Vidia frowned at the large, snowy owl. It sat perched in the middle of a field of snow, its head tilted and its gaze fixated on the fast flyer.
"It's staring at me," she scowled; her eyebrows furrowed as she instinctively took a step back.
"He is just trying to figure you out," Milori chuckled from his place next to the large bird. One hand was sitting casually against the snow white feathers of Asa, the other on his hip as he looked over at Vidia with amusement.
She shook her head. "Whatever you say- I will take your word on that one."
Milori smiled at her, taking a step closer towards the fairy. "You know you can take a step closer," he pointed out.
"No- I don't think I can." Vidia's frown deepened and her arms were crossed tightly around herself, as if for protection. She considered all large birds under the same category: enemies and a threat.
"You don't mean to say you are... scared are you?" He teased, raising both of his eyebrows by means of challenging Vidia. He had known her for quite some time, and to his knowledge, she held very few fears, and even those that she had, she was hesitant to admit.
Vidia's eyes flared defensively at the accusation.
"I'm not scared!" she retorted back to Milori. As she took a hesitant step forward, jumping as a loud hoot emitted from Asa. Shaking his head fondly, Milori gave Asa a soothing pat before moving next to Vidia. A smile visible on his lips, he placed an arm around the clearly embarrassed and disgruntled Vidia. Initially, she aimed to shrug his arm off in irritation, but at seeing the small look of hurt on Milori's face, she sighed, leaning into him instead.
Vidia wrinkled her nose, taking another small step forward, her wings fluttering with anxiousness.
"Birds aren't meant to be flown, that's all," she mumbled in explanation, moving her hand down and lacing her fingers with Milori's. "It's not natural."
"Good thing neither one of us seemed to pay much attention to what is defined as 'normal' then." He squeezed Vidia's hand as they slowly approached, earning him an eye roll.
Asa's wide eyes blinked at the two and he extended his large wings fondly as Milori neared him. Milori felt Vidia tense up against him but said nothing. He let go of her hand and reached out to Asa, running his fingers through his soft feathers as he cooed contently.
Vidia couldn't help but smile at the interaction and the closeness between he two; even though she was not necessarily keen on the idea of every being flown, she was glad that Milori had her.
Taking a deep breath, Vidia continued moving forward, her hand outstretched before her, shaking slightly.
"He won't bite," Milori insisted. "He is very trustworthy and tends to like what I like," he elaborated, smiling softly at Vidia. Blushing at his words, Vidia nodded her head, her hand now mere inches from the owl.
As if sensing her discomfort, Asa moved his head forward, closing the distance between them, Vidia's hand now touching his beak.
She jumped slightly at the touch, but relaxed significantly once she realized Asa didn't seem to be defensive in her mannerisms. Smiling softly, Vidia flew up a few inches, running her fingers through his feathers.
"Told you that you would like him," Milori chuckled smugly, a grin on his face. Asa lifted her head, liking the attention.
Vidia rolled her eyes. "I never said anything about liking him," she pointed out, landing down next to Milori. "But I suppose he is ok."
Milori nodded his head, deciding that 'ok' was as much as he could hope for.
"Want to go for a fly?" he offered hopefully.
Vidia's eyes widened; she loved flying more than anyone, but n her own, not with the help of a bird…
"You're kidding, right?" she groaned, crossing her arms as she looked at Milori incredulously. He arched an eyebrow and shook his head.
"On the contrary, I have never been more serious."
"Oh no- no, no!" she cried, shaking her head rapidly. "I am glad that you have your own personal, flying, transporter, but I have perfectly working wings..." She started talking faster and faster as she explained, her eyebrows furrowed.
Milori frowned; he knew that Vidia was very stubborn about this sort of thing, but he had hoped she would be willing to give it a try.
"Please?" he asked once again, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It would mean a lot to me, dear. But of course if you do not want to, I won't make you," he added hastily with a smile.
Vidia rolled her eyes; usually she was very headstrong ad incredibly defiant, but somehow it was always difficult to say no to Milori. He was always so polite and considerate of her decisions and what she wanted, even if she didn't always grant him the same curtsy.
Sighing, she switched her gaze between Asa and Milori for a few seconds before finally nodding.
"Fine- but just this once!" She nodded her head to make her point. Milori's expression immediately switched to a broad smile and he made a small whistle sound. At the call, Asa looked over at his master and quickly lowered down close to the snow so that they might get on easier.
Milori hopped onto the snowy owl's back first, turning to offer Vidia his hand, even though he knew she could easily fly up on her own.
"I promise you that you won't regret this," he said with a smile. "And if you do, I will make it up to you." He smirked slightly at the second part.
Cringing, Vidia accepted the help and situated herself in front of Milori in a way that his arms wrapped around her to hold onto the harness.
"Are you sure you don't want to be behind me?" he questioned; he figured she would feel safer with someone to hold on to from the front. But Vidia shook her head, leaning back into him.
"No- I want to be able to see where we are going," she explained her tone final.
Milori nodded his head, remembering Vidia's dislike of uncertainty and the unknown.
"Very well – in that case, hang on fast flyer," he whispered into her ear before they took off into the grayish- blue sky.