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"I-I do-don't w-want to."

"We're already here, Nero!" Axel huffed and looked at the stubborn child whom refused to budge from the car. He had asked the boy if he wanted to go on a nature hike, and without hesitation the scorpion had nodded his head and chirped an affirmation. Suuure, let's go. It's gonna be fuuun. The older of the two males sighed loudly- the nature preserve he'd chosen was a long drive from home, and Axel HATED driving. This child was going into that swamp whether he liked it or not. "C'mon you."

He moved forward to unbuckle the boy's belt, and was met with much resistance. "N-NO! I-it's sc-scary! I d-don't-" But it was too late. His caretaker unhooked his seatbelt and with much effort lifted the boy from the car. He shot a look in it, "You come too!" The creature that was lounging across the backseat looked up at the man with a wary expression, tail flicking back and forth idly. He didn't really want to go anywhere. He was perfectly fine here.

"Kei!" He called one last time before turning without hesitation and trudging off towards the swamp with a squirming bundle of scorpion in his arms. The dragon's head lifted, eyes watching them as they disapeared around the corner, tongue flicking... And then it was up, bounding out the door and going after them- it peered back towards the door a moment.. It had been taught to shut doors after going out... Oh well, he didn't really care! He hurried off.

Minutes later Nero was trudging along alone down the path, looking around nervously, his dragon lagging behind a few steps. "S-see an-anything sc-scary?" He earned a snort. He sighed softly and continued onwards.

Perhaps it was fate he wandered down the right path so that just out of the corner of his eye he spotted a brightly colored creature -IN- the swamp. All he could do was stare. Who in their right mind...? Kei took no interest, however, and instead snapped playfully at a dragonfly.

(Sorry for the wait... I went on tempa-hiatus as a result of rl problems.)

The boy had inched towards the end of the path, all four eyes peering disdainfully upon the bird-like boy standing in the middle of the muck. Two of his extra appendages lifted along with his arms as he began to try and make some sort of conversation--the arm moving was simply a sort of hand gesture, the best he could do as he had no actual hands to make real gestures with. He jolted backwards as some muck and a plant was launched at him, and some splattered across his shirt and arm.

He yelped and promptly covered his head, fearing another flying object was to come, "I-I'm sorry!" He cried out nervously, clamping both sets of eyes closed, his body slumping into somewhat of a cowering position. He took in a deep shaky breath, his tail raising instinctively behind him as if preparing to sting. His body was naturally on the defensive 24/7, whether he was consciously aware of it or not.. And currently it seemed as if he was rather unaware of his raised stinger. "I-I'm s-s-s-sor-sorry..." He repeated meekly.

After a moment he peered out from beneath his arms and gradually straightened his back.. His shaky breath was released in an equally wavering fashion, and his tail allowed itself to be lowered. Why was this boy so angry at him? Was he truly that scary..? He felt something in his heart droop. He'd been told he was scary before, and that he looked like a monster, and it's true other children had thrown stuff at him before... But... It had happened less and less as he grew, and the fact that he might really be scary struck him fairly hard.

"I-I..." His dragon companion hauled himself to his partner's side, lifting his head and looking with vague interest at whatever the boy seemed to be currently fearing. He flicked out his tongue and then hissed at the creature so as to make sure it didn't try anything, raised itself up, and expanded its wings so as to try and look threatening. No male bird thing would dare challenge him, he thought to himself before dropping back down and moving towards the muck in search of a more fun adventure. This boy didn't seem to scary after all... His partner seemed to just be a wimp. He began munching some of the strange new plants, tail waving bemusedly behind him.

Nero glanced down towards Kei, "B-be n-nice...?" He timidly instructed his currently distracted dragon before turning back towards the other boy. "U-um... Um... I-I'm so-sorry... B-but... A-are y-y-you st-stuck? D-do you n-need h-h-help?" He hoped he didn't get anything thrown at him again.

The green child cringed as the other raised his voice, and his head drooped a bit meekly, "O-o-okay... I-I-I'm s-s-s-so-sorry.." He took an uncertain step back, two of his eyes lowering whilst the smaller pair remained focused on Paxton. He took the bottom of his shirt into his claws and tugged at it idly, trying not to upset the other child again. He shot a nervous glance towards his dragon, but found that the creature was preoccupied trying to munch on some strange toad thing...

Nero drew in a deep breath, but said nothing. He knew how his daddy hated when he let Kei eat everything, but the dragon kind of scared him and so he was always hesitant to reprimand him. Besides, whenever he did scold the thing it only hissed and went right on doing whatever it was doing. Even Axel had trouble keeping the nasty little guy in line, even, and often had to resort to getting a little violent despite his charge's protests. The scorpion lad didn't want the dragon hurt, after all.. But then again, it took a lot more than anything Axel had to hurt the little thing.. No matter how little it still was.

Nero rubbed a claw slowly up and down one of his arms and drew in a deep breath, gritting his teeth everytime the other boy's attempts failed. "U-umm..." He flinched at the final fall, and then looked over the mucky... Ness before him. How should he help the other boy..? He didn't want to go into that stuff. What if there was a monster hiding in it? He shudder wracked through his body at the idea of such a thing within this place his father took him.

He let go of that thought after the other child looked at him in that worn out way, and without saying anything he hooked two of his extra arms around some strange tree-like-stem thingy he saw sticking out and curled them. He hesitantly plodded one foot into the goop, and then another, his tail wrapping around the plant alongside his arms. "Here." He extended his claws now, clacking them softly at the other child as if motioning for him to grab hold. "I-it'll b-be ok-okay..."

The boy managed only a shy, uncertain smile in an attempt of reassurance, and then took a slow step back, gently heaving the other child along with him. He had a good deal of strength for such a scrawny, timid child, and easily managed to remove himself and his new aquaintance from the muck... Well, after a few moments of squirming, of course. The nastiness of the place had clung onto his ankles, and he actually needed to give a little effort in order to pop them back out. After setting his feet back on flat ground and tugging the other along with him, he looked disdainfully at his ucky shoes.. Daddy would be very mad. He gave a lopsided frown at them.

Kei's head turned and lifted, a sudden interest being taken in the bird-boy now that he was closer. He folded his wings in and then moved forward to circle the unfamiliar child, eyes slitted and a snort released. What an interesting... Thing. He gave a halfhearted hiss before moving to rest at Nero's feet, and although he had chosen that spot it was rather obvious he didn't seem to have much of a loyalty or affection for the green boy.

Nero looked up uncertainly at the other boy, rubbing sheepishly at the back of his head, "U-um... S-see! T-told you i-i-it'd be okay!" He managed a crooked smile, and then looked down at the other's dirtied clothes. "O-oh... B-but it g-got on y-you..." He paused for a moment, his smaller pair of eyes narrowing in thought. Oh, and his shoes had been messed up too.. Oh no... "M-maybe daddy c-could help..."

The scorpion lad watched the other boy as he opened his wings, all four eyes widdening in fascination... What pretty wings. He had the itch to reach out and touch them, but he refrained. Had he fingers, he might have allowed himself to do so, but his claws were big and dangerous--he didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone just because he was curious. Sure, the boy's wings had some mud on them, but they were bright and awe-striking. He pressed his lips together thoughtfully before looking down at his feet. Staring is rude.

"U-um.." He felt kind of bad--Kei had scared another person... If only he were louder or stronger or bigger, maybe he could control the frightening little beast. But alas, he was neither of those... All he had was the ability to survive in case that thing decided to sting him. He kicked at the ground in an idle attempt to remove some of the muck attatched to his shoes.

Then he blinked as the other child stood and looked almost expectant.. Oh, okay.. Did the boy wanna go see if Daddy could help? The green child smiled a bit towards his new companion, "U-um.. Um... O-okay, fo-follow me!" And then he turned and began trudging off in the direction he was certain the car was in.. And he wasn't wrong. He may often seem like a quiet, dim-witted child, his mind was much sharper than he allowed to be shown. He could remember landmarks and paths almost perfectly--almost like a photographic memory.

Kei glanced up irritably; why must everyone always be on the move? He yawned and stretched himself out, fanning his wing-arms about in the air idly as he watched the two D-corp children. What a pain. He nibbled at a plant momentarily before hopping up on his hindlegs and trailing along after them. His tail swayed halfheartedly behind him, vibrant colored eyes shifting back and forth as well as they travelled the familiar terrain back towards the car.

Once they arrived, Nero was pleased to find his caretaker seated in the car reading some sort of book on some museum. He plodded forward and very gently rapped on the window with a claw. Axel peered out, brows arched curiously. He gave a half-smile as he spotted his charge, and opened the door, "Hey, buddy, what's up?" The boy fidgetted uncertainly before glancing back towards his companion to make sure he followed, "U-um.. I-its my f-fault, b-but I g-got mud o-on my sh-shoe a-a-and u-um.. H-he got m-mucky too, s-so.. M-maybe..."

The older of the two males gave a sigh--punishment would come later for the messed up shoes. For now, he'd be helpful. "You want me to help clean him up?" A hopeful spark flashed in the smaller's eyes, "W-would you..?" Axel nodded sagely and hauled himself out of the car before waving a hand, beckoning the boy over. "C'mere, kid, I'll see what I can do." He gave a friendly smile and then pulled out a waterbottle and a towel from beneath the seat. He kept a lot of this stuff around because Nero didn't sweat, so if needed he would have to wet him down in order to get him to cool off.

Nero kept off to the side, careful not to be a bother to the two. He was still uncertain of the other child's opinion of him--especially after having a plant chucked at him. His larger pair of eyes lingered on the two, and a constant uncertain smile was plastered on the child's face. He kicked a muddy shoe at the ground silently, although the awe returned as the other boy extended his wings.. They were so bright and pretty.. He tilted his head, examining them thoughtfully... Woww..

Axel began spritzing the water over the child's wings, and perhaps a few other places where the muck had gathered. He hesitated a moment, allowing the two to talk, lowering the spray bottle to watch.

The green lad blinked, and then smiled brightly as the other boy seemed to have taken some interest in him... And it wasn't bad at all! How uplifting. "O-oh! I-I'm N-Nero!" Glee filled the boy at the prospect of a new friend, and he extended a claw for a handshake, as he was taught to do. "N-nice to m-meet y-ya Paxton!" He hesitated a moment, remembering his powerful claws could be rather intimidating and rather awkward for handshakes.. He flinched a bit and kinda pulled it back to rest it back at his side, "O-oh, s-sorry.." He bowed his head sheepishly. He didn't want to intimidate his new companion.

Kei eyed them lazily, and then slunk into the car to curl up cozily on a seat. Mmm.