A/N - I've been trying to write this in any free time I have so I can update somewhat regular!  Yeah, we all know how that works with me XD  Well, none the less, here is the next chapter of my first AkaYona Story XD

ENJOY~!!!!

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It was morning now and Alice stirred awake, lifting her head off of the lap of the other young redhead. She looked around her small home she noticed the group of people sprawled about and sleeping peacefully. Yun was laying on the ground, as well as Zeno and Shin-ah, Shin-ah laying on top of his fur and Aoi close to him. Hak and Jae-ha leaned against a wall and slept as Yona did the same. Alice looked at the robe she still had on of Yona's and smiled as she stood and gathered her old dress and stepped into the back room to change.

Coming out later, she had folded the kimono neatly and placed it on Yona's lap, taking herself and her tattered old dress out of the hut. Once she left, the blue haired dragon opened his golden eyes and sat up. Aoi jumped up and rubs his eyes sleepily, mewling as he jumped and climbed up to Shin-ah's shoulder as Shin-ah gathered his fur and attached it back to his mask. He had woken up when Alice stood to go and change back into her old clothing. He didn't want to startle her, so he didn't get up right away, instead he'd keep an eye on her as she left.

He slowly stood as he pushed open the door to exit the small hut. He looked around, his far distance eyesight helping him in locating the redhead. She wore a hood over her hair, hiding it to save her the trouble of having it seen constantly. She was heading towards the forest, heading in there he saw her stop beside a tall apple tree. She sat down the basket she had with her as she jumped, grabbing hold of the lowest branch she could reach and pulling herself up with the little upper arm strength she had. She then positioned herself to sit on the branch as she reached around and gathered different sizes and shades of ripe, red apples.

He had noticed that she had a liking for apples really. He wondered if they were her favorite food or if she had nothing else to eat, he tried to think that she just preferred them, trying to put his mind to ease. He walked closer to her, trying not the startle her, she stood not too far from the tree she was in as he hid behind the trunk of another. He watched as she went to stand on the branch, reaching higher for the more sun bathed fruits. She stood on her toes as she removed on foot from the branch and as her fingertips grazed the skin of the fruit, her other bare foot that remained on the branch locked up and her balance was thrown off.

She had a look of panic on her face as she tried to reach out for another branch to save herself with but, the one she had grabbed was just too thin and fragile that it broke with ease under her weight. Falling from the branch, she wasn't expecting to fall onto something only to bounce off of it and not feel as much pain as she was expecting. She was dizzy as she shook her head and looked around, she noticed Shin-ah on the ground next to her, laying on his back as he propped himself up on his elbows and turned his face towards the girl.

Her hood had fallen down and the small amounts of sunlight that peered through the leaves glistened off it, as it was still partially cleaned from her bath last night with Yona. She began to laugh as Shin-ah smiled a bit as his mask began to slide off his face, freeing itself from the fur on the backside. He quickly sat up as the mask fell to the ground and he turned around, making sure his face wasn't towards Alice. Alice looked at his back as his mask lay in front of her. She let out a puff of air as she pushed herself off the ground and grabbed his mask.

Shin-ah kept his eyes closed as he heard Alice's bare feet tread over to his front as his head stayed down. He was so use to people trying to get him to take his mask off, or to let them see his face or eyes, that he was expecting Alice to ask as well, and what would he say if she did? He didn't want to say no to her, or to come across as rude. He was just uncomfortable and afraid, too afraid to open his eyes.

In his thoughts, he felt something being placed on his face, his head was down as he opened his eyes and noticed the familiar darkness of his mask over his face. He slowly lifted his head as he look through the eye holes to see Alice's eyes closed. She held the mask to his face with a small smile as she kept her eyes comfortable shut.

"You obviously wear a mask for a reason, so I won't open my eyes until you have it back on and you want me to." Shin-ah was surprised, no one had done that before. He didn't think anyone ever would. She could understand him to some extent however. She was insecure about her hair, and wanted to hide it under a hood or a hat, just like how Shin-ah wanted to hide his face and his eyes. He soon began to place the fur on his mask and rested it on his head, Alice still holding the mask to his face slightly. He didn't mind it, he wanted her to hold it.

He slowly reached forward and grabbed a few strands of her blood red hair, thinking on it for a moment. He wondered if the color of red use to be brighter. What if her hair was as bright as Yona's before, but she was hurt so much, the blood dyed it darker. He grew irritated knowing that as soon as they would leave, they'd be leaving her in a village where she got nothing short of abuse and hardship. He admired this girl though. He kept looking at her facial features, taking in her closed eyes, her chapped lips that had a slight split in it, her dusted cheeks that were covered in a thin layer of dust from her fall, her pale skin from the hood and lack of sunlight from not leaving the safety of her hut. He thought about it all.

"Shin-ah? Can I open my eyes now?" Shin-ah looked from behind his mask at her eye lids. Muttering a quick, 'Yeah,' he watched as her eyelids slowly opened and how the gold shone in the sun. He watched every detail, from the glisten of her eyes when they opened, to the adjustment of her pupils when the light hit them. He noticed something strange in those eyes of her however. They seemed almost surreal, they seemed to be hiding something, a secret, they hid a darkness in them and she just pushed it away, hiding the darkness in her pupils, making them seem even darker.

"Shin-ah, you okay? I didn't make you angry with the mask thing did I?" Alice began to retract her hands from the mask his shot out and grabbed her wrists, stopped them from moving too far. Her eyes shifted into a form of concern, fearing she had indeed upset him. Alice still didn't know about himself and the other dragon warriors, so she didn't know why he hid his face, but she still respected him. He shook his head.

"I'm not angry." Alice sighed in relief as she smiled a bit and he let go of her wrist before reaching behind her and pulling her hood up , covered her hair back up. She blinked as Shin-ah smiled slightly to her. "Thank you.. Alice." Alice's eyes lit up as she smiled with her entire face. Her eyes closed and her teeth shone brightly as she offered a cheerful welcome. She then stood up and began to pick up the apples she had dropped earlier and place them in her basket.

She picked up her basket as she called for Shin-ah to head back into the village. He began to walk as she felt a tap on her shoulder. Looking behind her, she felt the basket being taken from her as Shin-ah looked down to her.

"Don't climb apple trees without someone else anymore." Alice blinked as she began to laugh. She saluted and began to walk off in front of him, promising to never climb a tree without supervision. He walked behind the girl as they re-entered the village. Hak was sitting outside the hut when they returned and looked up when he caught sight of the two. He leaned back as he knocked against the door with the back of his fist.

"Hey Princess, the squirts back." It was a lightning fast reaction as the door was flung open and Yona rushed out of the hut, towards Alice and Shin-ah, she jumped into the chest of Alice as she began speaking.

"You scared me with my clothes not being with you! I thought you left us!" Alice chuckled at her over reaction. She didn't have the guts to leave the village alone, and hell if she did, she'd have no where to go and where to began. She pat her friends head she explained why she changed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just didn't want to get your beautiful clothes all dirty, so I changed so I could go and grab some apples." Shin-ah held up the basket of apples to help her argument and Yona pulled away from the crimsonette and looked at her, pouting.

"Okay.. but next time wake me up and I'll help you!" Alice nodded as she agreed, if there would be a next time. She then remembered the three injuries she tended to yesterday.

"Oh, how are your injuries?" Yona had actually forgotten that her ankle was twisted, it felt so much better that she didn't even notice it anymore. She pulled Hak inside as well as catching Yun and checked for infections or swelling of any kind. They seemed to be find as she clean the cuts and placed clean bandages on them.

"You know," Hak began to speak to Alice as she finished wrapping his arm, "instead of wasting so much medical supplies on our minor injuries, how about saving it for when you need it." Alice listened but continued to wrap around his arm and soon cut the bandage off and tie it in place, tightening it so it wouldn't come loose. The two were over in a corner her small hut, as the others were elsewhere, doing various tasks, so their conversation wasn't heard by anyone.

Alice looked up and watched Yun and Yona as they cooked and Shin-ah watched Zeno play with Aoi through her small window with Jae-ha talking with Kija about something, making the white haired dragon blush. Alice smiled at the liveliness. She then gathered her supplies and stood up, Hak following her as he look up to her.

"Hey-" Alice just looked at him, a solemn look in her eyes.

"I don't need the supplies. The village may seem bad, but they're just scared, after all, why wouldn't they be afraid of me." She paused for a moment. " Besides, it doesn't matter, I always seem to heal up quickly anyways." Without giving him a chance to reply, she ran back into her room, going to put the supplies away, leaving Hak unsatisfied with the answer he received from her.