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 Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:12 am
The day might have been like any other in the Ironwood forest. The sounds of nature became a soundtrack for those who lived there, Alex being no exception. The occasional cloud hung overhead, bringing shade to the otherwise pristine forest. The half gryphon had wandered upstream of the campsite, with a small sack made from some old fabric material, along with a small leatherbound notepad that he held in one of his scaled hands. Eventually, he found a spot beside the river, under a wide shade tree. He ran his clawed fingers over the bark of the tree, dragging the sharp edges along it, leaving small ravines through the weathered bark. Alex shook his head and leaned back against the tree, as his fingers fumbled with the notepad. Alex's beak gritted back and forth as he used one of the talons to flip the pages, listings of flight schedules and fuel consumption and wind speeds listed upon the sheets. A rusty paperclip held a faded picture of a PBY seaplane and some people next to a dock in its grasp, but the pilot just flipped the pages to a sheet that was blank. With slow movements, Alex retrieved the ballpoint pin that had been tucked away in the small leather case, and tried to grip it to write, only to find his thumbs weren't quite wanting to cooperate with such a request. And so the struggle to find some way to write started. Eventually the pilot positioned the pen between two scaled fingers, while using his thumb's talon to try and hold it in place. It was awkward, it felt wrong, but Alex started to write the best he could on the notepad. Quote: itz ben a wlile sinc i got heer here. writtng is hrd wit my han bdz bein lik a brids birds. othrs ar chamging as wel, imto tlings, myfhical beests. at lest thy sem lik it. The pilot's tail twitched as his pen fumbled in his taloned grasp, misspelling words, wayward lines making the page look like a reject from a 2nd grade writing test. He let out a squawk of displeasure, tossing the pen into the binding of the notepad before he tossed the book aside. Frustration caused his brow to furrow, frustration at losing such a basic skill of life.
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:00 am
There was a long pause between having tossed the leatherbound flight log aside and when he slowly started to pick himself up from his spot, to walk down to the edge of the stream. Water flowed past him, yet still as he looked into the water, the reflection he saw wasn't the one he'd expected, even having gone through the changes twice now.
He reached down, dipping his talons into the water, letting the cool liquid flow against his scaled digits. "Stupid hands..." He sighed as he tried to relax, the memories of his defeat at the lost of his writing ability, his hands proving too undexterous to use a pen.
Idly, he wondered what else would happen to him, before he was done, and all that he was missing back home. Even if he were to make it home, he doubted he could fly his beloved PBY, not without extreme difficulty.
He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts as he pulled his fingers out of the water, the liquid clinging onto the scaled digits almost unnaturally. A simple flick of the wrist send the liquid flying back into the stream once more. He muttered softly to himself in Chinese, "Wuh tzai chien shr ee-ding ruh dao shuh-muh run luh bah . . ."*
*Chinese for "I surely annoyed someone or other in a past life, didn't I . . ."
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Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:40 pm
unbeknown to Alex, Someone else was down by the stream. Or rather, in the stream, hiding just below the surface as Alex sat down. Damian rested in the water's current, waiting for fish to swim by but his concentration was broken by Alex's presence. The Wolf-croc slowly rose up, the water flowing off of him as he looked over at Alex.
~You look like you're having some Deep Thoughts there Alex~ Damian said as he brushed some of the water away from his face. ~want to talk about it?~
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 8:47 am
Alex was obviously distracted in his thoughts as it was only until Damian's form was partly out of the water and was talking to him that the pilot's tail straightened out in alarm, tiny winglets spread. After a second, Alex nodded, visibly relaxing as he realized who'd startled him.
"Oh, hey Damian." Alex hadn't really thought much about the fact that Damian, being half croc, could probably stay underwater very easily.
He stood up, and stretched out a bit, before looking back to Damian. "I. I don't know. I guess I've just never really tried to focus on what's been going on with me, and finding out that I can't write..." He sighed softly and ran his taloned fingers through his feathered hair.
"Guess I just hadn't noticed the fact, until now."
He moved back over to his spot under the tree to sit down, motioning his distorted hand towards a spot where Damian could sit in the sun and dry off if he wanted. Still, the leather bound flight log sat where it had been tossed.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 8:42 pm
Damian slowly walked out of the stream, shaking some of the water from him like a dog might, before walking over to sit down towards the spot Alex had waved at.
~You can't write because..... you can't hold a pen?~ Damian ventured to guess. It really wasn't the best of signs, Damian had seen this kind of thing before with Jade and Cricket with them losing dexterity in their hands. He had lost some, but not to the same degree they all had.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 12:22 pm
The pilot held up a hand, and moved the thumb claw a bit, showing that it was probably a bit too far to hold a pen with any sort of comfort. "Yeah. Well, I can, but... its hard. Its like trying to reach the top shelf and being too short to reach. Almost and yet so far away." He grumbled a bit and reached back to rub the small winglet on his right shoulder.
"I guess I hadn't noticed, since well, I never really needed to write anything. And its not like I can't hold stuff still. And its not like I can't catch food." He squirmed some and then looked back out at the water. "So much for me writing down what I know. I figured if you know, I wrote stuff down, maybe it would help others. Looks like I won't be of much help with that though."
Alex sat there a bit, tail twitching slowly, and then looked back to Damian. "Sorry. I shouldn't be complaining. I mean, it's happening to everyone, right?" He looked back down at his hand, and shook his head.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:21 pm
~You have a right to complain, and it does happen to some, like to Cricket, Jade and to some degree myself~ Damian told Alex, glancing at the small winglet he possessed. ~The trick is, not to think so much about the pen, but to be a little more creative, You could make your own ink, and use one of your claws to be your quill~ Damian suggested ~It might not be neat, but it should work out~
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:22 pm
The pilot tilted his head a bit. "Use one of my talons?" He looked down at his hand, holding out a single finger and its corresponding talon. "You really think I could write with one of these? Hmm. I... I guess I could try."
He reached up and ran his fingers once more through his feathered hair, and frowned. "As for me complaining, yeah, maybe I do have a right too, but that doesn't mean I should. I mean, of everyone around, someone has to try and seem sensible and stuff. Not that I ever had much luck with keeping stuff under control, back home." He sighed softly, and looked back to Damian.
"Do you ever wonder what's going on back home? I mean, really. It seems like such a long time since I was sitting on the wing of my PBY, working on getting one of the engines working, working at it with wrenches and spare parts and oil stained clothes...." The pilot was remembering his past, and as he trailed off the sentance, he looked off in the distance.
"You, you don't have to answer that." The sound of his voice was a bit drained of the color he'd just used to describe his PBY. "You're right. I should focus on what I can do... not on what I can't..." He didn't sound as sure as the statement was meant to sound but it was enough to cause the pilot to slowly reach over to the leather bound journal and retrieve it from its resting spot.
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:53 pm
~I do think...about what goes on back at my home~ Damian sighed, looking away from Alex and towards the stream . ~Somedays are easier than others, when I stay just busy enough not to worry, and then there are other days I don't want to leave my shack.~
Damian looked back towards Alex. ~Thankfully, I haven't had a bad day in a while. And if you really miss flying, could take you further into Ironwood, show you where to dig for sky rocks... they use them to build air ships at the capital~
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:06 am
The pilot nodded a bit as he listened. "Well, I guess it's good to know you've been feeling better." His feathered ear tufts twitched as Damian mentioned flying and sky rocks.
"Sky rocks? You mean those stories about flying ships were really true? I mean, I know one of the guys in the village mentioned such a thing but..." He smiled, or tried to with his beaked mouth, and then shook his head. "No, I should concentrate on one thing right now, like trying to write, like you mentioned before, with a talon."
He rolled his shoulders from left to right, working out some small bits of tension in his muscles before he looked back to Damian. "Plus, I don't think I've got enough material around here to build a plane, with or without those... sky rocks. But maybe later you could show me that spot."
Alex sat there a bit longer, thinking. "Hey, Damian. Thanks. You know, for all you've done for me, and the others. Probably be in a lot worst shape, the lot of us, if it weren't for you and Gerta."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:22 pm
~You're welcome, and I definitely owe Gerta a great deal for helping me, if it wasn't for her, I'd still be trying to figure out how to build a shack that can stand up in a storm~ Damian said as he slowly stood up and stretched. ~she also taught me about things you can and can't eat that grows out here in the forest, and that helped me from practically starving before I learned to hunt for myself~
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:06 pm
The pilot nodded a bit, and reached up to adjust his goggles that hung around his neck. "Well, I guess we all end up helping out, where we can." He wiggled his short winglets a bit, and then looked back over.
"Still, you and Gerta deserve a thank you. So yeah, thanks." He stood up slowly and stretched out, albiet one that looked a bit too deep for a human form to accomplish without some practice in gymnastics.
"Got any idea where I could get some ink, if you know, I'm going to try using one of these talons as a writing tool. Something tells me that the Village wouldn't have much in the way that I could by, let alone in my current condition." His tail twitched back and forth as he stood there, pondering, the wind picking up just a bit, if only enough to cause a stirring in the trees and to flicker the feathers that has replaced Alex's hair.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:33 pm
~Gerta can help you get some ink, I have a basic idea how to make some, you need some crushed charcoal, a little water, pine pitch and a couple other things, but thats basically it~ Damian told Alex as he walked to a tree and raked his claws down the smooth bark, doing this a couple times with each hand before glancing back at Alex. ~got to keep these claws worn down~
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:25 am
"Gerta? Well, I suppose that's as good as any an excuse to go there and check on her and Jamie." He watched as Damian raked his claws down the side of the bark, watching curiously.
The pilot wiggled his shoulders and the small winglets that were attached to them, and then yawned. "I suppose I should let you get back to fishing. That was what you were doing out there in the river. Or could you use another set of claws to try and catch some fish? I mean, I can try, but I'd probably be better if I had that sharp stick I've been using that's back at the camp..."
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:49 pm
~Its alright, I prefer to hunt and fish alone, its just a habit of my nature I guess, but one of these days I might get a chance to show you some tricks~ Damian said as he looked back towards the stream. ~well good luck with Gerta, and hope that kid Jamie is doing alright~
Damian's tongue slid out and gave a small hiss as he walked closer to the water, dropping onto all fours as he slipped back into the stream, moving though the water much like a crocodile before sinking below the water.
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