prismatica | [Video] Fly Like an... everything really

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[Video] Fly Like an... everything really

Hey all!

[ It's Konoka again. This time though, you might notice something odd, namely it appears that the background scenery behind her is... upside down.

Or she's upside down, more like it. She's hanging by her knees on an apparent tree branch. A clue on why she's doing that might be visible from her new tall, bat-like ears. Konoka's got her hair wrapped up in a bun to avoid it being a curtain wherever she might be hanging around. ]

Just a quick question this time:

If you haven't had wings before you had a blessing, what is it like to fly?

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[Her form wasn't perfect as far as he could tell from the way the wind dragged under her wings but she was getting the idea a little bit at a time. Best of all she hasn't severely hurt herself, which is great. All his stumbles and falls from way back when is serving him well.]

Alright, you're getting it. Try going from left to right now. Slowly, slowly... Hoohoohoo!

[ Konoka was starting to be heavily reminded of one of those Old Wizard mentor types. And having seen him as a young guy is extra funny. But she refused to have her concentration broken, as she leaned her arms now in the opposite direction, again slowly tilting her body until she felt the pull again. ]

[He would certainly smile from ear to ear if she called him young, but given his appearance he understands why she'd think of him so.]

Don't stiffen your arms, let the wind move around them. Keep your muscles loose, flexible. Thaaaaaat's the way...very good! Very good! Now try banking again but pausing in the middle before continuing.

[ On the bright side, it seems that she's getting a little better. Her stance relaxes, she focuses solely on tilting her body and getting a feel of what it's like to turn.

She'll make a turn, and then pause, and then turn in the other way. She's not sure how much she'll get done, but she might have a better hang of flight before the week's out. Optimistic, yes, but that's pretty much Konoka. ]

[He nods and hoots in approval. This is going well, he thought to himself. He was honestly expecting a little more tumbling and struggling but she's keeping her balance fairly well, though he suspects when she starts gliding for real she might encounter some difficulty.]

Very good. You're really getting the hang of this Konoe-san. Think you're ready for the real thing?

Yeah!

[ Konoka doesn't stop her turning exercises, but the excitement in her voice is palpable. ]

This feels great!

Hoohoohoo! Well, someone certainly seems eager. One more lesson left before practicals, slowing down and landing.

[He doesn't stop the current, she looks like she's having too much fun, so he leaps and rides the current until he's drifting on the wind.]

Now, watch closely. When you want to slow down or are about to land, you straighten out your posture and then tilt your upper body up and lower your legs. Keep your wings spread and slowly let wind pass through to lower and slow you down.

When pilots are taught how to land the plane they're told to "keep the nose up", which means the front of the plane stays pointed up until the wheels land. Picture that your legs are the wheels and your head the cockpit. Like so.

[He tilts himself as he instructed, legs down and head up, as he slowly approached the ground and touched down, taking just a few steps forward.]

Release all the air in your wings or just retract them completely when you're at a comfortable height from the ground. Make sure you take a few steps after you land so you don't drop all that momentum in your legs, unless you intend to break them.

Got it!

[ Konoka focuses, now tilting back to neutral and getting a feel for the wind before making sure that she was in a good 'landing pose' (since she was still on the ground). Eventually, she flexed her 'fingers' closing up the wings and canceling the wind's effect on them, having to take a moment to 'stumble' forward since she was already ground. ]

Ah, how's that?

[ She's not expecting perfect marks for that one, her face practically screams 'I need more practice'. ]

[He reacted as if he was about to catch her when she stumbled but when she managed to still stay, well, upright-ish he was relieved.]

See what I mean by momentum? Never take it for granted, but don't worry. Once you get used to flying you'll be able to get a feel for how much momentum you have and learn how to sort of....spread it around, or cast it aside, so you can land without having to take a few steps.

For now, while not perfect, it's good enough to say that you won't fall flat on your face. So? What say we give gliding a try now?

[With that, the feathers fly up as Bishop takes off and circles the space above. The fathers line themselves up and shoot to the ground like missiles, their color changing from green to yellow tan, and make a glowing outline of square that's about two feet by feet with a feather in the center of each. Bishop dives down onto one of the squares and grabs it with his talons then lifts off as if carrying off prey, the dirt squares under rising as pillars of increasing height with the one he grabbed being the tallest, effectively making steps.]

C'mon up. This'll serve as a a good platform.

Alright!

[ Some part of her was relieved she'd get another shot, albeit they'd be moving on with it anyway. She almost bounced back in surprise when she saw that she was now looking up at a staircase emerging from the ground. Wow, she kept forgetting about the crazy stuff one could do with magic, despite her time spent in it.

Konoka traveled up the 'staircase'. The height didn't quite intimidate her, though she did give a bit of pause, as if any sense of dread seemed almost suppressed by new instincts. ]

[He looked around, estimated the space, the flight path, the wind speed, all of it in just a matter of seconds as Konoka climbed up.

'This should be good' he thought to himself as he nodded to confirm his estimations and nerves. When she reached him, her pause doesn't go unnoticed.]

Konoe-san? Is something wrong?

Oh, nothing too much! Just a bit of pre-flight jitters.

I don't feel too bothered, I just had to stop a moment. I'm ready to go.

[ She prepared herself, the earlier hesitation gone. ]

Ah, I see. That's normal, but let me know if or when you feel anxious.

[He then puffs out his chest and opens a wing raising it up, the primary flying feather at the end of his wing span almost emulating a finger being held up.]

Anxiety has no place on the battlefield. Take a deep breath and reach deep into your heart to find your inner peace. Or so my captain used to say. It's normal to feel anxious but don't think about it, just focus on what you want and have to achieve.

Right.

[ Konoka nodded, took a deep breath, and focused on the challenge ahead. She was to glide down and make a landing. It shouldn't be too hard now that she got the sensations of what she was supposed to feel, right? ]

I'm ready.

[He acknowledges her determination, but that doesn't mean he's about to let her glide down without so much as a guide to follow.]

Okay, watch as I do then follow.

[He walks over to the edge of the platform, wings dropping a big in anticipation while his toes curl over the edge before leaping and gliding down. He curved to right, left wing up in the air with the right point slightly down as he curved and approached the ground. He raises his body up as he gets closer, the wind passing through his wings as he pushes his legs out to land, stopping after a few steps.]

Okay, just like that.

Okay!

[ Konoka makes sure to unfurl her wings, and then imitate his take off as best as she can, given that she has no talons. It's slightly shaky at first, and that mostly comes from the small desire to flap her wings. She's here to glide! She reminds herself of that while she turned, letting her left wing touch the sky while she bore right, adjusting herself to keep the turn from getting too sharp.

She eventually does fix her orientation just in time to land, though her wing flap slows her down a bit more sharply than his, and she wound up 'hopping' in midair, though fortunately landing on her two feet. ]

...I think I did it!

[It was good up until the landing, her flap making his head shoot up with slight alarm but when her feet found purchase he relaxed just as quickly.]

You most certainly did! Hoohoo! Well done! It wasn't perfect, but I'd say it's a solid 8/10. Hoohoo!

[He's impressed. Also maybe feeling a bit big headed. He is the one teaching her of course.]

Since you did it as you landed, you must have noticed how you slowed down significantly when you flapped your wings. Doing this would really slow you down however, if you're flying quickly you need to flap several times before landing just to lessen the inertia. Though your bones aren't hollow like a birds, I would still advice doing that so you don't strain yourself.

Great! I'm learning to fly!

[ Konoka clenched her fist in victory... though given her fists were currently bat wings, it was more like clenching her wing and extending her thumb out. Same difference, right? ]

I need more practice! Can we do it again?

Of course! Uhoo! This time I will be here on the ground, actually, we can make a game of it. I'll stand somewhere and you go on top and plan you glide path towards me.

[Bishop takes a look around the area, picks a spot, and starts walking though his head was bobbing up down and side to side as he did. Owl vision and all that.]

Ok, whenever you're ready.

Sure!

[ Konoka scampers back to the top, again pulling out her wings and getting a read for where he was. Once she spotted him, she took a moment to prepare herself before taking flight.

This one was... surprisingly smoother. He wasn't super out of the way, so it was a matter of a bit of turning and landing right next to him. ]

I'm getting it...!

[She probably can't tell, hell no one can tell when he's a bird, but it brings a big smile to his face to see someone so excited to fly even if it's still just the basics. Reminds him of when he first started gliding.]

Good, good...

[He said softly as she came in and touched down.]

You certainly are! Very good!

[His wings open up and brings them forward and starts sort of clapping, though it sounds more like someone rustling feather dusters.]

[ Konoka giggled at that. ]

Thanks for the encore!

[ She takes a moment to flap her wings. ]

I feel like I can actually try flying, but maybe I should practice more?

[He tucks his wings back in, shaking quickly to straighten his feathers.]

Yeah. While you're making good progress, we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. For one...

[He raises a wing to gesture at the area.]

We don't have enough space to practice actual flying. It'll need to be much higher with more wind and a stable current. The former most especially since you're still human sized. I'll keep these platforms here so you can practice even when I'm not around. I need to find a suitable place for you to really spread your wings. Hoohoo!

Edited 2019-11-29 12:42 (UTC)

Alright!

[ Maybe she'll just keep practicing gliding. She was already scrambling back up to go practice her gliding again. It would probably be like this for the rest of the afternoon. ]

[He chuckles as his chest warms up from seeing her so excited to practice. Hopefully she won't get bored while he looks for a better spot to practice. He turns back into his human form, adjusting his coat and cuffs.]

Well, I can see you'll be here for a while and you have the basics of gliding down. From there you might be able to figure out some other techniques, but if you don't that's fine too. I'm just a call or text away if you need help. See you around, Konoe-san.

[With that, Bishop waves goodbye as he starts to exit the clearing while putting another item on his to-do list.]

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im_gonna_heal_u - 2019-11-29 15:45 (UTC) - Expand

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