Shinon leaned against a tree. Elincia won the war, Crimea was going to be rebuilt, and Ike was a hero. It was pathetic, when he really stopped to think about it. He could've lead the Greil Mercenaries much better than Ike ever did.
He caught a glimpse of some movement not too far away, and Shinon readied his bow. "If you don't show yourself, I'll start shooting."
A pause, and then a blond-haired girl poked her head around a tree, eyes wide and white wings fluttering.
"…Oh. You." Shinon had seen the heron girl hanging around her brother's side before. He'd never really paid any attention to her – it's difficult to get into an argument with someone who doesn't even speak your language. He lowered his bow slightly, arrow still at the ready. "I'm not too fond of half-br… laguz, but I can think of worse people to run into."
Her eyes widened even more, and she backed away, babbling something and staring at his bow. He sighed. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you… whatever-your-name-is."
"…Leanne." She stopped, still eyeing the bow nervously.
"Huh, so you can understand what I'm saying…" He shrugged, putting the arrow back in its quiver. "Not that you can give much of an answer, anyway. Why aren't you with your brother?"
Leanne shrugged. "Tibarn."
"…The hawk king?"
She nodded. "Reyson, Tibarn… Uh…" Smooching noises.
"…Oh," Shinon replied, slightly disturbed by this information. Time to change the topic. "They left you alone?"
The heron nodded, stepping out from behind the tree. She stood directly in front of Shinon, wings folded.
Shinon shook his head sadly. "What is the world coming to, if they're letting a little girl wander off on her own?"
Leanne crossed her arms and glared up at the taller man.
He snickered, leaning further back against the tree. "You heard me. You're probably not all that much older than Mist or Rolf, relatively speaking."
She babbled again, flailing her arms about. Finally, she sighed, and took a step forward. She pressed her hand to her forehead while shaking her head, the universal sign for 'I'm not responsible for my next actions', and then…
Whatever Shinon had been expecting her to do, it was definitely not lean upwards and kiss him. And it was most certainly not to snog him thoroughly, for the better part of two minutes.
She stepped backwards, a smug look on her face, arms crossed again.
"…okay, a lot older than Mist or Rolf…" Shinon muttered, eyes wide and mouth still hanging open.
Distantly, he could hear a light voice calling out Leanne's name.
The heron girl waved once, still grinning, and dashed off, leaving Shinon to stare after her in shock.
"…what the hell just happened?"
—Later—
"Brother! You'll never guess who I met while you were busy with Tibarn!" Leanne chirped in the heron tongue, throwing her arms around her brother in a tight hug.
Reyson smiled down at his younger sister. "I don't know, Leanne. Why don't you tell me?"
"Well, his name's Shinon…" Leanne began.
At the mention of Shinon's name, Reyson began to look concerned. "Did he try to hurt you? Leanne, you know that not all beorc are-"
"He didn't try to do anything to me, Brother," Leanne answered. "He was very nice, really." She laughed nervously. "…I probably scarred him for life, though…"