A/N: Reisha is owned by Bladestar.

“Hide”

Reisha stood in silent vigil even as the crowd flourished with a frenzy of excitement. The noise level of the fans reached limits she doubted alarms hit, and she knew doubtlessly her hearing would be impaired for sometime.

Upon the ice, the winning team bombarded their goalie by the net, screaming and whooping as if they won the championship, which was within their grasp—one game away. It took several minutes and numerous hugs and pounds upon the back before the aforementioned player freed himself from the pack and glanced up into the stands.

And Wildwing Flashblade and Reisha L’Orange’s eyes met.

How could they not? The stands were all but empty now with only a few stragglers left, many of the fans having run to catch their players down by the locker room, and even still, Reisha was unlike anyone else in the arena. Her long, shimmering raven hair was pulled back in a waist-length braid with a glimmering gold ribbon weaved in it. Her white feathers matched the goalie’s perfect, immaculate and bright, but her emerald eyes really set her apart from everyone else. They were airy and vibrant, alluding to the power she held dear.

Slowly, Wildwing’s face hardened. Yet, Reisha remained, for she knew the boy wouldn’t want her down there, but she still wanted him to know she supported him. After everything, after all these years, she still cared, and that would never change, even if he didn’t approve of her loyalty.

She could have just come to simply see the game and leave unobtrusively, but she was a thief. And thieves never hide. They eluded, maneuvered, but they never hid.

Still, it would have easier for her to have hidden, especially when Wildwing’s face scrunched in a dark glower, and he turned sharply away. He never looked back, and with him, the boy once more took her heart.

*^*^*

It seemed harder and harder to come see the boys through the years.

No, Reisha had to correct herself. They weren’t little boys anymore. Nosedive just turned twelve, and Wildwing was sixteen. Stars, they were growing up so fast, and she was missing it.

She tried to be around as best she could, even though those visits were few and far between. Wildwing only made it worse with his eluding, at which he strived. If events would have gone differently in their lives, she might have gotten her husband to recruit him for the Brotherhood.

But nothing went as planned, and thus, she found herself sitting in the upper tiers of the arena once more. Puck literarily dangled in the air, ready to start the game, and though Reisha couldn’t wait to see how Nosedive would fair, she scanned the crowds expectantly. Wildwing would be here, of that she had no doubt. Sure enough, even though he was a few seconds late, the older brother scooted down the bench seat to make room for his best friend, whom she had been told was Canard, and together, they began to cheer for Nosedive.

Reisha felt a bang of envy. Though she loved her life in the Brotherhood, she missed the boys so much it hurt, and the distance with Wildwing was almost unbearable. If she thought he would at least be civil, she would have ventured down to sit next to the older brother, but she knew the truth, which kept her plastered three rows higher and silent.

The puck jumped and skipped along the ice, and Reisha watched enthused. She didn’t look away since Wildwing came, and as Nosedive caught the puck with his stick blade, elation filled her. He pulled his arm back, his eyes focused not down at the black rubber but rather on the net, and she knew what was to come next.

“All you have to do is keep your eye on the net. That’s the most important aspect of shooting.”

The fair-haired boy’s head hardly reached her waist, but his eyes, sparkling blue just like his mother, listened more than his ears, following her every motion. “But what about accuracy? If I can’t see what I’m hitting, how will I know—?”

Reisha pushed one of the smaller locks of her long black hair out of her eyes as she bent down to be even with the younger mallard. “That’s why you have to keep your eyesight pinned on the net. If you look at the puck, how will you know where it’s going to go, sweetie?”

Realization dawned in the younger boy, and unlike anyone in her family, he bubbled with an excitement and raw curiosity that no amount of knowledge could satiate. “But how will know how to hit the puck, then? And what about strength? If I can’t hit it pass the goalie—and what about the defenders? How will I—”

So, this was what her tutors had to face. Now she understood their frustration, even though she felt none toward the boy before her. After all, how many times did she get to see him? Wildwing usually made sure both were away when she came to visit.

Sighing, Reisha played with the boy’s bangs as she spoke, gaining her a slight pout. “Will you just trust me, kiddo? It may not seem like it, but I know what I’m doing.”

“I always trust you, Reisha—”

Those were the sweetest words he ever said to her.

“— I just like to know EVERYTHING.”

Reisha smiled sweetly and rose to her feet, then skated about the boy’s back. She grabbed his arms and moved through the swing with him, trying to get his arm to loosen and become familiar with the particular technique. When he took his eyes off of the goal, she manually moved his head back, causing him to roll his eyes. She retaliated with a tug of the braid she’d put in his hair with a golden ribbon.

Just like hers.

“Mom! Dad! Are you home?”

The casual yell startled even the seasoned thief, and she quickly skated about Nosedive. “Okay, sweetie! Why don’t you give it a try?”

“But—”

“I really have to be going.” She lurched forward to grab him by the sides of the face and hold him close. “You have no idea how much I want to stay, but I can’t. And I really want to see you do this.”

“But what if I can’t? I haven’t practiced enough.”

She wanted to smack Wildwing in the back of his head. Practice again? Sometimes one could only learn through experience. “You said you trusted me, so do so. Show me you can do it.” She winked, gaining a blush from the younger mallard.

With such conviction and confidence from Reisha, Nosedive nodded and lined himself up with the goal in the driveway. Too enthralled with the shot, he didn’t hear the glass doors of the deck open with a clunk and the horrified gasp that sounded. Instead, he simply wound up, kept his eye on the goal, and shot.

The puck zipped toward the goal and in a blaze of blue fire, burned a hole through the net.

“I did it, Reisha! I did it!” He leapt into the air and turned, jumping into her awaiting arms.

“Yes, you did.” She held him close for a few moments, simply reveling in his embrace. “Stars, I miss you, sweetie.”

“Wish I could say the same for you, Reisha.”

The coldness in his voice where warmth had once only resided chilled Reisha to the bone and left her heart in shreds. She slowly set Nosedive down and petted his head gently before staring without pretense at the immaculate white-feathered teenager, who crossed his arms over his chest. Wildwing barely stood a few inches taller than her—he obviously still had to grow—and his muscles were firm from his hockey skills but not filled out.

Behind him on the porch stood a group of teenagers with a tan mallard standing out in front—Wildwing’s hockey team, Reisha remembered from the games she attended.

“Hello, Wildwing,” she said calmly, evenly. “Even if you do not feel the same way, it is good to see you.”

“Come on, Dive.” He skated forward a few strides and grabbed his little brother’s hand, tugging him away from Reisha. “Why don’t we go get pizza with the team?”

“No!” Nosedive struggled against his brother’s hold on his wrist—unsuccessfully. “ I want to stay with Reisha!”

This was one of the reasons she didn’t come around as often as she would’ve liked.

“Mom and Dad leave me in charge when they’re not at home, so no! You have to come with me!”

“It’s okay, Dive,” Reisha soothed, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder and stopping his resistance. She looked at Wildwing before smiling gently at Nosedive. “It’s okay. Really. I have to be going, anyway.”

“Why don’t you just stay gone?” Wildwing snapped.

The fierceness of his words stung more than he probably knew, for if he did, he surely wouldn’t have said them. Not Wildwing. Instead of masking her emotions, she turned it full force upon the teen. “You will never forgive me for a sin I never committed, will you?”

Wildwing’s scrunched in frustration. “It’s funny how you can say that with a straight face, even though you’re flat out lying right to me! I guess that’s why you’re such a great thief, isn’t it? You can hide your true emotions from everyone—” He leaned forward and whispered so the only two of them could ear, “—even those you’re closest to—or were.”

She took his words and started to walk past, only to stop and pierce, “I never hide.”

With a pat on Nosedive’s head, followed, by a kiss, Reisha strode down the drive. She only stopped once when she reached her motorcycle and watched as Wildwing unobtrusively fidgeted with his brother’s hair to work out the golden ribbon before throwing it to the deck and stamping on it.

She put on her helmet to hide the tears.

Brought back to the present, Reisha couldn’t help herself as the puck soared over the goal line, and blue fire lit the back of the net. She rose to her feet and cheered, even placing her fingers to her mouth to whistle. Wildwing jerked upward and whirled, but in a sea of people and her skills, he didn’t recognize her.

No doubt, if he had, a fight would have ensued, and that was not why she came. Today was Nosedive’s day. With that one shot, he broke the school’s scoring record, and Reisha couldn’t help but be proud. But the celebration would be ruined if she and Wildwing fought like they did only the handful of times they’d seen each other throughout the years. There was no stopping Wildwing’s reaction, and he refused to listen. He would always believe her reasons for coming to be false.

Sighing, Reisha brought her jacket tighter about her body and wrapped her arms about her stomach. Then, unlike anything she’d done before, she slowly made her way through the crowd and down the stairs.

*^*^*

The team swelled about Nosedive like a pack of wolves, slamming him on the back, hugging and congratulating the tween. As he finally emerged from the locker room, hair sodden but face bright, he never even saw the woman before him. He would have walked right past her if not for her familiar and always welcome voice.

“Hey, kiddo. Nice shot. Where’d you learn to do that?”

Nosedive whirled instantly, an overzealous smile brightening his face. He spied Reisha leaning against the wall, and like always, she wore a smirk of pure gold. Chucking his incredible large bag of hockey equipment, he dashed forward and lunged into her welcoming arms.

“Reisha! I can’t believe you came!”

“Hey, come on. How could I miss something like this?”

Nosedive pressed his face into her shoulder and took a deep breath to smell her, and she knew he was making a memory. Stars, how long had it been she last saw him? A few months, possibly a year—maybe more? She missed him, more than he ever knew. More than Wildwing ever knew.

She reluctantly pulled away, knowing time was a cruel lord. Cupping his cheeks in her hands, Reisha couldn’t help but smile at his excitement, and her heart warmed at the mere sight of his face. This emotion—It didn’t come from his game and his milestone. It came from his love of her, from seeing her.

She once more pulled him into a hug, tight and all compassing. “Listen to me, sweetie. You are just so great, and I love you so much.”

He tried to tug away, but she refused to let him.

“Reisha—you’re not going yet, are you? Wing, Canard, and I are going to celebrate. Why don’t you—”

A fib. A white lie—that’s all she needed to do, but her honor wouldn’t allow her to say one, so she simply let her hand drop from his shoulders to his hands and squeezed tightly. “I—I have to go. I can’t stay for very long, but I wanted to let you know how much I care and that I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

His eyes darkened, and just the sight was enough to maim her. “But—”

“Dive!”

That was her cue.

As Nosedive turned to weave between the masses for the hand waving above them, tears welled up in Reisha’s eyes. Her cupped her hands, still warm from his warmth, and slowly backed away, her heart once more tearing with each step she took. Then, she did the one thing she never did in her life.

And Nosedive never saw her disappear.
And Wildwing never saw her.

She vanished inside the empty lunch room, her hands clenching her stomach. A fury of pain crashed down upon her as she tried to stop her sobbing, but nothing could ever take away the agony of separation.

“Hey, where did she go?” Nosedive, she knew. Through the space between the doors, she saw him glance around, emotional searing and sadness clouding his usually bright eyes.

“Where did who go?” Wildwing demanded, his hands tensing into fists at the mere thought of her.

Nosedive noticed as well and shrugged. “No one. Never mind. Why don’t we head out?”

A small smile crept upon Wildwing’s beak, and he draped an arm over Nosedive’s shoulders, pulling the boy into a half-hug. “Absolutely. Canard’s getting the car, and I figured pizza or…”

As she watched them walk away, Reisha slumped before tilting her head back against the door. Then, she sought sanctuary.

Taking out her phone, she didn’t make any effort to quiet her sobs when other duck picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“…Duke…”

“Reisha, baby, what’s wrong?” Concern and fear tainted her voice.

“I really need you right now.”

She really needed family, ones from whom she didn’t have to hide.

The End