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just winging it - Melita - 01-02-2026
Settling at the helm of the Firecracker, Melita scanned the horizon, looking at more of the endless blue. It stretched for miles upon miles, with nothing more certain than waterways and ships below. It gave her time and opportunity to think, which, while it wasn’t her favorite pastime, it was certainly something that needed to occur if she was going to change anything about her current self-inflicted predicaments.
Fangorn rumbled something encouraging to her, and she patted the top of his head. [say]“That’s very sweet, but you have to say that,”[/say] to which he gave a very pumpkin-esque shrug and wound his vines tighter along the wooden railing. With Sila zooming alongside, the demigod could lean out along the beams and contemplate why she had so many damned issues, but luckily, a distraction appeared, massive and white along the sky. [say]“Hmm,”[/say] she mumbled, gaze narrowing, pondering if it was a bulkier mass of cloud wyrms or something else altogether; unfurling the sails more, letting the wind and speed take them closer.
RE: just winging it - Noah - 01-03-2026
High above the sea, Noah rode air where the sky paled toward white. In griffin form, his size was impossible to miss--wings stretched wide, feathers bleached nearly bone bright by sun and salt, his silhouette vast enough to be mistaken for cloud or wyrm or even some other dangeros thing from a distance. He held his position with minimal movement, letting the wind do most of the work. He was merely a pale mass suspended against the endless blue, touching the edges of the white.
From here, the world was small.
The ocean rolled in slow, patient rhythms beneath him. There was movement, slightly to hsi west. A skyship, its sails unfurling as it angled closer to his path. Noah tilted his head, glacier eyes narrowing as he watched its approach. He did not recognize it, an the distance stripped away details, reduing it only to intent which Noah was not going to mistake over these oceans again.
He shifted slightly, a single wing flexing. Within him caution stirred, but not alarm. A low, resonant sound rolled from his chest, not a threat so much as an announcement. The call carried on the wind, deep enough to be felt as much as heard, a vibration through open sky and open water alike. He banked slowly, deliberately, ensuring his form remained visible and unmistakably real. Massive though he was, his movements were controlled, almost lazy, aware of how easily he could inspire fear in this form.
RE: just winging it - Melita - 01-03-2026
Her eyes narrowed when she heard the low rumble echoing and bounding outwards – incapable of understanding its meaning. If it was a threat, Melita didn’t respond well to those, apt to quickly remind others that she was just as much an ominous and nefarious piece of the horizon. If it was a greeting, she had no means in which to clip back, save for her own voice racing along the sky, and she doubted it would carry from here.
As they got closer though, she realized it was a griffin, rather than fluffy cloud wyrms come to try and annoy her. A much larger version though, far more massive than the ones she’d seen as companions, like they were miniature images of this thing. Could they talk? Were they intelligent? Or was this going to be a fight? [say]“Heeeeeeeey,”[/say] she announced, cupping her hands around her mouth to try and make the sound flicker over waters and wind. Her eyes drifted quickly to her cannons, then her arrows nearby, just in case; no fear, no resignation, but her mind a well of possibilities. Sending Sila upwards, the dragon drifted overhead of the skyship, perhaps as a symbol and beacon too.
RE: just winging it - Noah - 01-05-2026
A voice flung upward into open air, defiant and bright, carried thinly by the wind. Noah’s ears flicked, attention sharpening as the skyship closed the distance. Details began to resolve, with one unmistakable trait shining bright like a banner. Wild-red hair, striking even from above.
Recognition settled through him. Melita. Though his size did not diminish, he adjusted his approach immediately. The Sentinel's wings angled outward, body lowering fractionally to steady out rather than diving, his speed bleeding off until the wind alone guided him.
He answered her call with another rumble, this one softer. Where the first had been an announcement, this was reassurance. His wings beat slow and even and measured, the motion stirring the air without snapping it. He kept his talons tucked, his posture open, head dipped just enough to be read as deference rather than dominance.
Noah’s eyes tracked the dragon briefly, then returned to Melita, holding her gaze as best he could from this distance. As he did, he shifted to her ship’s flank rather than its path, careful not to cast his shadow fully across the deck. He tried to reach out through the bond, wondering if the demigod had unlocked access to such a thing yet.
RE: just winging it - Serendipity - 01-05-2026
As you wander along a sun-warmed path, something catches the light at just the right angle, glinting brightly against the stone. Set slightly off the walkway, nestled among pale gravel and heat-baked earth, rests a smooth piece of sunstone.
The stone radiates warmth even without being touched, its golden surface threaded with natural veins that seem to glow softly from within. The air around it feels heavier, saturated with heat, as though the sun itself has paused here for a moment longer than elsewhere.
It looks intentionally placed, not lost — a quiet offering waiting to be noticed by the right eyes.
You've found an offering for Tanau! Whoever is next to post in this thread will be the first one to see the offering, but if they wish to give it to someone else, they're more than welcome! No need to post in account updates, just keep track of this thread for the Longheat SWE!
RE: just winging it - Melita - 01-06-2026
While recognition might have settled through the griffin, Melita was still lost – because while she received something of deference, at least in the animal’s posture, she hadn’t a clue who this could be. Without the ability to reach through any bond, it would only be bewilderment in place of anything – save for her own impulsive notions. An Attuned made more sense…but there were scores of them. [say]“Who are youuuuu?”[/say] she hollered back again, wondering if the creature could like…air write or something.
Then it was circling overhead, and woof, had it not showed some manners then it would’ve been in a really good place to shoot out of the sky.
But once Sila was tracking, something else was spotted, and it drove her attention briefly away from the beast and down below…seemingly amongst the waves. A glimmer of brightness held her gaze, and before long she was leaning over the railing, the companion bond rattling through her, issuing a command through her mercenary mind. The dragon rallied, dive-bombing towards the object sitting amidst the current, little claws reaching out to clutch and snatch.
--
Melita sends Sila to grab the offering!
RE: just winging it - Noah - 01-06-2026
Noah felt the absence immediately, the hollow where an Attuned bond should have answered, should have carried recognition back along the same invisible thread he’d reached for. There was nothing. Understanding flickered followeed by a chuff of breath as Melita called out to him verbally. His glacier eyes flicked briefly toward Sila’s dive, tracking the dragon’s sudden interest below with a hunter’s instinct, but he didn’t change his course.
Instead, he pulled back from the full breadth of his griffin shape. Feathers receded along his chest and neck, bone and muscle reshaping with a muted ache he barely acknowledged at this point in his life. When he emerged from it, he was no longer the vast, pale omen in the sky, but neither was he fully human. His wings remained, enormous and white, beating steadily as they held him in the air. The rest of him was unmistakably Noah now, aal broad shouldered, scar-marked, with blond hair tugged loose by the wind. He lifted one hand [say]"No bond yet?"[/say] He called over the rush of the wind.
RE: just winging it - Melita - 01-07-2026
Sila’s flight was a successful plunge, and before the griffin revelation she was back in the open helm of the Firecracker, depositing the brilliant sunstone in Melita’s palms. [say]“Oooh, fuck yeah, what a score,”[/say] she whispered to the dragon, already scratching at the top of her head and depositing treats out for both Fangorn and Sila. Thereafter, she stuffed the rock (one of the best she’d ever laid eyes on, let’s be real) into her pockets, pretending like she hadn’t just earned something quite-fucking-amazing, and glanced over at the Attuned.
Who she did know, and it caused a short burst of laughter from her. [say]“Oh hey. You know you gotta wear a sign or something.” [/say]While she didn’t imply why, she figured he’d understand the nuances and justification behind it. So people didn’t shoot him or whatever. [say]“Neat trick though, with the wings and all.”[/say] She supposed that would be pretty boss to fly around half-shifted; but then again, she had her own skyship, so those limitations didn’t sorely impact her.
At his question, she shook her head. [say]“Nah. Probably got a while. What’re you doing out here?”[/say]
RE: just winging it - Noah - 01-13-2026
A corner of Noah’s mouth lifted. He let his wings beat a little slower, settling into an easy hover alongside the Firecracker, careful to keep clear of rigging and sails, close enough though that he didn't have to shout at the top of his lungs to talk to her. [say]“Yeah,”[/say] he admitted, voice carrying over the wind. [say]“A sign might be wise. ‘Attuned, not wild.’ I’ll have to remember that.”[/say] The realization that Melita might not know he had been released from his work as a demigod suddenly hit him, pusling through his limbs, but he didn't linger on it.
At her question, he glanced out over the open sea, eyes tracing the long, empty horizon. He breathed in a lungfull of the salt and the vastness. [say]“Sometimes I need the sky."[/say] His wings flexed in a slow, powerful stretch. [say]“Flying clears the noise."[/say] He rolled one shoulder, feathers rustling. [say]“The griffin helps with that. Speed, sight, endurance.”[/say] A faint, knowing glint passed through his glacier eyes. [say]"But that's not just the only trick this form has for keeping me alive.”[/say]
RE: just winging it - Melita - 01-14-2026
Ordinarily a portion would escape her; too focused on other things like the high speed thrill of the wind or the merry little chase – but he’d said Attuned, and it caused her head to tilt. Maybe it’d been in error or jest, and she corrected him with a display of her hands, intentionally looking as though they were fanning out wide, portraying and miming an invisible sign. [say]“Or Demigod – don’t be alarmed,”[/say] in a loud, booming voice.
As for needing the sky, she could fathom that front. She preferred simply to think of it as the open wilderness – stretching out towards each and every horizon she could get her greedy, covetous little fingers on. It was worth the moments to savor – granting her time to think and mend and heal from whatever ailed; or to glorify in the trips and traps and trials, finding news ways to galvanize her efforts or bomb pirates below.
The notion of a trick had her brow arching, leaning along the railing. [say]“Oh really? Like what?”[/say]
RE: just winging it - Noah - 01-15-2026
There it was. The pang. While Noah had mostly come ot terms and was comfortable with the life ahead of him, there were prideful parts of him that would mourn his mantle as a demigod. He didn't say anything else, but the way his eyes flashed from her face to the Firecracker's sails may have been a sign for someone astute enough to notice the shadow in the glacier.
But as she moved on to his prompting, he lifted his eyes again and smiled. It was a broad, mischievous kind of smile. Noah gave a short nod, then let the half-shift unwind. The change rolled through him in a smooth, familiar surge. Human lines blurred and braodened as pale feathers spilled back across skin and scar alike. His bones stretched, reknit, and the weight of him redistributed as wings grew vast again, blotting patches of sky with their span. In a heartbeat he was once more the massive griffin.
He beat his wings and drifted outward, putting deliberate distance between himself and the Firecracker—far enough that a sudden gust or a misjudged current wouldn’t buffet her sails or rigging. Only when he was certain of their safety did he turn, circling wide. Then he drew in a deep breath.
Heat gathered in his chest, a low, building pressure that hummed along his throat and behind his teeth. The air around his maw shimmered, warping faintly, and when he exhaled, it was not wind that spilled free but fire. A plume of white-hot flame poured out into open sky. It roared for a brief, brilliant moment, lighting the undersides of his wings and casting molten reflections across the water below, before he cut it off with a snap of his jaws. Glacier eyes cast back to Melita, waiting for the response.
RE: just winging it - Melita - 01-15-2026
She didn’t catch any of the silent motions; wouldn’t have known what they stood for in the first place. Inwardly shrugging, she watched and waited instead, presuming he had some big showstopper he was going to pull out all the maneuvers for. Continuing to lean over the railing, her eyes followed and traced the griffin’s newfound route, and then witnessed the breath of fire.
Enthusiastic immediately, she began to clap, enamored with the stretch of flames bolstered through the skies. Maybe if she could prod him a little, at some point, she could steal the same ability…
[say]“Hey, that’s come cool shit!” [/say]She declared, immediately snagging at her bow. [say]“This is all I can do for now,”[/say] which, c’mon, was still pretty damned awesome, as she notched the string and sent a fiery elemental arrow whizzing through the air. It came on a graceful arc, all vitriol and vehemence, before descending down into the sea, to be swallowed into the brink. Not that such a notion would deter the Honeybee – if anything, she was now more enthused to go blow shit up with a duo of potential. [say]“Do you see anything nearby we can set on fire?”[/say] Maybe he had better angles, but she was already sending Sila back out – the dragon loosened her own puff of embers simply to show off her abilities, as she rounded back into the horizon.
RE: just winging it - Noah - 01-21-2026
Noah felt the way her excitement leapt the distance between ship and sky like a spark catching dry tinder. A rumbling sound built in his chest, not heat this time but amusement, a deep, rolling chuff that carried on the wind like muted thunder. He wheeled higher, wings carving a wide arc through the air. The open and vast sky answered him. He drew in another breath and loosed a second stream of fire, longer this time, a ribbon of white hot heat that twisted and braided as he angled his head, painting luminous spirals against the blue.
Joy surged through him, bright and boyish despite the monstrous form he wore. He banked, laughing again in that low, rumbling way. But beneath the mirth, experience and wisdom kept a steady hand on the reins. At her question, Noah's ears snapped back into his thick scruff and he shot his eyes at her, a firm look followeed by the even firmy shake of his great head. This longheat did not need their help in starting anything on fire, that was for sure.
Not wanting to stay in that sternness too long, though, Noah lifted his head towards the open sky once more. Another plume blossomed from his jaws, brief and brilliant, then vanished. He snapped it off and coasted, letting the heat bleed away into the wind. When he looked back toward the Firecracker, his wings flared in a showy, playful flourish.
RE: just winging it - Melita - 01-21-2026
She’d never seen Noah all…happy and stuff before. Exuberant. Well, for him. He always seemed to be the epitome of a either a disgruntled dad (she probably wouldn’t know; her father had even wanted them) or gruff, sullen Atlas, trying to hold the way of the world up on his shoulders. Her brow arched as she watched him maneuver through the sky – Sila following suit, going higher and higher as a means of challenge.
Melita could see the warning in his eyes thereafter though. She scoffed, unraveling a snort and a mulish, teenage-semblance of gaze, rolling her glance towards the sea below. What the fuck was she going to hurt out here? The waves?
Ignoring him, because she followed Ludo and not Sentinels, she drew another fire arrow, narrowing her eyes and pretending there was something below. [say]“Oh, what's that down there?”[/say] she handwaved – picturing hels or ghost whales or whatever else could’ve been doomed to perish at her glorified misdeeds and blinding power. Her dragon trilled alongside, and the Honeybee fired off another shot – which might’ve been towards nothing at all, but baring the point of taking no orders, and maybe the mere thrill of being a shit.