With her bold statement, Ember stared at the silver woman who she held in her arms with a determined expression. The woman looked back with an odd mixture of surprise, joy, and mild amusement. Ember was relieved that the anger on the woman’s brow had lessened. It revealed her more natural expressions. Ember liked them.

“I don’t know how to really respond to that,” the woman said. 

Ember quite liked her voice. It was soft with a melodic quality that sounded pleasant to Ember’s ears. It was certainly better than her own voice. Whenever Ember heard her own voice, it sounded like an annoying child. 

“I never really get confessions,” the woman continued. “Especially not ones so...passionate.”

With that word, the woman averted her gaze, her cheeks pinkening. Only then did Ember realise what her declaration sounded like. It was like she was taking her vows before a bonding ceremony. She looked at her arms that were wrapped around the woman and thought about letting go. 

‘Did I make her uncomfortable?’ she thought. ‘I didn’t mean to.’

“You can keep them there, if you like,” the woman said. She must have noticed Ember’s gaze. “I don’t mind. You’re warm.”

“Oh. Thank you?” Ember replied. The woman smiled, her cheeks still with a hint of pink. Ember thought it looked quite cute. 

“Um. Since we’re going to be together forever, we should know each other's names,” the woman said. “I, um, don’t remember if I even caught yours.”

The woman was right. Ember never introduced herself and she didn’t even know the woman’s name. The first time it was said, Ember hadn’t been paying attention. The second time, she was in the baths and couldn’t hear it. 

‘No wonder she feels so weirded out,’ Ember groaned to herself. ‘Imagine being told by a stranger that she’ll never leave you and you don’t even know her name.’

“I’m sorry,” Ember apologized. “You must feel so uncomfortable right now. Getting hugged and all that by some weirdo.”

“At least it was by a cute weirdo,” the woman smiled. Ember blinked at the compliment, not sure how to reply. The woman giggled. “I’m Yuki.”

“Ember.”

“That’s quite the fitting name,” Yuki said. 

They quieted, Ember still with her arms wrapped around Yuki. She didn’t quite know what to say to break the silence. All she knew was that whatever she said would probably sound weird or creepy. 

“So,” Yuki started. Ember perked up. “Um, why exactly were you in my dreams? What were you doing there?”

“Oh. Fair question.” Ember scratched her head, not sure how to answer. “You’re a dragon, right?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to sound rude, but do you know about the cities?” 

“Cities?”

That confirmed what Ember had suspected from Yuki’s story. Yuki had glossed over her interactions with the woman she called “Sophie”. The only thing Ember picked up on was that this “Sophie” was the one that revealed to Yuki that she was a dragon. Ember didn’t want to pry any further into it. By that time, Yuki already had tears in her eyes. 

But now that Ember knew that Yuki didn’t know about the dragon cities, it told her that this “Sophie” didn’t tell Yuki about dragon society and dragon physiology. That meant Yuki knew nothing about the dangers of emotions.

“I’m going to try and explain this as best I can,” Ember said, letting go of the silver woman. Yuki looked a tad disappointed, but she didn’t say anything as she waited patiently for Ember to continue. “I’m not a teacher, so I’m really bad at explaining things.”

“I don’t mind,” Yuki smiled. 

“Alright. Um. So, dragons,” Ember said. “I’m a dragon. I don’t think I said that, did I?”

“No. Fire dragon?”

“How did you know?” 

“Well, for one, your name,” Yuki said, raising an eyebrow. “Also, just the way you are. You know. Fiery. Hot.”

The silver lady winked at Ember who promptly reddened and revised her initial impression of Yuki. It seems that Yuki wasn’t as innocent as she had thought. 

“Thank you?” Ember replied. Yuki only smiled in response. “Anyway. Yes, I’m a fire dragon. I was raised in Vern, one of the cities. I went to an academy there. One of the first things taught to hatchlings is that dragons, and demons to a lesser extent, are emotional beings. We are driven by emotions like anger and whatnot. It’s helpful at times. We can use it to bolster our strength as we bypass our consciousness that tries to apply limits and boundaries on us.”

She pursed her lips, trying to think about how to continue from there. 

“Sometimes, though, those feelings can get us in trouble,” Ember said, fingering the sheets of Yuki’s bed. “When they break free, rational thought is limited and instinct takes over. But, sometimes these feelings build and build until they come to a point where they break free and can’t be controlled. At that point, that being isn’t a demon anymore. They’re nothing more than a monster.

“In school, we’re taught how to deal with our emotional side. It’s the second thing taught to us, right after them explaining why we need to learn it. Basically, there’s three things we can do to release our pent up emotions.

“One,” Ember said, putting up a finger. “We just vent it. Do something we find enjoyable or just go and beat something up. Two. We find what was affecting us so much and either remove it or solve it.”

“And the third is what you did, right?” Yuki asked. Ember nodded.

“Yes. The third is to share the emotions. It’s something that’s more specific to certain demons like dragons and I think the elemental demons.”

“But what exactly is this sharing of emotions? How does it work?”

“Well,” Ember said, shifting around on her seat on Yuki’s bed, “you form a mental connection between yourself and who is going to be the one that is going to share your burden and then it just goes from there naturally. All it takes is skin to skin contact. Where is up to you. I prefer to do it by pressing foreheads. Lets me visualize the connection easier, you know?”

“Do you need to form the connection every time?” Yuki asked.

“Usually. The only time you don’t need to is if you and the one you’re sharing it with are, you know, bonded.” 

The last word came out in a small mutter as Ember looked away from Yuki. Yuki didn’t respond. She seemed to be thinking about the information Ember just told her.

“Bonded, as in, relationship?” Yuki said. Ember gave a little nod. “How exactly does that change whether or not you need to make that connection?”

‘Oh yeah. She doesn’t know about these things,’ Ember thought. ‘Ugh, I don’t want to talk about it. It could get really embarrassing.’

“Um, well. When you bond with someone, you basically link your souls together forever. Then that person becomes your confidant for everything and things like that. Since that link is there, it’s really easy to split those emotions. If the feelings are big enough, they’ll just get transferred by simple touching. But, um, there’s one more thing I have to say.”

She fiddled with the bedsheets a bit more before continuing. 

“One thing that could happen when you share your emotions with someone is, um, well it’s a kind of a big accident. It’s a reason why it’s recommended that you find someone you really like and are comfortable around with if you’re going to need to share a lot.”

“What’s the accident?” Yuki asked, frowning a bit.

“Well, if the transfer of emotions is really large, it can accidentally replicate a bonding ceremony,” Ember said in a rueful voice. She twisted her crimson hair around her finger. “So, basically, you can accidentally bond with someone.”

“If the emotions were strong enough?”

“Yes.”

Yuki quieted and Ember fought the urge to look at her. The feeling of guilt began to gnaw at her. She knew Yuki would eventually piece together what Ember was hinting at. 

“How strong exactly were the emotions you got from me?” Yuki asked.

“Really strong.”

“Oh. So.”

“I’m sorry,” Ember apologized, taking Yuki’s hands. “I didn’t mean to, honestly. I mean, we don’t even know each other and I just wanted to save you before things went too far. I didn’t mean to take away something so special like your first bond.”

Ember braced herself for Yuki’s inevitable anger but only felt her hands get squeezed instead. Yuki was smiling at her, not a hint of distress or anger in her eyes. 

“Don’t feel bad about it,” Yuki said softly. “I don’t mind it one bit. You saved me, Ember. Without you, I would have fallen down into an abyss impossible to climb out of. So, even if it wasn’t entirely planned, I’m fine if I bonded with you.”

“Really?” Ember said, staring. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her heart felt giddy for some reason. “Even if it’s your first?”

“That isn’t something you should get caught up on either,” Yuki laughed. “You know about Akira?”

“You’re friend, right? The chimaera.”

“She was the first.”

“So I didn’t take that away from you?” Ember asked. When Yuki nodded, relief flooded her. “Thank the gods. At least I didn’t do that. But are you sure? It still wasn’t by your will. I intruded on you.”

“I’m the one that told you my story,” Yuki said. “That was when the transfer happened, right? That was my decision.”

“You didn’t know about this, though.”

“It’s fine, Ember. If it’s with someone like you, I don’t mind it one bit. In fact, I’m sure there are many jealous of me right now,” Yuki smiled. She leaned in and began to whisper. “Do I need to kiss you to convince you?”

“No, no,” Ember replied, shaking her head as she felt herself heat up. “Just, if you say you’re fine, then alright.”

She still couldn’t shake off that feeling of guilt. No matter what Yuki said, it still wasn’t in Yuki’s control. Yuki didn’t know a thing about these matters. 

“Are you sure—” she began. Yuki didn’t let her finish.

Ember’s eyes widened as she felt soft lips press against her own. Her mind didn’t register what had happened until Yuki leaned away and looked at her with twinkling silver eyes. 

“I’m sure,” Yuki said.