trans_9 | A Step in the Flight Direction [Closed]

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A Step in the Flight Direction [Closed]

In the City, near one of Sherry's many hiding spots (safe until her parents decided to plug some kind of tracking device into her), a little girl and a little bird boy stood atop of a two-story whitewashed building. There really, logically, wasn't any reason for Sherry to be up here with him. But she knew, she just knew, that if she was down below, calling encouragement, Komali would probably never jump down.

Not that she blamed him, but as someone without wings, it was probably better that she didn't go flinging herself off of buildings. "It really isn't even that far down," she urged.

"I bet you won't even hit the ground."

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"I will so hit the ground," Komali whined, peering over at the distance nervously. It seemed much, much farther form here than it had from the ground. He looked back at Sherry doubtfully, but she was making that face and he spread his wings anyways. Folded in on themselves and hanging from his arms, they didn't amount to much, but held out away from his body this way, his wingspan was longer than he was tall, and the same rich brown on the underside as his facial feathers, "...You better not leave me there, when I fall and die."

Sherry could make the most terrifying faces. If she was anything like her mom, Komali didn't envy Captain Kennedy at all.

Sherry scoffed and pushed her hair out of her face and back under her red, red band. "I would not leave you there. I'd call for help, first." She realized she was probably doing absolutely nothing for his faith in her, and added, "And then I'd make sure you weren't, well, you know." She shrugged.

"Ready?" Before Komali could answer however, Sherry put her hands on his back and pushed, "Go!"

By the way, Komali? Her mother was a saint.

"N—" And suddenly the ground was gone and Komali was flailing wildly as the windows were flashing by. By some miracle he managed to cup both wings in tandem and caught enough air to give him a brief glide directly into the wall where he slid the last ten feet to the ground and lay there, stunned and winded.

Eventually, he got back his breath enough to take a deep, meaningful breath and scream, "YOU PUSHED ME! I'M TELLING!"

Oh good! He didn't die. The little girl breathed a sigh of relief and then set her face back to its usual seriously line. Sherry yelled back, "BUT YOU ARE ALIVE! NOW GET BACK UP HERE."

"ARE YOU GONNA PUSH ME AGAIN?!"

No, he's not moving one inch until he gets your solemn promise.

Sherry didn't even pause. "NO! NOW HURRY UP!" Because, really, if any parents' child-danger senses were going off, they'd be here soon.

Komali huffed, but went to the fire escape and climbed back up the way he'd come. Foolish boy, he believed her— he'd never been particularly clever, when it came to girls.

Soon enough he was standing in front of the edge again— this time with a firm grip on it, and considering his angle.

"...Stand back."

Sherry crossed her arms and took one step backward. Komali hadn't be particularly specific on just how far she'd need to be, after all.

"Okay. So. Are you ready now?" She tapped her foot impatiently.

He spread his wings again, like a daredevil about to take his very last dive, bent his legs and....

....and...

...and it was really high. Komali remembered what it had felt like to hit and hesitated. Maybe today wasn't his day.

There was no room for hesitation, Komali. Surely, you knew that by now, didn't you? Sherry watched him pause, waited a half of a heartbeat and pushed him forward, "Get going!"

Komali still squawked like a kicked cucco, but his dismount was a tad more graceful than before and he managed that all-important first downbeat with passable grace.

And, with that first swell of air under his wings, and the resulting lift, instinct took over and Komali was hovering there, just a little under Sherry's eye-view, flapping madly and cackling, "I did it! I did it!"

Sherry pulled her omnicom out of her bag and lifted the device to take a very short video of Komali. First things first, after all. After she saved it and put the device away, she sat on the edge of the building and cheered. "See, and you were worried!"

Never let it be said she couldn't be supportive when she needed to be. Sherry even kind of smiled! "So... how do you land?"

Something was... off. Samus couldn't explain it, but she felt like there was something in the city that needed her attention. She left the precinct and walked briskly until she saw it.

"Komali!" she yelled to the little boy who appeared to be flapping for dear life. Oh God did he try jumping off a building?

Komali wasn't quite sure how to land, or how to turn, but somehow, when Samus shouted, he managed them both in one movement, flinching sideways with a startled, "M-Mom?!"

The movement wasn't within his skill to correct, and it tipped him backwards over his center of balance. He pitched down and sideways, hit the building across the street from Sherry's chosen vantage and bounced off to land int he street itself with a rough crack.

He didn't scream- he was too startled for that, but he was shaking and staring at his leg where a thin sliver of white bone was peeking through the scales.

"Komali!" Sherry sucked in a breath. This was bad, very bad, and very much not her fault in the least. Something told her that she was about to get blamed for it, anyway. That's the way things seemed to be working out lately.

"Komali! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Because she couldn't see just how badly he hurt himself, even if the CRACK! had been loud enough to make her jump.

Oh jeez...

Samus sprinted over to where Komali landed, automatically scooping him up in her arms and formulating the quickest route to the medbay in her mind.

Samus hadn't seen Sherry before, but her yelling revealed her position. Samus shot a look up to her boss's daughter. She didn't look so innocent up there.

"What happened," she more demanded than asked to both of the kids.

Komali wasn't generally a vengeful sort, but he was still stupid and innocent enough that when Sherry had lied to him, he'd really believed her. Mostly.

So, when he regained enough breath to make noise, he inhaled deeply then pointed accusingly up at Sherry, "YOU LIAR, YOU PUSHED ME!"

Hoo boy. Somebody's in trouble.

Sherry was small, blond, blue-eyed and innocently sitting on the ledge of the building. "YOU HESITATED AGAIN AND I WARNED YOU." .5 seconds before she'd done it, yup. Samus, for the moment was ignored in the light of much more important child politics. "BUT YOU FLEW, DIDN'T YOU?"

"You pushed him... You pushed him?!" Samus couldn't even begin to fathom why, but before she comes up with any reason, she shifted Komali's weight to one arm and flipped out her omnicomm.

<< Leon. >>

That's right. She's calling in her dad.

Komali glared and clung to Samus even as he was shifted, all but shaking his fist up at Sherry and her stupid blond head with its stupid blond ideas. It's a good thing he's in enough shock that the pain hasn't hit yet, because in a few minutes, this is going to really hurt.

"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT WANTED TO GO UP THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU BIG FAT LYING LIAR!" he screeched in a way that was almost certainly audible to Leon over the comm.

Oh.

Oh Crap.

Ohcrapohcrapohcrap. Before the second syallble left Samus's mouth, Sherry was up and running. And for a little girl with skinny legs? She was pretty quick, especially thanks to Master Chief. It was, she knew, probably more damning to run away, but she didn't care at the moment.

They were calling her father. She needed to run. The little girl jumped down to the next connecting building, and off in the direction of the Vatican.

A response came back soon enough.

«Samus...?» He was wondering what was all that noise in the background down there.

«Your daughter-» She stopped. Crap, Sherry is running. Samus can't run so quickly with Komali in her arms. She shoves the omnicomm away and it crackles off on the channel, so she could go after Sherry. She didn't have much of a chance of catching her.

The Master Chief is doing a routine patrol of the city. Nothing out of the ordinary for him, but he's starting to think they may have finally eradicated all the dangerous crap that's known to live down here.

Wait, no. Peripheral vision. Movement. The Chief's head snaps toward a shadow, someone or some thing moving up an alley.

He rounds the corner.

Sherry, unfortunately, could not stop quick enough when Master Chief suddenly appeared from around the corner. She didn't even have time to screech in alarm before she ran face-first into his leg, and bounced off.

She laid there for a long moment, dazed, with the wind knocked out of her.

Oh. Puns. Is it Pun time, now?

She's a Kennedy, you know. Puns are in the bloodline. Puns and Explosions.

Punnedy brand Punsplosions?

He really shouldn't mix business and puns.

Re: He really shouldn't mix business and puns.

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