Disclaimer: I don't own Princess Tutu or any of the characters and I don't wish to make a profit from this story.

Author's Note: I wrote this for the 31 Days Community on livejournal

Lost In The Rain

Rain drops peppered the window as it continued to pour outside. Fakir drummed his fingers on the window ledge as he watched the lake. There was no sign of the small yellow duck.

Normally, Ahiru would come inside as soon it started to rain. She would shake the water off her feathers and then Fakir would grumble about the puddle on the floor as he dried her with a towel.

Today, it had been raining for over an hour and she still hadn't come inside. "She's fine," Fakir muttered to himself. Logically, Ahiru was a duck, and ducks could spend hours in the rain. So, there was nothing to worry about.

"Except," whispered the nagging bit of doubt from the edge of the writer's mind. "Ahiru isn't a normal duck. How many ducks would fall asleep while swimming?"

Fakir walked away from the window. No, he was not going to do it. He was not going to go out in the rain to look for her. If he did, as soon as he slipped on his raincoat Ahiru would suddenly appear at the doorstep and Fakir would look like an idiot. No, Ahiru was fine...probably.

He picked up the book he had been reading earlier that morning, in an attempt to distract himself. Unfortunately, this proved to be pointless as he was barely focusing on the words. It became utterly hopeless as soon as he read a line about a cat.

The gears in his imagination turned. There was that cat that was staring at Ahiru the other day. When the tabby made the mistake of licking his lips, Fakir got his sword out and chased it away.

Cats were stubborn, what if it came back? What if it spotted Ahiru as she was walking back to the house. Fakir unwillingly pictured Ahiru quacking for help as the cat chased after her, determined to make the duck its lunch for today.

He slammed the book shut and sighed in aggravation. Fakir threw his raincoat on as he ran out the door.

He searched for half an hour, and there was still no sign of the small duck. "Ahiru!" he called. "I'm going to kill her when I find her."

"Quack!"

Fakir froze. There was no mistaking it, he recognized that quack anywhere. Yet, there was no sign of her. Why wasn't she running up to him like she normally did when he called her? Could it be she was hurt and couldn't move?

Panic rose, and he called again. "Ahiru, keep quacking and I'll find you."

"Quack!"

The writer followed the chorus of quacks until it led him to a large bush. He kneeled down and looked. He was relieved to find a familiar feathered face looking back at him. In fact, she appeared to be perfectly fine. There didn't seem to be a scratch on her.

Fakir twitched slightly, but decided to hold final judgement until he was certain. "Ahiru, are you hurt?"

The duck shook her head.

The twitching increased. "Then why didn't you come inside?"

Ahiru lifted her wing. A small sparrow with a twisted wing chirped as it gazed up at Fakir.

He silently stared at it and then said "The bird was hurt and you were trying to keep it dry?"

Ahiru nodded determinedly. Fakir raised an eyebrow. "Did it ever occur to you that you could come fetch me and then I could take her inside where it's not only dry but I could mend her wing?"

The duck blinked and her eyes widened. She shifted uneasily in her seat. This was the sign that she was embarrassed.

Fakir sighed. He was too tired to care. "Never mind." He gently scooped up the sparrow and Ahiru into his arms. "Just try not to worry me like that, it's very annoying."

Ahiru snuggled against his coat. Fakir said nothing as he stroked her feathers with his thumb. For now, he was just glad she was safe.