With new wings came transitions to a new lifestyle, and Gina had only been too glad to help. She'd helped to modify some of Agnes's clothes so that they accommodated the wings, was there for moral support when her sister needed it, and did these things simply because any good sister would do such things. Thus, when the request to help Agnes learn how to fly arose, Gina answered with an even greater enthusiasm.

Of course she would help Agnes learn how to fly! Forget the technicalities of wing structure and different flight patterns, how difficult could it be? Gina agreed, the two sisters settled on an afternoon that was forecast to have decent weather, and agreed to meet out on the grounds, where the two of them could work on flying.

Thus, Gina stood patiently atop a lone, tree-side bench, waiting for her sister to arrive. She donned a casual pair of jeans, which were stylishly torn in certain places, and a bright-orange, v-neck t-shirt. Gina was rather hard to miss, particularly in such a neon hue of orange. This was the garb in which she would be teaching her sister how to fly.

Thud! Thud! Thud![/b]

Agnes was not going to take any risks this time. She had been trying to practice flying on her own. She did manage to lift off a few feet off the ground but she had trouble sustaining her hovering. The worst part about it was her landings. The only time she was able to nail her landing was when she met Rebecca for the first time. After that, every single time, she ends up landing square on her butt. And damn if that was not a painful fall.

She was sure that tailbone would kill her if she did not take precautions this time. That was why, after Agnes had asked Gina if she could give her some flying lessons that she decided to show up to the training in some…protective…clothing.

Thud! Thud! Thud![/b]

Agnes was slow in the outfit, but she didn’t care. With the amount of padding that it had on, it would prove to be sufficient. She was thankful that one of the staff members let her take the outfit when they found out that she would be using it for training out on the mansion grounds. Still though, for a suit that offered protection, it was a bit heavy…and hot!

“Oh gawd, I’m going to die in here,” she muttered as she stomped to the meeting place: one of mansion’s largest trees.

She must have looked like a sight to behold. Walking across the mansion lawn, dressed in a bright red Red Man Padded Suit, stomping as if she were some beast of a creature looking for a victim. Her wings barely squeezed out of the sides of the back padding and she really did not know if she could lift herself with all this extra weight from the suit.

But one could never be too precautious…right?

She sighed as she strolled (stampeded) over to the large tree, trying to lift her head up to see if Gina was up there. Unfortunately the padded of the suit hindered her neck movements a bit. She sighed, already feeling the sweat collecting on her brow.

“Gina?” she asked through her muffled teeth guard. “Giiiina?”

Gina wandered back and forth on the bench, humming faintly, contemplating the best method of attack. To gradually work her way into getting Agnes airborn, or to do the exact opposite, like a mother bird. Perhaps the more merciful approach was best.

>> “Gina? Giiiina?”

Bizarrely enough, Gina did not hear Agnes's approach, and wasn't even aware that her sister had shown up until her name was called.

"Over here, Agnes," Gina sang, hopping off of the bench and skipping around the tree trunk.

Only to come to a very abrupt halt. Her grin fell into a blank expression.

"What... the... heck...?" Gina gasped. When her brain finally registered what her eyes were seeing, Gina let out a sharp laugh, covering her face with her hands as it fell into an amused expression. She burst out in giggles. Agnes dawned what could only be described as the Man of Michelin in red, "What the heck is that?!"

Gina walked closer to her sister, circling her as she surveyed the shiny red ensemble. Sometimes Agnes could be so silly...

"How are you going to get off of the ground?" Gina breathed, looking at her winded sister. She already looked like she'd run a marathon, because the suit was so heavy, and there was no way she'd be able to fly in it.

"You don't need the shiny sumo-suit or whatever," Gina said with a smile, "I mean, you can have it if you want it, but I'm not going to be pushing you out of any trees or any other high places. No roofs. Not unless you're really ready."

Agnes peered around as she huffed inside of the protective outfit that she wore. She was already feeling exhausted and hot to the point that she was uncomfortable. All she wanted to do right now was to completely peel off this gear. Maybe she over did it? Though Agnes would never want to admit that. She really was just trying to keep her body safe, especially since she was not sure exactly how her lovely sister was going to start training her. But damn she was uncomfortable now.

She glanced around. Where was that little gargoyle anyways?

>> "Over here, Agnes,"

Glancing around (which could only be achieved by turning her WHOLE body) Agnes peered through the helmet until finally she spotted her sister walking over from behind the tree. With a grin she waved at her with her heavily gloved hand and began to make her way over. But as she did, the look on Gina’s face immediately told her that she was wearing the wrong thing.

>> "What... the... heck...? What the heck is that?!"[/i]

Agnes blushed underneath the helmet but started to smirk as well. She really could only imagine what she must have looked like underneath this whole thing.

>> "How are you going to get off of the ground? You don't need the shiny sumo-suit or whatever,"[/color]

“I…I know…” she stammered. She really was beginning to feel quite silly now. But really, what was the problem? She was only trying to keep from getting a fractured tailbone. So maybe she went A LITTLE overboard.

…

…okay a lot!

>> "I mean, you can have it if you want it, but I'm not going to be pushing you out of any trees or any other high places. No roofs. Not unless you're really ready."[/color]

Agnes sighed and shook her head. She shook the heavy gloves off her slim hands and reached underneath the helmet to undo the chin strap. The Velcro screamed loud as she undid the strap, pulled the helmet off and tossed it gently onto the ground. Already her face was flushed red, dotted with sweat, and her hair was plastered across her forehead.

“No, no,” Agnes shook her head. “God, if I keep this thing on, I’m seriously going to die.” She nodded as she began to undo Velcro straps. Unfortunately she was strapped in in such a way that she could not reach some of the back ones. She sighed and meekly looked at Gina. “Help me, I’m roasting,” she mumbled as her wings fluttered nervously.

Agnes heaved a sigh and shook her head. Okay, she wasn't too enamored by the costume, and Gina's reaction had been enough to convince her sister to minimalize the extra padding. Agnes brushed off her gloves and freed herself from the helmet, revealing a rather pink face. Oo, she looked hot and gross.

>> “No, no. God, if I keep this thing on, I’m seriously going to die. Help me, I’m roasting,”

"Okay," Gina agreed, chuckling. Thank God. If Agnes had donned such a costume for a flight lesson, Gina was pretty sure that she'd never leave the ground. Gina perceptively went towards the out-of-reach Velcro straps and started to unfasten those, carefully avoiding the wings. With some minor squirming on Agnes's part, and some assistance from Gina, they'd be able to free the older girl from her cushioned suit.

"Where the heck did you get such a thing?" Gina inquired bluntly, humor still in her tone. The closest she'd ever scene to such a suit was literally those fake sumo wrestler costumes that often came with those inflatable bounce-house type games. How Agnes had gotten her hands on such a thing... and put such a thing on... was probably an interesting story.

>> "Okay,"[/color]

Gina was giggling. Before long Agnes was giggling too as she squirmed and squirmed, trying to get the padded outfit off of her. The more of the suit came off, the more mirthful Agnes began to feel. Yes, she was still hot and sweating and places that shouldn’t be sweating, but as Velcro straps were undone, the cool air came in and brushed across her features. Instantly she was beginning to feel better.

She stopped squirming long enough for Gina to undo the back straps and help her pull off the part that was cramping her wings. The second that she had, Agnes sighed in relief as she worked out the kink in her wings that flapping them up and down for a moment. When she was done she sighed gratefully and turned to her sister.

“Thank you, I think you saved my life.” she joked.

>> "Where the heck did you get such a thing?" [/color]

“Eh, a staff member down in the training room,” Agnes said with a nod. “I convinced him to let me take it out here for practice.” She shrugged as she undid the shin straps and kicked them off gratefully. “I’m just tired of falling on butt!”

Agnes reinforced this point by reaching back and rubbing her own posterior sorely. Every damn time Agnes tried to make herself hover, she always ended up fall on her back end with a painful THUD. Quite frankly she was getting a little sick of that. But she knew when she developed these new…powers…that she wouldn’t get them right away. Still though, this was proving to be rather irritating.

Now dressed in just her modified, green, Panda T-shirt, dark blue jeans and sneakers, she sighed as she stretched and flexed her wings a bit more. She then turned her attentions back to Gina with a small smile.

“So, you ready, Teacher? she said with a grin.

>> “Thank you, I think you saved my life.”

Gina gave a dorky, theatrical bow, and a brief, "T'was my pleasure, madame."

Gina righted herself as her sister recounted the harrowing tale of how she'd come to acquire such a monstrosity of a suit. Ah, the training room-- yes, they'd probably have such things down there, wouldn't they?

>> “Eh, a staff member down in the training room. I convinced him to let me take it out here for practice. I’m just tired of falling on butt!... So, you ready, Teacher?”

Gina chuckled along with her, nodding her head understandingly. It probably had something to do with how Agnes flew. She probably tucked her legs under her so that she couldn't land on them, and ended up taking the fall on her butt. They'd just have to see.

"I'm ready," Gina agreed, pocketting her thumbs casually. With that inquiry, Gina shifted into the mode of an instructor, clearing her throat. She wasn't too official, but her tone did raise slightly in a matter-of-fact air.

"So, I'm going to be real with you," Gina said, sizing her sister up, "I'm only kind-of sure about how to go about this, since your wings are structurally really different from mine. So, I think that we'll start with some confidence-building in your ability to fly... and how to jump off of things... and once you and I get a grasp for the how, then... well, we'll figure out how even more."

Gina shrugged. It was the best way that she could think to put it. She couldn't teach Agnes how to fly, really, but she could help her figure out how to. But to do so, Gina needed to figure out how she was supposed to.

"Would you be more comfortable with a running-start when you take off, or would you rather just start standing?" Gina inquired.

>> "I'm ready,"

Agnes smirked and nodded. She was actually feeling a bit better that she had removed all the padded outfit. After all she really doubted that she could have even gotten off the ground with all that gear on. Thankfully Gina’s snickering and her own hot, stickiness had managed to convince her to remove it all. But standing there, in her jeans and t-shirt, she began to feel vulnerable again. She really did not look forward to have to fall on her butt.

But, she knew that she was here to learn. Precaution was fine, but she knew that she was not going to get anywhere unless she pushed herself.

>> "So, I'm going to be real with you, I'm only kind-of sure about how to go about this, since your wings are structurally really different from mine. So, I think that we'll start with some confidence-building in your ability to fly... and how to jump off of things... and once you and I get a grasp for the how, then... well, we'll figure out how even more."

Agnes nodded as she listened. It was true, their wing structures were vastly different. Gina’s wings were large and bat-like. It seemed more like they flew based more on gliding than anything. Her own wings, well, they beat with the specific purpose of pulling her off the ground. They didn’t require air currents to glide on since they produced their own lift. So they were vastly different. But Gina still was the best flyer that Agnes knew. If anyone could teach her anything about flight, it was her.

So she nodded again. So far she liked the plan. It seemed logical and very open to learning what else Agnes would need to successfully fly. She beamed because she knew that it was a good idea to turn to Gina.

>> "Would you be more comfortable with a running-start when you take off, or would you rather just start standing?"[/color]

“Um,” Agnes thought for a moment. She had never really tried a running start before, but how successful would that have been anyway. Anytime she tried to fly it was always from a standing position. Maybe that was best for Gina to observe first, just to get an idea of how she flew. “Ugh, m-maybe just standing? Just so you can get a gander at what I can do?”

Taking a step away from her sister, Agnes flexed her wings once again and began to limber up her body. Once she was sure that her muscles had been warmed up again, she cast Gina a nervous glance. She really hoped she did not make a fool of herself.

Shaking out her limbs, Agnes paused and closed her eyes. She then took a breath and began to beat her wings fiercely. Within moments the familiar buzzing of insect wings were heard as her own wings beat through the air until they were a blur. Soon afterward, Agnes began to lift up off the ground, only a few feet, but a she was in the air nonetheless.

Eyes still closed, Agnes tried keep hovering, but she was quickly losing her focus. Her legs tucked in under herself, she slowly attempted to lower herself back down but before she could even come close to untucking her legs and landing, she squeaked as she lost control and landed with a firm THUMP!! on her butt. She groaned and sighed while she shook her head.

“That was totally uncool.” she mumbled.

>> “Um... Ugh, m-maybe just standing? Just so you can get a gander at what I can do?”

Gina nodded as Agnes distanced herself, and gave an approving, "Let's see what you can do."

She stepped back, arms laced tightly across her chest, and watched as Agnes readied herself. An anxious look was dealt in her direction, but Gina only nodded reassuringly, and said nothing. With a tremendous effort, the wings upon Agnes's back beat ferociously, and quite slowly, Agnes began to rise off of the ground. Her feet left the ground, rose nearly a yard up.

So far, so good... though that was an awful lot of work for take-off. Then, Agnes made a horrible mistake, she brought her legs up beneath her, trusting her wings to carry her, but her wings gave too soon, her legs unfolded too rapidly, and Agnes landed on her tailbone.

>> “That was totally uncool.”

"That was good, very helpful," Gina corrected, offering a hand to her sister to help her to her feet, gears turning steadily in her head. Gina was thinking, which could be seen in the look in her eyes. At least she knew where to start now.

"I think that we'll ease into the how-to gently," Gina announced, smiling mildly, "Starting with take-off."

Not that there was anything wrong with how Agnes took-off... any more accomplished flier might have taken offense to Gina's starting point, but Agnes was in "pupil" status, so Gina's word wasn't something to be scoffed at.

"Taking off from a dead stand-still takes a tremendous amount of effort," Gina explained patiently, "And perhaps later on, once you develop your flying muscles, you may be able to, but I find that it often helps to give yourself a little extra speed to work with. Like... a plane taking-off. They have a runway so that the plane can gather up enough speed to take to the skies. It's the same principle for us."

Gina stepped onto the bench that was beside the tree, and gestured for Agnes to follow suit.

"When I fly, I usually need to jump off of something, or simply jump, to get enough momentum to become airborne," Gina said, "Thus, as ridiculous as it sounds, we will begin with just jumping off of the bench-" As she said this, Gina jumped, and landed smoothly on the ground below, "No flying, just jumping, to get a feel for what it's like to be momentarily airborne, and to land. Then we'll add in some wing-beating to see if that helps... and if it works, we might try jumping off of the roof."

Gina said this with the same timbre in her tone, as one might have if they were suggesting jumping into a swimming pool. She sounded in no way panicked about the notion whatsoever.

Agnes sighed a she took Gina’s offered hand and allowed herself to be helped up onto her feet. Her falling on her butt was really beginning to get annoying. She wanted to fly, she really did. She figured that if she had the wings and the means to do it then she might as well learn how. But the problem was that she simply had a difficult time with getting herself off the ground and landing with ease. She was hurting herself far more often than she was gaining any progress.

Hopefully Gina would be able to help with that.

Moving onto her feet, she shook her head as she dusted off the back of her jeans and knocked off bits of grass and leaves that had stuck fast to her rear end. That never got old…

>> "That was good, very helpful, I think that we'll ease into the how-to gently…Starting with take-off."

Agnes tilted her head curiously. Take-off? Honestly Agnes thought her take-off was okay. Even if it was a little exhausting, it was only because she needed to get her back muscles used to it…right?

>> "Taking off from a dead stand-still takes a tremendous amount of effort, And perhaps later on, once you develop your flying muscles, you may be able to, but I find that it often helps to give yourself a little extra speed to work with. Like... a plane taking-off. They have a runway so that the plane can gather up enough speed to take to the skies. It's the same principle for us."

She nodded. What Gina said really did make a lot of sense. After all, how many creatures really flew from straight off the ground? The majority of them either hopped, jumped, ran, or dropped themselves from off of someplace high before they started to fly. Why should it be any different for her? Sure her wing structure was different but that didn’t mean that she did not have to obey the same laws of aerodynamics.

But as she mused, she glanced over and watched as her younger sister strolled over to a nearby bench and climbed up on it. It was then that she waved Agnes over. That earned another tilt of the runaway’s head but in the end she indeed complied.

Strolling over, she stepped onto the bench next to her sister and stuck her hands into her pockets casually.

>> "When I fly, I usually need to jump off of something, or simply jump, to get enough momentum to become airborne…Thus, as ridiculous as it sounds, we will begin with just jumping off of the bench-No flying, just jumping, to get a feel for what it's like to be momentarily airborne, and to land. Then we'll add in some wing-beating to see if that helps... and if it works, we might try jumping off of the roof."

Agnes watched curiously as Gina hopped off the bench and landed easily upon her two feet. It reminded her of the type of games that children played. Children loved to climb up and hop off of small structures, giving them a few seconds of hanging in the air. Agnes could only imagine how that felt for a child.

But as she watched her sister she had to admit that she began to understand where her sister was coming from. They needed to start from the ground up. Once they did, they could figure out what needed to be worked on nex—

“Roof?!” Agnes suddenly exclaimed as that part sunk in. Instantly she shivered at the idea of it. “I…I…I don’t know…” she muttered. But, closing her eyes, she hopped off the bench and landed easily on her two feet. While doing so, her mind rang with the ideas of leaping off the roof and saw the rapidly approaching ground. Suddenly her stomach did no feel very good…

>> “Roof?! I…I…I don’t know…”

Gina had maintained a placid smile as she stepped back onto the bench, awaiting for Agnes to jump before she did once again... or perhaps she would step back... naw, where was the fun in spectating, anyways? But the alarmed exclamation only made Gina grin. It was a mischevious grin, and her tail was developing that contemplative little curl as the impish delight glittered in her eyes.

"I almost started us out there today," Gina said nonchalantly, shrugging as her sister shivered and jumped off of the bench, "I mean, baby birds learn how to fly by being ousted from their nest. It seemed fitting..."

But these were words coming from a girl who had no issue with leaping off of cliffs to get some good air in flying. Gina simply knew not the fear of being in high-up places and jumping. She had wings. What was there to fear? But she caught Agnes's expression, and her grin faltered. Her sister obviously wasn't as desensetised as she. It hadn't been a kidnly-recieved suggestion.

"Sis, I wouldn't have you leap off of a roof if I didn't think you were ready," Gina informed Agnes, her tone dropping to a much more genuine tone, "That's why we're starting on the bench."

Gina jumped again, and slinked after Agnes.

"Okay?"

>> "I almost started us out there today, I mean, baby birds learn how to fly by being ousted from their nest. It seemed fitting..."

The words rebounded in her head. Really? Gina would have REALLY[/b] just tossed her off the roof without so much as a warm up? Agnes did not fully believe that, but her fear of such a scenario was more overpowering than she should have let it become.

Standing on the grass, her feet bending the blades, the young runaway looked a little more terrified than she should have. She loved her sister dearly, but Gina was born with her wings. She had them her whole life and learned how to fly with them for ages. Agnes, though, was just now growing accustomed to her wings. For 18 years she never had them and suddenly, one morning, she woke up with them. She still had a lot of growing into them.

But, listen to her! Gina would have never one that! Agnes was simply letting her fears get to her. Shaking her head she bit he bottom lip to try and swat the fear away. She was out here to learn how to fly and she was going to do so!

She turned and opened her mouth to apologize to her sister when the young gargoyle cut her off…

>> "Sis, I wouldn't have you leap off of a roof if I didn't think you were ready…That's why we're starting on the bench…Okay?"

Agnes blushed and blushed fiercely. She was embarrassed to her let her thoughts carry her away like that. Before she could help herself she smiled understandingly and nodded her head. She really hoped that Gina did not feel bad.

“I-I know. I’m sorry, really,” Agnes said in earnest. “I know that you would never do that to me. And I do trust you implicitly.”

Agnes smiled as she walked back over to the bench and stepped up onto the seat. She loved and trusted her sister with every fiber of her being. It was never her intention to make her feel anything but that.

Taking a breath, Agnes sighed glanced down to the ground, and suddenly hopped off the bench. After she landed with a dull THUMP she sighed and turned back to Gina.

“Better, professor?” she grinned.

Agnes went really red at Ginas' words, nodding her head and smiling.

>> “I-I know. I’m sorry, really. I know that you would never do that to me. And I do trust you implicitly.”

"Thank you, Agnes," Gina said through a chuckle.

Her sister then stepped back up onto the bench, then jumped back down. But Agnes was still stopping to think about the jumps. And they were only maybe two feet up off of the ground. Gina needed this to be fluid, like second-nature.

>> “Better, professor?”

"Much," Gina agreed. Perhaps standing in one place was too much time to think about it. Maybe they could try running starts? Gina did not verbally propose this, because Agnes would test which take-offs felt better on her own. Gina just turned, ran down the length of the bench, and when she reached the ends, pushed up off the arm before jumping off and landing to the ground. They needed to experiment, and have some fun with it.

Gina jogged back to the bench and stepped back up, chuckling faintly. They probably looked really silly to the outside observer, but who cared? The two girls were having fun being silly.

>> "Much,"[/color]

Agnes smirked as she watched her sister. She was now really beginning to feel stupid for getting so worked up. Of course Gina would have never thrown her off the roof of the mansion just to get her to fly. It was a silly thought and one that Agnes chastised herself for thinking. She loved Gina and Gina loved her just as much in return. They would work together to get this figured out. Besides, there was just something about the idea of flying together that was the shining light at the end of this tunnel. All she had to do was to keep trying and not give up.

She sighed as she climbed aboard the bench again, took a breath, and jumped off. Part of her was not fully understanding why they were doing this but she did not question her sister anymore. Instead she continued to climb up onto the bench readied herself for another leap.

But before she could she heard the scampering of running and she turned in time just to see Gina dashing off towards the end of the bench and leaping off. Momentarily Gina was air born before she landed with a little THUD on the grass. Agnes had to smirk as she watched her sister return and once again climb onto the bench.

That smile on her face, Agnes just loved. But she knew that there was something else tinged with that smile. It was the smile of a challenge. Just because they were working didn’t mean that they couldn’t have fun too, did it? Of course not!

Agnes shook her head, chuckled and nodded. So that was how she was going to play it? So be it. Agnes turned to the other end of the bench. Her wings fluttered nervously but she ignored it. They did not need to break out into action just yet. Taking a breath, Agnes loosened herself up before she suddenly broke into a quick dash and leapt up to push herself off the arm.

Unfortunately…her foot caught on the bench and tripped her up just enough to send the young insect girl hurdling head over heels. The last Agnes saw was a mass of green coming at her.

THUNK!![/b]

Agnes gasped as she landed face first in the grass. She groaned to herself as she mentally took inventory of her person. Thankfully nothing seemed broken…except her pride…

“Ow…” she moaned…

Agnes was still thinking. At least, she was still thinking when she jumped a second time. If she paused to take a breath… for that breath meant that she was contemplating what would happen if she jumped off (even if it was just a silly old park bench), then she was thinking about it too much. Gina needed this to be as natural as walking.

Yet Agnes caught the challenge in Ginas’ eyes. Agnes could do better than that, Gina wanted her to. She had faith. This was supposed to be an adventure, and an experiment. Agnes shouldn’t be fearing for her life. Particularly when they were only jumping off of a park bench. If Agnes couldn’t handle a park bench, she couldn’t handle a roof. Dare Gina say this, though? Of course not.

Agnes wordlessly accepted the challenge with a faint laugh and a nod. In a bout of overzealousness, Agnes dashed towards the opposite end of the bench, and attempted to springboard off of the arm. Her foot caught, and much like the clapper of the bell, Agnes swung towards the ground and her face met the grass.

“Oh my gosh!” Gina gasped, her voice climbing in pitch, “Agnes!”

Gina jumped off of the bench and ran to her sister’s side, blatantly concerned.

“Agnes, are you okay?” Gina gasped. Obviously she wasn’t. She had just face-planted against the ground, “Is your nose okay? And the rest of your face?”

Gina hummed about anxiously, ready to help Agnes to her feet.