"I know humans call them stars, but I don't really know what they are. We have our own theories about them, like they're the souls of all kinds of things. That probably sounds really.. primitive to you, I bet." Flashing a toothy grin up at her, Kenmei could have sworn the brilliant white of his teeth were glowing in the bright moonlight. Unable to help giving him a smile of her own, she shook her head. "I don't think that at all. But, as far as we know, they're made out of special types of gases called hydrogen and helium. At least, that's what I remember from school."

As she spoke, she stroked his hair gently, his head resting on her lap as they sat on the beach. Fingers running through his bangs, she was actually quite surprised at how soft it was when dried. It had a unique thickness to it, and she grew curious as to what genetic differences there was to regular human hair. Judar peered up at the sky, squinting slightly as his hair fell back into his face. Kenmei could easily recognize that intuitive gaze, and she knew many questions were approaching.

"Hydrogen and helium… What do those even do?" His nose crinkled in confusion and he turned his gaze to her face, as if looking for answers. Kenmei could only shake her head, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. "I'm sorry, I don't really know anything about that. But I do know something that might be interesting to you." Judar raised his eyebrows, his tail shifting position as he stared up at her. "Oh yeah? Hit me."

Kenmei tilted her head back a bit to look up at the sky, actually quite amazed at how visible the stars were that night. "The sun is a star. It's the closest one to us, and I can't remember exactly, but I think it's something like 93 million miles away." She looked back down at Judar as she heard him grumble a bit, and the disbelief was plain on his face. His eyes narrowed at her, he pointed up at the sky.

"I don't understand the concept of miles. What is a mile in relation to distance by feet or meters? I hear sailors talk about meters. How far is that supposed to be? How long would it take to get there? Why does the sun go away at night, and how are there no other stars that big-"

He was hushed as Kenmei placed her hand gently over his mouth, his bombardment of questions only making her head swim. "Woah, okay. Let's slow down a little here. Besides, you didn't even let me explain the cool part of what I was going to tell you." Glaring up at her in annoyance of the interruption, he ran his tongue along her palm, knowing she hated it. Sure enough, Kenmei squealed and pulled her hand back, shaking it in the air. "Yuck! Judar, you know I hate that! Saliva is disgusting!"

Smug smirk on his face, Judar nodded. "I know you do. But let me tell you a secret." He wiggled his finger in a 'come here' motion, and Kenmei leaned down closer to his face. "What?" His smirk only grew, and Kenmei knew she was going to regret humoring him in this moment.

"You might say you hate saliva," his hand came up, tangling into her hair at the back of her head. "but you weren't saying that when you were kissing me earlier."

Kenmei felt her cheeks begin to burn, trying to pull herself back away from him. "N-no! That's different!" Judar laughed, keeping his hold on her firm to try and pull her down to him. "Aw, come on! Come down here, I just want a kiss." Able to keep her still for a moment and seeing an opportunity, Judar leaned up. He ran his tongue along her cheek and up the side of her nose, coating her skin with as much saliva as he could muster in the moment. Shrieking loudly, Kenmei pushed him back, the force causing her to fall back to lay down as well.

Using her other hand that had yet to be tainted, she quickly went to work wiping her face off, though found it to be quite difficult. Something about him, being the creature that he was, made his saliva much more dense than a normal humans. Though kissing had been okay, Kenmei hated the feeling of it on her skin, and she knew he only did it to get this type of reaction from her. Judar still enjoyed teasing her relentlessly, and now that their feelings were out in the open, he found more ways to do so.

Literally anything he did would send her into am embarrassed frenzy, and Kenmei knew that he was taking great joy in every second. It was frustrating, but Kenmei couldn't deny that she was enjoying it. The feeling of his hands on her body, his lips against hers or his breath on her skin drove her mad. Now, this day more than ever, she wished that he was human. This separation forced between them by being different species made her heart heavy, and she was unsure how they were going to handle it.

By now, nearly four months after first meeting him, her feelings for him were out of control, and she was beyond happy that he had shown such intense interest back. Still, the thought lingered in the back of her mind:

How far could this really go?

She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Judar's laughter moving from near her legs, to above her, and she looked up as a shadow cast over her face. Judar had sat up to gaze down at her, grin still on his face. "I got you." Kenmei clenched her eyes shut as he reached over and helped to wipe the saliva off her face, using her discarded shirt she had taken off hours before. Once done, he tossed it away, before placing his hand back on her cheek gently.

"You're mad at me now?" He raised an eyebrow at the flustered glare she shot up at him, and Kenmei could feel her cheek grow hotter against the cold skin of his hand. "Why would you lick my face?" With a shrug, his grin only grew, moving some of her hair out of her face gently. "Because I like your face." Beginning to feel herself growing flustered for the millionth time that day, Kenmei avoided looking at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"How is that a good reason to want to lick my face?" Kenmei closed one eye as he ran his thumb over her eyebrow, as if he were studying her face structure. She watched as his grin faded into the shadows of his face, and she could no longer make out his expression. His eyes glowed with that uncanny reflective shine, like that of a cat, and she knew that he was able to see her perfectly in the dim light. That thought made her nervous, that she could not see him while he could see every inch of her.

This feeling was only heightened as he continued to trace her features with his fingers. They finally came to a rest after his thumb stroked her bottom lip and his hand moved to caress her cheek gently. Everytime he showed affection like this, Kenmei felt the same exact violent flutter in her stomach that she did the first moment he had done so in the water. Those kisses along her neck that led to her lips, and the first kiss that made her swell with so much emotion she couldn't help but to cry.

Much passion had passed between them from then to now, and the butterflies in her stomach were only confirmation that it was going to happen again. Judar did not make her wait long, however, as he soon leaned in, catching her lips with his own. The kiss was quick to accelerate in intensity as Kenmei's arms came up to wrap around his neck, pulling him in closer. His hand began to slide down her side, his grip firm and comforting. As this went on, something peaked in Kenmei's mind that she found oddly curious, especially during such an intimate moment.

Judar's skin, which was usually always like ice, felt warm.

Kenmei sighed as she collapsed onto her bed, immediately wrapping herself in the comfort of the fleece blanket she kept on top of her comforter. Though it irritated her sunburn at first, she quickly grew used to it, cocooning herself in the warmth. She was exhausted from a restless night out on the beach, having just returned early that morning, as Judar had said he would be gone for a few days. He wouldn't tell her why, but he seemed very excited for something, and it made her very curious.

Thinking of him, her sunburned cheeks grew even hotter, and she snuggled her face into her pillow. She could still feel his hands on her body and his lips on her skin. Her mind began to race with her thoughts of him. Excitement and embarrassment bubbling to a high point, she gave a girlish squeal and began to roll back and forth on her bed, covering her flushed face with the blanket. Giddy and flustered, she came to a rest on her back, locking her eyes on her ceiling fan. It was spinning slowly on its lowest setting, the soft sound soon reaching her ears and the cool air touched her flushed skin.

This was the happiest she had been since her brother's death a few months ago, and she clung to it with every fiber of her being. Her happiness always had a tendency to be stolen from her, but she was determined to keep it this time. Everything that had happened to her was like a fantasy novel, and it was all so cliché that she began to expect that she was dreaming it. But, his touch was so real, and the sunburn that plagued her skin was painful enough to not be a dream.

The scratching feeling of her clothing on her shoulders pulled Kenmei from her thoughts and she sat up to remove her shirt. I have to remember to get more sunscreen… I have a few days to do that.

Once removed, she laid back down, wrapped in the blanket. Her focus back on the fan, she stared at it for a moment before she began to drift away, mind soon pulled into blackness.

The loud sound of a door banging in the house pulled her from sleep with a start. Her heart racing, Kenmei pulled herself to sit up, glancing around nervously, until her eyes landed on a figure in her room. She jumped so violently she almost fell off her bed, clutching the blankets and forcing her body up against her headboard. "Who is that!?" Squinting as the lights flicked on, her father glared at her from her bedroom door, anger plain on his face. He stood still and the presence he gave off was threatening, and Kenmei knew that something bad was going to happen.

As if it were a shield, she pulled her blanket tightly around herself, trying to calm her trembling body. "What do you want? Why would you just barge into my room?" Keneiji moved to cross his arms, taking a few steps forward. "You were gone all night." Kenmei nodded, glancing around her room nervously, as if looking for something to defend herself with. "Yeah, I texted you and told you I was going to be." Her fear subsiding, she began to grow angry, glaring right back at him.

"I want to know where you were. You're gone all day, every day, and the few times I see you, you have this stupid happy look on your face." His voice was firm and loud enough to nearly shake the room. Kenmei looked away from him, trying to control her fear. "It's none of your business. I'm an adult, I can do what I want to without having to answer to you." His glare only darkened, though he didn't advance. "You've met someone, haven't you? A boy?"

Kenmei was unable to stop her face from flushing, turning her head away more to try and hide it from him. The uncomfortable and guilty look on her face gave her away and Keneiji sighed, reaching up to rub his face. "You're kidding me… And you think it's okay to just hide this?" Kenmei shifted herself to be at the edge of her bed, placing her feet on the floor. "What does it matter to you? You've never cared about anything I do. Just leave me alone."

"So what, now you're off spending the night with him? What do you think you're going to do when you get pregnant, huh?!" His voice only continued to rise in volume, and Kenmei pulled the blanket up over the back of her head. She tried to hide the dark red color of her face, feeling her stomach begin to squirm. "T-that's not even possible! Mind your own business!" Kenmei tried to back away as Keneiji made his way over, but she couldn't get back fast enough. He grabbed her by the arm, yanking her painfully to her feet.

"It is possible!" He held onto her arm tightly so she couldn't get away. Kenmei kept her face turned to the side, eyes clenched shut tightly. If she just let it happen, it would be over sooner, and he would leave her alone. Just deal with it a little longer… he'll stop soon. She thought to herself, doing everything she could to hold back her tears, even as he gripped both of her arms tightly.

"How do you think I ended up with you and your shithead brother? It does happen, even if you take measures to make sure it doesn't!" Kenmei felt as if she might vomit as he shook her while he spoke, having to open her eyes to glare at something nearby. A gasp left her lips as he gripped her face, forcing her to look at him. "I'm not going to take care of you and some little fucker. If you have a boy you're seeing, then fine. But I'm sick of your part of keeping up the house not being done before you leave! If you don't want to do it, then pay for a maid!"

Kenmei couldn't help but to give an exasperated, sharp laugh, risking a glare up at him. "Your priorities sure are on point. Like I said, I'm an adult and I can do what I want! Now let me go and get out of my face!" She tried to display confidence, but her voice cracked and withered as his glare only became more intense. His grip tightening on her arms, Kenmei winced and cowered into herself, sobbing as she brought her hands up to hide her face. "Please just let me go!"

Roughly, Keneiji pushed her back to sit on the bed before he turned to leave. "You're so pathetic. How anyone could give a shit about you is beyond my understanding." He slammed the door loudly as he left. Kenmei was quick to stand up and run over to the door, locking it to prevent any further intrusion. Sobbing and leaning on the door, she sunk down to the floor, trying to recover herself. After a moment of calming, she began to process what he had said, unable to help herself from finding some humor in it.

'That's not even possible,' she had said, and it was a statement more true than Keneiji could ever understand.