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Yǐn Cáng was an energetic mantodae that often seemed to have too much energy.

Not today.

He had tossed and turned the night before, only managing a few stolen moments of dosing before he was awake again, brain whirring too fast and furious. Meditation was useless, he thought too much. Exercise wore him out physically, but still gave him too much time to think. And finally he had to admit to himself that something needed to be done.

He needed to talk to someone, and Princess Eva...well she could not talk back. She could not explain why she had chosen to leap from his arms last night. No, he needed to talk to someone who could talk back.

And he could not turn to Alexander.

So he had went to the demon dormitory, stumbling upon some sort of gathering. And now? He was here, where he had been trying to go in the first place. He knocked on the door, enjoying the warmth that was seeping into the hallway from the room. Great Mantis let her be in her room.

The door was open, so that meant that he should go in? He hesitated for a minute and then steeled himself and opened the door, stepping into the room and shutting it behind him. Miss Danny was wearing slightly different clothing than usual, and suddenly he realized just how late it was.

"My apologies Miss Danny, I seem to have forgotten the time...if it is too late I can come back tomorrow?" His tone was obviously stressed however, and he looked rather the worse for the wear. What the...the...jack did he think he was doing?

Most days he probably would have freaked out that Miss Danny was grabbing his hand.

Today was no exception, except that tonight he was fretting for a different reason. Holding hands. Could that actually happen between friends? Alexander had told him that it was so that he would not get lost but had he been lying just to try to hold his hand? Had others thought that there was something more? His face blazing he really was not thinking about what was happening until he was sitting cross-legged in front of her, facing her.

"Well, uh" why had he thought that talking to a ghoul about this was a good idea again? Oh yes, this was Miss Danny. She was different. Alexander was different too. This was all too stressful. It would be best just to get straight to the point. "How can one tell if someone is more than a friend? If they...like them more than that?"

Best friends...no. It was already obvious that Alexander was his best friend. He was fun to be around, and though he was not sure if he had upset him he had shared his food with him. And he had taken him to meet his family. Apparently that was a best friend thing which was good to know.

"Well actually, not like that?" He said a bit helplessly. "Like...how to tell a friend...lets say a close friend...from someone that is someone you could...oh...spend the rest of your life with." He tried to sound nonchalant. He probably failed.

"No like...a...like a chosen. A bonded. A boilfriend." There, a term that she would know. Should he ask her about Rikki? Would it be too painful? How had she known that she wanted to date him? But...well that had not worked out, so did he want to know about that relationship? He was agitated, but mainly because he really did not want to actually have this conversation.

Well, Alexander made him feel...cold, so that symptom did not fit. And while his stomach had been in knots last night that was certainly not as gentle as a few moths. Normally he did not hold his hand without a reason, but Alexander had grabbed his when they were playing games and he had not let go. And that? That had felt nice. And he was growing used to the light bits of physical contact that he normally shared with the zomboil.

What he would not do for a cool, light squeeze of his shoulder right now, as ridiculous as that sounded. And smiling? He certainly seemed to smile more now, especially around the zomboil. But how was that any different than being close friends with him? Where was the line that made it more?

"Anything is helpful Miss Danny," he tried to assure her, looking as she patted her legs. Why was she doing that? "No O am...simply tired. I shall be fine though. But...how is..."dating" someone different than just being friends with them?"

Yin was too tired to argue with her, and had too many other things to worry about.

He lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He closed his eyes, listening to her talk. Did being with Alexander feel different than with anyone else? Well...of course it did. He was his best friend. The only male that he was close to.

And all his? That just reminded him of being locked in Alexander's room, no one else bothering them and it was just the two of them. But he had almost felt badly about that, taking the zomboil away from his family. So did that count? And well...he wanted to protect him. But he wanted to protect all of his friends. Who would he protect if the time came that he could only protect one friend?

Then Miss Danny said something that made absolute perfect sense. He rose up partway, propping himself up on his elbows to look at her properly. "Exactly! Giving someone your...emblem...well that is a major commitment. How do you know if it is the right time? That it will not be an action that you will regret later?'