s u f f o c a t i n g f l i g h t *

[AUGUST !]

eclipse.

sunlight fluttered through the branches, escaping along the shafts created by gentle whirrs of leaves. silence overshadowed the wood, dawn just spreading forth and waking up the earth. every single dawn the wood came to life in a way one could never imagine, and a patient feline was here to see it. his golden-auburn wings stretched out, although they were mere compared to the rest of his normally proportioned body. they rested there as a pretty decoration to attract the ladies and whatnot, although he often frowned upon them; he didn't find them as much use, usuaully. but today that was going to change. during the dawn of life, he would wish upon the last star and flap his wings for the first time, a strong desire to fly up into the air and join the birds in flawless flight. oh, how he wished such to be so, although doubt was present in the back of his mind. what if i don't make it? he thought, looking down at his white paws which were stained with muddy dew. then he fiercely rose his head and threw it to the sky. but i will! i will! he sincerely hoped that he would finally learn. he had been trying to successfully fly since he was a youngster, although it never seemed to work, for they were quite small. he rocked his shoulders back and forth in a determined way, gazing at the abrupt drop set before him. he tensed, bulged his muscles, took a deep breath, and began to run head on for the cliff. believe! believe! he insisted over and over, gaining speed at he continued full-force towards the cliff.

"this is it!" he shouted, bounds away from flying. he would make it! he would! "i'm going to finally fly! i shall!" he unsheathed his claws and gritted his teeth as the final step came. he launched himself from the cliff and spread out his gold-feathered wings... wings that sparkled in the light and soared across the plains. eyes shut, he felt the lovely wind seeping from the air under his wings, passing over and through. he flapped them several times, and when he didn't felt any heartshaking falling going on, he opened his eyes and opened them wide. a broad smile rested upon his face, eyes alight with joy. he had done it! he finally flew!

eclipse glided back and forth along the air rifts, floating and sailing and flipping and doing all sorts of clever tricks. it was the best! he was on his way on doing an aerial ace when, all of the sudden, the wind stopped. the earth shook. the air seemed to all get sucked out of the atmosphere at once. he choked and struggled for air, and without the oxygen, he plummeted. nothing rustled his wings or fur. he was completely frozen; parilyzed with fear. his whole entire body went numb as he fell. his cry got caught up in his throat; his lungs shriveled to little beans as the deathtrap came on its way. the earth was coming closer and closer, terror passing through his veins.

he hit the ground.

eyes opened, chest heaving and pants making his whole entire body shudder. he was right beside the cliff, inches from falling. he shook himself violently and looked all over him, extremely confused. w-what happened? he asked himself, taking several steps backward. he must have dreamt it all, or perhaps he was saved, or he had a hallucination right before he leaped off the edge. whatever it was, eclipse was thoroughly freaked. he gulped and frantically looked about himself again before shrugging and turning around to go back home.

[/justify]

[Vellidyr]

Avryn.
Her eyes had been following him the whole way. For she who had contemplated suicide, well, she was too aware of 'what if's these days. His mentor dead, she was concerned the lil' guy might do himself in. It was unlikely at best, so eh, why not be there just in case. But he seemed to be doing what Avryn could so easily now. She too had been there once, learning to fly, falling so many times it wasn't even funny. She hid from him, eager to see how this would play out.

One had to admit, he wasn't doing half bad, but he was showing off far too much. This concerned her greatly, and she frowned. She had made that mistake as well, and she had almst snapped her neck from it. T'was not something she wanted to see herself. Her stomach dropped as he did and she lunged forward, propelling herself forward and then leaping, opening her elegantly marked wings and soaring, just in time to catch him and swing back to the safety of the cliff, where he was dropped as Avryn's tail brushed the ground, and soon she herself dropped down behind him.

She watched with an emotionless face as he looked around and stepped back, her scarlet eyes somewhat amused. "Hello there," she greeted as he turned. "I made the same mistakes you did when I was your age. But no worries," she added with a flick of her tail, "you'll master it soon enough."

[AUGUST !]

eclipse.

he shuddered, extremely confused. it had to be a dream!

[/color] he determined, although as he whipped around his stomach sunk to see a winged creature just like himself. her scent seemed to be quite familiar; she was another of the rising sun tribe, where he originated, as well. he cringed as her maw opened to speak, expecting a scolding, for she was, indeed, a warrior -- one of much higher rank than he. indeed, eclipse was not supposed to be out of the dwelling. he should have been training at this time, lacking a mentor or not. the gentle words that carried in the wind surprised him, however. "hello there." that first utter reached his ears; he pricked them intently. meanwhile, he laid his tail down in pure submission, head dipped in greeting, as well. the next mew shocked him even further, and without thinking he lifted his head, eyes wide."i made the same mistakes you did when i was your age." he tilted his head curiously; the next utterings came in a continous line so he hardly had time to think. "but no worries, you'll master it soon enough." her tail flicked gracefully as she finished the last words of encouragement.

eclipse stared at her, speachless. he could hardly move from his position: tail inbetween his shaking legs, eyes widened with whites showing, and a pure look of shock and slight fear on his face. normally, he didn't act this way -- he was relaxed, carefree, and happy. but after you jump from a cliff and fall through the sky at a bazillion miles an hour, it's kind of hard to stay relaxed, especially after some random female approaches you and starts babbling about her childhood. it was pretty creepy. still, eclipse tried to maintain a relaxed setting; eventually, he took a deep breath and exhaled, calming his quaking bones down. then he dipped his head in acknowledgement and appreciation. then he looked up, a strange and confused expression on his face. as he thought of it, he really was still unsure over what... exactly... happened. he cleared his throat meaningfully and dipped his head once more. "umm... so... what exactly happened... again?" he mewed innocently, tilting his head to one side.

ooc; bad post Dx.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Vellidyr]

Avryn
His fear amused her somewhat, and her bright eyes softened some. Well, the poor thing had almost died, he had every right to be afraid. Why she was feeling protective and motherly now of all times was unknown but eh, these days anything could set her off. A soft smile was given as he dipped his head and in a clear voice she murmered, "Fear not young one, for I mean you no scolding. My name is Avryn." She gave her wings a slight flap, fixing their position to be more comfy as when one has an un-planned landing things could get jumbled. She gazed at the sky, blinking, before gazing back at the other. "And you are Eclipse, are you not?" She dipped her regal head. "I am truely sorry for the loss of your mentor. I underwent the same thing as a trainee."

Her mentor had never been very close to her, and so she felt no suffering, but training alone became a habit after that. A former nomad, they had said, did not quite deserve a new mentor and she was doing fine on her own anyways. Ah, memories. Darkness still was her true home, rain still made her heart race, her body slipping into an unheard beat when she felt there was no beating her and the world was her's, but whether she was a peaceful prophet or a warfare-filled freak was yet to be seen. She gave a soft chuckle at his words, but expected no different. "You poor darling; you fell and I saved you." Not a trace of pride was in her voice, which was strange for her.

[e q u i n o x .]

the tango of the winged felines was - if anything - unexpected. the younger of the two, whom phoenix recognized as eclipse, had launched himself into the sky without a second thought. phoenix had let out a soft hiss as the youngster caught the wind beneath his golden wings and soared upwards. of course, phoenix wasn't impressed. at all. sure, the young tom had done well for his first time by any cats standards, but he had much to learn. his movements had been choppy, and instead of flying, he had tried his hand at preforming free-range acrobatics. then, of course, the worst part came. he had plummeted.

phoenix had immediately braced himself and snapped out his wings in preparation to catch the tom, but a small female beat him to the punch. she somehow managed to swing eclipse to safety, then landed next to him a few moments later. they then engaged in sharing names and a few words, with the small female leading the entirety of the conversation with soft words and praise. bad idea. telling eclipse that this stunt was okay was a load of bologna. phoenix tilted his ears back, leaped down from his perch amonst the trees and prepared to leave. until, of course, he poor tom said something that left phoenix furious and worried; he'd said he didn't know what had just happened.

phoenix extended his wings once more with an aggravated sigh. it wasn't a good situation for anyone; eclipse could have been hurt, along with the two adult cats ready to save his neck after almost breaking it. obviously, eclipse didn't know that his wings, without the proper conditioning, couldn't hold him airborne for very long. not to mention the flying appendages were rather on the small side, so that wouldn't aid his cause either.

with a low grumble, phoenix took to the skies. his takeoff was smooth, and it looked nearly effortless. it probably was, due to the fact he'd been flying much longer than either of the other felines. though that little female was pretty skilled, for someone so small. tossing a tom her size or bigger to safety was a feat to be proud of. phoenix fastened his eyes on his goal, and with a few powerful beats of his wings, he let himself catch the air under the canopy of feathers. the brown tom glided down to the pair, only to realize they were in a position was extremely unfortunate for the tom. his landing was a bit awkward because of his wings sheer mass and the lack of space among the trees, so instead of making a proper running landing, he folded his wings against his body and dropped. a few feet from the ground, he spread them and softened his landing. of course, he still thudded pretty hard against the packed earth, but it was nothing a defensive warrior couldn't handle. he was made to withstand.

"that was the most foolish thing i've ever seen, kid." phoenix didn't try to keep the icy edge from his tone. "you could have gotten yourself killed."

[AUGUST !]

eclipse.

eclipse listened to all of avryn's gentle cooing and comforting mews patiently, stirring his paws in the dirt. this was most definitely something he had not expected to hear -- he had been ready for scoldings and had actually prepared quite a few excuses. actually, he was just a little disappointed. in time, he grew tired of her honey voice. she went on and on and on; he hardly paid much attention, just staring at his shuffling paws. "fear not young one, for i mean you no scolding. my name is avryn. and you are eclipse, are you not? i am truely sorry for the loss of your mentor. i underwent the same thing as a trainee." his ears perked up to the similarity, although he still kept his eyes downward. then came her reply to his question. "you poor darling; you fell and i saved you." at times he caught her words and listened to them in his head, studying each word in slight boredom. even though it was only a few words, he still began to feel drowsy and confused. the sun was well high up in the sky now, and all this intimation and worrying made him feel dizzy. as her last utters came, he opened his maw to reply in slow words of bafflement; however, he was interrupted by the sudden gruff voice he had been expecting when avryn approached him. "that was the most foolish thing i've ever seen, kid." eclipse now winced, as he would have if the same words came from avryn earlier. his tail drooped and went between his legs, head sulking down. "you could have gotten yourself killed."

"sorry..." he mewed pitifully, letting his wings fall and, if they had been just a little longer, drag to the ground. he seemed to be disappointed at the scolding, but he was actually slightly satisfied. when avryn cooed at him, he felt uncomfortable and out of place. he felt as if he didn't get the beating he truly did deserve. this time, however, justice was done, and he felt as if he was learning something -- lessons. he then lifted his head slightly to study the handsome russet tom. he had large wings that resembled those of a falcon's. his deep, piercing yellow eyes seemed to shock him and turn his body to stone. eclipse found that he could hardly move but for the quaking limbs and thumping heart. he was nervous, to be sure; really nervous now that he looked deeper into those intense orbs...

[/justify]

[Vellidyr]

Avryn

.

She was slightly worries at the trainee's look; blank, confused, and sleepy. A frown graced the small feline's face as she heard another cat approaching. At the sound of his voice she bristled. Ah, she could tell right away that she was not going to like him at all. She turned, red eyes livid and blazing, ready to tell him what she thought of him.

And she didn't like him.

It was a feeling akin to what she had felt when she met Mortem. It was impossible to get over such a thing; she still loved the fallen nomad with all of her soul and heart, and every drop of blood in her body. But there were things that no cat could expect. Being wanted. Desired. Missed. Loved. Admired. Hated. Killed. Even being noticed. In that moment, when she set eye on him, something inside her clicked, ripping at her head savagely, ruining every ounce of sanity inside her. In that heartbeat, the breath was knocked out of her and she stood breathlessly, amazed and in wonder. She was in love. I won't be leaving that alive.

She dipped her head; the only thing she could think to do, and adverted her eyes to the side. No. Mortem was the only one. Mortem. To him her heart would lie. But she couldn't shake away the warm feeling that traveled up her spine and rested in every bit of her body. She readjusted her wings again, revealing the fray of brilliant markings upon them, giving them a single gentle flap before they were tucked closer to her body. She remained quiet, hoping he'd ignore her.

[e q u i n o x .]

both cats had different reactions to his presence, which phoenix didn't exactly mind. eclipse looked down and shuffled his paws, muttering something that sounded like 'dorry', which phoenix took as an apology, and the lovely female spun around, her fur raised and her eyes threatening. but as suddenly as she faced him, she assumed an air of awe, then averted her gaze. phoenix wasn't sure how to react, so he let his own hackles fall, for they had risen with her threat. odd. he thought as he stared at her. under his gaze, she flapped her brilliantly colored wings, then tucked them in close to her delicate body. it was an act of nervousness he'd come to see in many cats that met him. sometimes with other defensive warriors, but other times just seeing him was enough to set them off. the female seemed to be hoping he wouldn't notice her, sadly it was kind of hard not to notice her. first she nearly ate his face, then shuffled around like some embarrassed kitten, and now wouldn't meet his gaze. he could have turned into a turtle, and she probably wouldn't have batted an eye. her face was pulled into a tight grimace of concentration that phoenix wasn't sure he wanted to break. frowning, he paused a few more moments before locking his gaze back on the white and gold tom.

eclipse's wings and head had drooped substantially, and phoenix mentally kicked himself. he was bad with this sort of thing. he wasn't the 'fatherly-loving-all-you-can-cuddle' type of guy. he didn't even know how to react to this trainees actions, so he did the only plausible thing and sat down. the silence dragged on, becoming more and more unbearable. but still, no one spoke, or moved for that matter. phoenix looked to the female, only to see she still wasn't looking at him. swallowing a sigh, he flicked his bushy tail, and rolled his shoulders. "so what is your name?" he meowed gruffly, addressing the female. he was met with silence.

phoenix then noticed that the white tom was staring at him. so he tore his gaze from the female and stubbornly stared back. the young cat's eyes widened, and he seemed almost frozen. in fear? phoenix wasn't entirely sure, so he broke eye contact first with a low hiss. how frustrating. imagine him being the one to find a suicidal trainee and a startling cute but moody female in the same place. then again, with his luck, he shouldn't have been surprised. the silence dragged on even longer, so phoenix straightened and met eclipses' eyes again. well, someone had to start the conversation.

"do you know why you fell, eclipse?" he growled softly, his eyes flicking to the female who still hadn't given her name. what a pain.

[AUGUST !]

eclipse.

eclipse hardly knew what to say or do; he just listened and sat there in frozen silence. he could tell it bothered the russet tom, and he nearly grunted slight amusement, but his throat would not allow it. he scarcely breathed, even. for a moment his tail raised a hairsbreadth, although it was still neatly tucked between his splayed hind legs. he tilted his head to the side, observing the other male more closely. his falcon wings were majestic, raised high in the air. he had a great, powerful aura about him, and this struck eclipse in awe. his mouth hung open, fangs slowly revealing themselves.

after several moments whizzed by, the gruff words of the red feline made eclipse jump, especially because they were directed towards himself. "do you know why you fell, eclipse?" to this question eclipse blinked many times, loosening his tense muscles and sitting down, tail unfurling and re-wrapping about his white paws. he pondered the interrogation for a moment, recalling the terror as he took a last aerial flip and then freezing in fear when he found he couldn't breathe, then looking down and seeing the ground miles and miles away. he remembered minor lessons from his past, deceased mentor; he occasionally talked about flight and gaps in the air when there was no oxygen and that if you flipped around too much, you would most likely find yourself in one of those gaps. after much thought, he came up with an answer. "well, maybe i came across one of those air gaps and got frozen in fear and then stopped flapping?" he suggested. the second the words came from his mouth, he realized he sounded stupid. he gritted his teeth and looked down again, ears flipping backward. by this time his neck was getting sore from hanging it and dipping it and freezing and moving in all sorts of strange, awkward positions. i'm such an idiot! he told himself several times before he lifted his head and retreated to a normal position. he rotated his neck a bit to stretch it out; then he sighed and laid down on the grass, another dizzying headache beginning to form. so much had happened already and he had only been awake for just about an hour. just thinking about it made his shoulders sag.

ooc; i'm so lazy.

[/justify]

[Vellidyr]

Avryn.

She felt as if she had forgotten how to speak. Her eyes locked on the ground and she ignored all outside things, trying to force herself back. Away from emotions, mainly. Mortem, Mortem, Mortem, her mind sang the sad tune. She felt very clingy and selfish all of a sudden, which didn't help. What was her name? She was an ice figure for all she moved, her head down. She did not want to answer him. She did not want to love him.

She watched now as he questioned the trainee. She pitied the tomcat; when she was a trainee herself well, it was tough. A former nomad, many teased her. She at last stirred once Eclipse answered, gazing at him then at the other warrior. She wanted to defend Eclipse, that was certain, but she now couldn't muster the mental ability to tell him off. "My name is Avryn," she said at long last, livid eyes now focused intently on him. All she had to do was ignore her feelings for him and everything would be fine.

She sat down, stretching her brilliant wings out and staring straight at the hawk-winged tom. Act like nothing has happened, she urged herself, but it still stabbed at her heart to notice the muscles of the tom, his charming eyes.

[e q u i n o x .]

"well, maybe i came across one of those air gaps and got frozen in fear and then stopped flapping?" eclipse ventured, but seconds later, his body fell again and his teeth ground together. the russet tom could almost hear the white cat cursing himself. almost, but not quite. phoenix pitied the tom, and with a sigh, he rustled his wings slightly. he felt kinda bad for being so stern with the other tom, but it couldn't be helped. it was the only thing phoenix knew. but... the poor white tom looked contorted, though phoenix couldn't bring himself to say anything. not yet. he wasn't about to admit that eclipse had the right idea. the white tom laid down, after stretching out his neck, and sighed. phoenix let out a breath, about to speak when the female interrupted his thought process with a soft voice.

phoenix turned his head, startled. he'd almost forgotten about her. she had been so quiet the entire time. honestly he thought she would have flown off by now. but she hadn't. instead, she'd waited quietly in the background. but for what? phoenix didn't know, or really care to. flicking his tail, he acknowledged that he'd heard her name. it was avryn. a lovely name, to be sure, but phoenix tried not to get sidetracked by the pretty female. he wasn't a ladies man, so she wasn't interested. that, however, didn't keep his eyes from straying over once or twice. when she danced on the edge of his vision like that, it was rather hard to ignore her. but eclipse was his priority right now.

"you're on the right track." phoenix ground out, trying to adopt a 'fatherly' tone. of course, he sounded more like he was being strangled and forced to sing 'mary had a little lamb'. the tall tom glared at a rock, conveniently behind eclipse, like it was conspiring against him. "but that's not the entire issue here." he paused. "i know your exhausted, but would you mind holding out your dominant wing?"

to show the tired tom what he meant, phoenix held out his own wing. his left, to be exact. he stretched the appendage out so that both avryn and eclipse had a good view. normally, this would be seen as showing off, but there was reason in the madness of his request. cat's whose wings hadn't been conditioned were more frail than his, less muscled. their feathers would also be smaller, along with the actual wing size. there might have also been down still tucked into certain places. but without seeing the other toms wings close up, he couldn't tell their strength or size. he'd seen them flapping about erratically, but that was no help.

phoenix had a hunch. he figured that eclipse was too young to have had proper flying conditioning, and that his last mentor had died before he'd had a chance to train the young tom. phoenix may have been wrong, but it was obvious that eclipse needed a proper mentor to teach him the basics and keep him from snapping any important body parts. to fly, one needed all vital organs and bones. intact.

phoenix turned expectantly to eclipse and nodded. he then looked at avryn and blinked. "also, avryn, would you mind doing the same?" he hoped she wouldn't have another mood swing and pluck out his feathers for that little request. but, who could tell with females? obviously not him.

[AUGUST !]

eclipse.

the white, gray, and gold tom tilted his head further, staring in curiosity at what the russet male's response to his suggestion would be. for a moment, he'd forgotten about his shame, but as soon as he remembered his head hunched down in distress. his ears folded back in slight fear. what's he going to do with me..? he constantly worried about his punishment, expecting a lashing at any given moment. however, when the lashing didn't come after so many moments, eclipse forced himself to relax and lift his wings in a more content position. he rolled his shoulders back and forth; they had become stiff and even a little sore after hanging for so long. he blinked, now for the first time noticing avryn's shyness towards the other tom. he blinked and let a sly smile cross his maw for a split second, a mischievous gleam in his eye. then he remembered the red male's teaching and sat up straighter, strained face observing the falcon-winged one.

"you're on the right track." his face was twisted into a slight expression of unexplainable stony disgust. the tone behind the words, eclipse noted, was quite fake, as if he was trying extremely hard to be gentle yet stern. eclipse figured that that would be somewhat... impossible for such a fiery cold one. he merely shrugged to himself and dipped his head down in a respectful response. he flinched as the next words came, again expecting a hurtful lash, but it didn't quite come. he lifted his head higher, eyes bright and attentive. "but that's not the entire issue here." he paused, as if in thought. "i know your exhausted, but would you mind holding out your dominant wing?"

eclipse cocked his head in slight confusion. does this cat have bees in his brain? he considered, chuckling to himself. it sure seems like it. nevertheless, eclipse obeyed, taking a deep breath and trying to recall what the "dominant wing" meant. he was hardly sure; as he thought, he heard the russet tom murmuring the same command to avryn. this made eclipse think he was twice as strange.

eclipse finally decided that his right wing was the dominant one. he cleared his throat and mewed, "er... okay." he raised his wing and stretched it out, wincing as the small golden features extended. even after holding it out for a mere three seconds, he began to feel tired and sore. he shook himself in attempt to rid himself of stiffness, but it didn't quite work. still, he held himself in his position, staring at the older male.

[/justify]

[Vellidyr]

Avryn.

Follow me, follow me...

Avryn watched in pity once more, eyes downcast and ears slightly back and slightly drooping. She was remembering the tomcat; he was known as Pheonix and had no friends, and he didn't seem like he wanted any for that matter. Leave it to Avryn to do herself in over a 'heartless monster'. It was just like her to go and do such a thing, some would say, but inside she
was screaming at herself as well. Why her? Why him? Why now? It made her angry enough to dragonkick a kitten. (But she wouldn't.)

Would he please stick out his dom wing? At least he knew something about flight. But when she too was asked, she was confused. But nonetheless, she stuck out her right wing. It was made for speed, well muscled from much practice and much flight. She realized they were odd wings and suddenly felt very nervous; what if he considered the fact she had both fur and feathers on her wings odd? Or her markings? Her eyes seemed to become even more intense and bright under that stress, and her tail flicked out behind her, annoyed at herself.

Eclipse's wings were not quite made for flight... yet. Sure, with practice he could one day master it but whether he'd ever be as skilled as the tiny Avryn, with wings practically made for flight rather than show. Her's were also made for speed, not distance, but eh. Who had to know that?

Her heart leapt when she just casually glanced over at the hawk-winged tomcat, and she looked away with an annoyed look on her face.

Fa la la la la.

[e q u i n o x .]

once again, both felines looked at him like he was some sort of amphibian that had grown legs, hair, wings and started dancing the hula in a bright green and purple bikini. shrugging his massive shoulders, phoenix snorted and flicked his tail in agitation. "just do it." he snapped, his left wing still extended away from his body.

the golden and white tom cleared his throat. "er... okay." eclipse shot phoenix another weird look, but obeyed nonetheless. his right wing extended, slowly, almost painfully, and phoenix knew his hunch was right. after a mere five or so seconds, the other toms face contorted and his wing drooped a few inches. he also wasn't able to hold it out completely, it was held awkwardly. man, he had his work cut out for him. phoenix and eclipse both, unless he dumped the kid into some else's paws. maybe avryn. she'd probably like a trainee to fawn over. eclipse suddenly shuddered in an attempt to remove the fatigue bearing down on his wing, and phoenix snapped out from his reverie. the russet tom sidled up to the smaller cat and nodded, vaguely impressed by the other toms obedience.

"that's enough." he growled, flicking his bushy tail over the top of eclipse's wing, silently asking him not to strain himself. phoenix looked over at avryn and lifted his muzzle so it was pointing directly at her. "now, how long do you think avryn over there could hold up her dominant wing?" he asked stiffly, annunciating each word while trying to make his point clear as avryn stood with her wing extended. he noted, subconsciously, that no strain or fatigue showed anywhere on her flawless form. "she flew father than you did, by far, and is still managing to keep her right upright and at it's fullest extend." it almost sounded like he was scolding eclipse, but he wasn't. not yet.

slowly, he padded over to avryn and nudged one of her primary feathers lightly with his nose. sure, he was being bold, but it seemed the only way to make his point clear to the younger tom. he shot avryn a strained, hopefully apologetic-looking glance that probably looked rude and outlandish. when she didn't attack him, he gently nudged her feathers again and coughed."now, avryns' wings are made for swift, short flights. see the finer bones, smaller size and thick muscles? she is built for speed, sharp turns and shorter flights." phoenix rose up and outstretched his own wings, backing away from avryn as not to whack her in the nose and risk having her demolish him before he got a word in edgewise. "as for my own," he paused and ruffled his feathers slightly. "they are made for long distance flights and powerful surges. i'm not nearly as fast as avryn, in fact, she'd probably have to reduce her speed by half or more for me to be able to keep in pace with her. but, i have the size and strength advantage. she'd win the short distance race, i'd win the long distance. kapeesh? i'm sturdy, for defense, but she is quick and precise for offense." he'd put it in stupid simple, just in case eclipse was still utterly lost. phoenix folded in his wings and shook himself, his wings rustled as he did so. he nodded to avryn, inviting her to fold in her wings as he took a seat beside her. had he wanted to, he could have reached out and bit her on the shoulder, but he didn't want to. so, he kept his bright eyes on eclipse and his face stoic.

"now, your wings have qualities of both speed and strength, so i can't really tell which wing type you will favor. but i can say this; you are still very underdeveloped." phoenix didn't mean it to sound harsh, so he quickly rolled his shoulders and continued before the other tom had time to even think about looking crestfallen. "but, that can be easily rectified. now, i'm almost positive you haven't really been conditioned for flight, am i correct?"

phoenix narrowed his eyes slightly and let his tail lash from side to side, not really wanting to hear the younger cats response. it would just put more responsibility on himself. goodie.


occ: sorry for the total phoenix rant. xD

[AUGUST !]

eclipse.

he shyly nodded, listening to all the russet tom had to say. after all, he was teaching him essences of flight, and he longed to soar in the sky. he watched carefully, tipping his head over. the things he said were interesting and almost intriguing, but the gruff way he said it made it a little tiring. he was straight out, however, and that was good. he's actually not a rambler; oh, but wind was, he noted, almost chuckling to himself. old wind, his past mentor, was wonderful though. a hint of sorrow was shown in his ever-changing eyes, but he tried to not reveal his sadness. he lifted his head and kept his body erect, folding his wing back in place when told to and taking in all pheonix had to say.

as eclipse was told his wings were built for both, he smiled a bit, but as he was told they were very undeveloped, he blinked and scooted away a bit. he didn't like hearing that his wings were small and immature, but it was true. they weren't built for flight. they were mere decoration, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to fly like most other rising sun cats. indeed, wings were signature in rising sun cats, and if you were a rising sun cat that lacked wings, they were perhaps a little despised. such was not so for his father, however. his father, in fact, was the prophet of the tribe -- the one in charge.

eclipse blinked and perked his ears. "but, that can be easily rectified. now, i'm almost positive you haven't really been conditioned for flight, am i correct?" he nodded. "no sir," he mewed, flicking his tail and waving it in the air. he was feeling a bit more confident now, as he usually was. he took a deep breath and struggled to keep his head up. this morning was a strange one, and there was a lot to memorize, but he attempted to keep a straight head and listen very carefully.

ooc: bbaaad post D:

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