Meeting under the sun [Private with Kyht]

First topic message reminder :

It was a warm summer day for the Lightwings. The sun was shining brightly on the steps to the Palace, heating the marble rather nicely. Many dragons would find that annoying, but certainly not the Lightwings who usually saw such days as the perfect ones. After all what was better than laze under the sun to recharge one's scales or breath?
While Hyruu didn't need recharging for his scales, and didn't really used his breath either, he was still enjoying the calm beginning of afternoon on the main Plaza. The grey dragon didn't need much of a pretext to simply lay down there, enjoying a light nap after a day of work. As the Tribe's main Hunter, he usually was hunting early in the morning as it was when the preys were the easiest to catch. And no one enjoyed hunting under a heavy sun and heat. Hyruu's rhythm allowed him to hunt in the morning and enjoy a relaxing nap during the afternoon.
Ironically enough, while he wasn't making anything to hide himself his natural scale color was pretty close from the marble's color. It would be easy to miss him sleeping in a corner of the place.

Surprisingly, Hyruu had a small chuckle at Kyht's worries.
"Do you think we hunt to feed the Tribe on a day by day basis? No, we have a storage for food. There's usually enough meat in store two or three weeks. And we more often than not have to care not to hunt too much, or else the food would spoil. I told you, you don't have anything to worry about, okay? Take the lead. I'll be behind you to help and advise you." he told her with a gentle tone.
At the end of his explanation, the grey dragon looked behind him at the dragoness, involuntarily making eye contact. He slowed down, waiting for her to take the lead, and ending up being side by side with her.

Kyht shuffled along slowly, very nervous now by the judging gaze she was certain to be met with if she failed. Trying her best to push that aside, she started to focus on the ground around her. Almost like a light switch had been flipped, she could now see where to step again, what twigs would snap, where the prey had stepped and when. Thats it! I just follow these! Kyht immediately started to pick up speed, noticing the foot prints she saw now were barely ten minutes old. With her luck they would meet a heard of boar in five. As she moved, she could feel herself drifting to the shaded parts of the path, until eventually the trees grew dense enough that she started to become harder to see against the shadows. Then, it happened. Almost by instinct she started to project her shadows, making everything grow darker around them, and her scales shimmered into nothingness, and she completely disappeared from view. Her foot falls were like pins falling on tile, and in the densely wooded area were very nearly silent. Kyht was finally in her element, and it was her time to shine. Kyht then bolted off, now smelling the boar she was tracking, and she never lost her silent stride as she dashed off into the forest.

Hyruu's awkwardness disappeared as Kyht started to look at the ground, seeming focused on her task. Yeah that was it, she was getting more confident. The grey dragon carefully watched her, noticing all the good habits the future Tracker already had. One thing was sure, she knew how to hunt, and she knew it well. He spotted the exact moment she spotted the trails of a boar, following her as she started to gain speed. He was about to tell her to slow down when all of a sudden, the area became dark. Unusually so. Before he could understand what had happened Kyht disappeared out of his sight, blending at perfection within the darkness. An ability of hers? It was nice to hunt, he could guess. Right now Hyruu had a hard time following her, so he began to sniff the air to check for her scent. Hopefully it was still there, sweet and almost inebriating. He probably sniffed it more than he really needed. Helped with the trail of the board, he followed the trail, waiting to reach Kyht again.

Kyht could tell she was getting close to the herd. She slowed only slightly, until she made visual contact, but kept herself from getting giddy and messing up. She froze, lowering her upper body and raising her tail in her usual fashion, preparing to pounce and prove to Hyruu that she was in fact capable of all aspects of hunting. Her shadows projected over the entire area, unbeknownst to the unsuspecting herd of wild boar, and she faded completely into the artificial darkness. Watching the movements and waiting until one of the boar got too close or noticed her scent. There you go... just a bit closer... She thought, almost willing a boar nearby to guide the herd closer. This is it... She encouraged herself, wiggling slightly and warming up to pounce.

Hyruu continued to follow the trail, not that far behind Kyht even if he couldn't see her clearly. The trail was getting clearer and clearer, so that he could afford going a bit faster. He was actually impressed with how fast Kyht was following the trail. Well she was trying her best to impress him, that was obvious, so she was going really fast, but Hyruu knew many Trackers that would have lost their track by trying to go so fast. He continued on the trail, until he reached near a bush. The trails were so fresh it was likely the board were close by, but then where was Kyht ? He was still slowing down when he suddenly rammed her head first, not having seen her in those shadows.

Kyht let out a yelp, falling forward and sliding through the trampled and muddy forest floor. All the boar ahead began squealing and falling over eachother to get away, but Kyht was too busy getting up and shrieking towards the intruder, a blush lighting her like a lantern in the once dark forest, her shadows having disappeared. "Who are you?! You just ruined my ch-..." Kyhts face flushed deeper when she saw who was sitting behind her. "Oh gods oh gods oh gods! Hyruu I'm so sorry! Are you ok?!" Kyht lowered her muddy face and body close to Hyruu's apologetically, and to offer any assistance to him.

Under the shock, Hyruu had fallen onto his rump, a look of confusion crossing his face. When he understood he had bumped into Kyht, he suddenly became all red, his whole body blushing. This was a rather impressive reaction, as while some Lightwings could show a slight color change, Hyruu's scales seemed to be able to take any color. The now red dragon came to the realization of what had been done. He had litterally rammed Kyht from behind without seeing her.
"I-I'm sorry, Kyht. I really didn't see you. I'm used to the opposite, but... Oh gosh I'm sorry. I'm the one who failed this hunt." he apologized, lowering his look.
But he raised it again as the dragoness went near him, ready to offer him any assistance. The truth was that Kyht needed it way more than he did.
"I really did push you in the mud... Let's find a river a clean that. There should be one not too far, those boars were probably going there." he suggested.

Kyht let out a little whimper as she stepped back, giving Hyruu room to stand, and nodding gloomily as her chin started to throb slightly now that the shock was passing. She was doing so well. Oh she really wished she didn't mess this up! She was supposed to be a hunter! She should have been more careful about having Hyruu follow so closely behind as well. She blushed again, her rump still slightly hurt from the impact. "I'm so sorry for disappointing you. I was very close, and I should have warned you that I was stopping, or at least moved aside..."

Hyruu shook his head at Kyht's claims. The poor dragoness was covered in mud, and was blaming everything on herself, while it was pretty obvious it was his own fault.
"This was my fault. You did very good while following those trails, I just wasn't expecting a power like this. Not many dragons have that kind of powers, especially around here. You'll make an excellent Tracker, I am certain of that. Let's find a river now, so you can wash that mud away." the at-the-moment-red dragon said, giving her a confident smile.
Hyruu stood up and walked away, looking for a river. It didn't take long to find one as there was one literally behind the clearance the boars had been relaxing in before the whole even happened.

Kyht followed behind Hyruu respectfully. She had indeed gotten rather dirty, and some water on her scales might help the dull ache from the situation. As they approached the water, Kyht was suddenly stricken with a realization. "Hyruu... uh... where are you going to wait? Or... oh I'm sorry you can bathe first. I'll wait over here! Sorry!" Kyht turned, ready to walk away, and feeling rather foolish for expecting to be the first to clean. She was not a respectable figure at all. Foolish! Of course the tribe's hunter should bathe first!

Hyruu tilted his head as Kyht suddenly seemed to realize something, muttering something about him bathing first. He blinked confusedly, not really understanding the problem.
"What's the problem ? This river is more than large enough for the two of us... You don't need to wait for me to be done. Come !" he told her, heading toward the border of the river.
The grey dragon entered inside the water, swimming a bit before turning back toward Kyht. He had no idea why she seemed to reluctant to follow him there, was there anything odd about that ?
"What are you waiting for ? Come ! The water's nice !" he gestured at her, inviting her to come.

Kyht's scales on her cheeks and face had never been so red. Letting out a partial squeak, she turned and hid behind a tree. "I... I can't believe you! What are... you can't bathe with someone! Bathing is a private matter!" Kyht was not very upset, but mostly embarrassed and flustered. For some reason this all was very good, but very bad. She liked Hyruu, that much was certain, but she had never felt her stomach churn so delightfully because of it. Why was he so different?!

Hyruu tilted his head again, seeming once again confused by Kyht's behavior. She seemed indeed really awkward at the idea to take a bath in the river together... Maybe it was best to push her a bit toward that direction.
"Uh? What's the problem with that? You know it's more of a swim than a real bath right now... Come on, don't be shy. It gets boring to swim alone!" the grey dragon grinned, hoping to get the dragoness to relax.
Some things in her behavior were definitely intriguing him. She seemed to have ideas and customs that weren't what he was used to. And he had been a rogue too, so he knew it wasn't the period she spent as Rogue that could make it like that. Was she hiding something in her past? Bah, he would see later. For the moment, a quick swim was all they needed.

The now red faced dragon poked her face back into view, wearily staring down to the water. Taking a step out, then another, and another, she grew more and more fearful that maybe the seemingly kind hunter had a prank with him to embarrass her. "You... want to bathe... WITH me?! I... you know I thought... we met yesterday!!!" Kyht stopped, then looked to him for an answer, her front paw now hovering patiently above the water shakily. Why?! Why her?! She had no idea she would attract interest so quickly, let alone by such an important figure in the tribe. This better be a kind, honest gesture. "I have never bathed with anyone... it isn't normal for casual dragons... so... are you asking me to partner with you? Because I will have you know I don't know, nor have I ever experienced this 'love' that people speak of!" Kyht had no idea how love worked. She had never felt it as far as she knew, and she was even never selected by her human trainers for breeding, as it would affect her ability to fight. She only ever saw male dragons while fighting, and the dragons she was allowed to stay near without killing all were very rude. No one liked Kyht in the arenas, and no one loved her. The humans never bathed together, and her language teacher told her that it was improper to bathe together unless with a loved one. A special loved one. Kyht only knew it was similar to breeding, but more involved. Her language teacher wasn't allowed to teach her much. He was fired as soon as they found out he had told her about the war against dragons. Not like Kyht cared at the time. She only knew to kill.

Hyruu again tilted his head as he listened to Kyht make her speech. He wasn't getting it. What did this have to do with...
But it didn't take long for the facts to hit him. Was she thinking he was... asking her to be his mate? As he understood that, his scales suddenly turned into a bright red. If one was wondering whether someone could beat Kyht's level of blushing, Hyruu just did with an impressive margin. His whole body turned into a bright red, showing the surprise he experienced at the realization of what Kyht had been implying.
"W-What? No no it's not about that! I wasn't asking you out! That's not it! I was just... Meaning it wasn't an intimate bath or anything... You know, just two hunting partners having a friendly swim after a hunt... That kind of thing." the now red dragon exclaimed.
He seemed to manage to retrieve a bit of control and looked at Kyht, looking awkward.
"You... Really don't have a clue about love, don't you?" he then told her.

Kyht was sighing in relief. She started entering the water, and she was so glad he was not ill intentioned. She was still shiddering, very nervous having never bathed with another dragon. It was nerve wracking not because of the awkwardness sharing a bath with a dragon can bring though, but because she now believed this dragon was her favorite dragon ever. She couldn't describe why but even being near him so far was making her act completely out of character. She had just gotten a hind paw into the water when he said something that completely took her breath away. Her entire body tinged red, and her eyes almost began glowing as she glared st him in embarrassment. She went to speak but a small squeak later and her muzzle was sealed. I stress, she solumly bowed her head and shook it slowly left and right. Never had she ever been taught about love, nor had she experienced it, nor had she seen it. Only once or twice had her language trainer said he loved her, and once he explained it as wanting to make someone happy forever, but she lost faith in that after he disappeared and never came back. So much for forever. A sad scowl now etched itself into her features as she remembered the love she thought she felt for the filthy human. She must have been so pitiful to trust that feeling.

Hyruu watched as his rather innocent question brought quite a reaction from the dragoness. In a sense he was right, she didn't have a clue about love. But with Kyht it seemed to go farther than that. Such a question shouldn't bring such a reaction from anyone, as shy as they were. No, there must have been something else that happened in her past. But he shouldn't push her on that. Instead, he just gave her a small smile, trying to get her to cheer up.
"Hey don't act like it's a biggie. I just assumed so with the way you talked about love. I didn't experience it either. But love isn't something as well defined as you seem to think. You know, you can easily recognize when you're angry, or sad. But love is a whole other thing. You don't even necessarily know you're in love. Even its signs vary between people. My father told me just one thing : if you ever wonder whether you love someone or not... Usually you already fell in love with them. But it takes a while for dragons to realize they might be in love. Sometimes they're totally oblivious of it. So it's best not to think too much about it, love just comes by itself before you realize it. All what remains is that at first, love develops like a strong friendship." the grey dragon declared, smiling at Kyht.
After a second, he let out a nervous chuckle.
"Well at least that's what my father told me. I never had a mate, so..." he commented with another chuckle.

Kyht couldn't help feeling bad. She had just suggested that Hyruu was trying to coerce her, AND that he was in love with her! She clearly didn't understand it, but his lighthearted tone was rather helpful. Kyht chuckled along and decided to shakily wade into the water. She suddenly, however, dipped her head under the water and while there shook it violently, and resurfaced with most of the mud gone, but some was still sticking to her red cheeks and chin. Kyht let out a frustrated groan when she noticed how dirty the water now was. "Really? It wasn't even that dirty out there!" Kyht had a renewed blush as she caught herself from asking for Hyruu's help. Instead she tried her best at small talk. "So... Do you have a nickname? You know... Since we are going to be hunting partners?"

Hyruu managed to regain his calm as Kyht started to chuckle and entered the water. His scales slowly started to get back to their usual grey, though they were still stuck in a light and rather delicate pink. Hyruu didn't seem to mind it, but Kyht might find that funny. He watched with a chuckle as the dragoness complained about the water getting dirty, though with the small current of the river the dirt would soon wash away. But at her question he blinked, rather surprised.
"A nickname? Uh, I never thought about it... That's the first time someone asks me that. Erm, I guess you could shorten it to Ruu, maybe? And what about you? Do you have a nickname too?" he asked back.

"That's fantastic. Ruu. I like it. I uh... I must be honest with you... My full name is not Kyht, it is Kythyr. I apologize for being dishonest." Kyhthyr bowed slightly, and ended up just ducking under the water for another unsuccessful shake. She let out frustrated groan when she resurfaced, bringing a paw to her chin and wincing, but before she could react the rock she had clumsily stood upon was covered in moss, and she lost her footing, slipping and falling hard into the water. She let loose a loud groan, trying to stand lazily.

Hyruu tilted his head with a small smile as Kyht revealed her name actually was Kythyr. Kythyr...
"Kythyr... That sounds nice on the tongue. But I like Kyht better. It suits you well." he said, smiling to her.
But at that moment he saw the dragoness tripping and having a hard time standing up on a visibly slippy stone.
"Are you okay? Here, let me... Ooops !" he started to say.
But before he was even done, he tried to step forward and slipped on another slippy stone under his paws. The grey dragon most his balance and fell forward, directly toward Kyht. At the very last moment he managed to get his balance back, but that had brought him closer from Kyht.
Considerably closer.
Before he could realize it, his snout booped hers. He could feel her breath on his skin, and they eyes ended up locked in each other. Hyruu's breathing suddenly accelerated, and Kyht would be able to feel that on her own skin. Their maws were almost uncomfortably close from each other, so close their lips were barely touching each other. His mind suddenly went blank as he was stunned in place, unable to retreat from this uncomfortable position. Yes, it was uncomfortable... but he didn't want to move an inch. His scales turned back to a crimson red, his breath short and accelerated as he couldn't move a muscle.

Kyht froze for a second, frightened beyond belief of hurting Ruu, but as she noticed things were fine she also noticed the near-hyperventilating red dragon against her. How strange. She would have hurt someone for touching her, but this was almost too funny. Kyht held back a laugh and let loose only a small chuckle, or snort, or something. She was completely oblivious to what might have been occurring in any other situation. As they stayed there for a second she eventually had enough and burst into laughter, her nose now pulled away as she laughed in a girly fashion, high-pitched and more giggly then anything. She couldn't believe they had fallen the same way at the same time! She had no idea the embarrassment she must have saved Ruu had she known what something so simple even was. It would clearly be a while before their first kiss.

Hyruu remained frozen as Kyht slightly started to chuckle. He was still red and almost not moving when the dragoness burst out and laughed out loud, his breathing still pretty fast. He tried to chuckle too, but the only thing that came out of his lips was a nervous and forced chuckle. He had no idea what's going on. He was confused beyond anything he ever experienced. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he was almost still feeling the gentle press of Kyht's muzzle against his own. Confusion and disorientation were showing in his eyes as he lifted his head, looking at Kyht...
... and slipped on the same rock. All of a sudden Hyruu disappeared under the water, and he got so surprised by the sudden transition he breathed some of it. Choking and still confused, he fought to get back on the surface with unnecessarily strong movements. Once he surfaced again he began to violently cough, his nose painful from the water that had gotten in. The grey dragon headed toward the shore, and climbed the border, coughing for a good dozen of seconds.
"Ah... Damn it." he couldn't help but swear as he finally stopped.
He still had no idea what had happened a bit before, and it was puzzling him. That feeling... Was so weird.

Kyht grew panicked as Ruu began coughing and appeared to be in pain. She rushed over to his side and placed a wing in his back comfortingly. "Are you ok, Ruu?! It's ok, keep coughing, get it all out..." Kyht continued with her wing and stroked the back of his neck with a wing talon to try and comfort him, her smile now replaced with a concerned look. She also noticed that she was cleaner, but both of the dragon's paws were covered in dirt clinging to the wet pads. She wanted to whine, but was still generally happy about being mostly clean everywhere else.

Hyruu almost strangled himself again as he felt Kyht's talon stroking the back of his neck. The confusion slightly came back. Why was he feeling like that ? His scales were still bright red, out of confusion and awkwardness. The hunter took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He who was usually calm was totally taken aback by the situation. And he had no idea what precisely felt so wrong... but at the same time so enjoyable.
"I... I'm okay. I guess... Was more the surprise than really having swallowed water. I'll be fine. Sorry, that went... weird." he only managed to say, giving her a small smile.