Of Birds and Dragons [Shirala]

[Slash]

I should set up a place around here.

[July 24th, 2010][/center]

Soren stretched his wings as the first rays of dawn pierced through the foliage.

Man, it had been a while since he'd arrived at this world. Ever since he'd parted ways with Ain, he really hadn't been moving around all that much. He should have left by now to explore other worlds, but...well, he liked this one. Liked it a lot. Plenty of places to fly, lots of food if you knew how to search for it, and of course it was just beautiful.

He'd leave soon, though. He knew that there were worlds out somewhere that were in a bad state, and this place was peaceful.

Still, he could spend one more day here. Perhaps after it was all said and done, he'd come back.

[Prythian]

"Alright, so that river goes through here..."

Shirala was muttering to herself, her backpack swinging from its strap around her shoulder. She had in her hands three things. A strange framework made of odd wooden poles, to which the second thing was attached and stretched out: A piece of light-colored leather. This she was holding up in one hand, and the third thing was a quill.

She was so caught up in her map sketching that she didn't notice the tree in front of her into she ran into it.

"Owwwwww..." She said loudly, red skin and golden hair gleaming in the light. She looked up. "Dawn already?" Despite the pain from running face first into a tree, she instantly brightened up. Retrieving her frame and quill, she shouted in excitement. "I can get back to flying!"

[Slash]

Someone's here?

[/center]

Soren's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone saying 'ow' very close by. He immediately went to the source and...

Wow, she was strange looking. He didn't mind in the least. It meant that she wouldn't care about the wings. He came just in time to hear something about 'flying'....hm, she must have a gummi ship or something. Certainly that was what she was referring to.

It was so nice to see someone else around. The only bad part about this world was that he was always lonely. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, smiling. Then he noticed the frame she was carrying around. He looked over her shoulder just a bit to see what was on it.

"You're making a map?" Hey, he could be useful with that. He could fly and everything- that would probably be really helpful to her.

"I can help, if you want," he said, opening his wings a little to show how he could be helpful.

[Prythian]

Are you a halfbreed too?

Shirala whirled around, golden eyes wide. "Oh wow." She breathed, completely ignoring what Soren was saying. She rushed forward and grabbed his wing, opening it up with her clawed hands. "These are entirely different from dragon wings." She murmured. "Feathers... that feels so weird! Our skin is so much better..." She paused, and then realized how rude she was being, letting go instantly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I just... wasn't thinking." A sheepish look crossed her face. "The offer is appreciated, but... well, actually, company would be nice. You could join me!" A look of concentration, and invisible slits in the back of her short opened up as the wings burst from her back, folding up as they did so to not get caught in any of the trees or branches nearby.

[Slash]

YOU HAVE WINGS TOO? LET'S BE BEST FRIENDS.

[/center]

Soren was just a little perturbed when the girl began grabbing his wing and inspecting it. People didn't usually do that. His other wing began flapping a little in consternation as the girl's clawed hands poked at his feathers. Was she going to cut it off? Maybe she was like that crazy girl on Destiny Islands...oh God.

Thankfully she let go and backed away. She was okay with the idea of company, but he didn't really want to spend time around someone who might want to eat his wings. Then she concentrated, and...

oh.

OHHHHHHHH.

Any and all offenses were immediately put aside. Someone else had wings? That was so awesome! That was so incredibly cool! Although he couldn't say much for the looks of said wings. They were kind of ugly and scaly and the membrane looked a bit slimy...but who cared? Someone else had wings and this was the best day ever.

"Nice! I thought I'd never meet someone else with wings. I'm Soren, it's nice to meet you. I'm an Aysurian, but they're...not really around anymore..." He quickly changed the subject to avoid making her uncomfortable. "Where are you from?"

[Prythian]

Where was that place again...?

"Oh, I'm from... um." Shirala looked puzzled. "I'm from... oh, heck. Now I remember." She scratched one arm absentmindedly. "I'm under a spell not to reveal the world's name or do anything else that could have offworlders find their way there." She explained. "It was a condition of me leaving. For our world's safety. But it was a world much like this, actually. The trees... oh, the forests of that world are magnificent."

"I had to leave, though, because I'd seen and mapped all of that world I could." She continued, heading off the obvious question. "A gorgeous world, but I want... no, I need to see more."

[Slash]

Wow, her homeworld must be really secret and cool.

[/center]

"Huh. So will you ever be able to find your way back?" he asked, before discarding his own question. That wasn't a cool thing to ask. "Sure you will."

Time to change the subject. It wouldn't be cool to keep talking about homeworlds considering their respective situations.

"So...how well do those wings of yours work?" They looked a little bit larger than his. Although he didn't envy the slimy, cold, overall nasty wings themselves, he was a bit jealous of their size. They probably let her fly faster than him...but maybe she didn't have hollow bones, so she was heavier than him?

He hoped she wasn't that much better than him. That would be embarassing.

[Prythian]

The wind beneath my wings is my best ally.

"Well..." Shirala thought for a moment. "Getting into the air can sometimes be a problem. I have to generate a really good blast of wind down if I don't have a convenient place to jump off of." She opened her right one, looking at it thoughtfully. "They're not as strong as they should be; I don't have enough strength to summon them at their full potential yet. I think I can go... about 40 miles an hour? I can stay in the air a long time, though; they catch air really well, and a thermal can shoot me up really high very quickly." They were almost like sails in that regard.

"In fact, they catch the wind so well that I can even carry another person with me if I have to, but that almost halves my speed." She sighed. "I don't do it often; there aren't many people I knew well enough on my old world that I would have to carry around."

[Slash]

...She is better than me.

[/center]

40 miles per hour? Well, sure he could manage that, but the rest was a bit depressing. She could fly for a long time, already making her better at it than he was. And he couldn't carry anyone else for more than a few minutes.

"Huh," he said. Well, at least he always had his spirit and determination, right?

...Did that even mean anything? At least his wings could keep him warm on cold nights. There was always that.

He might as well just admit that he was a failure at the one thing that made him unique. Man, this was such a downer.

"See, that's the problem with my kind. Our wings aren't incredibly strong, so we rely on being really light. But I'm half-human, so I'm heavier...I can still get around and go pretty fast, but not for very long." He laughed a little, slightly mortified.

"I can keep up, though. I'm not that bad."

[Prythian]

So you ARE a halfbreed!

"Oh, so you're half human like me!" Shirala focused mainly on that. To tell you the truth, she thought he was simply under exaggerating to make her feel better. "Well, with all these branches in the way..." Shirala looked up. "I certainly can't get into the air here. We need to find someplace more clear. My wings really hurt when they get hit by things, you see, and they can tear." She shivered.

"It's not really pleasant having to sew up a torn wing so that it can heal, let me tell you that. And it REALLY hurts when that happens too." Her wings almost instinctively tightened in their folding, staying really close to her back as if to avoid any such pain.

[Slash]

I can do something she can't?

[/center]

She was a half-human, too. That was so cool. A half-human with wings...awesome. So he wasn't that weird after all.

Ew, their skin tore when hit by branches? Urgh. Soren didn't really have that problem, although he wasn't exactly going to go soaring through a bunch of thorns to prove a point. He could lose a few feathers around here, sure, but he wasn't going to be rendered incapable of flight.

Still, he wasn't going to mention that. That would be really rude.

"I know a place. Follow me," he said, and walked to the west for a bit. Eventually, he hit an area relatively clear of trees- certainly big enough to go through.

Time to fly. He stretched his wings out, took a quick estimate of the wind's speed and direction, and with two massive beats he was up in the air.

Man, it felt good to be up here. He got a bit farther above the trees and looked down, hovering at an ideal altitude.

"Your turn!" he yelled.

[Prythian]

I love this part.

Shirala made sure her backpack was secure, having tucked the quill away into a special pocket on it. Her frame wasn't easily lost, but her quill could be, and it wasn't that hard to retrieve it from the backpack.

Well, she thought that, but she did have several spares and the backpack's strap had snapped before.

Holding onto frame in one hand, she spread her wings. She also closed her eyes for just a second, reveling in what she was about to do. At the same time she opened her eyes, her wings snapped downwards, catching the air like a sail and flinging her up into the sky.

She rose up to where Soren was, joy written all over his face as her wings beat at a steady pace to keep her aloft, holding up and showing him the map. "I've got down this whole northern section from the air." She explained, pointing out the better-defined top half of the map. "I was putting finishing touches on it when I met you, having had to go down below some of the trees due to both nightfall and this river hiding. I've only done preliminary sketches for the southern half, though."

[Slash]

Southern part, then?

[/center]

Huh, she really seemed to enjoy flying. He didn't think all that much of it- it was as natural as walking to him. Maybe he should learn to appreciate it more.

"Southern half, then?" he asked, and smiled. "How about a race?" He could pull this off. He might not have all that much endurance, but he could really get going when he had to.

"321go!" he yelled quickly, and sped off, beating his wings as strongly as he could.

[Prythian]

This is definitely fun!

"Wha- hey!" Shirala's startled voice rang out. She began chasing him as fast as SHE could. Unfortunately, even she could tell that he was faster than she was. The beautiful landscape below certainly was a distraction from the race as she flew over it. She could see animals down below, as well as examining the actual landmarks that her well-trained eyes automatically spotted.

...She still couldn't win the race, but she could totally map better.

[Slash]

Little more...

[/center]

Soren flew quickly, using all of his strength for one last push to the finish. Ha! First place. He took a heavy breath before landing on a treetop and yelled up to Shirala.

"That was fun! But I can't fly much anymore. I'm going to head off this world. Maybe we'll meet again sometime. Good luck with the map!"

Soren plunged through the foliage and began the walk back to his ship.