Mama Time

Cast: (F!Kana & Hinoka)
Prompt: Hinoka and Kana spend some quality time together.

"Hey Mama?"

"What's up, Kana?"

"I was thinking, and, how come you don't ride a dragon?"

"Huh?"

Hinoka and her little girl were tending to the former's Pegasus, brushing him all over. They were using the special combs Kaden had told Hinoka about. Their conversations went all around little miscellaneous matters, until Kana inevitably brought the subject to dragons. Like always.

"Wouldn't it be cooler to ride a dragon?"

The Sky Knight smirked. "Well, a dragon would be cool, but I can't just leave my friend here behind. He's been with me through thick and thin!"

"Wow! I wish I had a Pegasus!"

"Well… maybe if you play your cards right, we can look into training you to be a Sky Knight someday," Hinoka offered. "We could probably get Cousin Shiro to train you in naginatas."

Kana's response was to stop brushing the Pegasus and nervously sink her head into her shoulders as far as she could. "I… don't know if I want that."

"Oh?" Hinoka also stopped brushing the horse.

"I don't want to fight on a Pegasus, I just want to have one! Then I could fly whenever I want!"

"Heh! I see. Flying is pretty cool, but remember that Pegasi have feelings too. They don't just exist to carry you around." She looked back to her partner. "Isn't that right?"

Hinoka's Pegasus whinnied, almost detecting that he was being addressed. Then the rider turned back to her daughter.

"Just out of curiosity though, is there any reason you don't want to join the Sky Knights?"

Kana bashfully nodded. "I… I'd have to fight people."

Hinoka paused for a moment. Ever since she and Corrin brought Kana out of the Deeprealm, Kana had never actually fought anyone. Nobody's children were ever actually taken out for skirmishes, excepting that time they fought off treasure-hunting ghosts. Apart from that, Hinoka's daughter never expressed interest in going out. She was content to stay at the fortress and help out with menial tasks. It was like having a smaller Felicia.

No, Kana's not that clumsy.

It was like having a smaller Flora.

"I understand, Kana."

The little girl began to sniffle. "A-are you mad, Mama?"

Hinoka's brow shot up. "What?! What would I have to be mad about?!"

"I-I just said I didn't want to do what you do! And… I heard you telling Papa one time that y-you were worried I wasn't enough like you!" Kana was about to start crying, when Hinoka quickly knelt down and wrapped her arms around the girl.

"Oh Kana, no! Don't ever think like that!" She grimaced, recalling the conversation Kana had apparently overheard. "I… I shouldn't have said that." Hinoka ended the hug and put her hands on her little girl's shoulders. "You listen to me, Kana. Be whatever you want, and that's all I care about! As long as you're happy, I'm happy. Okay?"

"But I want to me more like you, Mama! Whenever you leave, I get so scared! You and Papa could get hurt! But you're not scared at all, you're always going out there! I want to be fearless like you are!"

Hinoka paused.

"… You think I'm not scared out there?"

"Yeah! Why would you keep doing it if you were scared?"

At that moment, Hinoka saw two options. She could pretend to be fearless and instill hope in Kana that nothing bad would ever happen… or she could tell the truth.

"Kana, there's something you should know. I get nervous a lot when I'm out there. Every single time, I'm scared."

"What?! W-why would you keep doing it then? If you're scared, you shouldn't go out there! Ooh!" Kana held out her hands, as if to present something. "That reminds me that Velouria tried to get her mother to go somewhere safe. Maybe you can go with her!"

Hinoka chuckled. "Yeah, Azura mentioned that to me. But I'm going to tell you the same thing she told Velouria- I do this for you. Me and your Papa, we fight all those scary monsters so that you and everyone else can live in a better world." She pat Kana on the shoulder. "With something like that waiting for us at the end, it helps me get over my fears."

"Wow!" Kana was completely awestruck. Adorable as she was, Hinoka privately felt the girl was too easy to sway.

Maybe she gets it from her father.

"You're so cool, doing things even though you're scared! Now I want to be like you even more!"

That got a laugh out of Hinoka. She stood up and went back to brushing the Pegasus. "Well, even if you don't decide to be a Sky Knight, how about tomorrow I take you for a ride?"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh! At midday tomorrow, after my shift at the armory, we can go."

"Yay! I'll even help you at the armory!" The princess felt a pair of small arms wrapping around her. "I love you, Mama!"

"I love you too."

A/N:

This was not one of the requests I originally asked to take on. But when Forsaken and Gray Whirlpool both ate into my drabble-writing time, I decided to take an extra request to make up for it. This was surprisingly easy.

Go to the blog if you have requests.