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Ahiru had fun visiting the storybook. Fakir knew this logically, but that didn't really stop him from feeling guilty that he hadn't been the one to get her there, or turn her back into a girl.
Life with her was domestic and perfect and everything he could have ever dreamed of. The past month, she had spent most of her time as a girl to combat her migration instincts. Now that it was warming up, Ahiru was spending her mornings as a duck on the lake again.
Mytho and Rue still hadn't contacted them, not even to let them know if the baby had been born yet. He had no choice but to hope that everything was okay; maybe he would ask Ahiru to visit to check on them. Especially since she'd said Rue looked far along. Fakir knew he should be grateful that Ahiru wanted to spend her time with him, but he couldn't help feeling a little jealous that she could visit and was choosing not to.
He leaned back in his chair, cradling his mug of hot tea and soaking in the crisp, almost spring air. Snow still clung to the ground in the shade around the trees. Ahiru was chasing a fish out on the lake, her necklace resting on the blanket folded on his lap, so it would keep warm until she was ready to come back in.
It worried him, sometimes, to think that they were letting magic back into their lives. But then he always thought, it was worth it to hold her again, to dance with Ahiru, to hear her thoughts on anything and everything. He sighed into his mug, his breath mixing with the steam in the cold air, sending out a billow of fog.
There was a loud splash, followed by triumphant quacking, and then another quieter splash and panicked squawking. Fakir looked up to see Ahiru dive back down and then emerge with a small glint of silver in her beak. She flapped noisily over to him and deposited the thing on the deck.
It was a small blue pendant like Ahiru's, but instead of being teardrop-shaped, it was cylindrical, the length of his pinky and about as thick, and it was capped on both ends by intricate silver.
Ahiru quacked at Fakir. When he failed to look up from the pendant, she Quacked again and louder. When that still didn't work, she bit him, gently, or she tried to be at least.
"Ow," he said rubbing his arm, "Sorry." He did not at all seem sorry, but he handed her her necklace at least, so she forgave him.
She quacked again, and finally he looked at her. She gestured with her wings. Put it on Fakir!
"Oh, right! right" he reached up and clasped the necklace behind his head. "OK, now what do I do? How do you turn into a bird?"
Um, well, it seemed to work the same as before. She just had to behave like a Duck really. She Quacked and jumped up and down, flapping her wings a little. He blinked at her and slowly, painfully, flapped his arms.
Nothing happened.
Fakir put his hand to the bridge of his nose and made a small, annoyed sound. With a poof, his clothes hit the dock. Ahiru nosed into the pile with her beak until out emerged a large black pigeon. She was slightly larger in wingspan and a little rounder. Fakir's feathers were a scaly black to gray that gave him a regal appearance, like he was wearing armor, and around his neck was an iridescent collar.
He cooed at her, and then seemed shocked at the sound. He looked down at his bird body and spun in a quick pigeon-y circle, bobbing his head over his shoulder. After a moment of assessing himself, he looked over at her with a deadpan expression. Ahiru giggled, or rather, the closest duck approximation; she had never before seen a pigeon look so serious. Fakir cautiously flapped his wings, it was not nearly enough to get him up off the ground. Ahiru quacked to get his attention and took off circling once and landing to show him again. After an experimental moment, he joined her in the air, letting out a triumphant coo.
He was doing it! He was in the air, it was like nothing he had ever truly felt. The wind rushing over him felt amazing. He pumped his wings again, and they soared around each other. It was almost like dancing. Though a new problem was arising. He absolutely could not swim like this, and if his activation was different from Ahiru's, what was to say his way to transform back was the same. He didn't want to sink and drown in a pigeon's body.
Ahiru landed on the deck and wriggled back into her necklace to transform back. Once she was decent fakir landed beside her.
"What are you waiting for?"
He blinked at her and Cooed. It was the most annoyed coo she had possibly ever heard. he stared at her until, "OH!" and then she… turned around.
He sighed; his idiot could be so stupid sometimes. He flapped his wings loudly, and when she finally turned back around, he tried to convey "No swimming", until at great length it seemed to click for her.
"I see," she hummed and scooped some water in her hands for him to try.
With a small splash, he was… wet. So not that then, he was glad he hadn't tried to get into the water at least.
"We could try fire?" she cringed when he gave her a pidgioney glare, "ok… right not fire."
He paced in a circle until an idea struck him. Ahiru was a duck, so when she removed her necklace, she turned back into a duck. It stood to reason that, since he was a man and not actually a pigeon, if he removed the necklace he would turn back into a man. Without thinking on it any harder, he flapped and shrugged and wiggled until he could get the necklace off. there was a sort of Pop Fwip sound, and he was back in his own body. Sans clothes. Which Ahiru reacted to immediately, she whirled around and covered her face, blubbering and rambling faster than he could even hear, though it sounded like she was mostly talking to herself anyway. Grumbling, he unfolded to standing and pulled his clothes on, slipping the necklace into a pocket, while Ahiru rambled ceaselessly.
He grabbed the top of her head, and she stopped talking instantly. He could feel the heat from her blush through her hair, "idiot," he sighed and tucked her back into his chest, wrapping his arms around her blanketed shoulders, resting his chin on her hair, and smooshing her cowlick into her face.
It took a second, but he could feel the moment the tension left her, a sort of dramatic deflating as she leaned back into him.
"Sorry"
"Go get dressed so we can tell Karon that we're leaving for a while," he gave her a final squeeze before letting her go and turning back out to the dock.
—
Finally, finally they were on their way to the storybook. Ahiru led Fakir into the crack in the wall having to squeeze to fit in before him. She watched him try to circle the crack in the sky on the other side. it. Below them the little castle Mytho and Rue were building had been halted because everything was covered in a powdery, fluffy layer of snow, time seemed to flow a little differently here than in their world. Fakir had to fly a little slower to keep up with Ahiru since she was the only one who knew where they were going, but they made it work flying directly to the gate.
"QUACK," she greeted the guards, pleased to see that Beau and Franklin recognized her.
"Hullo, Miss Duck, good to see you again." Beau smiled at her as the other guard called up to open the gate for the two birds.
At great length, they were transformed into people, and clothed, and eventually, finally, brought to a great double door carved with swans and crows. Ahiru eagerly reached up to knock. The door swung open onto a domestic scene. Mytho held his and Rue's daughter at eye level, bouncing and cooing at her. While on a luxurious couch, Rue sat, draped, smiling contentedly at her husband and baby.
They turned to look when Fakir and Ahiru walked in. This time, Rue beamed at them.
"Ahiru! you found my gift," she clasped her hands and stood. "I'm so glad."
She held her hands out to Mytho, who deposited the baby into her arms. In two quick strides, he was embracing Fakir. He felt his heart swell and swell as he hugged Mytho back. They had lived like brothers for so long, and Fakir had not realized how deeply the absence stung until he was back in Mythos warmth and light. He could not keep the tears from his eyes as he gripped Mytho's back .
"Fakir it's so good to see you" Mytho's voice was as thick with emotion as Fakir was sure his own was.
"And you" to the side he heard Ahiru squeal as she was presented with the baby.
"Her name is Margarethe" Rue said laughing, "We mostly call her Greta though"
"Oh she's so cute Rue"
Fakir gave Mytho a final squeeze and turned to introduce himself to Greta.
"Hello Princess Margarethe, it's a pleasure to meet you" he bowed, and was promptly kicked lightly in the shin by Rue who passed Greta to him the moment he stood back up to defend himself.
As soon as her hands were free she pulled Ahiru into a brief hug. Letting the smaller woman squeeze her tightly before moving back to clasp her hands.
"I'm so glad you're both here" Mytho smiled at them "come sit, lets all enjoy the time we have together," he motioned to the very plush looking couch.
Ahiru wiggled her fingers at Greta and they both giggled as she pulled and grasped at them with her pudgy baby hands, and Fakir thought, that this was probably the most content he had ever felt in his life.