I should probably apologize for the long wait. I was really planning on writing during the summer, but I never did, and then I thought 'oh, school's started again, I'll have more inspiration!' Now I feel guilty for not updating anything in a long time, so I started writing again.

It's been a very long time since I got passed chapter ten in anything I've written, but look here! It's chapter eleven! Now I feel epic, and making me feel epic is not hard. Emails from fan fiction in general make me happy. Anyway! Today, we see Sothe making an attempt to get his mind off Micaiah via following some advice from Tormod, and Sanaki and the hawks return again!

I don't own Fire Emblem…

Read on!

11-Slap Slap Slap... Crap.

Volunteer work wasn't the most fun thing in the world; Sothe didn't know what the heck Thomas was talking about. Technically though, this wasn't volunteer work; he was just helping a few of the girls in the orphanage walk around the neighbourhood selling cookies for their fundraiser. Sothe scoffed, the cookie selling thing had been done so many times, he was sure that the orphanage and the girl scouts were competitors when it came to the door-to-door cookie selling business.

But alas, it got him out and about, even if it was really cold outside and they were selling some form of cookie in the shape of trees and wreaths and all the rest of those annoying Christmas symbols. Even if it meant trailing after a bunch of little girls in scarves and hats that they threw off into the winds because they loved seeing him go get them off the road while they pulled their little red wagon along the snowy sidewalk. One of the wheels was squeaking and the phrase "I'm going to fix your little red wagon" in all of its menacing glory came to mind.

When they objected to stopping at the park, he told them that he was the oldest so he could do what he wanted before telling them to go play on the slide or something. Apparently slides trumped cookie selling for a better future and he wiped snow off the bench and sat, slouching and staring at nothing in particular. He wasn't thinking about much, except for the cold and the wanting of a scarf, but his train of thought was thrown off track when the girls suddenly started screaming. There weren't any words like "help" or "it's going to eat me", so Sothe didn't worry much as three more girls suddenly appeared on the playground.

"Are you watching them?"

Sothe glanced behind him as a girl – his own age, he thought, relieved – approached and sat on the opposite side of the bench.

Sothe nodded. "Yeah, we're on a cookie selling adventure, so they say, we're just taking a break… You?"

"They're my little sisters," the girl said, smiling.

The only thing Sothe could think of was "Oh."

There was silence between them as the girls played, chattering and laughing and generally annoying Sothe with their high-pitched voices.

"My name's Alice, what about you?"

"Sothe," he said at a glance.

"Sothe, huh? Sounds familiar," Alice thought for a moment. "Have we met before?"

Sothe examined her, short-ish, twig thin, auburn hair, brown eyes and freckles. He rummaged through his memory for any Alices that he might have known, no bells were ringing. He shook his head after a moment. "Nope, not that I know."

"Oh," Alice stared at the ground. "I could swear I've heard your name before…"

"There's got to be more than one Sothe in the city,"

"Yeah, point taken…"

They sat in silence again.

"Maybe I know you from school," Alice said. "Do you go to Treslow Street?"

Sothe shook his head again.

"Hm… I guess not, then…" Alice's eyes wandered back to the girls. "Are they relatives?"

"No, they're…" Sothe glanced up at them. "From the orphanage, they're trying to raise money with the cookies."

"Oh," Alice smiled, "That's sweet, and you volunteered to help them? Do you always volunteer at the orphanage?"

"Um… yeah, actually, I have a lot of spare time, so why not help out?" he didn't mention that he himself lived in the orphanage.

"That's good," Alice said with a smile. "They don't have parents or anybody, really, to take care of them… I hear there's always so many kids stuck in those places."

"There is, because they keep coming from other places. People think Serenes is the best place to live and they end up here even though… there isn't really…" Sothe trailed off, frowning.

"Things change once you see the actual story," Alice said. Sothe looked at her, but she was staring in another direction. "Once you learn that there really isn't much there for you..."

"Something wrong?" Sothe asked.

Alice laughed softly. "No, nothing, I was just thinking, it's kind of sad…"

"You sound like you're in the same situation they are," he said, nodding toward the girls who were attempting to build a snowman. "You have a family, right?"

"Of course, those are my sisters."

Sothe thought of Micaiah. "I have a sister," he said. "We aren't related or anything, but we're definitely family."

"What, you're so close there's no point in saying otherwise?"

"Pretty much."

Alice nodded and they were quiet once again. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pink cell phone. "It's going to get dark soon," she said. "I should get going."

Sothe nodded. "Yeah, we should too, got to get them back before supper."

Alice giggled and turned to him. "Hey, are you free at all next week?"

Sothe hesitated. Alice reminded him of Micaiah, she gave off an understanding and caring aura and if he got to know her, she was probably a good conversationalist. He could have shrugged and said sure, gotten permission from Gilter to do some volunteer work with Thomas next week and met up with her at some place to talk more, but he didn't.

"No, sorry, I'm busy."

Alice just gave him another sorry smile. "Okay, forget I asked." She stood up, calling her sisters away from the park. She waved as she turned around.

Sothe stared at the ground, thinking about Micaiah again. He sighed, Micaiah, his supposed sister already had Pelleas, and even though it probably wouldn't take long before one of them broke it off, he still realized he was chasing a foolish dream.

The sound of Alice's boots in the snow retreating suddenly brought Tormod's voice into his head.

"Okay, listen Sothe, I have a plan!"

"Is this about the Christmas fireworks being moved?"

"No! This is about you and Micaiah! Look, man, you need to get your head out of your ass and think about something else for a change. Every time you see her and Pelleas together, you get all depressed, and seriously, you're makin' me depressed too."

"I'll be depressed if I want to."

"Yeah, well, it's getting annoying. You know what you need? You need a girlfriend, and before you say it, getting Pelleas into some freakish accident so that you can have Micaiah crying on your shoulder and admitting her love to you is not a realistic plan."

"I wasn't thinking anything like that. I'm just going to wait until they break up."

"And then what? Creep her Facebook while working up a pitiful amount of courage and then chicken out, that's what, and then the cycle will go around again, and again, and probably again until you turn into some kind of psychopathic serial killer and lock her up in your basement."

"What the hell, Tormod. And you think I creep people's Facebooks? You should see Micaiah herself!"

"She's just being sociable. But stuff like that happens, Sothe! Listen, you know what I've learned through years of experience? Girls get jealous,"

"No shit, Sherlock, what else are you going to tell me? Whales are large? Everyone gets jealous."

"Yeah, but if you get a girlfriend, Micaiah's going to notice! And then she'll dump Pelleas because she realizes that she loves you and doesn't what some weird bitchy chick on your arm."

"That's one of the dumbest plans you've ever told me, Tormod."

"Hey, don't knock it until you try it! You have to admit, you really need a distraction until Micaiah's free, so why not? Then you can finally tell someone you actually got a girlfriend since… Oh, wait; have you ever had a girlfriend? That's sad, man, sad."

"Shut up and get out of my face, shrimp."

"Hey, at least I've had a girlfriend before!"

"I don't think Vika experimenting with you counts."

"It totally does!"

"I'm sure."

He probably wasn't thinking straight when he turned around on the bench and called out to Alice's retreating back. "Hey, wait!"

Alice looked over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"I think I might have time over the weekend, how's Sunday?"

"Sure, you know Corner Steps?"

"Somewhere in the area of the library, right?"

"Yep, can you meet me there for lunch?"

"I can try," Sothe shrugged.

"Okay, see you later, then." Alice turned away again with her sisters, who were giggling, "Ooooh, Allie has a booyfrieend!"

Sothe sat on the bench alone, staring at the ground. Now the problem was finding some form of work that would allow him outside the orphanage on Sunday.

Either way, he was going to punch Tormod if this plan ended in disaster of any form.

She could have complained and said she was cold, but there wasn't really a point. It was quite evident and Janaff would taunt her. Sooner or later, she thought, she would have to have Tibarn teach her to punch like he said he should after a multitude of her slaps had a very small effect on him.

"So, what are we doing out here?"

They weren't doing anything in particular; Sanaki had left a note for Micaiah and met Reyson again in Ryde's park. With all the snow, the park looked like it had expanded. White lead on to more white and was only broken up by trees and the slide and swings. Nothing moved and nothing made a sound, it could have been peaceful.

"Really, Janaff, do you have to be so loud?" Sanaki asked indignantly. She was trying to enjoy the peace, couldn't he see that?

Janaff stopped in his singing. "Alright," he said seriously and put his hands on her shoulders. "It's time, your last test wasn't so brilliant, but spectacular failure is always needed to succeed, young nestling."

"Don't tell me," Sanaki glanced at Reyson and Tibarn snorted.

"Featherless wings will not fly and therefore, a nestling will not progress. You're stuck in a nest and you need to get out!" Janaff said all this with a very un-Janaff like straight face. "It's time for the second test to prove that you can leave that nest behind and even if you fall straight to the ground, you still have the feathers – you have the guts – to be a fledgling."

"You like blowing things out of proportion, don't you?" Sanaki asked simply.

Janaff's eyes narrowed. "So, you want to be a featherless weakling all you life, then?" He crossed his arms. "Then I have nothing left to say to you!"

"You know, if it's any consolation prize, Tibarn did tell me he was going to teach me the art of Janaff-punching."

Janaff made an incoherent noise. "Damn it, Tibarn! You're stealing my thunder!"

Tibarn laughed, "Sorry, but I think Reyson can throw better punches than her, I couldn't let it go ignored!"

"I was raised to be a proper lady, where would I have learned to punch someone?"

"Is that your excuse? You don't learn to punch; you just throw your fist at them, preferably at their face with all the power you can muster!" Janaff said, throwing punches at the air. "It's like a slap, except in fist form."

"As fun as this sounds, I've only got until five, so if you guys are going to keep this up…" Reyson said with a glance to his watch.

"Right, right," Janaff waved his hand. "Okay, we're going to do something else today that won't involve possibly breaking bones or injuring Reyson in any way."

"Does it involve more climbing?"

"Not this time," Janaff lead her over to the swing. "You might not have any wings, which makes you unable to fly on your own no matter what you do, but that don't mean you can't soar. It's the next best thing to flying! It won't even take that long!"

Sanaki looked at the swing, the snow covered seat and the rubber-covered chains that held it up. "Now you want me to jump off of the swing? What kind of test is that?"

"A kind of test that will prove whether or not you're ready to be a fledgling!" Janaff exclaimed happily. "You just have to wipe that snow off, swing real high and then let go! Easy as pie."

"Are you serious?" Sanaki looked at it apprehensively. "Couldn't I get hurt or something?"

"If it makes you fell any better, we can build a giant snow pile to break your fall," Janaff offered.

"Uh, yes, do that…" Sanaki watched as Tibarn and Janaff gathered snow from around the swing and gathered it all into one rectangular pile in the approximate area she would land. If she actually jumped, that is. An image floated into her mind of her letting go of the swing and flying through the air. This image split into several others, some involving her missing the pile entirely and some involved her breaking her legs once she hit the ground. She was probably exaggerating, but still.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Reyson said reassuringly. "Janaff's never been able to do something like this before, he's just having fun. I don't think he'd try to seriously injure you or anything."

"I though you guys hung out with other beorc sometimes,"

"Yeah, but Ike and his friends aren't really ones to worry about getting hurt." Reyson shrugged, which really wasn't helping. "Don't worry, if all hell breaks loose, I'm sure they'd catch you."

Janaff was grinning the entire time, so when Sanaki was actually on the swing, she wasn't sure if what Reyson said would actually happen. She stared at the pile for a few seconds, still unsure. She was always unsure around anything that would cause her physical pain. Sephiran always guarded her against that (well, Sigrun and Tanith, mostly), he always kept her safe… This thought made her frown.

"Something wrong?"

"No," she shook her head, pushing Sephiran out of her mind. "Nothing," and with that, the swing started to squeak in an annoying way as she pushed herself from the ground.

"Little higher…" Janaff coaxed. "Little more…"

"Would you be quiet?" Sanaki shot an annoyed look down at him. She watched the hawks standing close to the snow pile, deciding that they did look ready to catch her if all else failed… Surely this cannot be so difficult; she thought to herself, people younger than me do it all the time! She braced herself. People braver than you, too, a thought said. She ignored it as she swung forward and then untwined her fingers from around the chain…

She didn't soar, her fingers clamped down again and her boots dug into the cold ground as she swung back again, coming to a stop. Janaff looked disappointed.

"What'd you stop for?"

"I just – nothing, I just wasn't ready," she lifted her feet off the ground again, ignoring the look on Janaff's face, plainly saying he didn't believe her.

She swung higher again, but before her fingers could let go of the chains, the same fear stabbed at her chest and Sanaki dug her feet into the ground again. She made the excuse of never doing anything remotely dangerous before and tried again, but the result was the same. She stopped, staring at the ground and letting the swing sway lightly but not trying to go higher again.

"You can't do it?" Tibarn questioned when the swing finally stopped squeaking.

"Are you afraid of just a little bit of pain or something?" Janaff added.

Sanaki glared at him. "Well, I'm sorry if I'm not some stupid – crazy – idiot that tries to get into trouble on purpose!"

"Hey, I never said that! I'm just saying that it's kind of stupid if you say that you can fit in with us when you don't even want to take any risks. It's kind of sad, really, didn't your parents let you do anything, or were they just too-"

Before Janaff could finish that sentence, Sanaki launched herself from the swing. Tibarn and Ulki backed away in surprise as the beorc leaped at the hawk, raising her hand in a tight fist with an incoherent scream. "Don't you say anything about my parents!"

Janaff fell back into the snow with a cry of surprise, clutching his nose. Tibarn knelt next to him, asking if he was alright. Reyson looked back and forth between the hawk and beorc with an unreadable expression. Ulki just stared down at his friend in the snow. Multiple emotions passed through Sanaki's mind. Mostly anger and regret. Anger because Janaff was being an insufferable ass and regret because she just punched him – what if they didn't want to be friends with her now? Stupid stupid stupid, now he's going to hate you...

"Nice going," Tibarn said, "his nose is bleeding."

They'll all hate you, Sanaki thought. And then Janaff burst out laughing and her regret was replaced by confusion. "I just hit you, what – why are you laughing?"

Janaff laughed harder, holding out his hand for all of them to see. There was blood smeared across his palm. "Because you punched me! Aha, man, that was awesome!"

Reyson covered his face with his hand as the other hawks started to laugh. Sanaki watched Tibarn pull Janaff out of the snow; she didn't see what was so funny about the situation. Then it hit her. "You were trying to provoke me on purpose!"

Janaff had calmed down somewhat as he wiped his nose clean with his sleeve. There wasn't as much blood as Sanaki thought there was. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "You're way too lady-like, no offence, I'm sure lots of guys go for that. But sometimes, a punch to the face in place of flowery words is what it takes to shut a guy up."

"Especially someone like Janaff," Tibarn added.

"Yeah – wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Are they always like this?" Sanaki looked up at Reyson as an argument started between them.

The heron nodded. "Pretty much, but not to repeat what Janaff said, if you want people to accept you easier, you're going to have to lose the whole 'holier than thou' attitude. I understand you've been trying, but I think you should try to tone it down a bit."

"So you think I'm stuck up too?"

"You were raised in an environment that would make pretty much anyone stuck up in their eyes. Just look around, figure out that not everybody has a personal servant, and you're on your way."

"Isn't your father the governor or something? Doesn't he have a servant?"

"Uncle, and last time I checked, he wasn't going to high school. And that's not the point, the point is-" he never finished the sentence before Janaff suddenly raised his voice. He leaned away, leaving Sanaki to wonder what the point was.

"Anyways!" Janaff approached Sanaki like an officer to a new recruit that had no clue what was happening. He grinned. "Okay, so maybe jumping off swings wasn't the best idea. But at least now I know that you can throw a punch… somewhat."

"I can slap you if you want,"

"No need," he grinned. "I think that's good enough."