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Description
I tried to explain how these two would even start being a couple of any kind and uhhhh this is it.

Alt text for Rave (Left) would be "Too flustered to realize those are signs of a curse and not really strong magic overload."

Story Is Called "Call That A Fast Burn"

It's 3,156 words. No I'm not sure why it's so long either. I've looked over this twice for mistakes but there still may be some.

Warnings: There's blood and wound cleaning, and internal threats of violence. Also Giglins being attracted to one another and not being sure what to do about it.

Cerifikn-Nation
_____

Rave had scrounged up many things after his odd encounter in the forest. Food. Proper clothes for the weather. A first aid kid. Matches and kindling. All in preparation to not be caught off guard again, and to just generally restart his life. It was only after he had gotten some oven mitts through a trade of herbs did he stop to consider what he had been trying to... ignore the past three days.

He wasn't likely to meet Bicker again, especially with how odd she had acted. There was absolutely no way to even plan around that. Plus, with how she had charged him, maybe it was for the best. This was just... excessive preparation? Gathering items without the ability to stay out looking for them, or even get to where they were, was a foolish endeavor. His job, after all, had always been to go out into the wilderness and find stuff for others.

He looked down at the oven mitts. Only useful for touching things that would otherwise burn you.

Probably flammable.

... Ok, maybe had hope that he would see Bicker again. Hope to offer her some food to share or something. She was just... fascinating? He really had no clue what had grabbed his attention so strongly... maybe he wanted to find out? Maybe become friends?

He tucked away the oven mitts into his bag, finding himself smiling despite his confusion. Mysteries were common in the world, and they were always too big for any one person to solve... but this was something personal. Either he was going to find something out about himself or he was going to find out something about Bicker. Or become more poetic, who knows.

He hoped he didn't become poetic. That would suck. He hated thinking up big fancy words that just took up room.
___

Another three days had passed, with him still staying as busy as before. Today, he was tracking an escaped Jik-Jik. Yes, this was not normal for him to do, and he wasn't exactly skilled, but he knew what Jik-Jik tracks looked like, and he was offered an alright amount of plates.

It was a nice day away from town, all things considered. The top-most layer of snow was sticky, clinging to him slightly. The giglin noted that this made a good canvas for trails as he followed the cloven hoofprints, which seemed to dance over fallen logs and around trees. Other animals tracks dotted the area, like the massive pair of Alto-Teko hoofprints that only briefly crossed paths with the Jik-Jik's. They seemed older though, and he sighed at at the thought of having technically missed any chance seeing them in person.

There were also little bird tracks, scattered here and there. He couldn't figure out what most of them were. He didn't even see any birds... or hear any...

It was oddly silent all of a sudden. He tensed, glancing around. Was he being hunted? No, no, he would've heard some sort of alarm call-

A screech rang out, followed up by the panicked cry of a startled Jik-Jik and the screech turning pained.

Rave, panicking, bolted towards the sound, trudging over and through snowbanks just in time to nearly get trampled by a Red Jik-Jik, bolting back in the direction he had just come from. He yelled out, falling back into a tree with enough force to almost knock the wind out of him.

"Ha- Whoa there! Fluffy!!" He tried to call out, hoping desperately that the Jik-Jik would stop apon its name being called. Surprisingly, it almost did, trotting in a nervous circle and huffing. "Fluffy. Here girl." Rave weezed, watching carefully before regaining both breath and balance. He stepped into the tracks the Jik-Jik had made. "Heyy... Shh shh. You're ok. I'm here to get you home."

He took a step forward, and 'Fluffy' bolted once more. "Wait no-!" He tried to run after, only to slip over something and get a face full of snow.

Heck.

Drat.

He muttered far worse curse words, of course, but that was more for him making such an obvious mistake as to try and chase an animal who could easily go much faster. Shaking off the snow, the giglin scrambled back onto his feet.

The contrasting red of the beast was just visible through the trees, trotting around and seeming to be less focused on running, and more on being nervous. So focused on the beast, yet getting his attention ripped away as something in the clearing behind him seemed to wheeze.

He probably should see what it was, especially if it had attacked the Jik-Jik. If it was hurt, maybe he could take it on himself and get something out of it? Or, heal it with what little first aid he had if it wasn't something that was going to kill him. Give the Jik-Jik a moment to calm down too either way, as it didn't seem to be going anywhere yet.

He warily turned around, and snuck over, following the trail made in all the panic, only to be hit by a wave of warmth as another giglin crawled out from a half melted pile of snow just off the makeshift path.

It was Bicker Blaze, panting, glancing up with a silent snarl only to pause at recognizing Rave. The mutual stare was... very confused before either of them found their voice.

"... Are you ok??"

Without thinking, he offered his hand to her once again. This was met with the same response of her taking a swipe at him, though he managed to yank himself away just in time to not be burned. "R.... Rave. Go... 'way. Thing here." With a rough, almost strained voice, Bicker actually spoke to him. The last part was even more strained, but he caught it anyway.

"... Thing? You mean the... Jik-Jik?" "Thing. I chase.... &%#&#@ kicked me." Bicker swore, dragging her now soaked self fully out of the snow. At first glance, nothing seemed broken, but a besides a large gash along her side signaled that she had definitely been hurt. Rave felt...

Conflicted. "... Why did you chase it? Jik-Jik's are pretty docile if you just leave them alone." He asked, moving to take his bag off only to get another snarl. Freezing up, nervous that she would just outright leap at him, the giglin switched tactics. "Ok- how about this. I'll uh- I'll lead her back to her home. Then I'll come back and uh. Bandage your gash. If you want." His heart felt like it was going to break out of his chest from the sudden jolt of anxiety.

Why would he suggest that? And specifically why in that order?? He sounded stupid! This was stupid! He was actively being threatened by some fiery mage (?) And... and...

Bicker's glare turned into a stare, though their eyes clearly had to squint with the glare from the snow. "... Get that.. Jik-Jik away. Keep it away"

Huh. Ok, so. Ignoring the weird feeling he had apon being threatened by somebody so pretty (???) He wasn't in danger now? "Yeah, that's why I'm out here. Just.. stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He didn't know if she was going to stay or not, but he hoped that if she didn't that she would find some other way to patch up.

So.. now he had to ease his way over to the Jik-Jik, making soft calling noises as he slowly approached to make it clear he wasn't here to harm. "Fluffy... Hey buddy.. Come on. I'm sure you want to go home..." The red Jik-Jik tilted its head, pawing at the snow as it ever him. "Shhh... I'm not here to hurt you. Come on." He inched ever closer, finally being able to reach up and let Fluffy sniff at his claws.

"Yeah... Good girl." With a pet, he was finally able to grab onto her halter.

Alright. Now to lead Fluffy home.

He had to make this quick.

___

It's entire side stung, blood dripping and sizzling in the cold air from the single cut. It was damp. It wanted to swear now that it remembered what swearing was.

Today had sucked.

Getting knocked into a tree was... Not great, but Bicker would take that over Foe getting in trouble with the... Jik-Jik? Even though the blind thing had wandered off now, it was good to chase the too big things away...

The annoying other. 'Rave'. He was like her, yet not. Dark furred and... somewhat nice to look at? She hadn't expected to see him again. Didn't know what to think.

What were 'bandages', anyway? Something in the back of her mind itched, but like many other things it hid from her.

...

Was Bicker really going to wait as the other did whatever strange things he needed to do? She wasn't hungry. Wasn't particularly interested in moving. The wound still hurt, but it was better not to touch it.

...
Despite knowing this a paw came up to itch at the wound, causing a yelp and several swear words to tumble out of her.

In a fit, she stood, pacing around and settling for clawing at the stupid tree she had been slammed into. If it just hadn't had all that snow on it, she wouldn't have been litteraly buried in snow!

But this just wore Bicker down faster, even to the point of when forcing herself to stop before she set it on fire. Instead just padding back to where it had started, in the middle of the clearing.

Glancing up at the sky revealed clouds. Tree branches. The fact that it was the middle of the day. The usual stuff one saw when looking up.

...

Rave was annoying. She wanted to bite his face off the first time she saw him, thinking he was going to do... something.

Yet he didn't. All The Other had done was act very stupid. Did he not know her hands always burned? That she could do much, much worse if he had gotten any closer? That just now, she was seriously considering tearing into him for daring to get so stupidly close??

What was wrong with him??

... What was wrong with her? She was... still waiting.

For once, confusion was stronger than anger, and she couldn't really stop being confused about the situation until something changed.

...

But she could say more words to pass the time... Or... watch the clouds...? No, that's stupid. She was mad at herself for thinking of doing something so stupid.

"Hallo! Don't charge at me please-" Her attention snapped over to The Other, who had come back. "... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to take this long! I just needed to talk to the owners and explain everything- And there was a misunderstanding about payment and I really, really need the plates so I had to wait-"

Wow. Did this guy ever shut up? His uneven breathing was making her ache worse. "Rave." It snapped, watching as he jolted, swaying before stepping closer.
Was The Other tired? Had he ran back? His legs were damp from snow, and his rant had been one that was out of breath... Did she... care?

"Ah, right. Sorry." The Other stepped closer, taking off the wierd bag from his back. "... I'm just sorry for keeping you waiting a whole three hours... I should've invited you to come with me back to town." He sighed before he completely dug out his own grave, as Bicker continued to stare, watching every movement for any sign of hostility only to continue to find none, even as he got close enough to get a good look at her side.

Town? Something about that word made her skin crawl, so she chose to not think about it.

..

He wasn't very warm. Not compared to her or Foe. Even if he did look mildly surprised that the rest of her wasn't burning hot like her hands, just... uncomfortable to the touch.

"Is there anywhere nearby that's more sheltered? I can do this here, but I can do it better if we're not... attacked? Or, if it starts snowing.. or hailing. I heard it might hail soon-" "Shut up." She grabbed his arm with her mouth, fangs only digging into flesh slightly as she stood, dragging him as she walked backwards.

"Ow ow ow-! Let go! I'll just follow you!"

She did, causing him to wobble backwards. "Don't bite me, please. I can't- won't help you unless you let me. And I won't help you if you keep hurting me."

Huh.

"... Help?" Her confusion wasn't getting much better, even as she turned around and continued to walk, ignoring the pain for now. ".. Yeah. I want... to help you. Yeah, you attacked a Jik-Jik of all things, but you're hurt... And I..." Rave drifted off, and Bicker didn't care enough to ask what in the world that meant. In fact, if she kept thinking about it she would bite Rave's tail and chase him off, so she didn't.

They eventually came to one of her many sleeping places. This one a shallow cave, half dug out, half covered in poorly placed clay. She hated this one, because the clay would always stick to her fur when she got out, and during the winter it would always be at just the right angle to be completely filled in with snow. But it wasn't now.

"... Do you live here?" Rave asked, patting the rocks as she hopped in. "Bandages." She answered before laying down in a pile of damp bedding to dry it, thinking that was a stupid question and not wanting to give an answer.

"Right, right. You should probably get it cleaned.. which is why I have this..."

Rave trailed off again, sitting down at her side and pulling out a box and some wierd, looking... cloth things. Huh. He squirmed a bit before touching her again, seeming... uncomfortable? She hadn't bit him that hard? Didn't even make him come back. There was a pause for all of three seconds before he seemed to break under this silence.

"I.. I need to admit something? Just so it's not weird. I uh. Think you're really pretty. And I'm not doing this because I think you're pretty. Not to say I don't like that it's just that I promise I just want to help-"

Bicker had to interrupt again.

"You. Are also pretty. Help. Me." She was just getting really tired of him just talking, but she wasn't lying. She also just. Didn't care much about what he thought?

(Even when a spark of something or other flickered in the back of her skull. She was... pretty? Somebody pretty thought she was too?)

"Ah! Ah. Ok. Yeah. Sorry." He shook himself off, getting to work. Her wound had scabbed over already, sure, but the blood had soaked into fur and tangled into the wound, along with whatever you'd find on a tree. Rave took a rag, dampened it with a wierd bag of water he also had (warmed over her tail for a bit) and gently wiped everything off, wincing as fresh blood spluttered and hissed from the wound. "Can you... turn off the fire for a bit? You're... overheating? I think??"

Bicker rolled her eyes, and snuffed out her tail fire. Her fire still burned within her, but now she had to wonder why she silently agreed to do that.

(It hadn't felt nice in a long time. Not until now.)

"... It feels like you're boiling from the inside out.." He gently ran his claws through her fur to untangle it, brushing it away from the wound. "It's not even that deep all the way through. Just long." He mumbled, messing with his wierd bags and putting something goopy on her, then something fuzzy, and then asking her to sit up just a bit so he could wrap something grey around her.

The last one was denied, as Bicker snatching the roll away from him and awkwardly tried doing it herself... only for Rave to need to step in and show her how to bandage herself.

"...Ok. That's everything. I can come back in a few days to take it off... Or you can do it. But I should probably get going for..." Rave glanced outside, and so did Bicker.

It was getting dark. A normal thing. It was also snowing slightly. Another normal thing.

"...I don't know if I can get back before night..." Rave muttered, breathing slowly getting uneven. "I- I didn't tell anybody I was going out again..." He stared down at the ground, before holding his breath and tapping his claws in... some sort of pattern?

"One. Two. Three." His claws on his right hand moved first, in time to the words. No, numbers.
"Four. Five. Six." The same for his left. Bicker could only watch, though it was becoming annoying even before he had finished.

This repeated twice before Bicker started pulling everything back into his bag. "Ok. Ok. I think I can get back. I can leave you alone and set up camp somewhere..." He was just muttering now, but Bicker decided that this would be repayment. Nothing needed to be owed.

"Stay."

"... What?"

"I am warm. You are not. Stay. Sleep. I won't hurt you." She echoed his words back to him, as annoying as they were, before pausing. "... Probably."

This, for some reason, made Rave laugh. "Oh. That's... really nice of you. Thank you."

She curled up, facing the wall, tired from whatever this day had been. Gently feeling as Rave set his bag aside before laying down himself, pressing his own back up against hers in the slightly cramped bedding.

It was... really nice, actually, even when her wings got pinned to her body.

"Oh, wait. I wanted to give this to you, if we ever met again." Rave reached into the bag once more, before taking out a bottle, handing it directly to her while once again wearing some wierd looking cloth thing on one hand.

...

She knew what this was.

Nectar.

She hadn't seen this stuff in years, and ironically not for lack of trying. Flowers were rare up here, and they didn't often have much. She didn't dare hold it for too long, quickly shoving it to the side and flopping back down.

This had been an experience alright. One that would've had her so mad that she would be setting her bedding on fire several times before she could manage to fall asleep.

Yet, for some reason, she was... slightly relaxed? All her anger for the day spent in the morning and early afternoon. It was enough for her heart to feel... different, as it thrummed away in her chest. From the way Rave seemed to metaphorically melt into her back, probably from the warmth, she could only guess that he felt the same.

...

Maybe Rave wasn't so bad.

Description
I tried to explain how these two would even start being a couple of any kind and uhhhh this is it.

Alt text for Rave (Left) would be "Too flustered to realize those are signs of a curse and not really strong magic overload."

Story Is Called "Call That A Fast Burn"

It's 3,156 words. No I'm not sure why it's so long either. I've looked over this twice for mistakes but there still may be some.

Warnings: There's blood and wound cleaning, and internal threats of violence. Also Giglins being attracted to one another and not being sure what to do about it.

Cerifikn-Nation
_____

Rave had scrounged up many things after his odd encounter in the forest. Food. Proper clothes for the weather. A first aid kid. Matches and kindling. All in preparation to not be caught off guard again, and to just generally restart his life. It was only after he had gotten some oven mitts through a trade of herbs did he stop to consider what he had been trying to... ignore the past three days.

He wasn't likely to meet Bicker again, especially with how odd she had acted. There was absolutely no way to even plan around that. Plus, with how she had charged him, maybe it was for the best. This was just... excessive preparation? Gathering items without the ability to stay out looking for them, or even get to where they were, was a foolish endeavor. His job, after all, had always been to go out into the wilderness and find stuff for others.

He looked down at the oven mitts. Only useful for touching things that would otherwise burn you.

Probably flammable.

... Ok, maybe had hope that he would see Bicker again. Hope to offer her some food to share or something. She was just... fascinating? He really had no clue what had grabbed his attention so strongly... maybe he wanted to find out? Maybe become friends?

He tucked away the oven mitts into his bag, finding himself smiling despite his confusion. Mysteries were common in the world, and they were always too big for any one person to solve... but this was something personal. Either he was going to find something out about himself or he was going to find out something about Bicker. Or become more poetic, who knows.

He hoped he didn't become poetic. That would suck. He hated thinking up big fancy words that just took up room.
___

Another three days had passed, with him still staying as busy as before. Today, he was tracking an escaped Jik-Jik. Yes, this was not normal for him to do, and he wasn't exactly skilled, but he knew what Jik-Jik tracks looked like, and he was offered an alright amount of plates.

It was a nice day away from town, all things considered. The top-most layer of snow was sticky, clinging to him slightly. The giglin noted that this made a good canvas for trails as he followed the cloven hoofprints, which seemed to dance over fallen logs and around trees. Other animals tracks dotted the area, like the massive pair of Alto-Teko hoofprints that only briefly crossed paths with the Jik-Jik's. They seemed older though, and he sighed at at the thought of having technically missed any chance seeing them in person.

There were also little bird tracks, scattered here and there. He couldn't figure out what most of them were. He didn't even see any birds... or hear any...

It was oddly silent all of a sudden. He tensed, glancing around. Was he being hunted? No, no, he would've heard some sort of alarm call-

A screech rang out, followed up by the panicked cry of a startled Jik-Jik and the screech turning pained.

Rave, panicking, bolted towards the sound, trudging over and through snowbanks just in time to nearly get trampled by a Red Jik-Jik, bolting back in the direction he had just come from. He yelled out, falling back into a tree with enough force to almost knock the wind out of him.

"Ha- Whoa there! Fluffy!!" He tried to call out, hoping desperately that the Jik-Jik would stop apon its name being called. Surprisingly, it almost did, trotting in a nervous circle and huffing. "Fluffy. Here girl." Rave weezed, watching carefully before regaining both breath and balance. He stepped into the tracks the Jik-Jik had made. "Heyy... Shh shh. You're ok. I'm here to get you home."

He took a step forward, and 'Fluffy' bolted once more. "Wait no-!" He tried to run after, only to slip over something and get a face full of snow.

Heck.

Drat.

He muttered far worse curse words, of course, but that was more for him making such an obvious mistake as to try and chase an animal who could easily go much faster. Shaking off the snow, the giglin scrambled back onto his feet.

The contrasting red of the beast was just visible through the trees, trotting around and seeming to be less focused on running, and more on being nervous. So focused on the beast, yet getting his attention ripped away as something in the clearing behind him seemed to wheeze.

He probably should see what it was, especially if it had attacked the Jik-Jik. If it was hurt, maybe he could take it on himself and get something out of it? Or, heal it with what little first aid he had if it wasn't something that was going to kill him. Give the Jik-Jik a moment to calm down too either way, as it didn't seem to be going anywhere yet.

He warily turned around, and snuck over, following the trail made in all the panic, only to be hit by a wave of warmth as another giglin crawled out from a half melted pile of snow just off the makeshift path.

It was Bicker Blaze, panting, glancing up with a silent snarl only to pause at recognizing Rave. The mutual stare was... very confused before either of them found their voice.

"... Are you ok??"

Without thinking, he offered his hand to her once again. This was met with the same response of her taking a swipe at him, though he managed to yank himself away just in time to not be burned. "R.... Rave. Go... 'way. Thing here." With a rough, almost strained voice, Bicker actually spoke to him. The last part was even more strained, but he caught it anyway.

"... Thing? You mean the... Jik-Jik?" "Thing. I chase.... &%#&#@ kicked me." Bicker swore, dragging her now soaked self fully out of the snow. At first glance, nothing seemed broken, but a besides a large gash along her side signaled that she had definitely been hurt. Rave felt...

Conflicted. "... Why did you chase it? Jik-Jik's are pretty docile if you just leave them alone." He asked, moving to take his bag off only to get another snarl. Freezing up, nervous that she would just outright leap at him, the giglin switched tactics. "Ok- how about this. I'll uh- I'll lead her back to her home. Then I'll come back and uh. Bandage your gash. If you want." His heart felt like it was going to break out of his chest from the sudden jolt of anxiety.

Why would he suggest that? And specifically why in that order?? He sounded stupid! This was stupid! He was actively being threatened by some fiery mage (?) And... and...

Bicker's glare turned into a stare, though their eyes clearly had to squint with the glare from the snow. "... Get that.. Jik-Jik away. Keep it away"

Huh. Ok, so. Ignoring the weird feeling he had apon being threatened by somebody so pretty (???) He wasn't in danger now? "Yeah, that's why I'm out here. Just.. stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He didn't know if she was going to stay or not, but he hoped that if she didn't that she would find some other way to patch up.

So.. now he had to ease his way over to the Jik-Jik, making soft calling noises as he slowly approached to make it clear he wasn't here to harm. "Fluffy... Hey buddy.. Come on. I'm sure you want to go home..." The red Jik-Jik tilted its head, pawing at the snow as it ever him. "Shhh... I'm not here to hurt you. Come on." He inched ever closer, finally being able to reach up and let Fluffy sniff at his claws.

"Yeah... Good girl." With a pet, he was finally able to grab onto her halter.

Alright. Now to lead Fluffy home.

He had to make this quick.

___

It's entire side stung, blood dripping and sizzling in the cold air from the single cut. It was damp. It wanted to swear now that it remembered what swearing was.

Today had sucked.

Getting knocked into a tree was... Not great, but Bicker would take that over Foe getting in trouble with the... Jik-Jik? Even though the blind thing had wandered off now, it was good to chase the too big things away...

The annoying other. 'Rave'. He was like her, yet not. Dark furred and... somewhat nice to look at? She hadn't expected to see him again. Didn't know what to think.

What were 'bandages', anyway? Something in the back of her mind itched, but like many other things it hid from her.

...

Was Bicker really going to wait as the other did whatever strange things he needed to do? She wasn't hungry. Wasn't particularly interested in moving. The wound still hurt, but it was better not to touch it.

...
Despite knowing this a paw came up to itch at the wound, causing a yelp and several swear words to tumble out of her.

In a fit, she stood, pacing around and settling for clawing at the stupid tree she had been slammed into. If it just hadn't had all that snow on it, she wouldn't have been litteraly buried in snow!

But this just wore Bicker down faster, even to the point of when forcing herself to stop before she set it on fire. Instead just padding back to where it had started, in the middle of the clearing.

Glancing up at the sky revealed clouds. Tree branches. The fact that it was the middle of the day. The usual stuff one saw when looking up.

...

Rave was annoying. She wanted to bite his face off the first time she saw him, thinking he was going to do... something.

Yet he didn't. All The Other had done was act very stupid. Did he not know her hands always burned? That she could do much, much worse if he had gotten any closer? That just now, she was seriously considering tearing into him for daring to get so stupidly close??

What was wrong with him??

... What was wrong with her? She was... still waiting.

For once, confusion was stronger than anger, and she couldn't really stop being confused about the situation until something changed.

...

But she could say more words to pass the time... Or... watch the clouds...? No, that's stupid. She was mad at herself for thinking of doing something so stupid.

"Hallo! Don't charge at me please-" Her attention snapped over to The Other, who had come back. "... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to take this long! I just needed to talk to the owners and explain everything- And there was a misunderstanding about payment and I really, really need the plates so I had to wait-"

Wow. Did this guy ever shut up? His uneven breathing was making her ache worse. "Rave." It snapped, watching as he jolted, swaying before stepping closer.
Was The Other tired? Had he ran back? His legs were damp from snow, and his rant had been one that was out of breath... Did she... care?

"Ah, right. Sorry." The Other stepped closer, taking off the wierd bag from his back. "... I'm just sorry for keeping you waiting a whole three hours... I should've invited you to come with me back to town." He sighed before he completely dug out his own grave, as Bicker continued to stare, watching every movement for any sign of hostility only to continue to find none, even as he got close enough to get a good look at her side.

Town? Something about that word made her skin crawl, so she chose to not think about it.

..

He wasn't very warm. Not compared to her or Foe. Even if he did look mildly surprised that the rest of her wasn't burning hot like her hands, just... uncomfortable to the touch.

"Is there anywhere nearby that's more sheltered? I can do this here, but I can do it better if we're not... attacked? Or, if it starts snowing.. or hailing. I heard it might hail soon-" "Shut up." She grabbed his arm with her mouth, fangs only digging into flesh slightly as she stood, dragging him as she walked backwards.

"Ow ow ow-! Let go! I'll just follow you!"

She did, causing him to wobble backwards. "Don't bite me, please. I can't- won't help you unless you let me. And I won't help you if you keep hurting me."

Huh.

"... Help?" Her confusion wasn't getting much better, even as she turned around and continued to walk, ignoring the pain for now. ".. Yeah. I want... to help you. Yeah, you attacked a Jik-Jik of all things, but you're hurt... And I..." Rave drifted off, and Bicker didn't care enough to ask what in the world that meant. In fact, if she kept thinking about it she would bite Rave's tail and chase him off, so she didn't.

They eventually came to one of her many sleeping places. This one a shallow cave, half dug out, half covered in poorly placed clay. She hated this one, because the clay would always stick to her fur when she got out, and during the winter it would always be at just the right angle to be completely filled in with snow. But it wasn't now.

"... Do you live here?" Rave asked, patting the rocks as she hopped in. "Bandages." She answered before laying down in a pile of damp bedding to dry it, thinking that was a stupid question and not wanting to give an answer.

"Right, right. You should probably get it cleaned.. which is why I have this..."

Rave trailed off again, sitting down at her side and pulling out a box and some wierd, looking... cloth things. Huh. He squirmed a bit before touching her again, seeming... uncomfortable? She hadn't bit him that hard? Didn't even make him come back. There was a pause for all of three seconds before he seemed to break under this silence.

"I.. I need to admit something? Just so it's not weird. I uh. Think you're really pretty. And I'm not doing this because I think you're pretty. Not to say I don't like that it's just that I promise I just want to help-"

Bicker had to interrupt again.

"You. Are also pretty. Help. Me." She was just getting really tired of him just talking, but she wasn't lying. She also just. Didn't care much about what he thought?

(Even when a spark of something or other flickered in the back of her skull. She was... pretty? Somebody pretty thought she was too?)

"Ah! Ah. Ok. Yeah. Sorry." He shook himself off, getting to work. Her wound had scabbed over already, sure, but the blood had soaked into fur and tangled into the wound, along with whatever you'd find on a tree. Rave took a rag, dampened it with a wierd bag of water he also had (warmed over her tail for a bit) and gently wiped everything off, wincing as fresh blood spluttered and hissed from the wound. "Can you... turn off the fire for a bit? You're... overheating? I think??"

Bicker rolled her eyes, and snuffed out her tail fire. Her fire still burned within her, but now she had to wonder why she silently agreed to do that.

(It hadn't felt nice in a long time. Not until now.)

"... It feels like you're boiling from the inside out.." He gently ran his claws through her fur to untangle it, brushing it away from the wound. "It's not even that deep all the way through. Just long." He mumbled, messing with his wierd bags and putting something goopy on her, then something fuzzy, and then asking her to sit up just a bit so he could wrap something grey around her.

The last one was denied, as Bicker snatching the roll away from him and awkwardly tried doing it herself... only for Rave to need to step in and show her how to bandage herself.

"...Ok. That's everything. I can come back in a few days to take it off... Or you can do it. But I should probably get going for..." Rave glanced outside, and so did Bicker.

It was getting dark. A normal thing. It was also snowing slightly. Another normal thing.

"...I don't know if I can get back before night..." Rave muttered, breathing slowly getting uneven. "I- I didn't tell anybody I was going out again..." He stared down at the ground, before holding his breath and tapping his claws in... some sort of pattern?

"One. Two. Three." His claws on his right hand moved first, in time to the words. No, numbers.
"Four. Five. Six." The same for his left. Bicker could only watch, though it was becoming annoying even before he had finished.

This repeated twice before Bicker started pulling everything back into his bag. "Ok. Ok. I think I can get back. I can leave you alone and set up camp somewhere..." He was just muttering now, but Bicker decided that this would be repayment. Nothing needed to be owed.

"Stay."

"... What?"

"I am warm. You are not. Stay. Sleep. I won't hurt you." She echoed his words back to him, as annoying as they were, before pausing. "... Probably."

This, for some reason, made Rave laugh. "Oh. That's... really nice of you. Thank you."

She curled up, facing the wall, tired from whatever this day had been. Gently feeling as Rave set his bag aside before laying down himself, pressing his own back up against hers in the slightly cramped bedding.

It was... really nice, actually, even when her wings got pinned to her body.

"Oh, wait. I wanted to give this to you, if we ever met again." Rave reached into the bag once more, before taking out a bottle, handing it directly to her while once again wearing some wierd looking cloth thing on one hand.

...

She knew what this was.

Nectar.

She hadn't seen this stuff in years, and ironically not for lack of trying. Flowers were rare up here, and they didn't often have much. She didn't dare hold it for too long, quickly shoving it to the side and flopping back down.

This had been an experience alright. One that would've had her so mad that she would be setting her bedding on fire several times before she could manage to fall asleep.

Yet, for some reason, she was... slightly relaxed? All her anger for the day spent in the morning and early afternoon. It was enough for her heart to feel... different, as it thrummed away in her chest. From the way Rave seemed to metaphorically melt into her back, probably from the warmth, she could only guess that he felt the same.

...

Maybe Rave wasn't so bad.