By SquiddlesScribbles on FFN and AO3

The shining sun, the chirping birds, and the sound of wind rolling over the lake greeted Ahiru in the morning as she slowly opened her eyes to the world. She felt… heavier than usual, and as soon as her brain connected to her consciousness she felt a surge of excitement course through her veins. Today was the day!

Ahiru hopped out of the bed with a beaming smile, nearly running out the door in her birthday suit before she stopped abruptly, hand on the doorknob, as she caught a glance of herself in the mirror across the room. Whoops! She quickly threw on the clothes she had Fakir lay out the night before: a loose yellow knit sweater, a pair of orange corduroy shorts, and white-and-orange striped socks. As she twisted and turned in the mirror with a beaming smile, she heard the soft, padding footsteps of her best friend down the hall. A gentle knock further announced his presence and his voice wafted through the door. "Ahiru? Are you up yet?" His voice was gruff, as if he himself had only just woken up as well.

"Yup!" Ahiru chirped, relishing in the feeling of being able to communicate vocally.

She opened the door and Fakir was standing there with two mugs in hand, and his expression was neutral but not brooding, so he seemed to be in high spirits as well. A tiny smile curved his lips up from a straight line when he laid eyes on his best friend.

Yeah, definitely in a good mood.

He offered her one of the steaming mugs, "Here, it's jasmine," he grunted before turning and walking down the hall towards his own room.

"Thanks Fakir!" Ahiru called down the hall as she made her way to the kitchen.

Laid out on the table was a small breakfast spread consisting of oatmeal with berries on top, a couple slices of toasted wheat bread sitting beside an open jar of peach marmalade, the last croissant and banana muffin that Fakir had picked up from the bakery just the other day, left over from the half dozen that he originally bought.

As evidence for Fakir having already eaten, the plate across from her's was already littered with crumbs and smears of jam. Ahiru plopped down in the seat and took a bite out of the recently-warmed muffin, savoring the taste. Oh, how she missed bready foods! When she was a duck, despite the stereotype, she wasn't supposed to eat bread, so Fakir made sure she ate healthy foods, but it was clear he had gotten the memo that this particular day was not one for being mindful about health.

Ahiru's eyes drifted up from the plate she was currently eating from to the calendar on the far wall, where one day was circled: May 23rd. She felt a smile tug at her lips, her previous exuberation renewed. Today marked the 5th anniversary of the Raven being defeated, and the four friends—and the rest of Kinkan—being released from the story. As per tradition, Mytho and Rue were visiting from the palace in order to have a picnic with her and Fakir to catch up, reminisce, exchange gifts and lay the groundwork for their next picnic for the next anniversary.

By the time Ahiru was about halfway finished with her breakfast, Fakir stepped out of his room fully dressed, finally. Ahiru swears that man takes longer to get ready than she does! He came out clad in a forest green-colored linen shirt, a pair of dark wash jeans, and with his hair mostly brushed back in a ponytail. There were always a few strands too short to be pulled into a ponytail, which instead framed his angular face. He hiked up an eyebrow at the sight of Ahiru, whose cheeks were puffed out from taking too big of a bite of toast. She quickly chewed and swallowed, and smiled with crumbs on her face. "Good morning, Fakir!" She beamed.

The green-haired boy rolled his eyes with a smile, walking behind Ahiru with a brush in his hand. "Idiot, do you still not know how to take care of your hair?" He positioned himself behind her and began to tackle the mess of orange hair atop her head.

Ahiru shrugged, "Why should I learn to do it when I have you to- Ow!" She yelped as Fakir not-so-gently yanked the brush through a particularly knotted section of her hair. "You did that on purpose!"

Fakir chuckled, only confirming her suspicions. "Maybe."

…

Somewhere on-what feels like-the other side of the world, a maid gently opens the curtains to the room of her mistress. The girl in question rises slowly, rubbing the sleep from her burgundy colored eyes.

"Miss Rue, a hot bath has been drawn and your clothes for the day have been picked out. The Prince is dining in the breakfast hall if you'd like to join him," the girl said before bowing and excusing herself. Rue stretched as she sat up, turning and placing her feet on the cold hardwood of her room. It had been years and yet she still couldn't get used to being pampered like this. Still, she floated through her morning routine as she usually did, a quick scrub in the bath, sitting in front of the vanity as a couple of girls did her hair and make-up, and being laced into a simple, lavender summer gown.

When Rue walked down to the breakfast hall, she saw her white-haired best friend dining silently. It'd been five years since they'd left Kinkan to live in the castle, originally to be married, but… Things changed. The two of them had talked, like really talked for the first time and it made them both realize that they didn't need—or even really want—to be in a relationship to maintain their 'raven-blooded' bond.

Upon looking up at Rue, Mytho let a smile tilt his lips. The Prince was wearing a baby-blue button down shirt with small gold accents, and a pair of dark blue slacks. His golden crown rested upon his messy white hair.

"Rue, you look lovely. Are you excited to see Ahiru again?"

Rue nodded, sitting down beside him. "I suppose you could say that." She said it as if she hadn't kept him up talking about it just the night before.

They continued with breakfast, before excusing themselves from the table and arriving at the castle's entrance together, where a carriage was waiting for them. With that, the two friends set off towards their old hometown.

...

Ahiru was practically vibrating in place as she and Fakir stood beside a large tree in the park beside the school's campus. In her hands she held two messily wrapped gifts. Glancing at the neatly wrapped gift in Fakir's own hands, she almost wished she hadn't been so adamant about wrapping her own creations.

As a carriage approached the park, Ahiru felt her energy skyrocket. The elegant-looking carriage was pulled by two beautiful black horses, both of which she recognized from the previous visits. "Fakir, Fakir, look!" Ahiru said, grabbing Fakir's arm and shaking it.

"I see them, jeez calm down." Fakir grumbled, but he too felt himself grow excited.

The carriage pulled to a stop, and Rue and Mytho stepped out together, and Ahiru quickly dumped the gifts in her hands into Fakir's arms, as she ran over to Rue. The small redhead practically tackled the other girl in a hug, laughing as she did so. "Rue! I missed you so much!" Ahiru yelled, and Rue chuckled lightly, her arms falling to wrap around her friend.

"Ahiru, it is nice to see you again." Rue said, squeezing Ahiru before the two pulled back, smiling at each other before laughing.

"I see you're still as energetic as ever, Ahiru." Mytho commented, smiling at the girl.

"No kidding, she wouldn't shut up this morning about you two." Fakir walked up. "Anyhow, shall we move to get lunch started?"

Mytho and Rue nodded, Mytho returning to the carriage to grab the wicker basket full of food. It was their turn this year to bring the food, and the two of them had stayed up pretty late the night before cooking. They could have had the castle chef prepare it, but it wouldn't have felt as authentic.

The four of them chatted amiably during the short trek to their usual picnic table, which had already been set with four plates and silverware, and a yellow flower sitting in a small vase in the center of the table. That was Ahiru's final touch to the placements, and she beamed when Rue complimented it. "Thanks! It grows near the pond, and I made sure to pick one when we were leaving!"

The four of them sat down, with Mytho setting the basket down beside the table, digging in it for a second before pulling out a bunch of dishes, laying them out on the table in front of them. Ahiru could feel herself drooling just from the smell of the rich palace food, and she had to restrain herself from digging in immediately. A crisp salad with diced walnuts and various greens, as well as a creamy, herb and spice-smelling soup marked the first course of their meal. At this point, Ahiru was telling a very comical story about a time Fakir had mistaken a different duck for Ahiru and ending up with an angry duck and a lot of bite marks on his hands, which had both Rue and Mytho splitting with laughter.

"...And I ended up having to wave my wings around to get the other duck's attention, only for her to let go of Fakir and start chasing me! I thought she was going to eat me until I managed to explain what had happened!"

"You're leaving out the part where I only got bit because you were too busy laughing to help me sooner-" Fakir interjected, blushing in embarrassment at having been the butt of a joke.

The conversation continued from there, and it wasn't long before they were through with the main course and picking at a rich dessert of a chocolate cake. Now, it was Rue's turn to tell a story, recounting the time that she'd literally gotten lost inside the castle.

"I swear, every hallway looks the same! And I was just trying to find the library, I think I was in the servants wing," she said, exasperated.

Mytho chuckled behind his hand. "She ended up in the indoor garden at one point, and I had to stop her from murdering the poor gardener because he thought it was funny she got lost."

"That wise guy is lucky you walked in when you did!" The four laughed together at that.

As soon as dessert was finished and the dishes were cleared from the table, the four of them grabbed their gifts, getting ready to hand them out to their respective recipients.

Ahiru had employed Fakir's help in her gift, mostly because it needed to be done the night before and a duck wasn't exactly the greatest at baking. She'd made homemade sugar cookies-from her own recipe-and before the two of them left that afternoon, she decorated them with ballet and royal motifs. They came out a little sloppier than she'd have preferred, but they brought smiles to Rue and Mytho's faces, which was all that mattered to the girl.

Fakir's gift was also homemade, and was just one gift for the two of them. He'd been practicing painting a lot during that year, and finally had the confidence to use his newfound skill as an anniversary gift. He looked sheepish as they opened it. "It's not much but, uh… I hope you like it…" He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. It was a portrait of the four of them, painted from memory-because Ahiru was a duck 364 days out of the year and he didn't have many opportunities to see Mytho or Rue-and he wasn't sure how it would hold up to the royal portrait painters they probably had up there.

"Oh, Fakir it looks amazing. I'll have it hung up in the parlor as soon as we return," Mytho declared, a smile overtaking his gentle features.

After that, he handed Fakir his gift, and Rue handed hers to Fakir as well. Mytho's was a new quill and ink set, imported from some far off country, something he explained as he handed it over. Rue's gift to him was a silver and emerald brooch, with the back engraved with his initials. As soon as he received it, he pinned it to his shirt with a small smile.

With that, the two friends turned to Ahiru, a bit nervous. Rue was holding a small box, and Mytho's hands were folded in his lap. "Ahiru, this is from both of us. It… Well, you don't need to use it if you are happier with the way things are now, but…" Mytho started, and lightly nudged Rue, who in turn opened the box. Inside was a yellow, gently glowing pendant connected to a silver chain.

"It took us a long time to find someone who could do it, but… We've gotten you a new pendant, and if you wear it, it'll turn you back into a girl! We thought…" She turned to Mytho, choking up a little bit.

"We thought that the ending to the story was unfair to you, Ahiru. You spurred it into motion, and saved all of us from continuing the cycle, yet you were forced back into being a duck," Mytho continued for Rue, "So, we wanted to give you the opportunity to be human, if you wanted."

Rue nodded, holding out the open box. "Please, take it."

Ahiru felt tears welling in her eyes, and upon taking the small box in her hands, they spilled out onto her cheeks. "Guys, I… I don't know how to thank you. I… You…" She turned incomprehensible, babbling between small hiccup sobs. She set aside the box and leaned over the table to pull her best friends into a hug, laughing a little as she did so. "Thank you so much!"

"Of course, Ahiru," Mytho said, happily hugging her back.

"Yeah, Ahiru. We owe everything to you," Rue said with a small sniffle, tightly hugging her back.

From there, the quartet moved to sit on a blanket that had been spread out earlier, in a spot overlooking the river then ran through the town. They continued talking, and as the sun began to set, Ahiru transformed back into a duck with a flicker of light. Gently, Rue clipped the new pendant around her friend's neck. After a couple of tense seconds, light enveloped Ahiru's duck form and she had transformed back into a girl. The four friends hugged again, happy tears in their eyes.

With that, the four friends were able to continue talking well into the nighttime.