I must admit, Elma's "confession" was relieving. At least I knew where I stood in her life. I wasn't sure if it was either love or respect/admiration for me that made her want to "breed" with me, as she put it. Dragons are hella complex.

"I may not understand everything about you Elma but what I do know is that you are willing to give up your life as a dragon to be with me, even if it comes at a price. Are you one-hundred percent sure that this is what you truly want?"

She spoke quickly. "Of course. I want to live a simple life here on this beautiful planet with you."

I was a bit taken aback by her sudden response. "May I ask why?"

"Well, like I have said before, I have given many service to my dragon folk and I think it's time I take a rest and settle down. Life was so…unpredictable and fast-paced back then, however I enjoy the routine and simplicity of the humans' way of life. I've adjusted well over the months, thanks to you and Miss Kobayashi's help. For nearly half a year, I have been here and I want to continue living this way until my last breath. Not to mention, it's a bonus if I get to spend my time here with you."

My eyes widened in surprise. The free-spirited nature of dragons is something humans have yet to learn.

"So don't you have any family or friends that will miss you?"

"In my world, strong long-lasting familial relationships are extremely rare. My kind prefer not to get too close with each other, unlike the humans. So to answer your question, Nai, there won't be many who would miss my presence."

"Huh, I see" I nodded. "And you said that dragons outlive humans? Is that true? Then that must mean, you're much older than you look."

She laughed. "Oh Nai, yes, I could be the mother of all humans. I have been around for thousands of years." She paused and sighed. Sounding more serious, she continued, "But it's true that we outlive your species. And that's something I will have to deal with. It's not your problem."

"What do you mean by "it's not my problem"? Of course it is my problem too. When I die, you are going to be alone, I assume- that is, unless you have a back-up plan" I retorted.

"Back up plan?! I could never replace you! I understand that you won't be around forever but I want to enjoy the little time we have. Cease every moment, as they say!"

"You know, Nai-chan, you still haven't answered my question- what do you say about breeding with me?"

For some reason, the nauseous feeling had returned.

"Elma, can you stop saying "breeding"? It's grossing me out. Dragons can be so inappropriately straightforward."

She didn't reply. I sighed heavily. I knew what I wanted.

I intertwined my hands with hers. "Elma, I think by now you should know that I love you very much and I would do anything for you. They say love makes you do crazy things. Well I never understood that statement until now. The fact that you are willing to sacrifice your former life as a dragon to live among humans is rather surprising, especially coming from you. Seeing that you don't mind giving up your "dragon" life for me and this earth means a lot to me. It shows me how dedicated an individual you are. If I were to have a child, I'd want to have one with a committed person like yourself, although I'm still unclear how that would work out."

"YAY!" She pulled me into a tight hug.

She giggled. "Don't worry about that part. I have a good idea. Want to hear it?"

My face was still buried in her wide chest. "Sure."

"Beginning now, let's start over. I want to get to know you more, Nai. I want to know you inside and out. I want to know all your likes and dislikes. I mean, you are going to be carrying my- sorry, our child."

It was my turn to laugh. "El-chan, humans would call that 'dating'".

"I like the sound of that. Let's go dating!" she said in her usual, gleeful tone.