|
|
Post by Bee on Oct 12, 2009 21:41:33 GMT -5
Zeki was immediately seized by plane-related excitement and tried not to let it absorb him entirely--which was difficult, because it felt rather like downing several dozen cups of coffee and then having the caffeine smack you in the face all at once, endowing you with super energy and rendering you stupidly happy. Besides, on some subconscious level, he recognized the opportunity to hang out with Virtute just a little longer, and if she wanted to know--he felt a weird kind of joy in giving her what she wanted.
And she was an even braver adventurer than he thought, if the Bog was one of her eventual destinations, even if she seemed to be partially of the region. He couldn't quite fathom going there. Well, he could. He would just get ripped to itty bitty pieces of delicious Corvie meat. Maybe flying over...
"Oh," he said, enthusiastically, "I'm fixing my plane. I got a glider going that flew really well, but I botched my landing. Once I get a new bit for it, it should be good as new." He managed to stop himself from flying into a history of aviation and and his own attempts at manufacturing an aircraft, and he was quite proud of himself.
|
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Dec 20, 2009 1:37:48 GMT -5
There was a flicker of excitement that passed over the Raccoon's expression, surprising to Virtute's wide eyes. She wasn't entirely sure exactly what it was that had gotten him so worked up, but something about it - it seemed almost cute, and made her heart flutter in a way that only Xander could make it flutter. Before now, at least. She waited as she watched him, wondering if he was going to say something, almost hanging onto the thought that he would, her face falling for just a second when he didn't right away.
That part was a side-effect of the paranoia. Maybe he was excited about whatever it was he'd been doing before she came, pathetic and crying, into his life and interrupted him. Maybe he was just waiting to find Sorcha so that he could be rid of her? She found that she was rather displeased by that thought, and her little mind started to race at a thousand miles a minute, as fixated on trying to prolong their inevitable separation as Zeki was on sharing some of his excitement with her.
When he did speak, that excitement that she'd seen in his expression and posture was right there in his voice, and her face split into a genuine - if still somewhat shy - grin.
"A plane?" The word was echoed with a note of wonder, Virtute's mouth curling into a perfect little 'o' of wonder. "A glider? You - you've already flown it once before?" A giddiness overtook her. Not only was the stranger fascinating and cute - he was daring. She'd never considered flying, leaving that up to the birds and the bats. The idea that someone without a feather on their body could take to the skies... It was an incredible thought, wasn't it?
|
|
|
|
Post by Bee on Dec 30, 2009 16:00:12 GMT -5
"Oh yeah," he said, spirits perking up even more at her note of interest--and her smile. "You can't go very long, of course, it doesn't have an engine or anything, but if you get the right wind and a good take-off spot--I've spanned most of Corvistowne," he said, proudly. Figuring out how to get a glider to ascend had been tricky--mostly he stuck to shorter flights, five to ten minutes, because so much was dependent on the weather. Today had a good wind going, though, especially in his favorite test area. He could get some good mileage out of his glider, once he fixed it, which would be the work of moments.
One thought led to another, of course, and before long lighthearted caprice seized him and prompted the next words, a little anxious and spurted out in a pink-faced rush: "Would you like to fly with me? My glider could support two."
|
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Mar 14, 2010 2:07:57 GMT -5
The things this strange new boy with all of the legs was saying were new, fascinating. Virtute stared at him with honest-faced wonder as he spoke, telling her of machinery she'd never really even been able to dream of. It just hadn't seemed possible, not worth the time she would have spent thinking about it. But here Zeki was, telling him about it in a dramatic way that just made it all so... so... real. There was a nagging little voice in the back of her head, telling her that Corvies were so often crazy people. This cute boy, he could be a crazy person, someone who wanted to kidnap her and do experiments on her and leave her dead somewhere.
The rest of her thoughts were stronger, and a blush went across her cheeks, her eyes lighting up with almost the same level of delight. "But still... Even most of Corvistowne is more than most people can hope to see."
That darkening of her cheeks increased of a second, and the girl curled her tail around her front paws. It was a nervous action, but for once, she wasn't actually afraid. Just curious for the most part, and a little bit worried about the unknown. It was a new feeling, and it was exciting. Maybe... maybe she could see it, fly in it herself? And, on top of all of it, it would give her a chance to spend more time with the sweet stranger.
When he voiced her thoughts in the form of an invitation, the kitten's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with a paw. "I-I... oh." The noise escaped like a gasp or a sigh, and then she nodded so hard most of her body went with it. "I would love to!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Bee on Jun 17, 2010 18:50:04 GMT -5
Zeki felt nearly dizzy with delight (cute, sweet girl in his plane!), but managed to keep a good enough hold on himself to not do something embarrassing like forget what he was doing and trip over something obvious. He didn't think he would be able to survive the humiliation. (No cute girl in his plane.) He suspected he might die literally instead of merely metaphorically. He liked to keep his deaths metaphorical. (Cute girl. In his plane.)
"Great!" he said. He clutched his little bag of wire to his chest, the bit of wire that would make his plane totally operational again. Squeezing something was comforting and grounding, which was good, for the moment. He was discovering that sweet girls, while extremely agreeable company, seemed to be having a pleasantly adverse effect on his sense. "If you wanna walk back with me to my place we can fix my little gal up and get in the air. It should only take a minute."
|
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 17, 2010 19:46:31 GMT -5
While Zeki's mind spun through the possibilities, Virtute's was buzzing with the possibilities. There was always the possibility of something terrible happening. A person could go to the grocery store one day, and be hit by a runaway carriage and killed before they'd even picked up the milk. But the fact that possibility existed didn't stop people from going grocery shopping. Why should the chance that something could go wrong stop Virtute, who never did anything without family close at hand to keep her safe, from going up in a plane with a cute boy?
He was awfully cute, wasn't he?
At the offer, Virtute nodded breathlessly. Had she been holding her breath? Perhaps. Now the air came back to her, along with a giddy feeling of lightness she'd never before experienced. Except once - but that was different, that was Xander, and this was Zeki. "That sounds really good," she said with a quick and eager bob of her head that she quickly toned down to a simple nod. No, she didn't want to come across as too eager. That was what her mother had always told her. "Do you think I could help you fix it?"
When he turned to leave, she would follow.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bee on Jun 17, 2010 20:49:31 GMT -5
"Sure," he said, eagerly. "We really just need to stick a bit of this wire back into place and hook the little part of the rudder that broke back where it belongs."
Suddenly, stupidly, he wished that something worse had gone wrong with his plane so he could spend the rest of the afternoon showing Virtute how to work on it. He was sad that she would have so little to do. It was only infrequently that someone wanted to help fix the planes--so infrequently in fact that it had only happened once, when Dad asked if he needed a hand. That was really quite sad. But now was not the time!
Zeki led her back to his workspace, which was a cheap but serviceable structure that had been expanded a couple of times to fit all of his projects. The plane rested comfortable in the middle near the gate, where he could get it in and out easily. He handed the wire over to Vir.
"All we gotta do is twist this little bit into place..."
|
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 18, 2010 1:39:27 GMT -5
The scenery that passed by as they walked was interesting - parts of the city that Virtute had never seen. Sorcha only had interest in the bright parts, the noisy and the bustle and the parts of Corvistowne that everyone talked about. This was a different side of it, places where everyone had something strange they were working on. It felt dangerous, but the kitten hardly noticed that. Not now, not with her newfound companion. "Just show me how to do it. I've never really... experimented with machines, and I don't want to break it any more."
Color touched her cheeks again at that admittance. Why would that embarrass her? There was no reason for to have any experience dealing with machinery, but the young King was abruptly wishing that she had. Perhaps he would be amazed or delighted, maybe he would see her in a better sort of light. That would be nice. When they stepped into the workspace, she gave it a quick once over, her mouth gaping with wonder. There was so much in the place - so many things! She had never dreamed of such a thing!
And there, in the middle of it all, was the plane. "It's... she? She's beautiful," Virtute gasped, taking the wire between her paws and holding tight. Then she paused, her ears folding back and her tail curling tightly around her rear feet. She turned to look at the boy, worry bright in her eyes. "Here... Show me where to put it." In an act of sudden courage, she thrust her paws between Zeki's more dexterous front hands, giving him a small smile.
The contact made her shiver, but it wasn't a bad shiver.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bee on Jun 18, 2010 14:41:23 GMT -5
Zeki blushed as he took the wire back, both from the compliment to his plane and the brush of her hands. He sort of held them for a moment, not wanting to move and complete the task so he would have to let go. He went redder. His face felt rather like it had a stupid smile on it.
Finally, his brain worked again. He leaned over the little part of the rudder that needed repairing and reattachment. One of the wires had gotten bent and broken beyond all use and had to be ripped out. It was not in a complex network, though, like some of the other wiring he had done, which was deeply fortunate for him. Sometimes a minor bruise to the plane caused hours of repair work.
"Right in here," he said. "Just like this." He guided her hands and the wire in and gave her a small pair of pliers to gently bend it into place, then pulled a bit through the new bit of cloth that covered the spot, hooking it all into place. The final bit of reattachment to the rest of the plane took little more than a bit more wire and a couple nuts and bolts.
Maybe, if Virtute desired, he could get her to work on a couple other things around the shop as practice, some basic repair work--but he didn't want her thinking he was bringing her over for manual labor. A conundrum! And one he didn't need to think about anymore, now that his plane was fixed.
"All right!" he said, happily. "You did great." So great, in fact, that he had entirely forgotten to let go of her hands. "Now we can take her to the hill and get her in the air."
|
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 18, 2010 17:34:18 GMT -5
As much as Virtute tried to keep her focus on what Zeki was showing her, she just couldn't. There were too many distractions, a whole pile of nicer things. While the inner workings of a plane were new and interesting, they just didn't compare to the feeling of his hands on hers, and how close they were. His face was right near hers, and she couldn't keep her eyes on the mechanics in front of her. She just nodded numbly at him, letting him direct her movements and trying to keep from just staring at him. Her paws were shaking as she took the pliers and twisted, as directed.
Then, she immediately turned her gaze to him, waiting for some confirmation that she'd done it right and the repairs were finished. Did she really want them to be finished? Yes, because she wanted to go up in the sky, but what was going to happen after that?
Later. Virtute would worry about all of that later. Right now, there was just the obvious cheer in Zeki's expression and his words. She had done it. She'd really helped to fix a plane.
"Okay! Just show me where to go, and I'll help move her." She bobbed her head eagerly. A second later, she remembered that his hands were still on hers, and her paws curled within their grip. Then she began to purr.
|
|
