She ran through the jungle like surroundings as fast as she could, jumping over felled trees and large rocks as she tried to make her way through, breathing hard as she came to a stop in the middle of a clearing, the trees above continued casting a sheltering cover above her. She wiped her sticky forehead with the back of her hand, looking to the sky through the canopy of leaves, waiting to see if anything would pass over head. When there was not the sight of anything, she turned and carried on, keeping her breathing to a minimum as anything more would give her location away.

There was a thick old knarled tree in the center of the next clearing, she just had to reach that to pass, and she came to a sliding halt at the edge of the jungle line, looking up to the sky once more, waiting to see if anything would pass over head. This time she waited just a bit longer, before taking off at a sprint for the tree, her goal was to reach it, she had to touch the knarled trunk, just had to press her fingers to it, and she'd pass this test.

She felt herself lighten up when her fingers pressed to the old knotted trunk, and yelled as she was swiftly lifted from the ground, in her mission to get to the tree she had missed the shadow that came swooping over the clearing. Arms curled around her waist, she grasped at their wrists, and a bristled chin pressed against her ear as they traveled, at a bit of a leisured pace, back to the other end of the jungle thicket.

"You passed."

"You cheated."

"I don't know why you're so sour," he pressed his lips behind her ear, knowing full well that it would drive her crazy, "You passed."

"If I passed," she tried leaning away from his bristled chin but he followed, there was no where for her to really go up here, he had her right where he could ever want her "Then why'd you still swoop me up?" she gave a soft bright shriek when he burrowed back in, pulling them to a stop, hovering over the same clearing in the thick canopy she had stopped in.

He spoke into her neck, causing her to try and pull away, "How did you put it as a fledgling?" he nuzzled in, beard only adding to the torture, "Because I simply love 'picking on you'."

"Yohohou are wahahahay tohoho sensitive abohout thahahahat!"

"Not as sensitive as your neck is though, is it?"

"Nis!" he found a particularly sensitive spot and brushed his chin over it, "I'm not a flehehedgling ahahanymore!"

"Are you sure?' his teasing made her giggle lightly, "You're still so small."

"I'm not short!" she burst into giggles when he found a spot just behind her ear to focus on, "I'm lithe!"

"You know," he pulled away at long last and she was able to take a deep shaky breath, "I can do this to you all day, you passed my test, and Haniel has taken over for me."

"Don't you dare!" She shrieked when he burrowed in on the other side "Nis! I'm seheheherious!"