The Dragon // One on One // Closed

"I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. Then the cave would be entirely unprotected, and I can't do that."

"On second thought, feel free to go look for him," she said, only half joking.

"No thanks." Kono huffed, a bit of smoke coming out of his mouth.

Gemini sighed. "It was worth a try. Why is your mouth smoking?"

"It does that sometimes. I breathe fire, so sometimes I emit smoke involuntarily from my mouth to prevent my body from overheating. This can also be remedied by actually breathing fire, as well, though I don't do that as often." A bit more smoke came from his mouth as he spoke.

Gemini tilted her head. "That's weird. Cool, but weird. Where did your horns go? Do they retract? Do you do that on purpose?"

Kono glanced up. "Hmm… strange. They seem to change size depending on how… human, I'm feeling, I suppose. When I experience sympathy, empathy, or emotions in general, they seem to shrink."

"Do you not normally experience emotion? That's weird, too. Can I touch your horns? Are they like a cow or like a sea urchin? Or a rhinoceros? Actually, I have no idea what any of those feel like so don't answer that," she said, shaking her head.

"Uh… I guess?" Kono transformed into a dragon and lay his head beside Gemini so she could touch him.

(Heck sorry, shit went down)
Gemini tilted her head, then tentatively reached out a finger to pet a horn. "Weird," she commented.

(No problem)
Kono closed his eyes, his tail flicking. Honestly, this felt sort of… nice, almost.

Gemini quickly retracted her hand, unsure of what to do. "Sorry, I - I don't know why I did that."

Kono opened his eyes and cocked his head slightly to the side as though asking why she stopped. He huffed quietly, smoke coming from his nostrils.

Gemini tipped her head uncertainly, then tentatively started petting his horn again.

Kono closed his eyes again, relaxing. It was pretty strange seeing him so docile.

Gemini sat back, relaxing slightly. "This is weird. And not at all what I came here to do. But close enough."

Kono grumbled his agreement, continuing to let Gemini pet him.

"Maybe I can steal your heart instead of your treasure," she mused, laughing.

Kono shook his head a bit, sighing, but still not pulling away. Eventually, he shifted his head so that Gemini was stroking his actual scales instead of just his horns.

Gemini sighed, leaning against the wall. "You act like my brother," she complained teasingly.

Kono growled softly, his tail flicking again. He stayed near Gemini for now.

Gemini giggled. "Fine. You don't act like my brother."

Kono looked up at the sound of her giggling, confused. He'd never heard a sound like that before.

Gemini tipped her head. "It would be easier to communicate if you weren't a dragon," she complained confusedly.

Kono sighed and half shifted, removing Gemini's hand from his head. From the brief time her hand was still there, it was apparent how soft his ginger hair was. "What is the sound you made?"

"What sound?" Gemini asked, tilting her head and resting her hand at her side.

"Before you said I wasn't like your brother." Kono looked down at her curiously.

"A… laugh?" She asked confusedly. Is that what you're talking about? Did it sound that weird?"

"I've never heard that sound before. It is different than all the dragon calls I know. Is it a human thing?"

Gemini nodded. "We do it to express amusement or happiness. That's so weird that you don't laugh."