The Seventh Member of the Storm Hawks

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Aerrow lay in his bed, Radarr sleeping (well snoring) next to his legs. He sighed, stretching and resting one arm behind his head and the other on his stomach. He couldn't sleep and there was no one, but Stork, to talk to, especially about what he was thinking about. With a grunt he tossed, trying to sleep but the image of Nika haunted him, why was she keeping him awake? Ever since he took her aboard his squadron, he couldn't get her out of his head. Those piercing blue eyes reminded him of a summer sky back home, her long brown hair that smelled like the mint shampoo she always used and her smile – Aerrow blushed at the thought of it, he couldn't help but smile himself. "Ow!" He yelped after something kicked his leg, Radarr was dreaming about something – with a quiet chuckle, he petted his co-pilot till he relaxed again. Settling down again, Aerrow listened to the hum of the engines and the patter of light rain – it was relaxing, it made him forget about the war and his goal.

"YOU ARE WHAT?!" Piper shouted, starting Aerrow and Radarr – who promptly scampered underneath the cover, grumbling but settling down again. Aerrow frowned, it was silent again – no one seemed to be bothered, well Stork began to curse girls but other than that the Condor stayed silent. What was that about? He asked, running a hand through his hair and sitting up. "Piper! Shut up will you!" Nika shouted, being quieter than the navigator, with a frown Aerrow quietly made his way to the girls' room – someone was crying while someone else was whispering furiously, making sure he didn't accidently open the door – Aerrow leant against the wall and listened, not being prepared for what was he about to hear.

"I meant to tell you, all of you. Piper, please stop looking at me like that!" Nika sobbed quietly, why was she crying? What did she mean to tell the Storm Hawks? "How could you not tell us?! I'm your best friend! Why didn't you trust me with that, this changes everything!" Piper retorted, this didn't sound good at all. "Piper, will you just listen!" Nika replied, her voice rising slightly. "Yes, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was so scared of telling you and being treated like I was above you – but being with you guys, I could be normal – the happiest I've ever been... I'm just sorry!" Nika cried, Aerrow's chest began to ache – he was relieved it wasn't anything to do with the Cyclonians but he was scared to know what she meant, nobody really knew her story before she came to Atmosia. "If you want me to leave, I will. I'll go tonight." Nika continued sounding defeated, this nearly made Aerrow burst through – Nika couldn't leave! "No, no, no Nika. I won't treat you any different, yeah sure you're a princess and all but you're still a Storm Hawk! My best friend!" Piper laughed shakily, Aerrow's knees gave out – Nika was a princess? Wait, THE princess of Terra Yaris! How could he be so stupid? It was obvious! Nika Striking – Striker squadron! Brother named Jor – it all made sense! The red head sat on the floor and put his hand to his head, he didn't listen to the rest of the conversation

'But if she's a princess then I can't be with her, I'm a commoner. There are probably rules and she's probably betrothed to someone else – maybe she doesn't know or she does and has hidden that too. She probably doesn't want a common Sky Knight like me anyway, I'm nothing but a friend. Is she allowed to join us, does she already have a squadron?' He thought to himself, he felt angry that she never told him that – did she not trust them enough? With a small grunt, he pulled himself up and crept back to his room, hoping that neither Piper nor Nika knew that he was there.

"So, does that mean you can't like Aerrow?" Piper asked, sounding sad – Nika raised an eyebrow but let it go realising Piper and nobody else really knew Yarisian culture. "I'm guessing books don't really tell you much about my home?" She gently smiled, Piper shook her head and waited for her friend to explain. Nika shifted from her seat on the floor. "Well... There's no rules about who my brother and I could like – it didn't matter, the elders never believed in standing in the way of something that they called beautiful, especially with this stupid war going on. My brother and I were trained to lead Yaris after our parents, co-ruling but he's gone and now I must do it alone." Nika explained, her eyes watering at the thought of her lost brother, Piper rubbed her arm in comfort. "We weren't kept separate from the other kids, there was no point – we played together, fought together and went through loss together. It was tough there but we were with the people we loved most." She smiled, it was relieving talking about home – was something she had kept to herself since the invasion and moving to Atmosia for her safety. "What's it like?" Piper asked, she was curious to know what life was like as a princess – was it like the fairy tales she used to read? "Being a princess? I dunno, I was just taught that everyone had responsibilities but sometimes I hated it – wearing dresses was one of them. As far as I remember there wasn't any fancy dances or anything." Nika replied, inwardly she was happy that Piper confronted her – the pressure of keeping it to herself was eating away at her and having two near misses of being caught out just made the matter worse. "Aww." Piper sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "I thought that princesses met their prince at balls and they flew off to their happy ending." Nika giggled, "How boring would it be if everyone's story was like that?" Piper muttered an agreement, still hung up on the idea of romance.

"Thanks Piper." Nika smiled, the girls had decided to try and sleep since it was getting extremely late. "I figured you would have guessed but, in a way, I hope no one else has." She murmured, Piper's soft snores indicated that she was asleep and wouldn't answer. The brunette couldn't sleep, quietly she left her shared room and went for a wander around the ship – ending up on the balcony and out of Stork's sight. She sat down and hung her legs over the edge, clutching the rails and stared out to the night sky, the scent of summer rain still in the sky. The clouds had cleared revealing small pockets of starry skies. "Just like the view at home." She whispered to herself, a small smile on her face.

'I need to tell her, at least she will know. But what if? No, just tell her Aerrow!' Aerrow paced his room, making sure not to be loud because a cranky Radarr wasn't fun for anyone. The thought of Nika made the Sky Knight's heart race but he didn't want to tell her tonight – it would be too much on her and he'd ruin his chance. "I'm going to tell you one day, you're beautiful..." He whispered before he lay down and fell asleep, not stirring due to the dreams of said girl being in his arms.