Another repost from the old forum: Dreams of Flight, by resident Vanae wrangler JimThermic.
She was crouching on a tree branch. It creaked noisily beneath her webbed toes, protesting her continued presence. Hundreds of feet of empty air separated her from the forest floor. If she fell, it was certain death.
Anye searched for options, singing in a pitch no human ear could hear. The imperceptible song bounced off everything around her. When it came back, a perfect three dimensional reflection of her surroundings filled her mind. Like all vanae, she saw not with sight, but sound.
There was a branch nearby. It was a little far, but also her only option. It was also occupied. There was a shadowy figure sitting on it, and she couldn’t make them out.
“Come to me. All you have to do is leap,” he said. It was definitely a man – that brash, masculine tone made her heart ache. But why..?
She looked down – the ground really was nowhere to be heard, which meant it was more than a half mile. Even though she was vanae, should she fall, her springy feet and webbed fingers would not slow her descent enough. It would be the end of her.
“… But what if I fall?” she asked.
“But what if you fly?” he replied. Again, she felt that dancing in her chest, stealing her breath away. Who WAS he? That’s what she wanted to know.
The widening crack in the branch underfoot cut off her train of thought. She screwed her courage to her sticking place. Anye knelt into a springing crouch on the treacherous tree limb. Her six fingers nervously gripped at the branch.
It was a long distance to cover – but she had to try!
“Come, Anye, fly with me!” The mysterious man called, and she leapt, giving herself over to fate. The vanae girl soared through the air with limbs spread wide, her long tail out behind her. Roaring wind rushed past and under the slight girl, lifting her up like a bird in flight.
In that moment, she was truly flying. She could hear the branch approaching with the silhouette sitting on it. Just a little closer and she could grab the branch. Just a little closer and she’d hear his face…
… But it wasn’t enough. The world pulled her back down, and her slender fingers failed to even graze the branch. With a shrill scream, she plummeted downward into the darkness.
The man, the branch, the sky; all were out of her reach. Reaching up in vain, her hands grasped only air as she plummeted to the forest floor below. Even as she fell, she could hear someone calling her name.
“Anye, Anye—“
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