Oodles of Noudel's

Noudel village really did seem to exemplify what it meant to be a rural village. The banjo caught his attention as well. The twang of the instrument was interesting to him. The music being played was not to his usual taste, but he didn't dislike it.

The place seemed so calm and relaxed that Fang was left wondering just how Zam felt growing up here. She seemed like the type of person who would not enjoy sitting still for too long. He could imagine she might work hard, but more likely spent her time playing as often as she could, and eating as many sweets as she could get her hands on. Although he wondered how often sweets were around for her to enjoy. Honey might be possible, and the things made from honey. But chocolate? He wasn't so sure about that.

He was glad to see that the place was more than happy to point him in Zam's direction. Though when he noticed the kids following him he paused to reach up a sleeve, pulled out a bag filled with soft caramel, and gave each of the kids two pieces to enjoy. Each soft caramel was about the size of a finger. He doubted it would last the kids long, but he was sure they would enjoy the little gift before he made his way in the direction he had been pointed to meet Zam.

He was happy when he finally spotted Zam walking around while lifting a tractor. Could Fang do that? Maybe, but not so easily. He was by far stronger than the average human, but... Well, he was more agile than strong by far. He could likely comfortably flip such a machine, but lifting it over his head would be quite strenuous. But then Zam was also considerably stronger than he was in terms of raw power as well.

He decided to wait till after Zam had put down the tractor to greet her. Not wanting to surprise her until she was no longer carrying heavy and potentially fragile equipment. Fragile at least in terms of them at least. He would imagine Zam could tear the tractor in half if she wanted to.

WC: 367

Zam seemed as excited to see him by the time she turned to him as he had hoped she would be. Grinning back by the time she introduced him to gramps, and gramps was introduced to him.

"Hey, Pinky!" He greeted her back happily before offering a soft bow to gramps.

"Nice to meet you then, Gramps. My name is Long Fang. But you are free to call me Fang, or Fangy as Zamzam here does." He replied eagerly before Zam continued on to share some of the abilities he possessed, though phrasing it in the most awkward way possible it seemed.

But Fang simply laughed at the description. She certainly did have a way with words, and while it could make things awkward Fang was someone to take such things in stride. It simply amused him.

But he decided to give a demonstration, lifting a hand to pull a few blades of grass from the ground, showing his control over the wind, the blades of grass spun and swirled above his palm in a rather elegant and graceful display. Like the blades of grass were all performing a sort of ballet for Gramps.

"This is what she means. I can manipulate the wind. I am a cultivator exploring the dao of wind and darkness, as I like both, and feel they have much in common. Though I am still more familiar with the wind than darkness." He noted with a little shrug while he maintained his little grass dance. "But anyway, I came here because I was hoping to make cookies for Zam. She said she has never tried freshly baked cookies before, and I felt greatly saddened by this fact. So I came to fix that." He said offering another grin to the pink woman.

WC: 298

Fang blinked at the rather odd direction of the conversation, having gone from showing off his abilities and explaining his interest in the dual dao he studies before being asked about his race.

"I'm not sure what you saw or what I said to give such an indication, but no, I am not purely human. I am half demon actually." He noted casually, deciding there was no point hiding or disguising the fact, though there was never much indication about what he was, or so he thought at least. But it seemed Gramps had recognized something.

It didn't seem like the old man cared much about what he was at least. Giving Fang permission to use his kitchen, and sending Zam off to wash up and change her clothes. Fang watched the pink woman flash away before turning his attention back to Gramps.

"Peep? No. Though personally, I do think she is attractive." He noted lightly and recalled her impromptu dip in the ocean, though he'd already liked her before being given such a view anyway. Before humming as Gramps explained how she reacted to things she liked and things she hated. Fang nodded in reply.

"Yeah, I got a small sample of that when I met her. Since she called me Fangy I wanted to call her by a nickname as well, but it turns out the nickname I suggested was one she hated enough that she gave me a warning about using it for her. Of course, then she gave me a list of approved nicknames that I could call her by so I've been using them." He even wrote them all down for future reference to ensure he didn't accidentally use one that had not already been approved. Zam seemed to enjoy his company, but he didn't want to make her cross with him.

"Any chance you know why she disliked the nickname I had suggested so deeply? I hesitate to even speak it out of respect for Zam." He noted lightly, though he imagined the old man was clever enough to guess what kind of nickname Fang had suggested. Though he didn't know if the Gramps would know why she hated the nickname so much.

WC: 370

"Hm, well I suppose if you've had that much exposure to demon kind then it would be only natural you could recognize it." He mused deciding it made some sense, especially after raising a demon child, which was also interesting. It was clear the old man had a gentle heart and seemed more than willing to take in the strangest of stray children to raise as his own, between a demon, and a Majin. Although Fang still didn't really know what it meant for Zam to be a Majin. Where did they come from? What could they do? She seemed to have gummy properties, which he assumed were a natural part of her nature, but what else was common to her kind?

"Ah, as for my control, my mother taught me most of what I know, and she's attained a level of cultivation that has allowed her to obtain immortality, although she achieved it through demonic cultivation rather than human cultivation..." Her element was fire, and the cultivation method she had received from his father allowed her to cultivate demonic fire. Although cultivating demonic flames was rather risky in its own way. "Suffice it to say that what she has achieved is no small feat in the world of cultivation. And thanks to her, and perhaps my father as well I was blessed with a teacher in the form of my mother and two powerful parents that likely passed part of their potential on to me. I am quite blessed I think." He mused with a hum.

"I suggested the nickname, but she didn't hit me. She only warned me away from using the name. If that is a sign of her affection for me then I am glad I was able to form such a fast connection with her. I meant no offense to her of course, I only wished to become closer to her." He explained simply, before listening to the story, or at least the parts of it that Gramps seemed to feel comfortable sharing.

He was glad to have at least a dim light shed on the story of why Zam hated that nickname being used, and the story at least hinted at some possibilities. Lacking a complete answer, but even so, Fang was satisfied with the response he had been given in the end. It was certainly a sad story regardless of the real reason behind her feelings. It was clear that something had caused them to split, and then the boy she had grown so close to had left. And it sounded like they had never seen or sought each other out again.

"Thank you for sharing what you could of the story. It does ease my mind a little to know at least part of the reason why she seemed so against the nickname. I hope she will trust and care for me enough to share the story at some point." But he would likely leave it up to Zam if and when that would ever happen. He no longer felt the need to pursue the knowledge so doggedly. It was a secret he intended to keep to the best of his ability.

Reaching the home, he personally found the mailbox rather adorable, the way Gramps had his name carved on the sign, and then the way Zam had clearly added her own name at some point like she was trying to keep even his name company even on the sign.

When he got into the house, he noted the distant splashing and grinned to himself. It was funny that on the beach Zam seemed to hate the idea of taking bath, but here at home at the direction of her Gramps, she was seemingly content to do as he asked. And judging from the splashing sounds she might be having more fun than she might otherwise admit to. Zam was such a strange and wonderful person in Fang's mind.

"Thanks. I'm going to get right to work on making the cookies then." He said going to the kitchen, pulling a few personal ingredients out from his sleeves while making use of other raw ingredients available around the kitchen to work on making the cookies from scratch. Fang had always liked baking, though he'd mostly learned to do so from other people while traveling around. While his mother might have been great with her element of fire, she was a poor cook, made all the more amusing by the fact she was a fantastic alchemist. How could someone who made rare pills fail to cook the simplest of dishes? Fang had no idea. Maybe cooking just wasn't exciting to her, unlike alchemy which could have lethal results? That was his best guess anyway.

WC: 790

It was kind of amusing to feel Gramp's attention consistently on his back like that. It made him curious about what the old man thought he would do exactly. Perhaps he thought that even after what he had said he would still peek at Zam.

Personally, Fang was more curious about how Zam would react if she caught him peaking. She wasn't a shy girl after all, she clearly didn't mind him, and maybe other people seeing her exposed. Frankly, he was more likely to walk into the bathroom offering to wash her back than to just peek at her. If she wasn't shy, then why should he be? He wasn't some little boy who'd never known the company of a woman before. And Zam was certainly interesting. It was kind of hard to describe the mix of feelings he had for her so far. But at the very least he felt she was a very comfortable and companionable friend to have if occasionally intense. He was sure she was someone he could rely on to join him in having a good time.

Even so, he was a little surprised when she suddenly announced to the house that she was clean by entering the kitchen only wrapped in a towel. Fang paused a minute to take in the view of her wrapped dripping form. Yep, she still had a great shape.

He honestly thought she had come to the kitchen and announced she was clean so that she could ask Fang to dry her. After all, it seemed to please her at the beach that he could basically blow dry her entire body in a second. But maybe she forgot she wanted to ask, or maybe she had forgotten he could just do that for her.

He let Gramps say his piece, having no real reason to stop him, although he didn't feel particularly uncomfortable with Zam walking around in a towel. It was more that Gramps was likely to see him looking at Zam only wrapped in a towel and be less than amused that Fang didn't avert his gaze from her or something.

He wasn't trying to get on the old man's bad side after all. He hadn't come here to try to seduce and steal Zam away from him or something or to perv on her. He'd just come hoping to hang out with Zam for a while and make some cookies.

When Zam turned to him and apologized he just gave her a nonchalant shrug. Her apology was pretty amusing too. He doubted she had come out with the intention to disturb Gramps, but seeing as it did, she clearly didn't mind taking advantage of it.

"Don't worry about the floors, I can dry them." He noted simply before flicking a hand out once Zam was away, a gust of wind rushing across the floor where Zam had walked, following the water to carry it away with an easy breeze. The wind only stopped once it reached the bathroom door, and then dissipated leaving the floors dry once more. Maybe he could have reminded Zam that he could dry her, but he supposed it was also possible that offering to do so might have annoyed Gramps, so maybe it was better this way? Fang wasn't sure.

WC: 550

"It's alright. I'm not bothered by her actions." He noted as he worked. And decided to share some thoughts. "Modesty is a product of society. Personally, I think the world has exaggerated that modesty over time. Some people can't even stand the idea of seeing a little ankle or elbow. But the body is a natural thing, we might feel attraction towards the body of another person, but is exposing a body naturally sexual? I think that actions can be, posing, flexing, and bending. But to simply walk, stand, breathe, and exist? I think not." He mused lightly. "But I suppose that I am an outlier in that sense. I have no shame about my own body. I've crafted it for the sake of cultivation and martial arts. I am confident in my strength and beauty. And I have no insecurity about displaying it." He chuckled. "I suppose Zam is also the same as me in that sense. Though it seems her sense of modesty comes from a lack of understanding rather than the knowledge and decision not to care about what other people think." He mused, simply expressing some thoughts, though Zams perspective might have been different than he believed them to be. He didn't expect Gramps to agree with much, or maybe not even any of it in the case of Zam. But he imagined that Gramps as a martial artist was proud of his own body. Even in his older age, Fang doubted the old man would have any trouble gaining attention if he sought it out.

When Zam finally made her way out to see what Fang was doing, he was in the middle of rolling the dough into balls before placing them on a metal tray. Spacing them out evenly until the tray was covered in twenty-four evenly spread balls of chocolate chip cookie dough. There was still a bowl with plenty of dough left in it to make more cookies later.

Glancing back he eyed Zam stretching her head up in such a disconcerting manner. He didn't care much for that sight, he wasn't really sure why. He knew her body was bouncy and stretchy, but he could not imagine stretching his own body in such a way.

But eventually, he took in her outfit with interest. "You certainly do seem to have a wide variety of clothes. The beach outfit you wore was nice, but this one has a rather exotic flair that I admire. You look really good." He complimented with a soft smile to her before turning to slide the tray of cookies into the oven to start baking them.

Once it was placed inside he looked back to Zam once again. "Want to try some of the cookie dough? People are often cautious about eating raw cookie dough because it can make them sick. But I've never experienced it myself. I think my constitution makes me all but immune to ordinary sickness. I have never even had a cold since I began cultivating. And while you might not be a cultivator yourself, I imagine that both your strength and unique body might make you as resilient if not more so." He suggested as he took a spoon to scoop up some of the raw dough, lifting it up to her to take a bite if she wanted to try the mix of cookie and chocolate chip. "A small sample before you try the cooked stuff in a little bit."

WC: 580