I've got a long list of fic ideas, and about four have really stood out to me recently, but it is this one that keeps nagging to be written. I guess in part because I want to pick up Radiant Dawn again.

Serenes Forest, once the home to only the heron laguz, had become a united home to all bird tribes after several grueling years of war. The bird tribes had been decimated, and so an alliance of the tribes was in order. The herons had been massacred by Bengion citizens decades prior. Only four had remained.

The raven tribe of Kilvas had started to die out mysteriously around the time the former king, Naesala rose to power. It had later been revealed to be due to a blood pact with Bengion and the former king. When he failed to follow the pact, his people started to fall until the throne, and the pact itself, fell to Naesala.

The hawk laguz had been attacked by Bengion troops during the last war. Women, children, and the elderly had been spared, but the fighting age men who had stayed behind to protect their home had been slaughtered. Uniting the three small groups into one under the hawk king, Tibarn, had been a very reasonable solution. Most birds agreed it would be for the best, and since the tribes had merged into one in Serenes Forest, there had been very little bickering.

Some were displeased, as nothing could make everyone happy, but most of them kept their complaints to themselves. Why bother to complain when there were more important things to tend to?

With the combination of the end of war, fighting men coming home, and the union of the bird tribes into one, there had been a small increase in their numbers. Seven little nestlings had been born in the forest, four hawks and three ravens, and more were expected. Most of the seven little birds had taken a big step in their lives: they had started to fly.

After molting and finding their wings, six had been quick to fly. They did not get far or fast, and there had been many tears after mid-air collisions, but most were quick to grasp what they needed to do.

Serenes Forest was, all agreed, a much safer place for the baby bird laguz to learn to fly. It did not have the high cliffs and raging sea below. They had soft grass to land on. So much within the forest was becoming new to them. The bird babies knew where the adults congregated and where they made their homes, but now that they could at least hover off the ground, so much more was opening up to them.

There was one little hawk baby that seemed quite content to not fly. Like the other babies, he had molted, shedding soft, downy feathers everywhere. He had also tried to figure out those things emerging from his back. Other than that, however, he was content to sit and play in the grass instead of flying over it.

One morning, he found himself in the care of Lorazieh, the eldest of the remaining heron and father to the younger three, and the younger of his two sons, Reyson. The older heron was more than pleased to watch the hawk baby. He adored each and every little nestling born in the forest. He had once told Tibarn that it did his old heart good to see tiny bird babies fluttering around the forest again. None of them were herons, but it did not matter to him. Each was precious in his or her own way.

He had also spent many years bedridden, but living in the forest, and having been healed by his eldest son, Rafiel, he was able to visit and play with the little ones. It was something he long feared he would never be able to do again.

The little hawk, Eyal, had been in his care for half an hour or so, and had spent his time playing in the grass. He found such interesting things, and it amused Lorazieh to no end to see the boy find something of interest. His wings would flap furiously as he would bend to pick up whatever it was he had found, then he would sit and examine his treasure before getting up with more flapping of his wings to bring it to Lorazieh.

Reyson sat on the grass by his father, his feet tucked under him. Eyal had, so far, ignored the younger heron. That was fine. Spending twenty years in Phoenicis had left Reyson a little wary of baby hawks. He and his father had discussed the young hawk in hushed whispers. The babies had also taken to repeating things that they had heard, so they were careful to not let Eyal overhear.

"He has excellent control of his wings," Lorazieh murmured.

"His mother helps him stretch them," Reyson replied.

"As long as he uses them, he'll be fine."

"Ah, but why fly when he gets carried everywhere?" Reyson asked. Eyal's mother kept him with her at nearly all times. Any faint little whimper from him and she would scoop him up and hold him close. Thinking of that brought a question to Reyson's lips. "How did you convince her to let you watch him, anyway?"

"Zara has mending to do. When she started to go inside, Eyal began to whimper. I told her I would gladly watch him and that we would not leave this spot."

Reyson was sure it took more than that. Zara was fiercely protective of her son. His gaze went back to Eyal, who had found something else in the grass. His fingers scrambled at whatever it was until a shadow obscured the sun above.

The three of them looked up as Tibarn landed near Eyal. The baby hawk let go of whatever he had and reached for Tibarn. Tibarn smiled at the sight and knelt on the soft grass. "If you want to be held, you have to come here."

Eyal continued to reach for him. His bottom lip began to tremble.

"What brings you here, Tibarn?" Reyson asked. He hoped to distract Tibarn, even for a moment, from Eyal's attempts to reach the bird king. He knew Tibarn would cave. If anyone had a softer spot for the baby birds than his father, it was Tibarn. He might be the toughest, strongest bird on Tellius, but he was fiercely protective, especially of the nestlings.

"I dropped in on Zara for a moment. She said you had Eyal and would be here."

Eyal lowered his head with a whimper. His eyes then found what he had discovered moments before. He scooped up the newest treasure then held it out to Tibarn, almost as if he was offering a deal: pick me up and you can have this.

Tibarn chuckled as he stood and covered the few feet between himself and Eyal. He scooped up the young hawk, who let out a happy squeal and flapped his wings vigorously. He then remembered what he held and offered his hand to Tibarn again. Tibarn held out his own hand, not expecting much. He was quite surprised when Eyal dropped a gold coin in his hand. Tibarn stared at the gift for a moment, then he began to chuckle. "Quite the little treasure hunter, aren't you?"

Lorazieh laughed as well. "The darling boy has gifted me with three pebbles, a button, and a snail this morning."

"Father, your snail has gotten away."

The older heron glanced down at the small pile of treasure he had received. The pebbles were neatly arranged and the button sat beside them, but the snail was nowhere to be found. "So it has," he replied serenely. It was quite all right with him, as long as Eyal did not notice the snail had escaped. He had no desire to keep the poor thing captive.

He did not have to worry about Eyal not taking notice. His tiny hands clutched at the fabric of Tibarn's jacket as he leaned back and stared into the king's face. He giggled and flapped his wings again, stirring up a faint breeze as he did.

"Spoiled," Tibarn muttered. Eyal did not seem to mind. Tibarn shook his head and mussed the nestling's dark hair. Eyal released his grip on Tibarn's jacket and reached for the king's hand. He glanced at the herons as he allowed Eyal to try to take his hand in his much smaller ones. Both agreed with his assessment of the baby but neither would say that out loud.

"You did a good job convincing Zara to leave him for a little while."

"It did not take much." A hint of a smile, both sweet and a little sorrowful, crossed Lorazieh's face. "I think she is beginning to realize she will not be able to keep him at her side for much longer. It is something we have to accept at one point or another." He recalled his own little nestlings, who were no longer little. Of his remaining children, only one stayed permanently in the forest. Both his older son and his only remaining daughter were far from their home, but both were happy and would occasionally visit with their father and brother.

He missed them deeply, but their happiness came first. He still had Reyson and seven nestlings to keep him distracted.

While the adults talked, Eyal was content holding onto Tibarn's hand. His little head would turn to whomever was speaking as if he followed their conversation. He would also glance down at the patch of grass he had been playing on and occasionally skyward as well. Like most children, beorc or laguz, his attention span was a little on the short side.

When movement behind Tibarn caught his attention, he wiggled and squirmed to peek at whatever had moved. It was difficult, at first, to see anything through Tibarn's large wings, but he found a gap and began to squeal. "Mama!" he called.

Tibarn turned as well, struggling to get a grip on Eyal as the baby hawk wriggled in his grasp. He was right. His mother approached, her boots making little sound as she walked to them. At his continued cries of mama, she smiled. "Did you miss - ?"

She cut herself off with a cry as Eyal managed to escape Tibarn's grasp. Instead of falling to the ground, he managed a jerky take off from his perch, his tiny wings flapping furiously. He dipped and rose, his face scrunched with determination as he flew a shaky first flight of the small distance between Tibarn and Zara.

His landing was also not graceful. He collided with his mother and nearly knocked her to the forest floor. She was able to catch him despite her surprise, stumbling backwards as she wrapped her arms around her cooing son. She pressed her face briefly into his hair to regain her composure as he laughed and hugged her tightly.

"All we had to do was take him from his mother?" Reyson asked no one in particular. "He could have been flying for weeks now had we thought of it!" Lorazieh placed a hand on his son's shoulders and shushed him. It was not the time, though he too was surprised that seeing his mother was all it took to get the stubborn hawk to finally fly.

"How long has he...?" Zara managed as she finally felt confident enough to look up again. Her cheeks were tinged a faint pink, her purple eyes mixed with glee, excitement, fear, and a little sadness.

Tibarn held up his hands and said, "It was the first time, Zara. I swear it." He was just as surprised. He had not expected Eyal to pop out of his grasp that way. "Are you all right?"

She was able to nod as she hugged Eyal again. She bent to kiss Eyal's forehead as he looked up at her. She let out a nervous laugh and said, "I was just going to get something to eat, and I thought I'd see if he was hungry."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm glad you did," Lorazieh remarked. The three men in the clearing were not the only ones worried about the young hawk not wanting to fly.

By nightfall, every bird laguz living in the forest had heard of Eyal's first flight. Many were excited for the hawk boy and relieved he was going to fly just fine. He took his time to do it, some of the elder birds agreed, but now that all seven nestlings were flying, life was going to become very interesting for all of them, parents or not.