Swinging his legs back and forth, Ricken pulled out a handful of grain he'd nicked from the stables and offered it to a pudgy bird perching on his gloved hand. The bird cocked it head back and forth before hopping to the hand topped with food, pecking at it while tittering happily.

Smiling, Ricken cooed at the little bird, a bit concerned that his feathered friend had gained so much weight because of him. "Any more of this and you'll get to be my size."

The bird raised its head for a moment before going back to eating, unconcerned with the extra oomph it had thanks to the mage.

Perched in a tree just above the log Ricken was sitting on, Nowi watched the short mage talk to the bird. Swinging her legs back and forth in time to Ricken, she rested her chin in her hands and wondered how long it would take for him to notice she was there. The bird suddenly paused before leaping off Ricken's hand and flying off.

Time to make her entrance. Hopping down from the branch, she landed solidly next to Ricken, tipping the brim of his oversized hat as she did, and took a seat next to him. She offered a cheery greeting. "Hey Ricken!"

Ricken nearly jumped out of his seat when something landed with a thud next to him. But before he could, his world turned black and a loud, but friendly, voice blasted into his ear. Pulling his hat out of his eyes, he looked wildly back and forth, before seeing Nowi's face peering into his.

"Oh gods Nowi. I thought I was being attacked." His heart was racing, as the initial thought he had was that a Risen had snuck up from behind to do him in.

She giggled, not at all phased. "A sneak attack! But I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Brushing himself off, Ricken hopped off the log. "Don't mention it. But what brings you out here?" He was a fair ways from the camp. "And I was sure no one followed me when I left."

Getting up herself, Nowi rocked on her heels, before pulling out a dragonstone, and waving it at Ricken. "I can fly, remember? Just out and about when I saw you." Leaning her head to one side, she kept the smile on her face. "Not that you mind the company, right?"

"Of course not. It's always nice having you around." And he really did mean it. Even though she was by far the oldest in their group, and he the youngest, their dispositions matched each other fairly well. And it was more than once that the two had covered for each other.

If Nowi's smile could get any brighter it did. Grabbing Ricken's hands she whirled him around as she laughed, just happy to be in his company. "Awfully sweet of you." Letting go just as abruptly, she ran off, changing into dragon form and launching herself into the sky. "But I was just making sure you were alright. Talking to birds, who would have thought?"

Launched in one direction, Ricken tried to regain his balance, and managed to fall over. He watched as Nowi rose higher and higher, becoming a spec no larger than the tiny bird that was keeping him company earlier. "What a hurricane."

AN: Request for DustedWithStars. There was a plot at one point. But I went out for a trip to Little Tokyo and lost the train of thought I was going off of, haha. I guess Nowi was worried that Ricken would take the time to talk to small animals instead of spending time with her?

Anways, as always, thank you for reading and reviewing, and if you'd like to see any other pairs please feel free to leave a request.