Attempt to fly
At first Daniel started rounding the way toward a hill he could climb, watching as it curves gently around one side of the sheer cliff. When he reaches a clearing he’d stop and flap.
Flap…
… flapflapflapflap!
Daniel rises off the ground sprinkling sand and leaves and dry grass in every direction, hovering gently until his chest grows sore and his wings fold back up. Lowering to the ground talons first, and feeling his padded ‘hands’ squish into the grass like fuzzy oven mitts. He did not know for how long, but he knew he could fly.
Around bushes and under tree branches, snapping twigs that get in his way and stomping into underbrush. His talons claw into the soil for a strong purchase, while his paws spread wide could grip against the branches and stone to pull himself upward. He found climbing the gentle slope of the hill to be easy and graceful, he rarely had to think about where he’d move his paws before finding purchase. He simply had to move, and he moved.
By the time he’d reached the highest point he was ducking under trees, padding towards the steep edge, and gazing down across a wide canyon as the sun rose higher into the clouds.
Better still, he spotted what appeared to be a waving black river that weaves in through the valley. It looked a lot like a road, coming in from the south and then turning east between the mountains. He rationalized that it was possible for the sight to be an actual river, perhaps alien or polluted, muddy or simply locked in shade from this current angle. But it still looked a lot like a roadway, which meant this was his best chance for finding people. Finding civilization and an explanation, assuming he doesn’t simply wake up.
Daniel feels his wings flex, and with a calm realization he notices he has no fear of heights. Nor any particular fear of being trapped here. His mind sharp and clear, yet alien and emotionless. It was not that he didn’t feel any emotions at all, he noted, but rather that any fear he might feel seemed irrational all of a sudden. Childish.
He knew it was childish to keep assuming this might be a dream that all goes away, and while he still felt the urge to shout and scream and rage in the back of his mind, something now told him to be practical. That acting like a toddler throwing a tantrum would never improve his situation.
The winged lion steps forward with it’s wings spread and the front paws lifted up. A leap, a drop, and swoop. Daniel could see the trees shooting colder, the cliff-side behind him scraping past at ridiculous speed, and the entire horizon appear to twirl around as he changes position midair. The wings flap and catch air on the way down, then they flap harder, and harder, and yet harder still. His chest was heaving already and all he’d managed was to hold in level flight. Twisting his neck to aim toward the black river he grew tired in the air, spreading his wings and keeping them level rather than constant flapping.
And in such a state he glided, gently and easily over the tree-tops, swooping quickly through the valley.
When he arrives near his destination he’d spot the telltale signs of a roadway even through his exhausted, the dull pain in his chest where muscles he never knew existed felt the fatigue of trying to flap into the air. He twisted and maneuvered, but was losing altitude fast. Daniel had to flap harder to get higher into the air, then coast down the roads, using the open space as a nice gap between trees for level flying. Over-all this entire scenario felt peaceful.
On a dime it goes from peaceful to elation, the rumble of a car zooming up from behind caught his attention. He could see it, a light blue pickup truck with a single occupant steering the wheel. The person inside obscured thanks to this angle, but just knowing someone was there caused a tingle of pride, or expectation, of … of what he wasn’t sure.
Daniel slows to match speeds with the truck, making sure to maneuver himself directly above it. The driver inside most definitely appeared to notice, one thing to spot a flying lion and quite another to realize it’s stalking you.
Travelers! The sphinx’s mind was shouting at itself, travels going through MY territory. MY home. MY place to defend. And the sphinx’s mind was pleased with this, it knew just what to do while Daniel knew exactly what he planned to ask. Exactly what he planned to say.
A swoop forward, a violent crash, and with the crunch of cement and the rending of metal Daniel ended up snagging the front of the pickup truck with one claw then driving his heels into the pavement, bracing against those bird legs to stop the car. He was just a hair bit bigger than the car itself, his human head only just barely small enough to fit inside an open door, and far too large to fit through the window. While straining, it was not at all difficult to force that car to come to a stop.
The person inside was now at a blind panic, the scent of burning rubber wafted into the air and smoke started to billow up thanks to the friction. A revving engine and the desperate turning of a car that tries to continue forward was all one could hear for a time. When it pauses, it’s only long enough for the back tire to start spinning the opposite direction.
Daniel raised his eyebrow to the person inside, peering through a window partially obscured by the glare of the sunlight. He shifted his weight backward, braced his right paw under the front of the car while keeping his left paw onto the top of the hood. Long gashes from his newfound claws were already there, and he could feel a light sting in his hind legs as the car tried to pull him forward against the bracing of his talons. Scraping him through the cement, feeling those solid scales roughed up as the toenails gouge into the road.
The sphinx simply lifts up, hugging the front of the truck into his chest and using that bit of leverage to tilt the back end up. The wheels were no longer burning rubber, they were simply spinning dead and empty into the open air.
Daniel grins to the person inside, watching someone desperately try to fiddle with the door handle even as he’s holding the car aloft. This was not casual, nor was it easy, but it wasn’t any terrible strain either. But the teenager knew what he wanted to say, and right now ‘Listen already, I’m not here to hurt you just want to talk’ was at the front of his mind.
“Listen traveler and listen well!” were the words that actually came out. “No harm comes to those of swift thought, lend thy ear, lend they voice, what choice have you got?”
He almost wanted to question the discrepancy, but he was having too much fun. Maybe he was simply getting into the spirit of things in this most definitely not a dream. ‘Where is the city of Longport? I’m lost! I need to find my home alright, can you help me?’ he wanted to say. He tried to say.
“Assist me with haste, Long are the ports I seek, lost but not in the waters deep, home needs no direction.” Was what actually came out in that same thunderously sweet voice, as if a woman and a lion both attempted to caw like a bird. Daniel was no longer having any fun, nor could he pleasantly ignore what was clearly a major problem.
Eyes wide with rage and panic, he shouts toward the terrified driver and practically shakes the car about like a tin can. He wanted to say the obvious ‘No, stop! I’m human like you, don’t be afraid!’
“Fear not, traveler and stop thy blinded terror. On two legs I walk, with tulips I talk, with a head made of hoarse air and a tale that is never there, I am as you. What am I?” was what actually came out, spilling past his lips even as he was thinking entirely different words.
Now, thought Daniel, was probably a good time for the both of them to panic.
Written by Arbon on 27 May 2016
