Oh. It was a touch after all. Brief and soft, but made up for it in depth. Outside the world of dreams, a kiss was just a kiss - not a glow, not a lit path in the dark, no symbolism to be divined. They were just two lips in contact. But he could feel Bulba's warmth on his skin, their breath mingling, and the scent of another's perfume against his palate. Proof of life - as close as most could manage when their souls couldn't speak through flowers.

Vinnie breathed out as the Ivysaur pulled away, stunned into a surprised stillness. That one small mystery was, at least, solved - a kiss for the dying - though he wasn't sure whose benefit the answer was for. Whatever deeper meaning it had, the feelings Bulba wanted to convey in a dream's kiss, that moment was still lost in a dissolved world.

For now, the Venusaur blinked again and stared back. "Oh. ...Thanks."