Guest: Oh, that's where the confusion came from! Damn, I hadn't even caught that I accidentally name dropped Wayne. Well, I've officially gone back and fixed that, because that was definitely a mistake. That was a remnant from the first draft of this story wherein Hawkgirl did know Robin's secret identity, but that is no longer a thing. Thanks for clarifying! Also, a M'Gann/Ski'Lira pairing would be pretty interesting, but it probably won't happen in the main story. Maybe it'd make a good oneshot?
AmericanNidiot: Ooh, the fight with Clayface is going to brutal, that's for sure. Especially since the whole fight's in a sewer, a notoriously confined space. Also, not gonna lie, I got the HawkFlash feels a little too from reading your review.
PrettyKitty Luvs U: Thanks! Shayera's always been one of my favorites and I hope that I'm doing her offspring justice.
Arianna Le Fay: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! As far as romance goes, I'm still uncertain as to who exactly would be a good match for Skylar, but I guess we'll see. At the very least, maybe the different pairings would make good oneshot fodder? I could definitely see myself writing a 'What If' story wherein our poor Boy Wonder has to confront the Hawk parents… And Batsy of course.
Guest: I'm glad you liked Domestic Hawk Family. There will certainly be a lot more of that. Especially in this chapter.
TheShapeshifter100: I'm glad you liked the little Saw extra. And as far as Artemis goes… we'll it'll be an interesting dynamic that's for sure. I've already got some plans laid out for them.
Sit Back and Live Life: Thanks! I can assure that back handed compliments will be common… especially when she's talking with Wally.
Hissing Hornet: After a long time waiting for a good Thanagarian-based YJ fic, I decided to just write my own. Sometimes you just have to buckle down and do it yourself : ).
Nearly all of the intricacies of Thanagarian society came straight from my brain, mostly because the planet has very little actually information described about it other than little tidbits such as "a war-like world—there one must strike first or die.", from the Justice League animated series and the existence of the 'Hawk Police' from the original Hawkman comics. That means that all Thanagarian words or phrases used in this fic are also completely falsified by myself, so if there's any resemblance to any words from any actual language, that's because a cursory screening on Google Translate failed me.
More author's notes after the chapter!
Ski'Lira Hol had started to compose a list of facts about herself nearly from the moment she was able to understand complex sentences and was capable of basic problem solving. Facts were good, facts were nearly always unchanging. Facts could be depended upon. Thanagarians dabbled very little with fantasies or unproved theories. Their complete lack of any kind of mythology was certainly proof of that. Civilizations on other planets put their faith in things that couldn't be proven, but not Thanagarians.
As of her ninth birthday, her list went as follows.
One, her name was Ski'Lira Hol, daughter of Katar Hol and Shayera Hol.
Two, her father was one of the Wingmen of the Hawk Police and her mother was a lieutenant in the Thanagarian Military, specializing in infiltration.
Three, her birth was both considered a gift and an inconvenience. Her mother had fallen pregnant with her while she was still on active duty and was forced on leave until she was born. However, both of her parents were still required to work despite the newest addition to the Hol family. It was a far more common occurrence on Thanagar than one would think. That's just what happened when you lived in an inherently militaristic society.
Four, while her parents were sent to a planet called Earth to track down an escaped criminal, Ski'Lira was temporarily adopted by her mother's cousin and her wife. Maye and Tildi were both long retired and had no children of their own, so they devoted all of their time to the raising and educating of Shayera's daughter.
Five, her parents had found a home on Earth, and after several long hearings from the Thanagarian High Council, were allowed to remain on planet. From what she understood, it was because Earth seemed a focal point for extraterrestrial and multi-dimensional threats. Since their new home was so far away, Ski'Lira was lucky to receive a visit at least once a year.
Six, she wanted to be just like her parents when she grew up. She wanted to be a strong warrior, one who wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. That revelation made her wholly dedicated to her studies.
Seven, when she turned nine, her parents were going to take her to Earth. In order to prepare her for the change, her parents had compiled a lesson plan for her themselves. By day, she would be go to her standard lessons with other Thanagarian children, while in the evenings and on her days off she would self-study. Thus, Earth languages (namely English, Mandarin, and Arabic, as those were the three languages her parents spoke), history, and other basic lessons were steadily ingrained into her mind.
Eight, Earth was weird and she had no idea how her parents expected her to live there. Children apparently spent most of their time on 'playgrounds' where they weren't allowed to fight others at all and were closely supervised by parents to make sure they wouldn't hurt themselves. How else were they supposed to learn?
Nine, she'd be leaving with her parents tomorrow morning, saying goodbye to Maye and Tildi and moving to live on a whole new world.
Ten, she'd never admit that she was scared about leaving Thanagar.
H
Waiting at a secluded part of Thanagar for the Boom Tube that would spirit her away to Earth, Ski'Lira was tightly holding onto both one of Maye and one of Tildi's hands. She knew that this would be the last time she would see them in person for… a long time. When she'd asked whether she'd be able to visit or not, Maye had diverted her attention away from the topic. She was only nine, but she knew that meant visits were either unlikely, or few and far between.
Precisely on time (as Boom Tube travel was highly regulated on Thanagar, and even the most minor of delays could be an arrest-worthy offense), there was a burst of percussive sound and an accompanying tunnel of light formed before them. Calmly stepping out of the tunnel were two, instantly recognizable people. Both of her parents were in their full armor, recently polished she guessed from the sheer gleam on the gold tinted Nth metal. Even once the Boom Tube had snapped shut and the unnatural light was gone, they still shined from the Thanagarian sun.
Despite her wariness at leaving Thanagar, Ski'Lira couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. The moment her hands were released from her surrogate guardians' grips, she was tearing across the space and launching herself at her father.
Katar crouched down and grabbed her just before impact, picking her up carefully to avoid accidentally hurting her with his clawed gauntlets. Once she was comfortably perched on his hip, she threw her arms around his neck. "I missed you, Ta'me!"
"I've missed you more, fledgling." He immediately replied, tightening his grip on her just a tad more. His smile was broad and sincere, and though she couldn't see it, his eyes were sparkling behind the lenses of his mask.
"Look how much you've grown!" Shayera moved to stand close, running a hand across her daughter's tiny wings and straightening a few errant feathers. Satisfied, she tugged on Ski'Lira's braided hair, making the girl giggle. "Soon you will be too heavy even for Ta'me to carry."
"Never, Da'mi!"
At that declaration, she burrowed herself further into Katar's arms, inadvertently head-butting him in the jaw. He let out a soft grunt from the unexpected hit, but didn't flinch in the slightest. Maye and Tildi wandered over, both smiling softly at the scene.
When Maye stood next to Shayera, the familial resemblance between the two was clear. They both shared the same vibrant red hair and even had a similar shape to their jaws. After a tight hug and a few heartfelt greetings, Shayera inclined her head towards where Ski'Lira was chattering about her Earth lessons with her father. "Ta'me and Da'mi, hm?" She questioned. "Last time we spoke, we were both still Ya'ti."
"She picked them herself, I had no interference. I can assure you." Maye insisted. "She spent weeks trying to pick proper titles for you both, she had a list written out, and justifications for each selection. It was pretty adorable."
"That is… nice to hear. Katar and I were both certain she wouldn't change them until we'd lived on Earth for some time…" Shayera trailed off.
"She's going to be fine." Tildi spoke up, smiling wide, trying her best to assure the woman. "You all are. Ski'Lira is strong and adaptable. She's definitely inherited that from the both of you."
"Ski'Lira has the both of you to thank for raising her well in our absence." Katar corrected, wordlessly handing Ski'Lira off to Shayera, who set her down next to her. The young Thanagarian girl immediately latched onto her hand. Clapping a hand on Tildi's shoulder, Katar inclined his head slightly as a show of respect. "You will always have our thanks for that."
"We love her just as much as you do." Maye said, winding her arm around her wife's waist and tugging her close to her side. "I will always be honored to be Ski'Lira Hol's Da'my."
"I as well." Tildi agreed.
Shayera nodded and ran her free hand through her daughter's hair. "Ski'Lira, have you said your goodbyes?"
"Yes, Da'mi. Before we left the house." Ski'Lira nodded, flashing a last smile at Maye and Tildi.
"I wish we could stay longer, but our time is limited." Shayera apologized, making meeting her cousin's eyes.
"We will stay in contact." Maye replied. "And make sure to send as many pictures as you can."
"We promise." Glancing at a nearby timepiece proudly displayed on the nearest building, Katar reached down and grabbed Ski'Lira around the waist and once again pulled her up into his arms.
H
After landing, she'd been momentarily confused as they emerged into a dark, dingy building. Blue eyes wide, she was nearly stunned into silence by the sudden change from the shining beauty of her home to that of a building that was clearly abandoned and in need of serious repair work. Her confusion only grew as she noticed a man was standing before them in the strangest outfit she'd ever seen.
The close-fitting cloth completely covered his body from head to toe, alternating between bright red and yellow. Completing the look was a green cape situated around his shoulders.
"Have a nice trip?" The man asked, grinning at the Thanagarians. His gaze lingered for a moment on Skylar and he sent a small wave her way. Unsure, she returned the gesture, making his smile widen.
"It was fine." Katar grumbled back. "Shorter than we'd like, but regulations are strict."
"Thanks again for your help, Scott" Shayera spoke up.
The man nodded. "It was no trouble, really."
"We'll find some way to pay you back." The male Thanagarian offered.
Scott tilted his head to the side thoughtfully for a moment. "I think that a private tour of your museum's archives might be a worthy price, Carter."
"Consider it done. Feel free to bring Barda along, we've got a few new sets of weaponry in she might be interested in."
"I'm sure she'll love to. Well, I'm sure you want to get the kiddo home, so I'll let you head out." The master escape artist turned his masked eyes towards said child. "Welcome to Earth"
After a pointed jostle from her father, Ski'Lira's mouth opened and she spoke her first words of English on her new planet. "Thank you"
The brightly-colored hero (who she was quietly informed by her mother was named 'Mister Miracle') left with a swirl of his cape, disappearing from the dilapidated warehouse that had acted as the waypoint for the Boom Tube. Without any more ceremony, her father moved her so she was plastered against his back with her small arms wrapped around his neck. The two Thanagarians took off, rising up out of the building via a large hole in the roof and into the evening sky. Ski'Lira couldn't help the loud whoop of joy as she was returned to her preferred element, despite being so far from home. Her tiny wings were fluttering from her happiness, her downy feathers catching in the wind and fluttering.
Before today, she had spent months worrying and fretting about exchanging an entire planet for another. Despite all of the years spent prepping her for this very occurrence, she was still wholly unprepared for such a change. But it was at that moment, mere minutes after she'd first landed on this planet, tearing through the sky illuminated in pinks, yellows, oranges, and purples with her Da'mi and Ta'me that she thought that living on Earth might not be so bad after all.
H
On the way, her da'mi had shouted out an explanation of where they were going, as well as a short history. She soaked up the information with interest. Apparently, the Hol family had settled on a beachside home in a city called St. Roch in a state known as Louisiana. The city in question was connected to a much larger and far more well-known place called New Orleans.
The house that the Hols had bought and renovated themselves was secluded, giving the Thanagarians free reign of the skies over the beach and the sea. Once, the house had apparently been the abode of a lighthouse keeper, but the lighthouse itself had long since crumbled away and fallen into the waters below. During the course of the renovations, they'd set up a room just for her, all in preparation for her inevitable arrival to Earth.
When Shayera pointed out the house to her once they were close enough, Ski'Lira lifted up her head enough to see it for herself. It was… quaint, she guessed would be the word for it. The house itself was pretty big, all gray stone brick with dark blue roofing. She recognized a couple of Earth vehicles parked outside of the house itself, though she couldn't quite recall the names of them at the moment.
"Oh damn it all to hell …" Katar groaned he set down in front of the house, coming to an elegant landing. "I thought I told him to come alone!"
"We should have seen this coming." Shayera agreed with a slight shake of her head, but once she caught sight of her daughter's inquisitive and slightly worried look, she smiled reassuringly. "We asked one of our kast to stop by to help you settle in. We thought introducing you to a native Terran familiar with Thanagarian customs first would be best… But it seems he didn't come alone."
Before Ski'Lira could ask, the front door was thrown open, the light from inside spilling out and illuminating the Thanagarian trio. "I'd like to point out that I technically did come alone." The speaker was a brown-haired and equally brown-eyed man wearing a dark jacket with some kind of fur on the collar and a few patches scattered on it. Despite the easy-going smile on his face, Ski'Lira was still uneasy. "And then Ollie managed to track me down here."
"Hey, at least I'm making dinner!" A second man shouted from within. He poked his head out into the hallway just long enough to reveal blonde hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. 'Ollie' disappeared back into the depths of the house.
"He did bring steak." The first man offered sheepishly as he stepped back, allowing the Hols to step into their own house.
Katar pulled Ski'Lira off of his shoulders while Shayera headed down the hall. "As long as he doesn't traumatize my daughter, he can stay. Speaking of which… Ski'Lira, this is Hal Jordan."
"Hal Jordan" Ski'Lira parroted immediately, satisfied when she earned a head nod of approval on the correct pronunciation from him.
"It's an honor to meet you, daughter of my friends and fellow warriors." Hal crouched down in front of her and held his hand out, palm facing sideways and elbow bent. To any earth-native, it would have looked like he was about to partake in an arm wrestling competition.
Ski'Lira's eyes widened as she mirrored the gesture, clasping her hand around his and squeezing as tightly as she could. Her small wings flared out behind her, stretched to nearly their full, albeit meager, span. Hal grimaced a little as he felt the bones in his hand grind together, but returned the pressure. "You speak Thanagarian?"
"Not quite, sweetheart" Hal apologized as they both released their grips and she folded her wings back to their normal resting place. "It's just the ring." He waggled his hand pointedly, showing off the gleaming carved emerald ring on his finger.
The Thanagarian girl's blue eyes widened even further, if that was possible. "You're a Green Lantern?!" Her voice was practically a screech as she whirled to glare up at her father. "You are kast with a Green Lantern and you didn't tell me?!"
"It's nice to meet a fan." Hal quipped lightly as Katar looked thoroughly amused.
"We thought it would make a nice surprise." Ruffling her hair, her ire faded a little bit in favor of refocusing her attention on the Green Lantern before her. "I'm sure Hal would love to answer any questions you have. You two talk here while I make sure Shayera isn't going to kill Oliver."
"Good luck with that. I'll stay here and chat with my biggest fan."
H
When her parents had summoned her and Hal Jordan to the kitchen, Ski'Lira had been visibly disappointed as her line of questioning had been cut short. He'd been in the middle of telling her about a near-disastrous event that had occurred during boot camp shortly after his initiation into the corps. As he led her into the kitchen, she was a little taken aback as she realized her parents had both changed into Earth-casual clothing.
However, her attention was drawn fairly quickly away from that jarring image as Ollie crouched down in front of her.
"Well hi there. Aren't you just the cutest little thing? You definitely got your dad's eyes… and your mom's wings, though they're much cuter than hers." His grin was wide, showing off his perfectly straight and pearly white teeth. "My name's Oliver Queen, but you can call me Ollie."
"Hello, Ollie" She responded politely, the simple word slipping easily out of her mouth after hours being drilled on proper Earth greetings and the situations in which they were appropriate. However, his nickname did come out far harsher than one would normally hear.
"How do you like it here so far?" He asked. "I know it must be really weird, coming from a whole new planet and all."
"Not bad" Her response was immediate. "Better than I… hoped." She explained. This was her first time having a full English conversation with a native speaker. Out of those languages she was being taught, English was definitely her worst of the three, despite knowing it was the one she would be speaking most often. If they'd been speaking Arabic or Mandarin, her sentences would have been far less labored. "Pretty sky."
"That it is. So, what's your name? I don't want to have to call you 'kiddo' all the time."
"Her name is Ski'Lira Hol." Shayera interrupted, taking that burden off of her daughter's shoulders.
"Sk-" Oliver suddenly found Hal's hand clamped tightly over his mouth.
"Oliver, I explicitly warned you." Hal reminded as he slowly drew his hand away. "Non-Thanagarians aren't allowed to speak Thanagarian names aloud unless given permission."
"Oh…" The archer started to redden from embarrassment. "And if I were to hypothetically also forget why that's taboo…?"
The Green Lantern sighed harshly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oliver, what happened to the 'Dealing with Thanagarians' cheat sheet I made you?"
"… I lost it."
"… Why are you like this?" After another harsh sigh, Hal shot a look that screamed 'Can you believe this?' at the young Thanagarian girl, making her smile and alleviating some of her discomfort from the situation. "Because most Thanagarian names are practically impossible to pronounce by humans. Shayera and Katar's are exceptions, and even then Katar is just barely on that line. And mispronouncing someone's name is highly offensive on Thanagar."
"Oh…" Oliver's blue eyes were wide as he turned towards Ski'Lira. "I am so sorry. I uh…"
"He's an idiot." Hal filled in.
"Yes, thank you." Oliver rolled his eyes. "Have you picked out a more… Earth-y name for her?"
"No." Katar answered swiftly from where he was helping his wife set the table.
"Well… If you're up for suggestions…" Oliver shrugged. "What about Skylar? It was… kind of close to that name I'm not supposed to say out loud."
"Skylar. Really?" Hal's eyebrow rose slightly. "You couldn't have picked anything better?"
"I kind of like it." Shayera suddenly admitted. "It's got a nice double-meaning. And Oliver's correct, it is the closest Earth approximation of Ski-Lira."
"Barely" Katar grumbled, not seeming too happy with the choice, but apparently deciding to let it slide.
"What do you think?" Hal knew that there was only one person's opinion of the nickname that really mattered.
Chewing on her lip for a moment, Ski'Lira tried out the name for herself. "Skylar. Skylar."
"Skylar Hall" Shayera tacked on their modified last name.
"Skylar Hall… It is… different." Nodding, she turned to Oliver. Personally, she still felt that the name felt odd, but that it was something she could potentially become used to. Though, she'd have to ask what her da'mi meant when she said the name had a double meaning. "My name is Skylar."
This chapter was hard to finish, mostly due to unexpected delays from a variety of events. Well, now we've got the origin of the name Skylar, as well as Hawkwoman subtly revealing a love of puns (trust me, Ski'Lira's not going to be happy when she finds out). I hoped you enjoyed the bits of life on Thanagar, and I promise this won't be the last we'll see of Maye and Tildi. Just as a quick explanation (or at least the promise of one later), the bits about Ski'Lira 'picking proper titles' for her parents will be explained in length two or three chapters from now.
As always, questions, comments, and concerns are always welcome, and a virtual pat on the back for anyone who can name the hero that was the first to greet the Hawks when they returned from Thanagar!
In honor of the holiday season (and as an apology for making you wait a longer than expected period of time for the next installment of Flight or Flight), here is another holiday-themed drabble. I know the holidays are technically over, but I wrote this bit about a week and a half ago. So… I guess 'Twas the season?
Oh, and Happy New Year!
H
Wally West was honestly, and truly surprised. When M'Gann had succumbed to a bad case of 'Holiday Fever' once December had rolled around, he'd expected the holiday to turn into a complete disaster for one singular reason. The Martian teen had decided that in order to be 'Fully Inclusive' to all of their members, they'd be mixing together traditions. Of course, this was a very thoughtful idea on her part and was a nice gesture to make them all feel at home. They'd ended up skipping over the last holiday season entirely, thanks to the mission at Haly's Circus and the subsequent debacle with the Justice League's temporary mind control at the hands of Vandal Savage.
As of yet, things had been going well. In the week leading up to the twenty fifth of December, M'Gann had thoroughly interviewed each member of the team so they could contribute a tradition for what she was referring to as 'Holiday Day'. Not very creative on her part, but it was practical at least. Wally had been the one to suggest the traditional holiday meal, and had goaded his Aunt Iris into preparing enough for the Team (with his help, of course).
Robin had taken care of all the decorations. Apparently Wayne Manor had more than enough surplus to make the cave a little more festive. He ended up roping Connor into helping him put up both the tree, the garland, and any and all lights as he knew the clone would be lost as to what to suggest. He was still learning, after all. Connor himself was greatly relieved having that pressure taken off of him and found himself starting to enjoy the 'Holiday Day' preparations more than he had before.
Artemis was the one to suggest spending time playing out in the snow, having snowball fights, making snow angels and snowmen, anything and everything they could think of.
Raquel and Zatanna had teamed up to bake Christmas cookies, decorating them to look like the team. And thanks to Zatanna's magic, the cookie versions of them had mock fights on the metal pans that resulted in a fair amount of crumbs and snapped off confectionary limbs. Skylar was the most amused by the spectacle.
The humans' traditions had been the easiest to incorporate into 'Holiday Day', but M'Gann was not one to be dissuaded by the difficulty of combining drastically different cultures. She herself had provided traditional Martian songs that were sung for their equivalent of a winter holiday. Even though the tonality was strange, it was surprisingly pleasant to listen to her sing as she puttered around the Cave, helping wherever she could in the others' endeavors.
Aqualad offered to tell stories of Atlantis, in lieu of the more 'traditional' Christmas stories. He told tales of powerful warriors and mages, as well as stories of great beasts and mysteries that had never been solved. It was far better than merely watching a holiday special on the television (thought they did end up watching The Muppet Christmas Carol after continuous nagging on Wally, Artemis, Zatanna, and Rocket's parts)
And naturally, Skylar was the sticking point. Whenever M'Gann had pestered her about Thanagarian traditions, Skylar had replied with the same response every time.
"No."
It was succinct, but effective.
Wally had actually been keeping a tally of how many times that Skylar had given her terse, monosyllabic answer and sent a disappointed M'Gann on her way. It was up to fourteen now by the time 'Holiday Day' actually came about.
In the morning, they'd all awoken around the same time to gather around the painstakingly decorated tree and exchange presents. Wrapping paper was everywhere, and at this point each one of them was engrossed in admiring their new presents.
Grinning broadly, Wally turned to see how the others were reacting. Everyone was in similar states of joy… apart from Skylar. His smile fell just slightly as he saw that she had carefully piled up her presents next to her, having barely touched any of them, and was staring at the others blankly.
Scooting through the piles of wrapping paper, he ended up sitting across from her. "Santa didn't give you what you wanted?"
Skylar frowned a little. "Santa isn't real."
Green eyes widening, Wally pressed a hand to his chest feigning a fatal wound. "How dare you?! How dare you imply that Santa isn't real?!"
"I'm not implying, I'm stating." She said.
"Buzzkill" Wally muttered. "You know, if you'd offered your own traditions, maybe you'd… I don't know… Have a little more fun?" He offered pointedly.
Skylar scowled at him. "I am trying. I… opened the presents, didn't I?"
"Yes you did." Robin suddenly chimed in, plopping down next to her from seemingly nowhere. "And I'm very proud of you. You're making progress. Just last year, you probably would have burned these." Grabbing the dark blue knit cap that was a gift from Zatanna off the top of the pile, he pulled it down over her head.
"What?" M'Gann sounded genuinely startled at the comment, and just like that, everyone's attention was focused on the conversation. "Burned them?"
"Thanagar's a whole different planet." Robin replied with a smirk, dodging a slap upside the head from Skylar. "Very different."
Finally, Wally remembered something he really shouldn't have forgotten, considering how shocked he'd been when he'd first learned about the fact. "Thanagarians don't have holidays."
"They what?" Artemis sounded just as shocked as the speedster himself had been years ago when he'd first been introduced to that little tidbit.
Skylar nodded, and gave him a look of mild appreciation for the comment. Before she could be questioned, she cleared her throat and elaborated. "We don't celebrate holidays, only success in battle. And gifts are… given for far different reasons than merely it being… a certain day."
"What kind of reasons?" Zatanna asked, genuinely curious.
Reaching up, the Thanagarian adjusted her hat slightly. "Military valor is most common, also there's the age milestone gifts, and… well…" She coughed slightly, her cheeks reddening. "Courting."
A slightly awkward silence settled over the group. Wanting to divert attention away from the mildly embarrassed Thanagarian, Robin suggested they eat breakfast before heading outside to play in the snow.
Later that day, after they were thoroughly exhausted from spending a long time outside frolicking in the snow (thought Wally would never admit that's the word he used to mentally describe what was one of the most brutal snowball fights he'd ever experienced in his life)… They gathered back inside to spend a final few minutes together before they'd be leaving to join their own families.
Wally made sure to grab Skylar before she headed towards the Zeta Tube, as he'd had an idea before to at least bring her a little joy this Holiday Day and hadn't had a chance to yet.
"What is it, Wally?" She asked as he dragged her into the kitchen, where they were alone.
Smiling, he spread his arms out wide. "Hit me."
Blinking twice in surprise, her mouth opened and shut once as she tried to compute that. "I'm sorry?"
"Hit me. Hard as you can. Wherever you want."
"… Can I ask why?"
His smile turned a bit sheepish. "Well, you celebrate by fighting, right? And I know you've been wanting to get me with a good solid hit for ages. So… Consider this an extra present in tandem with that book I gave you."
"You want me to hit you?" She clarified. "As hard as I can, wherever I want…?"
"Yes. Now, get on with it. The suspense is killing me." Clenching his eyes shut, he waited for the inevitable blow.
But it didn't come.
He tensed a little, thinking she was just trying to psych him out, keeping his eyes firmly shut.
That's when a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around him and drew him into a tight hug. Eyes popping open in surprise, he was too stunned to hug back for a moment. Skylar was actually hugging him. Once the shock had faded, his own arms snaked around her and he returned the embrace. Her wings curled around the two of them, acting almost like a feathery cocoon. After a minute or so, Skylar broke off the hug, beaming brightly.
"Thank you, Wally. And sorry."
"Sorry?" He asked, puzzled. "Sorry for what?"
"This." And that's when she sucker punched him in the gut, sending him falling to the floor and curling into a fetal position. That was going to leave a bruise.
"… I hate you so much."
"Sure you do. Besides, you offered." She swept out of the kitchen, still beaming. "Happy Holiday Day"
Wally let out a low whine and curled up even further, sincerely regretting his choice of gift.
