I absolutely love their interactions and potential in canon, it's too bad there are no fics about them 😔
Elena slanted over her desk and scrawled another word to her speech. Usually writing things like that came very smoothly to her, after all, public appearances were one of the things she enjoyed the most about being crown princess. But in the last days all these work just gave her a literal headache. Elena sighed. So much happened in the last weeks, Shuriki's defeat, Cristobal's betrayal... Even now, back in Avalor City she felt the tension still haven't left her. And it probably would've be easier if she wasn't also worrying about...
"Buenas tardes, princesa!" A familiar exclamation coming from behind her window broke her from her thoughts.
She swiftly turned around and saw Skylar, perching up on the narrow windowsill of her office's window. He was smiling his typical, toothy grin, but she could only stare at him with wide eyes, even when she jumped to the window to open it.
"You looked like you could use some escape from work," Skylar started when she could finally hear him. "So I thought we could-"
"I'm so glad you're safe!" Elena cut him off, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him rightly.
"O- oh, okay." Skylar hesitantly put his wing around her, returning the hug. "Why shouldn't I be safe, tho?
Elena moved away slightly to look him in the face. He was still smiling, though now with more confusion than excitement, while she found herself dumbfounded by his question.
"Skylar, I haven't seen you in weeks!" She cupped his muzzle and looked him in the eyes. "You- you disappeared right after the fight with Shuriki I was so worried..."
Skylar laughed a awkwardly.
"Yeah, sorry I didn't stay for the festivities, had to you know, lick my wounds as they say. But hey," He lit up again, turning his side to her and crouching to make it easier for Elena to get onto his back. "You can tell me all about it when we do a few rounds over the neighborhood."
For a long second Elena stared at him, joy from seeing him again battling inside her with anger at him for treating the subject so lightly. Finally she decided to just let it go for now and agreed for a short ride. After all, Skylar's not the person you can force a confession out of.
They both kept quiet for the most of this trip. The sun had already set and the narrow streets of the city looked charming in the evening afterglow. Still Elena couldn't stop herself from staring at the back of Skylar's head. He didn't focus on the surroundings either, keeping his eyes fixed on the sky in front of him. Without his usual comments about the civilians or babbling about the newest jaquin gossip, this whole tour felt... empty.
Before turning back to the palace, Skylar landed on the bell tower, their typical hang out spot during these trips. The silence continued for a while more, thickening in the darkening evening. Finally Elena broke it with a question that have been vexing her for a few days now.
"Where have you been? I've asked about you both in Avalor and in Vallaestrella but no one had seen you anywhere."
"Wait you mean they've actually looked for me?" Skylar turned to her. His voice sounded genuinely surprised. "Weird, they've never noticed before."
Elena furrowed her brows, an unsettling feeling settling in her gut.
"What do you mean, before?"
"Oh, pssh," Skylar flicked his paw in a diminishing manner. "You know, sometimes I'd just leave back when I used to leave in Vallaestrella, you know, when my dad would piss me off or something," He laughed, trying to hide his nervousness under a joke. "No one really seemed to bother when I wouldn't come back for a few days, so after some time I just stopped bothering to come back, unless I wanted to. Or simply needed something."
"You mean, no one ever worried when you'd disappear without a notice? Elena's brain rushed, trying to digest all these absurd to her informations.
"Not really." Skylar thought for a second and laughed. "Well, except for my first year in Avalor when I did that, they thought I was trying to bail on the training. Might explain why my navigator later tried so hard to fail me."
Skylar chuckled at the memory, his mood apparently now back to his usual carefree one. But Elena felt like someone had just thrown an anvil on her and now expected to chat about the weather.
"Skylar, I'm so sorry..." She whispered pulling closer and immersing her hand in the fur on the back of his neck.
"What for?" Skylar asked. "I should be the one apologizing for making you worry, if anything. So, yeah, sorry, I didn't really expect you'd get so engaged. And I supposed I left you without your best mount for these few weeks, of course you had Migs and Luna, but really, they can't compare..."
"No, I'm sorry," Elena interrupted him, laying her head on his. "That I've never showed you how much I care for you."
Skylar felt quiet, his ears betraying his emotions, instinctively flopping as they only did when he was sad or hurt.
"You're much more that just my mount, Skylar." Elena hugged him tighter and waited for him to hug her back, as he did, slowly laying his head on her back, before she continued. "You're my friend Skylar, you're very important to me and I care about what's happening to you. Please let me help you, as you always help me."
Whee-eew! This came out longer than I expected. Also now I have Thoughts™ about Skylar and I'm afraid I'm getting attached to this cat. Thank you for both your prompts and making me explore two characters of whom I've never really thought about before!
