A Moonlight Stroll

She had not intended on getting someone to date when she set out on her journey, yet here she was under the winter moonlight. It was actually quite exciting. She had never been in this kind of relationship before and she could only wonder where this would take her.

Alex was nice and kind to her, even though his constant kissing in front of other people made her feel flushed in the cheeks. It was a strange feeling, a little uncomfortable, but her heart just couldn't stop beating fast whenever he did it. It felt strange in a good way.

She didn't know what to expect in all honesty, but figured that it couldn't hurt when he asked to go out with her. The woods were a quiet place. Peaceful. She felt at home here, since she used to explore the forests where she came from.

Feeling her hand squeezed, she instinctively clasped on in return. A light blush painted on her face appeared when she was complimented on. "I do?" she asked, not knowing how to respond.

Compliments used to be easy to take, but Alex just adds a little something to it that makes her speechless at times. Flirting was a new thing to her. It made her want to find something cute and squeeze it, but at the same time it kept her from wanting to leave to do something like that. She couldn't quite explain it, but she knew she wanted to be close.

She looked at Alex, blushing after she felt his kiss. "It's no problem. I kinda wanted to spend some more time with you as well." She was starting to get used to his kisses. One thing she could say was it wasn't at all that different from the kisses of a parent, but when someone else does it, it feels different. Better even.

"By the way. Since you'e calling me your girlfriend, I'll have to call you my boyfriend, don't I?" she chuckled. Boyfriend. A word she heard a couple of times, but never had a chance to call someone that. It was one of those words that was just fun to say.

"Then it's settled--" she chuckled, "--boyfriend." A light blush burned brighter when their lips touched. She didn't mind it that much. She liked it.

"I like winter too. I used to watch the snowflakes fall from my bedroom window every night, and see the glass start to frost over in a crystalline pattern. And then there were the times where I would sit in front of the fireplace, on my mother's lap while she wrapped me up with her wings, telling me stories."

"You had to hide?" she asked, forgetting that most species were likely to avoid humans due to some differences in the past. But upon remembering, she took on a slightly saddened tone. "My mom told me why we stay away from humans. Maybe its for the same reason?"

Val looked at Alex quizzically. "She said that old humans would try to catch us because they thought we were monsters. Or that they thought our feathers were valuable. Do you think that's how they really are?"

Val picked up that he was a distraught at the subject. Did something happen to him? Just like how she didn't want to create any tension with her father, she didn't ask if something was bothering him. It could ruin the date, and she didn't want that to be how her first one ended.

Luckily, he cheered up and kissed her. This time, she was ready and returned the kiss and nuzzled into his cheeks. "I guess both of us got lucky coming here."