[Video]

[lonered]

[Keith spent a long time debating whether to bother with video for this or just go with text. But the truth is, for what he's aiming for, it's better to do this virtual-face to virtual-face. Or something. He's even done bothering with the frankly ridiculous mask. For now.

The video opens to a fairly normal looking teenager (aside from the fact that what's visible of him is definitely dressed in a skin-tight vaguely glowy futuristic space suit), hesitating a moment like he's still debating on how to begin.]

So. Uh.

[Good start, Keith. Solid.]

I guess all of us are stuck in the same boat whether we want to be or not. And apparently that boat is headed for some other world before we know it.

I'll be honest. I don't know if we can trust this Astoria as far as we can throw her. [And he knows she can hear this, but he's said as much to her face, so there's that.] But for now I guess I plan on going along to see how things play out. [Which after discussing with Shiro, he feels pretty okay about, as plans go.]

But... just waltzing into other worlds, and potentially meddling in them... that could go bad really quickly if someone makes an enemy of the wrong person. If that happens, it might not be a terrible idea to know what we've got on our side.

Not just magic either. Because... that's really new to me at least. But we all bring some experience or skills or knowledge or something to the table, right? If we're gonna be any sort of team, we may as well know our strengths. And what we might be lacking.

[Maybe? Keith is now wondering if it was a bad idea to give him a way to talk to so many people at once. But he's committed now, no help for it. So he'll even go first.]

I'm Keith. Uh... I guess I'm pretty good with a sword. Pretty good in anything that flies. And I'm mostly used to being in space, lately. But it does't sound like that'll be helpful in this El Minha place. Also apparently I can fly now. So... there's that.

Anyone else feel like sharing?


(( hit him up, hit each other up, threadjack as you like! ))

Comments

[lonered]

[Keith may have pushed every last boundary in his basics courses he could, put the flight simulator through absolute hell over and over again. But this is no simulation. Even so, he's definitely itching to find where the outer limits of what he can do lie.

What Shiro proposes has him lighting up though. Okay. It appeals to his competitive streak, and gives him a goal instead of just practicing basic maneuvers.]

Okay. So... aerial tag. I like it.

[He'll definitely catch him. He's determined.]

[spaceforged]

Stay down here. I'm going to rise up. You can start after me when I put myself into a dive.

[Shiro rises, curving upwards and kicking in his boosters to get some quick height. He waits for the count of three and puts himself into a steep dive. It's game on.]

[lonered]

All right. Go for it.

[Keith is so exceptionally ready. He watches Shiro closely, hovering where he is, eyes tracking the shape of the Black Lion as he rises, sees him hit the apex of his rise and then that brief moment before the dive. ...and then Keith is in motion.

Nowhere near as fast as Shiro with those boosters, but without -- he thinks he can make a decent go at it, at least. He's heading not quite straight for him, but aimed along an intercept course for the other's current trajectory. He may be new at flying without a ship, buthis instincts for flight in general are sharp as ever.]

[spaceforged]

[This was a good idea. The change in Keith is apparent even from this distance. But he's been at this for longer and has more weight. He lets himself drop like a stone halfway into his dive. His weight and gravity serve as a boost, making Keith miss by inches. The tip of his tail teasingly slides against his arm.

He pulls up out of the dive, carving a half spiral to get himself back under control. Yet he keeps an eye on Keith. He knows far better than to under estimate him. Getting cocky will be being caught.]

[lonered]

[Keith is already maneuvering to flip himself to continue chase when it becomes clear that he's going to be just short.

Then he feels the brush of that tail and he squawks, making a grab for it. Shiro did that on purpose. It is on now.

It was on before. It's been on since Shiro suggested it because Keith's competitive streak wouldn't have it any other way at all. But now he's launching himself straight after Shiro, rising up to have the, er, high "ground" on him.]

[spaceforged]

[He manages not to laugh at Keith's squawk. Barely. It's been a lot easier to laugh in this much lighter environment. He twists to see where he is and ah, yes. Coming right for him. He twists sailing below upside down.

Feet tucked in like as if he's just cruising like an otter in the water. The Lions can hover and he's never been more glad for that.]

[lonered]

[Damn straight coming right for him. Keith will keep this up until he catches Shiro. ...he sees the otter impression. He sees that. Keith's eyes narrow and he swoops down at him.]

Real cute, Shiro!

[REAL CUTE. ...it actually is, but also infuriating. So.]

[spaceforged]

[He times it as he drifts and waits. He waits. His tail flicks back and forth. Just as Keith's almost upon him, he lightly bops him with his feet snapping up and makes his escape.

He twists back around as he moves away with a waggle of his wings. Shiro goes straight up, zigzagging like a rabbit.] Nice try, Keith!

[lonered]

[This time the string of words that leave Keith's mouth as he winds up thrown entirely off course by that bopping, is not the sort of language one uses in polite company.

He rights himself again and actually, slows down, takes a moment to consider. He may not be saying it out loud, but there's no doubt in his mind that he's repeating the usual mantra in his mind. Patience yields focus.

So focus, damnit. What does he know? He knows Shiro's got more experience and better technique at flying like this. He knows he's still working on the finer points of his own ability. But he also knows he can maneuver better, quicker -- maybe not faster, but certainly quicker, more agile. So.

How can he use that? He watches the zig-zag pattern. ...okay. Nodding to himself, he shoots up quick, not at full speed, not yet, saving something for a push at the end, for once.]

[spaceforged]

[He risks a glance down. Keith is following but not as fast as before. He parts his metal jaws in a Lion smile. Tag had been the right game and teaching him direct attacks wouldn’t work the right action.

He rumbles his approval. Keith might just catch him. He veres sharply to the right and levels off. How fast can he adjust now? If he’s to stay ahead of him he needs to know. He has a feeling a defensive bop will just be handing Keith a win so he doesn’t play coy or taunt anymore.]

[lonered]

[Keith catches that movement and angles himself at a less severe angle, towards Shiro, though looking like he's going to overshoot him at the angle he's currently at. And that's the plan really, get himself around and above, push himself until he's just over Shiro and then drop.

At least the flying is coming a great deal easier. He's too focused on catching Shiro to overthink. Instinct is still his best guide, and as long as he's letting it stay in charge, his magic more or less falls into line.

As long as his brain stays mostly out of it.]

[spaceforged]

[Keith is going to overshoot. Don't underestimate him, his common sense whispers. There's a damn good reason Keith was the rising star of the Garrison and all he has to do is think back to how he moved with him not even ten minutes ago to see it.

He keeps on course for now, as Keith gets nearer and nearer he forms a plan in his head. It might work. It might not. But his goal has never changed, it's to teach and help Keith get a handle on flying.

If he loses. They still win.]

[lonered]

[Keith keeps an eye on Shiro, even as he does overshoot, up above him now, more or less laying out above him, watching for a fraction of a second before he's diving -- and maybe it's alarming because it looks like free fall. And it is. He just lets his magic go and drops straight down, picking up momentum, headed for Shiro.

He's waiting, timing himself just right, intent on catching Shiro off-guard with his direction -- and catching him.]

[spaceforged]

[Of all the things Shiro expected. It hadn't been Keith dropping his magic entirely to free fall. If he picks up too much speed...He doesn't want to finish that thought. In hindsight he should have seen the danger of risky moves like this. Keith had stopped focusing on anything else but winning.

He blows out air and shuts his jaws with a growl. The plan shifts in his head and gains new dimensions. Keith over shot above him and judging by his falling rate and angle... Shiro slams on the brakes and lets himself briefly fall back feet first. That should be enough.

He surges forward lightning fast with his jaws opening to catch the back of Keith's armor. If he can get a grip he's going to stop and hang in the air tail swishing back and forth like an irritated cat.]

Keith. Do you remember what I said about how little protection you have while you're flying?

[If he can't get a grip the words still enter Keith's head as Shiro dives after him.]

[lonered]

[And Keith certainly isn't expecting to be snagged straight out of the air by the jaws of his bestfriend-turned-mechanical-lion. He jerks straight out of his fall and... dangles. It's not the best look for his pride or dignity.

At all.

And then Shiro is talking and Keith is craning his head as best he can to look back at him.]

...yeah. I remember.

[Sadly he does and did remember, and disregarded it consciously.] That only matters if I hit something. I had it under control!

[That's arguable really. At best. In all likelihood he would've pulled it off, but if he'd misjudged or mis-timed, he could've been in trouble.]

[spaceforged]

[He's sure Keith did have it under control. But he didn't think of the consequences in detail or what he could do to counter him. He reminds himself this is new to Keith. He'll have to point it out to him and see if he gets it.]

It also matters if you brake after hitting a certain speed. Your Blade armor can't save you from whiplash.

[Shiro murmurs he's letting go to give Keith time to use his magic and opens his mouth. He reaches out a paw to tap his shoulder once he's floating in the air.]

If you were the Lion instead. How would you have countered against that?

[lonered]

Braking wasn't the plan...

[Using that momentum to go even faster was the plan, but Keith will leave that unsaid, since he's pretty sure Shiro could figure it out anyway. But he does catch himself with his magic again once he's let go, turning around to face Shiro, frowning at the question.]

...in a lion, I'm not worried about sudden stops. It's built to absorb impact and sudden changes in velocity.

[Keith knows this from experience because he sure did crash Red straight into the ground to prove a point to Lance that one time.]

[spaceforged]

[He hadn't been specific enough. His eyes flicker.]

Let me rephrase that. How would you have countered that tactic you just used. Without thrusters or boosters.

[It will come to him. Keith is smart and sharp, all he has to do is ask him the right questions to jump start the tactical side of his mind he knows is in there.]

[lonered]

That wasn't the tactic you know. Someone snagged me out of the air before I got to the second half of the plan.

[Dropping like a stone had just been step one. But grumping aside, he considers. Because no matter what the second step had been, there's one particular flaw in the whole plan.]

In free fall I have pretty minimal control over my direction. Same for my speed. I might've been coming for you fast, but the only thing you would've needed to do is head straight up, because no matter how much speed I put on, reversing it would've taken effort and time, and it would've lost me more distance in descending. Even without boosters, you'd have me beat cold. The faster I was dropping, the longer to reverse direction, the more time you'd have to put distance between us.

[spaceforged]

That's right. There are a number of ways I could have thwarted you.

There is another thing to consider. You don't know yet how much energy magic takes out of you. The longer this exercise went on the more risk you had of being too tired to stay in the air.

[Shiro starts to descend. The lesson is over for now. They'd worked Keith's magic enough he has an idea of how it works and they can refine it over time. All in all not bad for a first training day.]

You'll probably sleep like a rock after this. You did good today. I think you'll get the hang of and master your flight pretty quickly.

[lonered]

[Keith falls silent, which tends to mean that Shiro has made a point or two that he can't argue with without just devolving into whining. And he won't do that, because... the points are valid.

So instead he follows Shiro down, even if part of him really wants to stay in the sky. Yeah, that is going to be a problem he needs to rein in before it gets too big.]

Yeah?

[All right. He perks up a little at that.] I want to keep working at it though. It's starting to feel... normal. But not entirely just yet.

[He wants to get a better grip on it, get stronger.] Thanks, Shiro. This is better with your help.

[spaceforged]

And thank you for your help. It's difficult for me to judge by myself how well something works for a rider. ...and having a partner to work on flight with makes it easier to adjust.

We'll get better at this together.

[He settles on the floor of the arena and changes back. The harnesses falls down all around him. He'd almost forgotten he had that on. Shiro steps out of it and sweeps it up, folding it together.]

I suggest our next stop be the kitchen. Magic burns a lot of energy and you'll bounce back better if you get used to managing it this early.

[lonered]

[Oh hey there's Shiro-shaped Shiro. Keith reaches over reflexively, clapping a hand against his shoulder lightly -- the sort of action he only barely realizes he's doing.

And he is all in on the kitchen idea.] Great. I'm starving, actually.

[Sounds good to Keith. In fact he'll start off that way, but a step or two and he stumbles, frowning at himself. Weird. Did he forget how to be on his feet? Or is he really that tired? He straightens up quickly.]

[spaceforged]

[Shiro puts a hand out to steady him. He'd expected him to be tired. He allows himself one small smile.]

Yeah, exactly like that. First time I changed shape I barely made it somewhere I could take a nap. Slept a whole six hours after that.

We'll make some sandwiches then you can go get some sleep. [Sandwiches are easy to make and almost brainless. He can have several made in the time it will take Keith to wolf down even one. ...maybe.]

[lonered]

[Keith glances over at the touch of that hand, managing to look at least faintly sheepish for a moment. Okay. He pushed. He knows. It's in his nature though.]

Yeah, sounds good. I'm fine anyway. Just a little worn out.

[More than a little. He will put down an alarming number of sandwiches until he passes out more or less into one if he's not careful.]

Which is weird... it doesn't feel like exertion when I'm doing it.

[Maybe that's all the adrenaline.]