Time to learn him something...

[zhilbar]

Warily entering the Nexus just long enough for Naoko to lead him over to the dimensional locator, he dropped in a scale and got the coordinates. The girl wanted to be the one to input them, but he'd do it himself.. Can't let the vassals do everything, right

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[mistressnaoko]

Naoko stood back from her lover, having caught the murderous rumble in his throat and surveyed the damage. The damage done was old, though it looked like there had been a battle a long time ago. It was abandoned, and there was a sense of desolation and loneliness like none other. Her senses were attuned to pick up any residue of a dead soul, but there were none here.

It had been far too long since anyone stepped here.

[mistressnaoko]

Naoko looked behind her, stopping for a moment. Realising he meant her knives, she held them up to light, so they glistened dangerously.

"These? These are my own daggers. They can cut through most anything, though dragon scales and Godskins are among those it can't touch. They'll return when I call them, and they are always faithful," she smiled, holding the daggers almost lovingly. Of course, she didn't tell Zhilbar that the daggers were the weapon forms of her twin phoenix Shikigamis.

[zhilbar]

Naturally. Baby Zhil would have no clue what she was talking about, although the adult version would be quite interested to know about her practicing onmyōdō!

"That does sound useful.." His voice has a certain awe and envy to it, not to mention sounding a good bit lighter of heart than before. Miss Naoko could probably gut one of those demons on her own, yeah! He doesn't have to worry quite so much about one getting to her before he can...

By now, the trail has led out across a broad expanse of what once was forest, now standing deadwood in the few places the trees had not fallen! It would be several more hours to the Cave, and night was falling.. They might want to turn in reasonably soon.

[mistressnaoko]

Naoko looked around her. Night was going to fall soon, and they had best look for a place to shelter. While she could have gone on, she wanted the dragonling's wounds to heal, and a night's rest would do wonders, or at least that was what she hoped. She wondered if he was hungry.

"We'll need shelter, dear one. It'll be night soon," she let the way into the forest, running a critical eye over the deadwoods. Sukina would have wept to felt the trees, but it looked like they were long dead anyway.

[zhilbar]

He's a child, he's always hungry. Still, he's also used to going about a week between meals at times; there's still some food being digested in there, he'll be good.

A useful thing, as this place seemed to be uttely lacking in wild game! "All right, Miss Naoko. We can do shelter.." Beginning to pick up some of the medium-size logs and pile them against the trees, it looks like he's getting the start of a very crude but reasonably effective three-walled enclosure...

Right up until he accidentally tags one of the side walls with his tail, and it comes tumbling down. Blast it! Don't bug Miss Naoko about it, just put it back up again...

[mistressnaoko]

Naoko smiled at the sound, letting him build the shelter while she scouted around. There were no other entries but the one they had come into, and there were also no food. There was a small stream though, but she did not trust the water.

Instead she walked back to the shelter when Zhilbar was just finishing the final touches after he'd hit another wall down.

"Looks good, Zhilbar," she announced, not wanting to scare him.

[zhilbar]

C'mon Zhil, you can do this, you expect the little squishy to lift these things by herself? Just watch the tail -WATCH THE TAIL- and be careful! Okay, that should be good.

And upon the compliment, he grins in that irrepressible childish delight of having done something right. His entire posture bespeaks of innocent glee, right until he winces because the Stance of Happiness hurts his blasted wing some more! "owThank you, Miss Naoko..OW!"

[mistressnaoko]

Naoko frowned at his winces. She was worried mainly about infection. Walking over to him, she placed her hand gently on his flank. She let the love she felt for him, regardless of age, show on her face, though she doubted his younger self would recognise it.

"Rest dear one, and let me have a look at your wing." Her touch was gentle (at least for a human) and tender.

[zhilbar]

...The littling was looking funny again...

Kinda nice, though.

Still, he'd lay down a little. "If you say so, Miss." The gash on his side didn't hurt quite so much, melted scale having sealed the breach and gotten it to stop bleeding; the wing joint, now, that didn't even have the skin broken! It was puffing up rather badly, though; he'd gotten it wrenched pretty nastily in the aerial fight. Might've even sprained it. Incidentally, it's also the only place he could feel her touch at all!

The contact only hurt a little, so he just grinned and bore it.

[mistressnaoko]

Naoko carefully examined his wounds, noting that it was warm, but there did not seem to be any penetration anywhere, so at least infection would not be a problem. Her hands ran over the wounds carefully but expertly; caring for wyrms your brother brought home normally installed healthy respect in children for said creatures. When she was sure that he would be alright, she stood back and smiled, telling him that everything was fine, just what looks like a bad sprain.

Looking around, she assessed their situation. For now they had shelter, each other and the night falling.

"Let's rest?" she looked up hopefully.

[zhilbar]

...Sprain? That's a new word. Flamed if he knew what it meant, but if it made her happy...

"If you want, Miss Naoko. Would you like a fire?" Fires, he could do. It might also give him a chance to sneak out and find something for them to eat! Not that he was thinking ANYthing of the sort, of course.

[mistressnaoko]

"Thank you dear one. I'll grab the firewood and then you can light the fire? Are you hungry, by any chance?" her hands were still on his flank.

[zhilbar]

"Would you? All that 'tinder' an' 'kindlin' stuff that the tiny ones talk about is so much Elvish to me. If it doesn't light with the first try, it usually does with the second one.." but then, li'l Zhil doesn't see the problem with a smoldering tree trunk that has a few flames here and there. That counts as a fire, right?

"I could eat, but dunno what there is around... Might be best to wait." Say, until she was asleep. He could prowl around! Maybe bring back the haunch of something, you never know. Not that he'd bother her with such ideas; tiny ones have to be watched over and protected, even from themselves sometimes. That's what his Sire says!

[mistressnaoko]

Naoko laughed. She realised though that maybe what they needed wasn't so much tinder and firewood, but just a merry fire. As there were a number of large dead trees that weren't part of their shelter. If kid!Zhilbar didn't mind, maybe stacking up a few of those would create a nice little fire to keep burning for a bit.

"Dear one would you mind pulling a few of those together?" she pointed to trees as far away as possible from their shelter, so it would not come tumbling down when he started pulling the trees. It should create a nice little fire for them. Or large.

"Then we can set them alight, but not all at once." She leant against him.

[zhilbar]

Babies are almost always warmer than expercted. When said baby is a creature of fire, the result is a pretty hot deal! In this case, about the temperature of a really good bath; he just radiates warmth himself.

What, you didn't think a creature capable of spontaneous combustion needed help keeping warm, did you? Fires are just things that tiny mortal people use. He'd HEARD about them, you know. And if it keeps the tinies happy, it's important here!

"Certainly, Miss Naoko." He didn't quite notice the pressure; such delicacy of sensation was lost to him. Still, she hasn't really gone anywhere; so long as he doesn't step on her or tag her with a leg or tail, he'll be all right, right? Off to gather up that tree... And that one, and hey why not that one too? Whups, too much; take two trips.

[mistressnaoko]

Naoko smiled. For a baby he was just as clumsy as the whole lot of babies at the equivalent of all species. Still he was adorable, and she relished the chance to know him like this.

The fire was not just to keep them warm though. She was more worried about predators, and while she did not doubt for a moment that they could each take care of themselves, she did not want their sleep to be disturbed, especially Zhilbar's.

"Just there would do, dear one. Could you do me a favour and make two piles? Yes, it's alright if one is bigger than the other. We can toss the wood from smaller one to the big pile so the fire keeps burning all night. What do you say?"