Cave of Wondering

Alexis had, of course, forgotten how chilly it would have been flying like that. But Dalia really seemed more... fragile than before. Emotionally for sure, but also in a physical sense. It was odd. Frustrating too, but she'd pull through and figure things out right? She had to.

Stupid thinking. Never helped.

He did know what it was like to have too many emotions to process. He was swimming in then even still, but somehow the thought if going emotionless at that moment seemed really offensive and wrong.

He was absolutely caught off guard by most of Dalia's action. Sure he was used to her needing a hug or generally just needing physical contact. But that sure as hell was more than a simple hug. His first, dumb, instinct was to go emotionless and he had to almost literally bite his tongue to keep from doing that like and upsetting Dalia. Instead there was a rumble in his throat and he shifted a little to one side to allow one winged forelimb to scrape forward across the ground. Encircling Dalia slightly in a rough but well-intentioned embrace.

It took a while for him to settle on a more verbal response. He wasnt a wordsmith and they both knew that so he went with simple. "Then stay here and relax. Don't think. Or I'll bite you," he grinned even though she wasnt really in a position to see it. But pressed up against his snout she clearly would feel the muscles tensing and teeth being bared slightly. Probably not super comfy, he realized afterwards. Oh well. He was doing his best while his own confusion whirled around in his head.

Alexis' large wyvern eye widened in minor panic, and then relaxed. That had sounded very much like the Dalia he knew. And while he didn't know how to handle that kind of response, he did know better than to make her feel weird about having said it. Things in general were emotional and confusing and.. a lot to handle.

So Alexis just followed his own advice. Not trying to understand and process it all right now. He could feel her speaking almost better than he could hear her at the moment, what with her burying her face in his jawline. His winged forelimb continued to fold in and he scooped Dalia into the best equivalent he could make for a hug in that form. He was far to embarrassed himself to even ask about, or try, shifting back to human form. The leathery material was kind of like super heavy duty canvas and he was careful not to draw the sharp claw on the tip anywhere near her for fear of hurting her.

"Don't know if i'm safe. I'm supposed to be dangerous...," he grumbled mostly to himself and a couple small streams of mist snorted out of his nostrils. But he curled up as best he could protectively around Dalia. "But I want to keep you safe Dalia." It felt weird to say something sentimental in that screeching, growling wyvern voice. He had sharp claws and a deadly tail. Built for hunting and killing. But he was cradling Dalia agaisnt him. Maybe that made him a little bit soft compared to what his family had expected of him. But fuck them. He was making his own way, and he planned to show them just how wrong they were in time.

Alexis bit back his frustration at being called gentle. He wasnt a cuddly teddy bear. He wasnt. He was just... trying not to hurt her. Ok... maybe he was a little soft with some people. His closest friends. Those he really cared about. But he could still brutally kill prey and foes alike! He was a wyvern!

He almost missed her request. She wanted him to turn back for.. what exactly. Dammit this was another freaking puzzle. One he was certain he was missing pieces too. Or maybe all guys feel that way sometimes. Good thing there was an easy fix- just shift back like she was asking for.

Alexis withdrew away from Dalia a little and shook his whole head neck a little as if getting the kinks out of a hose. His frills flapping and waving in the motion. Then he withdrew into himself. The wings folded in and the tough leathery hide returned to its softer human-like skin shape. Alexis returned to human form as she asked.

Then he stepped forward back to where she was. "What, you want to hug something that isnt full of teeth? Smart," he joked and kind of just awkwardly stood there entirely unsure what she wanted him to do.

Alexis was understandably caught off-guard. Understandably for him anyways. Plenty of other people might have been able to see that coming a mile away. The embrace wasn't too huge a deal. He'd hugged... or rather been hugged by Dalia plenty of times before. He didn't smell particularly bad.. probably. Maybe a little like sweat, unavoidable given his drive to be active, mixed with a scent of salt-laden ocean air.

He didn't have time to react to her frustrated maneuvering. Only just realizing something was up when she let out a small grunt and practically flung herself upwards to close the half a foot or so gap she was so stymied by. This wasn't a romance movie. This wasn't a movie at all. Alexis wasn't smooth and definitely didn't react in the best way for Dalia's nerves. In fact he barely reacted at first. He blinked a few times and looked down at poor Dalia in all her anxious embarrassment, looking a little confused and lost. What was actually happening though was he was trying not to have his head explode with the emotions involved. He'd still not cleared out everything that had been built up while struggling to avoid forgetting about Dalia. He came within a hair of dumping everything and going emotion-less.

He definitely didn't hate her or feel grossed out. He loved Dalia. Had almost admitted it outright earlier. He was struggling though with what that meant. She was younger than him by a fair bit. And both of them were dealing with some shit. Her moreso in the present time. Dammit. Freaking thinking about too much again.

Fuck it.

He sort of just knelt down slightly and then reached his dumb awkward arms down and around to pick her up like a front-side piggyback so she was more at his eye-level. It seemed better than staying knelt down or looking down at her. "I... don't know how to handle this stuff...," he admitted honestly after a soul-crushingly long minute of silence.

Alexis' head was spinning. It probably would have been easier if they weren't separated by.. what was it? 3ish years? Not a huge gap if they were older but he was fairly certain people might give him funny looks for being her boyfriend.

She wasnt that far along in high school and he... ok, well that probably wouldnt be an issue until next year. He wasnt going to graduate this year after all.

Damn it. Why is everything so fucking complicated? But he did know two things for certain. He loved Dalia and he didnt want to leave her. So fuck everyone else and let them stare. They've been staring since he got to the island anyway.

He exhaled a small handful of mist in frustration as he dumped his thoughts and worries away again.

"I... people might be weird about this. But fuck it. I dont need everyone else to like me. I want you to... be happy." His words almost seemed to come more from his chest, as he grumbled, at least until the last two words. Those were clearer

Oh and one more thing was said clearly, since he'd forgotten to actually answer the question. "Yes. If you're ok with it then yes."

He felt like his heart was going to come out of his chest. He was feeling excited and nervous and... well, a lot was going on. So after answering he left his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, hugging her close. This would be weird and complicated and possibly hard. But so was literally everything else either of them had experienced so far.