I don't even know what this is, I just like Syrius and Hawk. And also Aleisa and Kayani. * w* Little bit of Syrius/Hawk, and my headcanons and pets that I designed for them. Also, I won't be posting more to this, so what you see is what you get. Now I need to go do something productive...

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General Syrius ran a toothed comb through his Lighira's long, thick mane, smoothing the fur down with his hand as he went. Lighira took effort to raise, hard work to train, and time few could spare to care for their appearance. It was a wonder Syrius had one at all, though at the behest of the King, Syrius found himself spending his downtime with the regal beast. He'd named him Faris, a name from a faraway land that was believed to mean "knight," and it was a fitting name. Faris possessed enormous strength, his intelligence on par with that of many human knights, and understood commands as if he were human himself.

He was also vain, and demanded to be brushed and petted and touched whenever his master had any time to himself. Syrius didn't mind as much as he should have; untangling the inevitable knots from Faris' mane was relaxing and gave him the chance to clear his head while still accomplishing something.

At his feet was Faris' cream-coloured daughter, an energetic ball of teeth and claws with no name as of yet. She would make a fine warrior in the arena when she was grown, with her father's strength and her mother's agility, but for now it seemed she was perfectly content with latching on to the pant legs of unsuspecting people and gnawing on them.

The absence of the hatchling's fangs sinking into his boot made Syrius look up, watching her stalk behind the potted plant in his quarters with her eyes and ears focused on the door. She launched herself just as the door opened, and Hawk's familiar voice squawked indignantly as she hooked her claws on his armour and scaled her way to his shoulders.

"The huntress strikes again," Hawk commented, stroking her pale fur as he strode into Syrius' room like it was his own. He'd certainly been there enough times to come and bother him.

"Indeed." Syrius straightened in his chair to put the comb away, and though Faris grumbled, he didn't nudge Syrius' leg insistently like he so often did. "Are you not forgetting something, Lieutenant?"

Hawk blinked. "What? Oh." He raised his arm in the official salute of Ethernia before dropping it. "Aren't we a little past that, General?"

"Hm." Syrius didn't respond, turning his attention to the shadow behind Hawk, instead.

Freyr was Syrius' gift to Hawk, both for exemplary actions and quick thinking on the field, and also because the man had earned it. Hawk had trained countless creatures and their owners with them, and Syrius heard nothing but praise from citizens all across Sylestia. He'd proven he could handle a Ny'vene and the risks one held, and of all the people General Syrius knew, it was Hawk that deserved such a rare and powerful creature.

"He's grown," he said at last, watching the Ny'vene. Freyr was too old to be a hatchling, but too young to be an adolescent, and it showed in the way Freyr's bird-like hops were getting slower, lagged by his increasing weight and height. Soon he would be too big for it, but Syrius doubted the uncharacteristic curiosity would ever fade with age. "He will be strong."

Hawk scratched under Freyr's scaly chin with a proud smile, watching the thick, growing spikes on his back lower contentedly. "Of course he will. I'm raising him."

"Don't get overconfident. He'll pick it up like he did with your fidgeting."

"I'm not. And I don't fidget." Hawk's feet shuffled despite himself, and he rolled his eyes.

"Be serious."

"No, thank you. I enjoy my job, not yours."

Syrius narrowed his eyes at Hawk's word play, but didn't comment further.

"I did come up here for a reason," Hawk said, reaching up to pull the Lighira off his shoulders. He set her down and she at once darted to Freyr, batting at the frilled end of his tail while Freyr dangled it just out of reach. "Aleisa arrived early, and I thought we could slip in a practice fight or two before the tournament tomorrow. She brought Kayani, too."

Syrius had almost forgotten about the tournament, and also their elven visitors. Aleisa was lionhearted and stubborn, and though she and Syrius clashed on many topics, she was a skilled fighter and worked alongside her Morkko like they were one warrior. He was proud to know her. Kayani, on the other hand, soothed their frustration with each other with kind words and compromises, and though she was no fighter, she and her Lupora were the best salve-makers he knew. Ethernia's Rosina was a talented healer with magic, but Kayani was the one you wanted with you if you ever lost your way in the woods. Her Lupora could find and dig up the best natural ingredients for Kayani to make the most potent potions.

At the prospect of battling and the after-battle combing that would ensue, Faris nudged him so hard the chair almost tipped over.

"Alright, alright!" Appeasing his Lighira, General Syrius stood. Hawk had already grabbed his cloak off the hook by the door and was holding it out to him. "Let's go."

"That's the spirit, General." Hawk's mouth was curved into a smirk, and Syrius rolled his eyes, knowing without having to ask that his Lieutenant had placed bets with Kayani again on whether Syrius or Aleisa would win against each other.

Too bad it was always a draw.