Second Flight, Open Commentlog

[talkingfishbone]

[In the village, a gangly young man rushes past you, holding a torch. He apologizes profusely. He realizes he just narrowly missed hitting you, and that if he had, he probably would've set you on fire. He's very sorry about that, no, really.

Hot on his heels is a rabbit.]

Comments

Gryphon to the rescue! }:>

[bondedgryphon]

[He's rushing past her in a sense, but being as how Zhaneel is safely overhead. Golden eyes narrow dangerously and she tucks her wings, cutting through the air in a sharp dive. She's about to pull something a little dangerous, but it will be easier to remove the human from the rabbit than attempt to snag the creature in the confines of the village; there is not nearly enough room for her to feel comfortable taking to the ground in such a manner.

She screes loudly overhead and flares her wings as she approaches Hiccup from behind as the rabbit closes on his heels.]

MIND THE TORCH!!

[That's the only warning she gives the young viking before reaching out with her forelegs and snagging the back of his tunic and vest in her talons, jerking him up from the ground with a flare and down swipe of her massive wings. She can only hope he heeds well enough and keeps the torch down and away from her feathers.

Feathers + flame = Very, very fast descent.

Hope you don't mind heights, Hiccup!]

GO THROUGH GDYOU

[talkingfishbone]

[The screech is what brings her to his attention. Without daring to stop, Hiccup looks up over his shoulders and sees a black mass growing larger and larger above him. He realizes a second too late it's getting bigger because it's dropping down on top of him.

The fear of being carried off like one of the village sheep--something he's been rightfully fearful of since around the time he started understanding concepts like Dragons Take Small Things Like Sheep Off To Eat--lights his chest and he's screaming a moment before he's taken up. Forget about the torch, lady, he's already dropped it.]

Wait, You Can Talk?!

[Well, to be honest, a more intelligent assumption would be there's a rider on this thing that can talk, but he's the only one who rides huge as hell flying beasties, so.

Hiccup holds the talons for dear life, finding the way the monster's gripping him to be a little too precarious for his liking. Shifting up, he can feel the feathers of her underbelly. That really throws him off.]

Livejournal hates ALL THE THINGS!! /flips it

[bondedgryphon]

[Perhaps luckily for her, the lad appears to have lost the torch upon liftoff. Not so lucky for the jack-mice below them, but Zhaneel was hardly concerned about the dreadful creatures as flame licked at their fur and sent them to a nicely charred death. The boys' shouted question draws an amused chortle from her as she holds him securely up against her keel. She turns her gaze to him, head practically upside down to acheive such, but her wing beats never once falter.]

Is it such a truly strange thing as that? Your kind speak on my world ..

[There is no hiding the amusement in her tone or large golden eyes, however she can feel him struggle to hold securely to her feet as her talons dig into his vest and tunic. She grunts softly, knowing that she'll need to fly him back toward the pods or somewhere else free of the vermin. As the distance is questionable at best, she likely should not try to hold him physically for that unknown length of flight.

She cuts her wings, angling upward to gain a bit of altitude.I need to shift your

8D

[talkingfishbone]

[Hiccup's landing could not be called graceful, but he holds, hands buried in her feathers, and head pressed against her neck. One leg successfully cleared her shoulders. The other is curled back against her wing at an awkward angle and Hiccup grunts as he shifts it where it was originally intended. He sucks in what're meant to be calming breaths.

His heart is pounding but...probably not for the reasons you would assume, Zhaneel. After doing it every day for little over a month, then jumping straight to cold turkey, Hiccup sorely missed flying.

The teenager slowly sits up, careful of his balance. The night's landscape fans out below them. His heart skips a beat.]

...I'm not...

Dreaming. Am I?

I mean...either you're...one of the Called or I just...

seeeriously miss Toothless.

Hiccup, you so cute! }:>

[bondedgryphon]

[Zhaneel adjusts her angle slightly as Hiccup shifts on her back. The last thing she wanted was for him to topple off into the growing darkness below. However well she might see, she didn't wish to put him at such a risk for any reason after the bit of aerodynamics they'd already performed. She notes with satisfaction that he has a firm grip at the base of her feathers, unconcerned that he'll pull hard enough to loose any of them.

When he sits up, she flicks her ear tufts back toward him and actually chortles softly. Despite the situation and any number of stinging wounds, the gryphon sounds exceptionably amused when she speaks.]

Lest we share the same dream, youngling, I fear not.

[She titls her head back slightly to look at him with one luminous eye, wing beats lazy and unlabored.]

I am one of the Called .. although I do not see the correlation between that and being toothless.

[Why you humans all so quirky? She cuts her wings, folding one while keeping the other extended and circles toward the right before fanning both widely

thank you~ /and uses all of her flying icons

[talkingfishbone]

[He's shifting with her, although stiffly. He's still a little shocked, and out of practice on top of that, but he's recovering well as he was raised to do.]

No, uhh.

Toothless. He's--It's. No, It's, uh, it's a name. It's the name of my dragon--

[...CRAP!]

My--M-My friend! He's--Uhhh. He--

He's like? A dragon? In...personality?

[CRAPCRAPCRAPCAKES.]

[bondedgryphon]

[Zhaneel would have to have been fledged yesterday to not pick up on the rather obvious slip and the sad attempt at covering it up. She arches a feathered brow and glances back at him briefly and if you've the ability Hiccup, you'll see some pretty obvious disbelief and amusement in her expression.]

Well, your friend has nothing to fear from me, youngling. I've no intent to make myself to your own homeland and report any indiscretions you might be participating in that allow you the knowledge to ride a winged creature.

[Knowing look is knowing, Hiccup. She might not know precisely what a dragon is, as there are no such creatures on her world or within its stories, but the general comprehension is there. Human not terribly confounded at riding a gryphon is rather obviously used to fantastical beasts. The fact that he seems well seated and quite at home there mixed with the quick denial could only mean you were up to things you perhaps shouldn't have been.There is no pleasure in bringing misery for the sake of bringing it where I come

[talkingfishbone]

...Look, uh.

No one--no one can know. There's...I--Someone I--I-I know from home is here and...

Dragons...and Vikings...

They hate each other. They just--they always have, until me, so...

He jus'--no one can know...

[...but a part of Hiccup is very glad you know, bird-lady. Finally, he was able to tell someone, so now his chest doesn't feel quite as tight anymore.]

[bondedgryphon]

[That trace of desperation and the fumbling; oh, Zhaneel knows that tone you're using all too well, Hiccup. Though she had not ever had the need to hide a friend, she has had to stand up to any number of nay-sayers that sought to rip apart her plans to prove herself.

Turning her head, she studies the boy as she circles down toward the temple a slow progression of spirals. The boy hadn't yet entered his adult years, but he was past the fumbling, child stage, much like the gryphon he was riding atop. Mama gryphon is go; Hiccup, you now have one (1) gryphon of your own at your need of her. Someone giving you a rough time? You need a ride somewhere? Need someone to dash off into silly, not quite thought out adventure? Here's your girl! 8D

She finally shakes her head, looking down at the ground below them.]

There is naught to be gained from breaking such confidence and I'd not put anyone at risk that need not be there. [She gives a gryphonic shrug, shoulders shifting slightly under his legs. Another glance back.] I do not believe anyone

[talkingfishbone]

[Nice shrug, there. Would've given him a heart attack if he weren't used to his mount being sassy.]

Well, uh.

Thank you.

You're...y'know, you're a pretty cool...talking...gigantic bird lady.

[Smooth, Hiccup.]

Not to be rude, but what are you exactly?

[bondedgryphon]

[Sorry about that, Hiccup. You're the first person to ride her and such intricacies will need to be learned as she goes. D:

She glances back at his thanks, a bit surprised that he feels the need to thank her for doing what is right. After a beat, she nods her head once and her expression is soft.]

You are most welcome.

[At the compliment, she fluffs her facial feathers slightly and chortles in amusement.]

Well, thank you. You are quite acceptable for a two-leg.

[Her tone remains amused and it's clearly not meant to be a biting remark of any sort. At the last she is hardly surprised, but she does sigh softly. It's not that you're asking, Hiccup .. it's that no one seems to know her for what she is. It's a bit disheartening after a time..]

It's not rude at all, truly .. I'm a gryphon. We're magical constructs of two predators: birds and feline. I tend to fall on the smaller side of my kind...

[Way to be insecure, Zhaneel.]

[talkingfishbone]

[The two-legs thing gets a snort. Sorry, he just...kind of imagines that's how Toothless must see him most days. When he's not driving him into rocks or making him drop out of the sky.

'Magical construct' sounds nice and important. He makes a note to ask more about it, but first...]

Well...you're bigger than me.

Not that that's all that hard, but.

[He shrugs, though she may not see it.

He knows what it's like be a runt, lady. It's sucky, ain't it.]

[bondedgryphon]

[I imagine Toothless would have any number of things that he referred to humans as, if he could properly vocalize them. Some, I'm certain, would be rather un-Disney in natuer. XD What with all the rock-diving and various aerodymanics that you've steered him to, ya know?

His response gives her a moment of pause and she glances back at him, inner lids flicking across her eyes. Yes, Hiccup, being a runt sucks whether two-legged or four and she more than understands. However, she'd never really thought of it as 'still bigger than x'.

She catches the shrug though, a dismissal for something that means something to the boy, whether he admits it or not aloud. Why hello thar, kindred spirit! Her tone is light as she speaks again. See, she knows how to handle delicate scenes!]

Mmm .. such is often the case with humanoids. You're taller than any hertasi I've met .. easily of a height with any youngling of a like age that I've ever encountered.

[See, Hiccup, you ain't so different! Yer just fine! What's that? Zhaneel should listen to her own