Hey everyone! I hope you will like the new chapter ^^

A big THANK YOU to Banryuu my beta! Where would I be without her...

I think I'm getting better at writing, maybe I should try to write another fic or two? Anyway let me know what you think in the reviews. Have a good time!


Taste of a kiss part two.

What's the taste of a kiss? Surely such a concept is made for ladies enamored with romantic ideas of love. Yet it seems that even men have an idea of what the answer is to this question.

In another life the young prince of Fanelia Folken Lacour de Fanel knew that kisses tasted like sunshine and softness. Like comfort and innocence it was sweet and free. Fresh in memory and long gone from the world. It used to taste like baked goods by a sweet kitchen helper with a crush on him. Or flowery like the one by a vague noble girl before his precious brother's birth. Now it would just taste useless and faded, an aftertaste you couldn't get rid of and stays just out of reach.

To Folken Strategos kisses have no meaning nor purposes, yet he knows their taste, and a part of him long buried under pain and science still craves it. The flavor was divided in two one part sunshine the other like moonlight. Both soft and wanting, warm and mingling a search for comfort and a giving of the said comfort.

It tasted a bit like metal and oil but warm. It tasted like pine tree and smoked berries, like rushing water and adrenaline. But one can't go without the other it would cause an imbalance in the taste. The sun would be cold and the moon would be hidden. The kiss without the two halves would be dull and tasteless.

In the end he got the perfect taste with the lingering trace of luck serum, the obvious taste of salt and near death couldn't spoil this moment. It tasted like a second chance at life and he is sure he will have it soon and this time nothing will keep the golden sun and the silver moon from shining together in the sky where he can finally spread his wings.

Allen Schezar had quite the reputation concerning his popularity with women and as such is rather well acquainted with the taste of their lips. In fact he could probably write a book on the subject. Yet there are a selected few who left a taste like a brand on his soul and memory.

The first one was Marlene. Sweet, beautiful, kind Princess Marlene his first love. He hadn't felt like that for a women since his mother's death after Celena went missing. Kissing Marlene had felt so good. It tasted like getting out of the cold mud apathy and opening your eyes to a bright open sky. Like tea and flowers, it was sophisticated and light. It was also forbidden and tasted like secretive smiles. Each kiss was like melting ice and short time. Marlene was gone and so was the ice, but the cold was still here. Her kisses tasted like melting winter and the first day of spring.

Kissing princess Millerna was both a mistake and a wonderful moment. She looked so much like her departed sister it almost hurt and yet she was completely different. So was the taste he got of her lips. More innocent and carefree with dreams of a grand romance in her eyes her kisses were passionate and sweet. It was not unpleasant, but it was not what he needed. He loved her, but not like that. The taste never lasted either. It faded as soon as she was out of his sight, kind of like drinking water after a long day. It made you feel good, it's refreshing and calming, but it doesn't sate everything. With Millerna kisses tasted like spring water: fresh, clear even if it was not what he was looking for. Those kisses tasted like unripe fruit, not unpleasant but not satisfying.

He only shared one kiss with Hitomi and it was strange, unexpected even, but not unpleasant in the least. He had flirted with her of course, she was not unattractive after all. And she seemed to be attract to him. She was younger than Millerna and completely different from every woman he ever met. Their kiss was short and urged by a desire he hadn't experience for her before. It was like being struck by lightning it was probably her first kiss also. It was soft and short, but enough to leave a fierce taste. Sugary and vivid like a burst of wind in an orchard. Hesitant and sharp it was also a bit cold from the rain and the lingering taste of something wrong, almost chemical on the back of his tongue, gave it an acidic flavor. Something was wrong with the kiss and the taste but curiously he wanted more. It only lasted a few second and he wouldn't have minded if it had last hours. The fresh flavor of fruits and the sharp tang of piscus on her lips made it not too sweet. There was a metallic aftertaste mixed with salt from her tears. Kissing Hitomi tasted like a forbidden fruit, full of promises and wrong. It was way too tempting for some reason.

For Dryden kisses have history and if he was not an expert in any way he must admit he knows a few things. Kisses can taste like welcoming or like victory, grand, warm and comforting. They taste dull in comparison to the one kiss he had expected from his fiancée and got during their wedding before all hell broke loose, thanks to Zaibach. This kiss tasted like nothing he had before. Soft and warm it was full of the round taste of lip gloss and a bit fruity. There was an under taste of medicine he hadn't expected but found quite good and pleasant, after all Millerna was a doctor. There was a salty touch probably from her home land and city, she taste like a part of her kingdom. It was a bit too short, but so fulfilling at the same time. This was what he had expected, even more than that. It also felt a bit forced and empty like a book missing page at the best passage, or smiling to someone you don't really know. For him the son of a wealthy merchant used to luxury and beauty, kisses taste like recognition. This kiss tasted like accomplishment without effort, an account to the real deal. Fantastic but not perfect and not earned yet.

Van shared a searing kiss with Hitomi and it was absolutely perfect. A taste of finality and rightness in his soul. Like coming home after a long search. She tasted like honey and magic, lightly fruity and warm. Like summer she radiated comfort and light. She was hesitant and shy, but he was no better on this front and he was afraid of being too rough. She fill him with energy and passion, with the familiar flavor of tea and something new and unknown that he wanted to discover. Hitomi taste like life itself and it feel so good, he never been so alive before. Her lips had a tint of saltiness to them and it was addictive. For Van a kiss taste like new life and love.

(Author's note: Here it is! The boy's point of view. Do you like it?)


No more lizards.

Hitomi had never been particularly afraid of reptiles before her journey to Gaea. Sure she found snakes disturbing and some others things kind of gross, but she wasn't afraid or phobic.

But her encounter with the land dragon, her kidnapping by the lizard men, and her dreadful encounter with that snake Nina sure helped her get to the point where reptiles were now a source of angst for her. She was rarely in contact with any kind of reptiles since she was a resident of Tokyo and she was perfectly happy with that thank you very much.

Except that some of her classmates found it hilarious to put a tree lizard in her sleeping bag while on a camping trip in Okinawa. Her scream was so powerful, and her stress level so high after that the teachers had to give her medicine to calm her down. The whole class laugh minus Yukari, because who was afraid of such a tiny little thing? The rest of the trip was spent in a foul mood for her. Van was concerned too, since he felt quite vividly her distress but wasn't able to do much for her, she reassured him about her health then promised to come to Fanelia straight away after this trip was over.

It was bad luck that when she arrived on Gaea it was to find herself face to face with a land dragon. Still stressed out after the prank of her classmates, and her need to bury herself in Van embrace as soon as possible her reaction was understandable. It was her line of defense if anyone ever questioned her about what happened next. It was not fear who pushed her to act like she did nor was it anger which would have attract the dragon anyway. It was pure, emotional teenage frustration. Mixed with leftover fear, and resentment with a good dose of trauma and natural angst. It's never a good idea to push someone over their limits, more so a teenager. So she screamed.

"Get of my sight you big useless barbecue or I swear you will finish you pathetic life as a pile of hand-bags and assorted luggage! I have had enough of stupid lizards!"

Now Hitomi knew that yelling is never a real solution. Screaming at a dragon is stupid and suicidal. But damn if it wasn't a great stress relief. The fact that said dragon looked at her like she was mad and possibly toxic if eaten was not something usual either. It turned tail and left her to go back in the forest, which was an exceptional plus in her book. With any luck Van would never find out what had just happened, she would never get out of his sight ever again.

When she reached Fanelia she broke down and fell into Van arms in tears, exhausted by everything she had to go through and relieved to finally be in her angel's secure embrace. She finished her day cuddling to her draconian boyfriend and drinking hot tea trying to forget the last few days and events.

(Author's note : No animals mythical or normal were hurt during the making of this chapter. Frustration lead to exhaustion and using the fears of other as a prank is mean. Don't do it okay kids? )