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 Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 9:32 am
While they were preparing, Jericho just watched patiently and remained low to the ground. He let out a pleasing low rumble as Riley came over to pat him on the neck and stayed still to try and make things easier for her. It seemed that wasn't quite enough. Feeling her slip and hearing the following thud, he lifted his head to see where she had fallen. Judging that..... laugh, he guessed she was alright.
"Don't worry, we'll get you back up to speed in no time," he said with a chuckle, nosing her gently before getting back into position, "Mal, maybe you get on first?"
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 10:17 am
Malodore craned its neck and peered at Riley over Jericho's back; when it spoke, there was amusement in its voice. "Are you all right, mia cara? Perhaps we should reverse the equation, as Jericho says. Only I'm not sure I can pull you up."
Still, it carefully slid onto the dragon's back, taking a seat far enough back that Riley could fit between it and Jericho's neck. It fit nicely between two spines.
Luce, for her part, paced over to Riley and pawed lightly at her, licking her face. Malodore laughed and took off its hat. "Here, tresorina, will you tend this for me?"
The pup leaped up and grabbed the brim, then backed away and sat down, pleased at being given a job to do.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 7:32 pm
Riley had chosen her companions well. Instead of vicious laughter at her fall, they seemed only too glad to act as though it was no big deal, and continue onward. She watched Malodore climbing aboard Jericho as she lay on the ground, and her chest heaved in a slow, thick sigh. There was something about all of this that made her feel so good inside. Happy. Too happy, in fact. It was a little sickening. She pushed herself off of the ground, stretched each leg out individually, and then wrapped her arm around Jericho's neck.
Let's try that again. She muttered, more to herself than anything, and pulled herself up onto the dragon's back. Her arms clung around his neck in case her legs refused to work again, but this time they clamped down at the appropriate moment, and she was sitting easily on her mount once more. This time, however, she felt the strange new sensation of having a second passenger behind her. It threw her off a little, and she didn't realize just how used to being Jericho's only rider she really had become. There was an unquestionable psychology surrounding the entire situation that she had taken for granted until this very moment. Thankfully, the person behind her was Malodore - and all of her initial aversions to her territory being encroached upon her pushed aside slowly as she came to grips with that fact.
Her arms released Jericho's neck for a moment, to pull Malodore's arms around her body, before she grabbed hold of Jericho again. It's going to be rather difficult for you to hold on the way I do, she explained to Malodore. So you are going to want to keep a tight hold on me, instead. I don't want you flying off, if you don't mind. I rather need you.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 7:49 pm
Jericho tensed a bit as he felt Malodore climb up. It felt weird and he had to keep himself from trying to throw the Plague Doctor off by instinct. Thankfully he managed to do that. Once Riley was up as well, he did relax. It was still odd to have both of them there, but having the mindflayer there helped make things feel right.
When it felt like they were both secure, he stood up and started walking. There was no sense in having him rocket off into the sky immediately, with the Illithid's legs a mess and with the Plague Doctor having never ridden before.
"Let me know when you two are ready to take flight," he said as he strolled on about, "I'll try to make launch as smooth as possible but it'll be a little rough."
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 12:39 am
Malodore carefully held on to Riley as Jericho began to move, trying to figure out how to sway with the dragon's movements instead of fighting against them. It hadn't really ridden anything before, much less a dragon... but it trusted Jericho not to let it fall.
Still, walking on the ground first was a good idea. Very good. "Whenever you're ready," it murmured in Riley's ear.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 3:26 am
Riley was instantly soothed by the familiar presence of her dragon beneath her, and she bent down to rest her head against the scales and pat her hand against his neck. She could hear the sound of that giant heart, beating thick and viscous within the depths of the hard shell of the creature. It's been too long, she commented fondly, before slowly sitting up straight. When she heard Malodore's whisper in her ear, she turned her head just slightly and side-glanced at it, her own expression filled with a fiery excitement. One of her arms reached out, and pressed firmly against the grip that Malodore had on her body, intent on making sure she wasn't about to lose it to a flight of fancy, as the case may be.
Her legs stretched, and then tensed, prepared to grab hold and keep her steady during liftoff. She leaned in once more, this time pulling Malodore down with her.
Okay, Jericho. She whispered fiercely. We're ready.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 8:00 am
Hearing that they were ready, Jericho nodded before gradually going off into a run to try and ease the two into flight mode. He tried to keep his gait as smooth as possible before his wings shot out at both sides of him. Crouching down near the end of his run, he leaped up into the air while beating down with those powerful wings several times to gain lift.
The way up was a little rocky but once he had reached a nice altitude, he began to soar and glide on through the skies over the campus. He flapped occasionally to keep up, but in general it was a pretty leisurely flight.
"How you two doing back there!" he shouted over the wind while peeking back at them. Normally he would have just switched to thought-speech, but Mal wouldn't be able to hear him in that case.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 3:00 pm
Malodore's back-blades tilted up into the wind, instinctively, as if the avian blood that plague doctors almost possessed were urging it into the sky. The sensation of flight was dizzying, but in a good way. For the first few minutes, the plague doctor was breathless.
... In the figure-of-speech sense, at least.
"All seems to be well," it called back, when Jericho's voice reached its ears. Its tail had curled over one of the dragon's sides, bracing it a little more. It was grateful that it had taken off its hat.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 3:10 pm
The bounce from running kick started the adrenaline pounding through her. Consequently, Riley's legs had no trouble keeping their normal hold. When Jericho leapt into the air, her muscles tensed, her grip tightened on both Jericho and Malodore, and she let out an uncharacteristic yelp of excitement.
She'd missed this.
We're fine. Riley tacked on to Malodore's assurance, though there was a thread of unspoken thought that whispered like an echo around her words, following them. They almost didn't feel like words at all, but just surges of emotion. Better than fine. Best. Best. Best.
Her head rested against the scales below her, and she tilted her head to the side to watch the scenery flow by.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 3:16 pm
Jericho's lips curled back into a draconic smile as he heard they were more than fine. He could feel the ecstatic feelings coming from Riley which just reassured him all the more. Flying on his own was enjoyable enough, but there was something about bringing the mindflayer with that added to the whole experience. Both passengers seemed to have a pretty good grip onto him, so he continued to soar on through the air over the school campus. Most likely it was a view Malodore had never seen before.
Below he could see a few students ambling about and minding their business, and they all seemed rather small from up where they were.
Tilting his wings, he banked gently over the forest nearby.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 3:24 pm
As the plague doctor became more used to the feeling of being in the air, it slowly turned its attention to the view below. Halloween Town stretched in all directions, and beyond the town proper was the forest and the rest of Halloween. It picked out the path it had taken to get here - how it disappeared into the distance. The swamplands around the Casa Cirurgien weren't even visible.
The road looked so long, and its end was so very far away.
Va bene.
Belatedly, it remembered it wasn't up here solely for fun; it focused on Riley for a moment, doing what it could to examine and assess her stance and the movements of her legs... though it was a little hard to do that when it was pressed against her back, her warmth radiating against it as well.
So long as she didn't fall off, it supposed...
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 3:45 pm
Riley could feel Malodore shuffling slightly behind her, and she tilted up just slightly to check up on it. From the looks of things, it was doing the same for her, and she chuckled under her breath at it's attentive nature.
She was tempted to do something reckless, but she knew any minute her legs could fail her. It was better to be safe, this time around. So she decided not to flip around while in flight. She squeezed the hand wrapped around her waist. It's beautiful, isn't it? Her chin jutted out towards the horizon, and the view they were offered. One of my favorite things in the world. I'd never seen anything like this before Jericho came along. I probably never would have even known what I was missing.
A pang of regret, quick and sharp, stabbed her as she thought about the choices she had been about to make a few days prior. She would have never known what she'd been missing - the words meant more than she realized.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 3:50 pm
Seeing the lands of Halloween stretch out in all directions, Jericho worked on ascending a little higher towards the cloud line. It was chilly up there, but it wasn't anything too intolerable for him. A part of him wanted to start pulling some acrobatics, but that was a rather bad idea at the moment. So instead, he just enjoyed gliding about.
Now reaching the clouds, the tips of his wings trailed against them, breaking through a bit before breaching through. The air was thin, so he couldn't stay up here for too long for the sake of his passengers, but being above the clouds had its own unique experience when it came to flight.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 9:38 pm
"Yes, it is beautiful," Malodore said with a smile, talking more loudly than usual in hopes of including the dragon in the conversation as well. "I've never seen the like..."
It tensed slightly as Jericho rose through the clouds - for a moment it felt the absurd desire to duck away, even though intellectually it knew the clouds were made of vapor. When they broke through the clouds, it, too, laughed aloud, and was brave enough to reach up, catching at long ribbons of mist with its claws. "Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating."
The thin air didn't bother it a bit, nor did the chill. Ah, the benefits of being undead.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 11:13 pm
Riley's excitement did not wane as they rose into the clouds, and she reached up to touch them as well - but as soon as they broke through, she swayed slightly. There was something about the air that was making her swollen, still throbbing head tense, and her hand relaxed against Malodore. She leaned back against it, and closed her eyes.
Down, Jericho. Don't go this high, today. It's going to make me.. She sighed as her thoughts jumbled into a mess, and shook her head. Just lower your altitude. She whispered hazily.
The world was still pretty when you were about to pass out.
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