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Inertia
Jun 16, 2020 6:18:23 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 16, 2020 6:18:23 GMT -6
Summer was creeping up on them and the garden was lush with bright flowers and tall grass. As Silver walked through the gate and across the lawn, a fair few fireflies flew off and disappeared into the shadows of nearby trees. They wondered sometimes if the creatures were drawn by the overgrown plant life or were generated from the magic itself. Were they just native bugs looking for a new place to live or magical manifestations of the mansion itself? Actually, they could be something in between as well, living creatures enhanced by the mysterious magic. Silver liked that explanation best, so that's the one they chose to believe was true.
Sanguis was clearly interested in the fireflies as they buzzed every which way, glowing bright and varying colors. Normally, they were only a soft yellowish color, but these ones could be nearly any color. It was beautiful and kind of weird. He wasn't sure how to feel about it.
2 [108.5, 0.4]
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Inertia
Jun 16, 2020 6:27:32 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 16, 2020 6:27:32 GMT -6
Silver watched Sanguis' reaction to the chaos closely. They didn't want him to be too afraid and they were careful not to overwhelm him. They were also admittedly curious about how he would take it. They didn't know him that well so they couldn't really predict how he was going to act. For that reason, and the fact that they never really trusted the mansion even when it was being really entertaining and beautiful, they decided to keep a careful watch over him.
Sanguis reached out to grab a bug as it flew by, but he didn't manage to catch it. The bug was nearly larger than his head, so he had no idea what he'd do if he even succeeded. It was just so interesting that he felt like he had to try. Silver saw that and snatched one out of the air for him. They held it out in front of Sanguis so that he could see it up close.
3 [108.55, 0.6]
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Inertia
Jun 16, 2020 6:34:59 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 16, 2020 6:34:59 GMT -6
Embarrassed about being shown up, Sanguis slapped the bug that they were holding, crushing one of its wings. Silver yanked their paw away and looked on in horror. Was it going to be okay? They tried to inspect its wing so they could possibly heal it, but it jumped out of their hand and disappeared into the swarm before they got a chance.
"Sanguis!" Silver said sharply. "Now that wasn't nice."
Sanguis folded his arms and turned away so that he didn't have to listen. It wasn't like he didn't realize what he was doing, but he didn't like being told off about it either. How dare Silver show him up by catching one of the bugs so easily, and then also scold him like that? Silver opened their mouth to say something, but ultimately decided against it. They didn't want to cause a fight, and that bug would probably be okay. They hoped. Maybe huge magical bugs were also extra resilient somehow.
4 [108.6, 0.8]
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Inertia
Jun 16, 2020 6:39:42 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 16, 2020 6:39:42 GMT -6
They were starting to wonder if bringing Sanguis along was such a good idea. They really didn't know each other very well and the mansion was a pretty chaotic place, especially at this time of year. They were hoping that he would be interested in the glowing fireflies, and that seemed true until he crushed one. For now they were just going to leave him be and keep exploring. He might come around if they gave him some space to figure it out for himself.
Sanguis was surprised to find that Silver didn't want to argue with him about crushing the bug. Maybe he was secretly hoping that they would. Their eyes drifted off again to all of the creatures buzzing around. It really was a mystical place, and he felt it strongly. Even he had to admit that they were beautiful. He was going to prove that he could catch one for himself! Sanguis jumped down from Silver's shoulder using his wings to stabilize his fall.
5 [108.65, 1]
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Inertia
Jun 16, 2020 10:44:27 GMT -6
Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 16, 2020 10:44:27 GMT -6
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Inertia
Jun 22, 2020 4:56:22 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 22, 2020 4:56:22 GMT -6
"Ah! Be careful," Silver said as they watched Sanguis jump to the ground. They knew that a Harachiu could make that jump, given the number of times it had happened to them before, but they always worried. They could fly if taught, but Sanguis hadn't learned yet. It made Silver wonder what his childhood was like. They obviously hadn't talked about it much yet. Silver wasn't sure that they ever would.
Sanguis would prove to Silver that he could catch bugs all on his own. He slowly and deliberately stalked a firefly on a nearby flower. It was going to be his. Silver would be impressed, he was sure of it. Not that he cared what they thought. He was going to catch it for himself, and nobody else. He blew the hair out of his face and squinted at the bug, then he reached his hands out at arms length and leaped as hard as he could straight at it.
6 [108.95, 1.2]
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Inertia
Jun 22, 2020 5:01:00 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 22, 2020 5:01:00 GMT -6
Unfortunately, the bug was still faster than he was and it flew away a few seconds before he hit it. He grabbed a petal off the flower and ripped it as he tumbled forward. He scowled at the flower and said. "Damn." It was one of the few words he knew.
Silver wanted to laugh, but they held it back. It was pretty cute to watch Sanguis fumble around with the bugs, but they knew that he wouldn't appreciate being laughed at. They weren't good enough friends to laugh together at stuff like that. Some day they would be, though. Silver was confident that he could win the grumpy little guy over. He seemed like he wanted to be friends with them, even if he didn't want to show it. They had a good sense for those sort of things after years of raising creatures who may or may not have hated them when they first met. It became second nature after a while.
7 [109, 1.4]
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Inertia
Jun 22, 2020 5:22:28 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 22, 2020 5:22:28 GMT -6
Sanguis felt a stinging on his shoulder and twisted his head to look down at it. There was a little scratch that was dripping a small amount of blood. He rubbed the blood off with his thumb and stuck it in his mouth. The taste of it along with the way it made the cut sting made him more determined than ever. He jumped through the grass using his wings to pick himself up above the tall grass. It wasn't exactly flying, but it was something.
Watching the way he hopped and fluttered made Silver think. They could possibly teach him how to fly, right here in the garden. There were plenty of bugs to chase around and he'd have much more success if he could fly too. That might just be enough to convince him to pay attention long enough to learn. Silver almost lost sight of them while their mind was wandering, so they rushed to keep up, scaring away a ton of fireflies.
8 [109.05, 1.6]
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Inertia
Jun 22, 2020 5:50:02 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 22, 2020 5:50:02 GMT -6
Sanguis saw all of the fireflies float away before they realized that Silver had caught up with him. He frowned and turned around to see what had happened. It was just Silver. Great. He waved his hand dismissively like he was trying to shoo Silver away. This was his bug catching time. They should leave him alone!
"Hey there," Silver said, squatting down so that they were closer to his level. "I want to help you," they said. Sanguis didn't seem impressed by that statement. He wanted them to leave him alone, not to be all up in his business trying to 'help' which he was sure would be annoying.
"Well, if you don't want to fly, then you don't have to," Silver said. They looked away like they were going to leave even though they weren't. They just wanted him to think it was his idea by leading him into accepting the offer. There was still a chance that he wouldn't accept the offer, and in that case they would let it go for real.
9 [109.1, 1.8]
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Inertia
Jun 22, 2020 6:17:00 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 22, 2020 6:17:00 GMT -6
Fly? Sanguis knew what that meant, and he knew others who could do it. He was always secretly jealous of them, but he would never ever admit it. He was proud and he wanted to prove that he was just as good as they were, flying or not. For that reason, he was very reluctant to accept any offerings of help from his peers. Could he trust Silver enough to let them show him how? He wasn't sure.
"Well, first of all, lifting off from the ground is tough. You have to start from a high place so you have a chance to catch the wind. Do you want to try?" Silver wasn't sure how much of that Sanguis really understood, but they held out their hands so he could step up and be lifted into the air. Falling a few times and getting a feel for how the wind hit wings was a really important part of learning to fly. Birds did it all the time and they were pretty small, so Sanguis should be fine, right?
10 [109.1, 2] [Fly - 1]
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Inertia
Jun 22, 2020 14:18:42 GMT -6
Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 22, 2020 14:18:42 GMT -6
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Inertia
Jun 29, 2020 6:12:11 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 29, 2020 6:12:11 GMT -6
Sanguis squinted at Silver's hands, then shook his head. He wasn't about to be coddled like a child! He turned away and stubbornly kept jumping and flapping his wings haphazardly as if that would help him get off the ground. Silver sighed and continued to follow along, hunched over so that they could keep a good eye on him.
Now and then an interesting looking bug flew buy and eventually they had an idea about what to do with them while they were waiting for Sanguis to cooperate. They pulled a jar out of their bag and tried to catch and keep some of the more interesting looking bugs. The fireflies were especially abundant as they would have guessed from the name of the festival. They knew they would be seeing some, so they had brought the jars specifically for that purpose, though they did also keep a particularly interesting yellow butterfly as well. The nice weather and flowers brought all manner of creatures into the mansion. Perhaps Sanguis could learn something from them.
11 [109.75, 2.2] [Fly - 2]
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Inertia
Jun 29, 2020 6:20:30 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 29, 2020 6:20:30 GMT -6
It didn't take long for Sanguis' wings to become tired. He breathed heavily and flopped over into the grass to catch his breath. This was a lot of hard work and he was hardly getting anywhere! He was frustrated, but too tired to do anything about it. He rolled over and gasped for breath like someone who had just sprinted a marathon. He was really out of shape!
"It doesn't have to be that hard, you know," Silver said, looking directly down at Sanguis. Sanguis grumbled and rolled over. He didn't want Silver to mock him for being so tired. After a moment, though, he considered their offer and looked back up at them.
"Would you like to try flying again? Caught your breath?" Silver asked. They held their hands out again just like before. Just like they would with a young bird, they waited for him to step up onto their hands. Reluctantly, he put his hand on their finger and used it to hoist himself up.
12 [109.8, 2.4] [Fly - 3]
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Inertia
Jun 29, 2020 6:40:10 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 29, 2020 6:40:10 GMT -6
Silver slowly stood up and looked around for a soft area of ground they could start the training on. They thought it would be for the best if they stood over something like a pile of leaves or grass so that if Sanguis did crash to the ground, he wouldn't bust his head open on a rock or something. Sanguis, as he often did, had other plans. As soon as he was lifted up, he leaped into the air and desperately flapped his wings. To his surprise, he plummeted toward the ground rather rapidly, and Silver wasn't fast enough to catch him.
"Sanguis! Are you okay?" Silver frowned and ducked back into the grass to check him out. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him on the ground, safe, but with a bruised ego. "Are you hurt? I can help you if you're hurt..." Silver said, looking Sanguis over the best they could. He pulled away and swatted at their paws, then he brushed himself off.
13 [109.85, 2.6] [Fly - 4]
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Inertia
Jun 29, 2020 6:47:45 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jun 29, 2020 6:47:45 GMT -6
Without skipping a beat, Sanguis pointed straight up, then cupped his hands in front of his chest the way he had seen Silver do when lifting him into the air. He scowled, waiting for them to take the hint and pick him up again. He was more determined than ever after that fall. He would try again, and this time he would get it right!
"Ah, okay, but if you wait for my signal, we can work together this time, okay? You can't just bolt off like that, you'll get hurt!" Silver squatted down and allowed Sanguis to climb up again. It was clear that he was impatient the entire time as they stood back up and held their hands in such a way that it would be difficult for him to escape. As grumpy as it was making him, they couldn't just let him fly off on his own like that. They had to keep him safe, even if he hated it.
14 [109.9, 2.8] [Fly - 5]
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