Here's a one shot story for Nadine's birthday, from the blog @emorylighthoof. Enjoy.
Nadine's first flight
It's a nice Fall morning in the Eclipse Passage. A pleasantly cool weather under the orange sky as the sun raises over the horizon. The early risers are just getting out of bed and starting to go about their day while the night owls are returning home to sleep. There is a family, however, that is waiting in front of the stairs leading to the portal slab. A visitor had promised to come on that day, after all.
No sooner than the sun break through the leaves at the edge of the cult grounds a portal opens at the top of the stairs. It's not like the usual way the slab works, and in fact it's not using it, but rather a large sphere oh gray-ish energy, from which a towering wolf steps out of.
As he starts to climb down the stairs, his features become easier to distinguish. He is a ten feet (three meters) tall gray wolf. He has an athletic build, toned but lithe, emphasizing agility over strength, necessary for a hunter. In contrast to the rest of his body, his right arm from the elbow down is all metallic, a cybernetic implant apparently meant to replace what was lost. On his coat, a pattern that looks like the pathways of a circuit board are visible in darker fur, which can only be seen due to his garment, or rather lack of.
All he is dressed with are a hide loincloth, providing the only bit of modesty of the whole outfit, as well as fur bands tied around the arms and legs. over his shoulder is a mantle made of blue feathers, held in place by the characteristic eye-like brooch of the berserk fleece. Atop his head is the Gray Crown, with its characteristic irregular pentagon shape and hexagonal gray eye.
As he steps out of the last step, Emory places Nadine onto the ground, who just run towards the wolf, who has enough time to take a few more steps away from the stairs before crouching down with open arms.
"Nadine how have you been?" He asks as the little sheep cat hybrid reaches him. "Up you go!" He adds while lifting him on his arms.
As the small child gets into a good position, he hands a duck plushy dressed as a doctor. "Is this for me?" The wolf asks as he takes the offered plush. Getting a nod of approval, he takes a better look at it with his six eyes. "He is quite well made. I think I'll call him doctor Quacker." He adds, before looking back at the smiling kid. "I'm sure he will help me a lot during research. Let me put him somewhere safe in the meantime, though." He adds while letting the crown absorb it into its internal storage.
And not a moment too soon, as two more hybrids come running towards them and tackle the wolf to the ground. Of course, he was expecting that to happen, one of the reasons he put the plushy away, and he also uses his telekinesis to soften the landing, not so much for his benefit as it is for the kids. "Nooo! I'm being attacked by vicious little god killers!" He cries out playfully as he is dog piled by the two.
"You have been felled by the might of the Lightclaws for your weakness!" Claims Ayla as Liesha giggles atop the wolf's chest.
"I have been bested by these might warriors! Woe is me!" He continues as another figures steps out of the portal and climbs down the steps as it closes behind them. This time, a lamb, roughly average size for their species, but quite lean. Their shaggy wool makes it hard to distinguish what features there might be where its visible from under the linen robes and red fleece they are using. Atop their head sits the Red Crown, much the same as Emory's.
"My, how the might have fallen, Wolfgang." They tease while moving to his side. "Felled by a bunch of kids."
"You too shall fall to the Lightclaws! Rhaaa!" Yells Ayla as she tackles the lamb before any other answer could come from anyone. They too play along, tumbling down to the ground.
"Well, look who's talking. It took three to take me down, Leoda." Wolfgang replies while sitting up, still holding the kids so they don't fall. It's at that time the three see who the second person is, finally noticing to be another sheep. Even Ayla, who had just jumped them, just looks in awe.
"What? I'm quite sure you have seen a sheep before me." They say as the parents of the trio approach.
"I think it's because they have only seen one sheep up to that point." Narinder points out while picking Ayla up to let Leoda get to their feet.
"I'm so glad you two could make it here today!" Emory says while taking Nadine from Wolfgang as he hands the child to her, while Liesha climbs down and waddles her way to Leoda's side, who is dusting off their fleece with their hands after getting up.
"I wouldn't miss it for nothing in the world, even if traveling between timelines is not that easy to do." He replies while getting up from the ground. "It's not everyday you get to fulfill a child's dream, even for a established god like me."
Meanwhile, Liesha is circling around Leoda as Narinder puts Ayla on the ground. "Wow, you really are a sheep too!" She exclaims as she stops in front of them.
"Liesha! This is not a way to interact with visitors!" Narinder chides his daughter, but Leoda just smiles.
"It's fine, Narinder. It's only natural in this situation." They reply, before looking at the hybrids, as Ayla comes to her sister's side. "But yes, I have been a sheep since the day I was born, although I might be a bit more than that now." They respond to the two, before pulling the wool from their forehead to reveal their third eye, which opens to look at them.
The two take a step back at first, before Ayla leans closer. "You're just like dad!" She exclaims, before looking at the cat.
"Yes, just like him." Leoda replies as she closes their third eye and lets their wool down, straightening themself up. "They are so cute. I hope I can have some of my own someday." They add to Narinder.
"Well, if yours is anything like me, he is probably be wanting some too." He replies as he reaches to pet the twins. "But I'll warn that they can be a handful when young."
As the two interact, Wolfgang was talking to Emory about a place to deploy the plane they would be using as the lamb held Nadine on her arms.
"OK, this should be enough space." He says as they arrive at a spot with a relatively large open space. "Please stand back." He asks as his crown takes the shape of a chameleon, before moving down the wolf's arm and jumping to the ground, where it expands into a large black circle with the eye in the middle.
From it, a small plane starts emerging from it, just big enough for two people to fit in the cockpit. It's wings are short for its size, with what looks like engines at the tips pointing downwards. There's a ladder deployed on the side, allowing access to the cockpit.
"What is that?" Emory asks as the gray crown retreats to its bearer, resuming its place atop his head.
"Well, that's a vertical take-off and landing two person plane. Had to bring something that doesn't need to rely on a runway to take flight." He explains as he turns to look at the lamb speaking to him. "By the way, I hope you don't mind a change in my attire. Flying one of these is not exactly something I designed with my mantles in mind."
"Oh, well, I guess it's fine." She responds, as half of the words used to describe the plane didn't really make much sense to her, though her son certainly was interested on the vehicle. "You can use my hut to change."
"That won't be required, but thank you." He says as he pulls on the brooch, moving it up as his clothes shift and change into some jeans, a white t-shirt, a leather jacket and a pair of combat boots. The crown too changes, taking the shape of a headset. "I'm unsure if the gods of your land can do the same, but in my timeline this is something we are able to do after a certain point in our ascension."
"That is certainly convenient." Emory grants with a nod as Nadine's attention shifts to the wolf. "So we are getting into this… Vertical thing and flying?"
"Just call it a plane, it's easier to remember." Wolfgang offers. "But yes, that's the gist of it. I'll be piloting it while you and Nadine are in the back seat, so you can look around as we fly." He explains as the others approach.
"I take from that… Contraption that you are ready?" Narinder asks, referring to the plane as the twins, specially Ayla, rush over to have a better look, but Wolfgang intercept them.
"Not now, you two. It's not safe to be around this when I take off. I'll give the full tour once we land." He tells the two girls, getting a pout from Ayla and a sad "Aww" from Liesha. "Yes, we are ready to take off as soon as we climb inside and you clear the area around it." He responds to Narinder while ushering the girls back to their father.
"And are you sure this is safe?" Narinder asks as Emory passes Nadine to Wolfgang to hold.
"You say that like I wouldn't test my inventions." The Wolf replies while the lamb climbs the ladder. "It is perfectly safe, if a bit low tech for what I could have brought, but my more advanced vessels are too reliant on how magic in my world works to be safe."
"I'm ready to receive Nadine." Emory calls as she climbs into the cockpit.
Wolfgang looks at the lamb and nods, before using his crown to bring Nadine to his mother. Once the child is secure with her, he leaps to the cockpit, using his godly strength to get up effortlessly, before helping the two passengers settle on the back seat.
"Alright, just hold him while we are flying." He instructs while getting the seat straps secured around Emory. "He is just too small to fly alone, after all."
"Yes, of course." Emory responds as Nadine is looking around in the cockpit, curious about all the dials and buttons.
With everything else set up, Wolfgang takes the front seat, strapping himself into the seat, before looking out of the cockpit. "Alright, I will need you to be a bit farther back, both while I'm taking off and landing." He tells the group that will remain back. Once they gave enough distance, he flips a switch to close the cockpit glass.
Soon the engines get started and the plane starts to raise itself from the ground. It then starts moving forwards as the engines tilt to their flight position, and soon enough they are flying.
The flight is smooth, despite the speed the plane is going at. Wolfgang takes a moment to make sure the planned path is set, then turns the auto-pilot on. "Alright, we are in a stable flight now. You can look around without worry." He informs the two behind him.
"Go ahead, Nadine. No need to be shy." Emory says as she supports her son up as he gets up to look at the side of the cockpit. "This is amazing! How does this plane work?" Emory asks to Wolfgang.
"I mean no offense, but this flight won't be long enough to explain everything needed for anything I say to make sense." He replies while checking some of the flight instruments and onboard computer for information on the flight conditions, as well as the migration path of ducks. "Even if the plane had the fuel capacity, we are constrained by the magic isolation coating needed for the plane to behave like in my world, so it could take flight and remain in the air."
"Didn't you say this plane is safe?" Emory asks, having second thoughts about the idea.
"It is, just that we have a schedule we will have to keep to." Wolfgang reassures her. "I got it all planed, so don't worry."
"If you say so…" She responds, still unsure about the situation, but Wolfgang is confident in its safety, at least.
Nadine is too mesmerized by the passing clouds to take notice of the conversation. It takes a few minutes, before the Wolf speaks again. "We are getting close to the migration path, please hold steady." He tells them, before turning the auto pilot off and starting a wide turn, to minimize the g-force of the maneuver.
As the plane levels again, there's another check for the flight path before auto pilot is turned back on. "If you look to your right, you will see something quite special." He tells them, keeping in suspense what is so special, but it quickly becomes apparent what it is.
There's a flight of ducks not too far away from the plane, far closer than most planes could get even, but still not so close as to be seem like you could catch one with bare hands.
Nadine is absolutely ecstatic, starting to stim as he sees them, trying to indicate to get closer. Wolfgang, imagining what his reaction is, has to deny it, though. "Sorry, I can't get closer without scattering them away. This is as close as we can safely get."
Still, being able to fly this close is a dream come true already for Nadine.
They fly like this for a moment, before the plane's instruments pick up something. "We got some more to our left." Wolfgang announces as another flock starts passing on the other side.
Nadine is unable to contain his excitement over it, going from one side to the other of his mother's lap. He is giddy over all the ducks as they fly in the characteristic V shaped formation most migratory birds use.
This keeps going for a good fifteen minutes, before a warning flashes on the console of the plane. "Well, hate to cut things short, but we need to start returning now if we want to keep to schedule." He says as he starts preparing the controls for the maneuver needed.
"Already? That was such a short flight." Emory says as Nadine starts waving goodbye to the ducks.
"Afraid so. All in the name of safety." He says as he tilts the flight stick forwards to tip the plane downwards, starting a short descent to make sure it isn't in the same height as the birds to avoid an accident.
Another wide turn is taken to align the plane to return to the cult, the flight steady and careful as the approach is made. It takes a good few minutes of smooth flight before the plane is in position and changed to hovering mode, slowly descending back to the ground, with Narinder keeping the twins by his and Leoda's side at a safe distance of the landing area.
As it's about to touch down, the instruments start flickering and the engines to fail, but they are so close to the ground already that the landing is soft enough. Still, with the entire system going dark, the Wolf is forced to use the manual lever of the cockpit to raise the glass, the hydraulics used to hold it up thankfully not needing the systems to work.
As he and Emory unstrap themselves, the twins start to run towards the plane, with the adults not short behind. By the time they get to it, Wolfgang has already lowered the ladder and is holding Nadine so the sheep can climb down.
After Emory is on steady footing, the kit is lowered to her by telekinesis as the twins climb the ladder to reach the cockpit for the promised tour, while Narinder and Leoda approach the other sheep.
"How was the flight, Emory?" Narinder asks as he takes his son to let his wife rest her arms a bit.
"It was… I can't even describe it. It was so smooth, it felt like we were stopped in the air and the world was moving around us." She tries to describe as Nadine is stimming on his father's arm.
"It is unlike anything we experienced." Leoda agrees as they look at the plane. "Though I will admit that I never flew on something like that. He used a dirigible when we first met."
"Could he have used it today?" Narinder asks at the mention of the other aircraft.
"I don't think so. As smooth and stable as it was in flight, it was also very large and noisy." Leoda says in response. "It also exploded after a malfunction. I honestly think he only used it then because he wanted to make a big entrance, because he has other better airships."
"I suppose that would make sense. Setting a good first impression is important." Emory remarks about what Leoda told them. "But there is so much more to discuss. Would you like to stay for some tea?"
"I would love to, but I honestly can't answer that because I depend on him to go back home." Leoda says while nodding towards the Wolf.
"Might as well as him." Narinder responds, before calling his children. "Ayla, Liesha! It's time to come back down!"
"But daaaad!" Both call in unison from over the side of the cockpit.
"No buts! Let the wolf pack things up!" He tells them, getting a sad grunt of them both before they start climbing down with Wolfgang's help. Once both are on the ground, he jumps down and sends his crown to store the plane the same way it was brought out.
"Alright, all packed up." Wolfgang says as he returns the crown to his head while the girls go to their dad's side.
"Good to hear. Now, would you like to stay a bit longer to chat?" Emory offers as the wolf looks at the family, then to Leoda, who gestures that they are fine with either.
"Well, I don't see why not. I'm quite sure everyone has plenty of questions that I will do my best to answer." He replies as he pulls on the collar of his shirt, changing it back to the mantle he was using earlier. "Please, lead the way."
And as such, the group moves to Emory's home to spend the next few hours talking each other's ears off.