[PRP] Fly Like a Chicken (Sephora Querida & Ellion)

[xo maho]

This is a private roleplay between Sephora Querida (Mahogany Sunset) & Ellion (Faithofthefallen).
Please do not post without being invited to do so.

 

[xo maho]

She was doing it - she was flying! Sephora Querida looked down at the ground that was gliding a foot or so beneath her hooves. It had taken much effort and clumsy flapping to get this far, but she'd finally done it. Even through all her escapades with other young, winged foals, she'd never gotten more than a few inches off the ground, but even that had seemed like an accomplishment at the time.

Gliding to the ground a few yards across the meadow from where she had started, Sephora landed hindlegs first, loping lightly to a stop. Landings were what she was best at, considering how many times she'd fallen before her friends had even gotten to their maximum height. She knew that her small wings were to blame - in fact, Sephora was generally surprised she could fly at all. Her mother had told her once that her father had wings like she did, but they were much larger. Perhaps, the young mare speculated, he had bones like the birds, and that's why I can fly. During her short life, Sephora had raised one or two baby birds that had fallen from the nest and had always found them to be astonishingly light. Even her mother had said that she thought that birds must have hollow bones - it was the only explanation for their ability to stay aloft, especially those with short wingspans.

The only exception to what Sephora thought of as "the rule of weight versus flight" was the chicken. She'd seen a few of them wandering around inland from the beaches she usually walked with her mother. They flew much like she did: in short bursts and not very high off the ground. They even flapped her wings like she did, not completely in sync. It was a little sad, Sephora thought, that she might not be called "chicken" because she was a scaredy cat - she'd be called "chicken" because she flew like one. If anyone ever called her names, anyway. She counted herself lucky to not have met anyone like that yet.

Taking a deep breath, Sephora readied herself to take off across the meadow again, jumping a couple feet into the air and trying to use her wings to glide. Halfway through, one of them began to wobble, and she hit the ground hard on her left side. Groaning, Sephora got up and dusted herself off with her tail. She was going to get this flying thing right, sooner or later. She was determined.  

[Faithofthefallen]

Ellion's beads flashed with blinding brightness as he soared through the deep blue sky, wings spread wide to catch the warm updraft of air. The tops of his hooves brushed against the tree tops lightly as he bobbed over them and his long varicolored mane streamed behind him like a colorful pennant. As he began to slowly drift lower, Ellion flexed his wings in unison, feeling a tiny funnel dance across their slender edges as the air thrust downward, propelling his light frame higher into the air. A breeze caught him, spinning him a little and making him laugh, rather than fighting against the insistent fingers, he turned into them and executed a little flip with the casual ease of a leaf fluttering in the wind. As he righted himself, he glanced down and saw he was passing over a lush meadow wherein a young brightly colored female was fluttering her way through the swaying grasses. Banking, he swooped lower and landed on the ground nearby. He trotted over for a closer look and to say hello, wondering if he had finally encountered another flutter outside his family. A smile lit up his open features as he approached and then abruptly faded as the mare's control suddenly wavered and she crashed into the ground. Increasing his pace, he finally reached her side and leaned over to gaze down at her, "Are you alright Miss?" he inquired without hesitation, concern creasing his brow. "That looked painful!"

Mahogany Sunset

 

[xo maho]

Sephora heard light flutters in the air before she saw him, followed by quiet hoofsteps. She would have gasped in surprise when she turned her head and her vision filled with green had she not heard him first - but she simply felt her eyes widen instead. Tail still flicking over her back and getting the last bits of broken grass off, Sephora looked down to check that she still had her anklet. Her mother would kill her if she lost it.

"I'm fine," she replied, looking back up to study the stallion before her - he'd really showed up at an inopportune time, just soon enough to see her wipeout. She sincerely hoped she didn't have grass stains, but she was too flustered to look. Laughing a little breathlessly, she added, "Falling's like rolling, just a little higher off the ground." Feeling a blush heat her cream-colored cheeks, Sephora glanced at the ground for a moment before looking back up at the stranger beside her. It was then that she noticed his wings. "You have butterfly wings," she stated, eyeing the pretty, soft green appendages that adorned his back. Having never seen a flutter before, Sephora couldn't help but wonder what he was... And if he could fly. He'd come out of nowhere, after all - maybe he'd come from the sky?

Clearing her throat excitedly, the young mare introduced herself. "I'm Sephora Querida, but most people call me Sephora." At least she'd finally gotten better at rolling the R in 'Querida' - she knew she must have looked like an idiot when she'd introduced herself as a foal, her tongue trying not to do what it was supposed to. It was embarrassing when one couldn't pronounce one's own name. "What's your name?" she asked, glad to have possibly made a new friend in this apparently-flighted stallion. And, she thought, He's quite the looker... But she quickly shrugged that thought off - she knew she was way too young for romance, and Sephora wanted to be able to have both girl- and guy-friends. Plus, as of yet, this guy was the only stallion she'd met.

Faithofthefallen

 

[Faithofthefallen]

"That's good!" he sighed with relief and smiled at her jest, "I've never heard it described quite that way before, but you're right! It does feel a lot like rolling." He laughed and glanced back at his wings, fluttering them unconsciously and rising a few inches off the ground before lightly touching back down. "I do, I'm a flutter. My whole family is, I thought you might be one too at first, but your wings look more like a bird's than a butterflies." He winced a little, hoping she didn't take offense, "Not that there's anything wrong with that," he quickly assured her, "They are beautiful, I've just never seen anyone with wings like your before. My mother has feathers, but only at the base of her wings..." He trailed off, pondering that thought for a moment. "Although she always told us they were flower petals, not feathers. Something about what my dad said to her when they first met" He wrinkled his nose a little bit, his parents were always so lovey dovey when they spoke of that day. It was cute, in a vaguely uncomfortable sort of way for their children.

"Its nice to meet you, Sephora," he replied with a warm smile, "I'm Ellion" he liked her already, she seemed sweet and genuinely friendly. "So what were you trying to do when you lost your balance?" he inquired with a curious tilt of his head, "Were you playing a game? My sister, Losille and I used to play something that looked sor of similar when we were foals. I think its called leap frog." He bent his knees, his diaphanous wings slicing through the air in unison as he bobbed up and over Sephora's head, landing neatly on her other side with a jingle of his bells and laughing, the sunlight glittering and dancing across his back and wings with each smooth movement. "But I think you're supposed to have two people when you play, otherwise its not very much fun."

Mahogany Sunset

 

[xo maho]

Nodding a little at his agreement, Sephora smiled. She felt a jolt of envy at his seemingly unconscious hovering, but was too absorbed in what he said next to really notice it. "Really? A flutter, I've never heard of that. But I suppose it makes sense, having the wings of flutterby, as I used to call them," she said sheepishly. Shaking her head when he overcompensated for what she was sure he thought might be an offense, she smiled again. "Aw, that's cute of your folks. As for my wings, I've been told that my father had some like mine, but they were larger," she said. She'd never met the stallion that her mother had told her of, but she'd always pictured some version of her friend's father, but with wings and horns. And some kind of odd, long, furred tail, rather than one of hair.

"It's nice to meet you, as well, Ellion," she replied, testing the sound of his name. It was definitely a pretty one, but she wasn't sure he'd appreciate that compliment. Opting instead to smile again, Sephora almost spoke when he asked what she'd been doing, but cut herself off when he demonstrated leap frog. "Actually," she started, "I was practicing... My wings aren't very good at holding me up, since they're so small, and I'm not sure how much of my father's flying abilities I inherited. My mother doesn't have them, so... It's just me, trying to learn for myself." Feeling her smile falter a little, Sephora took a shaky breath. "How long did it take you to learn?" she asked, wondering if she could figure an estimate for herself by his measure. Of course, it sounded like he had two flighted parents, which was definitely an advantage. First, because they could teach him, and second, because he had genetics on his side. The way her genetics had worked out, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to do more than hover - a depressing thought, but probably a realistic one.

Faithofthefallen

Apologies for the lateness! >.<  

[Faithofthefallen]

He chuckled at the term she used, "Flutterby? I like that, it sounds charming." Ellion bowed a little in clumsy parody of elegance, sweeping his wings out to the sides to further dramatize the effect. "I am indeed. I'm honored to be the first you've met Sephora, hopefully you won't hold it against the rest of my kind." He winked and laughed at his own little jest.

"I learned the mechanics of it when I was little, from my father, my mother never learned and is pretty awful at it. I used to shrink down and practice. When you're that small, it feels like you're flying much higher, and the breeze helps you stay up longer than at full size..." He smiled encouragingly, feeling a small surge of sympathy. He couldn't imagine growing up without one of his parents around, and it must be much harder when there were things the parent you did have couldn't teach you. "I could try to help." he offered, "I've never tried explaining it to anyone before and our wings probably work differently but I've watched birds fly. Maybe you could show me what you were doing again, I'll watch and see if there's anything I could give you pointers on."

Mahogany Sunset

No big deal! I've been busy with finals and graduation and all that fun stuff anyways n_n