I Totally havent abandoned this. Despite it being ages between updates lol. Tell me how it is! Reviews fuel me.

Izuku reached over and slapped Keigo's hand. A hiss left her lips. She lifted the grass between her fingertips to eye level and twirled them together. "Like this." Keigo narrowed his eyes and focused on the long blades of dried grass in his hands.

He twisted carefully making sure to carefully position his fingers to mimic her hand movements. After a few quiet minutes she glanced over and nodded. "Much better." His shoulders dropped somewhat, not as tense as prior. His hands were cramping.

It had been several moons, yet they had not separated. She had been guiding him and teaching him things that he had never been shown. He's reminded of nomads he had come across in his travels, but her knowledge and craft seem far superior.

Keigo never thought he had an issue with surviving in the forest. Hunt, kill, eat, and sleep when he was not traveling. He admired this creature or rather woman, that had been accompanying him.

He looked up when she threw something in front of him. It seemed she had gotten impatient, as she had slowed her progress to work side by side with him to show him how to weave the string together. She was showing him how to weave a small bowl type basket.

"Once you finish, we will go forage again. You will lead and I shall correct you."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement and went back to his task. He was almost done. Izuku leaned down and placed a few more sticks in the fire and stared intently as the fire crackled and rose. He thought it humorous that she was so obsessed with flames. If she had gotten so cold how had she even survived in the past?

Izuku dug her fingers into the bark of the fallen tree she sat on. Her eyes focused on the trees and the way the branches creaked under the weight of the snow. A bird in the distance called out and was met with a greeting somewhere in the distance behind her.

She looked at the man next to her, his fingers trembling as they finished making a small container to easily hold a small amount of berries and edible items. Her eyes trailed to the large wings behind the man. They were so fluffed up and slightly curled around himself. She wondered how much they helped keep him warm.

She leaned back slightly when he jerked and sat up straighter suddenly. He raised his finish piece eye level and his feathers seem to puff out even further. "Finished."

Keigo handed his work over to her. She turned and surveyed it before nodding in approval. SHe handed it back and picked up her own. "Let us head off then." A chattering noise left her as she stood. Finally,

He followed behind her diligently, still not used to her quick footedness. After their first exploration together, she quickly understood he could not keep up. She slowed to a walk however, yet it was still almost too fast for him. He genuinely could not understand how she could travel so fast in the snow. He wondered just how quick she would be once the snow melted?

He breathed heavily when she stopped and motioned towards an unfamiliar bush.

"This berry looks much like the ones you ate yesterday. Do you notice the difference?"

He crouched in front of the bright red berries that stood out against the snow. Unlike the other bush, the berries were deeper into the bush, as if all the ones on the outer edges had been picked clean. He reached into the bush, and immediately retracted his hands at the sting.

"Animals dont like pain. They will eat what they can, but leave the berries in the middle of the bush. Birds, rodents, and small animals can't navigate the sharp thorns, as they seep a toxin that causes numbing pain."

She leaned forward and reached into the bush, he jerked forward and grabbed her arm. "Can you wrap a small pelt around your arm or hand?" He frowned.

She shook her head. "The berries are delicate and can be crushed easily if you try grabbing them with something covering your hand. These berries need to stay whole for what we need them for."

His frown stayed as he watched her reach into the bush. He stood and stepped away, crossing his arms. When she reached in her skin immediately began tearing from the sharp thorns, yet she very gently collected a small handful and pulled back. She placed the berries in the small woven container and stepped back.

"Is that all you are collecting?"

She nodded and used the snow to wash the blood dripping down her arm. "Like the animals, the bush is smart as well. It gives to the forest, but protects enough to spread more life during spring, when the seeds dry up and shrink even smaller. Small enough to be pushed through the intricate thorns by the wind and land elsewhere in the forest."

Her arm had mostly stopped bleeding, just small beading pricks covered her arm now. She extended and bent her arm back and forth, shaking it out.

"Aren't there enough other bushes like this in the forest, that it doesn't matter how much you take? If I were to reach in and take all the seeds, there are other bushes to spread seeds are there not?" He asked curiously.

He followed behind her as they began walking in a different direction. She shook her head and motioned around them. "Do you see any other bushes? The forest has a careful balance. Once the seeds shrink they are still food to insects, birds, and rodents. Some that are newly emerging from the spring. So the few that make it to the earth and are buried just enough in the soil, sprout a new bush. Which helps those same animals and young to get through the next winter."

He listens intently, as when she's speaking her voice of the forest, she has much to say. Never had he really considered such a deep take on something that seemed so small to him. Something that was inconsequential.

"While taking more than necessary may be beneficial to you and you alone, every seed you take, takes away from the bushes chance at spreading life, or a small creature's ability to survive. Take what you need. That's all and nothing more."

She turned to him and he stopped just a few paces behind her. Izuku held out the berries, and he carefully held them in his hand confused. His wings behind him fluttered slightly.

She scooped up some snow and placed it on top of the berries. "The snow helps keep them fresh once they have been picked, and since you will be using them you may hold them."

His mouth opened slightly before clicking shut. Well then.

He raised a brow as she turned and shook his head. "As you wish." She didn't acknowledge him and continued on.

—-

As the air started getting cooler, they returned to their campsite, Keigo diligently following behind her. They started the fire back up and both sat down close to each other as they warmed back up. After a moment she began rummaging through a few of her belongings. She pulled out a small antler with a larger rounded base and a small thin rock that had a small dip on the middle.

"Berries?"

He quickly pulled them out and handed them over. She poured a few into the small rock and began crushing them quickly. She pulled out a few different herbs, and old dried sap from her pouches and grinded everything together. Once it was a paste, she placed it at the edge of the fire.

"Normally the sun will heat the mix, and it begins to thicken and even harden if it gets hot enough. It helps pain. Good to have on hand in case something happens. The numbing effect in the branches is also in the berries, but at much smaller amounts. So a specific mixture heightens the effect."

Keigo leaned back and turned to her. He had many questions but only one came out.

"Who taught you all of this, Izuku?" While he tried to sound nonchalant, there was a slight seriousness to his voice. He had seen a great deal for the past several days they had been together. It was a mystery. She acted so much like a human, yet so much like an entity separate from the world. It was as intriguing as it was causing his mind to go haywire.

When she looked sideways at him, her dark green hair fell slightly from a tiny bone twirling it in place. She tilted her head.

"Mother taught me." She smiled and motioned towards the trees. She chittered and clicked as she leaned forward with a grin and began to speak.

"If it weren't for Mother I would know nothing. I don't think she would like you though, even with your wings. Maybe with time! The wings you have, let you soar with the birds. She loves to fly with the birds."

Keigo closed his eyes and leaned his head back in thought. What the hell did any of that mean? He filed it away for another time. She most definitely wasn't human. HE originally thought a daemon but with how much he has interacted with her over time, genuinely cannot tell.

It didn't take long for her to open up and speak more with him. Her speech improved drastically within the past few days as well, picking up words and phrases she hadn't known before. She was highly intelligent and soaked up knowledge like a sponge.

He heard a snap to their left and sharply turned to see nothing. He wondered if it was a small rabbit they could add for dinner. But suddenly he remembered she had already caught two that were still tied to her belt. The thought of 'don't take what you don't need' crossed his mind. One rabbit would be fine for now.

—-

After Keigo fell asleep, she quietly pulled herself away and into the tree's. She had a small bounce to her step despite the burning cold on her feet.

She let out a trill as a branch illuminated by the moon rose from the snow. It darkened to a wispy appearance and wrapped around her ankle. Claws Wrapped around her as she was scooped up and carried up a tree by elongated creaking arms. She snuggled into the comforting warmth.

"Child."

Mother's hissing voice crooned in her ear as white ivory hands untangled her hair. The hands in her scalp gave a sharp tug causing her to hiss back.

"What are you doing my child? That man is dangerous. You need to leave." Soft whispers in the voice wrapped around her. She almost couldn't hear it. She looked behind her and mothers voice only came from a small glinting mouth full of razor sharp teeth. She frowned.

"I have been teaching this bird how to be kind to the forest. He has been kind enough to stay and learn, despite being able to fly off with wings larger than himself."

Mothers voice was low and sounded like bark being ripped from a tree. "He is a man, my love. He takes and takes, and he could take you too."

Izuku turned fully around in her mothers grasp, gripping rough fur. "How could he possibly take me! I am yours" She sniffled as a long talon wiped away a tear.

A soft sorrowful trill came from Mothers maw. "I hope you never find out, child. But you also must learn. No good can come from humans."

A scaly tale slid around her waist and turned her back around, and long talons finished fixing her hair. Izuku sat quietly until Mother was finished.

"I want to know more." She whispered slowly.

Mother did not respond, but pulled away slightly, a growl so deep it riverbed through her chest, causing Izuku to look down knowing she upset Mother.

"So Stubborn."

Izuku looked up as she was carried back down the tree and placed gently on her feet. She winced at the sudden cold forgetting how warm her mother was. Mother pushed her chin up with her tail.

Izuku looked at her Mothers face. Flesh hung from sharp teeth and makeshift antlers. She wondered why mother never bothered to see from her face as she glanced over two dark pits where eyes would be. She guessed that wasn't important when you can see and feel everything around you.

"You are strong, my child. I trust you. You crave knowledge of the world, I have no right to stop you. But exercise caution my dear. The humans in this world are not all friendly. Make your decisions wisely."

Izuku felt warmth wrap around her again and felt tears spring up again. She missed Mother so much. "Of course Mother. I love you dearly. I take your words to heart." She felt one last gentle nudge before she was let go.

The warmth around her faded as vines wrapped around the trees surrounding her melting into them. She would stay cautious. But It would take her own experiences for her to grow and understand why Mother was so worried for her.

But she had Mothers blessing, and that was more than enough.