Caffeine Challenge #24
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Prompts:
Song prompt: The One Who Laughs Last by Downplay
Image Prompt:
Song prompt: The One Who Laughs Last by Downplay
Image Prompt:
The suspension cable was burning cold against his palm but it was barely registering at the back of his mind. His entire attention was on the tall skyscraper before him, waiting as he listened to the wind.
It spoke in ways that those that had never lived on their wings would understand. It whispered to him in ways that did not have words but his wings knew and his soul knew and so he trusted it when it said to let go.
He kicked off the suspension bridge, letting gravity take hold of him at the crest of his leap and drag him down towards the river below.
The wind sang around him and he watched the dark waters come rushing up to meet him.
His wings snapped out to either side, slicing through the air and gaining lift even as he kept diving.
The toes of his shoes skimmed the surface of the river when he pulled out of the dive. Momentum kept him going for so long but the wind was singing to him again and it was easy finding the rhythm needed to keep him going fast and low over the choppy surface.
Land approached sooner than he would have liked and he started to ascend. The distance between him and the horizontal plain grew steadily. By the time the pier and its buildings were passing beneath him, he was already level with the skyscraper’s 20th floor.
He felt the thmp-thmp-thmp of the helicopter blades before he heard them over the wind. The spotlight was on him in quick succession.
With a growl, he rolled with a tuck of his wings and let gravity grab him again. He had dropped maybe two stories when he righted himself and shot towards the helicopter’s belly.
The spotlight was tracking him rather well. He smirked. A breath of the brutal downdraft and he pulled his wings in around him, letting the burst of downward air shove him faster towards the city below than any drop would have managed.
He uncurled one wing enough to catch the air and spin him out of the downdraft. The spotlight kept going, kept looking for him, but he was already landing a few blocks towards the pier as the helicopter - somehow he missed the buddies the helicopter had - and company moved deeper into the city.
He gave his wings a solid beat, stirring up dust and debris as a few feathers were shaken loose. It worked to straighten out some of the kinked feathers, though, as he started for the skyscraper on foot.
The mess of his hair from the mask was easily handled with a quick hand and commonly looking like he had just rolled out of bed. The mask was tucked into an inner pocket of his outer coat. He removed it before he came into view of the skyscraper’s first floor and tucked it under the jacket he had underneath. His wing hid the fabric bulge rather well and no one was going to pay enough attention to his person to notice, not when-
“Mr. Fugama!” the receptionist called out, surprise quickly followed by a sort of fan like glee dancing across the young man’s face. “What are you doing here?”
He gave the other a quick smile as he did his best to hide his nausea at the reaction. Honestly, why did everyone think it was necessary to treat him like some celebrity? “Is Salto still in?”
“Mr. Archeros should still be in his office.” The young man’s expression fell. “But you best hurry. I do not think he is planning on staying for much longer, sir. Do you want me to call ahead?”
He dipped his head, coaxing his smile into something a bit more fetching. The blush on the young man’s face told him it had worked. “No, but thank you.”
The young man nodded and he left the space swiftly.
The elevator opened upon his press of the button. Stepping in and closing the door, he waited till the elevator started moving to secure the bundled coat against the small of his back. Depending on how this went, he wasn’t overly worried about it falling out.
The elevator chimed and the doors opened to reveal one Salto Archeros.
“Lennix?” the man asked as the other’s companions were revealed. A happy smile curled onto the man’s face. “What are you doing here?”
“I figured it was time to have that little chat you keep wanting to have,” he stated rather dully.
Confusion flickered under the other’s pristine mask. It would only be a moment before the other figured it out. “I wish I could stay and chat, Len old chap, but I had a very important meeting at the other side of town that I must-”
“It wasn’t a suggestion, Salto.” The man’s name was heavy on his tongue and he spat it out with a fluff of his feathers.
That got the other man’s attention and understanding registered under the cracking mask.
The man’s two companions had no problem seeing a threat, though. The one on the right charged him first. It was easy to duck and shove a fist into the man’s gut before shoving said man over his shoulder and down his back to the floor. The second one came at him before the first one had hit the floor properly. He threw his hands to the floor and kicked off the ground. His first kick from the cartwheel was blocked but it was enough of a decrease in momentum that he twisted and brought his other leg around, catching the man upside the head and throwing him into the wall.
Salto was there before his feet touched the ground fully. Lennix threw out a wing in hopes of clipping the man in the face but the other slipped under and Lennix used the close proximity to aim a knee at Salto’s head.
The man blocked it with his shoulder and forearm, catching Lennox in the shoulder with a sharp punch with his free hand.
Lennix rolled with it, snapping out with his wings even as his shoulder throbbed. Salto ducked in again. This time Lennix managed to get a punch thrown but the man caught it, kept going, and yanked Lennix’s arm behind his back. Salto hooked his leg and shoved him sideways, pinning him to the wall with is wrist between his shoulders. Before he could even counter, Salto grabbed at his wings at the shoulder and pinned them to one side, effectively ripping a pained cry from him.
“Why are you here, Swallow,” Salto hissed, teeth clashing in his ear.
“The same reason why you showed up on my doorstep, Canis,” he retaliated, jerking against both painful holds and actually managing to swallow the pain that came with it.
He couldn’t see. His head was pinned facing over his right shoulder but Salto was standing behind his left. He couldn’t see the man’s expression, couldn’t read the feel of the man’s grip, and the air was too still to speak to him.
Both holds vanished and Lennix spun to find Salto already stepping away. “Fine. But we’re not having that conversation here.”
Frowning, Lennix fell into step behind Salto.
It spoke in ways that those that had never lived on their wings would understand. It whispered to him in ways that did not have words but his wings knew and his soul knew and so he trusted it when it said to let go.
He kicked off the suspension bridge, letting gravity take hold of him at the crest of his leap and drag him down towards the river below.
The wind sang around him and he watched the dark waters come rushing up to meet him.
His wings snapped out to either side, slicing through the air and gaining lift even as he kept diving.
The toes of his shoes skimmed the surface of the river when he pulled out of the dive. Momentum kept him going for so long but the wind was singing to him again and it was easy finding the rhythm needed to keep him going fast and low over the choppy surface.
Land approached sooner than he would have liked and he started to ascend. The distance between him and the horizontal plain grew steadily. By the time the pier and its buildings were passing beneath him, he was already level with the skyscraper’s 20th floor.
He felt the thmp-thmp-thmp of the helicopter blades before he heard them over the wind. The spotlight was on him in quick succession.
With a growl, he rolled with a tuck of his wings and let gravity grab him again. He had dropped maybe two stories when he righted himself and shot towards the helicopter’s belly.
The spotlight was tracking him rather well. He smirked. A breath of the brutal downdraft and he pulled his wings in around him, letting the burst of downward air shove him faster towards the city below than any drop would have managed.
He uncurled one wing enough to catch the air and spin him out of the downdraft. The spotlight kept going, kept looking for him, but he was already landing a few blocks towards the pier as the helicopter - somehow he missed the buddies the helicopter had - and company moved deeper into the city.
He gave his wings a solid beat, stirring up dust and debris as a few feathers were shaken loose. It worked to straighten out some of the kinked feathers, though, as he started for the skyscraper on foot.
The mess of his hair from the mask was easily handled with a quick hand and commonly looking like he had just rolled out of bed. The mask was tucked into an inner pocket of his outer coat. He removed it before he came into view of the skyscraper’s first floor and tucked it under the jacket he had underneath. His wing hid the fabric bulge rather well and no one was going to pay enough attention to his person to notice, not when-
“Mr. Fugama!” the receptionist called out, surprise quickly followed by a sort of fan like glee dancing across the young man’s face. “What are you doing here?”
He gave the other a quick smile as he did his best to hide his nausea at the reaction. Honestly, why did everyone think it was necessary to treat him like some celebrity? “Is Salto still in?”
“Mr. Archeros should still be in his office.” The young man’s expression fell. “But you best hurry. I do not think he is planning on staying for much longer, sir. Do you want me to call ahead?”
He dipped his head, coaxing his smile into something a bit more fetching. The blush on the young man’s face told him it had worked. “No, but thank you.”
The young man nodded and he left the space swiftly.
The elevator opened upon his press of the button. Stepping in and closing the door, he waited till the elevator started moving to secure the bundled coat against the small of his back. Depending on how this went, he wasn’t overly worried about it falling out.
The elevator chimed and the doors opened to reveal one Salto Archeros.
“Lennix?” the man asked as the other’s companions were revealed. A happy smile curled onto the man’s face. “What are you doing here?”
“I figured it was time to have that little chat you keep wanting to have,” he stated rather dully.
Confusion flickered under the other’s pristine mask. It would only be a moment before the other figured it out. “I wish I could stay and chat, Len old chap, but I had a very important meeting at the other side of town that I must-”
“It wasn’t a suggestion, Salto.” The man’s name was heavy on his tongue and he spat it out with a fluff of his feathers.
That got the other man’s attention and understanding registered under the cracking mask.
The man’s two companions had no problem seeing a threat, though. The one on the right charged him first. It was easy to duck and shove a fist into the man’s gut before shoving said man over his shoulder and down his back to the floor. The second one came at him before the first one had hit the floor properly. He threw his hands to the floor and kicked off the ground. His first kick from the cartwheel was blocked but it was enough of a decrease in momentum that he twisted and brought his other leg around, catching the man upside the head and throwing him into the wall.
Salto was there before his feet touched the ground fully. Lennix threw out a wing in hopes of clipping the man in the face but the other slipped under and Lennix used the close proximity to aim a knee at Salto’s head.
The man blocked it with his shoulder and forearm, catching Lennox in the shoulder with a sharp punch with his free hand.
Lennix rolled with it, snapping out with his wings even as his shoulder throbbed. Salto ducked in again. This time Lennix managed to get a punch thrown but the man caught it, kept going, and yanked Lennix’s arm behind his back. Salto hooked his leg and shoved him sideways, pinning him to the wall with is wrist between his shoulders. Before he could even counter, Salto grabbed at his wings at the shoulder and pinned them to one side, effectively ripping a pained cry from him.
“Why are you here, Swallow,” Salto hissed, teeth clashing in his ear.
“The same reason why you showed up on my doorstep, Canis,” he retaliated, jerking against both painful holds and actually managing to swallow the pain that came with it.
He couldn’t see. His head was pinned facing over his right shoulder but Salto was standing behind his left. He couldn’t see the man’s expression, couldn’t read the feel of the man’s grip, and the air was too still to speak to him.
Both holds vanished and Lennix spun to find Salto already stepping away. “Fine. But we’re not having that conversation here.”
Frowning, Lennix fell into step behind Salto.