Animation Source Forums

Setsuko smiled widely. "Kuilak can be a huge pain in the butt too, but I still lo---" Realizing what she was saying, Setsuko stopped abruptly, blushing furiously. She whacked her forehead with her glider, muttering, "Stupid! Stupid, stupid Setsuko, what are you thinking?"

Rue ignored that last part, clearly seeing Setsuko's blush, and hearing the beginning of the word. SHe could guess the ending of it. "I still love my siblings though," she said, adding a smile at the end of the sentence.

Setsuko's blush deepened when she saw Rue's expression. She knew. "Crap! That was supposed to be a secret," Setsuko thought, eyes shining with embarrassment.

"I won't tell," Rue said softly, referring to Setsuko's love.

"Still," Setsuko mumbled, pulling her head into her tunic so that only her messy brown hair was visible.

Rue pointedly looked at the ground, the fiery leaves of autumn littering the mossy dirt and grass.

Setsuko slowly pulled her face out again. She was still blushing, but it was much fainter now. She noticed that Rue was looking at the ground. She did the same, studying her shoes.

Rue scooted over to a nearby tree, opening her wings and making a short flight to the top. She perched in a large fork, leaving her wings out, enjoying them being stretched out.

Setsuko looked up when she heard the unfurling of Rue's wings. The girl had flown up into a tree. Setsuko smiled. She transformed her staff into a glider. She glanced at Jaci. "Jaci, climb," She commanded softly, indicating Rue's tree. And with that, Setsuko took off, landing near Rue.

Rue curled up in the fork, her tawny wings hot agianst her back. "Night Setsuko," she said, the sun in the sky making the sentence confusing.

Setsuko was confused...it was midday. "Uh, Rue? It's not nighttime." She laughed a bit, then sighed. "So...you must really like trees, huh?"

"Setsuko, I haven't gotten any sleep for the past few days, and yes I do," she said, closing her eyes.

"You seem like the type that wouldn't need sleep," Setsuko reasoned. "And you know? The wings, the sleeping in trees...it's almost like you're part bird."

Rue opened her eyes, her wings ruffling uncomfortably. "I uh, am part-bird," she said, iwncing inwardly. As if the wings weren't enough.

Setsuko looked at her, surprised. "Really? How did you become like that?" She realized afterward that the question was probably pretty personal, but hey, she had her father's curiosity.