010 ~*~ The most anticlimactic return

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[ Action : 340 Brady Lane : Sunday mid-day ]
[ It might be difficult for outsiders to tell that something was off about Meiling, at first. As a drone she was a touch more pleasant and carefree, a bit more diligent with her work, and much more subservient to her "husband". At school she was pleasant and diligent and a good, hard worker.

But today, the vacuum cleaner in the living room is on and just... running in place. A quick investigation will show that it is on and sitting flat on the floor beside the couch. The couch that a certain redhead is dead asleep on.

...drone!Meiling did not understand the importance of proper rest, so that's why Meiling, having snapped out of it, decided to rectify this at the cost of all else happening around her. ]

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[ Action : Mayfield Elementary : Monday Afternoon ]
[ Dressed in her usual overalls for her work, this particular janitor is mopping the halls rather dully. She isn't humming to herself as usual, or trying to make a show of cleaning for anyone still milling about after school. Meiling is definitely not all there, but at least it's obvious from the lack of a genial smile that she is no longer droned. ]

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[ Phone : Monday Evening ]
[ That's both the longest and most frightening droning period ever for her, so those who know her might notice that she's just barely keeping the disappointment inside. This place can make her break just about any promise, it seems... ] Um, hi Mayfield. It's Meiling. I was told I was out for a little while, now, so I want to say I'm sorry to anyone who wanted me for any reason! I'm all better now, I pro-- .

[ Deep breath. ]

I'm pretty sure I am, I mean.

Comments

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[Flandre is trembling a bit when Meiling puts her down on the roof, but not from fear. Her wings started to unfurl even before she touched down; the shivers are most obvious there.

She strains to peer over the edge and begins to beat her wings, just like before. Though this time she actually means to do something other than gesture with them. The vampire even lifts up off her heels slightly, which makes Flandre redouble her efforts.

...but all that flapping around before had worn some of her energy away, and she wasn't exactly good at that endurance thing. She starts to tire, with some of that excitement giving way to fatigue.]

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[ She watches her for a moment, curious as to why it isn't working. Meiling doesn't use wings, and she hasn't seen these all that often, so it doesn't click with her that wings != flight.

But she does know what Flandre wearing herself out looks like, so she decides that a little boost can't hurt. She tightens her grip on the vampire's waist a bit and starts to lift her up off of the roof. ] Here, let me give you a little boost. Maybe you just need a little more air!

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[When liftoff is achieved--however assisted--Flandre chirps ecstatically!]

Look, look, Meiling--it's working!

[...kindasortanotexactly. Getting off the ground was the hard...er part. Flying itself still took a lot of energy, but she does rise a few inches on her own. Those few inches were enough to put more energy back in her wings for the moment, though.]

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I see, I see! [ She laughs a bit and, subtly, starts to put more lift into her own movements. Her feet will leave the ground after a moment, but her grip never falters. ]

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[This is high enough! Flandre readjusts her wings now, so that she's going more or less forwards rather than up--and attempts to lunge off the edge, though she never really manages to wiggle out of Meiling's hands. She wasn't that strong, not yet.]

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[ Feeling that tug, she tips her body forward. ] How about a countdown, hm? On three!

One~

Two~~

[ And here she gets ready to step off the edge behind Flandre, and give her quite the boost. ] Three!

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Okay, Meiling!

[Flandre's wingbeats slow a bit as Meiling counts--and then flare open and flap downwards all at once as the rooftop falls away. It worked, it worked!

...she's kind of breathing hard now but she's too elated to be tired!


Her wings do provide some lift, though...most of it just whistles through the narrow connection points at her shoulderblades. The wing membranes almost meet in the same place they sprouted from to begin with. Not the most aerodynamic design.

But that didn't stop the little vampire in the slightest.]

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[ On the count, Meiling steps down to "bounce" a bit, and then leaps upward. The two of them must be quite a sight, with Meiling's red hair catching the wind just as Flandre's wings do, in a way, towering above the tiny figure held in her hands.

It's kind of like those big planes when the smaller ones dock in the back for refueling, in a way, only with the larger aircraft doing a lot more tugging. ]

dat icon

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[It was just like before. A long, long time ago, when Remilia showed her what flying was like. It was a little cold then, too, but it was dark out.

She didn't have to flail her wings around quite so much, so they stayed mostly extended, only fluttering a little from time to time. Mostly because she was tired.

But Flandre was smiling now--grinning from ear to ear, instead of squeaking. The vampire stuck her arms out like they were wings too. Her legs kept wanting to fall down, but she was able to hold them up for now.

...one of her shoes drops off anyway, but Flandre doesn't seem to notice.]

xD I am stuck with this set until payday

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[ Whoops! Meiling sort of notices the motion in the corner of her eye, but she's too busy keeping hold of Flandre to realize what had happened. Of course, going up at an incline isn't the most interesting thing in the world, so she starts to bank and yaw a bit, leveling them out at a comfortable distance. High enough up so they can see for many streets in all directions. ] It's so nice up here~

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[Flandre answers with an affirmative hum!

She looks this way and that when their flightpath evens out, chittering excitedly still--even though her body's starting to shake a bit from all the effort required to stay aloft, even though Flandre wasn't the one doing most of the work. Holding her legs straight was hard, okay.]

They look like toys, almost. [The vampire points at a few cars going by on the roads below--then at the houses.]

Will Alice's dolls come out of those?

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Her dolls? [ Meiling looks and--

Ah, it's because things look so small from up here. She smiles a bit. ] Maybe! Who knows where she hides them and when they want to come out to play.

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[She hums again, in answer.

...but that shaking keeps getting worse and worse until her next downstroke. Then she can't seem to muster the strength to raise her wings up again, and Flandre kind of folds up in Meiling's hands, with her feet falling towards the ground.

She was breathing pretty hard by now and it was a good thing the gate guard was holding onto her, otherwise the little vampire would have gone tumbling towards that ground.]

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[ Whoops. Poor thing is probably exhausted. Meiling slides her arms around the vampire's waist and then, swiftly, rolls onto her back. ] You did really good, Flandre! Let me take over from here, okay?

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[This time, Flandre shivers for a different reason. That was praise! Directed at her! She smiles a little bit despite how tired she was, before resting her head on Meiling's chest.]

Okay, Meiling.

[All those new muscles in her wings would be awfully sore tomorrow, though...]

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[ Which clearly means Flandre will need a nice hot bath later, and then maybe some ice packs if there's any swelling. She hums contently, keeping one arm securely latched around her waist while the other reaches up to stroke the little one's hair. There is nothing but the rush of the wind for a long moment before-- ] I'm sorry I was gone for so long.

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[This sounds like an excellent plan.

Flandre makes little happy sounds at the touch, and her eyes close.]

It wasn't so long, Meiling.

[She sighs a little and relaxes still further.]

...this is nice, though.

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Long enough. I don't like worrying everyone. [ Even if Patchy wasn't all that worried -- she's kind of used to the wizard's emotional spectrum by now. ]

I'm glad you're enjoying it. [ Meiling doesn't even bother to move into a "holding pattern" at all. They will just keeping flying seemingly into infinity like this. It was... kind of nice, in a way, to not have to worry about tall trees, mountains, or low-flying youkai (or humans) like this. ]

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[The vampire chitters this time while she readjusts her wings somewhat so they weren't draping over Meiling's sides like large, awkward blankets (with fingers and wing ribs!). Instead she hooks the little thumbs in the middle of each wing over her guardian's shoulders and pulls herself up a bit, until she was just underneath Meiling's chin. If Flandre turned her head now, she could hear Meiling's heart--which she did.

...it was also easier to breathe here, but!]

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[ The position is relaxing, with only the thought of plummeting down for a rude awakening keeping her from dozing off. It's probably for the best that Meiling never learned how to nap while floating. Especially since she still has a massive Sleep Debt to pay off.

Her breathing is even, as this kind of flight costs her very little energy in the grand scheme of things, and everything feels so calm. ]

Meiling is clearly a sea otter

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[Flandre, on the other hand, had no such qualms. And she was pretty tired.

The vampire yawns, fluffs her own wings up into a kind of nest, and closes her eyes to just drift. She was at least still aware enough that she didn't want to dislodge Meiling's hand from stroking her hair. That was very nice, and one of the last things she really thought about coherently for awhile.]

That is the best mental image

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[ The redhead will keep that up for as long as she can. At one point she twists her head back and to the side, getting her proper bearings, and then begins a slow descent. If Flandre is going to be napping, it's best to take her to bed. ]

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[She doesn't even register that they're moving down, only muttering to herself a bit.

At least she's been in the habit of leaving the window open, despite it getting so cold. But not for jumping out of, promise!]

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[ Good, because they'd have to have another talk if word of that reached her. As it is, Meiling takes advantage of the conveniently open window to slip in.

She moves into a standing position once they're both in the room, using one leg to shift Flandre's up so she can slip an arm under the legs and the other cradling her shoulders and neck. Hopefully she won't be startled... ]

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[Flandre isn't startled, per se, but she does take notice. Her wings had been dislodged! And they ruffle and flutter a bit sluggishly, the outside wing half-folding against her back, the other flopping against Meiling like it wasn't certain where to go next.

The little vampire herself just makes a little grumbly noise, and peers up at Meiling as if to ask "what'd you wake me up for?"]