. Part of her had the urge to use his lap as a leg rest, but he probably wouldn’t approve of it. “Or do… or something. Oh! Do you want a tour of the house? We can do that, or we can sit and talk and then do that, or we don’t have to do that. I’m not a very good host.”

[Kade Lazarus]

It helped that Kade didn’t know he’d met any other female Dragon Slayers. His experience being… two of them. He heard about some kid using dragon slayer magic, and that was another young man, but Kade hadn’t looked into those rumors. He was busy with other things. In any case, Kotone was a stark contrast to what Kade was used to. She had the ferocity of a dragon but the same time she was still a girl. It made more sense in his head, and less if he had tried to explain it out loud. He didn’t think she would have appreciated that. In any case, it was curious to see the mix of a dragon and the femininity of her home.

He looked surprised but quiet when she said he could take it with him. “Ah, alright. Thank you. I will make sure to keep it safe, and I will bring it back by your house when I can. Hopefully you will be here then too,” he told her, taking the responsibility seriously. He put it in his bag and made sure it would be safe from harm.

Now back to focusing on the girl. What did he want to talk about? Or do something… or take a tour? She seemed quite energetic today. He smiled, “A tour would be fine. You make a perfectly good host. All you need is to be attentive and welcoming. You are doing both of those quite well. I think that makes you a good host, just… an inexperienced one,” he told her with good natured amusement.

[Kotone]

Kotone watched Kade put the book away carefully. The book was the one thing other than herself that she’d kept from her father. She blushed as she saw how much he appreciated it. It was a little bit scary giving it away, even to him. Still, if anyone would appreciate it and keep it safe from harm, it was him. He would do an even better job than her. Kotone rolled off the couch, landing on her feet in a crouch and standing up as she adjusted the tank top again. She had a tour to give.

“It’s not from trying to be a good host,” she admitted to him when he told her she was being plenty attentive. “I’m still very interested in getting to know you better. I dunno.” Since when was Kotone willing to admit she wanted to know someone better? Man, she wouldn’t recognize herself at all if she were to see the her now a year ago, she thought to herself as she turned around and glared at Sid, who seemed to think he needed her basket of muffins. He knew the glare well, and hid underneath the table nearby. At least some things didn’t change.

She led Kade down the little hallway, past the bathroom and storage closet. “Those are my bathroom and storage closet,” she told him. It wasn’t going to be much of a tour. The little former rental house was appropriately sized for one person, or possibly a couple who didn’t have a child. The bathroom was nice and neat. Equally pink. She kept the place clean. She was actually a very clean person, if one paid attention. “And well, this is the only thing I can really show you I guess. It’s my bedroom.”

If the living area and kitchen had looked girly and childlike, her room made that look… well… not so bad. The amount of stuffed animals she had hoarded… well, nearly all of them were in proper places. Her bed had more than a few she slept with when she was here. Her shelves had books and stuffed animals and a few other knickknacks. Her sword was leaning against the closet. She walked over and picked up a stuffed animal that Sid had knocked over, sitting it back down neatly where it went before she looked back over at him and turned to face him, hands clasped behind her back. “I don’t really know what to say. It’s a bedroom. It’s got my secret collection in it… and I’m actually a bit embarrassed now.” She decided as she looked around and realized how much more childlike her room was than Kade’s.

[Kade Lazarus]

The ice dragon slayer was warming up, and no one could accuse her of having too masculine a home. “Normally that is my thing,” Kade said when Kotone said she wanted to get to know him better. “I’m not quite as experienced in letting people get to know me, as my getting to know them, but you’re welcome to try and find out whatever you like. I can’t think of any secrets I have that I haven’t happened to tell you already.”

The house seemed like a nice place. Certainly more pink and feminine that Kade would have tried to achieve. Clearly from his room someone could see what his ideal living space was like. Sure, it was just one room, but that was alright. He liked collecting things. He would have had more trinkets, but she… had a whole lot of stuffed animals. Her room was a shrine. Wow.

Kade nodded his head slowly as he looked around the room. It wasn’t that she said anything he was agreeing to, it was just… wow. He registered he saying she was embarrassed though, and he turned his attention back to her. “Hm? Oh, well there’s no reason to be embarrassed. You like stuffed animals, apparently,” he said, breaking into a smile as he said it. It was probably more than liking at that point, but it wasn’t a problem. “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I visit you. But really… I’ve collected weirder things, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You want to? Go ahead. But please, don’t be embarrassed on my account, I wouldn’t want that.”

[Kotone]

Was there really no reason to be embarrassed? Kade filled his dwelling with knowledge and artifacts. Things people cared about. She filled hers with toys little girls liked to play with. Toys and decorations and color schemes. It wasn’t exactly something her father would have thought she’d needed. But then, her father had thought she needed abandoned without him saying a word, and look where that had gotten her for a while. She nodded to him, grinning as she went and sat on the bed, patting the spot next to her. “It was really neat seeing how different we are based on our dwelling places,” Kotone admitted, finally feeling a bit less nervous after thinking out her embarrassment a bit. Kade was Right.

“I’m curious though. What kind of things do we have in common besides being dragon slayers and being sane?” she asked. They’d talked a lot, but mostly to find out things about their pasts or their current state of life. She wasn’t sure what he liked beyond books and gardens and cooking. She also wasn’t sure what to ask to find out, which might have been a little bit obvious. She had more than one reason she was interested. She was curious, and she wanted to get to know him more personally. Most of the stuff she’d asked so far might have been giant secrets, but the fact that they were secrets aside, they weren’t the most personal things, even if they felt like it to the dragon slayers.

[Kade Lazarus]

“Glad you think so,” Kade told her when she said it was neat, seeing their differences based on bedrooms. Honestly he imagined they had always been different. He didn’t know what her home had been like before the dragon took her in. He knew his had been nice, but mostly modest. He knew his home had been a castle after that, and hers sounded like it had been a cave. Or that was his guess. Now she was in a house, while he just had a room in a guild. He was one of many, but he liked to think his space was personal and displayed parts of him that would not otherwise be obvious from physical appearance alone. He thought that much of her personal space.

Kotone asked what Kade thought they had in mind besides being sane and dragon slayers. He chuckled. “Well… we both like Ren,” he offered with a small shrug. He supposed he didn’t know enough about her as a person to know what they had in common. “I believe we both like poetry.” Yeah, so he didn’t know enough to really say what they did or didn’t have in common, “I believe we both like camping and hunting. I like the warmth, but I suspect that isn’t the case with you.”

[Kotone]

Kotone did like camping and hunting, as well as Ren. She was a sweet girl, whom Kotone suspected most people liked Ren more than the small blonde girl would allow herself to think. She was pretty likeable. What she was focused on at the moment though, was the blue-haired man sitting beside her. She chuckled at his suggestion they liked opposite temperatures. Kotone closed her hand, opening it again as an icy rose formed. “Because of my magic I feel more… alive in the cold. I can’t actually feel cold the same way you can. I can be perfectly happy warm, but I love spending time in the cold. Swimming in the winter is amazing,” she told him. “I’d say you should try it but… I’d really rather you not.” She closed her hand again, the rose disappearing.

Kotone let out a small sigh. Time to focus on the similarities. Maybe do a bit of exploring if she could figure out how. She was so bad at actually getting to know people on purpose. “I do really like camping though, and being outside. I’m kind of neutral to hunting, but I do like the food I get from it,” Kotone admitted. She almost suggested they go camping sometime, but she stopped herself short. She needed to stop doing that around this man, even if he was another dragon slayer. “I spent a lot of my childhood outside. Even after dad left. I think I told you about that if I remember. At least a little.” Kotone shifted again to where she was sitting cross-legged and facing Kade again. Her eyes reflected a curiosity about him. Even having talked about their secrets, he was still mysterious, strangely enough.

She decided she might as well suggest more things she liked and see if he agreed rather than trying to flounder over things to ask him. Was that what normal people did? Talking about their selves like they were as vain as she’d pretended to be? “I also really like a good fight. I can enjoy just about any fight if I’m not too angry, but I like a good friendly one. Getting to use my magic is quite the rush.”

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade was sure more people liked Ren than she thought. As far as he gathered, she thought either no one liked her, or no one should like her. She couldn’t logically deny that Kotone and Kade were fond of her, but she was just as anxious around them as with people in general. At least she claimed as much in her head. Kade could see she was more relaxed around Kotone. Around Kade… well they had a mutual agreement. He manipulated Ren into character development, and she awkwardly didn’t hide from him at all times.

Kotone formed a lovely rose of ice in her hands. She felt alive in the cold. “That makes sense… its why I like the sunlight.” He couldn’t help but chuckle when she said she liked swimming in the winter. “I think I’d catch some kind of disease if I swam in the winter… but I’m pretty sturdy, so maybe I should try it sometime.” She basically said she would rather him not, and he laughed again, “Fine, fine, I’ll keep myself healthy.”

“Its some of the best food.” Kade confirmed. They were trying to get to know each other. It was a bit odd, and yet… not? They were almost like distant relatives at a family reunion. They had a bond, but they didn’t actually know each other personally. She talked about being outside a lot and he nodded. “Mmhmm. I was outside a lot, gardening and things. It helps that the sun gives me energy. I’m a bit like a plant in that way…”

Now they reached a topic that made Kade smirk. She liked a good fight. It was… attractive? It was an attractive trait. It wasn’t meant like she was attractive because of it. He was over thinking that. In any case, it was an attractive trait for someone to have. “I completely understand. I hate hurting people, and needless violence… but I quite enjoy sparing. It’s a good workout, and it gets your blood going. I’d say we should spar sometime, but… I’ve never actually fought another dragon slayer. Well…” he cleared his throat, “I did… but that was to talk him down from murdering people… it wasn’t sparing.”

[Kotone]

“You’d better keep yourself healthy,” Kotone told Kade in a mock threat. She was still grinning slightly though, so if the context wasn’t enough then the grin revealed that she was just having fun. The whole distant relatives kind of thing… Kotone wouldn’t have said that. Nah, she just saw them as people with similar backgrounds. She didn’t have family, after all. What she did have was friends, and she wanted Kade to be one of those friends. She really needed a dragon slayer buddy she could talk to if she wanted to not… go crazy with anger again. She really didn’t want to either. Talking to Kade and dealing with Tatsuma… she didn’t want Kade as disappointed in her as she was. As far as she knew, he was the last dragon slayer she respected this much.

She realized Kade was talking about being like a plant, and she couldn’t help but giggle as she imagined him green and photosynthesizing. Still, it probably wasn’t *that* far off, she thought as her giggle left off with a smile that just barely revealed her fangs. “I just feel like someone who likes snow cones a bit too much compared to other people,” she told him in an amused voice. “Yours is so much more amusing.” Did she think cuter when she said amusing? Meh, not important. It was a great mental image though.

“Maybe we should spar sometime. It’d be a lot of fun, and heck, I’ve been trying to keep in fighting shape better ever since that lost to that idiotic chest groping little-" Had she actually told him about the whole ‘groping’ thing? Hmm… that might have not been the best time. Kotone blushed, embarrassed about that ordeal once again. It hadn’t been as bad telling Hannah, but Kade was a guy - a good looking one that photosynthesized. Way to ruin the moment, Kotone.

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade again chuckled. Kotone was a nice girl. She might not think that, and she probably would have found him saying it kind of odd, but he thought she was a nice girl. “I promise to keep myself healthy,” he teased her, raising his hands in defeat. He could see her dominant personality bossing people around, but he really didn’t mind. He knew she didn’t mean any harm by it, and it was amusing. She could certainly be a good leader if she focused her energy correctly.

Kotone had a very different perception of family than Kade did. He had positive memories, and although he was not happy with Celtor for leaving him, he didn’t view it as a second abandonment. It was… different. They both needed another dragon slayer to talk to, and were both highly lacking in proper outlets for that. They were good together.

The light dragon slayer grinned when Kotone began giggling. She was adorable. When Kade smiled his fangs did not become visible. Maybe when he was angry, but even then… he didn’t know. He was a very guarded person about his heritage, and he was good at keeping all the dragon aspects a secret. He had never had anyone to be open with about this, so it wasn’t natural for him. Still, he found it cute when she did it. “Nothing wrong with snow cones,” he told her, smirking when she said his was more amusing. “Perhaps you’re right.”

Things took a dark turn. Kade said something about murder. Kotone said something about… chest… groping… Kade frowned. Kotone was blushing, and Kade would have blushed. Initially he just looked blank. Then… well… he was embarrassed for the both of them. He didn’t want to think about that, but he felt immediately defensive and angry. “He did what? Was that Tatsu too?” he asked immediately, sounding harsher. No, Kade. Cut it out, calm down. Calm, Down! Don’t lose your cool in front of Kotone. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, and then blushed a little. Yeah… now things had different context. “I’m,” he cleared his throat into his fist, “sorry for him. He’s a moron, and… crazy, and you know? That doesn’t even matter. I’m sorry anyone would have violated you that way. Its shameful… And,” he was getting redder. Really? This conversation? Yeah… he coughed again, “Anyway, I just apologize for that. For anyone… um, putting you through that. I’ll stop.”

Oh yeah, he had tons of charm and charisma right now.

[Kotone]

Kotone thought Kade had plenty of charisma at that moment. He managed to be protective of her without making her feel like he thought she needed it. Not many people had managed that. Of course, she was too busy being beet red and curled up with her knees to her chin wondering why she’d mentioned this to him in the first place. Not because she wanted to keep secrets from him… just… she wasn’t a fan of mentioning her chest to him at random.

She got like this about things she knew were supposed to be... private. Maybe it was a lack of direct context when she was younger or something, but somewhere along the road she'd just figured out that certain things were a few steps above the level of close that she'd drawn the line at before, and those things *really* got to her if she thought about them in a direct context to her. She didn't know why, and she didn't particularly like it. But it couldn't be helped.

She was kind of afraid to know what he was imagining the way he stuttered. It was rather rare to see the dominant personality Kotone suddenly clam up completely. At least it wasn’t Kade’s fault. Er, not directly anyway. So basically she was a mix of totally flattered and completely horrified beyond any real amount of reason. Even she knew it was an overreaction and they could just move past it.

She nodded thankfully when he said he’d stop, but it wasn’t entirely because he said he’d stop. After a moment, she loosened up again, her body relaxing as her knees fell into more of an almost Indian style position with her hands in her lap instead of around her legs. She had to say something or they’d both be entirely too awkward. She was still kicking herself for overreacting so much. “I uh, thanks Kade,” she nodded again reassuringly.

She still had a rosy tint to her cheeks when she looked back over at him. She hadn’t felt like someone was that sort of protective of her since… Ranor Taiga, and before that her father… though it was probably to a different extent. Dragons didn’t really understand humans any more than humans understood cats, except that humans and dragons could actually talk. “So uh, anyway…” she started again, not really sure where  to go from there, but not wanting to chase him off either.

[Kade Lazarus]

Well this had been an exercise in awkwardness, for sure. Kade hadn’t felt this bashful around a woman in a long time. Normally they didn’t tell him things like that. He didn’t have any reason to be “shy” but when it came to this topic… well it was just… awkward. He was a gentleman, no matter what anyone else said of him, and he neither did things in this topic, nor discussed it. Still, it gave him just one more reason to hate Tatsu. That man deserved to lose a hand. Kade forced himself to remain calm. He did not need to let himself get this worked up. Surely Kotone wanted to just move on.

The ice dragon slayer eventually pushed herself out of her awkward bubble and engaged Kade again. She thanked Kade and seemed to be attempting to change the subject. Alright. “I am glad I needed some extra apple seeds way back when. You’ve helped motivate Ren… which is always nice, and you’re good to talk to. Besides, everyone needs someone they can relate to.”

He wasn’t sure why he was saying it, it just came to his mind. Maybe they should just go back to hanging out and talking. “Do you like spending much time around people? Getting to know them, that sort of thing. I’m fairly partial to it, personally…” he told her. He had basically relaxed by now. He still felt awkward internally, but he was moving past that. Now he was trying to figure out if he could introduce her to his friends. He loved people and learning about them. It was definitely another one of his character traits, and as they had been looking for ways to relate to each other… well it seemed like a fair question to ask. Plus his guild was his focus, and the people made the guild.

[Kotone]

“I’m glad too,” Kotone nodded, wishing that her stupid cheeks would stop burning. It would be less awkward if she could physically make herself look like she was less awkward, but trying not to just meant it was going to keep happening. She would just have to keep talking and hope she moved past it before he decided she was dysfunctional and left. “I’ve been ah, practicing random conversation a bit I guess. I mean, with you and Ren mostly. I don’t consider myself that good at it. I'm better at arguing or yelling...” She'd lost a lot of her fire for the yelling part when she'd decided she couldn't keep being so bitter though, so her main avenue for communicating was less common and effective. No wonder she had spent so much time alone in the house lately.

Kade decided to ask her another question about how much she liked spending time around people, and whether she liked getting to know them. The basic answer was no, Kotone wasn’t a big fan of people. But that was her own fault and she was trying to move past the bitterness she’d come to feel for the people she’d sworn to protect for never properly appreciating her. Kotone blushed a bit more, her heartbeat picking up slightly as she thought about how to best answer his question. “Me and people are complicated. But… that’s my fault,” she told him honestly, deciding to just go with the direct truth. “But when they turn out to be nice, it’s... nice…” she decided, thinking about how she started talking to Kade before, and now she was having a blast doing so. More than normal, actually. It was never boring, no matter how mundane the moment, to the thrill-seeking dragon slayer.

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade was glad to be having this talk with Kotone. It seemed like she was really opening up and relaxing. Even if they had hit a pretty big roadblock in the form of awkward groping comments. He would have to stop himself from decking Tatsu if things happened at a later date. Decking him… or stabbing him. No, that wasn’t it. Kade didn’t use weapons. He did had light shurikens… those could-… okay, yeah, no. He was not fantasizing about harming anyone. He was just sitting with a lovely young woman and talking to her about… yelling?

“Well, the only way to get better at conversation is by partaking in it. I was pretty bitter when I first hit mainland, but now… well I’d like to think I am a pretty sociable person by now,” he told her, that same easy smile on his face. Sure she was blushing, but he felt like he had relaxed again. A few stray violent thoughts, but nothing too horrible.

He’d asked her how she liked spending time with people, and it was pretty clear she didn’t like it much. She blushed some more, which confused him, but he just waited for her to answer. Complicated. Her fault. He frowned. She seemed vulnerable again. Understandably. It seemed like she was trying to branch out and make connections, and here he was just showing up, in her private dwelling, asking her personal questions. It would make anyone a bit vulnerable seeming. He smiled again when she said people turned out nice and that was nice. “Well, I think that’s a pretty good thing. Tell me… does that mean I’ve turned out to be nice? Or am I just a bother?” he teased her lightly, clearly just joking around. Hopefully keeping things light would ease the mood for both of them.

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