Consciousness came to me slowly, as I drifted from
my long slumber and realized that I was awake. I slowly opened
my eyes, and blinking a couple of times, my vision cleared to
reveal my surroundings: a typical Somani hospital room. I was
disoriented at first from my long period of unconsciousness, but
then everything suddenly clicked into place, and my memory returned
to me. It was then that I excitedly craned my neck, looking over
my shoulder, trying to see as much of my back as possible. I didn't
have to stretch my neck too far though, as my large wings, lying
there spread out behind me, now covered a substantial part of
my field of vision.
Yes, it had finally happened, after weeks of eagerly
waiting, what once seemed like a foolish daydream had now become
a reality. Laying there in bed, my mind racing wildly out of control,
I tried to fully appreciate how this was going to profoundly affect
my life. Of course I'd thought of that before, thought it out
to great lengths, but now that it had finally happened, my thoughts
from the past months came flooding back to me.
I'd been living on the Somani homeworld for just
about eight months now, as part of the newly-developed cultural
exchange program between our two worlds. Having discovered hyperdrive
a few years ago, Earth had sent several exploration missions throughout
our part of the galaxy. It was our hope that we'd discover that
we weren't alone out in the great cosmic expanse. We'd been very
lucky, and by some phenomenal chance had met up with the Somani
a little over two years ago.
The discovery of the Somani was absolutely wonderful
for us, but not without its strangeness at first. The Somani were
basically a race of winged felinoids, walking upright on two legs,
which came as a bit of a surprise. Then again, these were aliens,
and after the initial confusion, people from both worlds began
to get used to the other's form.
After the settling-in period, when both races had
gotten to know a little about the other, diplomatic relations
had begun. Everyone had been optimistic, which proved to hold
true, and both our planets came together in a friendly and open
alliance. Since both our worlds were now at peace, we'd settled
upon several ways in which our two societies could help each other
for our mutual benefit.
The Somani weren't as technically advanced as we
were in the areas of space travel or artificial intelligence,
but their general level of electronic and computer technology
wasn't all that far behind us. They had many of the basic instruments
that we had, just not a lot of the higher-end equipment. Anyway,
to make up for some of their technical shortcomings, they'd surpassed
us in a couple areas of science, especially in their medical techniques
which were leaps and bounds ahead of us. Most of their scientific
efforts had been focused on genetics, and their technology in
that field was outstanding. Already several technological exchanges
had taken place, and both worlds were benefiting greatly from
them.
Then there was also the profound social implications
of the whole situation. Soon after the initial diplomatic issues
had been resolved, sociologists from both planets had flocked
to the new world for the rich information and background they
held.
It was also soon decided that in order to tie the
two races closer together, that a cultural-exchange program should
be set up, bringing members of both races to the other's homeworld.
Humans and Somani from all walks of life were chosen to represent
their people, as they were carted light-years away toward a fantastic,
exotic and slightly strange new world.
Upon hearing of the program, I'd jumped at the chance,
and made my appointment for the screening interview as soon as
I could. I'd always considered myself a little shy, and would
never have imagined that I'd be going so far from my familiar
surroundings, but there was a reason that prompted me to be so
adamant about wanting to make the journey.
I'd always had a secret dream of being able to fly
like the birds, and had never quite outgrown it from my childhood
fantasies. I still would sometimes lie on my back gazing into
the blue heavens and imagine myself soaring up there amongst the
ether. Knowing that the Somani were winged creatures, I held them
in very high regard and was fascinated with their abilities of
flight. I realized that just being amongst them would fulfill
more of my fantasy than I'd ever dreamed possible. Just being
able to see them fly would at least allow me to vicariously experience
my dreams.
During the interview I'd been a little nervous and
it had showed fairly obviously, but they were impressed with my
eagerness. Of course I hadn't told them the real reason behind
my desire to embark on the exchange. Afraid of being thought a
little foolish, I'd skated around the situation by talking about
what a wonderful race the Somani seemed to be and how I was interested
in experiencing their society, which of course was by no means
a lie.
The next week I'd waited in anticipation until they'd
finally called me back with the wonderful news. For the cultural
exchange to be the most effective, they'd said it was necessary
to get as diverse a group as possible. Although many college students
had applied, not too many of them had been in the technical fields
like myself, so that had almost assured my position. Also, they
told me that my genuine eagerness had impressed them and had made
up for my slight awkwardness. Secondly, although extremely-outgoing
people would have an easier time adjusting to new cultural surroundings,
to recruit only those types of people would give a false picture
of our population. So a certain percentage of the selected few
were chosen to be a little more reserved, such as myself.
I couldn't believe how outstanding my luck had been.
I was walking on air for the next two weeks before I was to report
for my indoctrination into the exchange program. First there was
a rather thorough and almost grueling series of medical exams.
There was also an operation we needed to undergo, in which a small
translator chip was implanted in each exchange member's head.
This wonderful device allowed us to become instantly fluent in
both written and spoken Somani, as if it was our native tongue.
These chips had been in use for close to a century for communications
between members of foreign countries, and had been one of the
driving forces behind global peace.
Once the exams were finished, and we'd received a
few vaccinations against the new strains of diseases we might
encounter, we were ready to embark on our fantastic journey. The
trip took slightly less than a month at our extreme speeds. During
this interim we were thoroughly educated on what was already known
of Somani culture.
Then, after all of the waiting, we were finally there.
It was such a wonderful, yet also an overwhelming experience to
step out of the ship onto such vastly foreign soil. Their world
was similar to ours in some ways, such as having a blue sky, but
it was also strangely different. Even the sky was not the same
as the familiar color from back home, instead its hue was of a
deeper shade of blue. The landscapes had some similarities to
Earth, but a lot of the vegetation was different. Like variations
on a theme, the flora on their homeworld had some vague similarities
to plants back on earth, but with their own strange twists on
them.
Their architecture was also vastly different, using
primarily curved edges in contrast to our straight lines and angles.
Their cities were not as crowded as ours either, with their population
density being a little less than half of ours. Therefore the cities
didn't seem quite as crowded as ours, and they felt very spacious,
sprawling out over the landscape.
Then of course there was the Somani themselves. I'd
seen hundreds of images of them, but that didn't compare to seeing
them in the flesh, face to face. They were basically large cats,
whose spine had changed enough to enable them to walk upright.
Although they were bipedal, they didn't have flat feet like we
do, instead their feet and lower legs resembled that of a cat's.
The feet and legs were thicker than ours to support their weight.
Only their toes came into contact with the ground, while the rest
of their foot came up at a slight angle.
From the knees up, they were roughly the same as
humans, if you overlooked the thick tail extending from their
lower back, reaching down to the ground giving them the balance
they needed to offset the unsteadiness from the construction of
their feet. Their upper body, arms and hands were again much like
those of humans, although small retractable claws extended from
the four digits on each hand.
Their heads were pretty much what you'd expect to
see on a large feline, although their eyes were easily much more
expressive, reflecting their intelligence. There were two exceptions
to the design of the feline head which immediately caught the
eye. First of all, the top of their heads was covered in a mane
of long fur, much like human hair, and their ears were larger
than you'd see on a cat of that size. Their ears appeared to be
a bit more vulpine than feline, but the added effect was rather
nice.
The coloring and fur patterns of the Somani was extremely
varied. Colors varied from blacks and browns, to tans, to yellows
and oranges, with many individuals having wild swirls or stripes
of various colors, or even leopard spots. Also, having dark mitts
and boots of coloring on the hands and feet was fairly common.
Some Somani had coats of uniform color, while many of them had
a patch of lighter coloring along their abdomens. Just like terran
cats, their looks were wildly varied.
Then there was the asset about the Somani, which
I'd found the most exotic, their wings. Although they stood about
equal in height with humans, as soon as you added the extra foot
or so from the wings, they sort of towered over us. Their wings
connected to the body just below their shoulders and ran down
to about the middle of their back. When fully extended, their
wing span was about seven or eight feet, which was very impressive.
The wings had several vertical ridges of bones running through
them, which not only supported them, but allowed them to fold
inward against the body when not in use.
Their wings were covered in fur of the same color
as their body, although it was slightly thinner there. The tips
of the wings came to just over a foot above the head, while the
lower edges extended to just a few inches above the ground. It
was obvious that with their wings, the Somani took up much more
space than us humans, and their buildings and vehicles reflected
that. Every seat, table, doorway, couch and bed, was larger than
its terran counterpart to accommodate their expansive wings.
Stepping off the ship and being confronted by all
of those alien sights threw me for a bit of a loop. Standing so
close to the Somani was quite an experience, but nowhere as wonderful
as seeing many of them flying gracefully through the air above
and around the city. They were so elegant and fluid, they were
pure poetry in motion.
The first few weeks on the Somani homeworld were
kind of hard for me. I was part of the first group of the cultural
exchange, consisting of only one thousand people. This had seemed
like a large group on board the ship, but once we'd landed we
were quickly separated into much smaller groups. Each of these
groups were spread throughout the surrounding continent so as
to maximize the effect of the cultural exposure.
Being a college student, I was assigned a position
at the local university, along with only fifty other humans. Since
the university had over seven thousand students enrolled in it,
we quickly became a vast minority. Then we were even further spread
out throughout the campus. The dorm that I was assigned to only
had three other humans in it, amongst the one-hundred fifty residents,
so I quickly began to feel pangs of loneliness and homesickness.
It was particularly hard on me since I was a little
shy to begin with. Also, since I was a little shorter than average,
only a bit taller than five and a half feet, the height difference
between the Somani and I was even more pronounced. That tended
to make me feel even more uncomfortable, but luckily for me my
floormates made up for it. There were several outgoing Somani
who lived nearby, and who took it upon themselves to make me a
part of nearly all of their activities. After we got over the
awkwardness of dealing with aliens, and got to know one another
as individuals, things began to go really well. By my first month
there, I'd made several close friends.
So the last several months had been extremely invigorating,
exciting and lots of fun. It hadn't been without its small upsets
though. Sometimes the differences between our two societies would
be remarkably profound, and there were a few awkward moments here
and there. The biggest one of these was the fact that the Somani
tended to be a lot more physically expressive than humans do.
To them hugging or lightly touching the arms, shoulders
or the legs were just simple signs of friendship, nothing more
than a handshake or a high-five was to us. This had caused a couple
of embarrassing incidents early on as I received these attentions
from both males and females. Noticing my uncomfortable reaction,
they'd been confused and even a little hurt, which had caused
both of us to become rather uncomfortable. Again I was lucky that
my new acquaintances were very understanding. We'd been able to
discuss the situations and easily resolve them. I'd then begun
to adjust to the laxness with which they treated personal space,
and as time wore on had been able to freely give and receive their
acts of friendship.
I'd gotten quite close with one or two of the Somani,
and our friendships had become very deep. We'd sometimes sit up
talking until late in the evening, with topics ranging from discussions
of our different cultures, to deep philosophical conversations,
to random and rather silly ramblings caused by loose associations
and our tiredness. Even with these aliens and their new world,
some things were still the same. College was still fun and I had
many good times with my new friends.
One of my closest friends, had asked my what had
prompted me to come on the exchange program in the first place,
noting the fact that I'd been kind of shy at first. I hesitated
a moment, thinking of just what to tell her, not knowing if I
could trust her with such a personal secret. I finally decided
that if I wanted to strengthen our relationship, I should be totally
open with her. Taking a nervous breath, I'd slowly told her about
my dreams of flight and how I admired and also slightly envied
them for having that wonderful ability.
She hadn't laughed at me like a small part of my
mind had feared, instead she'd been very understanding. Although,
at first it was a little hard for her to grasp, and she couldn't
comprehend not being able to fly since it was an innate ability
of theirs. We talked late into the night, with her trying to explain
to me just exactly what it felt like. It was obvious that I couldn't
truly comprehend what she was telling me, but she did her best
to try and convey it to me. Once again it helped me live out a
little of my dreams of flight, trying to imagine what it must
be like for them to soar through the air like that.
It was a couple of weeks later, when she'd come running
up to me in the hallway. She was obviously very excited, and had
thrown her arms around me in a friendly hug. She'd then begun
talking so fast and in broken sentences that I could hardly understand
her. After she'd calmed down, she was able to convey to me the
wonderful news she'd just heard.
She was a research assistant in one of the many medical
labs on campus, and had heard of an intriguing project that was
in the works. She knew the doctor in charge of the project and
had spoken to him at length that afternoon. It turned out that
ever since our contact with the Somani, they'd been vigorously
studying our anatomy and genetic structure. Using loads of medical
data as well as some cadavers transferred from Earth, they'd succeeded,
in a rather short period of time, in learning almost as much about
us as they knew about themselves.
One of their big advances in medicine over us was
their ability to re-generate damaged limbs, tissue and organs,
thus restoring the body to its former state after any type accident.
They'd already performed some of these small procedures on humans
hurt in accidents, such as healing broken bones or replacing cut
or smashed fingers. Since they had such a phenomenal success with
these simple operations, they were eager to try something much
more ambitious.
Seeing as how humans and Somani were relatively close
in body structure, one possible experiment that had been suggested
was trying to give humans wings like they had, reasoning that
it would be something very useful and helpful to our race. This
was where I came in, my friend knew of my desire to fly and had
mentioned it to the head doctor. Upon hearing that, he was very
interested in seeing me.
Many humans were not very fond of the idea of having
new body parts grown on them, and for good reason since it had
shades of Frankenstein written all over it. I however was intrigued
by the possibility of actually being able to fly, and that had
offset some of the misgivings I had to the whole idea. I was still
worried about the idea of genetic tampering, and had several in-depth
and frank conversations with the doctors working on the project.
They understood my concerns, but also showed me how
their genetic engineering had been used to totally remove birth
defects and many debilitating diseases. Realizing that this would
be different, by adding something totally new to my body, they
assured me that the operation could be reversible, if I decided
that the additions were something I didn't want. They also were
confident of their abilities to perform the procedure with no
major side-effects. Finally my curiosity and yearnings for flight
had won over my misgivings and I decided to give it a try.
First off, they started me out with several simulations,
using the latest technology in virtual reality that we'd given
them. In these simulations they were able to let me experience
what having wings would be like, how it would feel, and how my
body would be expanded. I was able to experience what it would
feel like to fly for the first time, and it was a totally incredible
experience. Seeing what having wings would be like convinced me
that I wanted to give this experiment a chance.
Over the next couple of months, several preparations
for the procedure were undertaken. First of all, they told me
that I needed to strengthen my upper-body, especially my chest
muscles, in order to be able to support my wings. So in addition
to my daily runs, I would also spend time in the gym lifting weights.
I'd never liked weight workouts, but thinking of how I'd soon
be able to fly made it all worthwhile. A few of my new close friends
went through the workouts with me, helping me to keep up my ambition
up. It turned out that upon hearing of the planned experiment,
they were just as excited as I was.
In the last month of the preparations, they'd laid
down a rudimentary set of artificial nerves running along my back.
The operation, although involved, had been quick by Earth standards,
only taking about four hours. Once these nerves were in place,
they'd given me a small portable unit, about the size of a deck
of playing cards, which would send wireless signals to this nerve
array. The device would detect proximity information and relay
that as tactile sensations, simulating the feel of wings. That
allowed me to get used to amount of space my wings would take
up, and learn how to avoid bumping them into objects.
At first it'd been extremely difficult, but the gain
of the sensors had been turned way down, so that even when I hit
my virtual wings hard against something, or managed to shut them
in a door, the pain was very light. Trying to move phantom wings
that I could feel, but not see posed some problems as well, but
I was able to adapt to it after a time. As I got more used to
them, the feedback amplitude of the unit was increased to more
accurately simulate how real wings would feel. I soon got quite
proficient at avoiding obstacles, and learned to sleep with my
back propped against special pillows, or on my side with my virtual
wings folded against me, so they wouldn't be crushed while I slept.
I must have looked rather strange standing clear
of objects with my invisible wings, but by then a lot of people
had heard about the project. One good thing about Somani culture
is their respect of individual privacy. Even though most everyone
knew about what I would soon be undertaking, they were all very
polite about it, and only my closest friends would discuss it
with me. Had this been Earth, I would've been hounded by just
about everyone from curious strangers to the media.
The media here was much different than from back
home though. They reported only the essential news, not getting
into people's private lives, nor did they have all the tabloids
and commercialism which still plagued us humans. After the operation,
I was told, there would be a small press conference, to be scheduled
at my convenience. Even then they would be very courteous with
me, I'd know all the questions ahead of time, and they'd try and
keep it short.
As the date of the operation grew nearer, I became
much more excited. I was still a little nervous, but I had complete
trust in the miraculous Somani medical science. They answered
any and all of my questions in a friendly and thorough manner.
They explained that the operation would consist of the controlled
activation of cellular growth, producing the construction of the
wing structure from my back. The artificial array of nerves they'd
laid down would be replaced by real neural pathways, then the
new muscles, bones, flesh and skin of the wings would be added.
Although the wings would be of Somani design, they
would also be of human genetic structure. Fully understanding
both Somani and human DNA, they would be able to tweak my genetic
codes, adding the desired sequences which would grow the wings.
The whole process was very involved, so it would take a little
over two days from start to completion. During this time, I would
be unconscious, suspended on life support, in a chamber of amniotic
fluid which would promote tissue growth.
As for the operation being reversible, they assured
me that this would be no more difficult than the original procedure.
Instead of simply removing the wings, which would leave me an
amputee, they would slowly reverse the process. They would remove
the wings, but would leave the nerves intact. Then, just as I'd
been trained to learn how my wings felt, I would slowly be weaned
from their sensory input, until my body no longer expected it.
The extra nerves would then be removed, and I would
be just as I had been before. There would be some residual mental
effects from this though, since I would then know what it felt
like to have wings, and would to some extent emotionally and intellectually
miss their presence. They reminded me though, that if I liked
the wings that much, then there was no need to have them removed,
and if I absolutely hated them, then getting rid of them would
make me feel better.
With that knowledge, I'd decided to go with my dreams
and undergo the procedure. I was still a little nervous, but I
knew that if I never took advantage of this opportunity, I would
always regret it and wonder what it would've been like. Now lying
in bed like this, with my real wings finally spread out beneath
me, I was confident that I'd made the correct decision.
With my mind still racing from all of my excited
thoughts, I was interrupted as the head doctor from the project
entered my room. "Hello Will, how are you feeling today?"
he asked in a very cheery, yet professional tone.
"Great!" I replied enthusiastically. "I
can't wait to get out and stretch my wings and see how well they
work."
Noting my enthusiasm, he smiled warmly at me. He
was impressed with how strong my desire to fly had been, and had
been very supportive throughout the whole experience. "I'm
glad you're so happy with the results so far, how would you like
to take a better look at yourself?"
Seeing my second enthusiastic reply, he helped me
out of bed and to a standing position. I was a little unsteady
at first, since the simulations hadn't been able to thoroughly
show me what the weight of the wings would feel like. Their added
weight was small, and not too uncomfortable, but they did change
my center of gravity a little. It took a few minutes of adjusting
my posture to figure out the best way to stand with these new
additions to my body. It still felt strange, but the other sensations
from the wings were very familiar to me and they felt comfortable,
as if I'd always had them.
Holding me steady for a few moments, the doctor then
led me to a full-length mirror on the opposite side of the room,
allowing me to admire my reflection. I stood there clad only in
the hospital pants, with my upper body exposed. Spreading out
my wings I was impressed with their full span of about seven feet,
scaled perfectly to my size. As with the Somani, their tips came
to just under a foot above my head, and down to about two-thirds
of the way down my calves. However, unlike the Somani, my wings
were made of human flesh, with their skin color being the same
as the rest of my body. They looked a little strange since they
were just naked flesh, not covered by fur like the wings I was
used to looking at. However, I'd seen projections of what I'd
look like, so I was prepared for the view.
Standing there, I admired my new appendages as I
vainly flexed them for my viewing, smiling as they moved with
fluid grace. The simulation they'd put me through had helped train
me for this and my new wings worked flawlessly to follow my commands.
I got a little lost in the reflection and was brought back to
reality by the doctor's gentle touch on my shoulder. Turning to
him, his smile reflected that of my own. "So I trust everything
turned out to your satisfaction Will? You seem to be enjoying
the view" he asked me with a quick wink of his eye.
"Yes" I agreed, feeling completely at ease
with him, enjoying his warmth and personable demeanor which had
been with me since the beginning of the project. "I look
a little strange for the moment, but it is something I'll get
used to. Already I can appreciate how good they look on me..."
"That's good, now how'd you like to try them
out instead of just admiring them?"
Again I was very quick to agree to his suggestion,
nodding eagerly. Seeing my response, he led me out of the room,
and down the hall to a very large and expansive room. I was a
little sheepish about walking around in just a pair of hospital
pants, but luckily they were full pants, unlike the ones commonly
seen in terran hospitals with the backs open. Also, at least in
that part of the hospital, nobody else seemed to be around so
I had some privacy.
Entering the room, which was the size of about two
and a half gymnasiums, he explained, "this is our flying
room. Sometimes we'll have a patient whose wings are badly damaged
and they'll need to go through an operation much like the one
you went through. Afterwards we need to make sure that everything
came out okay, so we need to have a place where they can take
a quick test flight. We've already done a complete physical scan
on you, and things seem to be all in order, but we can't be sure
until you show us how they actually work."
I practically jumped at the chance to finally test
out my wings. Crouching down slightly, I spread them out and jumped
lightly up into the air, flapping my wings the way I'd learned
from the simulations. Again the training from the simulations
hadn't been totally accurate, and I was a little unsteady at first.
With work though, I soon got the feel for it and before long I
was swooping throughout the room, enjoying the ability to do graceful
glides and quick turns and spins.
I flew excitedly around the room for ten or fifteen
minutes before remembering about the doctor waiting below, and
then grudgingly coming down to a skillful landing. I'd enjoyed
the times I'd spent on the simulator learning how to fly, but
there was always a slight bit of unreality about it. Now after
really flying for the first time, I could see how pale the simulation
had been to the actual experience.
When I finally landed, I greeted the doctor with
an outburst of excitement, trying to describe to him just how
wonderful the experience had been for me. He stood there patiently
listening to my wild ramblings with an amused smile on his face.
It was also obvious from his expression that he was impressed
with the amount of skill my first flight had demonstrated.
As I was babbling wildly to him, overwhelmed by my
excitement, I heard a familiar feminine voice behind me calling
my name. Turning around I saw it was one of my close Somani friends
come to see me. In fact she was the one who'd first introduced
me to the idea of the whole project. "Hello Will," she
greeted me with a warm smile, "you look wonderful. Did I
miss your first flight?"
"Yes you did" I said running madly at her,
pumped up from the exhilaration, and extremely happy. I embraced
her in a strong, friendly hug as I started to talk wildly at her.
"Mazzi, it was wonderful, I never knew it could be like this,
now I know what you were trying to tell me when you were trying
to explain it to me. It's just so wonderful, I felt so free..."
Seeing me all hyper and excited, she giggled with
her usual bubbly personality. Finally she put one of her hands
gently over my mouth and hugged me a little tighter with the other
one, slowly calming me down. Smiling at me she replied, "it's
good to see you lose control like that. I don't think I've ever
seen you so taken by anything quite this way before... It's really
amusing and cute." Turning to the doctor who was watching
the whole spectacle with obvious amusement, she asked "so
did everything come out okay, is he ready for his first outdoor
flight?"
"Yes, he's in wonderful shape, and a moderate
flight would be very good for him." Addressing me before
he leaves the arena, he added "everything should be just
fine Will, but I'd like you to come in for a quick checkup in
a week just to make sure."
I responded with a quick affirmative as he was leaving
and then turned back to look at Mazzi. Over the past few months,
she and I had gotten very close. I'd easily say that she was my
best friend here. I'd occasionally wondered if things between
us would develop into something stronger, something romantic,
but I didn't want to push the issue. I was extremely happy having
her as such a close friend, and I was a little reluctant to chance
that and try and pursue her as a possible lover. For the moment
I was content with the way our relationship was. "Thanks
for coming Mazzi, this really means a lot to me."
"Well you know I wouldn't have missed this,
being such an important day for you and all. Besides, I wasn't
going to let anyone else take you out on your first real flight.
I wanted the pleasure of that experience for myself... Oh and
I brought you a present." With that she picked up the small
bag she'd been holding, but then dropped when I practically jumped
into her arms. Reaching into it she brought out a Somani shirt,
a slit running down its back to accommodate for the wings. In
keeping with the Somani's love of bright colors, the shirt was
a nice radiant hue of red.
"Thanks Maz, that's really thoughtful of you,
it'll go great with the blue shorts I'll be wearing."
"You're welcome, I had the feeling that since
you were so excited about everything you might've forgotten about
needing a whole new set of shirts, so I went ahead and got you
this. We can go shopping later if you want, but first I'd like
to take you to a peak near here which has a really nice view this
time of year."
"That sounds great, how far away is it?"
"About fifteen kilometers." At first that
seemed like a long distance to me, since I was used to running
for my exercise, then I realized that by flying it would be much
easier to cover the same distance in a much shorter time. Therefore,
this flight wouldn't actually be too long. My exercise program
had strengthened my muscles so I was ready for my first flight
of any real distance.
"Okay, let's go. Just let me get changed first"
I replied eagerly.
We walked out of the large flight room, and back
up the hallway to my room. Then after opening the door, I turned
to her, and in keeping with our playful friendship, I jokingly
flirted "so you can either stay out here, or if you want
you can watch me change." I finished up by winking at her
a couple of times and flashing her a wide grin.
Returning my grin she playfully replied "oh
I'd better stay out here. I don't know if I could stand the show...
I might get all excited and pass out or something."
Laughing briefly at our silly joke, I closed the
door and quickly changed, returning out into the hall to model
my new shirt with my shorts. Standing there I posed playfully
for her, keeping my posture as straight as I could, while flexing
my wings slightly.
"Will, you look great" she complimented
with genuine affection making me beam with pride. "Come on,
let's get going. I'm anxious to see you fly."
Walking to the top of the building and then out onto
the roof, we emerged into the sunlight of an absolutely gorgeous
day. Following her lead, we ran to the edge of the roof, jumping
out into the air spreading our wings, and taking flight.
Again the feelings were so new and wonderful that
they almost overwhelmed me. My mind and heart almost exploded
from the joy I was feeling from the realization of one of my innermost
dreams. The trip to the peak took about fifteen minutes and we
enjoyed every moment of it. Mazzi was a little surprised at the
skill of my flight, especially as were executing a series of complicated
swoops and swirls around one another.
Finally we reached our destination where the view
was extremely rewarding. We stood on the top of a small mountain,
which was flattened out on top giving a small plateau of about
an acre or so, and gazed out across the beautiful panorama. In
all my time on the planet, I'd never been up this high, in fact
I'd never really been outside of the city. Now looking out across
the wonderful landscape I saw the city in the distance, surrounded
by roaming countryside. The sun was bright and the sky was its
beautiful shade of blue as small puffy clouds drifted lazily overhead.
The whole picture was just so perfect, and it accompanied my exhilaration
quite nicely.
Turning to Mazzi, I looked at her and once again
noticed just how beautiful she is. She stood pretty much at my
height, with her wings roughly the same size as mine. Her coat
is a lovely golden color, dotted with leopard spots which are
very attractive. Her hair is a light brown with light waves through
it, coming down in the back to just above shoulder length. Her
muzzle is covered in white fur, which runs down her neck, trailing
down into her shirt. She was wearing red shorts with a bright
green shirt, both of which nicely complimented her fur coloring.
The whole effect was really quite adorable, and in the back of
my mind I once again pondered the remote possibility of us falling
in love.
In a wordless agreement, we embraced each other once
again in a comfortable and friendly hug. I leaned my head against
her shoulder enjoying the feel of her warmth, as I was still teeming
with excitement from the flight. "Thanks for taking me here
Mazzi, it's just so beautiful. I can't possibly tell you how wonderful
this has been and what it means to me."
She reached up to softly stroke the back of my head
and ran her hand through my hair. Then with a gentle nudge, she
guided my head up and back so we were looking face to face. She
smiled at me with incredible warmth, and gazing into her beautiful
blue eyes, I almost got lost in their depths.
In the back of my mind I realized that something
was different here. There was something subtle in the way she
was looking at me, a mix of emotions registering on her face.
Looking up at me with those beautiful wide eyes, she brought her
mouth to mine and gave me a soft, yet deliberate kiss.
As our lips made contact I was momentarily startled
by the whole turn of events, yet also pleasantly surprised. I
reflexively kissed her back, my lips meeting hers softly, and
I also gave her a quick squeeze with my arms, holding her to me.
Our kiss only lasted a few moments before she pulled away slightly
and asked me "was that okay Will?"
"Yes," I stammered slightly in amazement.
"It was wonderful. It's something I've been sort of thinking
about for some time now... but I didn't know that you felt that
way about me."
Smiling warmly at me once again she replied, "I've
been becoming more interested in you over the past several weeks,
but I sensed some hesitation or uncertainty in you, so I thought
it would be best if we played it slow. Then lately I've decided
that I should give it a chance and see how you responded... I
figured today would be a good day to do it, with all the other
wonderful experiences you were having. I also wanted to make the
moment perfect, so I waited until I could take you out here where
we could be alone in this beautiful setting."
"Thanks Mazzi. I'm glad you made the first move,
otherwise who knows how long we would have waited. I still want
to take it slow though. We've come this far, and I don't want
to mess things up by moving too quickly."
She answered me with a quiet nod. Then pulling her
a little closer, I moved my lips toward hers and we kissed once
again. It was just as softly as before, but that time we stretched
out the moment, savoring it. The feel of her fuzzy muzzle and
thin lips against mine felt so nice, and our embrace seemed so
warm and natural. I enjoyed holding her there, as we bathed in
the feelings of our close friendship, which had just grown even
closer.
We held each other for moments that seemed to last
for ever. Nothing could happen to make this a better day, right
now it had obtained perfection and would be forever etched in
my memory. I finally ended the moment by softly thanking her once
again for all that she had done for me. Holding onto each other
a little longer, we finally decided that since it was starting
to get late we should be leaving.
"Why don't we fly into town quickly and do a
little shopping, since you need some more shirts? Afterwards,
my parents would like to have us visit them for dinner, they are
really excited for you... Then I thought we could spend the evening
at the theater since there are several new movies we haven't seen."
I agreed with her on all counts. Her parents were
extremely nice, and had become sort of a second family to me.
Spending the rest of the day with her sounded wonderful, and the
thought of cuddling against her while watching a movie was just
so inviting.
Having decided how to spend the rest of our waking
hours that day, we again took a running leap off of the plateau
and glided gracefully into the wide blue sky. I let her get slightly
in front of me for a moment so I could admire her beautiful form
flying ahead of me. Then with my spirits soaring high, I rushed
to catch up to her. Reaching her, I flew swooping by, and we continued
the game of aerial tag we'd been playing earlier.
Copyright 1994, 1997, Will A. Sanborn - was1@shore.net