Larea stayed in the embrace for a time, blushing slightly when he reciprocated the gesture. Even now, in direct physical contact with him, she couldn't understand what was such a big deal about his skin. Sure, it was a little tougher than the average person's, but that didn't change the kind of person he was, and anybody who showed such kindness to a scarred, helpless mute girl couldn't possibly be all bad. He was one of the kindest people she had ever met.<br/><br/>Eventually, they separated, and Larea made her way back to her bed, sitting on the edge of it. She picked up the pen and pad, laying the latter on her knee as she began to scribble rapidly on it. She looked very focused, although at times her eyes would dart from the paper to Zel for a moment. After a while, once she was satisfied with it, she tore the paper from its vessel and held it out to him, a rather large smile on her face. On the far right side of the paper was a surprisingly well-made sketch of her head, grinning even wider than she was now; there was also a sketch of Zel's face on the other end, its expression being a closed-eyes smirk. Between them, in large, elaborate letters, was written "Thank you." She figured the hug had gotten the point across pretty well, but decided to dedicate the first piece of paper to thanking him anyway. Besides, she hadn't been able to sketch anything in a while, and it was good practice for her. Art had always been one of her favorite pastimes.