If you cannot teach me to fly . . .

[freedom_is_grey]

It only takes Dave ten minutes to pull Ysalwen away from the siren call of maps and ancient scrolls.

Then she and Liranan decide to show him their favorite places in Milliways.

One location to begin from is the tropical inlet. Because the water and the sand there are warm, and it's very much unlike anywhere else that Ysalwen has ever been.

Comments

[freedom_is_grey]

"Entitlement has never yet been cured by words. Fear works, for a time, at least. But that never lasts, either."

She exhales.

"Anyway. Shall we sing Space Jam again?"

[stridersgonnastride]

"sure the sick beats of quad city djs soothe many ills

"but uh

"did you want to talk about it"

It sounds like maybe she wants to talk about it.

[freedom_is_grey]

"Not really? I mean a little, but it's not something that's easily changed. It may, in fact, be even more difficult to change than the mage-templar divide. It -- well."

She exhales.

"Drunken human noblemen seem a lot like these frat boys of yours. Most humans consider themselves entitled to elves' time and labor and bodies and -- it's bad. Is all."

All. Right.

"Do you mind if we walk a little faster?"

[stridersgonnastride]

"oh that

"that sounds like it sucks

"i don't have a lot of experience with that stuff happening specifically to me but some of my friends have and it definitely sounds fucking awful." Dave glances over at Ysalwen, hands jammed in his pockets. His entire posture screams 'awkward sympathy' but he remains terrible at expressing any sincere emotion.

"just don't make me fly to keep up. too many trees."

[freedom_is_grey]

Ysalwen looks back at him after a moment, mouth quirking up at one corner.

"Awful is a good word for it. I'm glad you've never had it happen to you. Or -- I hope you never have, anyway. I'm sorry your friends know."

She exhales again, squaring her shoulders.

"Do you enjoy flying? Or does it cause you more trouble than it's worth? Trees aside, I mean."

[stridersgonnastride]

Leap on that subject change.

"flying is the fucking bomb. 10/10 best godlike power upgrade even beats the comfy pajamas and the ability to text people basically with my brain.

"karkat gets so pissed off and i think it kinda annoys kanaya too that they're like the only ones who can't fly it's pretty great."

[freedom_is_grey]

She grins, quick and bright.

"I'll admit I'm a little envious, too. Then again, in Thedas generally the evil spirit types tend to float around cackling madly, so perhaps it's better to keep flying out of my skillset."

Wait.

"Kanaya? I've not met -- her? Him? Um."

[stridersgonnastride]

"don't let that stop you i've met non-cackling evil spirits flying around and totally evil cackling non-spirits so let your freak flag fly free you know"

He holds a branch up so Ysalwen can duck under it. Or just walk, because she's short.

"kanaya is the bomb she's another troll. she's a totally deadly bitch with her chainsaw, likes making fashionable outfits, and being a voice of reason. my sister's her girlfriend."

Dave approves.

"also apparently she's karkat's moirail here which she wasn't in my timeline but fucking alternate universes and doomed timelines what are you gonna do

"maybe they always liked each other that way and just never got the chance to act on it until now"

[freedom_is_grey]

"Oh, excellent!"

Ysalwen's smile brightens into one that almost seems real.

"It's lovely when extended families actually like each other. Or so I hear."

Her mouth twitches very faintly.

"Does your sister come here, too, or -- ?"

[stridersgonnastride]

"yeah she's the best troll-in-law a boy could ask for really."

Dave shakes his head. "i don't think so but apparently kanaya knew about milliways even in my timeline and didn't let on so i'm not 100% positive. i feel like i would have known if rose did though. unless she showed up when she was drunk and then forgot about it"

He frowns slightly.

[freedom_is_grey]

Ysalwen also frowns, slowing her pace for a moment or two. Just in case.

"Does that -- happen a lot? Or . . . "

[stridersgonnastride]

"ugh guess what i don't want to talk about

"it's that

"you win a prize."

[freedom_is_grey]

"So is this the part where I tell you we seem to have found some spiders?"

World's greatest segue is happening right now.

Right?

[stridersgonnastride]

There's suddenly a broken sword in Dave's hand.

"holy fuck where"

As he whirls around to look, the sword glitches, blurs, and becomes whole.

[freedom_is_grey]

In the branches of a nearby tree there is a veritable horde of tiny blue-ish spiders.

There's a fine coating of frost on said tree.

And the tiny ice spiders are spinning tiny ice webs. Most of them look like snowflakes. One of them reads Some Pig. There is no pig in sight.

"Um. There? But I think we can avoid them. Just. Trying not to startle them is probably best."

[stridersgonnastride]

"youuuu

"jerk"

Dave exhales heavily. The sword vanishes again.

"i was expecting something a little bigger"

And then, a moment later:

"ha that's what she said"

[freedom_is_grey]

"That's what prosthetics can be for," Ysalwen says, very primly.

"Now, let's keep moving."

Liranan trots ahead this time, keeping himself between Ysa and Dave and the spiders.

Just because!

[stridersgonnastride]

That's definitely not quiet snickering that Ysalwen hears behind her.

Dave picks up the pace to keep up.

"hey is that the mountain up there it looks sort of mountain-y anyway"

Apparently that means 'vaguely uphill and more rocks' up ahead.

[freedom_is_grey]

"Um. Not yet? But if we turn west a little we will eventually get there."

She flicks a quick look in Dave's direction.

"Have you been climbing before?"

[stridersgonnastride]

"climbing is not usually a problem for me because i can fucking fly," he says.

"but other than radio towers no not really"

[freedom_is_grey]

"Ah, yes, I had almost forgotten."

She grins, quick and bright.

"I'll meet you at the top, then? I apologize in advance if you get bored."

[stridersgonnastride]

"hang on sec," Dave says. "gimme your staff, i have a genius plan"

He starts going through his sylladex, which mostly involves staring off into space.

[freedom_is_grey]

"Um. It took me a long time to get this, what are you going to do?"

But she hands it over anyway.

Because. Well.

He asked.

[stridersgonnastride]

"i'm not going to hurt it i'm upgrading it check this out."

He pulls out one of Terezi's scalemates. This one has a noose around its neck. Okay, let's be honest, most of them end up that way.

He undoes the knots and puts the plushie away. Then, he ties each end of the rope to one end of the staff.

Dave holds the rope in the middle, and the staff now hangs parallel to the ground.

"bam"

[freedom_is_grey]

"Oh! Huh.So you're going to hold the rope and Liranan and I are going to sit on the staff part?"

Hmm.

It --

Could work. Probably. Um.