Somehow through the ciourse of playing through Radiant Dawn, I developed a serious love for the bird laguz. Oddly, in Path of Radiance, I paid no mind to them at all; now I adore each and every one of them! As far as pairings are concerned, you could throw the Path of Radiance royal birds in a bag, pull two out at random, and I would be satisfied with the pairing (er... as long as Reyson and Leanne weren't pulled out together, of course), although Naesala/Leanne ended up stealing my interest above all the others, hence the creation of this story. It was originally intended to be a one-shot, but ideas kept popping up and I would now anticipate it to be around four chapters long, at least. Just as well, since the world needs more Naesala/Leanne love.

It should be clear in the story, but in case it isn't, this fic takes place between the events of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, nor anything in them.

Forthright Innocence

Phoenicis appeared larger than it had the day before, although it still seemed so minute as long as it and his own kingdom could simultaneously fit in his range of vision. He knew exactly why the hawk king's land appeared to grow day after day; he was constantly swooping closer, drawn in by the sight of the castle and the knowledge of who was staying in it at that time. The realization that his childhood friends long thought dead still lived had torn down barriers in his heart during the Mad King's War and prompted him to choose his side morally instead of based on materialism. After that decision, though, he found himself at a loss for what to do next. Reyson forgave him, Leanne accepted him without a second thought, and even Tibarn warmed up and offered access to his palace whenever desired; he even agreed to the suggestion of Nealuchi, one of the raven tribe, becoming Leanne's personal guardian.

Still, as low as he hovered above the castle, Naesala could never bring himself to land. He simply lingered there as he did every day since Nealuchi had given him word that the herons were visiting the Phoenicis palace, the positives and negatives of landing piling up on a balance in his mind, each side rising and falling with every new argument that he came up with. "Pro: I would get to spend time with Reyson and Leanne," he would weigh day after day, "Con: my visit would bring attention that I really could do without." After circling the sky over the castle for an hour or so, he would heave a sigh, roll his eyes, wonder what he was doing there, and then fly back to Kilvas. No one ever spotted him; he was too far up for the guards outside to see him—perhaps the Hawk King's Eyes could, but no others. If he was seen by anyone, either suspicions would be raised and he would have to end the tradition of his daily flight, or he would be enticed to glide down and take up Tibarn's open offer of visitation. The second possibility made intentionally being spotted almost tempting; however, Naesala did not quite feel prepared to surrender the life of seclusion that he had taken up.

He flapped his wings at a deliberate, even pace while eyeing the building below him; his talons curled with a longing to settle upon its edge, nail etchings on the brick being the only clue left behind of his presence. The soldiers were not taking flight at that moment, and he would therefore not be seen... "Pro: with a little rest, I can return to Kilvas more alert and willing to work. Con: nothing, as no one would see me."

With that thought, he tucked his wings in and swooped down to the castle roof, spiralling and flipping through the breeze to make the lengthy trip down more entertaining for himself. As the building grew closer and closer, Naesala spread his wings out once more and flapped them leisurely to slow himself down as his body shifted out of its raven form. His feet settled onto the brick roof, sounding light clacks as his heels landed. As large as the castle had seemed from above, it felt even vaster when on standing atop it, Naesala thought. If not for the towers that rose from the roof's edge, he would not have been able to judge where the roof stopped; it appeared endless from his perspective. He strolled along the masonry, gaining some kind of cathartic satisfaction in the fact that he had dared to make contact with the palace at last. It made the day successful enough for him, so he fanned his wings out again and lifted himself into the air. He had barely flown past the edge of the roof when his flight was disrupted...

"Naesala!!" The raven temporarily forgot to flap his wings when the sweet, heron voice drifted into his ears. He recovered swiftly and turned to the source of the voice: Leanne, standing by the open window in one of the castle's towers. Her fingers curled around the window's sill and she leaned slightly forward, enough that the wind caught in her hair and made it float over half of her face.

Before reacting to Leanne in any way, Naesala looked down to locate himself. His brow furrowed as he found that he was lingering above an area populated with many guards. Continuing not to respond to Leanne's initial greeting, he soared up to her window and let himself in, finding himself standing in the centre of what must have been her bedroom for the time that she was staying in Phoenicis. Finally feeling comfortable out of the sight of the hawks, Naesala looked to Leanne with a wayward smile, "Don't mind me flying in."

The heron rested her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Naesala. A series of fuming ancient words slipped out of her mouth before she inquired rather accusingly, "No 'hello'?"

His smirk hardly wavered, as Leanne speaking in a threatening manner simply added to her innocence as far as Naesala was concerned. "Hello," he greeted in as sing-song a tone as his voice would allow. Leanne huffed to keep up a displeased appearance; however, the raven king was well aware of the twitch of a smile at the corner of her lips. "Come now," he urged, "You know you can forgive me. Could you possibly stay mad at someone this handsome for long?"

Her mouth finally curving upward, Leanne lifted her hand to the side of his face as though scrutinizing it; after some deliberation, she patted his cheek like one would a dog's head and then spoke, "Maybe... I will be forgive you." Naesala watched her hand out of the corner of his eye as she moved her hand off of his skin. "Maybe," she repeated the word as a sort of warning, although her voice was still as soft as ever. Contented with Leanne's potential forgiveness, he let his eyes wander about the room and absorb the intricate decorum that was surely added to be fitting for a heron princess. The bed centred against the far wall of the room was layered in pure, white covers and was semi-hidden beneath a thin, blue canopy. The draperies that embellished the walls were of an identical colour palette, as were the curtains that hung over the window, pulled aside at that instant to let the sun shine through. It was all very soft and... frail, to a certain degree; as well as that fitted Leanne's gentle appearance, it lacked the spunk that she and Reyson had always had at least a hint of, and somehow that disappointed him.

"Where is Nealuchi?" he asked quite suddenly. Spirit was not the only thing missing from the room; where was his old caretaker that he had sent to keep a watchful eye over the herons?

His question caused a frown to appear on Leanne's face again. "Never here," she answered with impatience, pointing at the floor to specify that 'here' was her room. "Here, I am alone," she elaborated while trying to keep a confident tone, although every few words, her voice would falter, "You never visit, so... you are not knowing." In spite of her efforts to sound assertive, Leanne's face flushed as she spoke the modern language, knowing that her message was not as clear as she would have liked.

The raven attempted to shrug off her accusations, "Well, you haven't been in Phoenicis for very long. You can't expect me to have had time to—"

"Gallia, too!" Leanne interrupted, "Never."

"I'm here now, aren't I?" he countered, anticipating that the squabble would end at his response.

Leanne defied his expectations when she retorted, "I saw... You were, uhm, flew away... before."

Excuses began darting into his mind, and leaving just as quickly: "I was going to the front entrance... but she saw me avoid the guards' gazes; I had already been inside! They said that you weren't here! ...That would simply be a blatant lie." Naesala caught her stare locked on him and was abruptly all too aware that he had let his guard down, and therefore she already knew that he was digging up lies. "I'd rather not have to deal with any political affairs that come with visiting Phoenicis..." he began with honesty.

A cluster of ancient words disrupted that thought, and Naesala could—quite gratefully—tell that they were of a calm nature. "You want to, then? Visit... me?"

"Of course," Naesala answered immediately; he hoped that she never doubted that. The sole reason that he was in Phoenicis was because of his nagging desire to visit the herons. There was no use in even considering leaving at that point. At long last, he was getting time with his childhood friend, whether it had been intentional or not. "What shall we do, then?"

"I... I am awake. I am happy," Leanne began speaking, turning her head to the window, "but I still feel, ah...trapped? ...Is that right?"

Naesala took a few steps to stand by her side, and then leaned over slightly and searched her expression; her eyes did not acknowledge him, instead focused outside. He saw her gaze follow a group of hawk guards that had taken to the sky, watching every turn and dive that they made, particularly interested as they sank into a forested area some ways away. "So you want to get out?" he said with the intention of his words being taken as more of a suggestion than a question; however, Leanne responded with a sedate nod, not quite catching onto his seriousness. "Leanne," he spoke her name to encourage her to face him, and she reacted as he had hoped, "if you want to get out, then let's go out. It sounds much more interesting than standing around in this stuffy nest."

Something between a laugh and a squeal escaped Leanne's throat as a smile broke out on her face, beaming teeth as white and faultless as the sheets on her bed. Naesala lifted an index finger to his lips, uttering a 'ssh' through his smirk. Without changing her ecstatic expression, Leanne brought a hand to her mouth in apology and then motioned sealing her lips closed. Before she could return her hand to her side, Naesala took it in his own and pulled the window wide open with the hand that remained free. He cautiously stepped up onto the window's ledge, thankful that the window itself was tall enough to let him stand without slouching as Leanne joined him on the sill. With a quick nod to Leanne, Naesala leapt into the wind practically synchronized with the heron. They both extended their wings and flapped them casually, leaving occasional loose black and white feathers to rain on the more isolated areas of Phoenicis that they intended to explore.

Not much to say at this point, other than I'd love some feedback!