Alanna discovers two love birds.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Tortallan universe, Tamora Pierce does. I wish I did, but I don't.
Everyone knew that the Lioness hated surprises, and that displeasing her was not a very bright idea. Because of this knowledge, most people, in the interest of self-preservation, did all they could to avoid surprising Sir Alanna. Alanna found this quite satisfactory, for it meant that she was surprised very little, which really was better for everyone.
When Alanna warns people about her ire for surprises, she tells them that only her husband is allowed to surprise her, for she knew what she was getting into when she married the former thief with a Player heart. Everyone else, she says, will have to face her infamous temper if they dare to surprise her.
There was that one time, though, the exception to the rule, when two of her closest friends surprised her and got away without even a lecture...
Alanna had been watching from the window for her husband to return from his trip to Corus, when she had seen Daine sprinting across the courtyard with Numair in pursuit. Alanna smiled to herself' 'After all that pair has been through lately, they deserve a little fun.' She had continued to watch as Numair caught up to Daine, grabbing her around the waist.
"Not fair!" Daine laughed, gasping for breath. "Your legs-" gasp "are twice the length of mine, Storkman!" She bent over double to catch her breath, dislodging Numair's hands as she did so.
"I, magelet, am simply using my gods-given length of limb to my advantage. It certainly is the first time lengthiness has done me good," Numair grinned.
"Oh? Using our gifts are we?" Daine grinned, still bent over. In a moment, she was gone, replaced by an osprey. She twittered at the mage before gliding to the nearest tree.
"That's hardly fair either, magelet!" He chuckled, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked up through the branches.
"If you'd like to keep chasing me, master mage, you'll just have to come after me!" She replied, ruffling her dark brown wings and snapping her beak impatiently.
Daine's voice coming from the brown and white feathered bird made Alanna pause, but she grinned when she realized that Numair didn't even think twice about it. 'They work well together. I wonder if they'll ever realize just how well they could work... Maybe I'll give Thayet a little matchmaking mission...'
Her scheming, however, were cut short when the mage grinned and swiftly joined his former student in the air as a black hawk.
Daine trilled as he streaked towards her, but she didn't fly off. The black hawk perched on the branch beside her and Daine immediately pushed her beak through his feather, preening. Numair chirped and returned the favor.
Yet now, the Lioness sat staring out the window, her eyes wide and her mouth open in an 'o', the very picture of surprise. After a moment of staring at the tender ministrations of the couple, she tore her eyes away; she felt awkward for watching such an intimate moment.
She was racking her memory for any inkling that her friends' relationship had progressed, when warm lips brushed the side of her neck. She spun around quickly to find her husband grinning crookedly.
"George! You scared me half to-"
Her husband's chuckle stopped her rant. "Relax, lass. What has you so distracted? I expected a warm welcome at the gate, you know."
Alanna let the tension slide from her body as she looked down. "I was surprised is all."
George groaned, "An' whose head will be rollin' for this one?"
She grinned, shaking her head. "A good surprise, my lad." She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to her.
"A good surprise? Are you sure you're my Lioness?" George asked, brow raised.
"I'll tell you more later. Right now, I'm more concerned with that warm welcome we've both been waiting for."
George grinned and reached around her to close the window. If the spymaster did not have other things on his mind, he would have Seen two hawks in the tree, glowing copper and black as they relaxed completely for the first time in weeks, with no thought of the war that had recently claimed their time and country, or the reactions their friends would have to their relationship, or even the fact that their clothes lay in plain view in the main courtyard of the Swoop. All they cared about was that they were together, safe, for now, from the dangers of the world, and content with their love.
AN: This came to me and I wrote it in one night.
Please review! I'd love to hear from you!