“Reading can be fun. You get to go on adventures within your own imagination. That can be great fun indeed! I like to read too, but I don’t do it too often because I also like to wander around and meet new people and see things. I especially love walking around at night under the moon and stars. It’s so pretty and calm outside.”

Victoria often imagined what it might be like to walk around during the day in the sunlight. To see all the beautiful colors of flowers and hear the sounds of people and animals, but the thought of burning alive always ended such thoughts. Nonetheless she was extremely content with her night time explorations.

As Ryoga explained how he let his native language slip into his speech Victoria giggled. “It’s quite alright. I do that too and for very similar reasons. It’s kind of fun sometimes when I get to explain what was said because I like seeing the pleasant reaction from the other person when they understand.” She then thought about what it was the dragon had called her. Princess Cheeks light up with a shade of pink. She hadn’t been called that in some time now. “My father calls me his little princess.” The girl composed herself and courtsied politely. “I thank you Draakon Orochi.”

Looking down at her dress and again smoothing her hands over it, letting her fingers feel the material texture. “Yes, my mother buys my dresses for me. She always gets me the prettiest ones, and I love to wear them.”

Ryoga didn't really care about the "fun" aspect of reading, though it was enjoyable for him. His large size meant that many other activities weren't feasable for him, but reading allowed him to spend his time effectivly and avoid simply growing bored from sitting around. For Ryoga though, the ultimate reward from reading was increased knowledge, even works of fiction could teach you a lesson or fact, and the more a person knew, the more potential they hard. He might not hoard gold like the dragons of fiction, but he did hoard knowledge.

"Reading teaches and exercises the mind. A lesson my Mother taught me when I was a child." The idea of Ryoga as a child was probably hard to grasp, since he now looked like a fifteen foot long dinosaur. "I prefer the day myself little one, the warmth of the morning Sun especially." Ryoga was unaware that Victoria couldn't experience the sun, and so didn't expect that his words might come off poorly.

Ryoga preferred Japanese to English, but since he was in America, a country which spoke English predominately, he felt bound to speak their language while here, but it didn't hurt to pepper in a word or two here and there. He wondered what language the girl spoke, as her accent was truly lovely and clearly not American. Fitting that her Father would refer to her as a princess, she clearly fit the description. "And what language is your first one Ojou-san?" He was curious about her place of birth.

European and western dresses could be very pretty, but extravagant. Ryoga wondered if the girl could also look beautiful in something simpler, such as the dress of Japan, the kimono. "Your Mother must certainly be proud to have a child as pretty as you." Ryoga felt mildly awkward for a moment, realizing that he hadn't worn clothing in a long time, more than a decade in fact.

“Yeah, I agree with you that reading can teach and do other things besides take you away to a far off imaginary land. I just enjoy that last part more.” Victoria loved reading about fantasy lands with castles and kings and queens and magic. She used such mental adventures to help her forget about not being normal.

Orochi’s statement about preferring the daytime wasn’t really a surprise. Most people seemed to share his preference. It was something the little vampire was getting used to hearing and accepting. She would just have to continue enjoying her night time excursions mostly by herself. Once in a while someone might cross her path, but it was a rare occurrence.

“Well, I first learned Estonian because that’s where I grew up. So I can speak that and English, even though I sometimes still use Estonian words for some things just because it comes to mind faster. Kind of like you saying things in Japanese I’m sure.” A happy little smile crossed her lips. She smiled often especially when she was in a good mood or in good company. “My parents also taught me Romanian, but I don’t speak it as often. Was your first language Japanese?”

The compliment from the large dragon made Victoria blush and fidget with her fingers. “Aitah Orochi! Thank you! My mother has always been proud of me and treated me well. I have wonderful parents and I love them very much.” She thought of her parents for a moment and smiled again. This smile was more heart felt. “I bet your parents are proud of you too huh?”

The ability to experience and enjoy a different world was enjoyable, even for a God. While Ryoga couldn't be more smug about his form, the body of a dragon did have some limits, and so he had grown very fond of reading to pass the time. The girl perhaps seemed mildly disappointed for a moment, or at least he thought so as he talked of the day light. It was unusual for a girl to prefer the night, but Ryoga's love of the Sun was more complex than the preferences of a normal being. His method of aquiring nutrition was perhaps as unique as Victoria's, though he didn't fully understand that.

She was Estonian? The dragon faded out for a moment, his eyes going a bit glassy as he searched his thoughts for information about the country. Ryoga was intelligent, probably above average thanks to all his reading, but his mind sometimes took so long to figure out his thoughts that he came off as slow or cold. The girl continued to explain her own habit of slipping in Estonian as he did with Japanese, and the dragon finally found the bit of information he was looking for. "Estonia is eastern Europe I believe?" He said questioning a bit, his geographical knowledge certainly wasn't perfect, but he believed it was a country right on the border of Russia.

She asked about his own language, which he proudly responded to. "I am born of Japan, and while I learned English from a young age, my first words were Japanese." Ryoga's unique vocal chords made his accent rather unique, but to those who'd spoken with a Japanese native before, you could pick out the faint echoes of his accent. Perhaps it was the odd focus on certain syllables, or the different pronunciation of the R sounds, but Ryoga was certainly a Japanese native. Ryoga was actually interested in learning more languages, but his stay here in America had been distracting him from reading or education.

The little girl blushed and fidgeted a bit, her reaction reminding him of how a Japanese girl might react to an abundance of attention, it was enjoyable for the Dragon. Her relationship with her parents must be far more normal than his own, after all a God didn't have the same connections as a mortal or mutant would. "My Mother is very affectionate, but knows I am more than a mere child. Father understands his role better however, and is more concerned with establishing my Divinity in Japan. He's still in Hiroshima, running the compound while I'm away..." The dragon paused for a moment, remembering that his Father didn't know about this little trip, and how his mother had smuggled him away from Japan.

Ryoga realized at some point a conflict would come of this, as his Father was quite zealous in establishing a power base for Ryoga, and essentially the Don of a branch of Yakuza whose favorite treasure had been stolen. "He will be upset to know I left Japan." The dragon said, staring upwards into the sky as he thought.