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 Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:17 pm
 Oh, his sister would be so mad if she knew he went off adventuring without her! But oh well. He tried to include his sister in most of his escapades, but the sky had been so blue this morning, and it had tempted him into taking wing without a second thought. He really should find a pair of wings for her sometime. Neverlins were small enough he ought to be able to find something, right? Humans made funny contraptions all the time. He'd have to go hunt down a mage and ask about it.
But that was for later! For now he was gliding recklessly close to the treetops of a deep forest, looking for a way through the canopy. The large red temporal was getting rather hungry~ He doubted he'd find any Kage out here for a decent snack-and-cuddle, but he could hunt normal game just as easily. Granted killing things before he snacked on them wasn't quite as much fun as cuddling, but what could you do? Wild animals rather lacked the capacity to communicate or understand his intentions.
And there! A gap in the treetops, probably some old forest giant had fallen there and its children hadn't closed up around it yet. Not really enough room for a slow landing, but those weren't as much fun anyway. He folded his wings and dropped through the branches, snapping his wings open to backwing and slow himself barely in time to make a safe touchdown. The wind from his wings flattened the ground cover and sent the surrounding shrubs and branches shaking like a stray storm had found its way in for a moment, but it passed as he settled and folded his wings up. Now, time for a look around!
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:30 pm
 She was so sure of herself this time!
Inkheart raced under a pile of brush, talons digging dirt out and sending it flying in every direction. She looped past the big tree, around the shrub and then!- to the rock, where she leapt as far into the air as she could. Clumsily she attempted to spread her wings, succeeding only in slowing her ungraceful tumble back down to the earth. She hit the ground with a pained squeal and rolled until she finally stopped, a mess of limbs and wings. The scrapes and bruises littering her body told she had been at this for a while now, to little progress. Defeated, she huffed and lay her head against the ground, catching her breath.
Ever since she and her brother had made a pact to figure out how they worked, her wings had become the source of more tumbles and troubles than she cared to think about. If it wasn't jumping from rocks and tree branches it was trying to beat Cynder on the hunt for small game. She was good and neither of these particular things, and by now her small frame was weary and ready to just call it quits. Lately even the larger kills her parents brought in could not sate her appetite, leaving a gnawing hunger in the pit of her belly and chest. It made her feel weak, but she said nothing for fear of her mother's chastising gaze. Why was she so different from them?
Inkheart sighed and gathered her strength, pulling herself to her feet and tucking the ungainly sails against her back. If only she could get a hint as to how the stupid things worked...
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:53 pm
Fafnir slipped with odd silence through the trees, rather gleeful with the young boar he'd managed to catch. All they did was charge along the ground, it was rather easy to goad them into ramming a tree while lithely leaping out of the way. And such a thrill~ such beasts were easily capable of causing a good deal of harm if one was not expertly careful. It was entirely possible that he was being far too vain of his own abilities, but any potential self-reflection was distracted away by the sound of a sudden, squealing tumble.
He veered toward the sound without a first thought, much less a second, and nearly tripped over the little blue bundle of fledgling as he slid between the trees. A brief moment of surprise passed before he set his boar down and began cooing soothingly at the young female. "Poor child, beautiful child! You do look like you're having a bad day." He nosed the boar over toward her. "Here! Have some pork. It's still quite fresh, and I'll be too heavy to fly home if I eat it all myself. Rather silly not to share, and maybe you'll feel better?"
He was nothing if not overtly friendly and helpful... as long as he wasn't being asked to share his hoard, anyway. For all that he would go out of his way to help a fellow Temporal in distress, that would still be pushing the limit in no small degree.
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:49 pm
Had she not been totally engrossed in her own wallowing, Inkheart may have heard the approach of the other kage. As it were she hadn't, and his sudden appearance elicited a squeak of surprise from her. Another! Cynder would- she stopped the thought as she remembered he had not followed her out from the den today. The male's soothing voice did wonders for the child, and she was hungry...
But that wasn't what really had her attention.
Inkheart's eyes locked onto the sails along his back with an intent fascination. So beautiful! He held himself with such grace and ease, nothing like the clumsy mess that she was. He could use his? He could... fly?
"I! Uhh.." she stuttered, suddenly realizing she had been staring open-mouthed at the adult. He was bigger and stronger than her! Hopefully she hadn't offended him, there would be no way for her to run. Her belly rumbled quietly again, and she finally nodded, scooting closer to the boar carcass. It certainly did smell delicious...
"You said 'fly' home?" she asked sheepishly, all of her Hell attitude gone in the instant she realized that she was perhaps not some strangely mutated freak. She shredded a few small pieces off of the boar at a time, trying her best to show whatever few manners she had been taught this deep into the forest.
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:36 pm
"Fly away home~" Fafnir sing-songed lightly. "Fly home, yes, I did say that. I actually live a fair bit away from here, I was following the winds all morning. Seemed like a good place to stop for lunch, plenty of game in deep woods like this, usually."
He watched her eat for a few moments, then tapped her ever so gently on the nose with a claw-tip to stall her before using his greater strength and more practiced jaws to tear the carcass open to expose the insides. He then motioned for her to continue. "Best parts are in there. You go ahead, you're growing, it will be good for you~"
Fafnir's manner was often very open and sometimes childish seeming, with all the sing-songing and how greatly he enjoyed simple things. Many often mistook him for simple, which often came back to bite them when they realized how sharp a mind they were dealing with after the fact. So it didn't take anything past the fledgling's appearance and that simple question for him to figure out what she was up to out here by herself. Why she was by herself and had no parent to teach her was a different matter, but it was of less concern for the moment since she seemed healthy enough.
"You need some help with those, don't you?" Fafnir asked while he glanced to her wings. "I've nowhere to be this afternoon, if you'd like me to stick around after lunch is finished with." He beamed at her, then tilted his head as another thought occurred to him. "Ah, ah, my manners are slipping, so sorry. My name is Fafnir, and it's a pleasure to meet you. I do apologize if I'm intruding, but both lunch and my other offer stand if you'd like."
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:49 pm
Inkheart was simply floored by this kage's kindness. Never at home had she been able to eat from the best parts, that was always Cynder's claim as the eldest child. She ate with gusto, knowing unless she was suddenly able to catch her own prey this might be the last time she was able to eat so well! At home there wasn't much in the way of sharing, mostly the strongest and fastest got to eat first.
At his voice she looked up from the carcass, heart skipping a beat; he would teach her? She glanced at her wings, flexing them feebly, then looked back to the adult. It certainly would be better than jumping and crashing into the ground for the rest of the afternoon...
"Inkheart," she replied eagerly, "I, uhh," a pause. "I don't get them. None of my family has them, so they can't help either." Her brow furrowed. They were all spines and pointy edges, not streamlined like the adult before her. She wanted to fly! It was obviously possible, and now she just had to learn. Once she could do it... well, her brother wouldn't be the one getting all the good food every night! "So you just... how do they work?" The question sounded terribly dumb coming from her mouth, and she hoped that the male would certainly be understanding...
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:13 pm
Ah, so the child was without a flighted parent to give guidance in this matter. Whether she was the product of a fling that the Temporal parent knew nothing of, or the Temporal parent had simply wanted no part in a mixed blood litter didn't really make a difference in the end result. The fledgeling had been denied an elder Temporal to learn from in a very important matter. But he was here now, and he would endeavor to rectify this. Perhaps it hadn't been a fluke that he was tempted away this morning after all!
"How do they work?" Fafnir tilted his head at Inkheart, then stretched a wing and his tail out. No reason not to explain it, was there? It would give the fledgling something to think about while she finished eating. "You flap," he started, giving a powerful downbeat of his wing as he went along, "to get lift. Flapping can be very tiring, so when you get high enough you use the wind, and updrafts where warm air is rising, to glide on. You still flap occasionally to make sure you keep the right height, but really those are all things you learn as you get practice. When you're gliding, you use these spines," he flexed the spines at the base of his tail, which made the sail of his wing stretch and bend in different ways, "to help you catch more of the wind."
He folded his wing back again, and motioned for her to finish eating. "Strengthening your wings with flapping and stretching your spines is something you can do any time, and it will help you get up into the air faster and stay there longer later on." He grinned at her. "It sounds complicated, but after you learn it you don't really have to think about it again. Flying becomes as second nature as breathing after a while. It just takes a little more effort at first."
When Inkheart seemed to have had her fill Fafnir quickly finished off the rest, then stood and peered around, orienting himself to where the fallen tree was where he'd entered the wood. It was at least more open space than the current area, and should provide an easier practice area. "Follow me~" he sing-songed before prancing off, albeit at a more sedate pace so the fledgling wouldn't have to struggle to keep up with him.
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Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:27 pm
Inkheart licked the edge of her maw clean as she finished, watching the adult like a hawk. The web at the back! It was more than just flapping the front part, she saw that now. She sat there a moment flexing her own before realizing he had headed off in a different direction. Leaping up, she trotted after him, immensely pleased with the full feeling in her belly. When competing with her brother it was a rare thing to get enough to really feel satisfied, and there was nothing worse than the gnawing feel of hunger.
"When did you learn to fly?" she asked eagerly as she caught up to him, "I've never seen anyone do it! My parents wouldn't tell me anything." Her face pulled into a visible pout. "But I can figure it out! Once I do I can beat my brother. He's really fast, but if I can go over the trees instead of around them then it won't matter."
Her confidence soared at the thought! Finally she could get the kill and gloat as Cynder came plodding around the corner. She would have to keep it a surprise, of course, and wait until the right moment to spring out her new trick.
Inkheart flapped her wings open and closed excitedly. The things she could reach once she mastered it! The forest floor suddenly felt very closed in and stuffy compared to what she imagined the sky must be like.
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Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 4:28 pm
Fafnir chortled very softly to himself, amused with her exuberance. But he was going to help her learn to fly, of course she would be excited! He had been at her age. "I learned... around your age, yes. Started learning. Takes some practice to really get it right, but every journey starts with a first step, as they say." He paused a moment, then laughed softly. "They say a lot of things, and most of them don't make sense, but I guess there had to be a few jewels of wisdom in all that nonsense, hm?"
It actually didn't take long to reach the clearing, and he swiveled his head back and forth, examining it carefully. He kept chattering a bit in the mean time, another one of those qualities that made people think he wasn't as bright as he really was. Maybe they just didn't believe that he could actually pay attention to that many things at once? "Can't blame your family too much, really. They don't have wings, right? They can't tell you about what they don't know." Finished with his assessment of the area he headed out toward the middle of the clearing. "Only Temporal Kage have wings all of the time. I've heard some of the elders of the other Kage can earn them, but that's a rare thing. And they're not like our wings, anyway."
He stopped in the dead center of the clearing and turned to her, spreading his wings wide. "All right, open them up. Practice moving them around first, and we'll see about getting you off the ground a bit after you've gotten a little more used to that." Introducing her to flying and to the fact that she might not be the same thing as her family. Not that Fafnir was aware of that, but it was still bound to be a little much for the younger Kage to grasp all at once.
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Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:58 am
Fafnir's words reassured the child that she was not some sort of freak. Maybe she wasn't so strange after all! As they reached the clearing she bounded out and around, stretching her legs, before plopping herself down in front of the adult. "Temporal?" her voice was quiet, eyes seeking more information, "But my family told me we were Hell kage. Maybe that explains it..." Her expression began to droop suddenly, but as Fafnir turned to address her again she perked and straightened.
Although certainly not as impressive as an adult's wingspan, Inkheart stretched them as far as they could go. She wobbled a bit, but secured her balance and sat flexing them inwards and outwards a few moment. It felt good, like getting up from a long nap and stretching your limbs.
"So how do I go from here," she patted the ground in front of her, "To up there?" Her eyes followed the trees upward to the blue sky above.
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Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:17 am
Fafnir hummed thoughtfully to himself for a moment after the child brought up just what her family was. Hell Kage? Dangerous creatures, to be sure, but not quite as impressive as a Temporal in his mind. Still, it was curious for a Temporal to be raised by them - he could only speculate as to why.
"Well, you are certainly a Temporal, and not a Hell. We are the only Kage born to fly. Some of the more powerful older ones can even warp time itself to their will to varying degrees, that's where we get the name Temporal. I couldn't say why your family is made of Hell Kage, though... they're not known for charity, but it could be they found you and took you in. They may not know what you are, I doubt they spend much time seeking out other Kage to learn about them, if they've chosen to live secluded this far out in the woods."
He watched her practice for a bit, and then followed her gaze skyward when she asked her question. "My best suggestion would be to practice flapping until you know you can give yourself good lift, and to practice gliding from tall places - not so tall you'd really hurt yourself if you fell, but high enough you could actually get a feel for it." He glanced around, eyes settling on the fallen tree-giant. "From on top of that, for instance." He looked back tot he fledgeling. "Then you put them together, and you should be flying. It will take a little work before you have the strength in your wings and the skill to handle the winds for any long flights, so don't push yourself too hard. It'll take that much longer if you hurt yourself because of being impatient." Oh, he knew that one from experience, yes indeed.
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