To Wing an Aerial

[Zach Cortes]

... is it possible to do an aerial in the air?

These are the big questions in life, and the things that Zach actually thought about. Worse off, he tried out most of them--which usually ended up with someone (most of the time himself) getting his ego and/or self hurt. Yet, for some reason-- he never really stopped this constant stream of ideas.

A light cool breeze hit the senior square in the face, making his eyes water and pull him back to reality. Blinking and wiping his eyes, which had teared up from the salty spray of the ocean, Zach resumed his march down the shore of the beach. There was no particular reason on why he was here-- the waters were way too cold at the moment for anyone to go swimming without risking a mild case of hypothermia. Zach just liked to walk, and look up at the sky. The sky, after all-- was boundless-- and he, like the rest of the members at this school was one of the few thousands who could appreciate that.

But back to the real topic of this pondering, off the semi-serious note, could someone do an aerial in the sky? Slightly excited by the thought of a no doubt impossible feat, Zach again stared up at the blue cloud dotted and sunset ridden sky-- totally oblivious to the sound of footsteps behind him.

[Kylie Jenson]

Kylie made her way down to the beach, a straw tote in her hand and a big, floppy hat perched on top of her head to protect her face from getting burnt. Daisy Duke shorts covered her bottom, concealing the other half of her bikini. The swimsuit itself was, admittedly, a little skimpy, but it was hot pink, one of Kylie's favorite colors, and both halves of the suit had some of the most darling embroidery on it that went so well with her wings. Plus the bottom half had a cute little skirt around the top. When Kylie had seen it in the store while swimsuit shopping, she'd just had to get it.

She smiled as she saw that someone was already at the beach, and gave the boy a friendly wave. She hadn't really come there to meet anyone; the sun was warm and inviting, and Kylie had just wanted to lay in it and soak up its rays. She hoped to maybe get some new inspiration for a seascape painting, and had even asked Vixen if he would come to the beach too, though he seemed to be running a little late.

Reaching the sandy beach, Kylie pulled a beach towel out of her tote and spread it out on the sand, sitting down with a relaxed sigh.

[Vix]

Vix was running, trying to catch up with Kylie, who he could see off in distance. She had invited him to come to the beach with him, and he wanted to be on time for something for once in his life. He sped up, clutching his swim trunks, bottle of sunscreen, and his shoes, which he hadn't even managed to put on yet. He woke up late after falling asleep writing. He hadn't even changed out of the clothes he was wearing the night before. He was cursing himself under his breath for not investing in an alarm clock when he had the chance. He started to catch up to Kylie and started to slow a bit. When he finally got up to her, he was panting. He half chuckled. "I made it." He announced, smiling. He loathed the beach but was happy Kylie had invited him to join her.

[Zach Cortes]

It wasn't until the footsteps were much closer that Zach noticed them. Turning around slowly and glancing over his shoulder, Zach was just in time to return a grin for a girl he didn't reconize's wave. Scanning the beach behind her, the senior caught a glimpse of another kid racing up the path from the school like his life depended on it. Well, that was interesting. But quickly, Zach lost interest and turned back to stare at the choppy ocean waves.

Come to think of it, he didn't even know how to do an aerial, much less one in the sky. But come on, how hard could it be? Still, better safe than sorry (this was a once in a life-time moment for Zach, actually thinking things through) and he closed his eyes against the wind-- feeling the feathers on his back prickle at the cool breeze. The thermals seemed nice, but Zach knew better than anybody that there were hardly any good winds to ride on open water. Suddenly ambitious, the senior turned around and started walking over to the two people behind him (noticing that the running figure had just then caught up) and called, "I don't suppose either of you know how to do an aerial, do you?"

[Kylie Jenson]

Kylie grinned up at Vixen, looking a bit mischievous. "Running a little late, aren't we, Vixen?" she asked coyly, giving him a little wink. She looked at his clothing, one eyebrow rising above the other in a quizzical look. "Shouldn't you have, uh, maybe put on your swimtrunks?" she asked, pointing at them. She recognized what he was wearing as being the same thing he'd worn the day before, but she had enough tact to not mention anything about that.

She looked up in surprise at the other boy who'd called to them from a little farther down the beach. She hadn't really realized that he'd noticed their presence. Standing up, Kylie made her way over to the boy, leaving it up to Vix whether he followed or not.

"No, sorry," Kylie said with a small shrug as she approached the boy. "How's come you wanna know? Are you trying to learn how?" she asked. Without really meaning to, she gave the boy a once-over. He was certainly very nice-looking, she gave him that.

[Vix]

Vix nodded, and opened his mouth to say something but Kylie was already making her way over to the other boy on the beach. He asked if either of them knew how to do an aerial. Kylie was already asking him why, and Vix noted her sizing him up. He sighed. He followed after Kylie, then glanced at the boy. He stopped a few feet short of Kylie, and turned. He threw himself forward into the air and flipped, landing on his feet. He looked over at the boy. "Like that?" He asked, knowing he had already preformed what the boy was asking. He kept himself from letting a smug smile reach his face, and he was contemplation manipulating the boys emotions. He could easily make him angry at Kylie for being unable to do one, which would probably leave Kylie less happy than usual, but since kylie knew about Vix's ability, he thought it would best if he let the boy choose how to respond on his own.

[Zach Cortes]

Slightly disappointed at the girl's response-- Zach gave a small nod and smiled, his disappointment quickly fading like most of his sudden reactions. "I guess learning it first would be a good thing. I was just thinking how cool it would be to do an actual aerial in, well, the air. You know, be a real one-man air-show." He shrugged, "But the thing is, I don't even know how to do an aerial on the solid ground," he explained, kicking one foot in the sand to subtly empathize the not-so-solid ground. "So I was asking--"

And then the other one actually did a near perfect aerial. Sweet.

"Like that," Zach confirmed, looking impressed. Crossing his arms and leaning back on his one foot, the senior added jokingly, "You could be your own one-man air-show. Or ground show-- but that's no fun."

[Kylie Jenson]

Kylie nodded, agreeing with the other boy. "Yeah, I guess that would be pretty cool," she replied. Her eyebrows raised in surprise as Vixen launched himself into an aerial, and she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Way to be a show-off, Vix," she teased him gently, meandering over to him and giving him a playful poke in the ribs. Realizing that she was forgetting her manners, she stuck out a hand for the other boy to shake.

"I'm Kylie, by the way," she introduced herself, giving the boy a charming smile. "Have you been going to the school long?" In all honesty, she hoped that he had. It would be nice to have a friend who actually did know their way around the place, as well as all the best hang out spots. He could give them the low down on the other teachers in the school, or tell them which classes to steer clear of. Yes, having a friend who'd been there a while would be very nice indeed.

[Vix]

Vix chuckled lightly. "Well he did ask. " He said, squirming a bit at Kylie's poke. He stepped forward towards the boy, offering his hand as well. "And I'm Vixen."

He realized when he was with Kylie, he came out of his awkward socially-challenged shell. He kind of liked it, for once it felt like he could actually make friends. That was never an option before, and Vix always assumed it never would be. He had always wondered what having real friends would be like, and now he was hoping he would soon find out.

"I don't know if I'd be able to do one in the air though..." He spoke as he tilted his head up. He stared at the sky, imagining himself attempting one. He doubted it would work out very well, at least at first. If he worked at it he might be able to do it, but he doubted that would happen any time soon. It took him years to teach himself how to do a cartwheel, and learned from there. And he'd never even tried to do anything like that in the air before...

[Zach Cortes]

Zach nodded to them both, studying their faces a little more and putting them with names. "Nice to meet you both." He had never been good with that stuff-- but who's to say that he didn't ever try? Shaking each hand in return, the senior then offered, "I'm Zach. And yes," he directed his line of eyesight over to Kylie, smiling slightly, "I have been here for about a year now. I was here in my junior year-- and now it's year two at Galaxia as a senior."

Then, watching the so named Vixen studying the sky a bit, Zach gave a long glance down the beach-- pondering and studying the wind. It seemed strong enough, and the temperature was fair. There might be one or two fair thermals over the beach, and if they were lucky-- over the ocean. "You never know until you try," The avian grinned. "Who knows? Maybe it'd be a lot easier in the air. Wanna have a go?"

[Kylie Jenson]

Kylie smiled back at the boy, saying, "Oh, good. So you're pretty familiar with the school, then. I was beginning to wonder if anyone around here was. Everyone we meet seems to be new..."

Kylie watched as Vixen looking up at the sky, and Zach seemed to be studying the beach. She laughed gently at Zach suggestion, and looked up at the sky herself.

"Yeah, Vixen," she joined in, "you should try it. I'd be willing to bet there are a couple of good thermals over the water here, as long as you stick fairly close to the beach. It would certainly be interesting to watch, in any case." She imagined what an air aerial might look like. Kylie wasn't even really sure if it would be possible or not. If it was, it seemed to her that it'd be rather difficult, especially with her sort of wings.

[Vix]

Vix shrugged. Slow learner or not he wouldn't be able to learn without trying. Worse case he falls breaks his neck and dies. But that, was the worst possible thing. He assumed he'd probably end up in some rolling attempt, and maybe get close after about 100 tries. "Practice makes perfect" He thought to himself.

He glanced back and forth between Zach and Kylie. "I guess I could give it a shot." He said, ruffling out his wings. He bat them out a bit, stretching them. Speed was his best aspect in flying and he'd never tried doing tricks in the air, so chances were that this was not going to work well. But he had to give it a shot, otherwise he'd never know. Zach's interest in it made Vix start thinking and it did make him wonder if it was possible.

[Alexia Flynn]

Kylie bit her lip, suddenly unsure of whether or not Vix should actually attempt the air aerial. She knew that if he were to fall, there was no way she would be able to catch him. Even if she was able to catch him, her thin fairy-like wings would never be able to support both of them. Glancing over at Zach, she figured the other boy would probably be able to catch Vix, but the real question was whether he would. Kylie wasn't necessarily one to doubt others, but she certainly didn't want Vixen to get hurt.

"Try to use as high of a thermal as you can," she warned, probably unneededly. If he did, that would at least give him a little time to snap out his wings and at least soften his fall. "Do you want me to try it with you?" It did sort of look like fun, after all, and the petite girl was always excited for a challenge.