The Return of Gaia and Stormwing

[Wolf]

Gaia continued to fall, terror in her every thought. She blinked, trying to clear the water from her eyes, and when she opened them again, there was Stormwing. What was he doing here? Hadn't he flown to safty? That was when she relized that he was trying to save her. She knew that if she crashed into him going this fast, she would likely break his back and send them both to their doom.

So for him, she tried to lift her waterlogged wings, fighting against the pain that shot through her as her muscles tried to work agaisnt the heavy water and the gravity both. "Come on." She said to herself, just loud enough to hear. She couldn't raise her wings for the sake of herself, but if she didn't, she was going to kill Stormwing.

It was that thought, that horrible thought that she couldn't bare, that lent her the strength to unfold her wings halfway. It wasn't much, but as the wind whistled through her feathers, she began to slow down, not a lot, and she couldn't possibly pull out of the dive by herself, but enough that maybe, just maybe, Stormwing could save her.

(16)

[~*Ryuu Squall*~]

Yes! As he blinked away the rain that kept getting in his face, he could see that her wings where now partly opened. As her decent slowed slightly, he was also able to spred his wings just a little bit and level up his flying just slightly. This way he was still going faster then she was, but that he wouldent crash into her nearly as fast. He was catching up with her now. Nearly there... he could almost feel her feathers in his talons now, but how was he going to help stop her? If he grabbed her from behind, she might be forced to close her wings comptly, and they would both go plummiting to the ground. An idea accured to him, He diditn need to gainground, so he didint have to flap his wings. All he needed was for them to be fully outstarched so he could glide. So if he coudl get under her, and she could land right in the middle of his back in a way which wouldent touch his wings, prehaps tehy coudl survive this... It was going to be hard though.

(17/25)

[Wolf]

Gaia continued to plummit through the sky. She could see Stormwing changing his position slightly, what was he trying to do? Both their lives depended on her finding out. Wait? Was he really trying to catch her on his back? Would that even work with her feathers being so slippery from all the water? She wasn't sure, but anything was worth a try at this point.

Now how was this going to work? She thought as fast as possible, and realized that she could help. By angling her wings slightly, she could change her direction a few inches in any direction. That would certainly help to position her correctly. Now the only factor was if the wind would blow her or Stormwing off course.

She was falling quite fast still, Stormwing getting closer and closer. She would have only a few seconds to react and position herself perfectly. With great effort she angled her rain soaked wings a bit to the left, a bit to the right, up slightly... There! She was in the perfect position.

When she was just about to land on him, she remembered her earlier fear. What if her weight was too great for him? There was no going back now though, and she closed her eyes tightly, hoping against hope that everything would work out.

(18/25)

[~*Ryuu Squall*~]

Suddenly he was beneeath her, and almost fully opening his wings, he became level and right underneath her. After a slit secound he heard a thud, and a great waight on his back. Now he fully opened his wings. The wind battered at them murcilessly, making his muscles ache, but he new that as long as he kept his wings fully opened, they would survive. Or at lesat, he hoped they would. He was gliding now, decending a lot quicklyer then he usually would have done, but at least neither of them where plummiting down. He hoped they would get out from under this cloud soon though, drenched feathers made them fall even faster, and every secound under thsi cloud they where getting wetter and wetter.

(19/25)

[Wolf]

Gaia felt herself land on him, and instently gripped his back hard with all four of her mismatched feet, trying hard not to dig her claws or talons into him. Even with this hold though, she could feel herself slipping on his wet feathers. "Stormwing?" She said, her voice small compared to the crashing of the storm. "Please hurry, I don't know how long I can hold on for."

She wanted to thank him for saving her of course, but that wold be saved for later, because she had more pressing issues now.

(20/25)

[~*Ryuu Squall*~]

Beak clenched shut in consentration, he coudl not reply. Beating his wimgs would not help, he would not be able to move them enough with Gaia in the way on his back, and trying to flap them would stop his glidding and send them plummiting to their deaths. All he could do was strain with every pinion in his wings to streatch them out even further, and keep them liek that. He thought prehaps it was getting alittle lighter, did taht mean they where flying out of the cloud? He coudlent yet tell. So, he just kept on gliding. He coudl see that the ground was slwoly comming closer now though.

[Wolf]

Gaia was beyond words now and was simply using all her strength to hold onto his back. She could feel herself slipping, and concentrated instead on looking at the ground and stubbornly telling herself over and over that they were going to make it. They had to make it, for their love, for their unborn chicks, for the sake of their owners.

When they were about 30 feet up, she began to believe her silent words. They were going to make it, she could feel it from her head to the tips of her wings. "Thank you Stormwing." She whispered in his ear and gave it a small lick.

(22/25)

[~*Ryuu Squall*~]

Consentrate....consentrate...they were coming up to the most critical part. They might now be out of teh cloud but still... They where going too fast for him to come to a gliding holt. Instead he needed to do an extreme wing flair with all his strengh. Just a few more secounds...consentrate... and then suddenly he felt a gantle lick on his left ear. such a tiny thing, how could it have such a tiny thing make such a big differnece? His wings jirked slughtly closed. And they were falling, falling, falling. He felt Gaias waight suddenly dispaear. No! But there was nothing he coudl do. All he coudl do was flair his wings, do a couple of back of backwards flaps to slow his desent and come crashing to the ground. Where was Gaia? Was she alright?

(23/25)

[Wolf]

Gaia let out a screech of surprise at his wings closed and she was flung off his back. By this time they were only about ten feet up, low enough that when she crashed to the ground in a tangle of talons and wings, she didn't die, but she did hear a sickening snap in her right wing as she tumbled over and over.

She sat up painfully, feeling bruises beginning to form underneath her feathers. With a quick breah to brace herself, she tried to move her right wing, and found to her great surprise that she could. The noise she heard hadn't been her bone breaking, but the shaft of several of her flight feathers. She wouldn't be able to fly for a few weeks while they grew back, but she was alive.

She spotted Stormwing a few feet away and limped to his side. "You saved me." She said simply, staring up at him from shining eyes. Her feathers hung limply, falling out in places, and they were covered with dust, but she was alive thanks to him. Suddenly, as though just realizing how badly the situation could have turned, she buried her head in Stormwing's feathers and cried. "Thank you, thank you." She said over and over again, trembling with relief.

(24/25)

[~*Ryuu Squall*~]

Stormwing was trembling too, with shock, worry and exhaustion. "Are you alright? Im sorry, I tried. You slipped off... I tried!" He babbled quickly. She was a mess, pinion feathers snapped and the rest ruffled, wet and dusty. He daubted he looked much better. But she seemed OK...she was walking over to him. She must be alright then! And Gaia was thanking him...for what?

(25/25!)