Feathers

Choices

Link held his breath; this would either split him in two or begin a very difficult road. "Deepfell?" His voice was a whisper.

"Yes, Sam. Of course, I cannot live forever in the city without any trees or fresh air. But...I know that you feel the same way about Incitatia that I do about my home," she murmured.

"I do. I mean, all of my friends are there. Deepfell is magical and I feel...at peace here. I've fallen in love with it, because of you. I know that if I go back and never return, I will never feel the same. I would lose the opportunity to begin a new future, with you."

"You want to stay with me?" Her smile was as bright as the sun, filling him with warmth. Her arms slid around his neck and she pressed herself close to him, her face buried in his neck. When she pulled back, tears had filled her eyes, spilling onto her soft cheeks.

He knew that he would do anything for the sweet soul before him and nodded.

"Then I will go with you!" She declared suddenly,

"What?"

"Yes. I will go with you back to your home and stay with you there for a while just as you have stayed here to give my home a chance. I have always wanted to try your different foods and listen to music made with many flutes and strings. Besides, you must finish your invention to help that Flock Avian fly again on a wooden wing," she said sternly.

Link grasped her lovely face between his palms and kissed her long and hard. "You're a genius, Leda," he gasped, watching her touch her lips as a blush colored her face. "There is no reason that either of us have to give up anything! I don't need to lock you up like some animal in a room, not that I ever would, of course. This should be about trying new things, experiencing different cultures! I can actually court you like any other Avian, Leda. This is fantastic!" He kissed her again in his excitement, taking her unaware and spinning her around. "Come on, we have to go right now!"

"But, Sam, wait! I don't have any of my things with me," she cried out, her face still burning from being kissed for the first time.

"I'll get you anything you need," excitement bursting through the seams holding him together.

Rutiger was in a glorious mood to say the least. Not only was he nearly back home, but he had a 'wee lass' of his own as a souvenier from his time spent with Bain. That would mean less time spent romping around in the woods later on trying to accomplish the same thing and more time spent training to be an unbeatable weapons master.

He was in such high spirits, in fact, that he was bellowing out an old bar song that he could fly to, both to keep his mind off how tired he was and to pass the time. It was loud enough to startle birds into flight and earned him an angry wiggle from his rope-wrapped Feral.

"Well, don't do that, you're going to throw me off beat!" He said, meeting her angry dark eyes.

She snarled something nasty through the gag, her eyebrows touching as she frowned fiercely. He couldn't help but think it was one of the cutest things he had ever seen.

"What was that, girl?" Rutiger plucked the cloth out of her teeth and tucked it under her chin.

"I said shut your giant mouth before you kill everything in this forest, including me. A wolf having diarrhea would make better sounds than you," she growled.

"Oh ho! You aim your words to hurt me!" He started chuckling which only seemed to make her angrier. "Too bad for you, I like the sting! You think you could actually cause damage to me in a real fight?"

"I wish my words could pierce your throat so my ears would not bleed right now."

Rutiger's grin was as bright as daylight. "I like your fight, girl."