Hey there everyone.

I bring you the Follow-Up Oneshot to "The Sparrow and the Hawk" . There will be a third and final one of this, so do look out for that.

Also, I'm sorry for not updating my other stories as much. I just moved to a new country and enrolled in a University, so everything's new and I'm still settling in.

Hope you enjoy the story.

- Wings

His Sparrow and Her Hawk

I woke up with a muffle groan, unsticking the side of my face from my desk. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, sleepily registering that I had drooled due to my mouth being open while I slept. I looked down, looking at the half finished sketch of the man I had met so, so long ago. Yet, it felt like I had met him only yesterday. I could still feel the ghost of his lips on mine, yet the thought brought more pain than it relieved.

Months had passed since I had returned from my fateful journey to Noxus, bringing various information for the Demacian Council that was vital to the war effort against Noxus. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to speak anything about the man I had drawn; the man I had met. The Hawk who had caught me in its claws, yet let me go.

Talon.

His name drifted across my mind with wistful longing as my chest gave a painful throb. I didn't know why I felt this way; we had never even talked other than that one meeting, and even that was brief. Yet, I felt connected to him. I… missed him. It was strange and it was foolish. He was an assassin, trained from childhood to kill people like me. Yet, why hadn't he killed me on that day?

I began flipping back the pages of my journal, passing through numerous pages littered with sketches of Talon. His blade. His outfit. His face. His poise. Everything I could think about him, I drew. Yet, one picture always caught my eyes. The first sketch I had ever made of him. A picture depicting him with his hood down, long hair as messy as ever, eyes sharper and colder than a blade of frost, a face defined as if it was sculpted by God himself to be a masterpiece upon this world.

I wanted to see him again.

However, I knew it was impossible. The tension between the two states had reached a breaking point and war had begun. To meet him in the battlefield was impossible, as I was never deployed out there. I was a ranger, not a soldier. My job was to scout and snipe. Talon was in a similar position. He was an assassin. His job was to kill without being seen or heard. And it seemed he was doing his job better than I was doing mine, as many Demacian captains had died in the dead of night within their tents without so much as an whisper.

I got off my desk, my body aching due to my awkward sleeping position. Valor was out, probably hunting for breakfast, as I set about to getting dressed.

…

My usual leather outfit was like a welcome friend. It felt comforting to wear. Looking up through the foliage above, rays of sunlight streaming through the gaps, I could just hear the high screech of Valor. I was scouting ahead for the Demacian Forces, checking to see if there were any enemy encampments along the areas. So far, I had not spotted any.

I heard a small shifting of leaves above me. Anyone else might have thought it was the wind, the way it had moved. Yet, I was highly trained to know that it wasn't the wind and so I instantly whipped about to aim my crossbow at the direction. There was nothing there. I held my posture, eyes whipping around to catch any movement.

"Is the Little Bird lost again?"

A voice, deep, resonating and very familiar, suddenly spoke next to my ear. I whipped around again with a small start, finding no one standing behind me, not even a sound to indicate where he had gone. But I could recognize that voice anywhere. I took a shaky breath, then lowered my crossbow. "Talon?" I asked tentatively, the silence of the forest answering me. No birds sang, no insects cried. The entire forest was deathly still and silent. For a few moments, I thought he wouldn't answer me, or worse, that it wasn't Talon and I had signed a death warrant. Or even worse, that it WAS Talon, which meant I was already dead. And then-

"Is the Little Bird foolish? Or perhaps it accepted its fate?"

The voice spoke again as a hand suddenly grasped onto my right forearm and wrung it backwards. A cry of pain escaped me as I felt my hand being twisted backwards, my crossbow falling out of my hand and onto the ground. I was pulled into something hard as a blade suddenly whipped around from the other side. I winced horribly at its fast approach, yet the blade stopped right as it touched the soft skin of her neck, the edge making its presence known with the lightest of touches. The blade was sharp enough to cut just by looking at it, it seemed. I took slow, careful breaths to try and calm myself, feeling my traitorous heart pounding in my chest.

"Or maybe the Little Sparrow still thinks itself to be a Hawk."

His voice was like molten hot chocolate to me and I felt my knees getting weak, both from fear and from the feeling of finally meeting him again. "Talon… I wanted to meet you." I said carefully.

"Oh? Well, here we are, 'meeting'."

"Can you please let me go? You're beginning to hurt my arm." I asked with a small wince as pain shot through my arm. There was silence for a few seconds before Talon's blade withdrew and he let go of my arm, pushing me away from him. I stumbled forward as I was pushed, turning around to look at Talon. Above, Valor screeched loudly as he began flying lower, but I looked up. "Valor! No! Stay up. I got this." I said loudly and calmly. Even from their distance, I could see Valor looking down at me with worry before screeching in acknowledgement and flying higher again.

I brought my eyes back to Talon. He was dressed in his usual ensemble as well; the dark purple fabric hugging his slender frame, the hood pulled up to hide what I knew to be sensuous dark eyes.

I pulled off my own Ranger's hood, revealing my short, dark raven hair and hawk like eyes of golden-yellow. I focused my gaze on him, waiting in silence. Finally, his left hand rose as he pulled his hood back, shaking his head to untangle the mass of dark brown that was his hair, his eyes opening to reveal their chocolate-colored swirls.

"What is it you want, little Sparrow?" Talon asked in a slightly mocking-tone as he crossed his arms. I noticed how he placed his right arm, the one wielding his arm-blade, over his left arm as he crossed them, mentally feeling accomplished as I had sketched him doing so. Talon, however, seemed to notice my weird look (or atleast, I think I looked at him funny) and raised an eyebrow. I flustered. "I-uh… I wanted to, uh, talk to you." I stuttered.

Talon snorted as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "The Little Bird keeps stating the actions we are already doing. This is 'talking', little bird." Talon said with a small smirk of amusement, much to my own embarrassment. "So… What is it you wish to talk about?" He asked as I gulped. I never really got to that point before, now that I thought about it. All I wanted was to see him again. To meet him. Yet, I had never thought about what to do after I met him again. It seemed too impossible at the time, so just the thought of meeting him was overwhelming for me..

Talon, quick as the blades he wielded, caught up on it as he exhaled a bit more audibly than he normally did, as if to emphasize his understanding.

"I see… The Little Bird is just curious again. But do you remember what I told you last time, Little Bird?" He asked. And a second later, I found him standing right infront of me, his hand on my solar plexus. He shoved me back against a tree and pushed himself up against me, his blade now resting on my throat as I raised my head instinctively, trying to inch away from the edge.

"I warned you not to get caught again. The Sky is a cruel, unforgiving place. Sparrows like you are naught but prey for Hawks like me. I caught you once and set you free, and here I find you again, clutched in my talons, caught of your own volition." Talon said gruffly, pressing himself harder against me, as the pressure on my chest from his hand became slightly painful.

"So tell me, Little Bird. Do you really wish for death that easily? If you haven't realized it until now, I like to play with my prey before I kill them." He whispered, his face leaning in close to my ears so it was almost as intimate as it was deadly.

"T-Talon… Stop…" I whispered, struggling to say it without my throat moving too much as it caused my delicate skin to rub against the edge of the blade. Just saying that had caused enough movement and I could feel a trickle of something wet dribble down from the point where the blade dug into the skin of my neck.

"What do you say, Little Bird? Shall I see if you can sing?" Talon withdrew his arm-blade and for a second, I thought he'd let me go again. And then his arm-blade shot forward again, embedding itself into the tree behind me, almost grazing my ear as it passed, causing me to utter a choked sound of fear as I winced again. Talon unclasped his right hand from his arm-blade with his left hand while he pressed his left forearm into my throat to keep me there, while I struggled for breath at the pressure. This was definitely not going as I had planned.

Yet, even through all of this, I couldn't bring myself to hate him or see him as the enemy he was. Fear, yes, I felt a lot of fear. But there was no hatred in it nor in me for him.

He reached into his belt and brought out a wickedly curved knife as he glared down at me with a serious face. "So, Little Bird… Won't you sing for me?" He asked, before grabbing me by the collar and flinging me into the ground behind him. I fell on my front and turned around to see him approaching. "Talon, No, Stop!" I cried as I tried to scramble away from him, yet he managed to catch me before I could and sat down on top of my abdomen, leaning forward and grabbing my face with his free left hand while digging the knife into my cheek, hard enough to make me feel the sharp edge yet just shy of breaking skin.

"I wonder how your precious Demacians will react if I send their little Songbird back, all cut up and broken?" He said viciously as I bit my lip and closed my eyes tightly, refusing to scream yet not denying the fear I felt.

"What's wrong, Little Bird? Why don't you sing for me?" Talon asked as he took his knife off my face, giving me a chance to speak. I opened my eyes, realizing I was breathing in short, small breaths. I calmed myself down a bit before saying, "Because… because if I scream… then they'll find you."

Talon paused, frowning down at me. "You are a queer little thing, aren't you?" He commented as he stuck the knife into the ground next to my head. He straightened up a bit, the fingers of his right hand pressing into my neck. He then brought his hand forward. "See this, Little Bird? This is your blood. This is what we are and what shall happen between us. You and me, we are enemies. We are destined to fight each other. We are destined to try and kill each other. We cannot be together." He said. I froze, as did Talon, because we both realized what he had just said.

'Together!?'

I stared up at him in surprise as Talon stared down at me with narrowed eyes, their dark brown depths unfathomable. He stood back up, getting off of me as he walked over to the tree to retrieve his arm-blade. "Stop looking for me, Little Bird." He said darkly as he pulled his hood back on.

"Wait." I managed to say as I sat back up. Talon paused, looking back at me through the shadows of his hood.

I didn't know why I stopped him. I didn't know what I wanted to say. I just…

"Quinn…. My name is Quinn." I said as Talon remained silent, looking back at me in a way that disabled me from looking at his face.

"Stay away from me, Quinn." He said quietly, before he turned around and stalked off, his footsteps making no noise as it stepped through the grass and undergrowth. I sat like that for a few moments before bringing myself forward, my knees rising up to meet my elbows as I buried my face in my hands. The soft flapping of wings made me unconsciously reach out with my gauntlet-protected hand, as Valor landed on it. I brought him close, gently pressing my face into the side of his neck, right above where his wings met his body as he pressed his own head into the side of my neck. Like that, I hugged him as I allowed the small cry to escape me. I was so confused… I felt… So stupid. I didn't know what I would do nor what I felt. Talon was such an impossible thing for me. He was my forbidden fruit. I knew he would kill me one day, yet I just wanted to get one more taste of him. Valor gently coo'd me as I continued to sob into his feathers, holding him close with my other hand on his back…

…

The smell of death and the sounds of the dying permeated the air. The war was at it's climax and a small intermission in the battles had just begun, giving everyone some reprieve. Casualties on both sides were at an all-time high. It was raining heavily as I trudged through the camp, carrying with me my small pouch of herbal first aid-kit. I was looking for any soldier who needed help and was unattended by doctors, but it seemed that the soldiers I found who fit that category was already dead. Suddenly, I heard a shrill screech as I looked up at the raining sky. I saw Valor moving in a peculiar way… The way he moved when he wanted me to go somewhere. He was pointing off to the West, towards the Noxian army.

"Valor? What's wrong?" I muttered, knowing my friend's sharp ears would hear me. He began flying in the direction and I began following, running inbetween tents and tarps and people. Soon, I had passed the edge of camp and began entering the trees again.

I kept running through the undergrowth and trees, looking up every now and then to see if I was following him correctly. Valor's shrill scream warned me and I stopped right before I fell into a large hole in the ground. If he hadn't warned me, I would've run headlong into this. I looked down at the hole, trying to peer into the darkness. Did Valor find someone down there?

My eyes could just make out a figure at the bottom, lying prone on the ground. As I was about to turn around and call for help -

"Little Bird… Is that you?"

My heart missed a beat as I stopped, turning back around to peer down through the gloom again. There was no mistaking the purple robes. "Talon?" I turned my head around the area to see if anyone was near. Finding no one, I looked back down at him. "Hold on, I'm coming!"

I turned around and slowly began climbing down the vertical cliff. It wasn't a large drop, but it was still quite steep. Halfway down, I slipped on a rock, loosened by the rain and let out a small yelp as I fell. I landed painfully on my side, feeling the shock hitting my waist as I lied there, groaning for a few seconds. It wasn't that bad, since I had climbed halfway down, but it was still bad enough to give me a throbbing reminder. Sitting back up, I saw Talon and I gasped.

He seemed to be in bad shape. He had numerous scratches that had cut through his robes and inflicted light wounds on him. He also looked bad, sweating and panting.

"Talon, what happened!?" I asked as I made to get to him. He raised his blade, causing me to stop and raise my hands, showing that I meant no harm. He lowered his blade, although it was more like he let his arm drop as he looked exhausted.

"I got into a scuffle with a Demacian Officer and I fell into this ditch and sprained my ankle. I suppose you're here to finish the job?" Talon said with a small, feeble grin. I reached over to his face, feeling his forehead with the back of my hand. He was too tired to even draw away from it, and that wasn't a surprise. "You're burning up." I muttered, opening my pouch and reaching into it. I brought out a large roll of bandages as I looked down at his legs. "Which one is sprained?"

"The left one." He muttered tiredly as he slumped against the wall of the ditch. I edged myself on my knees closer to his foot and gently unclasped his shin guards and boots, taking it off to reveal his foot. It was swollen and turning purple at the ankle. I began to wrap the bandages tightly and firmly around his ankle, making it firm enough to hold it in place. Once I was done, I had almost used up my roll of bandages. I looked back up at him, seeing the cuts on his body. We were both in a small, slightly raised alcove in the ditch, sheltered from the rain while the water ran off to deeper parts through small crevices on the far side of the ditch, yet we were both already dripping wet.

"Take off your shirt, Talon." I muttered as I began pulling at his armor buckles, unclasping them. Talon uttered a small snicker but complied none the less. As we finally managed to pull his purple top off, revealing his inner black tank top, I couldn't help but stare with wide eyes at his arms, which seemed to have every inch of skin scarred. I hesitated only for a moment before helping him pull off his tank top as well. "We need to get your wet clothes off…" I said, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks Talon snickered weakly again, rising up slightly to allow me to pull his pants down. Thankfully, he was wearing a pair of black boxers underneath. Placing his clothes laid out on the dry ground, I turned back to him and reached into my pouch and brought out some rubbing alcohol and a small rag. With those, I cleaned his wounds and dressed them sparingly with the remaining bandages. Thankfully, the wounds weren't serious. He had a bad fever though, and although the rain had stopped, it was getting darker outside, which meant night was falling fast. I realized I wouldn't be able to get out of this hole tonight, nor would I want to… I wasn't going to leave Talon completely alone and defenseless in the cold night.

I shivered, realizing I was also wearing soaked clothing. Talon was too feverish to notice as his eyes were closed, his breathing slightly ragged, his skin hot to the touch. My skin, on the other hand, was cold from the rain.

If I had blushed before, it was nothing compared to how much I would've been blushing now as I unzipped my one-piece leather uniform and stepped out of it, having taken my boots and armor off first. Laying it next to Talon's outfit, I shivered in my white tanktop and smallclothes, thoroughly regretting my color choice as the fabric stuck to my pale skin and became quite transparent. Yet, it was dark and Talon needed my help… So I lied down beside him, scooting closer to him. Tentatively, I wrapped one arm around him and brought myself closer to him, pressing my body into his overheating one, sighing slightly at the feeling of his warmth on my cold. Talon stirred a bit, opening one eye to look down at me.

"Why… are you doing this?" He whispered as I refused to look up at his eyes, choosing instead to look away from his face while resting my head on his shoulders, absorbing his excess body heat while sharing my own so we would keep each other at the right temperature. "Because… Just because…" I muttered, trailing off because I didn't know what else to say. I closed my eyes tightly to ward off my embarassment of lying virtually naked while pressed up against him, and soon enough, I found myself drifting off to sleep…

…

The next morning brought with it better weather. A small noise of annoyance escaped me at the brightness of the day, even though I was in the shadows inside the ditch. I then realized that I couldn't feel anyone next to me. Opening my eyes, I shot up, a curious weight falling off of me as I did so. Talon was nowhere to be seen, yet… The weight that had been on top of me… Was his cape of blades.

My eyes widened to see it, as it seemed to be his most signature item. The soft leather had been guarding my near-naked form from the elements after Talon had left, it seemed, the blades way below where my feet was so it was safely away. I gripped the cape, feeling the firm, worn leather under my fingertips as I gave a wistful smile.

He did care.

Getting up and walking over to my outfit, which was now dry and folded neatly into a pile, I found a small note on top of it. I opened it, finding a message written in neat, slanted and sharp handwriting.

"Leave the Cape in the ditch, or I will skin you. Don't die, Little Bird.

And Thank you."

A small smile escaped me again as I folded the note again and brought it close to my beating heart, holding it there. Talon was my forbidden fruit… My impossible dream… Yet, everything seemed to be getting closer and closer.

He was my Hawk, just as I was his Sparrow.

Please leave a review with your thoughts about this story. What's 20 seconds to leave a few words for the 2+ hours I spent writing this? xD C'mon.

Hope you liked the story, I'll see you guys next time.

Fly Free, everyone.

~ Wings