[Log] As the Fur Flies [Kite, Twins]
Characters: Kisarazu Ryou, Kisarazu Atsushi, Kite Eishirou
Location: Flight/Archery Range
Time: Tuesday, November 13th
Rating: PG-15 (some mild adult themes (sex talk))
Summary: Kite’s behaviour sparks the desire for a conversation in the Kisarazu Twins
Arriving a little early for their meeting with Kite, the twins did a few stretches and caught up a bit, speaking in cat so that they would not be eavesdropped upon. With Ryou spending so much of his time with Shishido, it was nice to have a little time to just chill out together. They did keep an eye open for the other flyer, however, since they had invited him.
Walking out onto the field, Kite was glad he had worn a warmer shirt since there was a slight chill to the air. Seeing the twins stretching and sounding like a pair of cats, which they were, he waved briefly before angling toward them. "Good afternoon, Kittens."
”See, why does he call us that? He’s never had sex with one of us and yet he treats us as familiarly as if he has,” Atsushi said to his brother. He sighed. He liked Kite, he did, but there were some things that the other did that just set his teeth on edge.
Ryou nodded. ”He probably just thinks he’s being friendly. Although, considering that for a year and a bit he rebuffed all of our advances, it really does come across as a bit mocking. Let us take the high road and not respond in kind,” he told his brother. To Kite, he said, “Hello, Kite-kun. How are you doing today?”
“A bit chilled, but otherwise fine. My new earmuffs should get here in a few days, so thankfully it’s not terribly cold yet.” There was also the fact that the downy layer he’d been getting the last two winters hadn’t come in yet either. Spreading his wings for a moment, he stretched his back before folding the large appendages back in.
Both twins stared at the other’s wings while he stretched them. The way they glittered purple in the fall sunlight was quite beautiful. “Nn,” Ryou said, making a low admiring noise in his throat. “Amazing. Out of curiosity, do you dye your hair to match or was it just a lucky coincidence ending up with purple wings?”
Looking at his wings, Kite almost sighed at the way the light was hitting them. “I guess there’s no point in trying to insist that they’re black out in this light. It’s a very lucky coincidence, really, though at least it’s one of my favorite colors.”
“You’ve been telling people that they’re black?” Ryou asked. “Are people polite or do they generally laugh in your face when you tell them that? Because they’re definitely purple. Quite beautiful, mind you, but purple.”
Atsushi’s fingers itched to touch them, but Kite always shooed him away every time he tried, so he stayed aloof, pretending he didn’t want to. “I imagine that at the speeds and altitude you get up to that earmuffs are a necessity.” He sighed. “Lucky you. We’re low and slow still.”
Kite blushed lightly and did his best to smile. "That depends. If it's in low light, they tend to believe me. Otherwise, some do tend to laugh." Looking at Atsushi, he cocked his head to the side. "Have you ever tried playing chase with anything while flying? You may find you can go faster than you think."
“We’re not able to make very fast turns. More of a bank gradually sort of thing,” Ryou said. “But we’re working on it. How are you at flying at low speeds?” he asked.
“Well, since I can’t find my goggles, I’ll be excellent at them. I need to email my sister and have her check my room at home to see if I left them there since I tore apart my half of the room looking for them this morning.” Kite shrugged ruefully and chuckled, fully willing to poke fun at himself for losing such an important thing.
“May we ask a question?” Atsushi asked him. “For two and a half years you’ve pretty much kept to yourself. What changed recently? Heck, even last semester if we had asked to go flying like today you would have turned us down. In fact, I think you did. What happened?”
Kite sighed for a moment as he tried to find the right words to say. “Before I came here, and for the last two years, I was very...ostracized. It was much more subtle here, but when you do that to someone who already has issues with how very different they look...you take away their ability to feel confident. I felt like I was being harassed and bullied by everyone, and decided that keeping to myself was the only way to be safe. Last semester I started coming out of that some, mostly because the people who did it to me here have gone back home or someplace. And then I’ve had people start pushing past the barriers I put up with more force than I expected anyone to use. I’ve spent the better part of the last seven years having to hide because of my wings, because I can’t hide them. But I’m sick of hiding, and I need to get past that.” Smiling sadly, he shrugged. "Plus, I've always kind of envied the two of you. You can at least look normal and blend in, I haven't been able to do that since before my thirteenth birthday."
Ryou and Atsushi gave one another a look, then transferred it to Kite. “We may look normal, but we have never blended in. Twins just...don’t. We stand out by merely existing. People feel that it’s alright to come up and ask us personal questions simply because they’re curious. Add in our mutation and our...personal needs due to that mutation and, well, we have never actually blended in,” Ryou said.
“The ability to feel confident is inborn, and is not something anyone else has the right or ability to take away from you without your consent,” Atsushi pointed out. “If you feel that their opinion means more to you than your own, then yes, you may feel that they are taking it away. But who are they to judge you? Jealous normals? Jealous mutants? People who are so powerless that the only way they can feel better about themselves is to make others feel inferior to them? Maybe it’s the cat in us, but we refuse to be cowed by another’s will.” He shook his head. “Don’t envy us. We are happy for you that people have started to shove you out of your happy denial zone, though,” he said.
Blinking in surprise, Kite took a moment to process their words. "Ah...I suppose you're right. I should never have let other people's opinions matter so much. I think I just tried so hard to fit in after being almost completely sequestered for several years. I apologize for refusing your offers in the past." Folding his wings tightly, he executed a perfect martial bow, right hand against left fist.
The twins smiled at him. “Well, now that you are finally opening up, we thought we’d take this opportunity to get to know you better,” Ryou said. “We care about our friends, classmates, teachers and kouhai, you know. Is there anything we can help you with, now that you’ve come out of your shell?”
“And if someone makes you feel uncomfortable and you don’t know how to deal with them, please come and talk to us?” Atsushi said. He was glad that Kite was opening up. Perhaps if they could just get him to stop mocking them, they might be friends. Friends were always welcome. He smiled a little at the winged boy.
“Mm, I’m not sure. I usually spend a lot of time training either outside or in one of the training rooms. I work mostly on my martial arts inside. But I’m always up for flying practice if you’d like.” Kite smiled, relaxing as the twins smiled at him as well. “I need to just make myself interact and stop using training as a way to avoid people, you know?”
“Yes, but it is a good idea to take certain...precautions when interacting with people,” Ryou said. “For example, our dorm rooms, not soundproofed. The beds...tend to squeak a bit if you don’t know the trick to keeping them quiet.” He paused and considered the other boy for a moment. “Plus, if you agree to use a condom, it is important that you keep your word and not allow circumstances to carry you away. Just saying...next time your partner might not be so forgiving.”
Ah, so they knew. Sighing, Kite scratched the back of his head. The look on his face was one of genuine remorse as he spoke. "If I had known I was going to react so intensely, I would have taken precautions beforehand. I take it Niou-kun told at least one of you?"
“He didn’t have to,” Atsushi said. “I could smell it on him. Our sense of smell when in our cat boy form is enhanced. After speaking to him, however, he did clarify that you had simply lost control. However...among our kind, control is rather important, Kite. I know that being able to just let go may be highly sought after by some, but we have a responsibility to take those extra steps, those precautions, so that we don’t hurt other people.” He smiled a little. He could see the remorse in Kite’s eyes, which went a long way toward mollifying him. If Kite had smirked or downplayed his part in what had happened, at all...well, there was a reason he’d come with Ryou. Precautions so you don’t hurt someone are very important, after all.
"You're right. Which is why if the situation arises again, I will ensure that I cannot harm him or anyone else. I am capable of at least halfway restraining myself to a chair, I just need to verify that Niou-kun, or whomever I am with, will secure my other hand. I know you are both close to him, I apologize for any offense I caused." Kite gave the twins a solemn look as he knelt to pick up a shed feather. Letting the feather rest on his flattened palm, he waited to see if it would blow away.
“Being restrained isn’t any fun,” Ryou said with a frown. “Well, at least, not to either of us. If that is how you feel most comfortable, then you do what you need to do, Kite,” he said with a smile. He watched the feather gently fly up off the other’s hand, tracking it for a moment as it wafted away. “However, this is us on the ground, not in the air! Shall we get on with the fun part of flying, which is the flying itself?” he asked with a grin.
Kite felt himself grinning in return as the feather drifted away. "Absolutely. Shall I go first and give you a target, or would you prefer to take to the skies first." He loved flying almost more than martial arts, and he'd been training in those since he learned to walk.
A chance to hunt? In human form? That sounded...interesting. Ryou and Atsushi shared a glance and a grin. “We’ll let you go first, takes a moment for us to get up there,” Ryou said, waving Kite to go on ahead. However, they both immediately took the three steps and jump it required to get themselves airborne.
Crouching slightly, Kite spread his wings and jumped into the air as well, flapping the great feathered appendages to keep himself airborne. Soaring up as high as he dared with just glasses and no ear protection, he folded his wings slightly and dove back down. “How high is your maximum?”
“Maximum maximum or safe maximum?” Atsushi asked. “We try to keep it under thirty feet when we’re flying most days, simply because we’re trying for more distance. Plus we’ll have to land occasionally. Can you hover with your wings or do you have to keep moving?” he asked. He and Ryou had gone straight up, so they were hovering just a bit, though they would fall back to the ground soon if they didn’t pick a direction immediately. With a look toward each other, they took off in different directions.
“I can hover, just requires a slightly different wing motion. And whichever you prefer to start with. Do you want to work airtime or height?” Kite hovered mostly in one spot, though he was moving around a little. It helped to stay in the air if he wasn’t static in his position since he couldn’t quite move like a hummingbird.
“Airtime!” the twins called out as they made their way to opposite ends of the field. “And you’re it!” they said with matching grins. They also wanted to work on their maneuverability, after all.
Grinning, Kite looked back and forth between the two of them. It was hard to decide which twin to chase, but he did have the advantage of greater maneuverability on his side, and possibly greater speed as well. Making up his mind, he banked right and took off, aiming for the twin in his path.
Somehow the twins were more maneuverable in the air than their method of flight would suggest. They hadn’t quite figured out the whys and wherefores of it all yet, but that did not mean they could not or would not take advantage of it, especially in a game of aerial tag. Ryou twisted in mid-air, avoiding Kite’s initial attack. He wouldn’t be able to keep it up for very long, eventually Kite would go for finesse over power and catch him, or he’d have to land, but until then, he was the slippery eel that eluded even the most determined bird of prey.
Chasing after Ryou, Kite laughed as he flapped his massive wings. The cat boy he was hunting moved more smoothly than he’d been lead to believe. It felt good to have someone to chase other than birds, not to mention a hell of a lot more fun. Despite the chance of having Atsushi come upon him from behind, Kite focused on only one prey at a time.
Sneaking up on someone while in mid-air is a waste of time. Either they’re going to know you are there or they won’t, it’s not like you will step on a twig, after all. Nevertheless, Atsushi tried to stay above and behind Kite as long as he could. However, he didn’t want to tag the other on the wing, that’s what he was using to stay in the air. So, at the last moment, he dove down and reached for one of Kite’s feet.
The touch to his foot startled Kite enough to make him pull up sharply. Seeing that Atsushi was the culprit, he twisted and changed targets, chasing the twin that had tagged him.
Backpedalling fiercely, trying to dodge the winged boy, Atsushi lost his concentration and ended up flat on his back on the ground. He hadn’t hit very hard, just enough to make him laugh in surprise that the ground was closer than he had expected. “Whoops!”
Swooping down to land next to Atsushi, Kite offered the other teen a hand up. “You alright? I didn’t mean to make you drop out of the sky like that.” His normally styled hair was a bit mussed from the wind, but he didn’t care.
“Thanks,” Atsushi said, accepting Kite’s hand. “The ground was just closer than I thought,” he said with a laugh. “So, twins 1, Kite 0?” He grinned. “Can’t tag me when I’m on the ground, you know. Or do you prefer your ducks to be sitting?”
“Ah, I do so hate when that happens to me.” Kite chuckled as he pulled Atsushi to his feet. “No, I accept that score. It’s no fun when the prey is stationary, after all.”
“The ground is sneaky sometimes,” Ryou said, flying down and landing next to them. “Always laying there in wait for someone to not be paying attention, then wham, sucks you down.” He grinned at the other two. “This is fun. Too bad we don’t have more flyers, we could totally play quidditch or something.”
“Quidditch? Oh, right, from that book series. Nevermind.” Kite had looked perplexed for a moment before recognizing the odd word. “Yes, that would be a great deal of fun, wouldn’t it? But there’s no reason why we can’t have our own fun. I believe it’s Atsushi-kun’s turn to be ‘it,’ am I right?”
“Uhm, nope!” Atsushi shook his head, the ends of his ponytail flying. “I tagged you, not the other way around. I touch you, I get a point. You touch me, I become it. Mm, delicious, delicious points.”
Ryou laughed. “Kite is going to think we’re just making up rules as we go along, Atsushi!” He rolled his eyes a little. “And what are you going to do with all these points you’ve been collecting?” he asked his twin.
“Not sure yet. Perhaps I will simply hoard them and roll around in them,” Atsushi said, his nose in the air and a disdainful look on his face. “What are you going to do with yours?” he asked.
“I was going to make a scarf, but now I don’t need one,” Ryou said. “Count to ten, then come on up,” he told Kite as the two took a couple of running steps and were flying once again.
Kite laughed hard as the twins took off, incredibly amused by their exchange. After counting to ten, he took to the air once more before zooming after Atsushi. "I'll collect a few points of my own, in that case~."
“You can’t get points if you’re it!” Atsushi said, taunting him. “You only get them from tagging the person who is it! Like I did!” He did a barrel roll and climbed, trying to dodge the slightly faster winged man.
Angling upward, Kite swooped down and aimed for Atsushi, determined to tag the cat boy. “See, now I know you’re just making the rules up as you go!” He was laughing as he targeted the more playful twin.
“Nope,” Ryou said, diving at Kite suddenly from behind a tree, having let Atsushi draw the winged boy’s attention. “Honest, we made these rules up three years ago. Point for me!” he said, brushing his fingers against the tip of one of Kite’s wings and continuing his dive to put distance between them.
Kite could have swung around and chased Ryou, but he was gaining on Atsushi. "Will I ever not be it? This seems a bit rigged." His voice was full of laughter, proving that he was enjoying himself, despite the protests.
“Sure, all you have to do is tag one of us!” Atsushi said, twisting and doing his best to dodge the other. “Unless it’s a Tuesday!” he added with a grin, trying to keep away as best he could.
Ryou landed and laughed, then took off again, hoping to tag Kite again before the other managed to get Atsushi.
Seeing Ryou land in his peripheral vision, Kite applied an extra burst of speed. Thanks to that, he was able to stretch out and tag Atsushi's ankle. "Ha! Now you're it!" Banking hard to the left, Kite swooped down toward the ground before pulling back up again.
“‘Fraid, not,” Atsushi said. “It’s Tuesday,” he pointed out with a laugh. He flipped over and landed on his feet, then took a couple of steps to take off again. “I did mention that, didn’t I? On Tuesdays you have to tag both of us!”
Blinking a bit at the new rule, Kite sped toward Ryou. "And here I was being nice and holding back. Now I'm going full out!" Using his wings for an extra burst of speed, he rushed toward Ryou.
Now this was more like it! A chase with a bit more bite to it. As Kite drew near, Ryou waited until the other was almost upon him, then dropped like a rock, before speeding away, just above the ground.
“Nice one, Ryou! Go, go, go!” Atsushi said, cheering his brother on. It was only a matter of time before Kite caught him, but that time was not just yet!
Tucking his wings in tight, Kite dove for Ryou, hoping to intercept him before he could turn. The rushing air against his face made him very thankful for the prescription goggles he wore when flying. Otherwise, he would likely be crashing left and right as the wind dried and blurred his already less than stellar vision. Gaining on his target, he reached out and tagged Ryou's ankle. "Ha!"
Laughing, the twins acknowledged the hit. It was a nice day and Kite was a decent opponent and the rules were in their favor. After a good workout, they’d invite him back in for hot cocoa and to swap lies about how each of them did today. Bonding accomplished.
Location: Flight/Archery Range
Time: Tuesday, November 13th
Rating: PG-15 (some mild adult themes (sex talk))
Summary: Kite’s behaviour sparks the desire for a conversation in the Kisarazu Twins
Arriving a little early for their meeting with Kite, the twins did a few stretches and caught up a bit, speaking in cat so that they would not be eavesdropped upon. With Ryou spending so much of his time with Shishido, it was nice to have a little time to just chill out together. They did keep an eye open for the other flyer, however, since they had invited him.
Walking out onto the field, Kite was glad he had worn a warmer shirt since there was a slight chill to the air. Seeing the twins stretching and sounding like a pair of cats, which they were, he waved briefly before angling toward them. "Good afternoon, Kittens."
”See, why does he call us that? He’s never had sex with one of us and yet he treats us as familiarly as if he has,” Atsushi said to his brother. He sighed. He liked Kite, he did, but there were some things that the other did that just set his teeth on edge.
Ryou nodded. ”He probably just thinks he’s being friendly. Although, considering that for a year and a bit he rebuffed all of our advances, it really does come across as a bit mocking. Let us take the high road and not respond in kind,” he told his brother. To Kite, he said, “Hello, Kite-kun. How are you doing today?”
“A bit chilled, but otherwise fine. My new earmuffs should get here in a few days, so thankfully it’s not terribly cold yet.” There was also the fact that the downy layer he’d been getting the last two winters hadn’t come in yet either. Spreading his wings for a moment, he stretched his back before folding the large appendages back in.
Both twins stared at the other’s wings while he stretched them. The way they glittered purple in the fall sunlight was quite beautiful. “Nn,” Ryou said, making a low admiring noise in his throat. “Amazing. Out of curiosity, do you dye your hair to match or was it just a lucky coincidence ending up with purple wings?”
Looking at his wings, Kite almost sighed at the way the light was hitting them. “I guess there’s no point in trying to insist that they’re black out in this light. It’s a very lucky coincidence, really, though at least it’s one of my favorite colors.”
“You’ve been telling people that they’re black?” Ryou asked. “Are people polite or do they generally laugh in your face when you tell them that? Because they’re definitely purple. Quite beautiful, mind you, but purple.”
Atsushi’s fingers itched to touch them, but Kite always shooed him away every time he tried, so he stayed aloof, pretending he didn’t want to. “I imagine that at the speeds and altitude you get up to that earmuffs are a necessity.” He sighed. “Lucky you. We’re low and slow still.”
Kite blushed lightly and did his best to smile. "That depends. If it's in low light, they tend to believe me. Otherwise, some do tend to laugh." Looking at Atsushi, he cocked his head to the side. "Have you ever tried playing chase with anything while flying? You may find you can go faster than you think."
“We’re not able to make very fast turns. More of a bank gradually sort of thing,” Ryou said. “But we’re working on it. How are you at flying at low speeds?” he asked.
“Well, since I can’t find my goggles, I’ll be excellent at them. I need to email my sister and have her check my room at home to see if I left them there since I tore apart my half of the room looking for them this morning.” Kite shrugged ruefully and chuckled, fully willing to poke fun at himself for losing such an important thing.
“May we ask a question?” Atsushi asked him. “For two and a half years you’ve pretty much kept to yourself. What changed recently? Heck, even last semester if we had asked to go flying like today you would have turned us down. In fact, I think you did. What happened?”
Kite sighed for a moment as he tried to find the right words to say. “Before I came here, and for the last two years, I was very...ostracized. It was much more subtle here, but when you do that to someone who already has issues with how very different they look...you take away their ability to feel confident. I felt like I was being harassed and bullied by everyone, and decided that keeping to myself was the only way to be safe. Last semester I started coming out of that some, mostly because the people who did it to me here have gone back home or someplace. And then I’ve had people start pushing past the barriers I put up with more force than I expected anyone to use. I’ve spent the better part of the last seven years having to hide because of my wings, because I can’t hide them. But I’m sick of hiding, and I need to get past that.” Smiling sadly, he shrugged. "Plus, I've always kind of envied the two of you. You can at least look normal and blend in, I haven't been able to do that since before my thirteenth birthday."
Ryou and Atsushi gave one another a look, then transferred it to Kite. “We may look normal, but we have never blended in. Twins just...don’t. We stand out by merely existing. People feel that it’s alright to come up and ask us personal questions simply because they’re curious. Add in our mutation and our...personal needs due to that mutation and, well, we have never actually blended in,” Ryou said.
“The ability to feel confident is inborn, and is not something anyone else has the right or ability to take away from you without your consent,” Atsushi pointed out. “If you feel that their opinion means more to you than your own, then yes, you may feel that they are taking it away. But who are they to judge you? Jealous normals? Jealous mutants? People who are so powerless that the only way they can feel better about themselves is to make others feel inferior to them? Maybe it’s the cat in us, but we refuse to be cowed by another’s will.” He shook his head. “Don’t envy us. We are happy for you that people have started to shove you out of your happy denial zone, though,” he said.
Blinking in surprise, Kite took a moment to process their words. "Ah...I suppose you're right. I should never have let other people's opinions matter so much. I think I just tried so hard to fit in after being almost completely sequestered for several years. I apologize for refusing your offers in the past." Folding his wings tightly, he executed a perfect martial bow, right hand against left fist.
The twins smiled at him. “Well, now that you are finally opening up, we thought we’d take this opportunity to get to know you better,” Ryou said. “We care about our friends, classmates, teachers and kouhai, you know. Is there anything we can help you with, now that you’ve come out of your shell?”
“And if someone makes you feel uncomfortable and you don’t know how to deal with them, please come and talk to us?” Atsushi said. He was glad that Kite was opening up. Perhaps if they could just get him to stop mocking them, they might be friends. Friends were always welcome. He smiled a little at the winged boy.
“Mm, I’m not sure. I usually spend a lot of time training either outside or in one of the training rooms. I work mostly on my martial arts inside. But I’m always up for flying practice if you’d like.” Kite smiled, relaxing as the twins smiled at him as well. “I need to just make myself interact and stop using training as a way to avoid people, you know?”
“Yes, but it is a good idea to take certain...precautions when interacting with people,” Ryou said. “For example, our dorm rooms, not soundproofed. The beds...tend to squeak a bit if you don’t know the trick to keeping them quiet.” He paused and considered the other boy for a moment. “Plus, if you agree to use a condom, it is important that you keep your word and not allow circumstances to carry you away. Just saying...next time your partner might not be so forgiving.”
Ah, so they knew. Sighing, Kite scratched the back of his head. The look on his face was one of genuine remorse as he spoke. "If I had known I was going to react so intensely, I would have taken precautions beforehand. I take it Niou-kun told at least one of you?"
“He didn’t have to,” Atsushi said. “I could smell it on him. Our sense of smell when in our cat boy form is enhanced. After speaking to him, however, he did clarify that you had simply lost control. However...among our kind, control is rather important, Kite. I know that being able to just let go may be highly sought after by some, but we have a responsibility to take those extra steps, those precautions, so that we don’t hurt other people.” He smiled a little. He could see the remorse in Kite’s eyes, which went a long way toward mollifying him. If Kite had smirked or downplayed his part in what had happened, at all...well, there was a reason he’d come with Ryou. Precautions so you don’t hurt someone are very important, after all.
"You're right. Which is why if the situation arises again, I will ensure that I cannot harm him or anyone else. I am capable of at least halfway restraining myself to a chair, I just need to verify that Niou-kun, or whomever I am with, will secure my other hand. I know you are both close to him, I apologize for any offense I caused." Kite gave the twins a solemn look as he knelt to pick up a shed feather. Letting the feather rest on his flattened palm, he waited to see if it would blow away.
“Being restrained isn’t any fun,” Ryou said with a frown. “Well, at least, not to either of us. If that is how you feel most comfortable, then you do what you need to do, Kite,” he said with a smile. He watched the feather gently fly up off the other’s hand, tracking it for a moment as it wafted away. “However, this is us on the ground, not in the air! Shall we get on with the fun part of flying, which is the flying itself?” he asked with a grin.
Kite felt himself grinning in return as the feather drifted away. "Absolutely. Shall I go first and give you a target, or would you prefer to take to the skies first." He loved flying almost more than martial arts, and he'd been training in those since he learned to walk.
A chance to hunt? In human form? That sounded...interesting. Ryou and Atsushi shared a glance and a grin. “We’ll let you go first, takes a moment for us to get up there,” Ryou said, waving Kite to go on ahead. However, they both immediately took the three steps and jump it required to get themselves airborne.
Crouching slightly, Kite spread his wings and jumped into the air as well, flapping the great feathered appendages to keep himself airborne. Soaring up as high as he dared with just glasses and no ear protection, he folded his wings slightly and dove back down. “How high is your maximum?”
“Maximum maximum or safe maximum?” Atsushi asked. “We try to keep it under thirty feet when we’re flying most days, simply because we’re trying for more distance. Plus we’ll have to land occasionally. Can you hover with your wings or do you have to keep moving?” he asked. He and Ryou had gone straight up, so they were hovering just a bit, though they would fall back to the ground soon if they didn’t pick a direction immediately. With a look toward each other, they took off in different directions.
“I can hover, just requires a slightly different wing motion. And whichever you prefer to start with. Do you want to work airtime or height?” Kite hovered mostly in one spot, though he was moving around a little. It helped to stay in the air if he wasn’t static in his position since he couldn’t quite move like a hummingbird.
“Airtime!” the twins called out as they made their way to opposite ends of the field. “And you’re it!” they said with matching grins. They also wanted to work on their maneuverability, after all.
Grinning, Kite looked back and forth between the two of them. It was hard to decide which twin to chase, but he did have the advantage of greater maneuverability on his side, and possibly greater speed as well. Making up his mind, he banked right and took off, aiming for the twin in his path.
Somehow the twins were more maneuverable in the air than their method of flight would suggest. They hadn’t quite figured out the whys and wherefores of it all yet, but that did not mean they could not or would not take advantage of it, especially in a game of aerial tag. Ryou twisted in mid-air, avoiding Kite’s initial attack. He wouldn’t be able to keep it up for very long, eventually Kite would go for finesse over power and catch him, or he’d have to land, but until then, he was the slippery eel that eluded even the most determined bird of prey.
Chasing after Ryou, Kite laughed as he flapped his massive wings. The cat boy he was hunting moved more smoothly than he’d been lead to believe. It felt good to have someone to chase other than birds, not to mention a hell of a lot more fun. Despite the chance of having Atsushi come upon him from behind, Kite focused on only one prey at a time.
Sneaking up on someone while in mid-air is a waste of time. Either they’re going to know you are there or they won’t, it’s not like you will step on a twig, after all. Nevertheless, Atsushi tried to stay above and behind Kite as long as he could. However, he didn’t want to tag the other on the wing, that’s what he was using to stay in the air. So, at the last moment, he dove down and reached for one of Kite’s feet.
The touch to his foot startled Kite enough to make him pull up sharply. Seeing that Atsushi was the culprit, he twisted and changed targets, chasing the twin that had tagged him.
Backpedalling fiercely, trying to dodge the winged boy, Atsushi lost his concentration and ended up flat on his back on the ground. He hadn’t hit very hard, just enough to make him laugh in surprise that the ground was closer than he had expected. “Whoops!”
Swooping down to land next to Atsushi, Kite offered the other teen a hand up. “You alright? I didn’t mean to make you drop out of the sky like that.” His normally styled hair was a bit mussed from the wind, but he didn’t care.
“Thanks,” Atsushi said, accepting Kite’s hand. “The ground was just closer than I thought,” he said with a laugh. “So, twins 1, Kite 0?” He grinned. “Can’t tag me when I’m on the ground, you know. Or do you prefer your ducks to be sitting?”
“Ah, I do so hate when that happens to me.” Kite chuckled as he pulled Atsushi to his feet. “No, I accept that score. It’s no fun when the prey is stationary, after all.”
“The ground is sneaky sometimes,” Ryou said, flying down and landing next to them. “Always laying there in wait for someone to not be paying attention, then wham, sucks you down.” He grinned at the other two. “This is fun. Too bad we don’t have more flyers, we could totally play quidditch or something.”
“Quidditch? Oh, right, from that book series. Nevermind.” Kite had looked perplexed for a moment before recognizing the odd word. “Yes, that would be a great deal of fun, wouldn’t it? But there’s no reason why we can’t have our own fun. I believe it’s Atsushi-kun’s turn to be ‘it,’ am I right?”
“Uhm, nope!” Atsushi shook his head, the ends of his ponytail flying. “I tagged you, not the other way around. I touch you, I get a point. You touch me, I become it. Mm, delicious, delicious points.”
Ryou laughed. “Kite is going to think we’re just making up rules as we go along, Atsushi!” He rolled his eyes a little. “And what are you going to do with all these points you’ve been collecting?” he asked his twin.
“Not sure yet. Perhaps I will simply hoard them and roll around in them,” Atsushi said, his nose in the air and a disdainful look on his face. “What are you going to do with yours?” he asked.
“I was going to make a scarf, but now I don’t need one,” Ryou said. “Count to ten, then come on up,” he told Kite as the two took a couple of running steps and were flying once again.
Kite laughed hard as the twins took off, incredibly amused by their exchange. After counting to ten, he took to the air once more before zooming after Atsushi. "I'll collect a few points of my own, in that case~."
“You can’t get points if you’re it!” Atsushi said, taunting him. “You only get them from tagging the person who is it! Like I did!” He did a barrel roll and climbed, trying to dodge the slightly faster winged man.
Angling upward, Kite swooped down and aimed for Atsushi, determined to tag the cat boy. “See, now I know you’re just making the rules up as you go!” He was laughing as he targeted the more playful twin.
“Nope,” Ryou said, diving at Kite suddenly from behind a tree, having let Atsushi draw the winged boy’s attention. “Honest, we made these rules up three years ago. Point for me!” he said, brushing his fingers against the tip of one of Kite’s wings and continuing his dive to put distance between them.
Kite could have swung around and chased Ryou, but he was gaining on Atsushi. "Will I ever not be it? This seems a bit rigged." His voice was full of laughter, proving that he was enjoying himself, despite the protests.
“Sure, all you have to do is tag one of us!” Atsushi said, twisting and doing his best to dodge the other. “Unless it’s a Tuesday!” he added with a grin, trying to keep away as best he could.
Ryou landed and laughed, then took off again, hoping to tag Kite again before the other managed to get Atsushi.
Seeing Ryou land in his peripheral vision, Kite applied an extra burst of speed. Thanks to that, he was able to stretch out and tag Atsushi's ankle. "Ha! Now you're it!" Banking hard to the left, Kite swooped down toward the ground before pulling back up again.
“‘Fraid, not,” Atsushi said. “It’s Tuesday,” he pointed out with a laugh. He flipped over and landed on his feet, then took a couple of steps to take off again. “I did mention that, didn’t I? On Tuesdays you have to tag both of us!”
Blinking a bit at the new rule, Kite sped toward Ryou. "And here I was being nice and holding back. Now I'm going full out!" Using his wings for an extra burst of speed, he rushed toward Ryou.
Now this was more like it! A chase with a bit more bite to it. As Kite drew near, Ryou waited until the other was almost upon him, then dropped like a rock, before speeding away, just above the ground.
“Nice one, Ryou! Go, go, go!” Atsushi said, cheering his brother on. It was only a matter of time before Kite caught him, but that time was not just yet!
Tucking his wings in tight, Kite dove for Ryou, hoping to intercept him before he could turn. The rushing air against his face made him very thankful for the prescription goggles he wore when flying. Otherwise, he would likely be crashing left and right as the wind dried and blurred his already less than stellar vision. Gaining on his target, he reached out and tagged Ryou's ankle. "Ha!"
Laughing, the twins acknowledged the hit. It was a nice day and Kite was a decent opponent and the rules were in their favor. After a good workout, they’d invite him back in for hot cocoa and to swap lies about how each of them did today. Bonding accomplished.