Part 2
The next morning came as all other mornings usually came to him: with his eyes being greeted by a dim light, and his bones creaking. He groaned softly and sat up, stretching his wings and cracking his joints. His tail swished around, and it was then that he realized Fuka was no longer with him. He blinked and looked around his tent, confused: where could she have gone in the night, and why?
He got up and folded the rugs and blankets before heading outside. He squinted at the horizon, where the sun had just started to rise from its slumber. His ears twitched as he caught the tune of a faint humming, coming from behind his tent. He tilted his head curiously and went to investigate the harmonious noise.
He was quite surprised to discover Fuka sitting on the edge of the pillar, looking out at the horizon and humming some sort of tune she seemed to have invented herself. He watched her for a moment in silence, listening to her song; it was not displeasing to his ear, and he found himself feeling appreciative of her silvery voice. The Kanerudo Windragon smiled softly and carefully approached her.
"Good morning, General," She said without turning around, her wings completely relaxed and showing no signs of surprise.
He jumped back, his eyes wide in shock. "H-How-Did I-?-Uh, how did you...?" He stuttered pathetically, ashamed of his lack of tact in the situation.
She chuckled and faced him with a bright smile. She had a gleam of laughter in her eyes as she said: "I heard your footsteps approaching."
He nodded and cleared his throat, trying to regain his authoritive and phlegmatic demeanor.
"Right, of course...How long have you been awake?" He asked in an attempt to distract her attentions away from his minor social blunder.
She pointed at the horizon. "Since before the sun rose."
He looked out at the sun, which was slowly progressing higher. "...That was quite sometime ago."
"I don't mind; I think I like to watch the sun rise."
He watched the red and golden colors mix into the skyline far ahead of them, entranced by its beauty. "You should see the sunset. It is just as beautiful."
She looked up at him. "Will you show it to me?"
He blinked for a moment, and then smiled. "Of course."
His smile was returned by her before her eye caught upon something, and she turned to look. "General?"
"Yes, Fuka?"
"What is that?" She asked, pointing to a green area far below them, dotted with multiple shining colors, much like a hundred souldolls were scattered about. He tilted his head.
"That?-Those are just some wild meadows."
She looked up at him with a bright smile. "Can we go there?"
He was taken slightly aback by this strange request. "Um...Alright? May I inquire why?"
She pointed at the sparkling colors below their pillar. "I want to see what those are."
He glanced at the meadow and took her hand, spreading all six of his wings. The wind ruffled their feathers and ran invisible fingers through their blond hair as they took off, gliding down upon the open breeze. Their feet touched the soft grass almost soundlessly, and the wind of their wings made the grass and the other plants bend back, as if looking up at the two in awe.
Kanerudo felt himself being pulled, and he realized that Fuka had forgotten to release his hand. She led him over to the colors they had seen from above, only to discover that the 'colors' were some sort of plant, much like the grass, except with strange projections at their heads, taking different forms and sizes.
Fuka made a small, thrilled noise and rushed over to a bunch of white-headed plants and plucked one, inhaling its green tongues.
"Flowers!" She said as she grinned up at him and pushed the plant into his nose.
He boggled at it until he realized she wanted him to say something about it. He forced a smile.
"Lovely," he said tepidly, unsure of why she was so excited about weeds.
"Aren't they?" She said, smiling and taking another whiff of the white petals. She released his hand and bent onto her knees, plucking up lilies.
He sighed and sat down, then watched her as she wove the green stalks together. He looked to his side and picked up a blue star-like flower, studying its velveteen petals.
He couldn't understand what exactly she saw in the frivilous things. They weren't useful for anything, besides being pretty. He took a triangular petal between his claws and plucked it off of the stem. The General studied the indigo coloring closely, as if the secret of Fuka's fancy with the things could be unveiled through a scrutinious glance: of course, he discovered nothing noteworthy, and so let the petal free in the passing breeze, instead taking to occupying himself with studying the object of his intrigue.
Said 'object of intrigue' was busy with her lilies and their stalks, tying and weaving them together unceasingly. He tilted his head and laid his cheek in the palm of his hand. What was she doing?
-The answer came to him sooner than was expected, as she took the now entwined circlet of flowers and placed them on her head. She beamed at him.
Kanerudo could only smile in a strange combination of delight and confusion at her childishness.
"What are you doing?" He laughed.
The female giggled and adjusted the lop-sided circlet. "I am making crowns of flowers!"
The General laughed yet again. "Why would you do something so silly?"
"Because it's fun!" She said, then crawled over and offered him a crown.
He smiled and bowed his head, allowing her to perform the coranation. He could smell the faint scent of the flowers, and felt their weight upon his head. He reached up with a claw and adjusted it, smiling down at her.
"How do I look?" He asked.
She giggled. "Like a king."
He grinned brightly. "I shall take that as a compliment," he said.
He took the blue flower he was still holding and placed the stem into the center of her 'crown'. It glistened in the sunlight like an organic sapphire, standing out amongst the white and green lilies; the contrast between the colors really brought out her eyes and hair, and made Kanerudo realize...how pretty she was...
He shook his head and coughed, standing. "I have planning I must attend to. You may stay here as long as you like."
Fuka looked up at him with a sad expression. "Must you leave now? The sun has not yet set."
He nodded and patted her head gently. "Than I must leave before it does; you can view the sunset on your own from here."
He turned and spread his wings, deciding that it was best to take off before she distracted him from his duties any further. He tried to clear his mind of her childish amusements, instead filling it with tactics and strategies he could use in the war; but no matter what he tried, his mind always became filled with flowers, and how they looked in Fuka's hair.