A few hours later, the door to Lane's room swung open and Moth peered in, observing the sleeping human. He quietly stepped into the room and set a bowl on the desk before going to check on Lane. Lane's face was drawn tight in pain and he was drenched in sweat while he was shivering since the fire had gone out. Moth reached out and poked his cheek. He must've gotten sick from the snow. He took a moment to observe the human's features, he had a sharp jawline with slight stubble and a furrowed expression and if he opened his eyes to see Moth staring at him, Moth would meet a pair of muddy brown eyes. His hair was messy and cropped in a similar brown tone. His skin was tanned and he had a distinct scar running from his jaw up his cheek and he had several more scars underneath his clothes. Moth tilted his head and poked his cheek again. He's rather good looking for a human. After a moment he stood up and exited to the room.
Lane woke up to a cold, wet feeling on his head. He reached up and grabbed the hand that was hovering above him, startling Moth who had a cold cloth in his hands as he was wiping away the sweat from his face. "What are you doing?" Lane asked, his voice low and rough from sleep.
"Helping. You got sick from the snow. Humans are so weak." Moth winced slightly in his grip causing Lane to release his hand, a little bit upset by the pain he caused him. "You seem pretty weak yourself." He commented. Moth shrugged as he moved to place the cloth on his forehead, "I'm physically weaker than most humanoids but you are also just ridiculously strong for a human." He grabbed the plate of food and lifted up a spoonful, holding it out to Lane's mouth.
"What is that?" Lane muttered. "It's wild bird meat. Nothing wrong with it." He put the spoon in his mouth and swallowed, giving Lane a look saying 'See?' He scooped up another helping and offered it to him. 'He didn't bother to clean the spoon?' He grumbled but accepted the food. He barely had to chew the meat as it melted in his mouth with a soft and flavorful taste that made Lane instantly want more. Moth laughed slightly as if reading his expression. Lane felt his heart flutter slightly and his ears heat up when he heard Moth's laugh, it was a soft, airy laugh full of care that would make anyone feel loved.
"Moth." Cricket called from the door causing the person in question to flinch. "He can feed himself. Get away from him." Moth nodded, handing the plate to Lane before walking over to Cricket and shutting the door again.
Lane subconsciously frowned as the humanoid left. 'That one seems intent on keeping Moth away… not that it matters but I want these wounds taken care of as soon as possible so I need Moth around.'
In the middle of the night the door to Lane's room quietly opened as Moth walked in, he checked the human's temperature and got a wet cloth, placing it on the human's head before leaving to go back to bed. "Moth?" Lane asked, his voice gravelly from exhaustion.
Moth turned his head back to him, startled by the sudden voice. "Oh hey, did I wake you up? Don't worry I was just checking your temperature." He walks back over to Lane offering him a small, kind smile. "Why aren't you sleeping?" He mumbled. Moth laughs and sits down on the chair next to his bed. "I'm a moth so I'm somewhat nocturnal but I'm also a human which are awake in the day, so I don't really need to sleep. Which is lucky for you considering that you are sleeping in my bed."
"So that's why it smells like peppermint." Lane commented patting the bad. "What do you mean?" Moth asked. "You smell like peppermint. It's quite soothing." Moth laughed, his ears heating up with embarrassment. "That's because of my abilities." Lane sat up and turned to him so they were facing each other. "What do you mean?" Moth seemed a little hesitant to answer. "You seem like a nice human but you can't tell anyone about it, okay?" Lane nodded and waited for his explanation. "My wings can create these spores, like a dust of sorts that seems to have calming effects. I often use it to calm Sally down or to make hunting easier, it makes the animals calm. But it takes a lot of energy."
"Energy?" Moth seemed a bit embarrassed as he talks, he wrapped his wings around himself, inspecting them as an attempt to look nonchalant. "It's not traditional energy, I get it from intimacy. Like holding hands or hugging." Lane's face reddened a little as he remembered how Moth and Cricket had kissed the day before.
"So you need affection to use your abilities?" Moth nodded letting his wings sweep to the ground. "Yeah, strange right? Just to emit a calming scent it's a bit odd." Lane agreed, it was a bit odd but there ad to be more to it. "Can you use it right now?" Moth pointed to himself. "My spores?" Lane nodded. He wanted to smell the fresh peppermint again. "Alright, but you are going to need to hold my hands so I have enough energy." He extended his hands out to Lane, who held them gently feeling as his energy was slightly drained, it wasn't uncomfortable though in fact it was soothing as if Moth was draining him of his wariness.
Moth took a deep breath as the peppermint smell filled the air again. Lane closed his eyes and breathed in the comforting smell. He looked up at the ceiling, specks of glowing, green dust fluttered in the air around the two. Lane stared at the dust, mesmerized as it floated down towards the ground, his eyes followed the dust as it gently cascaded to the ground, eventually trailing down to Moth's face. His soft features were lit in the dim green light, his breathing calm and slow as his eyes fluttered open, his large green eyes staring into Lane's muddy brown pair. The two stared at each other in the dim lighting and Lane felt his face redden as Moth looked away from him.
"It's pretty." Lane mumbled. "Yeah, like stars." Moth said happily. He withdrew his hands and looked towards the ceiling as the specks floated to the ground. "What are humans like?" Moth asked. "Why would you want to know that?" Moth shrugged. "Because I'm curious. I don't remember my human life and haven't met many humans, so I'm interested in what they are like."
"I don't think you'd like them." Lane mutters. "Why not?" Lane turned his gaze to the bowl in front of him. "They are cruel, greedy and selfish. Only loyal to themselves and would hurt others."
"Your kind attacks each other?" Moth askes, tilting his head in confusion. "If there is a reason to and sometimes even without reason." Moth replied with a simple furrow of his brow. "Does that not happen within humanoids?" Moth shakes his head. "Sometimes, humanoids fight for fun but we all care and look after each other when it comes down to it." Lane seemed fascinated by this. 'They have a sense of kinship? No one has ever mentioned anything like that.'
"I'm still curious about humans, there must be some good ones out there." Moth said, a small smile gracing his features. Lane frowned looking into the humanoid's hopeful eyes. He moved his mouth to answer but was stopped when the door opened with a loud bang, Cricket stared at the two with an annoyed look. "What are you doing, Moth?" He grumbled. "We were talking." Cricket sighed. "I told you to not get near him. Come on." Moth obediently followed Cricket, glancing back at Lane and wishing him a good night as he went.