1827/Defying Gravity and All Common Sense

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Defying Gravity and All Common Sense
Date of Scene: 25 May 2020
Location: Roof - Titan's Tower
Synopsis: Kian and Gar go flying and try to play a game with Vorpal, but while being an Akiar, Gar struggles with everything that's really going on inside Vorpal's head when mental contact is made.
Cast of Characters: Kian, Gar Logan, Terry O'Neil




Kian has posed:
    Kían is definitely on board with the idea of practicing team aerobatics.  It's actually something he knows a lot about—as Terry got to see for himself in Kían's mind.  You can't play a sport like that without a lot of practice.  So there they are, far above the Tower's roof, and the closest thing that looks like a safe landing place for anyone without wings is the impossibly small looking swimming pool.
    Kían's not paying attention to that.  He wouldn't land in the pool anyway, and he's not about to drop his passenger.  "Iss okay so far, Téri?" he asks, trying to avoid mental contact.  Got to learn English!  He soars in a a lazy circle, occasionally making the snap roll left or right… unless it looks like Terry might get airsick.

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan came along for some flying of his own, though to start with he was only in a typically normal form.  Today, as a red-tailed hawk, only of the completely green persuasion.  "Is this a good idea?" he asks, circling Kian and Vorpal.  "For one, I know what cats think of birds in general, and I'm a little worried this is gonna carry over somehow later.  Second, what if you dropped him?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Don't be a mood killer, Gar!" Vorpal says, holding on to Kian, "He's not going to drop me.  And besides, if he does I have a Rabbit Hole.  This is perfect teamwork training… in fact…" the Cat smirks, "you could switch into Big Bird form, or one of Kian's kind, so we can practice acrobatics tossing me between you guys.  You never know when this will come in handy—it would have been very handy to have practiced this when we were fighting Raven's demons."
    If he is airsick, he is giving no indication whatsoever.  It is not a secret that Vorpal wishes one of his powers were flight.  Traveling by Rabbit Hole across the sky isn't the same—it's more of a controlled fall.

Kian has posed:
    "I am not drop Téri," Kían replies, sounding almost offended.  "Iss car-ry we lear'n to p'lay qihár.  Every p'layer mus' know."  He delivers himself of a perfectly respectable smartass smirk.  "I am thin' I know about how to car-ry in f'light.  Iss hwat we all know how to do.  Have to know.  In case some-thin' iss wron' with fel-low Akiár."
    It looks secure enough, at least, and considering that Terry isn't a small, hollow-boned birdman, it must be efficient, too.  "I can teach hyu, Gar.  Iss shoul' know."

Gar Logan has posed:
    "I guess you've never dropped anyone before?" the hawk wonders, circling the larger bird and the feline in tow.  "He's not too heavy for you, is he?  Maybe I should help a little."  He's fretting and worrying like an old wife.  "And I know you can just… do the whole hole thing, but what if it gets messed up somehow?" he asks Vorpal, his hawk eyes narrowing.  "I missed all of that, you know."  The Raven's demons thing.  He's coming up with ways this could go bad.
    Then, he takes on that Akiar form, hovering nearby.  "Teach me what?" he asks, his arms slightly apart from his body as the now-larger wings move steadily.  "This game of yours?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Vorpal tries to suppress a smile.  It's a little flattering to see Gar worrying over him—there are times that he feels insecure just how much Gar might care….  "Don't worry, I've got you two to fall back on."  He raises an eyebrow.  "You know… you could teach Gar how to play.  How about using me as the ball, so to speak?  What a better way to get used to this type of acrobatics than making a game out of it?"
    Best.  Idea.  Ever.

Kian has posed:
    "I can teach qihár too," Kían offers.  "I mean teach bes' way to car-ry safe.  Iss hwat we use for our game.  Use it wit' Téri, hwen hel'p Raven.  Iss safe there, iss safe al-ways."
    And then, he looks at Terry like the cat has completely lost his mi… uh.  Scratch that, he just looks at Terry funny.  "Iss no ball in qihár," he says dubiously.  "An' I am not let go un-til I know iss safe to."
    He drifts closer to Gar.  "Gar, I am show you safe carry—see hwere han's are, weight is balance, you try, yis?"  He loosens his grip on Terry a little—to make him available to be transferred to the other birdman, not to pretend to almost drop him.

Gar Logan has posed:
    Absolutely not the best idea ever, but this is where they are.  This is part of what makes them Titans, part of what makes teenagers teenagers, presumably Kian as well in some sense.  "Soooo, what's qihar then?" he asks, hands still spread out, palms up.  "What's the game about?"
    Now the three are closer to each other, enough for the Garkiar to reach out toward Vorpal.  "Yeah, safe."  He's studying the positioning while getting around toward one side, mindful of the sets of wings that are near.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Vorpal grins and reaches out, taking Gar's hand and ready to be offloaded from Kian to the green Akiar.  "Oh, it's a very fun game.  He showed me what it looks like in his mind.  All sorts of crazy flying around, very acrobatic," he says, with a twinge of envy.  "I'll never really know what it's like to fly.  Only to be carried, at best.  I feel rather cheated."

Kian has posed:
    As soon as the handoff appears complete, Kían drops like a feathery stone, in case Gar doesn't quite have a solid grip.  Safety first, especially with a groundling… even if the groundling in question makes holes in reality at will.  "Iss bet-ter to f-ly wit' hel'p than not f-ly at all, Téri, yis?  Hyu haf safe, Gar?"
    As far as proximity of wings… Kían's used to that.  Been lots closer.  Satisfied that Terry is in no imminent danger of slipping free, he flits back upward and circles Gar.  "Iss good, yis?"

Gar Logan has posed:
    "Don't squirm," Gar tells Vorpal, whether or not there's any of that now or to come.  Squinting again at Kian's drop in altitude, he scoffs even if he understands it.  "Thanks for the show of support, man!"
    Naturally, as he gets a good grip on Vorpal, some of those Akiar traits kick in.  Namely, that mental contact.  "Uh… yis?  I mean, yes?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Good!" Vorpal says, hanging on to Gar.  The Cheshire's thoughts are open to Gar, should he not have the foresight to hold off on the mental contact.  When he's in this form, however, those thoughts can be… very strange.  "So what's the next step, Kian?  Ooh!  I have an idea… we could work on practicing how to rescue someone from a freefall.  I volunteer!!"  He grins and looks down.  "It's a good enough fall that you should have plenty of time to pluck me up.  Unless you want to teach Gar how to play that game…."

Kian has posed:
    "Can not teach qihár for on-ly two, needs safety team!" Kían protests.  "An' I haf on-ly foun' one more like Akiár, three iss al-so not enough!  Cat-chin' p'rac-tice, that iss good idea, yis."
    Kían backs off a little ways.  Cat-ch iss al-so easy, iss safe.  I show.  Let go, Gar."  He sounds supremely confident.

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan is letting go, but not so much because of the call to do so.  Rather, because of what suddenly crosses through the mental connection with Vorpal, sending all manner of weirdness through.  Riddles, random thoughts, things that change around before they can be deciphered, and rapid-fire thought.  It's enough that both hands go up to his head after he's released Vorpal, a brief "Damn…!" heard as he rubs the heels of his palms over his eyes.
    And so, the cat descends.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Vorpal plummets earthwards, looking thoroughly unconcerned.  He isn't aware of why Gar let go, he thinks he's just following orders.  A Rabbit Hole does appear a few feet from impact area, though, just in case—because he believes in being prepared.
    Because he also believes in giving it all you can for training events, he says in a rather theatrical way: "Oh no!  I am falling and I can't get up!"
    That's the right tagline, right?

Kian has posed:
    Kían is off like a shot—Terry may be falling, but Kían is flying.  In short order he has caught up with the cat, then decelerated to match speed.  And then he just sort of plucks Terry out of the air, the plummet converts into a parabolic arc, and then a graceful swoop upwards back to the level Gar is hovering.
    Kían appears unaffected by contact with Vorpal Terry… but Kían knows how to not make contact when he doesn't want to.
    "See, iss easy, yis!  Hyu t-ry!"
    It is perhaps a measure of how much a nice guy Kían is that he does not immediately release Terry again, without a positive statement from Gar.

Gar Logan has posed:
    If Gar is watching this—and he is, because he still has to see what happens—he's only sort of just there and not fully aware of things beyond the immediately visible.  "Oh…" he says under his breath as Kian speeds his way down to Vorpal, who seems to be having a grand old time with this whole falling thing.
    Once the two are back up to the level he's hovering at—he's dipped a good twenty feet before stabilizing without noticing—he puts up his hands in a defensive motion and the wings help carry him away a few feet.  "N-no.  I… I can't concentrate enough with your thoughts in my head, dude.  What was all that?  I almost lost this form!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Terry blinks.  "What do you mean?  I'm just thinking my normal thoughts here…."  He looks a little confused.  It may be that he has not been made aware of how… unusual his thought patterns are when in Cheshire shape.  He hasn't noticed himself, perhaps.  "Kian's not having any trouble with me…"  He glances over at Kian.  "…are you?"

Kian has posed:
    "I am keep my min' to myse'f," Kían says.  "Iss dif-ren', hyu min' as Téri an' hyu min' as For-pal.  For-pal min' iss… nnh.  Not haf wor'd.  Busy.  Iss con-foo-sin'.  Iss… ai, c'Rhys'yw."  He looks over at Gar, realizing what must have happened.  "Hyu are not know how to c'lose hyour min' hwen hyu are Akiár, Gar, yis?  Mus' haf been… dif-i-cul'."

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan is still there, rubbing the side of his head and an ear, as if trying to get something cluttered out.  He even makes a show of thumping his head lightly with that hand a few times.  "You can say that again.  No, I don't know how to do that, and there's a whole lot going on inside your head, catboy," he replies, arms now going akimbo as he hovers.  The flight, he can deal with.  The mental side… that's a few levels more difficult when there's someone like Vorpal in there.  "So I hate to say it, but I don't think I can help out a whole lot with this as long as I can't handle that.  I mean, you're on my mind a lot, but being in my mind is totally different!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "Well, that's a tidbit I wish I had been made aware of earlier!"  Vorpal looks concerned, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed slightly.  "I had no idea it was like that… it just feels normal when I'm like this…."  Which then merits the question of how aware is he of what changes when he goes from one shape to another.  A very good question indeed.
    "Maybe we should land and you can teach Gar how to do that shutting off the mind thing.  I can go to the kitchen and bring us some juice…."  He looks definitely concerned.  "Well, I guess it's good that we found this out in the middle of practice and not on the actual field."

Kian has posed:
    Kían nods, and spirals lazily downwards, prolonging the flight a little for Terry's benefit, since the cat-man has said he likes flying.  "Iss bet-ter, yis, to haf lear'n about that now, hwen safe to fin' out.  Am sor-ry, Gar, I haf not thought hyu not use to ki'thar… nnh.  Min' touch.  Hyu look like Akiár, I am for-get hyu are not."

Gar Logan has posed:
    Gar Logan waves a hand, and he's on his way back toward the Tower roof as well.  "Yeah, yeah.  I guess we all learned a few things today, but I don't think I'm doing that again like this unless… right.  Gotta learn more first," he agrees with Kian, returning to normal once he's touched down.  "Something to eat and drink sounds great right now.  Let's go watch a movie, too."