Happy birthday, Kana! And to Awakening and the FE series in general, of course. I'm fairly certain this is the first time I've dedicated a piece to these two. Definitely one of my favorite second gen pairs.
Word count: 757 words.
First Steps
"Slowly... Slowly... Easy... Easy now...!"
"More like easy for you to say! How am I supposed to wa—w-woah woah woah!—w-walk in these darn things?!"
"Steady, steady! You've totally got this! Just come towards me!"
"I'm trying! I'm trying! I-it's just...! I...! I can't b-balan—waaugh!—H-help, help, HELP!"
A triad of uneasy forward footfalls quickly regresses into a bumbling backwards balancing act in the blink of an eye. Princess Kana of the Kingdom of Valla wails and whines, knees wobbly and arms flailing, as she stumbles away from her meager goalpost at marathon pace.
"C-careful!" her Hoshidan prince says, quiver hitting the ground as he rushes to her side, his stupefied stamping no more composed than hers. "I've got ya! I've got ya!'
Kiragi only barely 'gets' her, clumsily clutching her by the pinky mere moments before a potentially tempestuous tumble, a spirited save made possible only by his honed huntsman instincts.
"Hoo, boy," he shares a sigh as they regain their footing, fingers lacing. "That was almost too close! You okay, Kana? You gave me a real start there. I thought for sure the tree house was going to give out with all the shaking!"
"Hum... Yup, looks like I'm still in one piece somehow!" Kana answers with just as much relief. "Heehee, thanks, Kiragi... even if it is for the thirty second time."
"T-thirty second? Really?! Gosh, maybe we oughta take things one step at a time? Left foot, right foot, y'know?"
"Or," Kana says while idly swinging their joined arms. "We could tell everybody I never learned how to walk! Or, or! Or I could wear pretty long dresses all the time! Ones so long they reach the floor and trail behind you! No one would know then!"
"No way!" Kiragi shakes his head. "You already trip over your own feet without wearing any fancy schmancy trip happy clothes! One wrong step and the cat's out of the bag! Listen, I know this is pretty tough royal stuff, but we're just going to have to keep at it. If I can stomach all the stuffy princely stuff and still live to tell the tale, then you can definitely tackle this prissy princess-y mumbo jumbo no problem!"
"Really?" Kana says in disbelief. "Really real for real? You're not just saying that, are you?"
"Course not!" Kiragi chuckles, all smiles. "Nothing to it but to do it! Heck, you're like ninety nine percent perfect princess already! Nail this down and we'll be golden! Those snobby know it all nobles won't know what hit 'em!"
"Aww... Well, okay! If you say so, my prince! Ehehe! Come on, let's try it again! I just know I'll get it this time!"
Kiragi slips his hand out of hers and steps back, gently beckoning. "Then let's see it! How about a couple of steps this way, princess?"
"Okey dokey! Here goes! Left foot... right foot... l-left foot... r... r-right foot!"
"Wait, wait! You're leaning to the left, not right!"
"N-no I'm not! This is my right, not your right!"
"Then my left is the right left and not my right!"
"Uh huh...! I-I think...!? L-left foot, left foot!"
"Hold on, that's one too many left foots! You don't have two left feet!"
"R-really?! Cause it sure feels like I do! Right foot, right foot!"
"Now you're doing too many right foots! You're pretty much hopping, you know!"
"I-I'm trying to even things out! Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot!"
"Wait, no! You're going right when you should be going left and going left when you should be going right!"
"But that's right!"
"No, that's left!"
"Nuh-uh, I mean I'm right!"
"What? You're Kana!"
"Why are we doing this again?!"
"Because it'll look super weird to everyone and their mom if the prince of Hoshido's future princess can't carry herself in heels!"
"Oh yeah? Then how come I've already gotten this far without falling... Wait!? When did this happen?! H-How?! Huh!? W-woah! N-no no, not again! Waugh!"
"Kana!"
The sound of Kana's heels flying off and clacking against the wood is drowned out by the royals spilling over each other. Kiragi's kneejerk reaction, an instinctive twisted and contorted cringing face (the kind only a mother could love... and pass on), is almost instantly snuffed out by the unmatched warmth of the sunshine smile his dragon princess showers him with.
"Yup, nailed it!" she says. "But on second thought, maybe this would all be easier if I kidnapped and took you with me back to Papa's kingdom instead..."
