What's in a name?

[Kinley Sima]

"This is crazy," he murmured to himself as he stared at the dragon on the naked guy's back. It was definitely the same dragon. It was still the same beautiful shape, with the long, pretty tail and the elegant body and the black, inky limbs. It was still moving, too--which was pretty confusing. Was the dragon attached to him, then? Or was it him? His gaze traveled downward. He couldn't help it; he was a young male and he saw the shape of a nice ass in front of him. He just was sorta required to look at it!

But then just like that, naked guy was turning around and Kinley quickly jerked his head back up, staring at the naked guy in stunned silence for a few seconds. Dragon! All right. Yeah. There was a dragon on his back. He... seemed to be the dragon, judging by the way he excitedly smiled--um. That smile did weird things to his chest. Like... somersaults. Or backflips. Like the feeling he got when he danced. To distract himself, he made himself look down at his own chest, where the naked guy was poking him.

"Kinley," he said slowly. Yes, he was... Kiney. And the naked guy was apparently Dragon. "And you're... the dragon. Dragon."

Did dragons not speak the same language as people? His grasp of the language seemed to currently consist of "yes, no, dragon, and Kiney." So far. Kinley reached out slowly for the sweats that Dragon had taken off his head. "Sweatpants," he said. "These go on your... legs. Your bottom half. Your... um. Just... here!" He tried to urge Dragon to give him a leg so he could try to put them on him. He used to have to help Kero get dressed when he was little. The thing was... Kero was little when he had to do that.

[Dragon]

Yes, they were Kinley and Dragon! He was Dragon! That was the name that Kinley gave him and he hoarded it like... er... dragon's gold? He didn't even tell any of the others about his name. It was his name. The thought of someone else simply knowing it made him feel possessive and-and frankly, it upset him. Dragon didn't want anyone to know about the special bond between them. That was their special bond, just for the two of them!

"Dragon." He nodded to confirm that he was the dragon, after Kinley spoke in a tone of utter disbelief. "Kiney." Dragon felt restless and wiggly with excitement, now that Kinley knew it was him--the dragon on the card. Hopefully he would no longer seem so spooked by Dragon's presence. Dragon preferred Kinley to look the way he did whenever he looked at the card, with that soft, awed smile on his lips and that certain affectionate look in his eyes. He liked Kinley to like him, not to be afraid of him or to be suspicious or surprised by him.

Dragon made a noise when Kinley took the shield from him, but then tried to pantomime... something. There were more words that he didn't know, and then seemingly out of nowhere Kinley reached down for his leg. "Ah--AH!" Dragon's shriek was a little high-pitched but he was falling by then, not being used to stick-like legs. He was accustomed to being a sinuous dragon, gliding freely through the air. Standing on what amounted to twigs was an abrupt and unpleasant change and he found that he had no coordination whatsoever. The only reason he ran for so long earlier was because some kind of instinct kicked in with his new body, at the threat of danger.

"Owww... Kiney...?" he groaned as he rubbed his head, laying spread-eagle on the hard ground. An expression of betrayal crept over his face. Why did Kinley flip him like that?! Was it a sneak attack?!

[Kinley Sima]

O-okay. Not what he expected! Kinley was used to people who could take a leg out from under them and just sort of roll with it. People from dance class, for example, were taught how to gracefully roll and how to fall without harming themselves. And Kero was a little brother so if he yanked at his leg, he'd probably just kick him in the face in retaliation. Dragon didn't even try to save himself. No. His leg was taken and he immediately lost balance, falling back against dry leaves and sticks while Kinley tried in vain to try and keep him from falling... yet again.

Kinley stared at Dragon, holding the sweatpants in his hand. He was still in his half crouched position from leaning down to try and get the pants on him. Instead of straightening up to stand, he dropped down onto his knees and slid closer across the slippery leaves. He noticed the look on Dragon's face, though and he paused. He lifted up the pants and shook them slightly.

"I'm putting the pants on your legs." He pointed to his own pants. "Like mine." He averted his gaze as he made a sweeping motion to Dragon's lower body. "To cover all... that."

[Dragon]

Was it not a shield, but a weapon? Kinley shook the cloth in his hands and Dragon immediately scrambled backwards through the loam and leaves, eyes wide, frightened. Kinley wouldn't attack him... would he? Dragon flinched as Kinley's hand swept over his lower body after he reached for the things on his legs... as though pulling something from them. A spell! A curse!

"NO!" Dragon made a desperate scrabble for cover. "Kiney... noo..."

He might have sounded a little forlorn--a little betrayed, and a lot nervous. Why was Kinley trying to hurt him? Didn't he say that he liked Dragon? And that Dragon was beautiful? There was such a pleasant upsurge in emotion the first time that he said it, that Dragon couldn't have mistaken for anything other than a good thing. But now... the strange object in his hand and the attack...

"Kiney...' Dragon shook his head vehemently. "No. No Kiney." He didn't want to-to retaliate. He didn't want to hurt Kinley, so long as Kinley gave up thoughts of hurting him.

[Kinley Sima]

"What?"

He didn't understand how Dragon was seeing what he was doing. He thought it was so clear--that pants went on legs and that he was trying to help him put these pants on his legs to cover himself up. Instead, he was... moving around a lot and he looked utterly terrified of him. Kinley stayed where he was, still on his knees in the dirt, holding the sweatpants uselessly in his hands.

Dragon looked so skittish, like he was about to run into the woods on his own and never come back. Kinley had no idea what would happen after that. It didn't seem like he could--in all good conscience--let him disappear to be eaten by wolves or bears or something. Kinley chewed his lower lip in thought as he regarded the sweatpants. Now they just seemed to garner fear from Dragon. Just looking at it seemed to scare him. So Kinley slowly got to his feet, putting out his hands in a calming motion before he toed his shoes off (also slowly, just in case that was somehow perceived as scary too.) Then he showed Dragon the pants before pulling them on over his jeans. The sweatpants were a little roomier than his jeans so they fit, but they felt weird, uncomfortable, and definitely unnatural over his jeans.

"See? Pants. You put them on like this."

[Dragon]

"NO!"

Dragon held out a hand, not sure what Kinley was doing with those dangerous things. Putting them on himself! Was he CRAZY? They were weapons! Or... or... not? Dragon stared. Nothing was happening to Kinley, even after the legs went in. Ah, so that was how they worked. Was it a shield after all, then? It looked like it was meant to encase the legs, possibly to protect them.

Slowly, Dragon crept forward. Admittedly, some of these body parts were uncomfortably swinging in the wind. He would have liked to contain them... Perhaps with this shield-like object now wrapped around Kinley's legs. Cautiously, Dragon reached out but he didn't touch them. He touched Kinley's forearm, concern etched on his face. "Kiney?"

Was he hurt? He didn't seem hurt. No pain--no hollering. Kinley wasn't warm or freezing cold. Dragon inched forward; his hand slid up along the side of Kinley's arm. He leaned forward to inspect Kinley better but at this proximity all he could see was... a handsome face. Kinley's eyes, dark and warm. Dragon smiled. No, Kinley wouldn't hurt him. Why did he over-react? (Maybe because he had been thrust into this new world and nothing here was familiar to him.)

[Kinley Sima]

Man, he really thought the pants were some kind of deadly weapon. Kinley raised his brows slightly, then looked down at the sweatpants wrapped around his legs. It seemed like Dragon got it now. At least, he thought he was getting it... until he touched his arm, not his pants. Why was he looking at him like that? Kinley checked his arm but it seemed fine inside its fall weather, light coat.

"What?" He blinked and tried not to step backwards as Dragon stared at him. What was he looking for? Something he didn't have the words for? Kinley swallowed a little nervously. Crap... When did he get so close? Although... it was hard not to smile a little in response to Dragon's pretty smile. Kinley raised his hand up to touch his face, the side of his soft face with his fingertips.

It was strange. Even in this form, he was still... "Beautiful."

[Dragon]

Beautiful

Dragon had been trying to learn that word so that he could say it to Kinley. Beautiful. It captured the most uplifting, bright, happy emotion that Dragon had ever felt from Kinley. Beautiful was how Dragon felt every time Kinley looked at the card, and every time he spoke to it. Every time his fingertips touched the ink dragon--when their connection was strongest.

He felt it before Kinley spoke, the word unformed, in the bond that connected them. The moment that Kinley picked up the card, he was bound to Dragon, and vice versa. It was fate, it was meant to be, and Dragon didn't need to be a walking dictionary--or even know what a dictionary was--to know what Kinley's hand at the side of his face meant. Beautiful described everything about Kinley, but especially his smile. Dragon didn't know what it meant that suddenly his entire body felt flushed with warmth but it didn't seem like a bad thing.

"Bee... Beetiful." Dragon laughed because even he knew that how he said the word was different from how Kinley said it--and the sound of his own laughter was foreign to his ears. So this was what mirth sounded like from a human. His fingers clenched in the fabric of Kinley's coat and he stepped even closer. "Beetiful. Kiney."

[Kinley Sima]

Kinley laughed, too. The word sounded foreign coming from Dragon but he seemed to understand its meaning, or the word itself. Maybe it was because Kinley said it before, back when he first found the card and realized its magic features. He used to hoard it all to himself, up until today. Now he'd said something about it to two people but for a while there, it was his little secret--the magic card that moved when he looked at it, reacted when he touched it, and somehow imparted upon him a skill he'd always wanted but never had.

Magic.

Of course, that was the word that came to mind. In all his time here in Hazleton, he never thought he'd see it for himself, first hand. But now look at him: he'd not only seen that card and felt its power but now it had somehow come to life in the form of a person. A beautiful person, that somehow exactly embodied the feeling he got when he looked at the card. How could that be anything else, except magic?

"Beautiful," he repeated, slowly, so that Dragon understood the word better. What he didn't expect was the way Dragon held onto his coat and stood closer to him. Was he not just learning the word? Because honestly, the way he was saying it, it sounded more like Dragon was trying to communicate that he thought Kinley was beautiful.

"Me?" This close and personal with Dragon, he had to wonder, "Are you going to kiss me?"

[Dragon]

"B-bee... yoo... tiful?"

It still sounded strange, the way that he stretched out each syllable, but if it made Kinley laugh again, Dragon was willing to make a fool of himself. "Beeyootiful," he said again, testing out the word when he pronounced it faster. It sounded a little more like the way that Kinley said it--except when Kinley said it to Dragon, it elicited warmth and affection. When Dragon said it--laughter.

He cocked his head lightly to one side when Kinley followed up with what sounded like a question. Dragon didn't know what he wanted to know but he put on a thoughtful face anyway--even as their faces were less than a foot apart. "Beeyootiful. Kiney. Yes." He didn't know how else to convey his feelings. It was sort of impossible to be eloquent when he only knew five words!

Dragon didn't know what the humans did when they felt affectionate towards one another--in that way--but for his own kind... Being a dragon, the easiest way to do so was to curl and wind around one another. In his current form, however, he wasn't a long graceful creature. He was a fleshy block with sticky out arms and legs. Dragon tried to curl around Kinley with his arms, wrapping them around him. He pressed his cheek to Kinley's and said, "Beeyootiful" again, in an impassioned whisper.

[Kinley Sima]

Ah, so he did think Kinley was beautiful. Awfully flattering, considering Kinley was just a normal human guy with no magic power to speak of... and Dragon was... as far as Kinley could tell, a beautiful, sinuous ink dragon made of magic and curiosity. He seemed really curious about everything. And he also seemed to have eyes for nothing else but him. Which was kinda flattering, although a little unnerving. But also kinda cute. He didn't understand why Tim hated this so much. Honestly, he was finding it... intriguing. Kinda... um. Kinda other things, too.

He didn't even know why he asked Dragon about kissing because if he didn't even know how to properly use the word beautiful and he didn't know how pants worked, there was no way he was going to know what a kiss was. It was such an incredibly stupid thing to ask and yet the question had come rolling out anyway. It was the way they were standing--pretty intimate--and they were so close and so... so... Um. Yeah.

"Yes?" he questioned, not sure he heard right. Then he inwardly scoffed. This wasn't what he thought it was. Surely Dragon had no idea what he said. But then he hugged him, curling about him a bit reminiscent of a koala. And he said it again, beautiful, in a pretty intimate way.

"Um..." He awkwardly slid his arm around Dragon, partly to hold onto him and make sure he didn't go skittering off and partly because he wanted to. His heart pounded madly in his chest as they stood together, cheek to cheek. This was so strange. He didn't normally get this close to strangers so quickly. Yet here he was... and it didn't even feel like he was with a stranger because the energy from the card he'd found and the energy from Dragon felt like they were one and the same.

"You're really nice," he said, for some reason in hushed tones like the ones Dragon used when he pressed his cheek to his. "But if we don't get you dressed and find a way out of here before dark, we might be screwed." Reluctantly, slowly, he moved his head back so he could look at Dragon. "You need to get dressed now, all right?"

[Dragon]

Ah--Kinley curled around him too. Or his arms did, at any rate. Dragon's heart soared into the clouds and he uttered a very pleased sound, a little like a sing-song hum. It appeared as though Kinley felt the same way about him; otherwise, he wouldn't have wound his arms around Dragon, reciprocating the affection and the feelings that Dragon was trying to convey.

"Hmm?" Kinley was speaking again, in a whisper, but even so, Dragon caught on to the tone of his voice. He smiled at a far-off bush. Kinley did like him! In--yes--that way! How they were going to further express their mutual... er... like of each other was anyone's guess but Dragon supposed that it was a little too soon for that anyway. He had to figure out this human body first, and its limitations and capabilities. He couldn't even wind around another person, for goodness' sake!

As Kinley pulled back, however, Dragon uttered a disappointed noise. Or, rather, Kinley's head moved back and Dragon looked reproachfully at him for a few moments. What did he want? His tone indicated a question but the only response he got was a quizzical look and a lift of Dragon's brows. "Kiney?"

[Kinley Sima]

He was cute. Like really cute. Like cuter than anybody he'd ever met before, even though he was also naked (which in some perverted corners of his mind wasn't exactly a negative thing) and didn't know anything he said. But he was cute and he was warm and he hugged him, which was cute. How could anybody not like him?

I shouldn't have said what I said back there. To Mrs. Briggs. It was going to cause problems for Dragon and himself later on down the road. Aiyaaa, if she said anything to Kero he was going to die right on the spot.

While Dragon contemplated him, Kinley contemplated Dragon. He thought about what Tim said again and thinking about Tim reminded him that there was an Evie--another mystery person found and brought in. Was she like Dragon then? Kinley thought maybe he should introduce them. Didn't Evie once say something about a brother? Maybe this was him. But there were so many differences; like Evie knew perfectly well how to speak, how to act around people, how to get dressed. He could only imagine what would have transpired had she shown up in the same state as Dragon.

Kinley reached out and tried to smooth Dragon's brows down, to make him look less inquisitive. "The pants," he said, then gestured to the pants he'd put on earlier. He tried to make the word as clear as possible: "Pants."

Then he cast a worried glance up, hoping it wouldn't get dark before they found their way back to the school. This area wasn't nearly as bad as the one where people literally were torn apart by animals but either way, Kinley really didn't want to risk it. So he leaned down and he squirmed his way out of the sweatpants. Then he repeated it: "Pants."

He prodded Dragon in the chest because there was no way he was prodding him where pants were meant to go.

[Dragon]

Dragon blinked rapidly as fingers came poking at his brow, resisting the urge to snap his head back. Kinley wasn't poking him in the eye, he was just... doing something to Dragon's forehead. The brows relaxed and Dragon looked down at the hand that Kinley was using to point at his legs. "...pans." Evidently that was the name for them. Pans. And Kinley wanted him to do... something with them. Possibly slip them on over his own legs? For protection? (And to rein in the dangling bits.)

As they finally broke apart, Dragon watched Kinley removing the protective covering from his legs. He blinked as he was poked and slowly reached for the cloth, holding them in his hands but still feeling a little lost and confused. Well. Only way to know what they did was to put them on, he supposed! Besides, it was growing darker, and colder, and Dragon was beginning to shiver a little bit. These human bodies were awfully flimsy.

He began to lift a leg, imitating what Kinley did earlier when he slipped into these pans, but his other leg began to wobble badly so he hastily put the upraised leg down. "Hm..." Dragon looked around, up at Kinley, sighed in exasperation, then studied the ground. "Pans..." Dragon muttered unhappily, before dropping to sit on the mushy leaves underfoot.

He struggled for a while to get one leg in; his foot wouldn't bend the way he wanted it to and snagged on the cuffs. "Nrrg!" Dragon finally forced it through, then looked up almost proudly at Kinley before starting on the second leg, which proved more difficult due to the fact that the other leg was already all the way in. The material felt soft, at least. Just... he didn't know if he could handle this arduous and difficult process every time.

[Kinley Sima]

He lifted the back of his hand to his mouth and turned his head, trying his best not to laugh aloud. It wasn't poor Dragon's misery that he found amusing. It was just the unhappy tone combined with the way he said pants that pushed him to the verge. Clearing his throat and shaking his shoulders out, he turned back toward Dragon to find that he had at least gotten one leg in. The other one, however, seemed to be giving him trouble.

Slowly, Kinley sank down in the leaves next to him and helped him out with the second led of the pants. But even with two legs inside the pants, he was still... uncovered. Kinley rose to his feet and gestured for Dragon to get up--then realized that if Dragon was clumsy when he didn't have pants encasing his legs, he was going to be even more so now. So he held out his hand for Dragon to take so he could help him up... and help him pull his pants up around his waist.

"There!" he said, somewhat triumphant as he patted Dragon on the arm. "Oh wait, hold on." He slid his jacket off. "Here." Resigning himself to the fact that Dragon would need help with the jacket, too, he put an arm through it. "See, it's better~!"