Chapter 1: A Beginning

This was a story on my alt. Account Shbeba and the only one I'm particularly proud of of the concept. However it is in sore need of a redux thus it is being moved here and reworked. The story is the same but parts are changing and what not, mistakes being corrected and now getting it fixed up and ready to go again. The sequel has gone through a redux in concept thus this has to match up better to that.

I've been wanting to redo this story for a while ^_^ so finally I've gotten off my butt to go through chapter by chapter and re-read, and re-edit everything to make it a better read and post it here on my NEW account. Shbeba is now my Eyesheild 21 account.

THIS account is were I put the stories I really love and spend time making it a really good work to read. Enjoy everyone, the REDUX of Hawk and Rabbit and look for the sequel!

If you go looking for the original one on my Shbeba account you won't find it. Tis now deleted :p it was so poorly edited I am ashamed I posted it XD

Lepomme (aka Shbeba)

The night air was cool tonight and swept in from the north carrying the scent of the forest below coupled with a scent that the sky itself seemed to be imprinted with. It was quite in the still air as if the whole world had gone to sleep.

"It might as well have," Elincia thought as she coasted through the night on her pegasus, "everyone has been turned to stone except a few,"

The few that now marched toward the tower of the goddess herself to free everyone from this curse. All the turmoil that had gone on and all the fighting had taken its toll on everyone especially Elincia. She felt hopeless about the situation which probably didn't fit the attitude of a queen.

She might have been in her tent right now, musing into the night questions of why and how things had turned out this way if it hadn't been for a proposal from the oddest of people. An invitation for a night flight.

The young queen glanced at her companion out of the corner of her eye her mind already whirling with questions and quick guesses. The large hawk glided on the night air with little effort, all the pinions spread wide, tail feathers extended like a rudder. But then Hawk King Tibarn was no novice to the skies.

"Quite tonight…but then usually it is quite this high at night," the hawk commented airily as if the whole war had just dissolved less than a minute ago, "Tends to quite the mind as well,"

"A bit," Elincia said with a thin smile. It was odd how the beak merely opened and she could hear him talk as he did while a human although he was in hawk form. If the queen wasn't so preoccupied she might find it a bit amusing she was having a civil conversation with the usually hot blooded, beroc hating hawk king.

Tibarn turned his head fixing her with the intense unblinking gaze of a predator although the wide yellow eyes sparkled a bit with mirth, "A bit? Then you must be a truly troubled mind as of late,"

"I'm concerned about my country and my friends," Elincia defended stiffly hunching over her pegasus slightly, "I cannot stop thinking about what will happen if we don't succeed"

The hawk gave a lazy flap of the wings, probably his version of a shrug Elincia figured as he turned his gaze forward, "If you keep thinking so damn much you'll have grey hairs before you have any hatchlings,"

Elincia merely raised an eyebrow about 'hatchlings' but shrugged it off as bird laguz terminology and frowned slightly about the grey hairs, "I'm the queen of my country. I must serve my country faithfully"

"And I'm the king of Phonecia and I've been at it longer then you. As one monarch to another, learn to take it easy once and a while. A fresh mind serves your country better young queen," The hawk said in a slightly lecturing tone.

Elincia gave a slight pout but remained quite. He had a point even if she wasn't all too pleased with it. Tibarn probably understood the stress she felt now better than anyone else. The pressures of ruling a country weren't all that easy to handle at times.

Idly she wondered if there were times even the unstoppable hawk king broke down in his reign. She glanced at Tibarn as he lazily coasted on a cushion of air and sighed. Probably not. He didn't seem like the type to break down but to lash out in times of trouble.

"Something wrong?" he asked turning to fix her with another unwavering stare. Elincia mentally cursed herself for forgetting just how keen the hearing of a hawk truly was.

"Just thinking," she mumbled. A night breeze came up and tossed her hair a bit in the breeze and sent the trees below into a mad dance with their leaves. The hawk turned to look straight ahead and if he could've, she knew he would've rolled his eyes at her.

"Thinking, thinking, thinking…is that all you berocs ever do?" he half growled, "Do you ever act just in the moment for goddess's sake?"

"I don't like making rash decisions plus thinking things through often helps me to clear my mind," Elincia defended puffing up a bit with indignation.

Tibarn merely laughed, "And you probably think I'm making every rash decision in the book right?"

Elincia merely pursed her lips biting back the sharp tongued comment on the tip of her tongue, "You make decisions right for your country King Tibarn," she said.

"Sure I do…."he snorted. It was clear the Hawk King knew what the beroc queen of Crimea had to say about him. Elincia bit her lip hoping she had not offended the laguz in anyway. It would do know good to have sour feeling between the two after just earning the hawk king's respect.

"I could care less what you think," Tibarn said giving his massive wings another flap, "We have different ways of seeing things you and I. You are all about over thinking the issue and I'm all about reacting."

The beroc opened her mouth to respond to the accusation, or a generalization in her opinion, before the hawk king cut his wings sharply and dove towards the earth. Startled Elincia sat back on her pegasus before shaking her head in mild frustration and taking after her companion.

Tibarn was a blur of feathers diving towards something far below beak leading wings set for a perfect dive. Then just before it seemed he would hit the ground, he thrusted his talons forward wings unfurling behind him.

Those cruel talons bit into flesh tensing quickly bring the poor dumb deer that wandered into the hawk's sight to a quick end. The pegasus touched down lightly with a grace the hawk may have lacked and probably would laugh at. A predator had no need for such frivolous grace.

Elincia knew that perhaps she should be appalled by the sight of the slain deer lying out, blood soaking slowly into the earth about it. But the scene seemed acceptable in her mind…natural.

The deer was prey and Tibarn was a predator, talons dug into flesh hunched over his prize protectively yet there was no challenger to take this kill from him. Then the hawk king began to shift.

It was strange still for Elincia to watch a laguz shift. To watch limbs appear or be replaced. Soon however after a brief curl of green energy, Tibarn stood, on foot planted against his kill, his fingers caked in the deer's blood.

Without really acknowledging Elincia's presence, nor probably caring, he lifted one hand and popped a blood soaked finger into his mouth tasting the crimson liquid thoughtfully. Elincia's stomach turned slightly at the thought of watching him eat the deer raw.

Tibarn then fixed his gaze on her lifting an eyebrow before dropping the hand and wiping it on his jacket nonchalantly, "The men haven't had fresh meat of any sort in a long time. A hearty meal might lift some spirits" he said with a slight shrug, "The deer was wounded already. Was making enough racket to wake the dead,"

Quietly the queen approached the hawk laguz and the newly slain deer and finally noticed the wound on its back leg, now infected and giving the beast a limp, "The poor thing," she said with a tinge of real sympathy for the animal.

Tibarn crossed his arms giving her an odd look, "You Beroc feel attachments to the oddest of things…" he muttered shaking his head, and "before you know it you won't cut a tree down because that tree might have feelings,"

"Oh hush you," Elincia snapped, the sudden moment of pity consumed by an irritation at Tibarn's jabs, "You shouldn't tease people like that,"

"And there you go with that fiery indignation of yours," he said amused giving her a lopsided grin, "You are a brave little beroc to take that kind of tone with a laguz king,"

The green haired woman made a small, 'humph' sound in the back of her throat straightening her dress and then placing her hands on her hips, "I'm the queen of Crimea. I'm not about to let a feathered blowhard like you talk down to me," she chided.

Tibarn laughed. The very same laugh he gave when they had first met, "You're amusing for a beroc, " He said giving her that wild carefree grin that sent a flush straight to her face.

She was thankful for the cover of night that could even hide such things from the keen eye of a hawk. The hawk king flashed her another grin before tilting his head a bit once more, "Better head back before they have the whole camp out looking for us,"

With another whoosh and flash of green, the blank features of a hawk face replaced Tibarn's look of amusement although the eyes clearly showed his mirth. His talons curled around his prize as he began to lift off.

Elincia followed on her pegasus, back into the cool crisp night air following the hawk king, "Thank you for inviting me to fly with you," She said lightly, a slight unseen flush of pink still gracing her face.

Tibarn snorted, "You needed something to take your mind off things, " he said shortly, "Rulers understand other rulers regardless of race. You had that slouched shoulders and depressed expression on your face for days…it was starting to affect those around you,"

She looked down in slight shame, but more so in a sudden flush of embarrassment at not realizing what her mood had been doing towards the others. Count on the keen eyes of a hawk to pick up the littlest sign of trouble in the ranks.

"Take it easy on yourself. It isn't like I said they were all damn depressed and moody," Tibarn said giving a mighty flap of his wings.

Elincia nodded numbly eyes focused ahead on the pinpoints of light of the camp in the distance. The hawk let out a slight sigh of frustration, "You beroc are always so down on yourselves. A smile once and a while will do you wonders,"

Then with that, Tibarn took off leaving Elincia in slight shock on top her pegasus, before making a face and kicking her pegasus into a gallop through the clouds after the hawk king. He was brash, wild, composed at the meetings, and always seemed to be in high spirits no matter what happened.

He irked her to no end but she was rather, calmed by his ways at times and sometimes a blush would grace her features now about the hawk laguz. Like and dislike…when had the two concepts become so confusing to her?

She merely sighed and descended into camp, lightly touching down and dismounting her pegasus, leading it back to its pen. Tibarn was nowhere to be seen, but she figured he was dropping his load off with the breakfast tent.

Elincia patted her pegasus's neck lightly before heading towards her tent mind still abuzz with thoughts but the storm had dulled a bit. The night air had calmed her a bit. She smiled and looked up at the night sky, "thank you…" she said softly.