"I'm Good, Thanks." She Comes Back Out With A Duffel Bag Slung Under An Arm. "And Yeah, This Is A Mostly

"I'm good, thanks." She comes back out with a duffel bag slung under an arm. "And yeah, this is a mostly flyer neighborhood. Capitalizing on the thermals and all."

She readjusts the bag and looks to him "Well we can either try to glide down or take the stairs. I think I'd rather go stairs myself."

Soaring Skyward

When he yells she snaps her wings shut and grabs him tight. Her head resting between his wings and her claws unfortunately digging into the skin on his chest a bit.

She holds on for dear life, heart and mind racing too much to form a coherent though as they continue to plummet. Somehow, in the back of her mind, she knows he's going to get them out of this ok, even as their trajectory brings them closer to the suburbs.

Soaring Skyward

Her descent seems stable at first, but as she increases in speed her path becomes more wobbly. She went too high and is suffering the lack of oxygen. Though she keeps herself pointed at the ground, she can't keep her limbs perfectly flush and her wings flare out more than they should be, sending her in a slanted angle that's still much more vertical than horizontal. Her vision swims as she does her best to remain oriented.

The longer she falls, the louder the sound of her piercing the sky comes to Rider. The Doppler effect increasing it to a scream as the thousands of feet tick away.

Soaring Skyward

"It's amazing up there, I even saw some of the stars. The world spread out below you, looking down on the tops of all the highest clouds." she says a bit dreamily. "Wish I brought a camera, don't think I'll be doing that again for a long time."

Normally she's complain about being openly carried through the streets, but her wing muscles ache so much that she can barely move her legs. Fortunately there's a clinic not too far from the park.

Soaring Skyward

He seems embarrassed at his failure. "I must be getting old, never thought I'd be making mistakes like that at 45." he says, clearly ashamed of his mistake. "I hope you wouldn't mind my joining you tonight." he asks, the food now coming out.

"You can relax, I wouldn't still be here if I didn't want you along. And it'll be nice having a spotter along."

After a quick full-body stretch, Gale takes wing and flies to the bluffs just outside town. She touches down at the edge of a cliff and turns into the wind. Closing her eyes, she lifts her head slightly, feeling the wind swirling around her and through the feathers on her head.

For several minutes, she breathes deep of the wind and takes in the feeling of the sun.

With one last stretch she comes over to him. "Alright, I'm ready to start. You can fly along a bit if you want, but what I really need is for you to be watching in case I fall. Real good change I could stall or get oxygen deprived."

Soaring Skyward

Rider stares for a moment as Gale stretches, blushing ever so slightly at her elegant form. Before he can say anything she takes off. Knocking him out of his daze, he quickly pays the bill and follows, catching up shortly before she lands.

Coming down several feet away he walks up closer and takes a moment to stretch his grizzled frame. “Best to be ready, this is a dangerous run.” he thinks to himself, excited to try something new.

For several minutes he stretches, all the while watching the figure in front of him, this griffon who has almost become one with the elements.