Velveteen Angel
The leopardess was an odd sight. She was used to getting strange looks and incredulous expressions. It didn't bother her, not anymore. As a cub, she had wondered why she was so strange, compared to everyone else, but now she knew. She was just more clever than everyone else - so she thought of things that no one else did.
Which was why she was currently perched in a tree, leaves tied sticks, which were then tied around her waist as makeshift wings. Precarious wings, but stll they were a vague mimicry of what a birds wings were supposed to look like.
==
Seaki
Chozi was having a fairly good day, he thought. He was mostly dry and getting dryer as he ventured out of the pride's lands. He did this often, getting antsy without really knowing why. He could only hope that it wasn't influence of his father.
A flash of annoyance pusled through him at the thought of his father, and his good mood began to evaporate. He was desperate to cling to the small feeling of happiness, and pushed himself onward, thinking of other things. He looked to the direction of the sky, humming a small tune.
==
Velveteen Angel
Ardhira'i wiggled on her branch, enjoying the rush of adrenaline that came before one of her experiments. It was perfect. Surely this would work, it would have to, she had done all of the calculations and all of the planning. This was it!
She launched herself off the branch, enjoying the feeling of soaring for the brief moment, before her plunge to earth began. She hit the grass, hard, and groaned lightly. "Ow." Well that didn't work.
==
Seaki
Chozi had stopped paying attention to his surroundings for a small moment - just a small one - when something thumped to the ground not far from him. He scrambled backwards, heart pounding in his chest.
His eyes widened rather comically, seeing the Leopardess fall before him. "Are... are you okay?" he shook out between still-startled breaths.
==
Velveteen Angel
Ardhira'i's head thumped, as did the entirety of her muscles. That...realy hurt, actually. She winced, and glanced up at the sound of a male's voice.
"I don't think I calculated this correctly," she said, instead of an answer to his question, attempting to rise to her paws. The makeshift wings laid in ruins around her, though some of the branches still clung to her waist in a ratty mockery of their former design.
==
Seaki
Chozi frowned. Calculations? He could still feel his heart pounding against his chest. "If I may ask..." Chozi started shyly, ducking his head a bit. "What were you trying to do...?" His ears flicked fowards in curiosity.
Well, if she was trying to scare away the passers-by, she certainly succeeded.
==
Velveteen Angel
She blinked at him, pushing herself successfully into a sitting position. Wasn't her intention rather obvious? Surely he would be able to guess, but he honestly looked confused and so she frowned. Tilting her head to the side, she said rather bluntly, "fly, of course."
==
Seaki
"F-fly?" he squeaked out. He didn't even like climbing. He couldn't imagine not being on solid ground at all. "That sounds... frightening..." He admitted aloud, though he ment to keep that in his head. Chozi looked at the battered contraption in wonder.
"How was it supposed to work?" He tried not to flinch at the sound of his own voice and hoped his curiosity wouldn't get him into trouble. She didn't seem very pleased with him. He tried to shrink his form, ducking down a bit more.
==
Velveteen Angel
She lowered her head, rubbing it on her leg in an attempt to dispell the headache that was slowly forming. "Not frightening at all," she said cheerfully, "it's exciting!" She frowned. "Although it was a failure, I at least know what not to do next time." She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at him. She brightened significantly at his question.
"Well, I tied these branches to my waist, around where a bird's wings would be positioned, and consulted with some birds that were flying past about how many branches I should put on," she said, her voice coming out swift and excited, pleased to be able to talk about her work. "I made these wings out of the branches and tied them on, but it looks like I didn't use enough leaves, as the air simply went straight through the leaves and some of the branches broke." She frowned at the leaves scattered around her. "Perhaps if I broke off some big branches, with leaves already on them, it might work bettter," she pondered and glanced back at the tree she had just plunged from.
==
Seaki
Chozi didn't think the new idea would work either - but that was just him. He didn't know anything about flying, so he couldn't really judge. He nodded at the female in understanding - or what he hoped was an understanding gesture.
He preferred to keep his feet on the ground, thanks. "Wouldn't bird feathers work? I mean, birds use them, and..." he frowned - he really, really didn't know anything and he felt silly for even saying anything.
==
Velveteen Angel
Ardhira'i looked disappointed. "I had thought about using bird feathers, but I can't stand eating bird," she explained, crinkling her nose in disgust. "They're too...boney. I prefer bigger prey, so I don't have to chew around so many tiny bones and the bones shatter so easily. It's annoying." She shrugged. "I'd feel terrible killing birds for their feathers and not even eating them..." she brightened suddenly. "Say, you don't like eating birds, do you?"
==
Seaki
Chozi giggled. The Leopardess was interesting, at least. He liked her, though he was afraid that she'd turn on him. "Um, I guess I've never really tried..." he tilted his head a little bit, wondering how it would taste.
"I guess collecting fallen feathers would take too long, huh..."
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Velveteen Angel
"It would take forever, and I want to get this flying thing mastered rather quickly, I have far too many experiments left to try to waste too much time on this one." She sighed, then set her face determinedly. "How about I go and catch a bird and you can try eating it? I don't mind hunting for other people, as long as I get the feathers afterwards, and I'd much prefer it if the food is eaten. If you don't like the meat either, then it's fine, but it's worth a shot. You never know until you try!" She hated not knowing. In fact, it was something that kept her up at night, everything she didn't know...
==
Seaki
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," Chozi found himself agreeing. He would do it if she caught it - he had never tried to catch a bird before, so that would become an issue. He'd probably be trying to catch one all day!
==
Velveteen Angel
She brightened considerably, offering a large bubbly smile, despite her aching muscles. "Fantastic!" She cried out, bouncing to her feet and wincing as her muscles protested the sudden movement - but no pain, no gain! She pushed past the ache. "I thought I saw some birds over there," she pointed out, excitedly. "Come on!" In a rush to continue her experiment, she didn't even glance back to see if he followed, simply bolting towards where she had last seen a flock of birds. This was exciting - she might be able to repeat her experiment, with proper feathers this time! Surely she could fly this time!
==
Seaki
Chozi startled, following as quickly as possible. He was small for either of the species he was mixed with, but he had long legs, so he was able to keep up well enough with only the general direction of 'there' to go after, and the direction the Leopardess was running.
He actually rather hoped he did like the taste of birds - at least he'd be useful somewhere?
