The door idly opened as a familiar figure stepped into the bakery. Moving to greet them, Enis smiled brightly as hope sprung forth in her chest. The man with the reptilian eyes sniffed idly as he stepped over to the counter, and she placed down some freshly baked cupcakes. While they had been for an order, a baker's dozen always left extra.

“Well I said you’d get a free sample, so take one and have a bite. We only charge a fiver for one, or you can get a dozen for twenty.” With her sales pitch complete, Enis moved to put the other cupcakes into the box that would be their home until delivery. With a slow bite, Mylo moved to give it a try.

“This is…really sweet! But it also has a taste similar to that of the bread that commoners sometimes make.” It was delicious, but there was another matter on his mind. The smells of bread had drawn his mind toward a dangerous subject. Each bite was an attempt to ignore it and enjoy the moment. Unfortunately for Mylo, he was not a dragon at the moment but transformed into a human.

“A-Are you alright? Surely you’ve had sugar before right?” Concern filled Enis’s features as she stared at the moisture gently falling down the face of her customer. A hand went up and pulled away some of the tears with a confused look.

“I have, yes…I’m not sure. Is there some sort of irritant in the air?” Glancing around, Mylo tried to determine the source of the irritation. Perhaps it was the scent. Maybe it was the cupcake. Slowly he placed the cupcake down to frown at it, hand lifting to rest on his chin as he stared at it.

“H…Have you never cried before?” It took Enis a moment to figure out they didn’t understand her question, or the previous one. A breath left her as she moved to attempt an explanation.

“Crying. Er-You see, humans, when they’re sad they cry. When I asked if you were alright, I meant like…are you sad about something?” Their eyes met for a long moment as Enis watched him digest her answer.

“Aha, I see. I suppose I am a bit sad at the moment. But I would say I am fine. No injury has come to my person, hale and hearty, as I believe your saying goes.” He turned toward her and gave a bright smile and let out a soft chuckle, tears continuing to flow.

“How do you…stop this phenomenon? It is quite distracting,” he inquired. While it would have been easy to cease the flood by changing back into a dragon, right now was not a good time. Especially what with the humans’ insistence on that ‘indoors’ zone.

“You…ah,” she paused. “What do you normally do when you’re sad? Let’s start with that.” Maybe she should call a psychologist, Enis mused inwardly as she regarded her guest.

“Ignore it until it goes away,” he responded with a shrug. “I saved their souls, so it’s not as if they’re dead permanently. Eventually, the cycle of rebirth will see them return in one form or another.” There was something to be said about the horrified expression of the baker as she took a step back.

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“That’s not healthy at all…” She trailed off with a sad look as he just looked puzzled.

“I already told you. I’m perfectly healthy. Not a scratch on me.” A soft laugh left him as he shook his head. Silly humans.

“Not out here, but in here. In your head. You can get damaged in your mind too, you know. When something happens…it’s normal to be sad. You…y’know, talk to people about it. Or spend some time watching…mo…vies…” Oh. Yeah, that was an issue. For the first moment in her life, Enis realised just how much humans had over the Munst. Not in strength, but in care and a general understanding of needs.

“Oh, we dragons have something for that too,” he began. “See, a dragon’s memory never fades. So when we tire of it all, we use a spell to wipe our memory beyond a few important ones. We call it a rebirth. We start anew in the world, free to experience things all over again. I’ve done it a few times myself over the millennia. Though I’ve not done one since the humans landed.” All too eagerly, he provided this information with a happy smile.

“….Wait…Dragon?” Mental images appeared in her mind as the figure gave a simple nod. For a moment, she questioned if it was a lie before remembering her lessons on their culture. Not a lie, then, but an overwhelming truth. Moving to sit down, she held her head for a moment.

“This is…a lot to take in. I just gave a dragon a cupcake.” She lifted her gaze briefly to see that same smile still on his face. Expression softening, she stood up and stepped over, looking him up and down as she fought back the instinctive desire to run. Faith, hope. Her mind moved to Port.

‘Port would tell me to run. That they are monsters. But…’ Pausing a step away from him, Enis breathed in, and a shiver passed over her as she crossed the final bit of distance and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him.

“E-eh?” The dragon was utterly flabbergasted at this. Arms lifting into the air as the woman…tried to warm him up?

“This is called a hug. It’s how humans comfort each other when we’re sad. One of the ways, anyway.” Enis was scared stiff. With a single movement, this person in front of her could make her vanish without a trace. Her eyes were closed but she could still see the old footage playing, schools watching as a large beast glided down over an army and rendered everything a pile of molten metal and ash.

And here she was, hugging one.

“Oh…” What was there for Mylo to say in response? A creature that had been his enemy up until a few years ago was now trying to provide him comfort. And yet, his mind could only think of the faces of those he had known, their expressions flashing through his mind as the smell of baked bread pulled him back to the cave he’d abandoned.

Slowly, hesitating for a brief moment, he brought his arms around her as well, returning the hug. Even in a humanoid form, there was no mistaking the strength those arms carried. Yet they held her so tentatively, as if the slightest bit of pressure would cause her to shatter. The moment continued for a small while longer until Mylo broke the silence.

“It seems you were correct…the irritation in my eyes appears to have stopped.” The moment was cut short as both swiftly stepped away 3 paces, and another moment of tension before indecision clouded both of their minds, stuck in a stalemate of their own design as both dragon and human attempted to discern the correct words to resume with. Unfortunately, they both found the answer in the same breath to speak.

“So about those souls-“

“How does one make that-“

They both fell silent for a moment longer, and the room warmed as a laugh left them both. Turning to head behind the counter, Enis beckoned him over.

“Come. I’ll show you how to make cupcakes.”