becominganexpert:
Krystal wasnât close with Falco. Oh, she was enough to be able to function perfectly well with him on missions, of course, but, even after a year spent living and working together, the avian hadnât allowed much beyond the surface to be seen of him. There was always a lingering curiosity, but her patience kept it at bay.
Anything from Falco was on his terms. Understanding this, she respected his boundaries. Which was why him coming to her now and opening up to her, about himself even, left her quite surprised. He trusted her enough to be self-reflective and express an insecurity. To be perfectly honest, the vixen was touched by that.
Her cup was lifted for a brief sip, a contemplative hum filling the silence. He was proud, but he also wouldnât appreciate anything but honesty. Thatâs what he came here for. Heâd receive nothing less. Cup lowered back down, she spoke, âWell, something to keep in mind with Slippy is his perspective. I understand thereâs been a longstanding sort of ârivalryâ between you two; while we both know it isnât malicious, that would be something heâd speak from, Iâd imagine.â
Eyes lifted from her cup. âTo answer your question directly, I donât think so.â A smile, now. âWhile you can be standoffish and sometimes a bit abrasive, I know that you genuinely care and I trust you completely. Nothing about you has ever gotten in the way of that, nor will it. Iâm more than happy to call you my teammate. Iâm certain Slippy feels the same way. We all do.â
She could have gone into more detail, like how she suspected his arrogance and sometimes grumpy attitude might be defense mechanisms for other possible insecurities, but that might be probing too deeply. Leaving it at this was satisfactory.
He raised a brow at the whole ârivalâ comment, but now that he thought about it, Falco did find himself bickering with Slippy from time to time. Hell, a good chunk of the time. And itâs not like there was any sort of apology considering his grumpiness, always striving to be the know-it-all. Despite Krystalâs charismatic nature that served as a stark contrast, itâs any wonder to how the Star Fox team managed to keep this old buzzard on board for so long.
âHuh. Thatâs... thatâs good tahâ hear, I sâpose.â
âAfter being such a punk the whole time, it means a whole lot when someone says they can trust you, yâknow?â Especially after how many times heâs chosen to fly solo? The fact that someone can give the level of trust -- even in the midst of separation -- it went to show... maybe his co-pilots really do care about him. And as for the other way around, theyâre the only family heâs got.
Again, not that heâd openly admit it. But the fact must have been obvious by now otherwise Falco would already be out the door.
âErr, thanks. Like, I mean it this time.â Hard to tell from his typically dulled expressions. âI felt that I was gonna stick around with the team for awhile longer instead of just flyinâ off, so I figured Iâd make sure everyone got used to me.â He followed that up with a huff, while his words became a bit muttered. âAnd, um, Iâm sorry for all those other times I ruffled your feathers, if I did. Kinda. Okay, for real Iâm sorry.â
Heâs still trying to work on the mannerisms.














