Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Fire Emblem or any of the characters mentioned in this fanfiction.

Pairing: NaesalaTibarn (Hm, I wonder if it would be obvious if I didn't write this? Oh well.) Maybe some others, but probably not.

Warning(s): A word. There is... a swear word in this fanfiction, and there will probably be others. (Oh my goodness!) O:

"Word," signifies speaking

"Word," signifies Leanne speaking in the old language (I forget what it's called o.o')

Word signifies thought or emphasis

---

He hated himself, sometimes. He'd only wanted to aid his country… and had ended up doing more harm, not only to his clan, but the bird tribe as a whole; the only clan he hadn't slaughtered was the herons (they'd already been slaughtered when he'd become king)… And, let's be truthful, he had sold Reyson to that Begnion senator, once. Taking the then thought to be only surviving child of Lorazieh from Tibarn's ever vigilant guard… Tibarn had been the one to harbour the beleaguered clan, even though he had been the one who was friends with Reyson and Leanne…

Ebon-feathered wings rustled in irritation. Enough of this useless contemplation. Sometimes, though… Sometimes it was hard to get up in the morning, serving as a mediator for beorc-laguz disputes as Begnion stumbled along in its integration efforts. It wasn't that he disliked the work, but that it all just seemed hopeless to him. The memories of his dead people, and the slaughter of the hawks…

Naesala, the former King of the raven nation Kilvas, slammed his fist against the wall of his small house in frustration. That was all in the past now. All he could do was attempt to atone for his misdeeds, nothing more and nothing less. At least he could try to make this world a better place for the surviving bird laguz.

He glanced in the mirror as he passed, fixing the strand of sapphire hair that had somehow managed to go awry, and adjusted his shirt. His outfit remained the same as it had when he had still been King; laguz seldom changed their appearance, aging slowly and changing slowly. Beorc were opposite changing clothing and aging at a startling rate.

The raven quickly looked out the window, checking the time; he was late, as usual. Naesala sighed; it looked like it was going to rain too. He hated rain.

"…Might as well go," he muttered, snatching the house key from its place on the table. He'd tossed it there the night before, after coming in from another day of solving petty beorc and laguz disputes. "Empress'll probably be mad enough at me anyway." Yesterday he'd gotten so annoyed with the two arguing factions that he'd cracked the heads of the two leaders together and told them to get over it; it hadn't gone over well though, and he imagined Empress Sanaki would probably assign him to the same dispute again.

Stepping out of the small cottage, he made sure to lock the door behind him. He lived about a mile out from Sienne, and flew in to the Mainel Cathedral everyday to receive his latest assignment from Sanaki, whom he now served.

As his body shifted from humanoid to bird, he felt the first drops of rain fall on his head. "Just great," he complained, quickly taking wing. He arrived at the Cathedral about fifteen minutes later, reverting to human form as he landed on the top steps. Used to his face, the guards ushered him into the chapel and he was admitted to see Sanaki not five minutes later.

"Naesala," said the violet-haired girl, a hint of displeasure in her voice. Naesala grimaced, bracing himself for the telling off he was about to receive from a girl of only fourteen - never mind that she was Apostle and Empress of one of the most powerful nations on Tellius. He idly wondered how he would have turned out if he'd been raised as the future ruler of a country since he was capable of cognizant thought, then shooed the idea away as absurd; laguz based their rulers upon power, not blood.

"Empress," he replied coolly. He refused to give her the satisfaction of drawing him out.

"Don't take that tone with her," Sigrun, commander of the Holy Knights, scolded.

"Sigrun…" Sanaki murmured, and the Seraph Knight fell silent, looking irritated. She disliked the raven's attitude, but he wasn't about to change, and couldn't have cared less what she thought. He admitted that Sanaki's opinion of him counted for something, but she was about the only beorc whose thoughts mattered to him anyway.

"I've asked Zihark to attempt to repair the damage you caused in the town," Sanaki said at length. "I think you need a break, you've looked tired and acted irritated for quite some time now," she added. "Take a few weeks, maybe a month off and come back."

"…No thanks; I don't need a break, I feel fine," Naesala lied. In truth, he certainly hadn't been feeling his best, and was actually quite depressed, but he certainly wasn't going to admit that or talk about his problems to some girl who was a tenth of his age.

Sanaki frowned. "Go visit Serenes; Leanne's been asking after you, and I know Nealuchi is concerned about you," she told him gently.

"Leanne?" His eyebrows rose. "That's nice. What've you told her?" He tried not to betray his interest, but doubted it was working very well. His heart seemed to lift at the very mention of the heron princess, and he was a little disgusted with himself for it.

"I said you were fine and doing a good job… But really, you should go visit," Sanaki said firmly.

"Nah. I'll probably just mess it up and make them angrier at me," he replied, inadvertently speaking his true thoughts. That was what kept him away: the fear that he would spoil the fragile paradise that had been created, and end up hurting those he cared about even more.

"Hmph. Stubborn crow. Just do as your told, for once. Take a vacation somewhere," Sanaki retorted. "Just being around you makes me feel depressed. Do yourself - and everyone - some good, raven."

"Isn't that my job?" he pointed out. "I settle arguments and civil complaints to help the integration." Sanaki was starting to become annoyed, he could tell, but Naesala didn't stop. "Besides… I already said, I don't want a break."

The Empress scowled at him from her throne. "I've had enough of your childish protests, Naesala. I don't want to see you moping around here for at least two weeks! Don't come back until you've grown up or gotten over whatever's got your feathers ruffled!" she snapped, golden eyes flashing. He could only imagine what she would be like as an adult - formidable and beautiful, he guessed.

"Fine, fine," he retorted. "I'm gone."

He turned and stalked out of the hall, shoving past startled guards and into the soaking street. The storm was in full swing, and his initial forecast of 'rain' was a bit off. It was incredibly windy, and every so often there was a flash of lightning, accompanied by the resounding crescendo of thunder. The streets, usually packed, were nearly empty.

He contemplated going to a bar, but doubted one would be open this early, and he had no desire to make a fool of himself before a bunch of beorc. Despite what he had said, Naesala did feel he needed a break, although he had no intention of coming within ten miles of the Serenes forest. He wouldn't have minded seeing Nealuchi and the herons, but he'd no doubt cross paths with Tibarn and his two captains, something he didn't feel like he had the energy for.

Heaving a resigned sigh, he stepped out from under the eaves of the Cathedral and shifted in raven form, allowing the wind to carry him to his house. At least the wind's helping me out, he thought. Regardless, he was still sodden when he landed brusquely in front of his door. He extracted the key from his pocket (his clothes were soaked, of course) and shoved it in the lock, only to find that the door wasn't locked. Frowning, he entered cautiously, shaking excess water from his wings and trying not to shiver. Someone had started a fire in the hearth as well. He shook his head and squeezed as much water as he could out of his hair, wondering who it was. Nothing was out of place, and if whomever had broken in had had a malicious intent, he thought they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of starting a fire. Then again, they could have known that he was always gone during the day and usually didn't arrive home until past nightfall…

The raven heard a sound coming from down the hall, inside one of the two bedrooms. The house was small, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting area, a bathroom and little else. "Who's there?" he called out wearily, making his way down the hall.

"Naesala!" came a familiar voice, and Leanne appeared from the door of the second bedroom.

"Oh, hello Leanne," he said, blinking in surprise. "What… how did you get here? Did Nealuchi bring you…?"

"Nope!" she chirped happily, giving him a hug.

"…Then who?" he asked, returning the gesture awkwardly. He wasn't a huggy sort of person. "How did you find out where I lived?"

"I wanted to know," she explained, smiling at him. That was no answer, but he couldn't quite focus when she was smiling like that. She took a step back. "Why did you pick such a dreary location?"

"I- Hey, don't change the subject. Who brought you?" Naesala frowned slightly, running a hand through his damp hair. "I need to change," he mumbled absently, looking around. "Were you the one who started the fire?"

"Nope. Tibarn did. We came to visit you…"

Naesala didn't heard anything past the third word. Tibarn was here?! Of all the people, the hawk king, and now king of the united bird tribe, was one of the last the raven wanted to see.

"Naesala? Are you even listening?" Leanne asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hn- Yeah. Of course."

"I doubt it. You didn't look like you were listening."

"Okay, so I wasn't. Sorry. Where's Tibarn now?"

"Oh! He's in your bedroom, I think. We were exploring," Leanne explained.

"…Right." Naesala felt an eyebrow twitch. He wanted to run and check that his room was unscathed, but Leanne was standing his way. "Why did you feel the need to, ah, explore?"

"Leanne was curious," Tibarn said, emerging from his bedroom. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning casually against the wall and studied the other man calmly.

Naesala scowled. "Thanks for dropping in unannounced," he said dryly, turning around to escape the hawk's scrutiny. "Would you like something to eat? I'm afraid I don't have much variety; I usually eat on the job."

"Reyson wanted to come too, but he said he had to stay behind with Father," Leanne remarked. "Do you have any tea? It's pretty cold, even with the fire."

"Tea it is," Naesala replied, walking past the small pantry - empty, of course. All the food he had was either stored in the cupboards, or kept in the cold room below ground. He opened the cupboard beside the window and pulled out a small container of tea leaves. He pulled several out and dropped them in the kettle, once he'd filled it in the water barrel beside the door before setting it above the fire. The small sitting room - if you could call the small space a room - had two wooden chairs and an ottoman - chairs with backs were just uncomfortable to bird laguz. He took one of the wooden chairs, sitting on the very edge of the seat so his wings wouldn't be crushed.

Tibarn took the other, and Leanne perched on the ottoman, chattering on about the state of things in Serenes, and about her visit to Crimea, and then about seeing Empress Sanaki…

Naesala nodded, occasionally offering an agreement or something of the like, but he became increasingly aware of the hawk king's eyes on him, and had to resist the urge to look at him out of the corner of his eye. What's his problem? the raven thought, becoming increasingly irritated and distracted. When the kettle started to whistle, he almost jumped to his feet in relief. He took it off and walked into the kitchen, settling it on the counter and opening another cupboard.

"…I don't have any mugs or teacups, I hope that's all right," he called.

"It's fine!" Leanne chimed back. She was talking to Tibarn about some insect she had seen yesterday.

He took two steaming hot glasses of tea to his guests, handing Tibarn his wordlessly, then gave Leanne hers before returning to get his own.

"Oh, that's right, I nearly forgot. How come you're home so early? I thought Janaff said you worked all day?" Leanne asked, sipping her tea.

Naesala coughed a little, covering his surprise. "Janaff?" He looked at Tibarn for an explanation. Well, glared at him, anyway.

Leanne looked worried. "I didn't mean to say that…"

"Why, you didn't want me to know that I was being monitored?" Naesala demanded, irritated.

"No, Naesala, you don't understand, it's just that--"

"Never mind, you don't have to explain," he snapped, angry and hurt. "I understand completely."

Leanne flinched and looked away, staring into her glass of tea.

"I had Janaff look for you," Tibarn said, a little coldly. "Leanne was quite upset when you up and left, and even Nealuchi didn't know where you were staying, so I had him search for you." His tone left no confusion about his opinion on the whole matter.

"…Sorry about my outburst," Naesala muttered, now the one who was looking into his glass of tea. "Work's been… less than excellent, and I'm usually not my best when it rains…"

"Oh! You're still wearing your soggy clothes!" Leanne exclaimed. She seemed to have forgiven him for snapping at her. He was grateful; he disliked hurting any of the herons, but Leanne especially. "I forgot- You should go change."

Tibarn set his empty glass on the small coffee table and rose. He walked over to the window, staring out. Although it probably wasn't even midday, it was so dark that it could have been night.

"…Yeah, okay," Naesala muttered, clearing his throat. "I'll be right back."

Leanne smiled at him as he hurried to his room.

When he got there, he was a little surprised to see that nothing was out of place. Maybe just a bit disappointed too, because he half wanted to start an argument with the proud hawk, but mostly relieved. He quickly shed his soggy clothes, draping them over a small stool near the window to dry, noticing with pleasure that the rain was letting up some.

He shook out his hair and wandered over to the dresser, but upon opening a drawer, found it in total disarray. It looked as if the topmost shirt had been shoved back in with haste, as it was all crumpled atop a pile of neatly folded others that were identical to it in every way.

"…" The former raven King stared at it blankly. He knew he hadn't put the shirt in like that, but then who? Leanne? Possibly.

With a shrug, he pulled it out, giving it a shake and then checking to see if it was wrinkled. It hadn't been like that long enough for that to happen though, so he quickly put it on. He was fully dressed in about a minute, and back out the door before long.

---

"You should talk to him too," the heron princess told Tibarn once she heard the door down the hall close. "After all, you're the one who wanted to come see him."

"I had to check up on him," Tibarn replied shortly, not turning from the window. The rain was beginning to let up, and the thunder and lightning had stopped long ago. "If he was up to his old ways…"

"You know he only did the things he did to benefit his people, even if it didn't always turn out that way in the end," Leanne reminded him. "And after what happened… He was quite guilty, even if he didn't show it, you know."

Tibarn turned, opening his mouth to reply, but at that moment they both heard the door open and the hawk shut his mouth, turning back to the window.

"Naesala, you still haven't answered me," Leanne said once he had sat down in the wooden chair once more. "How come you're home? I thought you worked all day, at least that's what Apostle Sanaki told me when Nealuchi and I went to see her."

"…She ordered me to take a break," Naesala muttered. "Said I was depressing her, or something like that."

"Oh good! Then you can come visit," Leanne said decisively. "Let's go."

"Hold on, that's what Sanaki said too," Naesala said sourly. "Are you two plotting or something?"

Leanne looked back at him with such innocence that he couldn't tell if it was a mask or not. "Please? Reyson will be happy to see you, and Nealuchi too! Not to mention all the other ravens! They still talk about you, Naesala. They thought you were a good ruler, despite what you might think."

"No thanks, I'll pass," he said, shrugging. "I-" He stopped mid-sentence and sneezed loudly. "…Catching a cold," he muttered sourly.

"See? Staying here is bad for you. You should come visit," Leanne said triumphantly.

"Your logic doesn't make sense to me," he informed her. "It could have started to rain and I could have caught a cold anywhere," he pointed out.

"You should come," Tibarn said, turning around. "I think it would hearten the ravens. They do miss you, and I think they would be happy if they saw your face."

"Just the ravens though," Naesala replied, not meeting his eyes. He picked up his now-cold tea and took a sip. "I'm…"

"And the herons!" Leanne interrupted, somewhat indignant.

"…sure most of the hawks still hate my guts."

An awkward silence descended upon the room. Tibarn finally said, "Regardless, they can understand - to some extent - why you… took such action." He grimaced; it was obvious he himself had yet to forget the massacre, but who could blame him, really? Certainly not Naesala.

"Besides, you… look tired. Like you could use a break," Tibarn added.

Naesala sighed. "The last thing I need it concern from you," he told the hawk. "But it doesn't look like you guys are going to stop bugging me until I concede… And I have been ordered not to show my face to the apostle for at least two weeks…"
Leanne smiled happily. "Great! We can leave right now--" As if on cue, a bolt of lightning flashed, followed by a resounding crash of thunder not a moment later, and the rain poured down harder, almost drowning out the crackling of the fire.

"…Or maybe not right now," Naesala suggested. "When this storm lets up."

"Yes…" Leanne sighed. "I hope it's not storming over Serenes; Father hates storms." She looked out the window, a worried expression on her usually carefree face.

Tibarn shifted, then returned to his chair. "What do you do… to pass the time?" he asked, looking around.

"I'm usually working," Naesala replied, shrugging. "…I do have some books though, but I'm not sure any of them would interest you two- Hey, what's that look for?" he demanded; Tibarn was staring at him with a shocked expression on his face. "I bet you couldn't read a book to save your life!" he snapped defensively, immediately falling back on his old habit of saying the most offensive thing that came to mind to his old rival.

Tibarn's face shifted to a frown. "I was thinking the same thing about you," he retorted. "You probably wouldn't be able to hold on to a book long enough to open it - it would already be sold, for the profit of the raven nation, just like you sold Reyson!"

Naesala sprang to his feet angrily. "If I hadn't done that, no one would have found Leanne-"

"Falling back on that old excuse?" Tibarn sneered, getting to his feet as well. "The mantra's getting old, crow!"

"Stop!" Leanne cried, looking close to tears. Both males stopped immediately, looking contrite. She rushed past, into the second, unoccupied bedroom.

"…Damn," Naesala muttered, falling back into his uncomfortable chair. He swore again and sat on the coffee table instead. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I always just end up hurting the people I care about, the ones I would never want to hurt…" He put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, not caring that the hawk king could see everything he did.

The raven heard Tibarn take a seat on his left, but didn't bother giving any reaction. The coffee table creaked a little in protest; it probably wasn't made to take the weight of an adult beorc, much less two large laguz males. Naesala nearly smiled, wondering why the idea seemed so amusing to him.

"You should go after her," he remarked at length, his voice muffled slightly by his hands.

"…Maybe. But she only gets angry," Tibarn replied. "She'd probably tell me that I should apologize and don't come back until I do. Which is totally reasonable."

"I should probably apologize too," Naesala agreed quietly.

"Yes. …What about those books you were talking about?"

Naesala raised his head and gave the hawk king a long stare. Only half of his face was illuminated, since the fire was the only source of light, but the expression on Tibarn's face was expressionless, his golden ((couldn't find any clears pictures of his eye color; if it's wrong, tell me please)) eyes unreadable.

"Well, they're mostly…" Naesala stopped mid-sentence. Oh Goddess, hecouldn't show Tibarn the sorts of books he kept around the house. "I'll, uh, go get you one." He quickly stood and started for his bedroom, hoping Tibarn hadn't seen the titles on his bookshelf. Unfortunately, Tibarn followed him and Naesala panicked a little. About halfway down the hall, he started coughing, and although it started out fake, it quickly became actual coughs.

"…You all right?" Tibarn asked from about two paces behind him. "I can just pick one myself-"

"No," Naesala said, managing to quell his coughing. "I'll just… get you one. Stay here."

"Well, now I'm curious. First your reaction in the front room, and then you dissolve into coughing… Fake at first, that was fairly obvious, you know," Tibarn told him, sounding slightly amused. "Although they did sound real near the end," he added more seriously. "Are you actually catching a cold?" He took a step forward, but Naesala couldn't see his face.

"I'm fine," he snapped, feeling uncomfortable, but he took an involuntary step back.

Tibarn continued advancing, until the two were in front of the door to his bedroom. Naesala could feel his cheeks heating, and was glad that the light of the fire didn't extend this far down the hall, in case Tibarn took his flushed cheeks for a blush. Which it most definitely was not.

"Well?" Tibarn took another step forward, into Naesala's space, so that they were almost touching, and he was reminded that he was shorter than the hawk, if only by a margin (he came up to his eyebrows), but the raven didn't budge.

"No way in hell am I going to let you back in my room," he promised.

"Oh? All your attempts to divert me are just making me more interested… Do you have some smutty comics or something…?"

"Comics?" Naesala bristled. "Don't insult me by thinking I read the same stuff you do."

"Oh?" Tibarn leaned in, and in the dim light, the raven could see a smirk pulling at the hawk's lips. Naesala leaned back but didn't retreat any more. The other man was so close that the raven could feel his soft breath against his face - definitely not a place he wanted to be in. "You didn't deny the smutty part, you know," he remarked, straightening so abruptly that Naesala staggered back - and Tibarn brushed past him, immediately going for his bookshelf.

"H-hey!" the former King protested, grabbing the other's arm. "Do you mind?! I thought behaviour like this was supposed to be found only in ravens!"

Tibarn turned so swiftly that Naesala flinched. "What kind of lame excuse is that?" he growled, sounding annoyed.

"W-well, didn't you see the books when you were in here before?" Naesala managed to retort.

"If it's that important to you…" He felt Tibarn shrug, and the hawk king started to walk away. The raven blinked, not expecting the other to give up so easily. "Would you mind letting go of my arm? I didn't think you were the clingy type…"

Naesala jerked his hands away, irritated. "I wouldn't have been holding your arm if you hadn't been being such an ass," he replied caustically.

"Don't confuse me with yourself," the hawk king replied airily, continuing out the door and into the hall. "Oh, look, the storm's letting up." He knocked gently on the door of the spare bedroom as he passed. "Leanne, we can go soon," he said.

The door opened and Leanne stepped out, looking considerably less upset. "Okay, we should get started as soon as the rain stops," she decided.

"All right," Naesala agreed, glad that the book crisis had been avoided. If Tibarn had seen one… It didn't even bear to be thought about. Or if Leanne had, for that matter. He wasn't quite sure which would have been worse, and was glad that the situation hadn't presented itself.

Still somewhat off balance, Naesala collected the glasses, dumping the extra tea back into the kettle; he'd dispose of it later. Maybe. If he felt like it. He was still fairly dazed, but at least his cheeks felt like they weren't burning any more. He dropped the cups in the small bin that he used to clean his dishes and went to sit down again.

Leanne was once more perched on the ottoman, and Tibarn was pacing in front of the window. He seemed eager to leave, for some reason. The sky outside was lightening, and the sun was shining through the dark clouds in some places. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle, and the raven could hear birds singing in the trees outside his house.

"Naesala," Leanne said, "do you like this place?"

"…It suits my purposes," he replied, shrugging. "Close enough to the capital, but still outside of Sienne itself. And it's not like I need a huge place," the raven added, sitting on the coffee table once more. It creaked ominously, and Naesala wondered how much longer the small table would hold out.

"But do you like it here, Naesala?" Leanne persisted. She was so stubborn, just like Reyson. Why can't they be more like Rafiel? he wondered.

"I like my job," Naesala answered shortly, shifting a little. He really needed to get better furniture, deciding he would do so once he came back from his forced break.

"You're avoiding the question!" Leanne said, starting to become irritated. "Why can't you come live with us in Serenes?"

"…Do we have to talk about this right now?" Naesala mumbled, coughing again.

"Fine, but when we get to Serenes, I will convince you to stay," Leanne promised fiercely.

"I don't doubt it," the raven muttered.

"The rain's stopped," Tibarn remarked, going over to the door. As the hawk opened it, a cool breeze wafted in, chilling Naesala. It brought the scent of rain and dampness, and he felt refreshed, somewhat. The raven rose and picked up the half-full kettle from the counter, grabbing the house key from the table as he returned to the sitting area. He dumped the remainder of the tea on the dying fire, then left, locking the door behind him.

Leanne was waiting for him, smiling cheerfully. Tibarn raised an eyebrow. "What's with the dopey expression?" he asked, spreading his wings.

Naesala scowled at the hawk, but didn't deign to reply. He had decided he would ignore the hawk king for the remainder of his reluctant journey to Serenes. He shifted into raven form and was in the air with three swift, powerful beats of his blue-black wings. Leanne followed a moment later, and then Tibarn, the three laguz quickly leaving the small house behind them.

"It's nice to have the wind behind us," Leanne remarked. She was the one setting the pace; Naesala and Tibarn could easily have gone faster, but stayed with the heron princess.

She's probably the only reason we haven't torn each other apart yet, Naesala reflected. If a bird's beak could have permitted a smile, he probably would have grinned.

"We should get to Serenes in about an hour," Tibarn replied. "I wonder how Reyson's coping? We've only been gone about three hours, but who knows what might have happened in that time?"

"I'm sure he and Father will be fine," Leanne said. She was flying in the middle, Naesala on her left and Tibarn on her right. "And Ulki and Janaff will be helping him too."

"Yeah, that's true," Tibarn agreed.

Naesala was only listening to their casual conversation with half an ear; he was becoming increasingly tired, and it seemed incredibly cold to him. They were flying above the clouds, and he occasionally got a glimpse of the Begnion fields and homes below. It wasn't this cold when we set out, he thought, shivering. A fit of coughing overcame him, causing him to fly erratically as he passed over a break in the clouds.

That's odd… Houses weren't that close before…

"Naesala? Naesala!!" he heard Leanne cry from somewhere overhead, and wondered what she sounded so worried about. He could hear the wind rushing past his ears, and then he fell into a soothing darkness.

---

Author's Note: This is the first fanfiction I've written in a while... Anyway, you know the drill, read and review, please. Did you think they were out of character? v.v If so, please tell me. Thanks. (: