Flying Lessons

[Mynx]

A small army of kitten minions swarm over an empty booth in the Conservatory, painting it a rainbow of bright colours before attaching a sign to the top that reads simply:

 

FLYING LESSONS

10 GELD

Seated happily beneath it (amidst a few minions that decided to stay) is CheerMynx, a bright grin on her face as she waits for her first customer.

 

OOC: Pay ten geld to learn how to fly! I'm gonna wait for a few people to pay before I reveal the secret...will make it more fun this way I hope...

Disclaimer: It is not the kitty's fault if you hurt yourself because you do not follow her instructions to the letter.

[Ayshela]

Ayshela wandered by, looking over the booths and catching her breath between things. Seeing CheerMynx smiling so widely immediately caught her attention, and reading the sign raised a hint of apprehension. Careful scrutiny of the booth revealed no catapult, and as a ground level booth a trap-door was unlikely, so...

hmm.

 

With a wry smile, Ayshela remembered her tumbling training and stepped up quickly to pay her geld and get in line before the UNwary should arrive.

 

[Mynx]

OOC: I'm wondering if I should clarify this a bit more. Right now I'm looking for people like the lovely Ayshela here to 'sign up' to learn how to fly. Then I'm going to reveal the 'secret' and award geld for how you write your attempts at the task (so while it 'costs' 10 geld you'll be making more than that back at the end).

Make more sense?

[Tanuchan]

Written with Mynx - thank you

~~~~~~~

 

 

A black wolf padded softly among the booths of the Carnival with an air of curiosity. She nodded to some of her friends, and checked also a couple booths she had organized, grinning as she saw some nice poems in them.

 

Suddenly she noticed a booth right around the corner, and Ayshela right in front of it looking as if signing up for something. Curious, Tanny approached her.

 

Recognising the approaching wolf, CheerMynx gave a squeal of delight and leapt over the front of her booth to tacklehug Tanny.

 

"OMG hi! How are you? You're looking so good I love what you've done with your fur! You've come to sign up for my flying lessons, right?"

 

::Aaaack!::

 

Tanny had no time to even think of dodging the cheerful mynx that attacked her, and rolled in a ball of fur with her. Struggling to escape her hug, she shimmered into her tanuki shape and slipped away, immediately shifting to human before CheerMynx tried to smother her again.

 

"Erm... hi, CheerMynx... mmm... nice seeing you here..."

 

Unperturbed by the shapeshifting (although she did wish she could play makeup with the tanuki form), CheerMynx's grin only widened when Tanuchan faced her in human form.

 

"You've come to sign up, right?"

 

Tanny blinked, and looked at Ayshela at a loss. The elf giggled, and pointed at the sign of the booth.

 

"Flying lessons?!"

 

CheerMynx nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh! I have, like, a totally nearly 100% almost foolproof method to teach!"

 

"well... mm... you see... I don't really think I want to learn how to fly... I mean... wolves don't fly..." She tapered off as she watched CheerMynx's eyes widen and brim with potential tears.

 

"You don't even want to try?"

 

"..."

 

Tanny sighed softly, knowing that she would get into trouble... but she huggled CheerMynx.

 

"I guess I can, yeah... but I hope you don't mind if I do it in my Tanuki shape?"

 

The feline let out an ear piercing squeal. "Ohmygod you'd look like so totally adorably CUTE!"

 

Tanny couldn't avoid cringing, but stamped a brave smile in her face and hastily scribbled her name on the signup sheet.

 

What don't I do for friends... or to avoid ribbons on my fur... but at least as a Tanuki I shouldn't get hurt... too much.

 

Giggling happily, CheerMynx pulled Tanny into yet another spine crushing hug, before licking her forehead in gratitude.

Edited June 3, 2006 by Tanuchan

[Lord Panther]

Panther saunters into the room in his customary robes and wades through the remaining kittens to read the sign by CheerMynx...

 

Hmm, flying lessons... well, I can give them a shot... wonder what type of mount we'll be using. Nothing can compare to my dragon, but I'll give it a try.

 

Panther digs into his robes and pulls out the ten geld. He slowly hands CheerMynx the coins, making sure that he has the right amount.

[Quincunx]

"faster faster faster whee!"

 

Most human ears were too insensitive to hear the words, and just heard a shrill voice from the nearest hilltop, then a soft drumbeat that tumbled over itself like an avalanche. Everyone saw the small purple mass launch itself from the top of the hill, vectoring straight towards the Pen grounds, and rapidly descending through the air.

 

Minta hit the ground some distance away from the booth, but didn't stop running until she hit the end of the vector. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled back at the hill, "RYDIA! It didn't work!"

[Gwaihir]

Gwaihir grins.

 

"I don't think this elf even walks very well let alone flies. Nonetheless, it might be fun. I'm game."

 

With that, he hands over his ten geld and sits down to examine the clover while he waits.

[Venefyxatu]

OOC : Written in collaboration with Tanny and Panther. Thanks guys!

Stephen continued walking through the crowd, somehow managing to not bump into people, when he felt a familiar presence. Extending his senses into the earth to make sure, he quickly picked out Tanny's pattern and approached her with a toothy grin.

"How is my favourite wolf-lady?"

::That grin combined with those words add up to mischief ... what kind of trouble did you get me in?::

Stephen looked almost shocked.

"Me? Trouble?"

::Stephen ... ::

With another grin, Stephen gave in.

"Okay, okay ... remember how eager you were to see me in the Bachelor's auction?"

...

"There's a Bachelorette one this time, and guess who's participating?"

::You didn't.::

A cheerful silence was the only answer she got.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."

The very audible growl made several passer-byes look at the bristling wolf.

::You didn't dare!::

Stephen's grin widened as he sensed Tanny was preparing to jump him.

"You know wolves don't normally attack just like that, do you?"

Right before she jumped, Stephen turned and bolted, with Tanny hot on his heels. Some people who knew Stephen wondered as how the blind Ranger could run so fast without colliding with anyone, and quickly gave way to the wolf chasing him.

::Auction, heh? I'll set you flying for your... ::

Tanny almost stopped mid-chase, a very wide mischievous grin stamped into her face when she suddenly snapped at Stephen's heels and made him veer to his right.

A few snaps later, Stephen sensed there was a booth in front of them - and tried to avoid it, even knowing there was someone else exactly in the direction he turned to.

CheerMynx let out a shriek that almost deafened Stephen's sensitive ears, and Panther widened his eyes as he saw - too late - a Ranger and a wolf on a collision-route with them.

When the ball of wolf, mynx, and panther fur and ranger clothes were sorted out, CheerMynx had Stephen sitting on her lap while Tanny crawled out from under both Panther and CheerMynx.

::Ouch... you're heavy cats... Panther, I'm afraid you need a diet... ::

"A diet, eh... I'll have you know I'm the same weight now as I was the day of my reincarnation, those many years ago..." Panther said, half jokingly. He then got up off of Tanny, so that she could get herself free.

She sighed, relieved, and shook herself vigorously.

"Ohmygod, Tanny this was so fun can we do it again??" CheerMynx giggled helplessly into Stephen's startled form, and Tanny shimmered into human shape - a rather disheveled one, but grinning in a most satisfied way.

"Maybe some other time, kitty... look, Stephen here would just love to learn how to fly, I was trying to teach him but as fast as he run he seems unable to actually take off... "

[Patrick]

OOC: post co-written with Mynx. Thanks for kicking my muse into gear!

 

Patham peeked into one of the rooms of the Conservatory and was surprised to see none other than CheerMynx standing under a sign offering flying lessons. Curious, Patham walked over, a grin already on his face.

 

Seeing another potential applicant, CheerMynx's already wide grin increased in size as she bounced over the front of her booth and tacklehugged Patham.

"Hi! Come to sign up?"

 

"Actually..." Patham started, nearly wondering aloud about how a feline could be giving flying lessons, but he bit the end of the sentence off. "..yes," he said instead. "As you probably know I already know how to fly, the basics at least, but there is definitely room for improvement. And I must say that I'm more than interested to see what a mynx could teach to an avian." Patham's grin widened even further as he said that.

 

"Oh, you'll never find anything like this anywhere else!" the feline jabbered as she dragged Patham over to her booth. "Besides, you only know how to fly with wings! When I'm through with you you totally won't need to bother with those pesky things!"

 

"Actually I quite like my wings," Patham mentioned, glancing behind his back, where at the moment no wings could be seen. "Although if you manage to show me a method which is easier to master, I would be quite interested."

 

Giggling with glee, CheerMynx signed Patham up, maintaining a firm grip on his forearm as she took the geld off him.

"Well, I'm not sure it's easier if you already have wings...but I find it like, so totally easy for me to do!"

[cryptomancer]

The raven flies into the booth, clips the edge of the table and flips landing heavily on his head.

 

Looking around he sees the sign, attempts to fly in for a closer look and ends up sprawlled on the floor in a tangle of feathers.

 

Trying again the Raven ends up looking like a wind-up toy, hopping around with wings flapping but never getting further than moving in circles on the floor.

 

"It appears I need a refresher course."

 

Using beak and claws he scales the heights of the table and scribbles his name backwards on the signup.

 

Edited June 13, 2006 by cryptomancer

[Mynx]

Giggling as she looked down the list of names, CheerMynx dug out a sign and placed it over the front of her booth to announce that applications were closed, before hopping up onto the booth's table and whistling to get everyone's attention.

"Okay! So we like have some nice numbers now and in a little bit I'm gonna totally reveal the secret to you all, kay? So like, stay tuned and get ready for class to begin!"

Beaming widely, the cheerfeline hopped back down and disappeared quickly to finish preparing.

 

OOC: I said no more sign ups tho I'll listen to special appeals. I should get the chance to post the next part up before my next exam though atm it's touch and go...

[Mynx]

The small crowd of 'applicants' waited by the booth for CheerMynx's return, trying not to step on any of the kitten minions that populated the area. As time ticked by, they began to grow restless, especially those who were either signed up or hoping to bid at the bachelorette auction.

"Maybe she...got lost?" Patham asked the Raven, receiving only an avian shrug in reply.

Twenty minutes later, a faint high pitched giggle was heard in the distance, growing louder as the familiar feline form came into view.

Seeming to be chanting something unintelligable to herself, CheerMynx finally arrived at her booth, a small box held tightly in her paws.

Failing to notice the stares from her impatient customers, CheerMynx giggled happily.

"You all totally came? Awesome!"

Brushing through the crowd, the feline tried to find a spot to stand where everyone could see her. realising it was impossible on the level ground, her eyes lit up as she saw the top post of her booth. With a graceful leap, CheerMynx dug three of her paws into the wood, the fouth still holding tightly to the box. After a brief internal struggle of wits and coordination, she finally managed to climb up to the top sign where she perched with a wide smile.

"Okay! So it's like totally time to reveal the secret to flying! I totally have the answer right here in this box!"

Prying the lid off, CheerMynx reached in and dug out the contents of the box - a small piece of card with some writing on it. Reading the words intently, CheerMynx's smile widened even more and she stood up on the railing.

"So! All you need to do is just, like, throw yourself at the ground!"

A dumbfounded silence followed the statement, as everyone looked up at the feline in confusion. Deciding that the silence was a request for a demonstration, CheerMynx giggled and leapt off the top of her booth.

About halfway down, a butterfly fluttered in front of her face, completely distracting the feline from the task she was undertaking.

"Oooh!" CheerMynx giggled and reached for the brightly coloured insect, completely ignoring the ground beneath her...

Which she didn't hit.

Hovering about 5 feet off the ground, CheerMynx giggled happily, her audience forgotten as she tried to chase the butterfly in the middle of thin air.

Also forgotten was the card she had read from. It fluttered down slowly and came to rest on the booth next to the Raven. Tilting his head, the bird picked up the card in one talon and peered at it, before offering it for someone else to read.

Panther took the card from the avian and looked at it closely, before looking at the opposite side and laughing.

"Our...teacher didn't seem to finish explaining the lesson. This card does say we need to throw ourselves at the ground but," with this he turned the card over. "...we need to miss the ground."

 

OOC: Yes it really is that simple! Adapted from Douglas Adams' idea in his Hitchhikers series, the 'simple' rule to flying is to throw yourself at the ground and miss. For a scatterbrained cheerleader, this is easy, but how about for the rest? Please write your attempts in as much detail as you wish. I will be awarding geld for the best works and everyone who posts an attempt will automatically receive 20 geld (cancelling out the 10 geld you paid at the start, so everyone gets 10 geld).

Go wild folks!

[Tanuchan]

This post was written with both Vene and Panther, and describes the first attempt by one of us - Tanny-tanuki. We'll be writing the attempts together, and posting here as our "story" advances. Thanks, guys - it's fun writing with you!

~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Stephen and Tanny arrived at the booth just in time to hear Panther laughing and explaining that Mynx wanted them to throw themselves at the ground and miss it.

 

"Miss the ground...?" Tanny blinked, and as Panther nodded without hiding his amusement, she also started laughing. "This is crazy... how do we miss the ground?"

 

As she looked at CheerMynx, though, her laughter died and gave place to wondering.

 

"Though... well... she is at the very least floating..."

 

Carefully, Tanny let herself feel the surrounding threads, and couldn't sense any magic or elemental energy being channeled. Shrugging, she looked at Stephen and grinned at his puzzled face.

 

"Dear Ranger, wouldn't you like to go first?"

 

Stephen frowned. The idea somehow made sense, as long as you forgot about gravity.

 

"I'm not sure I feel like trying at all anymore now that I know the secret ... but we'll need some higher ground to begin with."

 

Tanny nodded, then shimmered into her tanuki form. Stephen sensed the change, and queried her.

 

::I'm lighter in this way... and remember that two objects attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them...::

 

He blinked. ::No, no, I don't think I remember that. In fact, I don't think I've ever known that ... ::

 

Laughter came through the mind-link with the answer, ::In other words, multiply the masses of the two bodies being attracted... the world and I. Supposedly, if I'm lighter I would hurt less...::

 

:: So if we somehow get you weightless, it won't hurt at all because you won't hit the ground? ::

 

Still laughing hard, Tanny quickly and deftly climbed up a startled Stephen, balancing herself on the top of his head.

 

::I guess that is the whole idea behind the instructions... kind of makes sense, huh?::

 

Stephen carefully held his head still to make sure he wouldn't unbalance the Tanuki. :: In a weird, twisted way it all makes sense, yes. What exactly is it that you're planning up there?::

 

::Well, you said to get to higher ground... this is higher for me right now... Now, throw myself to the ground and... miss it?::

 

Stephen resisted an urge to both laugh and nod, and grinned. :: Higher, maybe, but ... ground? ::

 

Tanny giggled, and looked at Stephen upside-down. Her whiskers tickled his nose and with a sharp breath and a quick forward crouch he sneezed, launching the Tanuki forward.

 

::Aaaaaaaaaaaaack....::

 

Panther, puzzling over a way to follow CheerMynx's instructions, was thoroughly surprised when he was squarely hit in the chest by a furry, tailed ball, which he grabbed out of instinct.

 

::Ack... thank you, Panther...:: Tanny gasped, completely dizzy and grabbing his robes with all paws to keep balanced against him.

 

Slightly winded by the sudden impact, Panther swallowed hard and looked at Tanny.

 

"Well, I guess you missed the ground, but you didn't escape gravity..."

 

The feline mage sensed an amused mind-whisper from the tanuki that suddenly hugged him, giggling against his chest.

 

::Yeah, I think that pretty summarizes it... although I was sort of flying before finding you instead of the ground. Should we try to miss the ground and find each other while trying to dodge gravity?::

 

"Huh... sure... I guess... " Panther chuckled, also being tickled by the whiskers that touched his neck. "I'll have to think this through before I do my attempt..."

 

::Honestly, you might want to bring Anguis in...::

 

Stephen, oblivious to the fact that Tanny had landed on Panther instead of crashing into the ground, wondered whether she'd actually succeeded. He talked into her general direction, never noticing some startled looks at him talking to nobody.

 

"Congratulations ... it really is that easy, hmm?"

 

He realized he was wrong when he heard movement behind him, followed by Panther tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

 

"I guess you lost this..."

 

There was a grin on Panther's face that Stephen could guess from his tone, and he felt both Tanny's presence and the weight of the tanuki on his shoulder. He mumbled confused thanks to the mage before turning his attention back to Tanny.

 

"I guess it didn't work, then?"

 

Tanny considered if she should go back to some other shape, but hitting Panther as a tanuki was about the most she would do in one day, and wolves were not done for perching on a ranger's shoulder. So she just slipped to the ground, changing back to human as she hit the ground.

 

"That was some understatement, Stephen..." she grimaced, rubbing her shoulder where she had hit Panther. "And one would think cats would be softer to land on..." She grinned at Panther, thanking him again. "... but thanks for cushioning my fall. Maybe we should try to work something out... "

 

A sudden thought made her start giggling again, and she mindspoke to both Stephen and Panther - though almost sure this last could not understand her in her present shape.

 

::And indeed... if cats always land on their feet or at least know how to cushion their fall, we might learn something from a big cat...:: She looked affectionately at Panther, who glared at her in a mocking way.

 

So he can understand...? The fleeting surprised thought was stored in a corner of her mind for later consideration, as Stephen briefly wondered at that last thought but started thinking about how he was going to cushion his own fall when he tried.

 

 

~To be continued~

[Gwaihir]

Gwaihir blinked and t hought to himself 'Well, usually missing anything is quite easy for me.' For a moment he rememebered when he'd gone to a party and wondered why he was getting so many strange looks until someone kindlly told him that he was missing his pants. Had forgotten to put them on.

 

Gwaihir climbed up a nearby tree-not a hard feat for an elf, even one as clumsy as he. He intended to jump off and then try to miss but as he got about half way up the tree his hand slipped. He lost his balance and....suddenly a thought hit him 'MISS, MISS! he thought fast. How did one miss? Well, if one was going the right way and swerved then one would miss. Gwaihir swerved and it worked. He floated a couple inches above the ground.

 

He grinned mightily, elated. "How the heck did I do that? I missed the ground! This could be incredibly useful! But how can one miss the ground--it's everywhere. I only missed the part of ground I was aiming for. I can't miss the whole earth." *crash* One dazed elf hit the ground.

 

He blinked and then got up. Well, I had it for a while. He climbed a couple feet up his tree again but now he was full of doubt. "There's no way I'll miss. It's impossible. Sure enough, now he always hit the ground *crash* Patient he climbed again *crash* Climb *crash, he almost hit Ayshela as he fell. Ooof, the whole world was spinning and it was quite a while before Gwaihir could get up this time. Maybe flying just wasn't for elves. He sat on the ground, a bit dejected. "I had it too. At least I flew for a bit!

[Ayshela]

Ayshela blinked a few times and looked down. "Just... miss? The ground is a bit difficult to miss." She wandered away a bit, pondering the "advice" while looking for Kaitlyn. A sudden flash of movement caught her attention and she barely dodged Gwaihir as he fell! Unfortunately, while she missed Gwai, she caught a root squarely and was falling headlong toward the ground when she heard Kaitlyn calling her. Ayshela was so intent on trying to figure out where Kaitlyn was calling from that she didn't realize for several seconds that she was hovering a good foot and a half from the ground, yet, having forgotten to fall the rest of the distance. She looked at the ground in surprise, and was about to start falling again when Kaitlyn giggled from the vicinity of the tree branches overhead. Gently, carefully rolling to the side, Ayshela looked up to see an impish face floating two feet above her. Kaitlyn somersaulted gleefully through the air, calling "come on, it's fun!!!" Ayshela firmly put aside all thoughts of falling and floated up to Kaitlyn, hoping to learn more from her about how to fly. She called her thanks back to CheerMynx as they sailed overhead, waving merrily to those who had yet to try.

[Venefyxatu]

~OOC : Many thanks to Tanny and Panther - without them this never would've been written! ~

Tanny, after working her shoulder a bit and making sure it was alright, hooked arms with both Panther and Stephen and half-led, half-dragged them towards a nicely branched tree some meters away. Her mischievous grin made Panther frown and try to (delay), which just made her grin wider.

::You're basically a cat - you can surely go up there!::
"Just because you're basically a dog, I wouldn't ask you to go tracking rabbits..."

"Though wolves like hunting, and so I guess she could enjoy getting a couple rabbits for our dinner, Lord Panther," replied Stephen softly.

::Stephen... don't you forget that we will have other Carnivals... And that I can always help you finding your way around the Pen when you don't find fun activities.::

Tanny still wondered about the way Panther was able to listen to her mindspeech in an apparently consistent way, but decided to come and talk to him later. Right at that moment, Stephen's curious assessing of the tree in front of them caught her attention, and she also extended her senses to feel the delicate earth threads that flowed around and within it.

"Are you suggesting that we start from up there?" Stephen didn't need to see to feel the height of the upper branches, and sounded skeptical.

"You aren't a tanuki, so I certainly wouldn't suggest you to get on top of someone's head. Of course you could just jump from the sign at Mynx's booth, as she has done, but I don't think rangers are made for that sort of climbing... though you can always choose the Walls of the keep. They're actually a higher ground than this."

Stephen visualized easily her facetious smile, and didn't need more than half a moment to decide that the walls would be too high .. especially for a first attempt.

Shrugging, he touched the wide trunk and concentrated on extending his senses into it. It didn't take long for him to sense a way up to the first branches. He knew he wouldn't possibly break anything in a fall from the height he could guess, but his mind pondered on how he would miss the ground. Unfortunately to him, he couldn't shut his awareness of the ground - he was too used to keeping the light contact with the earth at all times, and he doubted that he could convince himself that the ground wasn't there once he knew it was.

The equivalent of a poking intruded on his thoughts, and he heard Tanny again.

::You're worried to the point of broadcasting... seriously, do you think that you could actually miss the ground if you don't have any idea where it is?::

::See like this, Wolf-lady... if I loose an arrow I usually hit because I know where my target is. If I didn't know, I'd miss. Also, a baby usually doesn't get seriously hurt in short falls because it doesn't know it can hurt; it doesn't tense muscles, nor try to actively protect itself by doing the opposite of what should be done - like curling up in a ball. Panther should be able to tell you that a cat might also present the biggest surface to impact so it doesn't get too badly hurt...::

Tanny nodded, and at the same time relayed to Panther a summary of the conversation.

::So, if you don't know whether the ground is near or far... or, on the contrary, if the ground is nearer than you think so that you don't have the time to worry whether you're hitting it or not...::

Stephen let Tanny think, sensing she had some budding idea. After a while, her voice came again.

"I think I can shield you from earth." Should be easy to weave the threads in a way to block his contact...

"That ought to help ... now if only gravity would take a break ..." Stephen muttered as he started to climb up. After a few moments he continued climbing without thinking, and when he suddenly felt the earth vanish he was so surprised that he let go.

Unfortunately for him, gravity did remember where the earth was, what direction Stephen was supposed to travel in and, after some brief calculations, at what speed he was supposed to move. The result was that Stephen was reminded of the earth's location in a rather unsoft manner. As he got up, though, he wondered ...

"Say ... I believe I heard someone mention that CheerMynx did manage? How did she do it?"

When Tanny answered that she'd apparently just forgotten that she was falling, Stephen nodded.

"So we need a distraction during the fall. I'll leave it up to both of you to find something that'll distract me enough. Maybe that, combined with me not feeling the earth, will do the trick?"

Tanny looked at Panther, somewhat at a loss. She knew she could shield Stephen's awareness of earth, but distracting him at the same time would certainly be difficult.

"Any ideas, Panther?"

The mage frowned, going through the spells he could use. "Well, blowing out the ground right under him wouldn't probably help much... a volcano eruption under him maybe?"

His voice was serious enough that Stephen actually blinked, while Tanny giggled at the amused expression on her feline friend. "At least he wouldn't worry about the ground anymore..."

A sudden idea came to Tanny, and she excused herself to Stephen, pulling Panther aside.

"Tell me... I know this is a crazy idea, specially in this close quarters... but is there any way Anguis could be of any help?"

She smiled warmly, remembering Panther's mount and how much she had enjoyed the ride on the occasion of their date. Panther thought for some minutes, considering the place where they were, and what Anguis could do.

Panther grinned back at Tanny.

"Well, Anguis would certainly do the trick, but do you really want me giving everyone that much of a heat burn calling him? You do remember how warm it got in the clearing, right? Plus, he has a way of instilling fear in those who can actually see, unlike our blind ranger here..."

She nodded, remembering well that clearing and her first reaction at seeing the red dragon.

"Can he fly over the Keep in a safe way for him? You know that I don't want him to get hurt by anyone thinking he's attacking... but if he was seen, people would scream and wonder, and all the ruckus would probably distract Stephen..."

Panther thought for a minute, gazing at their surroundings and quickly assessing all dangers and possible outcomes for both Anguis and the Pennites. He knew that he could react quickly enough with a spell in case someone threatened Anguis, and he also knew that the dragon's skill and intelligence would enable him to perform that stunt harmlessly. He looked at Tanny, who nodded in understanding.

"I can freeze the shield around Stephen for a couple minutes, and then make sure that earth gives reassurance to everybody here. They'll be more marvelled than terribly afraid after a couple seconds. No harm will come to them."

"Can you do that?" Panther didn't hide his surprise at Tanny's words.

"For a short time, yes - specially here at the Pen. Earth is a source of reassurance, as you know... I can weave a web of sorts and keep it for some minutes if I need to. "

Tanny wished Stephen good luck and he started to climb up again. As Tanny put her shielding in place once more, he hoped that they'd come up with something, or at least put a mattress underneath him ...He kept climbing for a few moments before letting go. Though he couldn't "feel" the ground anymore he had a sensation of falling into an endless, black void which was suddenly interrupted by screams coming from the Keep.

Both Tanny and Panther looked amazed at Stephen as he actually stopped falling for a moment. When Tanny breathed, "Impossible", even though it was the barest whisper, gravity was reminded of its duty, turned its full attention back to Stephen and, with the equivalent of a "Hey you, keep moving!", made him thud once more into the earth.

Rubbing a few painful spots he got up, muttering, "Enough foolishness for the day. I doubt this'll ever work." He could feel both Tanny and Panther staring at him, though.

"Stephen, you actually did ..."

"... fly? From the sore spots I doubt it, though I couldn't feel the ground coming closer so I wouldn't know."

The slight grin playing around his lips belied his serious tone, though ...

[Mynx]

CheerMynx sighed regrettfully as she landed gracefully on the grass. She'd hoped more people would have been willing to try their hand at flight - the cheerfeline just couln't understand how anyone could miss out on something so like, totally cool! - but she had a date to get ready for and didn't have the time to man the booth any more.

Ooooh my date! CheerMynx thought suddenly, momentarily distracted as her exciteable mind began to leap from one idea to another for Thomas' date.

With barely another thought to her booth, the cheerfeline began to bound off to her quarters to plan her date.

 

OOC: This thread is closed as a carnival activity but feel free to still give flying a go if you want. Geld will only be awarded to those who made any attempt however but i need a day or two to decide if anyone deserves more than the standard 20

Hope you all had fun, I know CheerMynx did

[cryptomancer]

In the middle of the table, the raven sat, looking rather confused. Someplace in the depths of the avian mind, he had an idea that there was more to it than just missing the ground.

 

He sat and watched the attempts, the slow clearing of the booth, and the cheerfeline’s sudden departure.

 

In fact, most of the next few nights the raven sat huddled in the booth, confused and cold, and still trying to figure out if this was quite the right method. The knock on the head had rattled too much sense out to allow complete memories, so the raven just sat, and contemplated the true depth of what needed to be done.

 

After just under a week, the raven wondered cautiously to the edge of the table, glanced at the ground.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes, and toppled forward, plummeting to the ground…..

 

Within the split second of freefall, the raven’s instinct took over and opened the wings, eyes snapping open in time to see the ground rushing towards him, the instinct failed and the wings snapped in and covered the eyes of the falling bird. The pinion feathers of the wings sharply poked the raven’s eyes before he could close them again, the squawk of pain distracting him at a crucial time, and as he tumbled in his confused and eyewatering fall, the raven failed to notice the ground, and missed.

 

The raven bobed and inch above the ground, wings folded, eyes watering and blinking to clear them.

 

He hovered confused……

 

And pondering the dilemma of insanity vs instinct, floated slowly back to the keep, weaving through the feet of the pennites that wondered the halls.

 

 

[cryptomancer]

It was after a number of weeks, most shot through with sleepless nights, (it is hard to sleep bobbing a few inches off the floor), that the raven finally figured a few things out.

 

Floating so close to the ground has one very distinct hazard for the Raven, kitten minions, (ok so not quite 1 but you get the point).

 

Without the use of wings evasive action is rather difficult, especially considering the speed and number of the kittens in question. Disguises don't work, they just add to the things that can be grabbed, clawed or bitten.

 

But it was not this that broke the insanity of the flying lesson, it was something darker....

 

Darker, richer, and containing vast amounts of caffeine......

 

The headache started a few hours after the flying lesson, the Raven, memory hindered by a blow to the head seemed to have no real recollection of the fuel source for most of the hyperactive rambling, also, even though the aroma or the coffee was very enticing, he could not get to the coffee machine, (the table was a bit higher than a few inches from the ground).

 

The shakes started a few hours later, progressing, as any caffeine addicted bird knows, to the point of producing an audible hum.

 

So the weeks went by; headaches and edginess, (compounded by constant attacks from a swarm of kitten minions, attracted by the steady hum of the ever shaking Raven), the ever enticing aroma of coffee, promising so much but so very far out of reach.

 

It was only this morning that the 'spell' was broken.

 

The raven floated above the floorboard he had chosen as his perch, not that the feet actually grabbed it, (Raven legs being a few millimeters too short to bridge the few inch gap between floating bird and floor) kittens scattered the floor around him, the few that were awake watching the steady blurring of the Raven that produced a 'magic eye' effect, (stare at the black patch near the floor and defocus your eyes and you will see a Raven), The chain of events unfolded as such.....

 

The Raven woke, (moved away from the floorboard designated a perch) the kittens readied themselves for the game, the coffee maker steamed gently awaiting application of hot water to the grounds already present. Two floorboards away from the perch the first of the kittens struck, unaware of the new intensity to the shakes, the kitten was thrown off, striking the floor and sliding through its companions, the small eruption of kittens chasing the new plaything that had just knocked them over.

 

Several hundred kitten minions formed a scrum in the middle of the floor, and began playing pinball with the furniture, tumbling over each other and rolling the tussle from one fixture to another, the rattle of weapons and china and ...coffee cups and maker... making an interesting imitation of the arcade game. The raven attempted to sneak out... shakes preventing him from navigating the small gaps in his chosen path. Contact with the table, (yes the coffee maker's table) amplifying the audible hum to a rock concert level, and showering him with cups as they trembled to the edges of the table. The kitten pile pounced..... the results was a shrapnel grenade of kittens and crockery, the kittens striking the table and spilling the espresso maker on the carpet, the shower of small furry creatures (no dogs, just raining cats) flooding the confines of the room, dampening the floor in a puddle of fluff, a monsoon of Burmese... one landed on the coffee maker, the heat convincing it to move quickly and extract itself from this location, the button was pushed...... (the right button)..... steam gurgled, the aroma of coffee enveloped the room, the Raven vibrated through the stream of espresso, the few drips that made it into his mouth creating a flood of memories, mostly around the effects of caffeine, (or lack there of) he inhaled, deeply......

 

The impact of hot espresso to the lungs would ordinarily not be advised.... however in this case we make an exception, the direct access to the blood stream is definitely the key to a good coffee, caffeine infusing the blood as it is drawn into the heart, the shakes stopped, the headache moved to a more manageable location, (that of the kittens trying to claw their plaything into shaking again) the Raven sneezed.... and flew to the rafters, remembering too, after all, that he is severely allergic to kittens.