Shadow Friend

[Roderic]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Roderic: * Text from Ric Altaire * Are you done with the things you need to do for the night?

Phoenix: [t] I can be, yes

Roderic: * R * Cool. Meet me at the Swansdale station when you can?

Phoenix: [t] I'm there.

Roderic: My phone goes off and I look around to see where she is. Sure enough, she's there. I put the phone away with one hand and put my other hand in the air to signal her down. Before I approach her. "Ready for our thing? Won't take long like I said." I look around, then back at her, wondering if she had forgotten or if she was up to the idea of going some place she didn't know we were going.

Phoenix: "Our thing?" I give him a good, long eyeballing, kind of worried he was going to try to drag me off somewhere private and demand that lap dance I apparently owed him. God that would be awkward as ****. "Yes, I'm ready for our... thing..." she paused, giving a wave of her hand. "Lead the way?"

Roderic: She's looking at me strange and so I nod my head. "Yeah. Our thing. Our arrangement for tonight." I don't expand on that because I don't want to reveal where it is we're going in case it turns out to be stupid. Once we're there, we're there and she's stuck. So I think and believe. She agrees and so, I head west. "It's a few blocks." Is all I say, not sure if she's familiar with the area and what might be this way. To kill time I ask her a question that might turn in to more. "When you turn in to an animal, do you get to pick which one you want? You get to be two, but Calix says he's only one."

Phoenix: I just trail after him, curious and confused, but mainly curious. "Okay, our thing," I agree and try my very best not to seem ill at ease. Ric was socially awkward, but he'd be able to pick up on discomfort... I think. "I never really picked my forms... I just tried to become an animal and turned into one. Then another. I think it has to do with safety and stuff. I think I have another one because I needed another one to make me feel safe. Are you trying to learn?"

Roderic: "What? No. I was just wondering why you can be two and he can be one." I shrug, look around and then spot where it is we're going. A few more blocks and it would be obvious, especially when we go in the car park and pass the massive chain link fences that surrounded the perimeter. "I'm working on learning things about that place. The Umbra. But I heard it's called the Shadow Realm. Don't you think that's an unimaginitive name for our species?" Calix thought so and agreed with me, but maybe we didn't know the story of that place.

Phoenix: I'm still not really sure where he's taking me, but the car park looms in sight and I just let it go. Wherever he decides to take me, I'll survive. Instead of fretting about it, I just kind of relax. "The Umbra does sound like a better name for it, but I don't know who came up with the name. It's also called the Fade. Both make sense to me - it's a realm of shadows and darkness, where everything kind of... fades away to nothing." I shrugged a shoulder, "I like the Realm of Umbra better - we should start a petition to rename it. Isn't Umbra Latin for shadow?"

Roderic: As she talks, I realize she's a little bit behind me, so I slow down. Mostly because I'm curious about what she has to say. I know Nix isn't an idiot, which was part of the reason I was so, drawn to her, I guess you could say. When I was a blood thief. I nod my head at her question about the name. "I wasn't sure what it was called the first time I went there, so I started to look around online and found that word. I liked it. Calix told me what it's really called." I point to the car park. "We're going in there." Above the entrace was a sign that read, Harper Rock Zoo. "It's a good thing it's summer time and they have extended hours. Otherwise, I wasn't sure where you would get to see what you need to see."

Phoenix: "We're going to the zoo..." I repeat, a bit baffled. Ric didn't seem like the sentimental type and this... well, I really didn't think he was the date-date type either. Is he trying to take me out on a date? This was going to get so weird if he started to ask for lap dances outside the monkey exhibits. I mean, I'd probably do it, but they'd probably mimic, and that would be really weird... "Why are we here...? Are you taking me on a date, Roderic?"

Roderic: I nod at her first statement and then her other questions make me stop and stare at her. "What? No. There's something here you need to see. I saw it online. But if we don't hurry, we might miss it and you can't miss it. It's important." I walk up to the cashier that's in some crappy wooden shelter outside the zoo, grab two brochures and hand Nix one as an attempt to keep her distracted. "Two general admissions and then we need two tickets for this thing." I slide the brochure to the teen at the register to keep from saying what the other tickets are for and soon I hand her the cash, she gives me the tickets and I just give Nix the general admission ticket. "Like I said the other night, it's for research." I nod and then point to the direction we need to go in based off.

Phoenix: I took the brochure and waited patiently, tipping my head to the side. Pretending to flip through the pages, I watched him out of the corner of my eye. Ric always acted weird, but this was more weird than normal... When he came back with the general admission ticket, I took mine and made my way inside. The hand stamp amused me. Once we're inside, I just let him be the guide and follow along at his side. What the **** could he actually be researching at the zoo? "What kind of research..?"

Roderic: "For you." I leave it at that for now. But then as we walk past the things I don't really care about, I hand her the other ticket that I got for the two of us. The ticket would give it away, based off what it said, which was 'Birds of Prey.' "How come you hopped around at the Altaire party? Instead of fly around?" I ask casually, but I was genuinely interested in the answer. When we get to the building the show is going to be in, I hold it open, wait for her to answer the questions and then follow her in.

Phoenix: When he hands off the other ticket, I smile. It's probably the single most thoughtful thing anyone's done for me since... I actually can't remember when. A few tears prickle at the back of my eyes, but I blink them away, pretty sure Ric wouldn't understand that I was happy. Instead, I focus on his question. "You broke my wing, remember? I couldn't fly." I didn't really think he needed to know that that wasn't why I couldn't fly. Stepping inside, I wander my way to one of the mid-center seats and drop down, waiting for Ric to join me.

Roderic: "Only one wing. You didn't even attempt to move the other one." I point out, then shrug my shoulders. I caught that she had smiled, so it seemed coming here wasn't going to be a waste after all. I follow after her, not caring where she picked to sit. We were here for her, so where she thought was best, was probably best. Once I'm sitting, I look around to see how many people are here. Only about half the seats were filled, which was fine by me. I don't like crowds, or people but figured this was important for Nix to see. "Anyways. Thought if you saw some things like you in action, you could learn more about them and be like them. When you are one of them." I nod my head. Simple as that. Learn by watching and doing. A man comes out and introduces himself, then welcomes everyone to the show. He rattles off a list of birds that we're going to see at the show and lets his assistant come out with a bird on her gloved hand, some Vulture of some kind. Turkey apparently and starts telling the crowd where they're found, how they get their food, things geared towards their survivial.

Phoenix: Once he's sat down, I glance around. Of the people there, most were either parents with young children or young couples. It doesn't bother me and I don't think Ric will even notice the trend. I'm surprised he noticed my... lack of ability for the little time I'd been shifted and uninjured. The fact that he'd noticed, more than anything, touched me. Once the show began, I leaned over and rested my head against his shoulder. Ric wasn't big on affection, but I hoped he wouldn't mind. "Thank you. We want eastern screech owls... Or any kind of owls..." I pause. "Actually, I probably just need to watch anything. Are we going to go try flying after?"

Roderic: When her head sits on my shoulder I don't move. I don't blink, I don't do anything. She was in my space. It wasn't a threatening gesture, but it was still my space. "I can't fly." I say as I watch the lady with the vulture on her arm pet the thing. "But if you want to, we can. Would make sense to try right after learning about them." I nod my head, agreeing with my own statement, still sitting there in the seat rigidly. After a few more facts about the vulture, the male pulls out a bird and begins talking about it. Something called an Osprey. I don't know a lot about birds, but to me, based off its talons and beak, it appears to be some form of Hawk. As the guy talked, it would be confirmed that it was part of the hawk family. "Have you flown a lot?" Her wing and arm were healed by now, so she could fly. I was just wondering if she had done it and how many times.

Phoenix: I could tell he was uncomfortable as soon as I lay my head against him, but he didn't ask me to move, so I didn't. Maybe that's selfish of me, but all he had to do was ask. I was completely focused on the birds - facts, trivia, flapping wings, and I almost missed his question. Had I flown a lot... A little laugh escapes my lips. "I tried... I jumped off the back of the ouch and tried, but I couldn't get the flapping right. I haven't really tried since then. I think I'm scared that I won't catch myself... I'm scared of falling, so I don't try to fly." That right there was probably the saddest thing I've said in a long time.

Roderic: I take my focus off the birds and look at her. "But if you did fall, you'd be alright. Right? Whole vampire thing and all." Something different was discovered in that sentence. Not only was Nix like a lot of women, but Nix also got...scared? The same Nix that pulverized me a few times over back when I was a blood thief? That didn't seem right. Not from what I remembered. She was so confident and certain of her skills. Because she could be. She was the best.

Phoenix: I nodded against his shoulder, watching the osprey as its wingspan was shown. It fluttered those massive wings a few times and I soaked it in, trying to learn from Master Bird. "I'd be okay, yeah... But I'm still scared of falling." I'd felt his head move and figured he was looking at me, but I didn't want to look up. I wonder if he realized we're having two conversations about two very different things while only using one set of words... Ric's smart. Socially awkward, but he's smart.

Roderic: When the guy was done talking about the Osprey and letting it fly around a little bit, his assistant started in about a bird known as the red tailed hawk. Where it got its name from, I didn't know as from here it looked like it was brown to me. Maybe tan. I focus in on what Phoenix is saying and silently chew on her words for a few minutes. She assured me she would be fine from falling because she was a vampire, yet she was afraid to fall? There was more to the story then what she was coughing up. Or to her. "Then you get right back up and try again. Being afraid shouldn't stop you. You're Phoenix for fucks sake." That probably didn't make any sense, but to me it did. She was the best and even if she did fall in whatever she did, I couldn't imagine her not getting up and trying again. And again if need be.

Phoenix: "How many times do I have to fall before I stop being scared of falling? Or does falling just make you more and more scared of getting hurt?" It was almost rhetorical, but I was curious. I feel like I need a layer of bubble wrap padding to face the world most of the time. I wonder if that hawk felt like it needed bubble wrap... actually, it probably had no clue what bubble wrap was. "I'll try again," she promised, listening to the difference between osprey vision, specialize for hunting underwater prey, and hawk vision, specialized for terrestrial prey.

Roderic: "I don't know." I reply honestly. "But you shouldn't be scared of falling. Being scared restrains you. Cripples you. And if you fall too hard, you have people to help you get up. I'm sure any Altaire would be there for you if it came down to it." I nod, sure of it. I'm sure anyone I thought of being a true Altaire would help Nix if she asked for it. "I think that bird looks more brown or tan." I say changing the subject because she said she would try again and that was good enough for me. "Do you eat when you're an owl?" I turn my attention back to the bird, wondering how that worked with her being a vampire, but an owl too.

Phoenix: "It has a red underside to its tail," I pointed once the feathers flared and the bird flapped its wings. Not that I'd actually say it, but I was glad for the subject change and I believed him. That in and of itself was strange - I believe I have people to support me. Hm... "I've never been hungry in owl or fox form. I suppose if I were hungry though, it'd be for blood."

Roderic: I look at where she's pointing and after a few seconds I nod my head. I guess it did. Had it not expanded its wings and tail, I would have missed where it got its name from. Suddenly, a bird that again, I'm not familiar with circles around the crowd of people and lands on the guy's gloved arm. It's sort of fat for a bird and has speckles all over it. Spots really. The way it moves its head and blinks its eyes lets me know what it is before the guy says what it is. An owl. A Northern Hawk Owl. The guy tells us about the number of eggs it has in a brood, and what it prefers to eat. It seemed they ate big and well, even preferring to eat squirrels, which were fast and big. It'd be interesting to see the owl in action. "That makes sense." I comment about the blood thing. "Can't imagine how that owl can hunt something fast down. Looks a little pudgy around the sides." I say, judging the creature.

Phoenix: I shoot Roderic a look, feeling self-conscious on behalf of the owl. Strangely, the ******* bird felt like my brother. We're kin - birds of a feather. I nearly crack up at my own puns, but manage to keep it cool as I watch my brother bird do that creepy 180 degree head spin from the exorcist. "Hey now... That guy's my brother. Sure he's a bit pudgy, but it's just feather. Have you seen me? I'm also a ball of feather." Suddenly, it occurred to her that people behind them may be listenining to this conversation. "If anyone can hear us, they're going to think we're on drugs..."

Roderic: I nod my head and feel my lips curl up a little. It was strange to see her defensive over an owl. When she was a vampire first and foremost. "I've seen you. You look like a big ball of fluff. It's different. Works for you." I nod my head. "Him? Not so much." I watch the owl, interested in how they moved for obvious reasons. I didn't want to break her arm any time soon again. Or wing that was. I look around when she talks about what people might think about us and shrug. I don't really care what people think about me. "Maybe. I'll just tell them it's your first night out in years and this is part of your treatment. Seperating reality from fantasy." I clear my throat and look at her, my smile getting a little bigger. Just a little.

Phoenix: What the ****, Ric was almost exhibiting symptoms of knowing what a joke was. And more importantly, knowing how to make a funny. I blinked at him, eyes probably as round as they were in owl form, but not nearly as adorable. Then again, maybe he'd think bug-eyed me was cute. The **** if I knew what he was thinking 90% of the time. "I... My treatment for what? What's wrong with me in this hypothetical scenario?" I did get a bit huffy about it, but he's smiling, so he's kidding.

Roderic: "Well it can't be me." I look back at the owl as it goes flying around again. "Everyone always suspects it's the guy who's nuts. So you'll have to take one for the team this go around." My small grin vanishes as I watch the owl perch itself on a post not far from the guy as he pulls out another bird. An owl of white with a few black spots on it's back. Another male it seemed of the owl species. I didn't comment on how much plummage the thing had, only because of what happened the last time. Maybe I had been wrong and the bird wasn't that big after all. It was something to consider and research later.

Phoenix: "Fine," I give in, "I'll be the crazy chick this time, but you owe me." My eyes didn't leave the bird as we spoke; I was wrapped up in how it moved, how it pivoted its wings to take off and to land, and especially to stay in the air. "What kind of things do crazy people say? Should we go to the moon and ride a walrus on the shores of Tripoli after this?" I arched a brow, trying to look serious.

Roderic: "I was thinking of riding a red fox myself. See how that turns out." I look back at her, my features dead serious. I wouldn't attempt that again on her, I would probably break her spine this go around. After a few more facts shared about the Snowy Owl, the female assistant thanks everyone for coming and lets us know there are more birds of prey to be found in some aviary cage not far from the building we are in now. Also, the zoo was closing in about thirty five minutes, as a reminder. Which was fine by me. This was the only reason I came was for this show for her. For the research. "What do you want to do now?" I ask as I sit forward, as if attempting to stand up, but don't as I would be pushing her off me.

[Phoenix]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Phoenix: While I'm positive he meant that entirely literally, I couldn't help but snort at the inuendo. "You want to ride the fox? I see... I... does it matter to you whether or not the fox is willing?" I snicker. Nope, really can't help myself. When the birds were carried off stage, I found myself a bit sad; I liked watching them, learning and trying to figure out how to position my arms - my wings to properly fly. "You want to go see some of the other animals? We have thirty-five minutes." I smile, standing with everyone else even though I was comfortable there. "I really liked this... Thanks Ric."

Roderic: When she stands, I follow suit. I recognize her humor and don't think I need to comment on the fox thing. Mostly because I wouldn't do it. I don't think I would. I couldn't say it might never happen. "If you want." I nod my head. "Was there something you wanted to see more than anything in here?" I take a step towards the exit. "Well, I thought it was important. But you're welcome." I add in as we start to exit the building with the rest of the people there.

Phoenix: "Maybe the giraffes? I've always liked giraffes..." I paused, shooting him a grin before continuing, "Maybe you can try to ride a giraffe; they wouldn't get hurt and you might actually succeed." A few seconds later, I groan inwardly. Now he's probably going to get us arrested for hopping a fence and trying to ride a motherfucking giraffe. I swallow. "Actually, we should just go somewhere private so I can try to practice while it's all still fresh in my mind." Had I averted disaster?

Roderic: "Ride a giraffe?" I think about the offer and I'm pretty sure I could ride a giraffe. "We could both ride a giraffe." I say after I give it some thought. "If you turn in to an owl, you could fly right up on it. Distract it while I climb up on it." I nod thinking how we could kill two birds with one stone.

Phoenix: "Yeah, but what if I can't fly? I'd feel pressured and stress out and I might poop on the giraffe." I'm pretty sure I can't poop as an owl, but it seems like a fabulous reason not to try this plan out for real. "We should save the giraffe riding for later.

Roderic: I really don't want to see Nix and her bodily functions, so I'm immediately turned off by the idea and am inclined to agree with her. "Ok. Let's stay clear of the giraffe's and see what you can do with those wings of yours." I look around, find the direction we came from when we came to see the show and start to head down that way. "I would like to do more. Then just kill things. Calix told me about some building that had something in it and invited me to help find some stuff in it. I couldn't do a lot in there. Any suggestions?" Another killing two birds with one stone scenario. It might help Altaire out too.

Phoenix: I let out a sigh of relief, perfectly content to let the topic of giraffe riding drop. But then he seems to change gears as we head out and it takes me a few seconds to piece things together. "You mean team raids? I could definitely help organize an Altaire team raid... You need people who can kill things, people who can B&E pretty well, a good hacker and a really good ritualist... Do we have any other ritualists in the family? If you and Calix organized that, that'd be awesome."

Roderic: "I don't know." I shrug my shoulders. "I dabbled in them a little bit when I was a blood thief. Tried to do some nasty stuff to those people. Those ones who claim they live in that tree house. The one I found." I liked that place, but it wasn't as great as the cave I found that I more or less let Nix live in too since she didn't really bother me. "Maybe that's something I could try and pick up again. If you think it's useful."

Phoenix: "It's not useful, it's necessary if you want to win one of those," I smile. I'm really good at winning them, but people tend to not like it when I said so... apparently I come off egotistical, even though that's not how I mean it to come off. By the time I realize what's going on, I'm frowning. "I think Strix is learning to hack, but she'll be a while before she's any good at anything... Calix is a good killer. I think Paige is also learning to hack."

Roderic: So rituals it was then. I wasn't really effective at them before, but maybe with some practice, who knew? I nod my head, but don't say for sure that's what I'll focus on. But my question may give it away. "Where do I learn more about those? I tried to burden a couple of those, whatever they call themselves, but I wasn't really good at it." I look at her and notice the frown. "Did you change your mind about the giraffes?" I ask, seeing if I can find out why she's frowning. It seemed everyone was doing something productive. Neccessary and useful.

Phoenix: "No, no... I'm good about the giraffes. I just was thinking about... stuff." I really don't want to get into my feelings on things, not with Ric. He'd likely think it was silly and unnecessary to feel the way I feel. "You'd just have to ask someone good at it - I could teach you if you like. Maybe hand over some tomes for you to practice with."

Roderic: It doesn't bother me that she doesn't want to talk about it. I figure if she did, she would. "So where are we going to test your flight span out? Any ideas? Maybe a park?" I go back to the thought of her flying. I'm not sure she'll manage it tonight, sometimes you have to let things absorb and see it more than once, but it was a start. "I think I have some tomes that I got off some guy I know from a while back. But I wouldn't turn down some pointers." I add in. If she was good at it, I would be stupid to turn down the help.

Phoenix: The park seemed like a good idea, but they were quite far from Thornside. That's where I'd have chosen; I loved that park. Maybe one of the empty lots would do as a substitute - somewhere with trees and coverage. Somewhere safe. "I think there's an overgrown lot close to here... Somewhere secluded enough for me to shift. You can stick me up in one of the tree branches and..." I pause, turning to look up at Ric as we exit the park. "Will you catch me if I fall?"

Roderic: I nod at the suggestion. It seemed as good as any to me. When she asks me the question, I don't know what to say. Is she being literal, or is this one of those things that has two meanings again? "I'll sure try. Can't be too hard, right?" I'm honestly not sure of that. I imagine a bird falling, does fall fast. I just hope I'm fast enough or she'll probably break something else and someone will have something to say about that again.

Phoenix: Content with his answer, I lead him off towards the lot I had in mind. It was dark and trees abounded, so it would do. "Awesome. I should be fine even if I do fall, but catching the fluffy ball might be a good idea." Once we'd made our way across the parking lot and into the strand of trees, I wandered over to the tallest one and clambered up. "Any advice?"

Roderic: "Yeah. Don't fall." I say, dead serious before another small smile etches up on the corners of my lips. "Let's see. Try and think, happy thoughts?" I don't know how to tell anyone how to be a bird. Hell, I don't even know how to tell Saige to take care of a bird. But when I was a kid, my shrink always told me to think happy thoughts with ****. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. "Just stay clear of too many branches and try and focus on your landing point before you take off." That sounds like sound advice.

Phoenix: A smile quirks my lips at Ric's idea of advice. "Alright. I'll aim for the bushes." I wonder if he's ever seen the movie or, if he had, would get the reference. I close my eyes and call on my power, feeling my bones twist, realign, and my being shrink down to a tiny ball of fluff. Albeit a cute, predatory ball of fluff. It feels strange to spread my arms - wings, now, and flap them, but I do it. It's what the others had done. After a few hops to make sure I was aligned with the man on the ground, I spread my wings and launch myself into the air, flapping hard and fast... too hard. And the ground rushes up to meet me.

Roderic: Bushes? I look around, trying to pin point where she's planning on landing. I'm honestly not too sure, so I turn back to look at her, but in her spot was an owl. Nix owl. And she spreads her wings and starts to get familiar with the idea of them. So far, so good. I think. Again, I'm no bird expert. She takes off the branch and something happens. What's the hurry? I wonder if she began to doubt herself as she starts to look like she's in a mess. Which she was, as she was rolling? tumbling? to the ground. Whatever she was doing, she was going to hit the ground. No way was she breaking stuff on my watch. Not dealing with that again. Calix's protectiveness made me want to stab him. A lot. So I move to where the owl is heading down and hold out my arms. Maybe that wasn't enough? What if I missed? Instead, I decide to land on the ground, stomach first and hope she lands somewhere on my back. Hell, anywhere on me.

Phoenix: So I managed to flip myself over backward and was rolling through the air. It all seemed to happen in slow motion - the crazy flapping, the wind through my ginger feathers, the ground getting closer and closer... And then Ric, diving into place as if he were made of the most plush landing material known to man. Really, he wasn't. Mid-360 flip, I land on my head. There's no audible crack this time, thank god, but it hurts... A lot more than I'd expect it to. Like a drop of water off a duck's feathers, I leak off Ric's back and land beak-down on the floor. After a few stunned moments, I manage to right myself and stumble a few strange bird-steps on my awkward little talons. God damn it...

Roderic: I feel her hit me and then she's off me. I suddenly think I killed Owl Nix. Which meant I killed Nix. I killed Nix! I'm not sure how I feel about that. I feel a lot of things, none of them being how I imagined I would feel if and when this day came. I look at the bird who is beak down and watch when she gets up and walks. As if she found a bird bath full of beer. I didn't kill her, but I did something to her. "Change back. You can heal if you change back. Calix said so." Or said something like that. I push off the ground and follow after the bird then scoop it up. "This was stupid. I'm sorry. I thought if you saw-Can you chirp or something?" I stare at Owl Nix hoping to get something out of her. Something that let me know she was at least half way alright.

Phoenix: I'm still stumbling around when I'm scooped up. Ric's super concerned and that makes me happy. I try to smile, but... you know, beaks don't really move all that well. Not even a bit, actually. I just stare up at him with what I suspect to be giant, adorable, cherub owl eyes, blinking a few times. He seems to have forgotten I can indeed speak, though directly into his mind. "Put me back up on the tree! This time I'll aim for your face"

Roderic: The owl is staring at me and I'm staring at it. It blinks a few times and I'm sure that means it's processing what I'm saying and asking it to do. Then she talks. Or thinks. She does that thing Pyper does sometimes. And she asks me to do something stupid. "No way. So you can break your head open the next time? Let's take a break for a bit." I nod and put Owl Nix on my left shoulder and start to walk away from the trees. "We should watch some more things about birds. Or you should. And maybe fly in a house. With carpet everywhere." It's a good suggestion, so I nod.

Phoenix: He's not going to put me back up on the tree!? I hoot in protest, though his shoulder is a tree-like thing, so my talons sink into his skin, making myself at home. Another hoot. "No! I want to try now!" And since he doesn't immediately change his mind about this whole not-breaking my head open thing, I stretch out my wings and have another go at it, trying for the smooth, graceful sweeps of a predatory bird. And you know, for the first half-beat, this whole flying thing was going fantastic! I thought I finally got it. And then that downthrust caught Ric's jaw and **** went south pretty fast. I just hope he doesn't step on me.

Roderic: She's digging in to me and I can take it. I'm a vampire after all. I do give her an evil glare for a second, that more or less said cut it out, but she kept hooting on about wanting to try it again. I forsaw me stabbing Calix in the future over this, but I was ok with that. She takes off and surprisingly, she's got it down pat this time. Or so I think until Owl Nix lands in my face, hard. I stumble to catch her this time and manage to, though it wasn't hard as she was right in my proximity. "You did good. Until your beak made out with my chin." I added in, looking down at the ball of red feathers. "Maybe you should talk to someone else who can fly? Like you? They're probably better at this than I am." I admit.

Pheonix: At least he managed to catch me this time. I got my wings all tucked in proper, like a real ladybird, and stood in Ric's hands, talons clutched around his fingers. Another hoot - an indignant one, full of owl pride. "Put me back up on your shoulder. I won't flay you... And I wanted to, but but I don't think I know anyone that can fly."

Roderic: I put her back up on my shoulder as I begin to walk. No more flying tonight. She might poke my eye out at this rate. Which, they came back, it just would be a pain in the butt and I would have to pause my experiments. "I don't know anyone either." I'm sure that fact didn't surprise her. I only really talked to Altaires and that stupid wraith who was too wrapped up in trivial stuff. "So, you, uh, want me to take you to the Altaire home? Like this?" If people didn't stare at me already, they sure were now.

Phoenix: I settled in on his shoulder, puffing my chest out because it seemed like the proper owl thing to do. I am a tiny owl riding a man, regal as a little queen. They can look all they want; I don't give a ****. I did, however, lay off the talons in his shoulder. Those big round eyes saw much, and they did see the look he'd given me before. "Yes, you shall carry me like this, and talk to me as well. You're like a land pirate, speaking to your land parrot. You can drop me off there, yes. I'll be fine."

Roderic: Yep. She hit her head hard. I'll sharpen my blade tonight and wait for bitchy Calix to come berate me again some time soon. "Sure thing, Polly." I say with a shake of my head. Hopefully her head wound is healed tomorrow. "You know, I think after a few more attempts, you'll have it down pat. The whole flying thing." She had a good start the last go around, it's just maintaining the idea of flight. "So maybe we can do this again. If you want. Not just the flying thing. Maybe going out in public thing. It wasn't horrible. But no malls. Katerina keeps trying to drag me to those damn things."

Phoenix: I turn my head an exact 90 degrees to look up at him. My steed for the night as we make our way home. I feel kind of giddy and start wondering if maybe I did land a bit too hard on my head. Well, if I did, it doesn't matter; I'm happy. "I'm excited about the flying thing," I admit with a hoot - a happy one this time. "I'd like the going out again thing again. It was fun and I... I'm happy you asked me to come. I had fun." With an owl smile - something only detectable in the eyes - I tuck myself in against Ric's neck. Only a few steps later and my eyes started to close. The rhythm just... lulled me to sleep.

Roderic: Fun? I guess I had fun too. I was more interested in her learning what she needed to learn to be the best owl out there. Since she was already the best vampire. Owl Nix is invading my space, but it's so small and perfectly harmful. Unless her talon's come out to play. "Ok. Well, maybe next time you can think of something." I'm not one to go out a lot, especially in public places with lots of people around. And I don't know what else Nix would want to do. Or what would be fun. I doubt she wants me taking her to a strip club. I wouldnt even ask. I see Beta in the distance, which I'm glad for. Nix wasn't bad company, but there had been people at the zoo, people we passed as we walked. Just people everywhere.

Phoenix: I hoot, trying to make the sound into more than it was, and failing rather miserably. It was a hoot, not a yes, but I'm too tired to notice. It's exhaustion, bone-deep, that has nothing to do with the fall or the night, and everything to do with the fact that I, just now, feel safe, and in safety, I should sleep. "We'll work something out," I finally manage to convey, though even my voice - my thoughts - sound sleepy. This time when I close my eyes, they don't open, and I let sleep claim me. I trust that Ric will bring me somewhere safe for the night, and that thought is a warm blanket.

Roderic: I don't really say much more as I see Nix has made herself comfortable on me. Or she doesn't want to talk anymore and is pretending to sleep. Which is fine with me. I don't know what else to converse about. We get to Beta and I take her to the Altaire place. There's a couple rooms there, and I'm not sure which is hers. I just know which one is Calix's so I avoid that part of the apartment, find a bed and put her on a pillow. I look around, assess the room, ensure that she'd be fine, close the door for good measure and head back to my cave before I head out for 'work.'