Breakfast, Walking, and Anatomy

Nightwing stumbles out of the tent just as the sun has fully risen. She blinks in the harsh light, and you can't help but stare.

When she finally notices your staring at her, she narrows her eyes at you. "What're you staring at?"

"Somehow, your hair is worse today than it was yesterday," you reply. It's true - it looks almost as though someone has soaked her hair in starch. It's sticking up at odd angles, some parts of it actually going fully vertical.

"You'll be fixing that, then," she mutters. She sits down next to you. "In the meantime... what are you doing? And when did you wake up?"

"I'm checking the map to see where we should go next," you explain. You hold out a canteen, full of water. "Also, I found some of these in the tent - seems like it took a bit longer for the magic to make them. I remember the guy that sold it to me said the tent will pull moisture out of the air, and use metals in the earth to make the canteens. Some kind of alchemy, I guess?" You shrug. "Either way, it's water - and we need to stay hydrated."

Nightwing accepts the offered canteen, and quickly drinks down the entirety of the water.

She hands back the canteen with an unceremonious burp. "I need to pee..."

With that, she gets up and walks into the the woods to find somewhere to relieve herself. She is NOT a morning person, it would seem.

After a few moments, Nightwing returns, the zipper and button of her jeans undone. "I still can't figure these things out," she mumbles.

Willing yourself to focus on literally anything else, you quickly fasten her pants and return to checking the map.

She plops down next to you, eyes partly closed as she struggles to wake up.

"You never said when you woke up..."

"Oh, a few hours ago."

Nightwing groans at the prospect. "You humans and your bizarre sleeping patterns..."

You cast an incredulous look at her. "What would you know about human sleeping patterns?"

"I had a lot of time in my cave," she explains. "Often, when I couldn't sleep, I'd watch the townspeople go about their day... they all woke up at such different times."

You pause. She says it like it's nothing, but to you, it sounds so...sad.

"We should get going soon," Nightwing announces.

You nod in agreement, and after confirming the direction you need to go in, and at what point you eventually need to turn, you pack your map and compass away.

You grab onto a pull cord at the bottom of the side of the tent.

"I hope this works," you mutter to yourself.

You pull hard, and for a long moment, nothing happens. You dread that you're either going to have to leave the tent, or pack it up normally.

Thankfully, that moment ends, and the tent seems to collapse in on itself, quickly reverting back to its original form of a small square of canvas.

You sigh in relief as you pack it away in your bag. "Alright, let's fix your hair," you announce, getting the brush out of your bag.

"Yes, let's."

Sitting down behind her, you hurriedly brush her hair into submission. It takes longer than you would like, but after a long while, you're finally done.

Once that's over and done with, you both have a sandwich - not a great breakfast, but it's something.

After safely packing everything away, you and Nightwing start back up on you walk, with you holding the compass and acting as the navigator.

Unlike yesterday, when you walked in silence, you would like to actually speak with her today.

"We need to bring you to a hairdresser someday - figure out if there's something we could do to get your hair under control."

"Do not attempt to shirk your duties."

"I'm not - it's just that we lost almost thirty minutes of daylight to this. Time we could've spent walking."

Nightwing huffs. "Then maybe you should just get better at your job."

Pursing your lips, you decide to change the topic.

"How's your shirt? Not as uncomfortable anymore?"

Nightwing blushes a little at that. "Uh...yes. It's...quite a lot better, actually."

"Good. We may have to replace those bandages tonight. In the future, we should definitely pick up a bra." You crane your neck a bit, examining her wings. "Although, a bra may not actually fit on you, with your wings in the way."

"I'm more than certain that someone could create a custom form of this bra you speak of," she replies.

"Probably, but it'd cost a lot, and I doubt my father would be willing to let me borrow money to buy it."

"Why would that be?"

"I sincerely doubt that the tits of the dragon that has enslaved me is high on his priority list."

Your quip earns you a shocking reaction - Nightwing laughs!

You look over at her, and see that she's covering her mouth with a stunned expression. "What was that?"

You stare at her, perplexed by the question. "You...you laughed."

"But I did not intend to make those noises."

"Yeah, but... it's an automatic reaction," you explain to her. "You don't have any control over it."

"I don't understand - is that something common for humans?"

You furrow your brow. "You and I are definitely going to have to have a long talk tonight."

"About what?"

"About the human body. There are a lot of things you need to know."

"Could we not discuss them while we walk, rather than waiting until nightfall?"

"We could, but..." You sigh heavily. "Quite frankly, there are some topics that are best discussed in a more... intimate setting."

{if@ Nightwing thinks you're a pervert==true}Nightwing blushes brightly. "You and I will never share intimacy! How dare you even suggest such a thing!?"{else}Nightwing blushes brightly, but takes a deep breath. "Given your behavior so far, I'm inclined to belive that you do not mean an intimate setting, as in sharing intimacy?"{endif}

"Oh, no - God no. Sorry, that was a poor choice of words..." You shrug, now sporting a blush of your own. "I meant more...private, than anything."

Nightwing nods, still clearly flustered. The two of you carry on in silence for the rest of the day - exactly what you DIDN’T want.

To avoid any awkwardness, you start to explain what you can.

"So, earlier, you laughed - that's an involuntary reaction," you explain to her. "The human body is full of them - sneezing, coughing, fight or flight, crying - the list goes on."

"Why did I laugh?"

"You found what I said funny."

"So that's what that feeling was? Humor?"

"Yep."

She remains silent for a moment, seemingly thinking. "Why did I find what you said funny, though?"

"There are a myriad of theories behind how humor works - most popular among them is the theory of incongruity. When something subverts your expectations in a certain way, you find it funny."

"I certainly did not expect you to so flippantly refer to my breasts as such."

"I'm glad you found it funny - for a second I was afraid I had overstepped a boundary of some kind."

Nightwing smirks slightly. "I'm glad you understand your subservience to me so well."

You consider telling her you just didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but you decide to let her have this one.

You spend the rest of the walk discussing the more basic reactions, but you steer clear of blushing. You don't want to open that can of worms just yet.

---

Later...

You and Nightwing happen upon a glade, just as the sun is starting to set. You quickly set up camp again, and the two of you eat sandwiches within the reconstructed tent in silence.

"So," you begin, taking a deep breath. "How familiar are you with your body?"

Nightwing can't hide the pride that comes to her eyes. "I'm already quite proficient - my balance has improved tremendously!"

You heave a sigh. "That's great, but... that's not what I meant." You swallow nervously. "Have you looked at yourself..." You point, hushing your voice. "Down there?"

Nightwing blushes furiously. "Wh-why would I!? It's nothing new to me!"

"So you had a vagina before turning into a human?"

Her blush intensifies, and she can't look you in the eye. "N...no."

"So it is definitely something new to you."

"Why does that matter!?"

"If you're not careful, you could potentially injure yourself - and if you don't practice proper hygiene, you could develop an infection. It's important for you to be aware of the differences."

She falls silent for a moment. Her next question surprises you. "What do I need to know?"

You take a moment to put yourself in the right mindset. Before your mother got sick, you were preparing to take an entrance exam into an Elven medical program, so you have some knowledge to pull from. It allows you to discuss it in a more clinical fashion, making it a lot less awkward.

You go through the basics of feminine hygiene, such as the proper way to clean oneself after using the restroom. You also let her know about periods, just in case her reproductive cycle has become mamallian.

You briefly touch on how the vagina is basically self-cleaning - she doesn't need to clean it out or anything. You've read anonymous case studies about women attempting to do so with magical reagents - most of them ended up barren, or developed some kind of cancer.

Once that's all said and done, she sighs heavily. "That's...quite a lot more complicated than what I had to deal with as a dragon."

You nod sympathetically. "The rest of our discussion should be pretty simple," you inform her. "I thought it'd be best to get that out of the way, you know?"

"I'm glad you did," she agrees with you. "So, what's next?"

"What's next is, I'm going to give you another footrub."

"Ohhhh, yes - that's a brilliant idea."

You smile gently at her, and she sticks out her feet for you. You remove her shoes and socks, and begin dutifully attending to her.

As you do, you let your hands wander to her ankles, rolling them a bit to relieve tension in the joint. But you're not a masseus, so you don't actually know if you're doing the right thing.

"You'll need to be careful about your ankles," you inform her. "Human ankles sprain easily."

"Such a weak body..." She laments.

"Yes and no - humans can be surprisingly resilient."

"How so?"

"I know people that have lost limbs, and their lifestyle hasn't changed at all."

"That's impossible!"

"Swear on my life!" You hold up a hand to express your sincerity. "They adapt."

"I won't believe it until I see it for myself."

You smirk at her. "If we ever swing by my home town, I'll introduce you to someone."

"Your...home town? Didn't we just leave it?"

"What, that shithole? Gods, no - that's just where my father sent us."

"...sent you?"

You purse your lips. "When my mom got sick, he sent us away to live on the outskirts of that dump. I could've stayed, but...I couldn't let my mom be sent away on her own."

You feel a twinge of guilt - your mother is alone right now. But you're actually trying to help her, so surely that must matter for something, right?

She frowns. "That...doesn't make much sense."

"Tell me about it..." You sigh, and change the topic.

"Could you sit in front of me with your back to me, please? Your posture is terrible - you're going to have back issues at this rate."

_Especially with those jugs weighing you down. _You decide to leave that unsaid.

She obliges, and you take a moment to evaluate how she's holding herself before speaking. You hold your hands out, but pause before touching her. "May I?"

She briefly hesitates. "Yes. You may."

You nod, and gently place your hands on her sides, between her ribs and her tail. You can't help but enjoy the contact, but **** yourself to remember that you're trying to help her.

"It's a bit of a pain, but you should try your hardest to sit up straight." She blushes intensely as you help show her how to correct her posture.

You run your hand down her back to help show her how to properly hold her spine, and she shivers as your fingers gently trace her spine.

You withdraw your hand, and she looks to you with a frown, her blush growing even more intense. "D-do that again...it felt nice..."

You frown a bit, but you oblige. As you do, she archs her back slightly, letting lose a light moan. Her wings flutter, smacking against your chest as they do.

"Wh...what's this feeling?" She looks at you, eyes somewhat glazed over, her cheeks glowinga brilliant gold. You feel yourself beginning to stir down below - her clear expressions of pleasure excite you beyond belief. "I've never felt anything like this before..."

You swallow nervously. Should you tell her the truth? Or should you deflect?

---

A/N - feel free to add a branch here for whatever outcome you'd like to see. I'm going to mark the outcome that is canon to the main story, so readers, you don't need to worry about differentiating between them.