[Training] bird is the word

Amalia

She does flap away, doing her best to put distance between them despite knowing it to be a lost cause. Owls are predators too, you know, she combats playfully, though they both are perfectly aware that between the two of them one is far more prey.

So distracted is she by avoiding the pursuit that she scarcely catches sight of the hawk until it is before her. With a squawk of alarm her large wings open to catch a breeze before she can strike it, pulling her up short and fast and causing her body to spin.

The hand that strikes her shoulder does so squarely, sending her further off course. With a great deal of effort Amalia flaps her wings, trying to right herself before she plunges down into the water below. She reaches for Remi as she does, trying to wrap her arms around his waist. Either he keeps them both aloft or he'll go down with her.

The Shield is laughing either way, more relaxed than she has been in days.

she was so delicate

yet bursting with energy

kind of like a shattered star

maybe i'm a runaway train, maybe i'm a feather in a hurricane

Ahh, but you aren't an owl anymore, are you? He reminds her. Though to be fair, a leopardess is certainly no passive predator either.

As Amalia spins off course, too surprised by the sudden appearance of the ghost bird, Remi too finds himself laughing as she wraps her arms around his waist. Neither of them have hollow bones at the moment, but he's strong enough to keep them aloft long enough for the Shield to find her own momentum again.

"Tell me more about us thinking things through?" He asks, lowering his hands to roughly muss her hair as he starts to move back toward the cliff where they might land.

THE ALCHEMIST

maybe it's a long gray game, but maybe that's a good thing

Amalia

Back up they go, Remi's strength keeping them from crashing down into the sea, Amalia laughing breathlessly as she catches the wind again and spreads her wings to take her own weight. The friendly fingers in her hair have her sticking out her tongue, not that he can see: "My plan was foolproof, clearly," Amalia retorts, reaching up to bop at his feet as he flies ahead.

They come to land with more playful barbs exchanged, and by the time the training is truly over both are bruised (Amalia moreso) and sore (again), but though the Shield's hair is windswept and her cheeks chapped, her grin that splits her coral lips is bright as the summer sun.

{fin! <3}

she was so delicate

yet bursting with energy

kind of like a shattered star