Welcome to Gaia! ::

Efflo glared.

“S’not funny,” he grumbled himself, the sound incredibly quiet compared to Gabby’s. He scooted himself forward until he was at the junction between the dragon’s neck and back, and he examined the scales there, his fingers searching for a suitable hold. His feet did the same and once he was sure he wasn’t going to slip to his untimely demise, he tucked himself close against Gabby with a deep breath and looked up at those piercing blue eyes. Though Efflo’s face was serious with determination and he nodded that he was ready, inwardly the boil was absolutely shaking.

There was no way he would be holding onto Gabby with anything less than an complete death grip. Efflo squeaked when the dragon strode ahead, his movements so large, so lumbering, it was unlike anything he could have imagined. But, he had to admit: it wasn’t as scary as he thought it would be. Or it wasn’t, until after what seemed to him like only a second, Gabby was lifting off.

It was a slow rise, but a rise nonetheless, and Efflo shut his eyes tight, clutching steadfastly to the glittering scales. He felt like he’d left his stomach on the ground, his insides lurching with each giant flap of Gabby’s wings. The tail that pressed against his back provided momentary relief and for brief pause it held, Efflo dared to open one eye a crack. Don’t look down, don’t look down! Treetops rushed past them, and then there was sky, stretching across his vision. Then the safety of Gabby’s tail was retreating, back to its flight position and Efflo closed his eyes again, burying himself against Gabby’s scales. He was scared, but he was riding Gabby, he was flying with Gabby! Despite himself, his lips pulled into a small smile, hidden against his boilfriend’s scaly neck. He trusted Gabby absolutely; he knew that he’d take care of him.

With each minute that passed, each minute that he didn’t find himself plummeting to the ground, each minute he could squeeze those cold ridges, confirming that Gabby was still there beneath him, Efflo grew braver. He even dared to open both of his eyes, taking in the new world around him. It truly was magnificent and terrifying, all at the same time, and his heart quickened in his chest. Though the reason for that, might have been Gabby’s words, the simple yet reassuring promise as soothing as if the boil had wrapped those comforting pale arms, that Efflo had come to know so well, around him.

The sudden descent pitched him forward, his weight hugging Gabby’s neck and Efflo cried out.

“GAAAAABRIEL!” He shut his eyes again; there was no way he was looking down!

Efflo’s yells definitely were not ones of delight; he was practically screaming as they picked up speed and the ground loomed ahead of them. He couldn’t help it, he’d looked and even though he trusted Gabby, he didn’t trust the air, he didn’t trust the ground. Both of them, he was sure, were out to get him.

As they coasted along the surface, Efflo quieted. It seemed his demise had not been imminent. Stiil, when Gabby’s claws touched the ground there was one shining moment, where Efflo hoped silently that perhaps they were done. Or at least, that maybe they'd remain at this altitude.

Yeah, right. Gabby never half-assed things, and Efflo was certain that he would never do anything less than his best at flying. While Gabby was getting bolder, Efflo’s courage was rapidly shrinking. He listened incredulously to Gabby’s question, and his offer to repeat his daredevil performance had his stomach sinking even further. His eyes were wide, horrified and his face had a queasy look to it. The mention of a loop, and the thought of being upside down, clinging to Gabby for all he was worth, was too much.

Efflo fainted. He slumped to the side limply, sliding off Gabby without a peep.

Thankfully Efflo was out cold when Gabby caught him, he felt nothing of the talon piercing his side. And lucky for Gabby, he didn’t hear the sound the dragon had made when diving after him. It was too bad really, after this embarrassment, Efflo really could have used something against him.He didn’t feel them land, nor his thud onto humanoid Gabby, his body crumpling like a ragdoll on impact.

Gabby’s shaking did nothing to wake him, but he certainly did disturb something. The little glowworms seemed to appear from nowhere. They climbed over their unconscious master, to the point in his side that lay torn and weeping. Immediately they set themselves to work on the wound, ignoring Gabby and anymore shaking he might do. Except for one, a single glowworm that inched its way up Gabby’s arm, and over his shoulder. Up his neck, it slid along and continued upward until it reached his cheek. Glowworms didn’t have faces, so they couldn’t look angry but judging by the way the worm pulled its upper half back and whacked Gabby in the face before crawling off, it wasn’t pleased.

With a groan, Efflo finally stirred. He blinked dazedly a couple times, before lifting his head to look at Gabby. The shift in movement made him wince and his gaze dropped to his side curiously. When did that get there? Not that he was worried, the pain would subside eventually and his glowworms would stitch him up. Besides, he was safe with Gabby, sitting with him on the… Ground? In an instant, everything came flooding back and he gasped, ascertaining what had most likely happened when the world went black. He clasped his arms around Gabby with a soft cry, burying his face against his neck.

“I’m sorry!”

“No!” He pulled back, shaking his head. “I’m the one that asked, I wanted to! I want to! I just…” he sniffed a little, this time hiding his face against Gabby’s neck for an entirely different reason.

“It’s… Scary, for someone like me,” he admitted quietly, worried about Gabby’s feelings, his pride and what the other boil would think of him. “No matter how high a horse climbs… Our feet always touch the ground. When I climbed the tree the other day, remember? It’s so unnatural, not being able to touch the ground, I was scared then too but… You caught me! And you caught me this time too!”

Efflo sighed suddenly, letting himself sink completely against Gabby. “I want to try again,” he said, looking up at the dragon. He fixed him with a stern look. “But you have to go slow, you have to let me get used to it! If you fall off of me, you maybe get a few bruises but if I fall off of you… Just, please?” Efflo let his expression soften after a moment and he leaned in to press his warm cheek against Gabby’s cool one. “It was enough of a rush just to be up that high with you, you know, without all those fancy moves.”

“You still caught me. This,” he sat back, gesturing at his side, “Is nothing. It’ll heal.” Becoming a splatter on the ground wouldn’t. But he didn’t voice that last part, knowing the idea was one that neither of them wanted to think about, or ever have to deal with.Efflo looked at Gabby, his expression sad. This had become so much more complicated than simply going for a ride.

“It… scares me too, Gabriel. But I want to be able to share this with you! I want to share everything with you. What good am I, if I can’t do this for you?” It was clear that Efflo blamed himself. He glanced away, he’d wanted this and he couldn’t deliver. It was all his fault.

Cool fingers closed over his chin, pulling his face upward. At first his expression was hard, and he shook his head gently. “You’re not the failure, you could never fail me.” He leaned forward, forcefully claiming the dragon’s lips with his.

Then those vibrant green eyes softened, and he allowed himself to fall forward, resting completely on Gabby. He wrapped his arms around him, hugging tightly, ignoring the ache in his side. He never wanted to let go.