"Uh, hi."

Qiaon gawked at the larger bird as it spoke, beak hanging open, her tiny body still shaking in fright at the obvious predator that had just crashed straight into her nest right in front of her. After a short moment of silence of the two birds doing nothing but just staring at each other, the larger of the two seemingly came to the conclusion that Qiaon hadn't understood him, as he shifted uncomfortably, and tried again;

"Ni hao?" he tried, and Qiaon must have gave him a funny look, as he spoke in yet another language, "Uh… Bonjour?"

"No, no." Qiaon interjected, suddenly realizing how silly their exchange must have looked. "I- I can understand you just fine." She shifted her weight, alternating between her two legs timidly. "And please don't eat me." She added quickly.

The predator actually looked baffled. "What? No, I wasn't going to-" He stopped abruptly when the red canary squeaked in fear and pressed herself further into the wall of the nest as he gradually began to straighten himself and stood to his full height. A brief glance upwards told him that he had apparently fell through the giant crater in the ceiling, and a quick look back down at the other bird made him realize how big he must seem to the canary.

The falcon immediately bowed and lowered his form. "Sorry," he spoke in a hushed voice, "I- I didn't mean to-" he jerked his head in the direction of the hole, causing Qiaon to look up with him, "-fall through there, and scare you." He paused slightly, before added, "And I won't eat you. I promise."

That seemed to lessen the smaller bird's worry. "You promise?"

"Yeah. I promise I won't eat you."

"O-okay." The canary breathed, slightly relaxing. "I- I trust you."

The falcon appeared surprised. "You trust me? Just like that?"

"Yes." Qiaon said, though she was still slightly on edge being in such a close proximity to a predator. "I- this island. Sometimes, migrational predators visit. Eagle- and falcons, you can reason with. You can trust, if they give you their word. Hawks and vultures- you can't." She explained, albeit less than elegantly.

"Oh, that's good." The falcon said, relieved that the canary wasn't as terrified of him as she had been several moments ago. Qiaon watched as she shook off the remaining leaves clinging to his body, shuffling and ducking away from the water drizzling down from the roof.

"Your wing." She chirped suddenly, noticing how it wasn't as neatly folded to his body as his left one. "Is it okay?"

"Hm? It-" the large bird winced as he attempted to flex his right wing. "Oh, that. I think it was sprained when I fell through. It doesn't feel like anything's broken, so I think it'll be fine in a few weeks… Again, sorry about your nest."

"It's okay. Qiaon tapped her talons gently. "I won't be staying long anyways. Hopefully."

"No? I thought- isn't this your nest?" The falcon asked, perplexed.

"I mean, not really. Kind of." Qiaon fluttered. "It's my parents' nest. They left earlier. Once I find a mate, I'll leave, too."

The larger bird tilted his head at this. "If you don't mind me asked- Why aren't you mated? You seem nice. Kind- hearted."

The canary stiffened at this. "I… I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."

"is it because of the way you speak?" At Qiaon's shocked expression, the falcon elaborated. "I just happened to notice. When you speak, you tend to talk in short durations, as if your thoughts keep on interrupting you."

"It- I-" Qiaon stuttered. "I guess, yeah, that's one of the reasons. I suppose. I sound dumb."

The falcon frowned. "One of the reasons?"

The canary twitched nervously. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. "Yes. And, uh. "She looked around, signaling the falcon to do the same. "Yeah." She murmured. "A mess."

"Of course it's a mess?" The larger bird questioned. "I fell through the roof."

"No." She drew a quick line with her talon. "That. That there is your mess." This-" She stepped twice with her foot, "This is all mine."

"Oh." The falcon fell silent after that and quietly observed the rest of the nest, noting there were moss growing on the walls and… and was that fungi growing on some of the leaves of the den?!

"Yeah." Qiaon said solemnly, "So… I'm mateless."

The larger bird nodded wordlessly. They stood silently for a moment, with Qiaon visibly upset after their exchange, her body slumped in disappointment. Then, the falcon spoke. "Hey, perhaps I can help."

Qiaon looked at him, confused. "What?"

"Well, seeing as I won't be going anywhere in the near future-" He moved his sprained wing slightly, "-And I need a place to stay. Maybe I can give you some advice, if you would let me stay?"

The canary's mood brightened slightly as this. "You can help me?"

"It's honestly just about habits." The falcon shrugged. "My family raised me with such strict customs, I'm sure I can teach you something."

"And you'll help me?"

"In return for letting me stay, sure."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Qiaon lept up with excitement, temporally forgetting that the other bird was a predator. "I needed help- Thanks for much! I don't want to be mateless- that would be awful lonely- Oh, I can't wait! When do we start?" she hopped up towards the falcon, eyes wide with joyous expectation.

The blue falcon laughed slightly, amused. "Well- not now." He reasoned. "It's late, and I haven't slept in quite a while." He gradually began shuffling towards the wall, away from the hole on the ceiling, still seeping rainwater. The canary hopped away slightly, suddenly reminded of their size difference watching the flacon move.

"Oh." She flushed with slight embarrassment. "That's fair enough."

"We can begin tomorrow, at first light, it you'd like." The falcon grinned as he nestled against the side of the nest, yawning and making himself comfortable.

"Of course! I'd like that." The canary hopped up to him enthusiastically. "What shall we start with?"

The falcon eyed her, then looked up towards the ceiling, still dripping water.

"Isn't it obvious."

Qiaon flushed. "Oh." She said. "Of course. Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, then." She turned to leave, but the falcon called out to her.

"Wait."

Qiaon stopped, and looked back towards him. "Yes?"

The falcon actually seemed embarrassed. "Your name." He said, softly, "If you would. I'd… I'd like to know."

"Hm." The canary tensed, shifting nervously. She really shouldn't- Even if falcons may be trustworthy, she barely knew anything about him. But still- "Qiaon." She said, before she could stop herself. "My name. It's Qiaon."

The larger bird grinned- with genuine kindness and something else Qiaon couldn't quite place-

"Well, Qiaon." He said, "It's nice to meet you. Thanks for letting me stay in your nest. I'll see you tomorrow." Then, as if an afterthought, he quickly added, "Oh, and my name's Arles. If you were wondering."

"Okay." Qiaon's feathers puffed up in- contentment? Flustered embarrassment?- "I'll- I'll see you tomorrow, then, Arles." She said.