Time started to fly by whenever Golden came for a visit and before I realized it the snow was gone and the green of spring could be seen through the window instead. I met that white pegasus more and more often. At least every third day (often sooner) we saw each other.

A very strong bond had grown between us and I was closer to her than I had been with many kirins in my old village. I trusted her and I knew I could tell her everything.

And that also affected the rest of my life. I had found my happy spirit and motivation again. I had started to cook with more love again, ate more, filled my free time (even when Golden was not around), I talked with other ponies… I felt like me. Or even better.

I still wasn’t too fond of Maren, but Golden’s friendship was like a fire that guided me through the darkness.

And little to the surprise it was, that I had started to feel too close to her. I fell in love with her. Her positive aura, her kindness, her joking side, her openness, her smile, her look… Oh my Flames, her look… Golden always had been a pretty mare with her attractive body, blemish free white fur, her long thick golden mane, her devine wings and her deep blue eyes. And the more I started to love her, the more beautiful she got.

But I did my best to swallow this feeling. I still treated Golden like I used to so that she would never know that I loved her. Nor did I say anything. I was just too afraid. Too scared that she might reject me and this whole friendship would become too awkward to keep up. And the risk of losing her, my only and very best friend here in Maren… it was just not something I wanted to risk. I didn’t want to lose my flame and end up alone in the darkness again…

Sure, I knew that I also was her best friend since she had, just like me, trouble making friends with the inhabitants of Maren. But I didn’t think (or better, I doubted) that she saw me as anything else than a friend.

So instead, we two just met and I enjoyed the time we spend together. Drinking tea, cooking something, going for a walk, playing games, helping with daily problems or teaching something to each other. (Not long ago I showed her how to knit.) But mostly I enjoyed her company.

Today was Just such a day. We two sat in the living room opposite to each other. Golden on the sofa and me on a chair. Between us, on the couch table, was a wooden, checked board and several little stones in the colour of black or white. Of course, a cup of tea for each of us was also set.

I used my magic to float a black stone to a free place on the checked board and then removed several white stones.

“Hey! You are not allowed to place your stone there. I have an eye protecting that area. You said that would count as a suicide move”, Golden objected.

“Indeed but by placing my stone on that position your line here gets fully surrounded by my force. It means your eye turns into a false eye”, I explained and casually took a sip from my tea.

“Oh this game is horse apples! It is just like chess but worse and more complicated!”, Golden said.

I gave a chuckle and floated all of the stones into a bag.

“Oh don’t be like that. Sure, Go is not easy to learn, let alone to master it, but it is not a bad game. Lot of strategy involved. If you ever come to Hono then you have to play against Cinder Glow. She is our kirin master in this game. Even Rain Shine struggles against her.”

As I stood up and floated the Go game back onto the shelf, I noticed out of the corner of my eyes how Golden looked at me. Or better my… flank?

“Something wrong?”, I asked, unsure how to react.

“Oh sorry”, Golden was clearly ripped from her thoughts. “I was just wondering… Does no kirin has a cutie mark or is it just you?”

I looked at my own flank and then at hers. Yes, I remember that I had read about this flank tattoo the ponies call “cutie mark”. (In my opinion a very filly like name for it.) It showed the special talent a pony had and everypony magically got one when they were young.

“No. Kirins don’t get cutie marks. To be honest, I often forget that ponies get them. I couldn’t even tell the cutie mark of one of my coworkers. Maybe it is because they are something I am not used to seeing. Or maybe I just don’t check out the flanks of others”, I laughed.

“What a gentlekirin you are”, Golden mocked and also stood up. And then, with a little pose she presented me her flank. “But don’t you worry. You can look if you want. I'll let you.”

Now it was my turn not to stare and I did my best to concentrate only on her cutie mark. On the inside I hoped that I didn’t blush.

Golden’s cutie mark was a bow for a violin but I noticed something strange about the string. It had a yellow colour and was only attached to the top and the rest curved around itself and expanded into a loose fan.

“When I was younger my parents wanted me to learn an instrument. I was not too interested in it but still chose the violin. During a test performance the string of my bow ripped. And since they are made out of pony hair, I came to the idea to fix it myself. So, I cut some tail hair of mine and fixed the bow letting me finish the performance. And from there my cutie mark appeared”, Golden recalled.

“So, I guess it shows how good you are in fixing instruments”, I concluded and wondered what my cutie mark would look like if I had one.

Golden laughed and said: “Yes. My parents first thought that it shows some sort of musical talent, but I knew better. Fixing the violin was way more fun than playing with it. And soon I was playing less and less, and instead focused more on building one of my own.”

There was a moment of silence between us.

“Can I ask you something?”, Golden then said.

“Sure!”

“Your back.” Her hoof pointed at my scales. “Do they have any major purpose? They look so… protective. But then why do you only have them on your back?”

I gave a chuckle.

“To be honest, I don’t know”, I had to admit. “There is an old kirin tale where it’s said that in a fight you have to face your opponent. Making a surprise attack from behind is seen as dishonorable. The protective scales is probably a symbolic image. But I don’t know if there is a real reason kirins have them.”

"Do you mind if I touch them?”, Golden asked with a smile. But her aura told me how she hesitated. Not willing to enter my personal space without allowance. Even though we were so close to each other. Or maybe it was BECAUSE we were so close…

“Sure, if I can touch your wings as well. Kirins don’t have wings, and I always wondered how they might feel”, I said.

Golden smiled in agreement and motioned with a hoof for me to sit down. I placed myself on the floor and Golden took her place right beside me but facing my back. Close enough that I could feel her body heat. She then extended her right wing that reached out in front of me.

With my front hoof I gently took her white wing, carefully touching it like it could break. It was soft. I could feel the strong muscles beneath, but the feathers are what stood out most. Some feathers were big and large, rougher. Most likely these were the important ones when flying. But the small ones where the softest.

At the same time I could feel how Golden’s hooves stroked over my back. Touching my scales. They were thick and hard, but I still could feel every move she made on them. Kind of like when wearing a jacket you could still feel when somepony touched you.

“I bet not even a spear could pierce through them…” Golden half whispered.

Then she suddenly gave a small gasp as I gave a firmer press on her wing. This made me retreat in surprise, and I quickly let go of her wing.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you!”, I quickly apologised.

“Nono. It’s alright. They can be a bit sensitive sometimes. You didn’t hurt me”, Golden said.

“Still, I got a bit carried away”, I returned and quickly stood up to get some space between me and Golden again.

I wasn’t sure if I could sense some disappointment in Golden but even if she felt any, it was quickly gone. But this had most likely just been false hope on my part.

“I guess I'll go now. It is getting late”, Golden said and also stood up.

I wanted to say something but didn’t really know what. I just gave a dumb nod and accompanied Golden to the door.

“Thank you again for everything. It was lovely. It really was. I'll see you again soon?”, Golden meant and looked at me.

“Yes… I nearly forgot. In four days, the kirin new year starts. In Hono that was a huge holiday. Here in Maren, between ponies, it is not known but I still would like to throw a little party. And I would really enjoy it if you would come too”, I offered.

“Of course I will. Wouldn’t want to miss it for anything”, she said with a warm smile.

“Then we'll see each other in four days again. I will set everything up, so you don’t have to bring anything”, I returned and used my magic to open the door.

Golden accepted my kindness and stepped outside. She gave a goodbye wave with her wing, and I waved back with my hoof. But not long after I closed the door and, like a sack of rice, I slumped frontal against the door, hitting my horn in the process, which granted me some well deserved pain.

By the holy Fire… what was I thinking?

Author's Note

Like always, I would like to give all a huge thanks who help me with the story. And I also would like to say thank you to all readers who came this far.
Feel free to give reviews. Positives or negatives, they always help.