Mending of body and heart [Private with Sapphire]

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Hyruu swore once again as the harsh wind stung his face. The numerous small wounds he was having were exposed to the wind, and blood was staining parts of his fur near his face.
The day had started well. A warm sun rise, no Shudaar to annoy him, a small hunt, a bigger prey spotted... And then a big root. Before he had the time to realize it his face had hit the tree in front of him, leaving multiple scratching marks on his cheek and broken his muzzle. Hyruu whimpered from the pain, finally reaching the entrance of the Vuari city.
He made his way toward the center, where the healers were. Another whimper, but at least now the wind wasn't stinging him anymore. He reached the healers quarter of the town, letting out another whimper as she rang the small bell that was set there to indicate someone was waiting for a healer. He just hoped that at that hour there was a healer available...

// ts

The following day Sapphire awoke in her den which was close to where Hyruu was, yawning as she stretched her legs hoping onto her feet. Walking slowly towards his den as she spoke softly looking towards the snoozing Hyruu "Hey.. Morning, how'd you sleep" tilting her head slightly as she smiled

The rest of the day had been rather calm. Hyruu had taken a nap, and then headed back to his den as now the only thing to do was to wait. Hopefully there wasn't much if a trip to do, and the grey dragon decided a good rest was the best thing to get after all this.

The next morning, he was very slowly waking up when he heard a voice coming from the entrance of his den. Even after those few years he couldn't get used to waking up without the direct hit from the sun. The grey dragon rolled in the small pit that was his bed, the pillows stacked there shuffling around him. If Sapphire was to enter she would find him rolled on his back, all members stretched and purring.
"Morning, Sapphire..." he said as he repressed a yawn.
Man, yawning would be the first thing he would do once he would get that ice removed.

Lowering her snout as she smiled to inspect his muzzle, "Looks.. good! I think its pretty much healed" removing the ice from his jaw as she tested it slightly stroking along his chin and snout. "Yep your free to go" smiling yet hiding a little sadness in her eyes at the thought of him leaving. Sitting down as she continued "So.. About tonight.. ermm.. I don't know where you want to meet?" Tilting her head slightly as she brushed her mane again out of her face.

Hyruu felt a slight warmth in his cheeks when the dragoness lowered herself on him and began to stroke his jaw and muzzle. Even though he perfectly knew it was only to check if he was healed correctly, it felt slightly awkward. But the warmth he felt once the ice melted made him smile and forget about that. Once Sapphire was done with the inspection he did what he wanted for so long now : a good, wide yawn.
"Ah I never thought I'd want to yawn so badly... Thank you. Well, for this evening why not here?" he suggested.

Nodding gently as she replied "Sure why not.. I doubt I will see anyone else today" smiling warmly as she pulled herself onto her feet. "So what do you plan on hunting?" looking curiously towards him as she waited.

Hyruu stood up, thinking. It was right that he didn't have any idea what he would hunt.
"Hmm I don't know yet. I guess I'll see on the way. Preys have gotten a bit scarce in the surroundings lately, I'll try to head farther and see what I can find." he answered. "So... See you this evening then!" he smiled.

Nodding as she felt the room hoping he would follow as she wanted to check if he could walk alright. "Yep see you tonight take care" smiling as she returned to her desk sitting behind it seemly getting ready to get back to snoozing.

Hyruu warmly smiled at Sapphire, following her for a few steps before he turned to another direction. The dragoness could be reassured, his walking was as normal as it could be, his tail lazily swinging from side to side with each of his steps.
The grey dragon headed toward the outside, navigating among the caves of Vuari. He got greeted by the harsh wind of the mountains as he stepped in the sunlight, barely bothered by the coldness. It was all a matter of habits and thick fur. Mostly thick fur. He extended his wings, pausing for a second before leaping and gliding along the mountain.


Hyruu panted as he released his grip from his prey's throat, blood dripping on his chin. He dragged the prey in a more comfortable spot, and sat down. He was feeling dizzy, and felt the world turning as he took a too deep breath. His ears were slightly painful, the air pressure messing with his head. His fur began to get back to its usual grey, from the camouflaged green it had been. Hyruu had flown down the mountain, up to a point where only few Vuari were going. After all, among them Hyruu was one of the only ones - if not the only one - able to deal with both the Etcan mountain's altitude and the lower altitudes. Well, he needed a while to get used to it though. Taking deep breathes right now was too much for his body, and he had to force himself to take long and slow breathes not to get too much oxygen. And the pressure in his ears wasn't exactly enjoyable either.

But that was worth it. He was internally jubilating from the surprise he would give Sapphire this evening. He had found an adult horse! Such a big prey was already rare on its own among the Vuari, but a horse would definitely be a discovery for Sapphire. After all, they never ventured high in the mountain... He couldn't wait to see her face when she would realize the meal he got her. As he looked around, his grin widened. There were even fruit trees around here! And luckily he had his satchel with him. Time to gather some raspberries! Oh and even herbs there... Today was definitely bountiful.


Going back up to the Vuari was way more difficult than going down. Not only because he had to walk/fly up instead of just gliding down, but also because he had to carry a whole horse and a satchel full of raspberries and herbs. And on top of that the air pressure was against him. His body had begun to get accustomed to the higher pressure and air density, and now he was panting hard to get enough air to continue walking. Needless to say, he was glad when he finally spotted the entrance to Vuari. His chest was moving at an abnormal rhythm, but that would soon stop...
The grey dragon entered the cave complex and soon reached his home. He set the items he was carrying on the floor, and took a few minutes to relax. This had been a busy day. Once he rested a bit, he headed toward his fireplace, and lit the fire using the materials he had for that specific purpose. Not being able to breath fire had its drawbacks for sure... Once he was done lighting the fire, he began to expertedly cut the horse, extracting all the interesting pieces and putting them to grill. While the meat was cooking, he began to use the herbs he had found to add some flavor to the meat. It was a rather simple meal, but definitely a good one.
He was late on his schedule, and as such Sapphire would most probably arrive while Hyruu was cooking his meat. The grey dragon wasn't at the best of his looks, since he had bloody fur running under his neck and multiple small branches and leaves stuck in his fur. He had planned to take a quick bath before Sapphire would arrive, but it was likely he wouldn't have the time for that... And besides, his body was still getting used to the lower air density and he was breathing rather fast.

Later in the evening as Sapphire was getting ready to go out, as she was invited to meet Hyruu for a mean seemly being made by himself. Using some of her own natural flowers she washed her mane and fur thanks to her lovely bath, smiling as she finished off drying while placing a beautiful blue Lilly in her mane. Leaving her den behind she only knew slightly where he lived but no doubt it wasn't going to be an issue.

Walking along she spotting the place which she was invited, waiting outside of the den she called inside "H..hello Hyruu?" looking curiously she couldn't see anyone just yet.

Hyruu was cooking the meat when he suddenly heard Sapphire call from outside. It was already that late? He realized the situation he was in. The food was almost ready but he certainly wasn't! He was still dirty from the hunt! How could he face her in such a state? But he couldn't ignore her calling either, that would be even more rude...
The grey dragon headed toward the entrance of his cave, accepting his fate. He had ruined everything... Hyruu spotted Sapphire, and her sight made him feel even more guilty. Her mane and fur were all carefully washed and brushed, and that flower on her head... For a second he could only watch her, seized by her beauty, before lowering his head in shame.
"H-Hey Sapphire. I'm sorry, the hunt took longer than I planned, and... Well, I didn't have the time to clean myself..." he apologized, unable to look at her.

Smiling warmly as he appeared looking slightly shocked from his appearance yet returning back to a smile. "Don't worry about it Hyruu, I'm a healer I've seen worse" she chuckled blushing slightly as she waited for herself to be invited in. "So... if you want to invite me in I'm sure its alright for you to clean yourself up while I wait"

Hyruu slightly blushed as Sapphire still warmly replied to him. Was she really meaning it? After all it was rude not to be ready when the person you invited arrived...
"Oh, erm, yes, sure! Make yourself comfortable, I'll be back in a minute!" he said as he gestured toward inside.
The grey dragon led the way, making Sapphire enter the main room of his cave. It was nicely furnished, some pillows were set next to a low table. Two thin stone slabs were set on it, empty at the moment. There were multiple items laying against the walls, memories of all the travels he made during his life. This wasn't the usual cave Vuaris tended to have, giving it a slightly exotic appearance.
"I'll the right back!" he repeated as he rushed into the next room.
The grey dragon washed his fur as fast as he could, mostly cleaning the blood and the most obvious branches stuck in his fur. He didn't want to make Sapphire wait after all! When he got out, he was looking somewhat funny. He couldn't have the time to remove everything and as such tiny pieces of leaves and branches were stuck in his fur, even though it wasn't as bad as before. This mix of clean and messy was a bit odd, and slightly comical.
"There. Sorry again. Dinner is almost ready." he stated as he looked at the grilling meat.

Nodding as she waited next to the low table sitting down, seemly Hyruu returned rather quickly she couldn't help but hide a giggle from his comical appearance spotting the leaves in his fur. "No Problem, certainly smells nice. You've got quite a comfortable home here" smiling slightly nervously as she gazed around the room. Lowering her muzzle as she waited, unsure what else to say feeling slightly awkward.

Hyruu tried to smile the best he could, but it was rather obvious he was tensed from the mistakes he made. After what Sapphire did to him he had wanted to properly thank her, but it was turning quite awkward...
"Oh, that? Yeah, it still needs some shelves, but I like it so far." he replied, glad for the opportunity to talk about something else than the mess his fur was.
Soon enough the meat was cooked. Hyruu grabbed the two plates that were on the table and set the meat on them, adding some herbs to the composition. While it looked simple, the efforts he put in it were showing as it looked delicious already. The grey dragon then grabbed a bowl, and set the fruits he gathered in it.
"There we go! This is horse meat." he announced, visibly proud of himself.

Surprised at the amount of meat which he had given her she smiled towards him as she replied "Horse meat? I don't think I've tried that before..." waiting for him to join her she grabbed two fruits from the bowl, placing them onto her plate. "Well thank you Hyruu, It sure does look good"