I am so sorry for taking such a long time to update, everyone! Here's where I insert the generic excuses like school and sickness more school and an anime convention (alright, not so generic). I won't make you wait anymore, though. Read away!

The hawks were sparring.

Leanne set her elbows onto the short wall that lined the castle's roof and squished her chest against it to get a closer look at the action below. It was almost disappointing that the one day that something interesting was happening was six days after Naesala's previous visit... almost being the only significant word in her mind because the alternative of spending time with Naesala seemed boundlessly superior.

Still, watching the hawks was an entertaining way to pass the time while she waited for Naesala's arrival. Ulki and Janaff were both in their transformed states, testing out the strength of younger hawks that did not have the experience of true battles as they did. Tibarn was taking part in the training, as well, although he was practicing untransformed combat. Even from her post much higher up, Leanne could make out the contours of the hawk king's exposed abs in fair detail. She leaned in slightly closer, a subconscious grin on her lips as she felt liquid giddiness swirl in her stomach; the feeling as she watched Tibarn brawl with his upper half unclothed felt so similar to the feeling when Naesala had kissed her.

Bringing that experience to mind, Leanne's thoughts began to drift to how she would greet Naesala when he arrived. She knew that she wanted another one of those kisses—maybe a few more, even—but she was not sure that she could simply move in and initiate one herself. She considered coaxing him into giving her the first one, and then perhaps she could approach him for more as she saw fit. What if he did not understand what she wanted, though? Throughout her entire life she had heard girls complaining about how boys never processed hints.

Still contemplating a resolution to her dilemma, Leanne felt arms wrap around her from behind and a face nuzzle into the base of her wings. Calm despite what should have been startling, Leanne turned her head as far left as she could and moved her gaze the same direction. She caught a glimpse of black feathers that confirmed that she was being embraced by whom she assumed, so she returned her eyes to the scene below, looking past it instead of at it, wrapped up in Naesala's arms and nothing else.

The hug tightened briefly and then loosened considerably, allowing Leanne to turn around and face him at last. Before their eyes could even catch each other, Naesala nonchalantly made their lips connect. ...That certainly solved Leanne's problem.

Pulling away, the raven king murmured lowly, "Hello."

Leanne breathed out a sigh appeased by his action and the questions that had been lifted along with it. "Hi Naesala."

He propped his chin on the top of her head to better see the happenings below. "I guess we'd best get out of here," he remarked, and Leanne could feel his throat vibrate, which made her giggle. "I'm already sick of so much of our time being spent travelling... It can't be helped, though, can it?" Identifying the question as one that was not meant to be answered, Leanne remained silent until Naesala pulled back again and posed another question, this one not rhetorical: "I'd say it's worth it, though, wouldn't you?"

Squinting her eyes with a smile, Leanne gave a resolute nod. "Yes!"

"Then let's go," he said, already beginning to walk to the opposite side of the roof where the hawks' eyes could not see him. Leanne turned to follow, but before actually moving forward she glanced back at the hawks, satisfaction on her face as she noted them all—especially the attentive Ulki and Janaff—just as engaged as ever, oblivious to her escape. Eagerness in her movements, she had a subtle skip in her step as she followed Naesala.

Once they were in the sky, Naesala instantly took it upon himself to lead the way to the location that he had decided on. Leanne opened her mouth to protest his guidance, remembering the disappointment that she had felt last time; however, when she recalled how happy she had been when they left, she switched her conversation to life at Phoenicis.

She chattered on in the ancient tongue for most of the flight. Much of her babbling was amusing to Naesala, most of it being gossip that she had heard around the hawk palace and was then repeating without any reservations. Part of him was interested in memorizing the rumours for any potential uses they could have in the future, but above all, he was charmed by how she rambled everyone's secrets off without a care or regret. He was certain that the subjects of her gossip would hardly be as delighted at her free spirit, but that only made it more captivating to him. The blatant contrast between her innocent heron appearance and some of the raven-like suggestions coming from her mouth were deliciously unbalanced.

"Where we go?" she suddenly asked, changing to the modern language as though ensuring that she would receive his full attention.

Naesala looked to her and was met with curious, wide eyes. He turned away, head facing ahead, and mumbled a thoughtful 'hmm' and nothing more. An indignant puff came from the heron next to him, which only provoked him to smirk and stay quiet even longer to agitate her. The silence hardly lasted long, though, as with their next upward glide over a mountain peak, Naesala's plotted destination was revealed. "We're going there," he said without looking back, instead flicking his chin forward to bring attention to the shoreline.

When she saw the bleak ocean scene, a wave of disappointed washed over her as though the waves crashing against the shore were carrying her dismay. "It is grey," she repeated the same observation that she had said when he had brought her to the cliffs, only without concealing the unhappiness that went along with it.

He laughed off her dissatisfaction and swooped down to the rocky shore. He landed where the moving water could sweep over his boots, and then turned to face Leanne who was still hovering above. "Come on, it has its..." He paused to consider an appropriate word. "...allure!"

Leanne's subtle frown stayed in place as she joined Naesala on the beach. She landed slightly further from the water than him and took some time to gather up her dress before moving forward so that its edges would not be soaked. Her expression seemed even less content in having to hold onto so much fabric. Naesala gave a hopeful smile and pointed across the body of water as he said, "Look! There's a surprisingly nice view here, too. It's Kilvas!"

Leanne broke into a devious grin for an instant, but quickly hid it and looked to Naesala with narrowed eyes. "That not pretty," she commented, her smile threatening to break out again. He returned her playful glare—although it seemed more naturally suited to his face than to hers—and lightly pushed his palm against her shoulder, intending to be a shove to just put her off balance for a moment; however, with one hand clutching onto her dress she already had less balance than she normally would, and stumbled back and onto the wet sand.

"Oh damn! Leanne, I'm sorry!" Naesala apologized and reached an arm out to help her up. "I didn't mean to be an abusive boyfriend. Really," he insisted, leaning slightly closer.

Instead of instantly accepting his hand, she sat thinking over his last comment as the water lapped against her legs. "Boyfriend?" she repeated.

Naesala seemed to start when she uttered the word; had he said that? He laughed to compose himself. "Well yes. Abusive friend doesn't sound quite as bad, does it?"

"You..." She turned her gaze down, watching her finger as she traced scribbles in the sand. "...abu," she struggled through the rest of the word, "abusive friend, or abusive boyfriend?" Satisfied with her wording, she looked up and caught Naesala looking baffled once more.

His automatic thought was, "What do you want me to be?" but he knew that Leanne would not settle for that; she wanted a 'friend' or 'boyfriend' answer, and nothing in-between. "I don't know," he said, trying to act casual. "I guess we could say abusive boyfriend if that's what you want."

"Maybe... no abusive?"

"So just boyfriend?"

Leanne nodded, her face suddenly flushed although she seemed confident in her answer. Naesala gave her a smile that assured her that she had indeed made the right decision. She finally accepted the hand that he was offering and he pulled her up with the slightest struggle hinted at in a grimace. When they were standing face-to-face, the lower backside of Leanne's dress layered in filth, she was tempted to give him a shove back to get even; however, he would get more distraught at being covered in wet sand than she had.

"Go back?" Leanne asked, pointing her finger in the direction of the castle instead of pointing it at Naesala's chest to make him fall backwards. "I need clean."

Naesala cocked his head and smirked, eyes noting the grey clay colour seeping further into Leanne's white dress. "Yes," he observed, "you really do." He took to the air first, prompting Leanne to follow by entwining his fingers with hers. She kept up as they made their relaxed flight back to the palace, hands never separating; after all, they both thought, boyfriends and girlfriends held hands, didn't they?

By the time they arrived back at the Phoenicis castle, the hawks had completed their training and were in the building or back in their homes. Settling their feet onto the castle's roof, Leanne stepped towards her room's window while Naesala moved to look at where the hawks had been earlier, their arms having to stretch as far as they could without letting go of each other. They both looked back at the other. "What you look at?"

"Nothing, thankfully. I wanted to see that no one was outside anymore."

"We see that when fly down!" Leanne argued and planted her free hand on her hip, only to feel that her dress had grown stiff from dried mud. "Ugh," she grunted as she scrunched up her face. "No time out here, anyway. I need clean for dinner."

Naesala settled his palm against her hip and drew himself closer. "Fine," he sighed like a child agreeing to eat his vegetables knowing that he would get dessert later; although, Naesala wasn't quite as patient as a child. He leaned forward and pressed a 'goodbye' kiss, of sorts, just below Leanne's ear. Instead of leaving it at that, though, the raven left a path of kisses further along her jaw and on her neck, at which point Leanne gave a warning swat against his chest. "Okay, fiiine," Naesala repeated, finally backing away and raising his hands defensively, "you can go clean up."

She let out a giggle, but her expression grew stern quickly. "You back... six days?"

"Six days," he affirmed, and began to move closer to seal that promise with another kiss. Leanne pressed her lips together with refusal and turned towards her room's window, though Naesala caught the way that she had eyed his mouth before pretending to ignore him. He chuckled lowly and turned to face the direction opposite Leanne. "I'll see you then, Leanne."

"Bye," she whispered as beating wings retreated.

If this story were an anime, this chapter would be a filler episode, hahaha. It has some moments that I like, but overall, I think that it took me so long to write because I just didn't feel like I was actually writing anything significant. Next chapter, though, I want to get some development in, so I certainly hope that it won't take so long to write. As always, I love hearing what you all have to say above all!