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 Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:38 pm
He winced as she went tumbling over the grass, but he merely sat there, tapping his lower jaw thoughtfully. "I've an idea," he concluded with an amused grin, trotting over towards her and sitting next to her. "Okay, here's what we should do. You need to practice your landings first, before you try anything more than gliding," he explained, flicking the tip of his tail. "Once you master landing, you can fly higher without worrying about a crash landing. Trust me, learning to land BEFORE flying high is a VERY good thing," said the white Shrila with a lopsided grin, reaching up to scratch his head.
"Well, anyway. The easiest thing to do, I think, is to... Well, let me show you." And with that, he leapt into the air and flapped his wings to gain a bit of altitude, flying off several yards from her before he pulled off another swift and precise landing. "Okay," he called from his place on the grass. "First, you're just going to glide, I'll tell you that now. Nothing higher. With that in mind, the easiest thing to start with is a running landing. You have to be prepared when you get close to the ground to 'hit the ground running', as the saying goes. Now, to demonstrate."
He spread out his taloned claws a bit, twitching his tail, then got a good running start. He leapt into the air and glided, making sure to stay relatively close to the ground. When he got low enough he lowered his claws, starting his running attempt a moment or two before his feet hit the ground. It was a smooth landing, and he continued for a few paces before leaping into the air again, and performing the same technique twice more, and consequently gliding/running straight past Nessa. On his last moving landing, he slowed to a halt and turned around, sitting down with a sigh. "Alright, Nessa! You try it now! Just remember to be prepared, because the ground will probably surprise you. This time, it's okay to look at the ground right in front of you to make sure it doesn't catch you by surprise and send you rolling again," he advised, hoping it would work.
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:24 pm
The green one blushed a little but took a deep breath. She could do this. Gliding hadn't been too hard and the landing had only been a little rough. She did remember how it had taken her siblings a couple of days to figure everything out and it seemed to her that she was learning faster than they were. A few crash landing wouldn't really hurt her. So long as she stayed focussed and watched out for all of those damned trees.
She stood a few moments listening to her companion and then felt for the wind. She wanted to be gliding with the wind not against it. When she had figured out its direction she leaped once more into the air and went a few feet before concentrating on her landing. She focussed on a spot on the ground and as she let herself come down she began to run. She timed it right and as she hit the ground she was running.
The stretch of ground in front of her had been a good one with a clear spot for her to have time to slow before she had needed to worry much about actually stopping. After she touched ground she began to slow herself as fast as she could without falling onto her beak. She had landed! She had actually done it without falling all over the place. It had been a little rough but enough to have gotten her started.
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 9:33 pm
He beamed as she landed, clapping his taloned claws together. "Wonderful! Perfect, that was perfect! You're progressing wonderfully, this is absolutely marvelous," he exclaimed, flicking his tail tip. But, hmm... what next? She should probably practice landings more, but that got boring after a while... Hmm.... "I've got it!" He exclaimed suddenly with a devious little grin, and backed up to a suitable spot. "This time, do the same thing, but flap your wings a bit and try and gain a little height. Not too much, just a bit, then glide down," he explained.
To put more weight to his words he ran several paces before jumping into the air, gliding at first, then flapping his wings a bit to gain a foot or two in altitude before gliding once more, and he glided further than before due to the altitude. He hit the ground running and slowed considerably quickly, turning to look at her and waited for her to try it.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:53 pm
Nessa caught her breath while he explained the next steps to her. The lessons were begining to help her self-esteem and she seemed to be beaming with pride. She knew that she had yet to master her landings but she was at least able to take wing, something she had never been able to do before, not after the teasings of her siblings. In all reality even her parents never knew that she couldn't fly. She had always made up exscuses and they had never really pushed her enough to where she would even try in front of them. Now though, she could glide with all confidence in front of anyone and not be embarrased. Though she still had a long way to go before she would actually atempt to do so.
When her instructor had finished she once again jumped into the air. This time however, she pumped her wings a little and gained some hight. She glided a little longer than was really necessary as she enjoyed the view, and then she came back towards the ground at a run. This time her landing was even smoother and she was able to halt sooner after hitting the ground.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:31 pm
Milo clapped his claws together again, beaming at her. "Magnificent! You've learned so quickly! There's something to be said for that," he said with a grin, flicking his tail tip as he trotted towards her. "I'm afraid there's not much else I can teach you now; everything else must come with practice, as well as trial and error. The only thing you can learn now is from experience, and that comes with time and practice," he advised. She'd be fine now; her siblings would not be able to tease her for not being able to fly, because she could. They just prevented her from doing so.
He gazed up at the sun and sighed before turning to Nessa again, offering her a smile. "I'm afraid I must leave you now, I must continue my search for dear Sonata. Don't worry, I'll see you again, for certain," he assured her with a smile, handing her a ripe apple. "Good-bye, miss Nessa!" He said as he half-turned jumping in the air and pumping his wings, he gained altitude and soared over her. He was not so high that he wouldn't hear her, but he was firm in his desires and he would go after Sonata alone. Oh, how he missed her!
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:41 pm
Nessa watched Milo go with a bit of a sad heart. She had gained a friend in him but she knew that they both had things that they ought to be attending to and she coulnd't keep him from Sonata any longer. In any case she should be trying to find Clover. She hadn't talked to the green Bae in a long time and knowing her the mare would be worried sick about her. No, she needed to be going too and now that she could fly she should be able to find her much more quickly and make up for the time she had lsot.
Nessa watched her new found friend and teacher fly away for a few moments. She wasn't exactly sure how well she would do flying on her own without anyone to give her guidance, but she needed to be going and as Milo had said, practice would only help her, even if she did mess up a few times. With a few wing beats and a leap into the air Nessa was off to find her own lost friend.
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