The rest of his visit is significantly easier, but also significantly less interesting; he finds one or two more wyverns who he could work with if he made the effort, but… none of them match his magic as cleanly as the blue in Whirlwind’s flight. Truthfully, none of them match his magic even as well as Whirlwind herself does, and he knows instinctively that if he’s going to choose a wyvern — be chosen by a wyvern? — it’s going to be one of those two.

“So, what’cha think? Still up fer visitin’ th’ stables?” Shiro asks him once they’ve said their goodbyes to the Wyvern Master and step out onto an empty ledge.

Uryuu gives Shiro the look that question deserves. “I am always up for visiting the stables.”

Shiro’s bright-warm-cheerful laughter sweeps over him as the man helps him up into Getsuga’s saddle. “Yeah, kinda thought that’d be the case. C’mon, we’ll see what we can find o’er there.”

Getsuga leaps into the air, her powerful wing-beats echoing like thunder as she pulls away from Sōkyoku Hill and soars back towards the castle proper; they’ll need to travel over the castle and to the plains on the other side to reach the pegasi stables, though the trip itself won’t be a long one on Getsuga’s back.

Uryuu bites his lip and cautiously rests his chin on Shiro’s shoulder as he considers his options; he really doesn’t want to give up the search without at least seeing what pegasi are available, but at the same time… there’s a reason the two species are housed on opposite sides of the castle. No matter their training, wyverns are carnivores and pegasi are herbivores, and that’s something he’s going to have to take into account if he goes through with choosing a pegasus mount instead of a wyvern.

It’s not impossible of course — there are plenty of wyvern-pegasus pairs in Shiro’s forces already — but any mount he chooses will need to be at least tolerant of Getsuga from the start. Some pegasi never get over their instinctive fear of wyverns — his mother’s pegasus never had — and that’s… that’s not a risk he wants to take.

Shiro often flies alone, unpaired with anyone because Getsuga is picky about who she allows near, and Uryuu… Uryuu wants to change that.

(Fighting alongside a partner is safer, for one.)

(But also he really just wants to fly at Shiro’s side where no one else has been allowed.)

(He wants to have something all his own, wants to be recognized, wants to prove himself…)

Uryuu swallows a sigh and shoves his thoughts aside; he knows that Shiro is going to sponsor him into the Flying Knights, knows that Shiro wants them to be partners, but he doesn’t know if that means his Lord wants them to be battlefield partners. He needs to keep in mind that not all romantic partnerships translate cleanly into battlefield partnerships, and that any such decision will need to wait until he has a flying mount and they’ve figured out how their combat styles work together.

He’s also, Uryuu realizes with growing dread, going to need to figure out how his own combat style translates to a flying mount. He’s primarily an archer so it shouldn’t be too hard, but there’s a world of difference between horseback archery and aerial archery; he’s going to need to entirely retrain himself, he suspects, and part of him really isn’t looking forward to it.

“I can almost feel how hard yer thinkin’,” Shiro says with a touch of amusement as he laces their fingers together. “Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

Uryuu hesitates, then shakes his head slightly. “Give me some time to work it through myself?” he asks, then takes a breath and explains, “I promise I won’t just… ignore it—” especially since ignoring it isn’t an option— “but I’m… I need some time to think.”

Shiro hums and tightens his grip on Uryuu’s fingers, then says, “Aight, so long as ya come to me iffen there’s anythin’ I can help with.”

“I… yes, of course,” Uryuu murmurs, stomach fluttering with the trust Shiro is giving him.

(He doesn’t want to disappoint Shiro, doesn’t want to prove himself untrustworthy—)

(He won’t, he swears he won’t.)

(He never wants to lose this.)

He doesn’t get much more time to think about it before Getsuga banks to one side and begins to spiral down, landing with a light thump in the landing field near the pegasi stables. Shiro dismounts as soon as Getsuga settles on all fours, and then it’s the work of moments to swing his leg over Getsuga’s side and follow Shiro down.

Uryuu lands on his feet with only the slightest of stumbles, and Shiro’s tiny, proud smile makes warmth bloom in his chest and across his cheeks — damn his fair skin! — and he quickly tugs his hand free and looks away.

Shiro chuckles softly as he turns towards the stables, saying, “C’mon, lets see what th’ Pegasi Master’s got fer us, eh?”

“R-right,” Uryuu murmurs, then gives himself a mental shake and hurries after Shiro, his anxiety rising as they cross the field and approach the stables; it hasn’t only been the Knights calling him mag-null, after all, and if he has to face that here, has to put up with being treated as lesser because of the very pretense that let him have his own life—

The woman standing just outside the stables is not the Pegasi Master he expected to see: she’s too young for one, closer in age to Zangetsu-sama than the Pegasi Master that Uryuu remembers, and for two she’s not looking at him in thinly veiled disgust.

“Well met,” she greets them once they’re within speaking distance, her gaze thoughtful as she looks Uryuu over and then turns her attention back to Shiro. “I’ve gathered the available pegasi who’ll accept a male rider as you requested, Shiro-sama. If you two will follow me?”

“Thanks,” Shiro says as they step into the stable and turn right, traveling down the wide corridor towards another great barn door.

Curious pegasi poke their heads over their stall doors as their little group passes by, and the sound of rustling feathers and normal horse-sounds is… nostalgic. Calming. Especially combined with the scent of fur-feathers-straw-hay-manure lingering in the air around them.

It’s everything he’s missed, everything he’s wanted, and the idea that he could still be denied this despite Shiro giving him a chance is… is…

Shiro’s hand settles on the small of his back as the man leans over and murmurs, “Deep breaths, Uryuu. Yer fine. E’rything’ll work out.”

Uryuu clenches his jaw at the reassurance but still takes a moment to drag his worries back under control; he knows enough about pegasi to know that they don’t take kindly to uncertainty or fear, and right now he’s his own worst enemy.

If he wants to have a chance at being chosen by one of the rare pegasi that will accept a male rider, then he needs to be in control of himself.

He can do this. He will do this. If they turn him down then it will be because none of them meshed well with him, not because he’s allowed his anxieties to get in the way.

(He refuses to give such a poor showing in front of Shiro.)

(He can do this.)