Author's Notes: For those of you who can't read Japanese, it's stated on one of the FE10 sites that bird laguz (excluding herons) live ten times as long as beorc do. I've assumed here that beorc live to be about eighty, but if you think it's less… well, then you can consider this an AU where they live longer, I suppose.

And italics are flashbacks, but that should be obvious.

Sephiran stood, impassive, surrounded by his spirits.

On the other side of the tower, the chosen ones fought. Ike took down one spirit single-handedly, as did Kurthnaga, while Micaiah and Sothe brought down another. Meanwhile, Naesala and Nealuchi flew towards their main foe.

Until Nealuchi stopped.

"Don't I know you?" he asked Sephiran curiously.

The other fighters paused in their combats to look at Nealuchi. Even the spirits seemed to turn their heads, or at least shift the upper parts of their bodies, or whatever they were, to the side.

"No, you don't," Sephiran replied evenly. His face betrayed no hint of emotion.

"I'm certain I remember you," Nealuchi insisted. "When was it? …I think it was in Begnion…"

"Do you need some help with that, sir?"

The heron stopped and turned towards the speaker, balancing the large pile of books stacked precariously in his arms. "If you wouldn't mind."

The raven took half of the tomes from him and began walking. "Is your house far from here?" he asked.

"Not too far," his compatriot assured him. "And there's no need for 'sir'."

"If you say so, si- erm, mister. That doesn't sound at all right," the raven pointed out. "And why are you carrying all these books in the first place? I-If you don't mind me asking."

"I read quickly," the other one answered. "Why ask?"

"It's just an interesting selection, that's all." He began looking over the books in his stack, reading off their subjects. "Religion, religion, government, religion again, a history of tea - that one looks fascinating, could I borrow it after you finish?"

"Of course," the heron replied. "You're fond of tea?"

"It calms my nerves, and doesn't taste bad at all," his companion explained. "And you?"

"The same," he answered simply. "You're quite mature for your young age."

"I know. My siblings tell me I'll get grey hairs before my time if I keep it up…" He shrugged and offered a weak smile. "But I don't really care what they think."

"Wise of you," the other laguz answered, stopping. "Thank you very much. I'll be able to manage from here."

"You live in the Mainal Cathedral?" his cohort asked. "Well - it's not my business, anyway."

"Another time, perhaps?" he suggested, taking the books back. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," the raven answered cheerfully. "I'm Nealuchi, by the way."

"Nealuchi? I'll remember that," his companion told him as he stepped through the doorway.

It took Nealuchi a second to realize that the heron hadn't shared his own name.

"It was Begnion, I remember that much," Nealuchi repeated. "Don't you recall? I carried your books and we talked about tea?"

Sephiran faltered for a brief moment, before responding shortly, "You've mistaken me for someone else, I'm afraid."

(Leanne walked over to Naesala and whispered in his ear. Naesala raised an eyebrow and told her, "I'll tell you what those words mean when you're older, Leanne.")

"I've never been more certain of something in my life," the raven maintained. "Now if I could only remember your name…"

A few days later, the pair walked into each other again.

Literally.

"I-I'm sorry!" Nealuchi squeaked, helping his friend to his feet. "I wasn't paying attention and- you're the heron from earlier!"

"Fancy running into you here," the heron answered as he dusted himself off. "This saves me the trouble of finding out where you live and giving you the book you requested."

"You're finished with all these books already?" asked Nealuchi as he picked some up. "You really do read quickly - this one is hundreds of pages long. And this one too! Have you really read them all?"

"I would not be returning them if I had not," his companion replied. "Here. You take that one, and you can return it to me when you're finished. I'll bring it back to the library for you."

"Thank you!" He paused as he took the tome. "But… how will I find you again?"

"I live nearby - ask anyone where I'm to be found, and I'm sure you'll find directions from someone," his companion responded as he gathered up the rest of the books.

Nealuchi blinked. "You never gave me your name…"

"My name? How careless of me." The heron smiled. "I'm Lehran."

"Then it's a pleasure to meet you, Lehran." Pause. "Wait… you're-"

Lehran sighed.

"That's it!" Nealuchi cawed triumphantly. "You're-"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about," Sephiran interrupted pointedly.

(Leanne tugged at Naesala's jacket and whispered in his ear again. Naesala flushed and replied, "Maybe later.")

"Oh…" Nealuchi sounded disappointed. "But then, don't you remember…"

"You make excellent tea, Nealuchi," Lehran stated as he sipped his. "I must say, I'm impressed."

"Well, it is all I'm good at. Making tea, and working with children." Nealuchi paused, before asking, "Is it really all right that I'm spending this much time with you? You're Lehran, you helped defeat the dark god - you must have a busy schedule."

"Not as busy as you might think," Lehran replied. "Don't trouble yourself - I can think of nothing I would rather do today than drink tea and have a pleasant conversation."

"Then I'm glad to be of service, sir," Nealuchi answered.

"Again with the sir? I told you not to call me that," the heron muttered exasperatedly. "Just Lehran will be fine."

"But… you're Lehran, the heron who helped defeat the dark god and save Tellius… and you're still older than me…" Nealuchi replied, not understanding.

"Are we on a battlefield, facing a dark god?" Lehran countered, sighing. "No? Then there's no need for 'sir'."

"If you say so, si- I mean, Lehran," Nealuchi corrected unsurely.

Lehran sighed again. "I supposed that's a start."

"I-I'm sorry!" the raven stammered.

"And don't apologize so much. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for making you uncomfortable," Lehran reasoned. "It's very off-putting to find your conversation partner fawning over you when all you want is someone to talk to."

Nealuchi answered, "I'm sor-"

"Did you hear a word of what I just said, Nealuchi?"

"Err…"

"Nealuchi, how old are you again?" Naesala interrupted.

"Nestling, you've forgotten my birthday?" his retainer gasped. "I'm shocked!"

"I haven't forgotten your birthday, Nealuchi." The raven king sighed. "It's next month or something, isn't it?"

"Next week, and I'll be turning 860," Nealuchi huffed. "Now, where was I?"

"Is something the matter, Nealuchi?" Lehran asked.

Nealuchi shook his head. "It's nothing. Pay me no heed."

"If you say so," Lehran replied doubtfully. Then he chuckled. "My, my."

"Erm, what?" Nealuchi asked nervously.

Lehran mused, "I suppose I shouldn't indulge you like this, but it's such a harmless request - how could I possibly refuse? Besides, I can't say I'm not curious myself…"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" the raven stammered.

Lehran kissed him.

"Um," Nealuchi replied eloquently after Lehran pulled away. "…thank you?"

"You were wondering what it would be like to kiss me," Lehran stated matter-of-factly. "So I obliged."

"I'm… sorry?" Nealuchi responded.

"Again with the apologizing? I told you not to do that so often," Lehran grumbled.

"But I didn't mean to - I would never ask you to do such a thing, I merely forgot that you read minds." Nealuchi looked down, embarrassed.

A hand gently tilted his chin back up. "I don't mind in the slightest," the heron replied. "Call it curiosity, perhaps."

Then he kissed him again.

"And then… ah, perhaps it's better not to get into that one," Nealuchi mused, as Sephiran flushed slightly.

Naesala tapped him on the shoulder. "You realize we still have to kill him, don't you?" he whispered. "He turned all of Kilvas to stone, regardless of whether you used to date him or not."

"Can't it wait a few more minutes, Nestling?" his retainer asked.

"Not unless you want to be the one to explain to Leanne what all those fun new words she's learning mean," Naesala hissed. "I did not want to know that much about your sex life, Nealuchi."

"Ah." Nealuchi sighed. "Goodbye, old friend. I'm sorry about all this."

Sephiran murmured, too soft for anyone else to hear, "I told you not to do that."