a bird! a plane! a...dragon?

[hearted]

Minako is seriously cursing her luck right about now. She'd thought just one mission with the police in Transylvania would be all right. They'd caught a suspect, saved the children, and even battled some vampires. She was still a full-blooded human, thankfully, but that last ambush had left her a little worse for the wear. Even as Sailor Venus, her magic couldn't fend off the pain forever.

So in her weakened state, jt's far too easy for that pack of possessed wolves to jump her. She yelps, swinging her good leg and the heaviest branch in the forest with all her might, but those fangs snap angrily. She doesn't have much time to run, but she must, gritting her teeth through the pain. The branches tear at her and slow her down, but she's managed to stop all but three, escaping from the forest into the open meadow.

Now, though...there are three closing in on her. She faces them down, chain whip in hand, but it doesn't comfort her much. Even worse, there's an ominous thump behind her in the grass.

What could that giant shadow be?

Comments

[hearted]

Wouldn't that be a sight. Minako laughs gently, curling close to him for a moment longer.

"I think we might scare Usagi-chan out of her mind," she giggles. "But that's okay. She'll get over it. Mako-chan will want to know how you make such good food in small portions...and I'll have to keep Ami-chan from wanting to study you."

She sighs. "It's probably better that it's just us for now, you know?"

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

He chuckles softly, his voice still really hoarse and sore sounding.

"Well, I don't want to scare anyone... but if that's the only real problem, I don't see anything wrong with them coming to visit..." He pauses and thinks a moment. "Though if anyone wants to study me, they have to be willing to let me do the same to them."

Skyfire honestly doesn't mind if someone is curious about him, within reasons. After all, he was just as curious about humans as well. He'd been around a long time, but that didn't mean he knew it all.

"... But that can wait till we've had time to recover... I don't think I have the energy to deal with having so many around at the moment."

[hearted]

"All right. Yeah...I'm thinking I need to take my medicine too." Minako sighs, pulling back to finish cleaning up. "And then...hmm, how do you usually spend your day, Skyfire?"

I assumed some stuff. Let me know if you want an edit.

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"... My normal day won't really work while we're both recovering..."

He gives her a look over and frowns. "You're healing much faster than a normal human... Those bandages will have to be soaked off before they can be changed."

A look at himself. "Granted, I think we could both use the bath." Skyfire didn't want to be rude, but... those wounds needed tending and he doubted that she could do it herself. "How body shy are you?" Humans really did have some strange ideas about nudity.

It's cool. That's about right!

[hearted]

Minako looks at him a little strangely, then smiles a little. "I'm a fighter, and this isn't the first time I've been beaten up. I'm used to it. Besides, I hardly think seeing me naked is going to do anything to a dragon."

She winks. "I mean, you'd be looking for a lady-dragon, right? I'll let you know if I see one. But...yeah. You've taken care of me this far. I know you won't hurt me now."

Oh good. I wasn't too sure.

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"Considering I don't wear clothes, I think you do as much for me as I do for you." He chuckles a bit and ends up coughing a little. "Some humans are rather strange in their clothing habits. I understand a bit of it but..." Skyfire shrugs.

At the mention of a 'lady' dragon, he sighs and looks away. "I'm afraid that you'll not see one, since there are none to be found..." His voice trails off and he gets to his feet carefully, offering her an open invitation for a ride with a sloped wing.

"Lets go have a soak in the springs and get cleaned up... The unicorns won't come anywhere near either of us in this state."

[hearted]

"You're sure it's impossible?" Minako asks him, looking worried as she carefully climbs aboard. "I didn't think guy dragons existed either, and here you are..."

She gives him a loose hug. "So let's hurry up!"

Whatever the circumstances, relaxing in the springs will be nice.

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

Skyfire settles his wings on either side of he for her stability and walks at a plodding pace, but it's still faster than Minako could likely walk at the moment.

"I've yet to find anything even remotely similar to me and I've been around over a million years by human count... Granted, I've killed a lizard like creature close to my size but it was neither intelligent nor sentient."

They turn down a tunnel, and Minako would likely hear the sound of running water and a hint of moisture in the air... like a waterfall.

"My life story would take a very long time to explain and probably even longer to find the correct words, if they even exist in a form that can be translated into human speech. If you're still interested once we've both had rest and my voice isn't so bad I'll try and tell it to you?"

[hearted]

"But that doesn't mean it's impossible. If you're one in a million...maybe there's two in a million?"

She sighs against his back. "I'm sorry. I'm just such a romantic...even though I know what it's like to never find love. I can't---I swore I wouldn't, and I'm cursed to always choose duty first."

She's surprised at herself for admitting that, but if she can comfort him at all she'll try. "But don't stress about it right now. Let's take care of ourselves, and then I'll gladly listen."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"You'll understand better when I'm up to explaining..."

He twists his neck around and nuzzles her cheek a little bit, offering her a reassuring look.

"Enough of the depressing stuff for now. Lets get cleaned up and relax a bit."

Skyfire walks into a huge cavern with a set of natural hotspring pools and a waterfall made of three smaller falls, pouring into a large pool behind the springs. It's very pretty and well lit, there are even plants growing in the higher reaches.

[hearted]

"Right!" Minako carefully slides down when they come to a stop, delicately touching her side. So it's going to be like that, huh? Well, no better time than the present to get started! She pauses for a moment to listen for signs of danger, though...well, it seems to check out to her. They're safely alone.

She pulls her ribbon from her hair and carefully rolls her magic pen and communicator inside, then begins undressing immediately. She can't stand feeling this dirty a moment longer!

"Large pool, right? So you can fit?"

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"Actually I picked this location for these springs. They heat my entire home and are big enough for me to soak in... They're also a lot deeper than you'd think."

He points to a raised ridge of stone near an outcropping of rock, making a 'bench' about human waist height where she could leave her things so they wouldn't get wet, and there was a wooden door just above the outcropping.

"There should be some drying and cleaning cloths in there that you can use. They've been in there a while, but they should still be clean." Opening the wooden door would reveal a few shelves with towels, wash cloth like bits of fabric and some nice fruit scented soaps and oils. All in perfect condition...

[hearted]

"Perfect. Thank you."

It's strange, but she really doesn't feel too vulnerable. The injuries are a pain, and she still moves more sluggishly than usual, but she knows she's safe. And that's the most important thing.

So she slips into the cabinet, picks her cloths and oils, and then gingerly eases into the water. It certainly helps...but she needs a moment to catch her breath and soak before she can start scrubbing.

"Okay. This might take a bit, but I'm okay. And then I'm getting behind your ears, right?" she giggles.

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"You're welcome."

He keeps an eye on her till she's settled in the water and isn't going to fall or get into a pool that's either too hot or deep.

"Just wait till I move to a cooler pool than the one I'll be in." Skyfire points to a large pool off to one side that has a deep orange, almost red 'floor' around it. "Stay clear of that pool. The water is hot enough to boil an egg in, so just call me if you need me."

The pool he told her to stay clear of? That's the one he heads straight for. His entire body ached, and the heat would feel good to him.

[hearted]

"I will, thanks," she promises...and then sets about her messy business.

He'd probably seen glimpses of the claw rips that had been hidden by clothing before. One out of her hip, one in the center of her chest, and the nastiest down her back just narrowly missing the spine, in addition to the cris-crossing on her arms and legs. They've all knitting together quickly enough that the most minor are only angry red lines now, but she'll need to re-wrap her back at the very least.

She carefully removes the clumsy bandages after a few minutes, then gently starts rubbing at the dried blood. It feels better already...but then she pulls her hair over her shoulder, determined to deal with that mess.

"How're you feeling?" she asks him after a few minutes.

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

Skyfire slowly lowers himself into the very hot water, making it hiss and bubble as he does so. Really, he's pretty much boiling the dirt off of himself... and he has to admit that the heat feels pretty darn good.

He gives her a look over and takes note of the wounds on her body. "Stiff, sore and like one big knot. You?" Just because he hadn't gotten cut open, it didn't mean that there was no damage. "...I'll help you re wrap those after we're done." Yes, he'd noticed the bandaging wasn't the best.

[hearted]

"Something very similar," she admits, raking through the knots in her hair with a frown. With some careful application of heat and oil she can maybe salvage it...but it'll just take a little while. She's patient, though.

"But it doesn't hurt so much anymore. This is really great, thank you. And...yeah, sure, you can help," she blushes a little.

"Bet it must be a pain to have the rest of the world so much smaller than you. It'd be like me trying to tend to a baby bird. I'm so clumsy that poor bird wouldn't stand a chance."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"I'm glad to hear the pain is going away... and I have some combs and brushes that you can use after if you'd like?"

He lets out a small hiss of soreness as he sinks all the way into the hot water, with the only thing soon out of the water being his head, which is resting on the edge of the pool. It really is a lot deeper than it looks at first glance.

"... I'm sure you're not that bad... and you don't want to know how much stuff I broke at first. I'm only glad I didn't try to pick up anything alive." He pauses, sighs and mutters. "A baby bird that can use weapons and call for hundreds of other baby birds with worse weapons..." He's not bitter, not really. Just tired of being treated like a monster.

[hearted]

"That'd really help," she grinned, fixing herself up in silence for a few moments. She mulls things over...then turns back and presses herself against the edge of her pool to get a better look at him.

"Oh no...that's not what I meant@ I'm not that kind of bird. Even if I did want to hurt you, I'm not in any condition to do it, right?" She pleads, wishing she could wander over there and hug him. "I mean...believe it or not, I have my reasons not to trust so easily. But I can feel how much you care."

She sighs quietly. "I know you don't have reason to think I'm any good at fighting, but. Next time I'll protect you."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

He looks up startled "That wasn't what I meant either..." and then guilty. "You seem nice enough, but the problems I keep having tend to go like that..." He sighs "I've helped others more than once, only to get the short stick, time and again." Not that he'd ever stop trying to help, but it did start to wear after a while.

"I think you can fight pretty darn well... Those wolves you were fighting? Each one could have taken down a unicorn on their own and you managed to fight off almost an entire pack. Don't mistake being overwhelmed and overpowered for not being able to fight."

[hearted]

"I know I've never been as lonely as you, but...it's not fun to be treated like a freak." She sighs sympathetically, soaking up as much soothing heat as she can. "You're wonderful. I promise. And I know I can't fix the whole world alone, but...maybe we'll be okay together."

She seems pleased with her progress on cleaning her hair after a little while, so he relaxes. "Lemme know when you want an ear scrub, okay? And we'll wrap each other up too."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

He gives her a soft, grateful smile, but doesn't move. The heat felt really good and he was still pretty tired.

"Actually, let me know when you're close to wanting to get out... I could stay here and soak for weeks if I could get away with it." He couldn't do it now of course, not with Minako and so many animals staying over... but he really had done it before. "The ear scrub can wait till later..."

Skyfire would rather they got her bandaged up after the soak and go to nap 'outside' in the glen where the animals were. Quite frankly, he was still exhausted. That feeling of corruption in the air was starting to dissipate, so that meant that he could finally get some real rest again.

[hearted]

"You won't get all pruny, but I will!" she teases him, but she's rather slow to get out herself. She just wants to let the grime burn away...and mostly it does! She feels soothed enough---but unfortunately she has to leave this sanctuary sometime.

So after a while, she calls to him softly. "I'm ready whenever you are."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

He sighs a bit, and then slips into the other deep pool of cooler water... making a huge rush of steam as his body cools off to a safe temperature.

"Lets get those wounds cleaned up and go see about getting some relaxation in..."

Skyfire will go to a cupboard and start to get fresh bandages for Minako's wounds, and will do his best to carefully tend to them.

[hearted]

"Whoa! You weren't kidding about that heat."

Minako closes her eyes and takes it in as he cools off, then reaches over to work on this bandage business. It's a little unavoidably awkward, but they soldier through it. Thank goodness he's so gentle through it all.

Once she's dry and decent, she shuffles forward to offer him a hug. "Thanks. For everything, you know?"