Sound descending, not falling

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Emy

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Mal'akh Echo

The angel wondered briefly what exactly flight was like to one who had never flown before and was not meant to fly. Did I ever have that level of emotion? To its knowledge, it had always regarded its ability as something not to be particularly admired. In the ranks of Heaven, after all, it was standard fare, with instructions of usage ingrained deeply from creation.

How strange, Echo marveled. Was it lacking in some aspect, then? It felt like in light of that observation, it should appreciate what it had more. Now how exactly do I go about doing that? There was not really a set method for it, was there? Oh dear.

But at least Apollo seemed to be enjoying himself. At the moment, that was all that truly mattered. Echo lifted them higher into the air at the boy's request, tentatively at first, only a dozen feet or so. It was a somewhat awkward height however, since they were still lower than the top of the ship. So after some deliberation, the angel decided to lifted them a good distance above it, at what it judged to be a reasonably gradual pace.

"Unfortunately, your movements will be quite restricted," Echo informed him as they rose, at a slight diagonal away from the ship. "If there is anything particular that you would like to do, though, I am open to suggestions." Because honestly, now that they were air born, it was not certain what to do.
 
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LaFaucheuseRouge

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He could feel the wind picking up, pushing his hair forward as they rose higher and higher. He couldn’t tell how high they really were, but it didn’t matter- his feet were far off the ground. He was flying. Really and truly flying. He felt the giddiness inside him building into a small giggle that rose out of his mouth. This was wonderful…

Except.

One thing was not quite right. There was one thing that he wanted to change that would make this entire experience completely and utterly perfect. However…he didn’t know how to go about asking for it in a way that wouldn’t make the angel feel slightly...awkward.

His image of flight was more akin to a superhero, gliding parallel to the ground below him, arms extended, with the wind rippling through a red cape and all that jazz. He wanted that, he wanted to feel like he was soaring, rather than being guided up into the sky…except, how does one ask for that, he thought?

“Um….could…could you…” Not only did it feel uncomfortable for Apollo, trying somehow to get this point across; it felt embarrassing. It was as if he was a little boy again, asking for his dad to lift him up like Superman. That type of request was absolutely ridiculous for an eighteen-year-old to make- but it was what he wanted- needed- to make this feel right.

He finally sighed. “There’s this…expectation. That humans have of flight. Where you….you have your arms extended and the wind’s in your face and you feel like you’re the king of the world-…” He couldn’t believe how ridiculous he sounded. “Is…is there any way we could alter my position, just a tad? Just…to make it a bit more…” Comfortable? Realistic? No, he did not choose either of those words, both of which would have fit nicely into the end of that sentence. Instead, awkward little Apollo concluded with:

“…like that?”

God, he was an idiot.
 
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Mal'akh Echo

It blinked at as Apollo began to make his request, confused at first by what the boy was trying to ask for. As he went on, however, it suddenly became much clearer. Ah, of course! Human expectations. Echo nodded at his words, sure that it knew exactly what he was speaking of. "Oh yes! You mean like those characters from comic books!" Literature of all sorts was part of its field, after all.

"That is a rather recent idea, I believe! How silly of me to have overlooked it!" To the angel, the boy's request was perfectly reasonable. Human ideas spread so effectively these days that it should have been more aware of which ones might be the strongest in a person's mind.

"Yes, yes, my apologies! That is a very simple thing to correct." And well, if it were to be honest with itself -which it had to be, being an honest creature- Echo would have to admit that it had tried mimicking that pose at some point, too, just to see what all the fuss was about.

It adjusted how Apollo was being held in the air, positioning him just as Echo remembered from comic books. The angel actually thought that it was a charming idea in its own way but not one it would really commit to. After all, it was harder to pretend to be a mere bird. But also, Echo thought that it seemed rather silly to do so in its robes.

"Should we be going somewhere?" the angel asked curiously. "It is not usually done at a standstill like this, is it? But oh, I suppose that the wind provides some effect. If you want to go anywhere, though, should it be quickly or slowly? The former, I think is more expected but the latter is fine as well, if you wish."
 
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LaFaucheuseRouge

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Apollo was absolutely relieved that Echo was able to understand what he was looking for. I wouldn’t have expected its studies to be this thorough, he thought to himself. After all, comic books didn’t seem to be that significant in the scope of human existence, were they? Still, that was probably for the best- having a wide, varied understanding of human culture as Echo did would surely make interactions with people a lot easier than for most angels with different assignments. Right? Apollo thought so. I mean, hey, we’re doing pretty good right now, he figured…

The fact that the angel thought that the superhero-style concept of flight was recent… It made Apollo smile a bit, to think of how their perceptions of time differed so drastically. What was recent for himself was probably within the past year, maybe the past five years, at most. Human history, however, spanned over centuries- the breadth of knowledge that Echo must have would surely be overwhelming to the average person. With that in mind, something that may have come about within the last century- it really was a lot more recent than Apollo had ever considered…

As to where he wanted to go….he really had no preference. It wasn’t where they ended up that really mattered- it was the feeling of flight itself, of zooming along the air. He didn’t really want to end up somewhere; rather, he just wanted to be moving, to get the final detail of his experience fulfilled. A higher speed was exactly what Apollo needed- not necessarily a destination to get to, but merely to just go.

“Take me wherever you like,” he said, “as long as we’re moving faster.” Chuckling, he let out a thought: “It’d probably be funny if we ended up at the island before the ship did, wouldn’t it?” Of course, that might raise a number of questions upon arrival, both from the ship's captain and from those who may have been sent from the Academy to meet them...
 
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Mal'akh Echo

The angel, of course, immediately latched onto the idea of having a set destination in mind. There was simply something comfortable and nice about knowing where one was heading to, even if it was only a vague concept. For Echo, too, as a being of an infinite yet definite realm, it was only natural to think first of this.

Also, it figured, if there was no destination, then they would be left flying in circles. Which, truthfully, was not so much of a problem as one might initially think, since those loops would already be plenty wide enough to avoid sickness. But it still preferred to have some idea of going to a specific place, because much of the empty ocean looked exactly the same and that was just a bit boring. Especially since Echo spent most of its traveling time over the ocean anyways.

"I do not think that anybody would mind particularly if we were to arrive first," the angel said in wide eyed innocence, already having strongly decided that that was exactly what they were going to do. "If anybody does, however, or if you would rather not have that, we could surely return before the ship reaches port." That sounded like a good idea. It was a good idea, right?

After a pause, it pointed out slowly, "You did say "wherever."" Another moment passed before it said more definitively, "We are going to do that now."

Apollo did say they could. He did. So they could. That was all.

A little uncertainly, the angel shifted them into the direction of the island. "Um." It really should be more eloquent than just Um but that was pretty much all it was trying to get across anyways. "Yes."

Because it was not like it wanted to start thrill chasing or anything like that. It just wanted to go to a specific place. That was all. The decision had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that talking to Apollo had made the angel want to do certain things, too.

Absolutely not at-

Actually, I would truly not mind to see through any more requests he might have.

Honesty, honesty, honesty.

With that thought, the two of them shot towards Manta Carlos. At a bearable speed, of course.
 
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LaFaucheuseRouge

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Apollo nodded at the angel’s logic. Seemed like a good idea. If worst came to worst they’d just have to fly back to the ship. No problem. So long as Echo informed him of any trouble he couldn’t see, he’d be okay.

He just blinked a bit at Echo’s next statements. “Um…alright then.” He merely had made a suggestion- Manta Carlos was the only reasonable destination he could think of at the moment, not knowing what other islands or countries might be nearby. He didn’t quite expect for Echo to latch on to it so immediately. Perhaps he was just eager to have a set destination…perhaps too eager…All the same, it was endearing to hear the solid determination in its voice as it made up its mind.

The angel shifted their position in the middle of the air, and Apollo could feel his stomach knotting slightly in anticipation. This is it. He laughed at Echo’s brilliantly spoken conclusion, before the two of them took off into the early morning light.

Now this is what it was about, he thought. How could it be that anyone would take this feeling for granted? The sudden movement forward sent a pleasant wave of adrenaline through Apollo that unraveled his stomach, leaving it instead with the slight hollow feeling experienced by a person on a rollercoaster. He stretched out his arms as the air came rushing at him, closing his eyes at it hit his face and blew his hair around even more. He laughed brightly as the two of them glided on ahead, at a speed which wasn’t all that unbearable for a first-time flyer. However, Apollo was hardly one to willingly accept handicaps for anything he didn’t have to. If the angel was holding back something, he wanted it. He wanted to feel everything in this moment- because he could. He was no longer tied to anything, not to the boat, not to the ground. It was just him, Echo, and the wind. Nothing could stop them.

“Is there anything that you wanna show me?” he asked. After centuries of flying, Apollo had not doubt that angels must have gotten bored or curious enough to experiment a little with different airborne feats. “Any tricks, flips, that kind of thing?” He wore a determined smirk, though at this angle, Echo probably couldn’t see it. The same determination was, however, present in his voice as well. “I think I’m really getting the feel for this, so go ahead and pick it up, make it more challenging, if you want. I’m ready for anything. Hit me with your best shot.”
 
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Mal'akh Echo

Tricks? The angel blinked, considering the request. On one hand, there was quite a bit that Echo was getting a peculiar itch to try out and this was a clear allowance for it to do whatever it pleased. On the other hand, there was this persistent worry about how much a human body could withstand. And, for that matter, what any mortal body could. Because of the mortality of its current form, that question was of personal interest to Echo. Though it did not expect to see much violence, it was inevitable that such a thing would surely happen given enough time.

Filing away that matter for the time, the angel turned its attention back to the situation at hand. The general consensus among the divine sphere was that humans could be so much more fragile than they looked. Yet at the same time, there was also the agreement that humans were often stronger than expected as well. Confusing. Humanity was quite a marvel.

”If you insist”, it mused, ”I suppose that I could do more.” Apollo probably, hopefully, knew his limitations better than Echo did. And if not, the worst that could happen was probably just a case of motion sickness.

So what first, then? Should it do flips, as Apollo had suggested? Was that too unoriginal? There was so much freedom to do something that suddenly, the angel was at a loss. Speed, surely, was an element that had to be adjusted so it began to increase that, bringing them up rather suddenly to the speed that it was accustomed to using during its travels.

Admittedly, Echo had a fondness for loops –rising out of the cloud cover and condensation to meet the sun, oh, it was nice. The cloud layer was sparse today but the angel still made of point of curving them up through it, moisture clinging to their clothes as they arced out of it, descending through a clear patch of sky. One more loop, two more loops before they continued forward to Manta Carlos on a wavy path.
 
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Apollo let out a cry of delight as they zoomed up through the clouds, shaking droplets of water out of his hair. He felt his stomach lurch as they flipped once, twice, thrice, before shooting forward once more. That feeling- there was nothing quite like the feeling of dropping down from the sky like that. Every inch of him was tingling with excitement- he was on fire, he was electric. His mind was a vacant chasm, occupied only by the sense of touch. He let out a burst of giddy laughter, his cheeks hurting with how hard he was grinning. Nothing could ever remotely compare to this. Nothing.

He had never felt so alive.

Eager for more excitement, Apollo curved his shoulders slightly, craning his neck around to point his head towards Echo- all the better for the angel to hear him. “That was amazing!!!” he shouted against the rushing wind. “Can we go agai- aah!!”

In that moment, he realized too late that he had shifted slightly too far, his left arm slipping out of the angel’s grip. Suddenly he was dangling, his body having dropped from its steady position, his legs hanging limply over the ocean waves. He let out a small shout- and felt a vibration ripple through the air. He immediately clenched his jaw, muffling his cries of distress, but they still seemed to send small, panicked waves past his lips, sending short pulses through his skin. As terrified as he was, he couldn’t risk letting out a sound wave that would lead the angel to drop him. With this much fear in his system, he didn’t know what might happen.

He didn’t know where to look, what to do- he was lost in space, the only connection to anything being the arm still latched in Echo’s grip. As they continued forward for a few moments, he felt like a ragdoll being flung around by a child, and he wanted so desperately to scream out for help, but he couldn’t, he knew he couldn’t, and so he just looked up desperately at the angel, hoping to the heavens it had descended from that it would not let him fall.
 
Emy

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Mal'akh Echo

It felt Apollo's arm slide out of its grasp, just a moment before the boy cried out in alarm. Briefly surprised, the angel almost jolted to a stop before remembering that being out of Heaven put it squarely into the realm of physics. Skidding to a halt in the middle of the sky was something that everybody said expressly not to do on Earth. Above Earth. Ah.

Echo began to slow down, frowning lightly to itself as it curved their path upwards, trying to grab the boy's free arm. The telekinesis it had been using up until that point had been weak enough on Apollo to let him have a bit of freedom but now it strengthened that force, using it to bring the boy up to its eye level as they went back up through a gap in the clouds. It held both of his wrists as they came to a gentle stop someplace high in the sky, positioned like children trying to mimic an adult's dance with their arms spread out. There would be much more restriction in movement now for the boy but at least he was far less unlikely to fall now.

"I am so very sorry!" it said when they had stabilized, inspecting him with wide eyes. "Are you well?" Did he look as if he would fall apart? Could that even happen to humans? They were perfectly capable of dislocating bones, however, so there was something that the angel could legitimately worry over. "My attention must have slipped. Oh, oh -should we go back? Should we wait a bit before doing that? This is really the first time such a thing has ever happened so I must confess that I have no idea what to do." It tugged on his arms lightly, just to make sure that they were really there, which was just a silly action in itself because of course they were!
 
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He let out a long, shaky breath as Echo stabilized its grip on him once more, hovering above the sea. He took a few moments to get his bearings, shaking his head slowly. “No, its…its okay. We don’t have to go back. I’m fine, I’m fine…” He gave Echo a soft, reassuring smile, as it tugged lightly on his arms. “See? Perfectly fine…And I’m sorry. It was my own carelessness that made me fall, it wasn’t your fault…you don’t have to apologize.” His eyes were warm as he offered it a sincere “Thank you.” He felt like he owed Echo some sort of debt; he'd have to find a way to express his gratitude once they reached the island.

Well. So much for his dream. The reality of the current situation had abruptly dawned on him, and Apollo was unaware of how to proceed from here. Logic was telling him enough was enough- that he should get down now before something worse happened. However, he didn’t feel all too ready to descend to the boat just yet, and he truly enjoyed the feeling of being up there, despite how dangerous it was. In fact, the fear of falling hanging over him was somewhat exhilarating- which sounds mad, but it was the only way Apollo could describe the clenching sensation in his gut. And now that it had happened once- he had almost fallen- he knew that it wouldn’t happen again. He trusted Echo to keep him safe, or, at least, to catch him if he were to slip out of its grasp once more. The angel’s overwhelming concern for the boy’s well-being served to put further confidence in Apollo’s decision to have faith.

“I was actually having quite a bit of fun with that,” Apollo remarked, addressing Echo’s concern over whether or not they should have waited to attempt something daring. "I’d actually keep going, but…maybe we can keep our position like this?” He chuckled. “This definitely feels a lot steadier.”

After a bit of contemplation, Apollo came to a compromise with himself on their next course of action. ”We did set our destination for Manta Carlos, right?” he recalled. “How about we finish our journey there, and if either of us is uncomfortable by that point, we’ll head back to the ship?” That seemed fair- and still opened up the possibility for more fun in the air- albeit more carefully executed fun.
 
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