xp_logs | Jay, Kitty and Lockheed (Reply)

Well, at least it wasn't as cold this time, Kitty thought. She and Lockheed had gotten up to the flyers' platform a little early so the little dragon was taking this oportunity to look around, poking his snout into every corner, nook and crany. There were quite a lot of interesting smells to be found, he discovered, although few of them seemed to be food. Which was too bad, cause he was hungry.

Figuring that he wouldn't be getting much actual flying done today, Jay decided to wear a long-sleeve shirt for a change, needing to keep warm somehow. He made a mental note to thank Clarice for modifying his shirts so that he could fit his wings through. "Heya," he called to Kitty as he walked onto the flyer's platform. "So, uh, what's the plan?"

"I have no plan. None at all." Kitty shrugged. "Mind, I have never had to learn to fly." She paused, then continued. "Actually, I did briefly entertain the thought of asking you to take him up and then just drop him, but that's cause he was whining at me last night until I got him a midnight snack. On reflection I think it would be a bad idea."

"Maybe he just needs ta be spooked into doin' it," Jay agreed, grinning. "Well, learnin' to fly for me was pretty much instinct. These things sprouted and Ah knew how ta move 'em and that just pushed me up. Hmm." Jay unfurled his wings to their full sixteen-foot span. "Lockheed, ya wanna just spread your wings like this?"

Lockheed had padded back to where the two people were talking about him and was watching closely when Jay unfurled his wings. Well, his might be more impressive, but Lockheed's were definitely nicer he felt and sitting back on his haunches he spread them out to show the human with a little "Cooo."

Jay had to admit, the dragon's sounds were kind of cute. Smiling softly, he beat his wings once without letting himself leave the ground. "Think ya can do that too?"

Anything the human with wings could do Lockheed was sure he could do at least as well. He flapped his wings and cocked his head proudly, ignoring Kitty's giggle at the wobble his motion had caused. Ok, so maybe his balance still wasn't the greatest. He hadn't actually fallen, though.

Jay chuckled and did it again. "Go on, one more time. Ya gotta make sure thatcha don't fall on your ass just by beatin' your wings. Flyin's all about the grace, or so Ah'm told."

Grace. Grace was not something the little dragon did well yet, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. Waddling about to widen his stance he flapped again and this time he didn't wobble. Showing off, he did it again, letting lose a small, "Meh!"

Jay smiled at Kitty and Lockheed and nodded. This was actually kind of amusing. "Good. Now try ta do it harder. Push yourself up. Ya don't need ta jump ta get in the air, so don't."

Lockheed nodded slightly and lifted himself higher on his haunches. Flapping his wings with all his might, he lifted himself a few centimeteres off the ground, not even enough to really get his claws away from the concrete, then promptly overbalanced when the downsweep of his wings was finished. The little dragon tumbled over with a small cry.

"Lockheed, are you ok?" Kitty asked, looking only a little worried as he sorted himself out and stood back up.

"Mer," he said, resetting his wings.

"Don't worry none 'bout that, Lockheed," Jay reassured the dragon. "Just try again. See?" Jay flapped his wings a few times and pushed himself up. Hovering a few feet above the ground, he continued to beat his wings. "It's easier than it looks."

Pushing himself back onto his haunches Lockheed flapped his wings again, harder and harder until his paws left the ground again. This time he managed to stay off the ground for a few seconds, wobbling slightly in the air, before thumping back down. But this time at least he didn't fall over.

Jay lightly touched down. "You're gettin' there. Hmm, maybe your wings ain't strong enough ta holdja up in the air yet," he posited. "Or maybe ya just feed 'im too dang much and he's too fat ta fly," he chided Kitty.

Girl and dragon both protested this accusation. "Hey!" Kitty said. "I only feed him what he asks for. If I don't feed him he cries for hours. Maybe it's just a muscle thing - he needs to excersize and practice and all that. Or... maybe I'm pushing him to fast. Maybe he's not really ready to fly."

Lockheed made a little cooing sound, flapping his wings again. He was tired, but he didn't really want to give up yet.

"Naw, don't cry none about it," Jay reassured the dragon. "Kitty, Ah reckon you're right 'bout the wings. He just needs ta work with 'em first before he tries ta really fly. Maybe ya just need ta try flappin' 'em until the muscles build up? Like a baby tryin' ta walk."

"That makes sense," Kitty said, nodding. "Thank you, Jay. And that I can probably supervise on my own if you don't want to..."

Jay shrugged. "Iffn you're wantin' for company, Ah could help out. Don't matter none to me neither way."

And that was just screaming at her that she should make him be social. "Well, I always like company," Kitty said with a smile. "I'm like that. Lockheed, give it another shot maybe and then we'll get lunch. Jay, if you want I can cook something for you, too."

A comment about company being stupid in general died on his tongue because it was pointless. Because being a hermit was growing more boring with each passing day. He would never actually tell that to anybody, but it held true all the same. "'Kay, then. Once Lockheed gets his wings in shape, we can try again ta fly. And I can't say no ta lunch. Maybe that can be how ya pay me back for these lessons," he suggested, grinning.

"That sounds like a fair and equitable plan to me," Kitty said. She watched as Lockheed flapped his way up into the air again, and while he didn't have the energy to stay up for very long he did at least look steadier. "Come on, then," she said as the little purple dragon touched down again. "Let's get both you boys fed."