9946/Gwendolyn's First Flight

Gwendolyn's First Flight
Date of Scene:	06 November 2019
Location:	Backyard - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Gwendolyn tests her wings and finally learns to fly! Cannonball joins in; ethics are also discussed.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Dragonfly (Armenteros), Cannonball

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Nightingale has posed:
     It had been a couple weeks since the last time Shannon had spoken to Gwendolyn in more than passing, whether through classes, or bumping into her in the kitchen. It was also a couple weeks closer to winter, with the sharp, cold scent of snow just hinted at in the air, a harbinger of things to come. With that in mind, it was as good a time as any to enjoy a beautiful early afternoon outside with one of the newer students at Xavier's, and perhaps--with any luck--share with her the joys of flight.

     As the pair meandered outside, the seraphic sophomore is gesturing towards the sky. "I've heard the winters can get pretty rough here, and it'd be so nice if you could see this place from above just once before the season changes. It's incredible to be able to fly... and I bet you can do it."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     Gwendolyn is dressed for the weather - overdressed, really. Being a southern girl, snow is a thing she doesn't really know of. Jokingly, she mentioned that it was a myth that was shared down south to sell bread and milk at higher-than-usual prices, even though the last time it froze in Louisiana was some decade that started with a 19. Dressed in long pants, boots, and a jacket that had cutouts for her wings, Gwendolyn looked exactly like the sort ready to start on an arctic expedition.
     "You think so?" Gwendolyn asks, looking back over her shoulder towards her wings which, with a flutter, unfold and re-fold. Something she's gotten very good at since she's not had to worry about hiding them so much. "I mean, I know flying is cool, but these don't...I mean...you've got feathers and muscles. These are just like plastic."

Nightingale has posed:
     "They look more like a dragonfly's wings to me, and they fly just fine. Or a bee, even. Ever see a bee's wings? So tiny, so thin and fragile, yet they carry a body so much bigger in proportion to the size of the wings than makes any degree of sense. But it happens." Shannon's dressed a little more lightly, in a cream-colored tunic sweater with classic cable knitting pattern, long dark blue jeans, and knee-length caramel suede boots. Still warm, but perhaps not so weighted down as Gwendolyn is at the moment.

     "When you move your wings, do you feel the muscles in your back right where they connect to your body? Those are the muscles you'll be using primarily, since I'm pretty sure our wings are different enough that you don't have muscles in them like I do mine." She takes a few steps back from Gwendolyn once they're both on a grassy area, where a bad landing might be mitigated by the softness of the terrain below them. Stretching out her wings, she begins to move them very slowly up and down, as is natural for her wing type. "Try unfurling your wings and moving them. Just really slowly at first, get used to how it feels."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     With the temperature being in the mid fifties, Gwendolyn is able to shed her jacket and put it on a nearby chair, letting her wings unfurl to their full extent. Nearly as long as she is tall, she rolls her shoulders and straightens her back, tensing one muscle after the other in an attempt to make them move more than the little bit she was able to previously. It takes her a little bit of doing but she finally hits the right combination of flexing and straining and her wings flutter, quickly.

     Gwendolyn jumps a little, looking over her shoulders at her wings quivering with each tensing of those muscles, watching them twist a little as she thinks to angle down or up. "This is so weird..." She says, more to herself than anyone else. "They move so differently, compared to yours. Kind of like a dragonfly's wings."

Nightingale has posed:
     A silvery giggle escapes Shannon, and she nods. "That's kind of like I thought they might, when I first saw them. Keep at that for a few minutes, till the feel of it becomes really familiar to you. You're probably using muscles you've never even tried to work with before, so take it easy this first time, okay?" A light breeze blows from her direction as she moves her wings a little faster, the feathers catching the air and sending it towards Gwendolyn. In the summer, this might actually feel nice. "Our wings do move differently, so this is going to take practice on your part. Maybe you could study how a dragonfly flies, and that could help you."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     Gwendolyn spent a lot of time watching dragonflies in the bayou, so that shouldn't be too difficult for her to pick up. Still, there aren't a lot of them up here, so it looks like she might be making a visit to the library to watch some videos or taking a ride to somewhere that might have a few dragonflies flying around. Still, it's good advice and she does nod in agreement.

     Turning to face the wind, Gwen lets her wings catch hold, closing her eyes beneath the goggles and letting them move. She can lean into the wind with her wings, the membranes surprisingly strong, able to hold her up in the smallest breeze. "This is going to take a lot of practice." She says, looking over to Shannon. I can already tell my back's going to be sore in the morning from this."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods, and smiles wryly. "It probably will be. This is something completely new to you, so go easy on yourself. I'd check with some of the teachers, but they may recommend a bit of strength training for you so you can build yourself up for flight, same way Cannonball did for me."

     Taking one more step back, she grins, seing the way the other girl is leaning into the wind, and getting a feel for it. "Good, you're feeling the wind and the air around you. Now, when you feel ready, try moving your wings just a little bit faster, like you see a dragonfly do when they're taking off." She holds her breath, crossing her fingers, silently cheering her friend on. Come on, you can do it....

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     Gwendolyn's eyes are closed beneath her goggles. So she's not really looking, only feeling the wind moving over her wings. Since they're not flesh and blood, they don't get cold but they do have attachments that tug and twist and give her all sorts of information she didn't have prior to this. The way the wind is moving, how a gust was coming and the way she could move it. She leans forward a little and angles her wings just so and, with a gust, is lifted off her feet for a few seconds, blown backwards, and lands on her face in the grass with a thud!

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
"I flew! Sorta." Gwendolyn says, pushing herself up from the ground, picking a bit of sod out of her goggles. "I really flew!"

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon is laughing and cheering as Gwendolyn finally lifts off the ground, clapping for sheer joy. She scampers over to the other girl and hugs her, twirling her around for a moment before setting her down. "See, I told you that you could do it! Now it's just going to take practice, and a lot of it. And exercise. Got to build yourself up so you don't get hurt flying."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:

     Grass is /everywhere/ and she'll probably...no, she's going to have to get clean clothes, thanks to the mud and grass stains on her pants and shirt, but she flew! She really, really did! Shannon's twirling and giggling is returned in kind, Gwendolyn *lifting* the other girl up by her arms effortlessly and laughing before realizing exactly what she did and setting her down, a blush appearing from beneath her goggles. "Sorry. I just got excited."

     A bit of grass is plucked from the corner of her goggles, Gwendolyn turning to face the wind again, her wings going out to catch the gusts, fluttering experimentally. "A lot of practice. A lot of clothes, too, that I don't mind getting dirty. A helmet, maybe, if that becomes a common thing."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon doesn't mind being lifted and twirled about, only yelping in surprise and then laughing as she's picked up with surprising ease. "Hey, don't worry about it, I'd rather see you laughing and learning to appreciate your abilities for the gifts they are." She helps brush a little of the grass from Gwendolyn's sleeves, giggling as she nods in agreement. "Yeah, I'd keep some old clothes on hand for flight practice. Your first few flights are probably going to get a little messy. It /does/ get better with practice, I swear. Helmet's up to you, you know your own physiology better than anyone else."

     Seeing Gwendolyn fluttering her wings again, she just grins and steps back a little ways, crossing her arms as she watches a new flyer test their wings, thinking back to her own first flights a couple years past. Had it really been that long ago?

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie comes walking along the path to see what is up, he saw a face up higher than normal, and has decided to come check it out.

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     Probably it had been. Gwendolyn only got her wings a little more than six months ago and, from what Shannon knows of where she came from, getting out and testing them was probably something that she wasn't allowed to do for safety reasons. She tentatively tries again, waiting for a gust and fluttering her wings, bouncing on her toes to get a few seconds of flight before landing - this time on her feet and not her face. She looks to Shannon with a grateful smile, catching sight of Samuel Guthrie coming around the corner and giving him a wave. "Samuel!" She calls. "Shannon's teaching me how to fly!"

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon just beams with pride at Gwendolyn, her smile wide enough to swallow a semi truck. As she gains those few seconds in the air, she claps wildly, twirling around and laughing. "You did it! Told you that you could!"

     Seeing Sam approaching, she waves, trotting on over to give him a massive bear hug. "Hey there, big brother. You're just in time... you got to see Gwendolyn's first flights!"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles a bit and says "Well looks like she picked a much better spot for it than mine." He jokes a bit and says "So, lets see, how long ya think you can stay up?

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     "I just started." Gwendolyn pushes her hair behind her ears, turning into the wind so it'll get out of her face enough for her to tie it back with a twist of a scrunchie. "I can't just fly...I have the mechanics to work out, like Shannon. So...like a second? Two? Three would be pushing it."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Well, why not try and see if you can do it? Even if it's just a few seconds more each time, you're still getting better. As for the mechanics, don't beat yourself up over it. It's like that for a little while when you're first learning. But if you keep at it, soon it'll be second nature." Giggling madly, she thumbs over towards Sam, winking at Gwendolyn. "You should see how he flies, and where he gets his lesser-known nickname from."

     Shannon turns towards Sam, smiling, unable to keep from puffing up with no small amount of pride. "I told her about exercising to build herself up a little more for flight, same way you did for me, but maybe you could suggest some exercises for her as well?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, and says "Well Ah would think Gwendolyn may have to work a bit more on speed of flapping where your more powerful strokes. Ah could be wrong but if her wings work like a dragonfly's that would be the case. Mind you it aint always. Gwen maybe able to fly not even moving them, but from what have seen ah would think Speeds her ally. Might suggest some minor weights if you can wear them and don't hurt get you used to a bit more resistance, so when not there, you can flap quicker. Staying aloft was not my problem back in the day Ah was more oh no a turn, crash into a wall.

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     Gwendolyn nods. "Like that car show from a few years ago said...speed doesn't kill you. It's the sudden stop at the end that gets you." Looking down at herself she tries again, fluttering her wings in a gust and boucing on her toes, remaining aloft for a good count of five before landing again, wincing, reaching back to rub her shoulder, right where the wing connects to her body. "Ouch."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods his head a bit and says "Is like any other muscle, gonna be sore from using it for a bit but the more you use it the stronger, and less sore it gets. Think of it like a kid learning to walk, you just gotta put in the time and effort.

Nightingale has posed:
     "You know," Shannon muses. "Megan's wings are a lot like yours in their way. Just watch out for the pixie dust. But she flies in a way very similar to you. Maybe you could ask her, too." She smiles over to Sam and nods, thinking for a moment. "That's kind of what Megan said for the difference between her flight and mine. She has raw speed on her side, but less endurance. My speed may be less than hers, but when it comes to strength and endurance for length of flight, I can out-last her by far. Everyone's a little different that way."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     "I'm just happy I get to notch 'flying' on my player sheet." Gwendolyn says with a grin, spinning on her toe in a sort of pirouette and leaping into the air, landing on one foot and nearly toppling over when the fall takes longer than she expects. She's a natural, it seems, once she gets this balance thing. "Doesn't do me much good, carrying these wings around, if I can't use them. Besides, I'd like to go for a flight in the spring or something with all the flyers in the school. Big spring field trip."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles a bit and says "Well we don't quite migrate south, but we might be able to get a group flying thing going sometime. Will try to stay with the group if we do."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods, and grins at them both. "Over the winter, maybe, we could organize sessions for us flyers in the DR, make a little contest of it with an agility course or something. Winner with the best time gets a pizza to themselves or something. I don't know, what do you two think?"

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     Gwendolyn looks over at Samuel with a grin. "What, do you have no speed limit or something?" That's the magic of having powers - some go beyond what physical motion would require. She turns into the wind again, flutters her wings and lifts her feet off the ground, not jumping this time, but hovering, and manages to stay up for afew seconds before her muscles give out. "This is..." She's out of breath. "Surprisingly tiring."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles and says "A limit yea, Ah have a max speed of around mach 1, lower speeds are harder for me than higher speeds. My flight is more like a rocket, or a cannonball hence the name." He will lift off and do a circuit of the school right fast letting her see and hear his blasting. "Thats my flight." He says as he lands "Ah can hover and go closer to normal folks speeds now, but used to be all out and in a straight line.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon giggles softly, stepping well back from Sam's takeoff. She stage-whispers to Gwen, "That's where he also got a nickname he told me about a few days ago... fire farts." Snickering, she ducks out of Sam's way, shielding Gwen with her wings as well.

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     Fitting nickname, there, as Cannonball streaks off into the distance, followed by a trail of fire that circles around and lands about where he took off from, the ground scorched from where he lifted off. Gwendolyn finds herself peeping over Shannon's wings as he takes off, unable to shield herself from the blast with her wings like Shannon does. She can't help but giggle a little too, at the nickname. "Better not feed 'im any gumbo, otherwise he might leave a cloud b'hind that'll clear out all of the parish!"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to the two and says "Yea, and Ah hit things with my head. Now as Ah have told Shannon there are also other ways of using your powers you may figure out with practice and time, as I have learned to hove as Ah said or do a blast punch or kick.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Always did say you have a thick skull," Shannon quips, her eyes twinkling with mirth as she teases the living daylights out of Sam. "He's right, though. Usually, other ways can be found of using your powers. There's one I need to experiment with... but it won't be pleasant." Her voice grows a bit more quiet, a bit more somber for a moment. "If I can absorb injuries, I wonder if it's possible to pass them on as well."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     "I bet it helps, what with him crashing through things, unable to turn." Gwendolyn giggles, folding her wings, pulling her jacket back on to cover them and to warm up as the situation becomes a little more serious. "Well..." She rubs her shoulders a little, waving as Samuel Guthrie heads off. "You take the good with the bad - it's all you really can do, right? going into a fight injured just to pass it on to others? That seems....like an emergency kind of thing."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shivers a little bit. "I don't like the idea of it, and honestly, I'm reluctant to even find out. That could lead down a slippery slope I'm not real sure I want to travel." She shrugs a little bit, hooking her thumbs in the pocket of her jeans. "I mean, some medicines /can/ be poisons. Take digitalis, for instance. One of the earliest heart medicines, made from foxgloves. In tiny doses, it can help. But mis-used, it can kill. You /can/ use it that way, sure, but that doesn't mean you /should/." She sighs, and runs her fingers through her hair. "It'd have to be a pretty dire situation for me to even consider using it, and that's if it's even possible for me. If I were out in the field, and I had to use that to deter an enemy to buy time to get a teammate to safety... maybe. Big maybe. If there were other ways possible, I'd prefer to use those first."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     "Hippocratic oath is first, do no harm." Gwendolyn sidles up next to Shannon, putting an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle hug. "Might be good to know if you can do it. You might not be able to at all, then the point is moot. YOu might be able to, though, and then you have a powerful bullet that you can pull out to save someone." She sighs a little, looking at her hands. "It's like my being able to look back in time with a touch. I've got ot be careful what I see because I find it really, really hard to forget things if I'm not careful.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly. "There may be times I have to fight, perhaps even kill. Hopefully years in the future, mind you, though I've already been in the field a few times in some pretty hairy situations. If it turns out to be possible, though, I hope I never have to use my powers in that way. I was nicknamed 'Nightingale' by my family for healing." Tilting her head, she listens to Gwendolyn for a moment, brows furrowed in thought. "If you're not careful? So it's possible for you to filter what you see in your mind, then? Or is that something you haven't tried yet?"

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
Gwendolyn holds up her hand, clad in a glove. "Kind of like Miss Rogue, how she can't touch things? If I touch things and I'm not very careful, I might pick something up that someone might want to keep a secret, or would be embarrased about. I mean, just the bathroom itself - you won't want to know how many people don't wash their hands when they're done." She makes a face and giggles. "Seriously, though...some secrets need to stay secret, and I have to be careful not to dig them out too easily."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods once, thinking for a moment. "I'm trying to remember if you wear gloves or not to help prevent accidental use of your gifts. I considered doing that for a while when my mutation first manifested, but saw pretty quickly it was the only way I'd learn to use my gift. It took coming here, though, to learn better control... and I'm still learning. Probably always will be. So will you. But at least here, you have that chance."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
     It's a little of both, really. Some to hide her hands, some to keep from accidentally picking things up when she touches. "It's hard, sometimes, to think of them as gifts." Gwendolyn says quietly. "You're so pretty, with your wings, like an angel. Me, I've got the antenna and bug eyes and see the past and can apparently pick you up without too much effort."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Then you need to learn to see your own beauty. I mean, look at those wings. They look so delicate, like shimmering, iridescent wisps of dawn on your back. And the antenna? They're so unique, they're... adorable! And your eyes? Sure, multifaceted and sparkling, but they look more like gems than anything else. The armor on your arms, and the strength? You could be a knight in shining armor, ready to do battle to defend the innocent. Your ability to see the past through touch? Think about it for a moment. A child could be lost one day, and your gift could be the very thing that helps save their life." Shannon gestures with her hands as she talks, becoming quite animated. "They're gifts, Gwendolyn. Sure as we're standing here, Someone Up There decided to bless you with a whole lot extra."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
Is she blushing?

     Yeah, she's blushing. A lot. "T..thanks.". Gwendolyn gives Shannon another tight hug that's held for a few seconds before she releases the other girl, looking out over the garden and the setting sun. "I guess it's all on how you look at it." she finally says with a nod, taking a step towards the setting sun, turning to face Shannon, a determined expression on her face. "I'm going to be a helper. I'm not going to be what my daddy said mutants were."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon smiles and nods firmly. "Then that's what you'll be. You'll learn about your gifts, and work with them. Some of yours may be like mine, in that they have to be learned by doing, not by simulations in the DR. And unfortunately, that is something I don't know how to help with. Have you tried asking miss Pryde who could help you? She's pretty good about that stuff--and you may wind up with a cup of cocoa in the process. She makes some killer hot cocoa." A grin spreads across her face, and she starts heading back towards the mansion. "I imagine some of the stuff we've just been talking about are the same things the teachers and others at the school have since it was their turn to be students. Sometimes there's no clear answer. But at least you don't have to go searching for those answers alone."

Dragonfly (Armenteros) has posed:
Gwendolyn looks over the countryside for a second or two, then back to the house and the retreating Shannon. "With friends like you, I'm never alone." She says, jogging off after. "Come on. I've got some bengets to make." and, offering the other girl a hand, leads her back to the kitchen to cause some culinary mayhem.