rekindleme | Flight of dragons

Entry tags:

Flight of dragons

Who: Professor Oak and Diarmuid
Where: The Park
When: November 18
Summary: Diarmuid was promised a ride from Dragonite.
Warnings: None that I can think of!

Sam had arrived at the park well before the meeting time -- as an adult, it was his responsibility not to keep a child waiting alone. While he waited on the bench, Dragonite flapped here and there, stretching its wings -- until it paused, landing and pointing with a "Hroo!" to get its trainer's attention.

"Hmm? What is it, Dragonite?" He followed Dragonite's arm with his gaze until he saw a familiar figure making its way toward him. "Aha!" Sam stood and waved, with Dragonite imitating his gesture. "Diarmuid, over here!"

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"Hello Professor! Hello Dragonite!" Diarmuid returns their waves with one of his own. With the weather cooling down, Diarmuid is bundled up to keep from getting sick. There is also a bundle of...something in his arms. It is only once Diarmuid is standing next to them that a welcoming trumpeting comes from the bundle.

"Lir wanted to come flying too! I hope that is okay. I had to bundle him up so he wouldn't get cold!" Okay, so maybe he is going a little overboard, but he really doesn't want Lir to get sick.

Sam chuckles when he hears Lir trumpeting, while Dragonite leans down and gently pats Diarmuid's head in greeting.

"We might have to find some way to tie him to you, if that's the case." It may be possible to ride a Dragonite only using one's legs to grip, but he's never tried it himself. It would be safer either way, anyway.

"How are you both doing?"

"What if I put him in my coat? Or...Dragonite!" He turns to Dragonite with a wide smile, "Can you carry Lir, Dragonite?" Diarmuid knows they are friends and the dragon won't let anything happen to the little horsea.

"We are doing good, though Lir is sad that the pond is too cold to go into now. I promised him I would start taking him to the heated pools and spa soon. Don't worry! I will make sure the water isn't too hot before I put him in!"

No one wants a cooked horsea!

Dragonite cocks its head, considering the question, then nods and croons in agreement. It doesn't use its arms while its flying, so that should be okay.

"He hatched back in spring, didn't he? So this will be his first winter. I hope you enjoy it, Lir." Sam peers into the bundle, trying to make out the little one's face.

"Yay!" Diarmuid bounces on his feet happily, "That way everyone can fly and no one will get hurt! Thank you, Dragonite!" Diarmuid gives the dragon a pat on the arm and then turns to Professor Oak, "That's right! I can't wait to teach him about winter things. He can't help me build snowmen because he doesn't have arms, but he can watch! That is fun too!"

When Professor Oak leans in close to Lir, Diarmuid starts to warn him not to because Lir will probably...

Yep, that would be a few bubbles being blown to greet the Professor. Sorry about that!

Once the moment of surprise passes, Sam just chuckles, leaning back again and wiping his face with his sleeve.

"It's alright, he's just playing." He remembers that much about the little one. Even if it had been a full-blown attack, he has a hard time getting angry at Pokemon.

"So, are you ready to fly?" Dragonite seems to be, fidgeting impatiently -- this was its idea, after all, and it wants to go soon.

"Yes! At least it is just bubbles now instead of a stream of water like before!" Diarmuid is proud of the progress that Lir has made honestly. Of course, when Professor Oak asks if he is ready to fly, all thoughts besides that are pushed from Diarmuid's mind.

"Time for flying!" He jumps up and down excitedly and then runs over to Dragonite, holding Lir out to the dragon, "Dragonite will carry Lir, right? Where should I be?"

Dragonite bobs its head at the ground, indicating that he should put Lir down for now. Then, it lumbers down onto all fours -- it doesn't want to make him climb up to get on, after all. (It can pick Lir up on its way back up.)

"You can sit anywhere between the wings and the shoulders. You don't want to be behind the wings or they'll be flapping in your face, and if you sit too far up, you can slip off the front." Sam rubs the recommended area on Dragonite's back.

"I can ride with you, if that'll make it easier." If it's his first time flying, then an extra pair of hands to hold onto him might help, but he might want to ride alone too... so Sam may as well make the offer and let Diarmuid decide. "The weight won't be a problem for Dragonite, whatever you choose. Right, Dragonite?" Dragonite nods in agreement; it's a big strong dragon!

Diarmuid considers what he has been told as he takes off the bag he is carrying and carefully props Lir against it so the horsea can see what is going on. On one hand, he will feel freer if no one is holding onto him, but on the other hand he knows he is likely to get distracted and maybe not hold on as tightly as he should...

He looks from Dragonite to Professor Oak, "I have a feeling you better go with me for the first ride as long as Dragonite can carry us all okay." His gaze shifts back to Dragonite, "I don't want you to get hurt! That would make me very sad."

That decided, he moves closer to the dragon, "Who should get on first? Me or you Professor?"

"Dragonite carries me easily, and you and Horsea don't add that much weight. Dragonite will be alright, I promise." He's still petting Dragonite when he nods at Diarmuid's question. "I'll get on first, and help you on afterward, alright?"

With that, Sam turns and swings one leg over the dragon's back, clambering and adjusting until he's in a stable position. But he's still not done fidgeting -- he scoots back as far back as possible, almost right up against Dragonite's wings, to make more room for Diarmuid to sit in front of him.

"Alright, hop on!" His tone is playful, and he holds out both of his hands to help the boy up.

"All right!" Diarmuid watches as Professor Oak climbs up and gets settled onto Dragonite's back. Once the man reaches out to help him up, he gives the dragon's arm a pat and then lets Professor Oak pull him up onto Dragonite.

"We are high already!" Diarmuid giggles and then gets settled himself, giving Dragonite another pat once he is done, "I am all ready unless you need me to move, Dragonite. Don't forget Lir. He will spit water at us all day if we forget him!"

As if to confirm his partner's words, Lir makes a loud trumpeting sound from where he is sitting.

Once he's sure Diarmuid is in place, Sam wraps one arm around the boy's waist -- tight enough to secure him, but not so tight that he's being squeezed. He places his other arm in front of them both, pressing against Dragonite's shoulders with his hand.

"Whenever you're ready, Dragonite! Just a couple of warm-up laps first." Dragonite croons in acknowledgement; now that all the riders that will be on its back are settled, it begins to flap its wings, and gently lifts off the ground. Before it goes anywhere, though, it scoops the Horsea up into its arms, positioning him so that he's both secure and has a good view of what's going on.

Once that's done, it begins to fly in earnest -- but still low and slow, barely above the ground or faster than walking speed. The riders could still jump off and not even get hurt, even. As Sam said, this is a warm-up, so that Diarmuid can get used to the feeling of flight, and the feeling of Dragonite's muscles working under him as its wings keep them aloft.

Once Lir is settled and they start flying, an excited squeak leaves his mouth. If he had arms to reach out with, he probably would, but for now he just watches everything as closely as he can. Diarmuid on the other hand, does have arms to reach out with and he does...or at least he does with one. The other he uses to keep himself steady on Dragonite's back. Fortunately, it doesn't take him long to get used to how Dragonite's muscles are moving. It reminds him of how it feels to be on Krok's shoulders or back.

Still, it's comforting to have Professor Oak behind him to make sure he doesn't lose his balance.

"Lets go faster and higher now? Please? Can we?"

Sam chuckles at how much the boy and Pokemon are enjoying themselves. Flying on Dragonite is old hat for him now, even if he enjoys it too, but he remembers how exciting and scary it was the first time he flew on a Pokemon.

"Alright. A little higher, Dragonite! Just above the tree line, okay?" There's an affirmative "Hroo!" from Dragonite, who again rises until they are just above the trees, the wind spilling from its wings disturbing the branches, what leaves the trees have left rustling.

"You alright, Diarmuid? You can let me know if you feel sick or scared." This is their last stop before they go really high, and he wants to make sure his friends are comfortable with the flight.

Diarmuid can't help but cheer when they go higher. He doesn't feel scared or sick. Quite the opposite actually.

"I'm fine! I'm more than fine!" He throws his hands out excitedly for a moment, before grabbing onto Dragonite again. Down in Dragonite's arms, Lir trumpets happily.

"Lir isn't scared or sick either. He's a brave Horsea! Can we go even higher? Can we?"

Already, he isn't going to forget this, Going higher will make it even better!

Diarmuid throwing out his hands like that does give his chest a little jolt, even though he knows Dragonite won't let them fall. Still, Sam smiles it away and nods once more.

"Alright, this is the final ascent. Up, Dragonite!" With no specific order for altitude, he's trusting Dragonite's discretion. He's not sure how high it's possible to get in this city, anyway. He hopes they'll be able to get a good view of it from above, at least.

When they start gaining altitude again, Diarmuid lets out another cheer and then falls silent as he so often does when he is up high. He's taking in all that he can. His eyes scan all around them and, it is again a good thing that Professor Oak is there because otherwise Diarmuid might have stood up to try and see what is behind them too.

How high will Dragonite go? The higher the better in Diarmuid's mind, but he is already having a great time. He's not going to complain.

When Dragonite stops, hovering in place, there's a grand view of the city below them, and a fall from this height would probably prove fatal. Not that Dragonite would let that happen, of course.

"It looks like this is as high as we're going. Is there anywhere you'd like to go while we're up here?"

Obviously the restricted districts and anything beyond the city walls are still off-limits, but there should still be plenty of options.

"Go someplace?" Diarmuid's question is distracted because he is so caught up in looking at the view around them. He can see everything from up here. The apartments, the shops, the park...

Oh...but he should answer the question. It's rude not to.

"I don't know if there is anywhere specific I want to go besides up high!" And they are already up high, "Is there someplace that Dragonite wants to go?"

Sam gently shakes his head. "No, that's alright. We'll fly around a little before we come back down, but let me know if something catches your eye."

He turns his attention, then, from Diarmuid to the bundle in Dragonite's arm. "How's Horsea doing over there, Dragonite?"

"I will!" Diarmuid promises before turning his attention to everything around them.

Below, in Dragonite's arms, Lir hears Professor Oak's question and burbles happily to answer it. Diarmuid hears the sound and turns back to the Professor, "He's very happy! Just like I am! This is the best day ever!"

He chuckles, squeezing his arm around Diarmuid's waist a bit tighter for a moment, in a sort of hug.

"I'm glad, I'm very glad." Dragonite starts to fly around, keeping an even altitude. It's not so fast as to cause motion sickness, but there's still wind rushing past them.

Diarmuid reaches up with one hand to give Professor Oak's arm a squeeze. He remains focused on the view around them for a while, before suddenly turning back to his friend.

"Hey, can we go fly over the pond and the temple? I really like those places. It will be fun to see them from above!"

Sam nods before calling up to Dragonite. "Did you hear that, Dragonite?"

Dragonite gives an affirmative croon, before turning to head back in that direction. This turn is a bit steeper than the others its been taking, and it has to lean into it, tilting its passengers into a precarious-seeming position.

Lir lets out a startled squeak, but Diarmuid doesn't seem bothered by the turn at all. In fact, he throws out his arms and cheers. He feels very safe at the moment and he knows that neither Professor Oak nor Dragonite will let anything happen to him.

"Go, Dragonite, go! Fly fast!"

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