"So, what do we have here?"

Nick was standing in the dark alleyway, gazing down upon the slumped Hildmarterias. She looked pretty rough. Soot marks, melt-spots, several cracks on the separate scales, and several minor bleeding wounds. Her clothing was in a sorry state as well, barely hanging on the few undamaged strings.

"What, that? Tis' but a scratch~" the female Ramodas was acting tough, but even the fool could tell that she was in pain. "I got into a fight, no biggie."

"I presume those "fighters" you were supposedly "fighting" also had flamethrowers and heavy ordinances, capable of injuring the Ramodas?" sarcastically noted the human masseur, crossing his arms.

The dragon woman paused for a moment, definitely scrolling through her options...

"Yeah!" ...and picked up the least convincing one. "You never know what regular miscreants may pack!"

"And all those injuries are not EVEN IN THE SLIGHTEST associated with the building nearby, that caught fire?" kept interrogating Nick. "You know, the one on the other side of the district over there?"

There was indeed a pretty ruined building, which was already extinguished. Swarms of drones and organic workers did their job, assessing damages and helping the survivors. There was still smoke rising from it.

"I have no idea what you are talking about~" she was lying so blatantly, even the blind could recognize it.

Nick sighed and whipped out his dataslate, quickly accessing WeTube, and showing the clicked video on it to the injured alien woman. The reporter there claimed that the witnesses of the domestic accident saw a bulky woman in scales, that helped to save all of the victims from the grim fate. Her identity remained unknown, though.

"And since explosion and fire happened before you got there, I take that this damage you got by shielding one of the victims from the massive falling section of the building," he concluded, hiding the dataslate back. "As sturdy as your species is, you aren't invulnerable."

"Hah~" she conceded, giving him a pained smile. "You've got me there, lover boy..."

And then her gaze turned confused when she saw an extended human arm, offered to her.

"Grab on." said Nick flatly.

"It's fine..." the female Ramodas began rising, trying to stand up herself, but failed miserably. "Fuck..."

"Grab. The fuck. On. You stubborn twatbiscuit~" the eyes of the human man narrowed, but the hand remained outstretched. "You need some medical attention."

She hesitated for a bit, surprised by his reaction. And when the dragon woman finally reached for Nick's palm, he grabbed it tight and helped her to stand up. His shoulder immediately supported her body, since despite being hard to kill, she wasn't that heavy. And he wasn't a wimp.

"Thanks, Niku-chan..." she tried to grin, but then winced instantly. "Ouch..."

"No idea why I even care, but you are welcome." he retorted grimly, carefully adjusting her buff torso. "Now hang on. My place ain't far from here."

"Oh, lover boy, all you had to do is as... OUCH!" light slap in the wounded place caused her to shudder.

"Keep being an irritating smartarse and I will dump you in the nearest trash dispenser."

Back at the parlor, Nick carefully placed Hildmarterias on the massage table, ordering it to transform into a comfortable chair. Then he went for the medical kit, carried it out of the shelf, and unlocked it on the reception table.

"Thank you." she finally spoke past few minutes, as Nick applied several soothing concoctions.

"Consider it a partial gratitude for saving me from that car." Nick sealed the cracks, preventing any nasty stuff from getting under them. "And helping with my life essence problem."

"How did you..."

"It was too obvious, dear." he gave her a glance, before continuing to patch the alien woman up. "Do you really think I am that dumb? What is wrong with you?"

"Huh?"

"Huh my arse, smartarse!" he snapped. "One moment you are the most infuriating person I've ever met and the next you are selflessly saving people out of the burning buildings. I don't even know what to think of you anymore!"

"But I looked cool, aren't I?" her attempt at retaliation met an impregnable wall. "Besides, it is so fun to mess with you, lover boy!"

"You look more fucked up to me than cool, knucklebrain." despite the desire to pinch her, Nick remained careful and delicate. And it probably won't even scratch her. "Your parent never taught you that pissing the wrong people will get you into trouble eventually?"

Hildmarterias didn't respond. Her smugness and overconfidence evaporated, replaced by a barely concealed sorrow. The human masseur noticed that but decided to dig deeper.

"Well?"

"I... don't remember my mother..." she mumbled, avoiding his gaze. "She died before I even hatched. My father raised me alone."

"Not very well, apparently."

"Hey, he was a great father!!!" the dragon woman lunged onto him, but severe pain made her attempt fruitless, as Nick evaded the grapple and helped her to sit back into the chair. "He really was..."

"So that's why you are acting like a jock with pair of tits, an insatiable cunt, and a mountain-sized ego?" inquired the human man, taking care of her hand.

"What is wrong with it?!" she looked confused.

""What is wrong with it?!"?! Are you serious?!" he was now really fighting the urge to slap her. "What did your father actually teach you?!"

"He said that if I am powerful, influential, and wealthy I can do whatever I want!"

Oh, looks like we've spotted the problem, Nick's thoughts were dripping with sarcasm like a piece of beef fresh out of gravy.

"Did he also mention that "the bigger you are, the harder you fall", because I HIGHLY doubt it. I take it is a part of your Ramodas culture: "Be the best out there and you'll get all"." Nick stated strictly, applying the additional salve. "Really, what were you expecting by acting the way you did? Is that some fucked up version of courtship?"

"Well... yeah?" she got smaller and very hesitant.

"Oh, for fucks sake..."

"But it worked before!!!"

"Well, it ain't working now, isn't it?!" the human masseur barked, looming over her. "Did you really think that acting like a male arsehole with the extravagance of a cracked peacock will win my affection?! I like women, not masculine twats!"

Hildmarterias tried to object, but the words stuck in her throat. When she started thinking, it really all came together now. Her head immediately slumped, unable to hold the defeat.

"Maybe try to act feminine and considerate next time, Hildmarterias. I bet your previous partners only allowed you to have your way with them out of hope that you'll leave them after." he did the final patch, finishing the first aid. "Feeling better now?"

"Um, yeah, thank you..." the female Ramodas felt strange. As much as she liked the thrill of battle and blows bouncing off her armor, the tender touch was also... pleasurable.

"Good." he packed things back into the medical kit and shoved it back. "It is late - go home now."

"Wait!" she suddenly took him by the hand. Not with hostility, more like a plea. "Those girls... they were acting feminine, right?"

"Weeeeeell..." it was hard to say that Sequoia, Voltana, and Franka could be considered the peaks of femininity, but they were definitely several leagues above what the dragon woman was. "... yes, you could say that. Just don't go copying them - you'll get a lot of stuff wrong."

Nick sighed. This is why the family has to be full. And since she spoke about her father in the past time, he has probably died before he could fully educate his offspring. While dads are usually easier on daughters than sons, but it appears to be different in the Ramodas culture. Hildmarterias had a very warped view of the world. Does she even have friends?

"My father... his last words were: "Once you establish yourself in the world, find someone trustworthy, who will teach you how to be a woman." " her hesitation was a nice change of pace, but the human masseur was still cautious if all of it was just an act. He kept listening, nevertheless. "Could you... teach me?"

I guess this is what massage does to others, Nick internally exhaled. Touching someone's body, even in a non-sexual way, was intimate and special. Especially when the touch was pleasurable, it predisposed others to you. Just like silver tongue, silver hands were no different in that regard. Or he just got caught up in the moment.

"If I agree, you will have to fulfill several conditions. I won't negotiate." he put as much importance on those words as he was capable of. This was his chance to deal with this mess of a woman and make both of their lives significantly easier. "You may not like them. Still in?"