"Are you ready to head out?" Marco asked as he prepped the supplies on Nachos' saddle. Securing some food and drinks for him and his riding partner, along with a bowl for his transportation/beloved friend.
"Just about." Kelly replied to him, doing the same as Marco but loading her supplies into the thick fur of her dragon-cycle Harry. Marco had to admit that her dragon-cycle was about the most unique one he'd ever seen. Unlike all the others he'd met before that had the classic scaled appearance of a dragon, Kelly's was covered in a thick coat of fur that encased its entire body and made it look more like a ram than a dragon. Though it flew with the same skill as his own ride. "You think this vet is going to be able to help?"
"I hope so, or at least let me know what's going on with her." Marco said, petting Nachos on the head who leaned into the gentle touch. "She's been kind of sluggish lately so I'm hoping it's nothing serious."
"Poor Nachos. You're such a good girl." Kelly said, walking up to her other side and also petting her gently. Nachos enjoying the heaps of attention the riders were giving to her. "Don't you worry, we'll find out what's going on and get you taken care of. I can't let anything bad happen to Harry's best friend." Stepping aside Kelly called over her own dragon-cycle who rolled up and nuzzled against Nachos' face happily. "They are just the cutest together!"
"Yeah, they're an adorable pair." Marco said, standing next to Kelly who took the chance to lean into his side. "Thank you a lot for coming with us. I think having Harry around will make her feel calmer about all of this."
"Of course, if it means getting to all go out together I'll happily do it. Especially if we can make sure she's okay." Giving Marco a kiss on the cheek she walked over to Harry and hopped on to his back, the blanket on his fur making for a soft saddle as she sunk comfortable into him and took hold of his horns. Cutting a hole into the air with his dimensional scissors, Marco split the portal open wide enough for them to travel through and then gently got on to the back of Nachos. The dragon-cycles rolling forward and leaving the ground as they entered the colorful portal.
Spilling out the other side of the magical gate as it closed behind them, Marco and Kelly could see they were already in the air above what looked like a lush jungle beneath them. Though the trees weren't just the normal green but a variety of different colors and shapes that filled the landscape. Kelly excitedly taking in the view as she didn't travel to other worlds quite as much as her break-up buddy. "Wow, this place is amazing! And... kinda humid. Hope my hair doesn't frizz out."
"Up ahead! That must be it!" Marco called out, pointing at a mountain with a flat top in the distance and what looked like a ranch sitting on the summit. As they brought their dragon-cycles down towards the ranch they could make out the large building on the far side of the property and the various fenced in fields of dirt and grass where a variety of dragon-cycles were rolling around leisurely. Touching down for a landing they stopped by the front of the building to see a sign written in some language that Marco couldn't make out, but beneath it was a smaller one that said Daisy's Dragon Ranch.
"So it's like a farm?" Kelly asked curiously.
"I guess so. Word is that it's a place where they raise dragon-cycles for owners and take care of sick ones. Hekapoo was the one that tipped me off to it." Marco explained, getting off Nachos' back and walking up to the door. There wasn't a door bell or a sign advising on hours of operation so he just knocked and waited. Kelly joining him at the door as they heard heavy foot steps approach. The door swinging open as a tall, green and scaly woman with a face that more resembled Nachos than Kelly or Marco walked out of the building. "Yeah? Can I help you kids?"
"Whoa." Kelly said in amazement. The ranch owner was tall, tall enough that she ducked slightly when walking through the entrance and placing her cowboy hat on her head afterwards. Wearing a patterned button up shirt and jeans with a green tail that followed her from behind. Looking somewhat like the combination of a dinosaur and a human to Marco's eyes.
"Um... hello? Are you Doctor Daisy?" Marco asked cautiously.
"Never went to any doctorin' school, but I'm Daisy." She explained, looking past the two of them to the dragon-cycles behind them. "Ah, so you're riders. Younger than I would have expected but it's good to see kids caring for their cycles. So you need a wheel change or something?"
"Actually, I was hoping you could look over my dragon-cycle, Nachos. I think she might be sick."
"Well that's no good, lemme take a look at 'er." Daisy said, Marco and Kelly following behind as she approached Nachos and began to gently look her over. As they kept their distance Kelly leaned in to whisper to Marco.
"She's not what I expected... and I didn't even know what I was expecting in the first place."
"Same here, but if she's running this place and Hekapoo recommended her then she must know what she's doing. Can't imagine she got this ranch by accident." Marco whispered back to Kelly as Daisy gave Nachos a more thorough examination. Eventually standing up from her kneeling position and returning to them.
"Well I don't see anything wrong with her exactly but she is a little slow and breathing kind of heavy. You weren't pushing her too hard, were you?" She asked and Marco shook his head. "If it's alright with you I'd like to keep her overnight for examination."
"Sure thing! I can pay up front if you want!" Marco insisted, pulling out a stack of bills and lifting them up to show her."
"...you always just walk around flaunting cash, kid?" Daisy asked curiously, looking the stack of money he was holding up over.
"Well... kinda, yeah?" Marco shrugged. "But if there's anything I can do to help her then I want to do it. Nachos means the world to me." He explained, Kelly putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"Say, can Harry stay with her? They're friends and I think she'll like having him around instead of being alone." Kelly offered and Daisy nodded, taking the money and counting it.
"Sure thing, kids. This should be more than enough to cover their stay. It's not often I get to have couples bring their cycles in together so I don't like to break them up if I don't have to." Daisy explained, Marco and Kelly blushing at the insinuation of how close the two of them were.
"Thank you for that but we're more like... buddies." Kelly muttered, letting her hair down and covering herself in it to hide her embarrassed face at the suggestion of their relationship. Daisy just smiled a big, toothy grin and walked over to Harry, giving him a pet.
"He's a unique one too. Not often do we see woolett dragon-cycles around these parts. They've got some real soft coats." Nuzzling her own face into the thick fur she gave both Nachos and Harry a tap on the back of their necks and they began to follow her side by side.
"So where will we be staying?" Marco asked Daisy curiously, who looked caught off guard by the question.
"I dunno, there's a camp ground down the way if you want to set yourselves up there." Daisy explained, pointing to a road that traveled down the hill.
"Oh. There's not a hotel or anything around here, huh?" Marco asked, looking around and noticing there wasn't even another building as far as the eye could see.
"Kid, this is a dragon-cycle ranch. I set up out here cause I wanted to be around dragon-cycles and not much else. Sorry but there just ain't any room in my place to house you two for the night." Daisy explained firmly. Though Kelly didn't seem to mind.
"That's alright, we've roughed it outside before." She explained, walking over to Harry and reaching inside of his thick coat. Fishing out a backpack that was almost as large as the dragon-cycle himself. "Besides I already prepared everything we need for tonight." Taking the large bag in one hand Kelly sunk it into the thick mass of her own hair as it disappeared into the locks covering her body. Picking up Nachos' saddle she did the same with it and then also picking up Marco himself. Placing him on top of her head where he slowly sunk in until only his shoulders and above were still visible. Waving to the rancher Kelly began down the dirt path to the area they'd been directed to.
He wasn't uncomfortable exactly as Kelly's hair had a kind of soft, cushioning feeling when it surrounded you. But being positioned in the middle of the soft stuff as she trotted downhill felt awkward to him. "So um... you won't be bothered if I get out and walk on my own, right?"
"Huh?" Kelly asked confused for a moment. "Oh, right, you usually walk." Reaching up with her arms she hoisted him out of her hair and set him gently on the ground, parting her hair in front of her face and pulling it back behind her with a hair tie. "Sorry about that. I forget sometimes. Usually when uh... when I was with Tad, I'd just plop him on top. Cause that's where boys usually go." She said with some hesitation while explaining herself.
"It's okay, I understand." Marco replied.
"You really do?"
"Well, kinda." Marco agreed. "I mean I get that things are different from my home. So stuff not being like how I see it on Earth isn't that strange to me." He explained, offering his hand and Kelly taking it happily as they walked down the hill together. "So boys usually go on top, huh?"
"Yeah, not all of them. But a lot of them do." Kelly explained. "I get it though. I've seen a lot of stuff too and I've met Tom and Star and seen different places before, so I know boys from other dimensions aren't exactly like I'm used to. Gotta say I was surprised that I ended up agreeing to be a break-up buddy with such a tall guy. It's really kind of... mature feeling." Her cheeks blushed red as she explained it, seemingly wistful at the idea of being with the kind of person she just described.
"Actually I'll get even taller after a couple years." Marco explained.
"Y-yeah? Like... h-how much?" Kelly asked him, using her free hand to rub some of the sweat off of her neck.
"I dunno... maybe six feet? Hard to say till I get there."
"Wow... Earth guys get really... really big, huh?" She asked, swallowing a lump in her throat.
"You okay?" Marco asked, noting her flustered face. "I hope the humidity isn't too much for you here."
"I'm fine! Look, there's the campsite!" Kelly said, changing the subject quickly as she let go of his hand to pick up her pace towards the clearing. Daisy had called it a campsite but it was little more than an area without trees and an already made fire pit that was filled with black ash from past visitors. Four large logs sat around it as benches so you could circle the pit with seats. Conveniently there was also a small stream of water nearby.
"Guess if we want a fire for tonight we're gonna have to find some loose branches. I didn't bother to pack anything for burning." Marco said. "Did you have anything in that bag you brought?"
"Nope, but I got the next best thing!" Kelly exclaimed, reaching into her hair and pulling out a battle ax. "I can get us some wood in no time!"
"Okay, I guess I'll carry it for you as you cut it down." Marco said, taking off his hoodie and wrapping it around his waist with his sleeves. "This place is really muggy though, wonder how cold it'll get when night comes around."
"Better to be safe than sorry, I don't really want to have something try to chew on me while I'm sleeping if I can help it." Kelly said, setting her ax down on the ground and reaching down to pull up and remove her purple and white striped sweater. Marco seeing that she was wearing a small yellow tank top underneath and as she pulled the sweater away. In just the tank top and tight spandex shorts she usually wore her current outfit was much more form fitting than Marco was used to seeing on her. "Actually Marco, maybe you should drink some water first. Your face is all red."
"Yeah!?" Marco asked, turning away for a moment and taking in a breath after staring at the girl. "Maybe you're right. Guess I didn't expect everything that I'd find when I got here."
"Don't worry, you've got me by your side." Kelly explained, reaching into her hair again and walking over to him with a water bottle. Marco took it gratefully and followed after her as she picked up her ax. Getting to enjoy the show of her swinging it around with energy and joy as she threw her whole body into every chop. As Marco diligently gathered the wood she cut down he considered something.
"Hey Kelly, are the boys back where you come from really that much shorter?"
"Well yeah, you saw Tad, right?" Kelly explained, taking another big chop at a tree limb that was being stubborn about coming loose. "That's usually how it goes."
"Yeah, I guess so. It's just when I was visiting you it seemed like there were a lot of people your size."
"Most of them were adults. Not a lot of boys our age are as tall as us." She said, preparing another swing.
"I see... so how come your mom was so big? She was like... the size of your house. Or actually was your house." Marco asked, Kelly missing her swing entirely and planting her ax right into the ground. She turned to look at him with a surprised face.
"You really don't know?" She asked in shock, Marco shaking his head. "I guess... yeah, you wouldn't know, would you? Well um... you see... when a woolett girl starts a family then usually the mom gets big enough that she can take care of the whole family inside of her."
"Huh, well that's kind of useful." Marco said thinking about it. "I guess that means your family always has a place they can live in and be safe." He reasoned, Kelly nodding in agreement that he got the lesson. "So does that mean one day you'll grow that big?"
"Well... I might! One day, you know... assuming that I meet someone who... will give me a reason to grow. But I'd have to become a... a mother first." Kelly stammered, unable to hide the big smile on her face as she thought about it. "Are you saying you'd like to see how... big I can get?" Marco wasn't sure exactly what that meant to her but the way she seemed to be breathing heavily and associated it with motherhood made him consider changing the subject before things got too directly suggestive between them on this biology lesson.
"Heh, I guess maybe one day?" Marco replied. "For that I'll have to make sure I get this fire started to keep you warm for the night."
"Yeah... nice and warm. You bet." Kelly said, hoisting her ax up with one hand and cracking the branch off easily that she'd been struggling with earlier. Seemingly in a very good mood with whatever was going through her head now. Marco for his part collected all the branches and kept them in his arms in a big group. "Do you want me to get those for you?"
"Nah, you did all the work cutting them down. I should at least carry them for you." He insisted, Kelly watching him struggle to keep the large stack of branches balanced in his grip as he moved forward, returning to where they had come from.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." She offered but Marco shook his head.
"Hey now, I'm the guy around here, right? I gotta make sure I do some masculine work if I want to keep you impressed with me." Marco explained, Kelly watching him confused but following along and trying not to interfere with his efforts again. Traveling back through the trees to the campsite he dropped them in a heap by the fire pit and they worked together to assemble the wood so they could light it as the sun was setting. When the work was done Marco excused himself to head to the creek, washing off the dirt and sweat from hoisting all that weight earlier. Kelly sat close to the fire pit and just watched him quietly.
"Wow..." She whispered, swallowing a little lump in her throat as he got his head and shirt wet in the clean water. Keeping her eyes trained on him there seemed to be a fog rolling in but that didn't stop her from staring, even when he approached her.
"You okay?" Marco asked her, Kelly nodding her head vigorously.
"Yeah! Why do you ask?"
"Your glasses are all fogged up." Marco commented, Kelly slipping them off and noting they'd heated up from her own heavy breathing. Looking away embarrassed she cleaned them with her shirt as Marco sat on the log next to her. "I'm still worried about Nachos and I hope she'll be okay, but at least I'm having fun being with you." He said to her, Kelly adjusting her glasses back into place.
"I'm happy to hear that. I was kind of worried for a second there." She admitted.
"About what?"
"Well when you offered to carry all the fire wood, I just thought that... y'know... maybe you thought I was weak?"
"Weak? Are you kidding?" Marco asked with a laugh. "Kelly, you're one of the strongest girls I know. And I know some strong girls. Heck, you cut all these branches down yourself."
"Yeah but then you were so insistent that you be the one that carried them. I just didn't get it."
"Well, I didn't want you to think I was weak." Marco admitted as well, looking away. "I mean I know I can fight monsters and keep up on adventures but still, even with all that I kind of feel like I'm not the strong man of the team."
"Why would you have to be?" Kelly asked genuinely.
"Cause... you know, boys are supposed to be tough." Marco answered.
"Really? Is that what it's like on Earth?" She asked, Marco nodding. "Huh, that's sure backwards. And here I was trying to be strong enough to compete with Star so you'd think I'm the dependable one."
"Is it not like that back at your home?"
"Well you've seen it, girls get bigger to protect their families. Boys take care of the families. I mean... y'know, not all girls do. Some never have kids so they don't need to get that big but I just... guess I thought maybe one day I will so I have to be tough." Kelly explained. "But... sometimes I think that... it might be nice to be the weak one."
"Oh? What does it mean to be the 'weak' one to you?"
"Y'know like... the one that gets pampered or treated like they're delicate. Cuddled and told they're sweet. I know that makes me weird but it's like my... my secret thing I'm into."
"So soft things make you happy too? Not just swords?" Kelly hesitated but nodded to him.
"Don't go telling people though, alright!" She interjected quickly. "Lots of woolett girls get teased for not being able to get a boyfriend or even a husband and then not getting a family. So I don't need anyone knowing."
"No one needs to know." Marco explained. "Out here it's just me and you." Sliding up closer to here Marco's hips touched against hers and she slowly leaned in to him, wrapping her arms around his body and hugging him tightly. It was a little rough of a hug but she seemed happy and Marco was willing to endure it for her. Stroking her head through her hair and somehow managing to actually land it on her scalp without sinking into the bushy mass. Kelly took her glasses off and leaned her head into Marco's neck as she hugged him tighter, Marco blushing but still happily enduring this affection.
"I really am into some weird stuff, huh?" Kelly whispered.
"Like what?" Marco asked.
"Earth boys for one, apparently." She admitted. "And getting pet like I'm your dragon-cycle or some kind of pet. And it feels... it feels nice."
"Heh, well I'm not sure I should be as ready to ride you as I am with Nachos." At the suggestion of "riding" her Kelly let out a hot moan and shuddered, hugging Marco that much tighter.
"You know... if you asked me to... I might just let you rid-"
"Kel...ly... can't... breath..." Marco gasped as her arms were squeezing him harder than she intended. Letting him go she backed out of the hug and he caught his breath.
"Heh, sorry! Kinda lost track of myself back there. So uh... should we start the fire now?" She suggested, looking to back away from the previous subject should she get completely lost in thought about it. Getting some tinder, kindling and matches out of the bag in her air Marco struck the fire and they sat nearby, tending to it to make sure the wood caught flame. The sky was already getting dark but the flames kept things lit near them so it was easy enough to see.
"So I'm sorry if my questions made things a little weird back there." Marco said. "I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable or anything."
"I know." Kelly agreed, smiling brightly. "You wouldn't try to make me feel bad if you could help it. I understand that."
"Great, glad to hear. So um... what will the sleeping situation be like tonight? Do we put up a tent or...?"
"Oh I already took care of all of that." Kelly explained. "Do you want something to eat?" Slipping her hand behind herself, Kelly hoisted a whole cooler out of her hair and dropped it in front of them. Inside was a collection of easy to eat, instant foods like trail mix, marshmallows, canned drinks and a zip lock bag full of hot dogs. There was even some extendable rods with points on the end that Kelly quickly pulled out into its full length and attached a hot dog on the end of. Marco followed along, also taking one of the rods and placing a hot dog at the end to cook along side her.
"You're a pretty big fan of hot dogs." Marco commented as he watched his to make sure it cooked evenly.
"Sure am! Ever since I found the Goblin Dogs food truck they've been one of my favorite. Portable, easy to eat and they fill you up." Making sure hers was cooked all around perfectly she pulled it back from the fire and gave it a second to cool down. "It's not just that they're a good quick snack, I really like the taste of them too. I made sure to pack these ones special so we'd have something delicious if we ended up camping like this."
"Sounds like you were almost hoping for us to get stuck out in the wild alone together." Marco said, Kelly just smiling to herself and not saying much in reply. Instead she took her hot dog off the stick and bounced it between her hands as it cooled off. Once it was tolerable to the touch she took it lengthwise and slid it into her mouth. Not biting at it at first, instead slipping it between her lips and enjoying the flavor. Her tongue working around it in circles tasting the crispness of the surface from being exposed to the fire. Just the slightest hint of saliva appearing at the corner of her lips as she sucked at it. When she finally did bite into it to chew and swallow she looked at Marco whose face was frozen as he watched her, completely entranced.
"Uh, Marco?" Kelly asked, wiping her lips clean with her finger tips. "Your hot dog is burning."
"What?" He asked in confusion, looking forward to see his hot dog was on fire as he'd been ignoring it to watch Kelly. Pulling it back from the flames he blew it out and got it down to a charred black stick. "Ugh. Guess I got a little distracted." Marco admitted, Kelly not sure what distracted him but she moved on from it quickly by eating the rest of her hot dog and putting another on the stick afterwards while Marco forced himself to eat the burnt hot dog and went for another that he intended to cook better this time. With dinner secured they finished off with toasted marshmallows for dessert. Satisfied with the food in their stomachs and their place by the fire, Marco let out a loud yawn. "So, should we bust out the tent?"
"Already? It's not that late yet." Kelly replied.
"Yeah, I know. But I figured we should get started on it before it gets too late right?"
"Well… if you want to, sure." Kelly agreed, reaching back and pulling off her hair tie, letting her long green hair encase her entire body. "Okay, come on in."
"In… there?" Marco asked, pointing at her.
"Well yeah, where did you think I meant when I said I had it taken care of, silly?" Kelly laughed. "Tent's all made, this is the shelter for the night."
"Well… okay." Marco said, walking towards Kelly and attempting to sink into her hair. Though he found some resistance no matter how much he tried to slip in. "I can't seem to get in there, something's in the way." He put his hands forward and they landed on something soft but firm.
"Marco… that's uh… that's me." Kelly said, her eyes looking away from him. "You have to go in from the back…"
"Oh." Marco said, though suddenly realized his hands were resting on her chest and pulled them back quickly. "Oh! Oh I mean… I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"It's okay. Really. Honestly. I… don't mind." Kelly said, the last part quieter than the rest. Circling around Marco was a lot more careful this time as he crawled into the back of her hair. His feet leaving behind the ground he'd been standing on as he stepped onto a soft surface that was as plush as the walls surrounding him. Suddenly the entire room he was inside of shook as if there was an earthquake.
"Whoa! What was that!?"
"I sat down." Kelly said, her voice seeming to come from somewhere above and around him. "So… this is me."
"This is you, huh?" Marco asked, the inside of this place dimly lit with a variety of odds and ends thrown around inside. Nearby he found the cooler she had stored away again after dinner, Kelly's backpack and Nachos' saddle that she had tossed in here earlier. "It's a lot roomier than it looks like from the outside."
"That better not be a fat joke." Kelly warned.
"No no, not a fat joke! Not at all!" Marco said, looking around the open space. Kelly laughing in reply.
"I was just teasing. You can get as comfortable as you like in here." She explained, Marco stopping and sitting down in the middle of the room, looking around himself.
"Are you going to be alright?" Marco asked out loud. "I mean while I'm in here aren't you still out there?"
"Most of me is in here too." Kelly explained. "It would take a heck of a lot to get through all of this to get to me. Woolett girls don't get pushed around easily." She said proudly. "Even better than a tent though, isn't it?"
"I'll say. This is bigger than the campsite is on the outside." Marco said, standing up and walking in a little deeper. "Though it does have a downside compared to the tent."
"It does? What could the down side be?"
"I don't get to sleep next to you tonight." Marco answered.
"Oh… well… y'know, you can still have that. If you really want it?" Kelly asked shyly. "But you'll have to come inside. Deeper."
"Okay then." Marco agreed, venturing deeper into the cavern of Kelly's hair. He noticed as he went in further the light got dimmer, unsure what that meant exactly but it must have been the right way to go because the open space seemed to shrink down as he traversed. That was until Marco came upon a thick wall of hair blocking his path. "So… am I in the right place?"
"Almost." Kelly said. "Since you're all the way inside is it okay if you take your shoes off?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that." Marco said, sitting down on an even comfier patch of hair and removing his socks and shoes. Enjoying the free feeling of having them exposed.
"And… you should probably take your shirt off too?" Kelly suggested cautiously.
"My shirt? I can if you want but how come?"
"Oh well, you know it's just… when you're this deep it can get kind of warm after a while. Don't want you to get uncomfortable." She offered, Marco not completely convinced but going along with it anyway. Slipping his shirt off his body and standing up to stretch out afterwards. "Mmm, yeah, just like that…"
"What?"
"Nothing!" Kelly said quickly. "Anyway, come closer."
"Closer… to what?" Marco asked, his eyes having adjusted to the dark but he still couldn't see her anywhere. Suddenly though Kelly's hand extended out from the wall of hair before him. Cautiously Marco took hold of it, and was yanked forward through the wall's surface. "Whaaa!" Letting out a surprise yell he was pulled in deeper like quicksand until he suddenly came face to face with the girl herself. "Oh… hey, there you are."
"Yep… here I am." Kelly said, looking as if she was part of the wall they were both sunk into. Her hair that was normally tied around her or pouring down all over her body from the top of her head seemed to spread out from her now and extend forever. "You… don't think this is too weird, do you? Or too much for just break-up buddies to do? I've never let an Earth boy this deep inside… inside of me… before. Not even Star got to be this deep. Well, Pony Head tried once but I kicked her out because she forced her way in and you don't just force your way into a girl's hair without permission."
"No I really don't think it's weird. Actually this isn't the first time I've been surrounded by hair myself." Marco recalled with amusement but Kelly's eyes grew wide.
"Star let you get into her hair!?"
"What? No, not Star. It was mine." He explained, Kelly letting out a little breath of relief. "One of her spells went wrong and I grew a beard that took over the house."
"Okay, so it was your own. That's okay then." She said, her hands moving from holding his hand to sliding up and holding his body in a hug. "This is pretty comfortable for me too, actually. I'm glad you suggested it."
"Yeah, me too." Marco agreed, hugging her in return. "Though I almost expected when I'd find you that you'd be… I dunno, really big since I'm in your hair now." He suggested and Kelly giggled.
"Course not silly, I told you already that woolett girls only get that big when they've got a family. I don't have one, just yet anyway." She said dreamily. "One day though."
"One day…" Marco said thoughtfully. "Though are we supposed to stand up all night or...?"
"Would you rather lay down? Sure thing, just a second." Kelly said, Marco watching as she extended her feet down into the mass of hair they were surrounded by and then felt like the entire room they were in was shaking. After a moment everything turned sideways and he found himself laying horizontal in the small compact room he was in with Kelly. "There you go."
"Whoa, the whole place shook! What happened!?"
"I rolled on to my side." Kelly said plainly. Marco found that trying to understand the physics of what things were like inside of Kelly's hair as opposed to outside of it was too much to think about so he decided to just ignore it. Instead enjoying it as she curled up next to him and nuzzled his cheek. "You were right, this is a lot better. And it's just fine for just 'buddies' to do together."
"Yeah... it really does feel... comfortable." He said, looking at her eyes in the very dim light. The physical activity from the day catching up with him as the soft covering all around his body lulled him into slumber. "I feel like I can just rest in here for as long as I want."
"You can." Kelly whispered to him, her voice eager and proud. "With me, inside of me, you can always feel safe and relaxed."
"That's good." Marco whispered back, yawning as he was getting sleepy. "Like a big, warm pocket."
"That I can keep you in and carry you around inside of."
"Mmm hmm… cause I like you a lot." He said, drifting off to sleep as Kelly leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on the lips.
"I like you a lot too… and maybe one day, I'll make that dream of showing you how tall and womanly I can become true... 'buddy' of mine."
One long, peaceful night later the campfire was reduced to smoldering ashes as the sun came up and shined down upon the wild trees surrounding the clearing. The only evidence besides the ashy logs that anyone was still there was the green pile of hair that was wrapped completely in itself like a thick bush. Some birds and smaller wildlife sniffed at the pile curiously, until it outstretched its arms from the mass of hair and yawned loudly, scaring them all away. With a groan Kelly sat up from the spot she'd been laying in, shaking off the leaves, twigs and other forest floor items that had gotten tangled in her thick hair. Standing upright she reached behind herself and pulled out her toothbrush, walking over to the nearby stream of water to get it wet and brush her teeth.
"Kelly?" A voice from inside her hair called out. "Where'd you go?"
"I'm outside, Marco." She replied, her hair rustling a little as Marco stepped out of the back of it, stretching his arms out. "Did you sleep well?"
"Did I ever! That was like the softest bed I've ever been in in my whole life."
"I'm glad you liked it." Kelly said with a blush, pulling her hair back and securing it with a tie to reveal her figure. Her sweater was already back on as she had dressed herself while covered up. Digging inside she found Marco his shirt and hoodie. "Here you go. I figured if we're picking up Nachos this morning you might want to wear them."
"Heh, yeah I probably should." Marco said. "You know that was the first time I've ever done something like that."
"Like what?"
"Slept with a girl. I mean, slept NEXT to a girl! Not like… you know what I mean." Marco stammered. "But it was different than I thought it would be. I wasn't nervous at all. Instead I felt really… safe, I guess." After his explanation Kelly quietly walked up to him and planted a long, gently kiss right on his lips. Letting it linger there for a moment before pulling back. "...whoa. I liked that a whole lot but what was it for?"
"Cause you know exactly what to say to a girl to make her feel good." She said proudly, marching back towards the dragon-cycle ranch with Marco following behind her. Confused but happy to get such a good morning surprise. As they walked up Kelly was in high spirits. "It's good to hear you felt comfortable last night. I was worried I pushed you into it with all that stuff about girls and boys and families and things I kept going on about. I know we still have the whole Break-Up Buddies rule and I don't want to cross over the line."
"Nah. That had nothing to do with it." Marco said, taking Kelly's hand as they walked together. "Though I was happy to learn more about you. There were all sorts of things I never knew about wooletts until you taught me."
"Yeah, I felt the same way learning more about you and your home. It was nice to share it." Kelly agreed, the two feeling a stronger bond than the day before. As they approached though their hands separated, side by side but trying to look less like a couple that had been snuggling together all morning and more like just buddies. Knocking on the door Marco waited until Daisy came up and answered with that same sharp, bright smile on her dinosaur like face.
"Oh, it's you kids! Perfect timing." Daisy said, waving for them to follow her around the side of the house.
"So Nachos is okay?" Marco asked worriedly, though Daisy didn't have a hint of concern on her face.
"Oh she's doing just fine, real sweet heart of a girl. Loved having her and her boyfriend over." Daisy explained, opening the gate and leading them inside of the ranch grounds before closing it behind them.
"I don't know if I'd call Harry her boyfriend." Kelly said. "They're just buddies."
"That a fact?" Daisy asked Kelly. "Well I'm not sure what 'buddies' means to you two, but what these two are is a bit beyond buddies." Opening the door to the barn to let them in Marco and Kelly could see Nachos laying down in a pile of straw with Harry alongside her. In between them was a pile of dragon-cycle eggs. "If I had to guess, I'd say they're the mama and papa of a whole clutch of babies. Congratulations kids, your dragon-cycles got a little family." Marco's mouth dropped open in surprise and Kelly squealed in delight, hugging Marco hard and then running over to their dragon-cycles to fawn over them and the eggs they made together. Still in a bit of shock, Marco just stood still until Daisy bumped his side. "So, beyond buddies at this point, right?"
"Yeah… yeah I'd say way beyond buddies now." Marco agreed.