4th Frontier [open commentlog, if anyone is so inclined]

[ecopiracy]

[His hair lashes the air behind him like a whip, and with his goggles lowered to protect his eyes, his bangs fly around his face. A wall comes up and he banks hard to the right, very narrowly avoiding plowing into it.

It just isn't the same. He should have been able to pull up and shoot toward ceiling. He should have been able to fly over those

Comments

[aswanbyday]

[Odette had heard the noise, during one of her many excursions through the decks of the ship. But it was nothing she had ever heard before. And she just had to know what it was. Or at the very least get a good look at it.

She flies, a little faster than normal to find the source of the noise before it got away. Could they fly? The thought crossed her mind and she began to wonder what she would do if this thing decided to chase her. She trusted she could fly fast enough to evade it.

Finally, there it was. Some strange contraption with a rider. She hovered for a moment, watching it zoom by at intervals and it took a moment for her to realize who the rider was. It was Phoenix! And she smiled a little. But it soon dawned on her that he had not seen her like this so she found a place to land, hopefully out of his sight so she could watch him ride...whatever that thing was undisturbed.]

[ecopiracy]

]Unfortunately for Odette, Phoenix is very aware of his surroundings when he's flying. As a pilot trained to fly in a war, and later as a pirate bent on pillage and plunder and escaping the Aeropan air forces, the skill is one that is absolutely necessary. Anyone who does not have it does not last long.

But all he sees is a bird - a type of bird he's not familiar with, but a bird nonetheless. It seems just a little odd to see a bird here on this ship, but perhaps it's just part of the programmed race track.

Real or not, though, it brings a smile to his lips. Of all the creatures in the world, he's always felt most akin to the birds. He offers it a small wave before returning his attention to not crashing into the stands.]

[aswanbyday]

[Odette sees him wave and knows then she's been seen. No point in hiding anymore. Right? She waddled off of her perch and continued to watch him for a few minutes more in silence. As he approached her again, she cleared her throat and called out to him.]

You're good at that thing.

[She wasn't sure how she was able to give a sincere compliment. She didn't even know what that thing was. So how was she a fair judge?]

[ecopiracy]

[In a world where it wasn't entirely uncommon for animals to talk, the fact that this bird is now speaking to him only causes him to blink. Still, she's caught his attention and he slows down, then circles back around to hover near the tree she's perched in. He looks amused.]

I'm afraid I don't hold your opinion of my skill, but thank you, nonetheless.

Are you a passenger here, then?

[He doubts the program that generates the race track would bother making something that could speak. Besides which, the bird's voice seems vaguely familiar Had he spoken to her on the comm before?]

[aswanbyday]

I am.

[So he doesn't recognize her. Good. She'll just go along with it for a little while.]

I've never seen anything like this before. So I'm sure I'd be impressed regardless.

[ecopiracy]

[Phoenix flashes her a grin that has more than a little edge of self deprecation.]

If that is the case, then I urge you not to watch me practice anymore. I would very much hate to disillusion your opinion.

That said, I can only regret that I cannot try to impress you with my flying. To earn the approval of a bird as beautiful and graceful as yourself... Now that would be an opinion truly worth valuing.

[aswanbyday]

[Still the same old Phoenix. Odette giggles.]

I don't think that's possible, Phoenix.

[Whoops, name slip]

My opinion couldn't carry that much weight.

[ecopiracy]

And why would it not? As a bird, you have an innate talent that I can only hope to mimic.

[The slip has his attention in an instant. So he has spoken with this bird before.]

You appear to have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I cannot remember meeting you in person - and I'm certain I would remember one such as yourself.

[aswanbyday]

[She's been caught. Curses.]

I'm not really a bird.

[She waddles closer so he can have a better look at her.]

It's me. Odette.

[ecopiracy]

[He had wanted to see some sort of display of magic, to make it easier to believe in its existence.

This is not what he'd thought he would get. Phoenix's eyebrows shoot up.]

Odette?

[He dismounts his zoomer and lowers himself to one knee, bringing his eyes to a level that is much closer to hers. Her feathery body bears no resemblance to the woman he'd met before, but there's something about her eyes and the gold streak on her head...]

Precursors...

It really is you.

[aswanbyday]

[She doesn't have to be in the water to change into a swan. So no sooner than they had parted company, she went to her room to await her transformation. She looks away, a bit sheepish.]

I hope it's not too much of a surprise. I'll be human again, once night falls and the moon rises.

[ecopiracy]

[Phoenix shakes his head.]

I would like to say that it isn't a surprise, considering that you did warn me, but I would be a liar if I said that it did not catch me off guard.

...may I?

[He lifts one hand hesitantly, as though to touch her wing.]

[aswanbyday]

[Rothbart is the only one who would dare try to touch her wings and he nearly lost a finger in the process. But she likes Phoenix enough to let him touch her wings without trying to snap at him.]

Of course.

[ecopiracy]

[It might help that Phoenix actually asked before trying anything. His hand is gentle when he lays it on her feathers, and he knows better than to move against the grain. A smile plays on his lips, genuine and nostalgic.]

My mother had a bird once which she kept in an aviary. I loved watching it, but it would never come close enough for me to touch it. I...

[He pulls his hand back and he meets Odette's eyes seriously.]

Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.

[aswanbyday]

[She blinks. Wow. She's surprised. No one's ever been this fascinated by her swan form before. Huh. Maybe it's not so much a curse as she thought.

She spreads them before folding them back.]

I suppose it's not so bad. Being this way, I mean. It just gets...cramped. And I miss being human.

[ecopiracy]

[Phoenix nods. Even if he admires her form, he can only imagine what it must feel like to be trapped in a body that had been transformed.]

That's more than understandable. I think I would feel the same way if I was in your position, despite the fact that I think I would love the experience of flying with my own wings.

[As a child he had often wished he could be a bird. It was one of the things that had prompted his interest in being a pilot.]