Kurt had stood for so long outside the entrance to the cave that Blaine and the twins had poked their heads out again. "Kurt? Im going to take the boys to my friends lair now; you can still stay here if you like?" Kurt blinked at them barely realising that it was evening but for the significant lack of sunlight filtering through the cavern entrance. "Oh yes." He replied distractedly. "Okay. Ill be back in a minute." Blaine said looking slightly worried and he guided the twins away and up an adjoining staircase.

Kurt pushed open the door and took in the now familiar little room. The fire still blazed in the hearth but Kurt noticed that candles had been lit on a small alcove in the rock. On it were a collection of totems, small figurines of dragons carved out of some kind of semi precious stone. They all appeared different and Kurt knelt on the floor in front of the small altar to get a closer look, he darent touch them in case they broke. Surrounding them, the alcove was covered in tokens such as strange flowers that were foreign to Kurt but smelled heavenly and small pieces of cloth carefully embroidered with all manner of coloured thread like those Kurt used to work with. Tucked at the back and away from the flames of the candles there were rolls of parchment covered in messy symbols.

"Kurt?" He didnt even hear the door open and close again he was so enthralled with what he had discovered but Blaine had returned and was slowly moving to kneel beside him. "Blaine I-" Kurt began but Blaine just cut him off with a sad smile. He picked up a jade figurine and placed it in Kurts hand. "This is an idol of my mother." Blaine said as he watched Kurt carefully examine the statue. "She died along with my father a long time ago." Kurt noticed there were three other totems in the alcove. "The others are of my father and Tim and Magnus parents. I told you we were of similar origins."

"Youre all orphans." Kurt said quietly, gentling placing the figurine back where it had been. Kurt knew what it felt like to lose a parent, knew the grief and the heartache and the weight to carry as you missed them everyday. He couldnt imagine what it would be like to lose both, and so young. His heart ached for Blaine once more, realising that his loneliness must have plagued him in more ways than just missing his other half. As if sensing Kurts sadness Blaine placed his hand over Kurts own. "Its okay," He said smiling, "we have each other now. This is how we remember them. There is a tradition amongst our kind of honouring our ancestors with trinkets and gifts. Little things that, if they were with us still, wed want to share. Tim and Magnus placed these today," he lightly touched the embroidered pieces of fabric, "they apparently traded marbles for them, and Id believe them if I didnt know that theyve never owned any." Blaine shook his head lightly and Kurt laughed, leaning on Blaine as they chuckled at the boys mischief.

After a while the two simply fell into silence, sitting on the cave floor and looking at the colourful altar until Kurt sat up. "Kurt wha-?" Blaine began until Kurt had reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a silver pendant, a sparkling sapphire dangling from the end. He reached up and draped it around the four figurines. When he sat back down he looked over at Blaine nervously who was staring at him in disbelief, as if he were seeing the sun for the first time. "Im sorry, should I not have- I just wanted to-" Kurt reached up as if to take the pendant back but Blaine stopped him with a hand on his wrist. "No its- this means a lot to me thank you but where did you get that sapphire?" Blaine asked.

"I- someone gave it to me when I was small."

"Where? Who? Who gave it to you Kurt?" Blaine asked again imploringly, searching his face for something... some clue, some hint of recognition. "There was a boy... a boy in the forest." Kurt stared hard at the pendant as if it would help him remember; help him remember his one and only best friend. "It was the day my mother died." He said looking up at Blaine.

Suddenly, Blaine jumped up from his place on the floor, smile wide and beaming. "Oh the ancestors must be smiling on us this day!" He cried. "Dont you remember there was something strange about the boy wasnt there? Wasnt there?"

"It was you!" Kurt cried "I cant believe- I cant believe I didnt realise it before!"

"It was me," Blaine said helping Kurt up from the floor, "Elder Cerridwen scalded me for weeks for stealing those sapphires."

"Oh no," Kurt looked genuinely horrified he had got little Blaine into trouble, "and I- I teased you because you thought babies hatched."

"They do, but all of thats beside the point." Blaine said eyes alight and taking Kurts hand in his "Ive been looking for you forever."

That familiarity, the sense of comfort, the reason that he had never truly feared Blaine, as strange and menacing as he had seemed, fully grown and powerful. Kurt had spent many days after his first in the forest, yearning to go back and find the funny boy with the wide golden eyes and unruly hair. He was forbidden to venture out again no matter how much he begged and pleaded with his father and after months he eventually gave up and he did nothing but wander to its edge and stare between the dense foliage as if he would find Blaine lurking there, under a bush or behind a tree trunk. It was a game he played until he grew too old and the teasing grew too much for his fragile heart to bear. So with the passing years the image of his friend began to fade, his uniqueness all but erased from his memory and all that remained was a pining for a friend he felt he must have met in a dream because little Kurt certainly didnt have any in real life.

After so many years there he was, welcoming him into his home and showing him the very same kindness he had on the day they had met. "I was terrible to you," he said miserably, preoccupied with his childish rudeness as he lowered himself to sit on the bed, "and yet you were still so kind." Blaine smiled and sat beside him, his hulking wings folding neatly behind him. "You were lost and sad and lonely. I was only doing as my mother told me. ‘Compassion is your greatest gift, and is the path to love and light." He looked up at Kurt through his eyelashes in a way that made him look shy and small for once. Nudging him with his shoulder Kurt replied, "Do all of your kind say such profound things?" Blaine laid back on the bed laughing. "No not all of us. Some of us are known for our wisdom. Unfortunately I often find it difficult to string a sentence together, especially when-"

"Especially when what?" Kurt asked, laying back and searching Blaines face.

"Never mind," he mumbled, standing quickly, "It is late, we should rest. Elder Cerridwen and the others will be returning tomorrow and we can ask her about your quest." He sank down into the chair beside the bed, curling his wings awkwardly around himself. Kurt nodded, trying to ignore Blaines sudden change of subject; he pulled off his shirt and had to stifle a laugh as Blaine politely hid his face behind his wing.

The bed was just as comfortable and just as warm as it had been the previous night but it also seemed a lot bigger. Kurt looked over at Blaine, squashed into the small chair and shifting slightly every now and again as if struggling to get comfortable. He let out a frustrated snort, smoke curling from his nostrils when Kurt finally plucked up the courage to speak. "Theres plenty of room for us to share this bed you know?" He said nonchalantly quirking an eyebrow as Blaine stammered his way through a half hearted explanation of why he declined. Kurt just waited him out until Blaine stood, unfurling from the chair and shuffling awkwardly to the edge of the bed. Then it was Kurts turn to politely hide his crimson face as Blaine carelessly removed his shirt and inched his way beneath the covers.

In hindsight Kurt had imagined sharing a bed with Blaine to be a lot less awkward than it turned out to be, seeing as his imagination hadnt taken into account that Blaines natural body temperature ran several degrees hotter than Kurts making the bed feel more like a bed of hot coals. The extra appendages were cumbersome and Blaine was torn between being comfortable and not wanting to invade Kurts personal space. When they had finally settled, Blaines tail was hanging down and out of the bed and he had one wing tucked up behind him while the other lay across him and Kurt like a soft leathery blanket. Kurt fell asleep to the sound of a soft rumbling snore and the feel of warm dragon breath against the back of his neck.