“Quickly, get inside! You’re as frozen as an ice pop.”

Stepping in from the cold, a frigid gust of wind buffets my tailfeathers, sending me deep into the shelter of the den. I cast about to see Nakino loping through the entrance, his boiler black feathers turned a pale shade of gray by the snow-driven gales. He shivers and shakes his wings of ice, recently reformed from the short flight to the top of the aerie.

“I’ll start a fire,” I offer, grabbing a stick of emberoot left against the back wall. Instead of replying coherently, Nakino issues a coarse grunt of acknowledgment.

He sounds as enthusiastic to have this conversation as I am. Resigning myself to fate, I hold the emberoot between my fangs and say, “We never got to talk about Couple’s Night.”

Nakino grumbles, “That’s because you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, I’d like to talk about it now.”

“Do you?” Nakino asks, raising his voice. “Are you sure?”

…What?! Why is he upset?! “…Yes? Nakino, will you listen to me?”

A soft growl escapes the larger drakon’s chest, but his expression moderates. Slowly, he dips his head and murmurs, “Alright.”

Oooo-kay. Why is Nakino in such a foul mood? I know he had to fly all the way to Flat Rock in a blizzard, but that isn’t my fault. He choose to do that. Shouldn’t he be relieved to see the drakaina he’s in love with? Or did he forget there’s a psychopathic Dragon on the loose that wants me dead?

Unable to understand his emotions, I turn away from Nakino and find a spot to drop the emberoot. My first attempt to ignite it only causes the encrusted ice to simmer a little, but on the second try, a stout flame erupts. The den is bathed in light, revealing its true shape and warming the surrounding area.

“There,” I say. “Now, come on, mantle your wings.”

Nakino studies me a moment, then steps before the fire. He shivers as he draws his ice-encumbered wings open and rests gently against his haunches. The stone inside our den is icy cold, and it’ll remain that way for some time. As the firm begins to warm him, A strained breath flows past his fangs, and his feathers begin to relax.

Viewing Nakino in this state, I can’t help but feel pity. Regardless of his intentions, flying the gales to Flat Rock was tremendously dangerous. Stifling the worry that I might regret what I’m about to do, I step forward and nuzzle my face against Nakino’s, taking in his musty scent. As his face begins to warm, he exhales another breath, this time more relaxed. But before he can get too comfortable, I pull my head away and distance ourselves, turning in a circle to lay against the ground. I’m not sure what Nakino’s expecting from this conversation, but the way he spoke to me earlier has only reinforced my feelings for him.

I avert my gaze to stare into the fire, then begin slowly, “I didn’t want to talk about it because I didn’t know Kuro had feelings for me.”

“I know,” Nakino says bluntly. “I overheard Frope talking to you.”

He heard us in the den…?!

On that day, Nakino interrupted the end of my conversation with Tomcat to ask for my assistance with the first two patients who came down with the illness. He must have approached the den but remained quiet to listen to our conversation.

I exhale and tell him, “Then I shouldn’t have to tell you how much it caught me by surprise.”

Nakino keeps his eyes averted from me and stares across the den. "I was convinced you had already talked to Kuro about your feelings. When Sefri announced we were paired together, and she didn’t shred me to pieces…” he trails off, then chuckles lightly to himself, “Well, until I heard Frope, it was the only explanation that made sense.”

To this day, I still don’t know why Kuro concealed her feelings for me. Even as Couple’s Night approached — and the prospect of me falling for some drakon loomed — she kept her muzzle shut. It astonishes me how much restraint she had, watching me fly off on a date with the drakon she disliked so much.

“We’ve since talked about it,” I reveal with a coy smile.

A slab of ice slips away from Nakino’s wing and shatters against the ground. He slides his gaze to me, and a glimmer of hope as fervent as the flame beside us shimmers in his eyes.

“But,” I continue. “I told her I… wasn’t ready yet to think about romance. I can’t let go of my family in Ellyntide just yet.”

Nakino’s expression sinks, and he turns his head away. He gazes into the fire and asks, “What about us?”

I blink in confusion, his candidness catching me off-guard. “What do you mean?”

Nakino turns back and asks, “Don’t your feelings for me mean anything, Asha?”

My feelings for him?

I curl my talons against the ground. “Nakino…”

“You told me you enjoyed our kiss,” he says, lowering his head closer to mine.

“I know, but…” My voice dissipates as a certain discomfort writhes beneath my feathers. “It was just a kiss. A single act of kindness isn’t commitment.”

Nakino snorts, "Didn’t you feel anything that night?”

I lay in silence, unable to think of a satisfactory response. Or maybe I’m just scared to say aloud what I really think.

Nakino takes another step forward and stretches his neck until his head nearly hovers above mine. He whispers, scarcely louder than the fire beside us, “When you looked into my eyes, I saw a drakaina who admired me. By your own admission, you never met anyone in the Farlands who liked plants as much as I do. Correct?”

Nakino pauses, perhaps expecting me to interject… or to admit I’ve been a fool all along, and he’s right. He’s not, of course, so I remain silent. How much longer is he going to pressure me about this? Kuro had no trouble respecting my decision to put off romance, so why can’t he?

The black drakon’s frown deepens. With anger creeping into his voice, he continues, “Why can’t you see that we’re right for each other?! How can you be blind to the connection we had? And when are you going to admit that you love me more than—“

My patience runs out. “Nakino, stop!”

I slap the top of my wing against his face to push him away from me. His head recoils mid-sentence, giving me a precious moment to jump to my talons and put some distance between us. As Nakino recovers, he flares his wings wide in anger, drawing them open to a length that extends nearly the entire span of the den. He flares his nostrils and drops his head low, issuing a savage warning growl that trembles the stones beneath my talons.

I flare my wings to match Nakino’s stance and issue a sharp riposte of my own, hoping to match his effortless intimidation. One of the largest and smallest Dragons in the flock — the difference in size between us has never been so apparent. But despite Nakino’s advantage, I have to stand my ground. Mom never allowed herself to be pushed around by King Finn, and Nakino has to learn the same lesson!

“Listen to me,” I hiss through bared fangs. “I attended Couple’s Night because I had no other choice. I’m not ready to commit myself to the flock, not until I exhaust every option to contact my family in Ellyntide. If that time comes, then we’ll talk. But not a day sooner! Do you understand?”

By the Goddess, what a nightmare this has become! This isn’t at all what I wanted to tell Nakino today. I wanted to tell him, ‘no.’ I wanted to close the book between us before we even started writing it.

Once, I enjoyed his company and found his grumpy attitude endearing. It felt like a dream to find a dragon as passionate about plants as I was. But no more. I no longer have feelings for Nakino. Not after he cowered behind Sefri at the Grandfather Tree, and certainly not after threatening me today. There may come a time when I have to be forthright about my true feelings for him… will he take it with civility? Or will one of the largest Dragons in the flock corner me again in a fit of rage? The uncertainty makes me uncomfortable, but I’ll just have to lie now and deal with the consequences later.

Nakino studies me, his expression unwavering. He gathers his thoughts and rumbles, “It’s more than that. There’s something else that’s bothering you. What is it?”

I frown and avert my eyes. Damnit! How can he tell? But there’s no way I can be honest when he’s cornered me inside a den. What should I do?!

“Tell me!” Nakino growls impatiently.

Argh, I have to stand up to him, but how?

What if... I told him the partial truth?

“Alright, fine,” I spit. “The way you cowered behind Sefri was despicable.”

“Despicable?!” Nakino scoffs, throwing his wings up.

“Yes!” I say. “If you had agreed with Kuro about Sefri’s behavior, then I might still be allowed in the aerie! Instead, you couldn’t even tell her I wasn’t the source of the illness!”

Nakino growls, “That’s because I can’t.”

I gasp and take a terrified step backward. He… doesn’t think it’s absurd? How could he..?

The admission catches me utterly by surprise. It’s like I no longer know who Nakino is. Trembling, I ask, “Y-you don’t think he was right, do you? Relmoon?”

As I speak, the anger across Nakino’s face subsides. It seems he realized he made a mistake. “Asha,” he answers in a calmer voice. “Listen to me. I don’t agree with Relmoon or the things he said about you. But you taught me to have a scientific mind about plants, one that’s unburdened by prejudice and bias. Until I can confirm the source of the illness—“

“Use your mind to understand it’s jimbaldung!” I screech, unconsciously using a Kin swear. “If I was the source of the illness, then why didn’t I infect Kin the moment I landed in Felra!?”

“I won’t know for sure unless I find it!!”

The howl of a bone-chilling gale caps the end of Naknio’s sentence, thrusting a flurry of snow and ice deep into the den. The blanket of white collides against our feathers and quickly extinguishes the emberoot fire. By the cover of darkness, I fold my wings close to my body and slip past Nakino on the outer wall of the den, following the disparate rays of daylight shining in from outside. By the time Nakino realizes what’s happened, I find myself standing in the snowy entrance of the den, free to leave as I please.

“I’ve had enough of this,” I growl, lashing my tail. “Believe whatever you want, Son-Of-Yzori. Just… stay away from me.”

As I turn to leave, Nakino cries out, “Asha, wait!”

Against my better judgment, I plant my legs into the snowdrifts and swivel around to face Nakino. Daylight shining past me illuminates his face, allowing me to see intense regret painted across his feathers.

“I-If we were mated,” he trembles. “Then I could get you back into the Grandfather Tree. I could argue that Sefri has no right to kick you out. I would never be mated to the Dragon causing the illness, right? Asha, don’t you see? We could save lives!”

My muzzle drifts agape, unable to believe a word Nakino just said. I would have never expected him to be so pathetic, so vile as to hold the lives of his patients hostage so that he could be mated. But that’s precisely what he did. How can he call himself a healer? It’s not even worth explaining how despicable he is.

“Goodbye, Nakino.”

Before he can object further, I leap into the air and feel myself lofted by the frozen winds. I gain some altitude away from the rock before gliding down to the entrance of Fra’s den. Inside, Tomcat and Kuro are preening by the fire, while Parth has since returned with Fra’s prey.

“Oh!” the dainty drakaina chirps, raising her bloodied head from a leg of spikehorn. “Asha, you’re back. Is everything alright?”

As the Dragons turn their attention toward me, I briefly consider telling them the truth.

“Yeah,” I lie through a feigned smile. “Everything’s fine.”