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 Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:15 am
Apparently jumping didn't work so well. He'd had a good start, but Jove ended up flopped sideways across Ren's back, then slid downwards and landing in a heap on the ground. It took every ounce of self-control for Ren to not break up laughing, and instead he clamped his beak firmly shut.
Small hands were pushing as his flank now, and Ren grinned. His wings fluttered again, extending slightly and then he pushed himself to his feet, careful not to step on Jove as his massive back paws took a step back.
"Up and at 'em, little puppy," he said, and craned his neck around, his beak finding the back of Jove's shirt. Tugging lightly he picked up the boil carefully he took a few steps forward, gently pulling the boil with him, Jove's feet not even touching the ground. He walked until he found one of the back doors leading into the school, and then set Jove down on the steps. Once the boil was settled, Ren turned around and sat down in front of him.
"Hook your knees around my wings," he said. "And then hold onto my neck. That's easier then sitting behind my wings."
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:22 am
Jove squirmed for a second, not expecting Ren to pick him right up like he had, but after that he dangled quite limply. Almost like a pup being carried around by it's parents, tail tucked between it's legs.
His indignity returned full force when his feet touched the ground, and no sooner had Ren seated himself than the pup was scowling and pushing him again. He didn't need any help getting up! Jove was determined to do it himself, without a step, and without Ren sitting down trying to make it easier.
Shoving wasn't doing the trick, so he walked around to Ren's front, grabbed the bandanna looped around his neck, and tried to pull him forward.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:30 am
....okay, so this wasn't exactly going as planned. Jove stomped down the steps, made his way around to the front, and began tugging on Ren's bandanna, as if attempting to pull him forward, up off of the ground.
....which did absolutely nothing, considering that Jove was A.) Less than half the size of Ren's natural form - maybe a quarter of his size, at best, and B.), Ren was, to say the least, both strong and heavy as a gryphon. Therefore, sadly, the pulling did nothing whatsoever.
Ren tilted his head, cocking a curious look at his brother. "What are you trying to do, Freckles?" he asked, amusement clearly evident in his voice. He pushed his head forward, his beak pressed lightly underneath Jove's chin as he poked him playfully, ears flitting backwards. "Are you trying to get me to stand up again?"
He moved his head to Jove's and nosed (lightly, so as to not scratch him) around in his hair teasingly before pulling back. "Fine, fine," Ren said, as if resigning himself. "I will let you do it."
He waited a moment, until Jove was tugging stubbornly harder and then stood up abruptly, suddenly slackening the bandanna in Jove's hands. It was probably not the best idea to tease Jove, but Ren couldn't help it; that stubborn determination was adorable and it made him smile.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:09 am
Jove scowled and shoved Ren's giant head away from his chin, only to have his hair ruffled by that same giant beak. He huffed as he pushed at Ren's face again. Ren was definitely being a tease, and Jove did not appreciate it. Of course he was trying to get Ren to stand up!
He only briefly let up on his bandanna tugging to swat his brother's head away, and then he resumed putting his weight into it.
The moment of success as Ren agreed to get up was quickly turned to shock as the tension vanished, and his center of balance was thrown completely off. With arms flailing, he managed a couple steps backwards before he was once again on the ground. Except this time with an even more bruised dignity.
Well, at least one of them was finding this to be a very fun experience...
He scowled and got up, giving Ren one more useless shove for good measure, and circled around so he would be approaching his brother's left side. Despite their height difference, Jove was more than capable of hopping up, and he intended on proving it.
Once he had backed up to a good distance, he took a short running start, only leaping up when Ren's shoulder was within reach of his good arm. The gryphon would have felt a quick and firm press against his shoulder as Jove used his arm to add to his upward momentum, the action he usually used for hurdling higher objects instead landed him square on Ren's back, his legs resting forward of his brother's wings.
He huffed as if to say "See, no problem."
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 5:51 pm
Success! His (admittedly childish) plan to tease Jove had worked, the little puppy tumbling onto his backside on the grass. If he hadn't already known it was going to happen, Ren might have been a bit less cheerful over the whole ordeal, but as it was he stepped forward and pushed his nose lightly against Jove's stomach, nuzzling his little brother.
Except Jove stood back up and shoved him, which made him laugh. Ren twisted his neck around, prodding Jove's behind with his head and pushing the boil forward a few steps. This really was quite amusing; it had been a long time since he had laughed like this, felt as at ease and calm like this. Being around Jove made him relax, made him feel good about himself.
The boil had stepped away now, backing up several feet and Ren stood perfectly still as he sped forward, hurtling himself up and onto Ren's back with surprising ease, his legs hooked around Ren's wings. If he could have, Ren would have twisted his head around to smile at his little brother, but his neck did not go that far.
"Well done," he rumbled, then turned his head forward again. "Hang on tightly, little one."
There was a rustling noise, a few feathers fluttering and then Ren extended his wings, far and wide. With a great whoosh, he flapped them easily and pushed off, up and into the air and up to the sky above.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 6:23 pm
Once he was seated on Ren's back, he gave the gryphon's braid a bit of a tug. Payback for the bumping.
He grabbed onto the bandanna at Ren's neck when his brother told him to hang on, still in a huff about the whole giant-head-butting behaviour. It wasn't enough. The moment Ren shifted underneath him to take off, he fell forward and wrapped his arms as far as possible around his brother's neck in a death grip. He wasn't strong enough to become a breathing problem, but it spoke volumes for his state of mind.
With his eyes tight closed, his face pressed against the gryphon's neck, he could feel the wind blowing through his hair, whipping his scarf and tail back. Jove never appreciated his brother's strength before but it was clear now that his natural form was strong and muscular in spite of the frequent cookie snacks. After a minute of terrified clinging he was able to discern a pattern in Ren's movements as he flapped his wings and flew upwards.
After one peek towards the ground, the pup renewed his fierce grip on his brother's neck. Little puppies didn't belong so high up...
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:35 pm
How long had it been since he had flown like this? Certainly not for a few months, long before the field trip. And he had never carried any of his other friends like this. Sure, he had flown with both LW and Alessa, but that had been in human form, carrying them in his arms. It was very rare that he decided to take on his natural form, but it was exhilarating.
For the first few seconds, Ren simply went upwards, careful not to let Jove fall off. The boil was clinging to his neck for dear life, and after he had gained a significant height, Ren leveled out, his left wing drawing in as he curved his body to the side. Once he straightened, his wings went back to their full length and he caught a drift, gliding gently over the school below. The wind caught at Ren's face, brushing against his fur, sliding through his wings, and he breathed it all in, inhaling the scent of the air, the freedom flying brought.
"Jove," he called out, raising his voice against the wind. "You okay back there?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:57 pm
When they levelled out the pup chanced another look at the ground, and found it just about as dizzying as the first. But Ren seemed to be putting less effort into staying aloft, and it almost reminded Jove of the drive over to the academy. The first time he had ever been in an automobile, and had to resist the strong urge to stick his head out the window.
When he thought about it like that, finally being able to stick his head out of that metaphorical window, he peeked through Ren's windblown hair to look ahead rather than down. And all he could see was an endless expanse of sky.
Jove loosened his grip ever so slightly, so he could push himself up far enough to see above Ren's ears. The air blew through his hair, pushing both ears back and catching in his throat when he tried to find out what scents lingered so close to the clouds. The sensation was amazing. The pup realized he was more than okay, the thrill had him so caught up in the moment that a toothy grin broke out across his face.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:21 pm
It was calm up here. Calm and white and bright, the clouds stretching out around them like white wisps, long and ghostly and beautiful. It was late afternoon, so the sky was a pale blue tinged with streaks of orangey-yellow and gold, a hint of violet, pale and lightly dusting over the cottony clouds. Flying brought a sensation like no other; a chance to see the world from a different point of view, a chance to explore and let yourself freefall into something new, something dazzling.
Ren could feel Jove's handhold around his neck loosen just a little, and he tilted his head forward, lowering them both for just a brief moment before soaring gracefully back up, his beak held high in the air. Freedom - that's what it was, pure freedom. The freedom to escape the world they were in, even if it was only for a little bit, freedom to breathe in the sights and the scents of the sky, to touch the clouds and feel the dampness and wind against your face, your skin, ruffling though your hair.
Flying brought the freedom to feel alive.
"Jove," came Ren's voice, just slightly lifted above the sound of the wind. "Jove, can you see everything?"
His wings caught a drift and he felt them slow a little, wings flapping slightly before settling again.
"Jove," Ren said again. "Can you touch the sky now?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:19 pm
Jove nodded, it was like looking at the edge of the world up there. He had never been so high up in his life! And the sky was so wide, could he really touch it where they were now, or did they have to go up higher? The pup wasn't going to let go of Ren's neck to try, not yet at least.
He sat up straighter on Ren's back, feeling his ears blow back as the two of them soared through the sky. The fresh air was cool and almost overwhelming as it filled his lungs, almost threatening to blow right through him. And Jove would have been fine like that, just dissolving into the air to float there forever.
The third time he looked down towards the ground he wasn't quite as frightened, he just leaned forward to hug Ren's neck again. It made him dizzy, watching the ground so far below them, but the stable flight reassured him that his brother was in control, and he wasn't going to fall off. Everything looked so small down there...
The pup laughed against Ren's neck, for once having left all his emotional burdens behind.
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 5:54 pm
Ren could not see Jove's nod, nor had he seen the smile from earlier. If he had, it might have made him feel just that much better, but as it was, he was already feeling as high as a kite. It was exhilarating, mind-numbing; an adrenaline rush that simultaneously made his heart race and his thoughts calmed.
He could feel Jove shifting on his back, sitting further up as the soared over the top of the school. Down below the dorms and the main buildings looked small and insignificant compared to where they were now, high up in the clouds.
Jove had moved again, though this time it was to wrap his arms further around Ren's neck, pressing his face into the fur and feathers. Smiling to himself, he started to drop lower -
- and then he heard it. Or rather, felt it.
A laugh. Jove was laughing. Jove was laughing. The reverberation rumbled through his little brother's body, tingling up and down Ren's spine, and for a few moments he was not quite sure what to think. His little brother had laughed - and it was beautiful.
"Jove," Ren said, slowing down just a little as their height dwindled. "Do you trust me?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:09 pm
This time when Jove nodded, Ren would know with the pup's face resting against his neck. Of course he trusted his brother, or he wouldn't have gone up in the sky with him. And settled down after his running away, came to the gryphon's room when he was scared at night, and put up with all manner of snuggles and hugs. If Ren was in his element up in the air, that only made Jove safer.
He had stopped laughing, but that light feeling inside remained as he spotted their dorms way down on the ground. It also lingered in his head, so he clung tighter and closed his eyes to enjoy the wind again. Perhaps the flying was a bit overwhelming so soon after that whole vomiting blood thing... He had never felt so unconcerned, and it didn't cross his mind that being dizzy so high in the air wasn't exactly a good thing.
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:53 pm
Ren could feel Jove nodding against his neck. It made him feel warm inside; this feeling of being with Jove, being with someone he could call his little brother - it was like no other.
"If you trust me," said Ren, slowing down even more. What he was about to do was something he had done several times with Medieval before already, but Jove was different; he was smaller and more easily frightened, but there was no doubt that he would be safe with Ren.
"If you trust me," Ren said again. "Then don't be scared."
He flapped his wings once, twice. And then, so quickly it was barely visible, he shifted midair, back to his human form. Jove was sitting on Ren's back in midair, and Ren twisted around, dropping out from beneath the boil. For a rapidfire moment in time, Jove was suspended there, by himself, but Ren was too quick to let anything happen at all, to fast to even let the boil know what might have happened until after the fact. His arms instantly wrapped around the boil, his wings beating at the air as he soared upwards, then veering sideways, feeling the wind on his face, tasting the sky on his tongue.
After a second or two, Ren found his destination, alighting neatly at the top of a nearby tree that overlooked the school, Jove carried in his arms. He glanced down at the boil, looked out across the pale sky streaked with the colors of sunset.
"How did it feel?" he asked, breathless and slightly dizzy, but better than he had felt in a long, long time. "Did you touch the sky, Jove?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 9:31 am
The freefall was too quick for Jove to be scared for long, the emotion had barely registered before he was once again safe in Ren's grasp. The fright hit him almost as an afterthought. Although the pup had never been to a Scream Park (he might have zoomed through one in fear once) the thrill was similar to what one might feel on a roller coaster. He knew he was safe, but his heart leapt up in his throat anyway.
As Ren scooped him out of midair, he clung happily until Ren's feet were once again on something solid.
Then he shoved himself away from Ren just long enough to throw up again. He hadn't eaten anything solid since the boat ride, so it was mostly his body substituting with more ghostly blood, but this time it didn't seem to bother him the way it had earlier in the day. It was probably just the excitement and dizziness from being up in the sky.
After a couple smaller heaves he leaned back against Ren and made a happy little noise. He might have still felt a little shaky, but flying had been such an amazing feeling!
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Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:12 am
Ren had to grab Jove around the waist to keep the boil from stumbling too far; they were, after all, resting on a tree branch thirty feet in the air. The push had already made Ren wobble, his feet sliding to accommodate, but he slid an arm around Jove's torso, his other hand holding Jove's hair away from his face as his little body heaved what little it had in it. It worried Ren to see him like this, and he rubbed the boil's forehead gently.
Once Jove was done, he leaned back against him, a small sound of contentment escaping. Ren slid down carefully, sitting with his back against the tree trunk and pulled Jove to sit in front of him, between his legs with his back against Ren's chest. He rested his head top Jove's, arms wrapped around his little brother's waist as he looked out across the school grounds.
"Pretty amazing, huh?" Ren asked, feeling a breeze tousle his hair, whipping it free from the hasty ponytail he had thrown it up in earlier. Since coming home from the field trip, he'd been ensconced in darkness, but now...sitting up here, with one of his favorite people, the sky slowly turning an orangey pink, it was calm, peaceful. A brief moment in time that was just the two of them.
"Flying makes me happy," Ren said, and nosed Jove's hair, sighing contentedly.
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