Can You Fly So High You Touch the Clouds?

Cathedral had made it a point in surveying The Gang’s land of any ill-doers- in particular the rise of the Atlanteans. She already had a fair amount of scuffles with the seed-sewers and the their guards alike. After being freed from their prison by her Gang members there was a particularly strong vendetta against the Atlanteans as well as those two no-good raptors that had been the reason she got into that mess in the first place. She couldn’t believe they left-

Wait. Cathedral’s wing beats fluttered in the air as though stumbling as she caught a glimpse of a patch of blue amongst the conflicting shades of earthy brown. Immediately, she pivoted in the air, circling above as though a vulture as she stared down at the brown dot.

She had noticed Atlanteans typically did not seem to pay much attention to what was above them- she figured it was a characteristic of growing up underground where the only thing that they had to be afraid of was a rock tumbling onto their head. Not this one though- when she looked down now she saw orange sunkissed eyes staring up at her. Their expression was.. Difficult for her to read- the oviraptor’s mouth was almost agape as he seemed to be.. Gawking at her. 

She had seemed to lose the element of surprise which was not something she was used to. Usually even with above-land dinosaurs she would be able to get the sneak on them let alone Atlanteans. Something about the fact that this Oviraptor had already spotted her sent her - and the way he was looking at her - into a frenzy as she found herself coming spiraling down full force towards him. She expected the Oviraptor to move, but instead he stood there continuing to gawk until her talons were wrapping around his chest feathers and the full force of her momentum sending him pushed back onto the ground. She angrily opened her maw ready to poke his eyes out when the Oviraptor’s words caught her ears.

“You’re beautiful.”

What?

It was as though the wind had been knocked out of her sails- quite literally, actually, as she stayed just.. Planted on top of the oviraptors chest. She felt him breathing heavily, but he didn’t seem to struggle against her weight, even though now that her momentum was gone he could easily overpower her. It was that thought which finally got her to hop off of his chest, which finally prompted the brown raptor to get back onto his feet. They stared at each other for a long time after that- the Oviraptor seemingly embarrassed as he shuffled awkwardly.

“Excuse me.. ” He mumbled awkwardly, looking at his talons.

“Excuse me?!” Cathedral was the one gawking now,”What the fuck. I was about to peck your eyes out because of the way you were staring at me and all you have to say is ‘excuse me!’”

Tiainen awkwardly side stepped, chuckling now almost as he seemed embarrassed.

“You just.. Reminded me of a bird.”

Cathedral stared at the Oviraptor for a long time after that statement. Tiainen didn’t seem keen on leaving, and his eyes kept wandering over towards her in a way that made her uncomfortable but also.. Curious. Most of the Atlanteans weren’t keen on talking, but this guy seemed more than talkative despite the attempt on his life (or at least his eyeballs).

“Do you not have birds in Atlantis?” Cathedral eventually asked breaking the silence.

“... No, we don’t, living in the domes and caves and all.. ” Tiainen spoke as he seemed to settle down,”We do have bats, actually, but their chirps are nothing like birdsong. The roof-- or, I guess the sky-- is nothing like back home either. It is supposed to look like it is- the dome I mean- but you can get so far away in the sky where with the dome you just.. Can’t.”

For once the usually swearing and vocal tapejara was stunned into silence as she watched Tiainen unravel. He seemed.. Innocent, almost, until Cathedral remembered he was an Oviraptor which inherently meant he was bad news.. But still, the distant look in his eyes and that longing.. It was hard even for the typically hardened tapejara to not take pity on him. 

“You can just.. Fly away. As high as you want. There's no dome. You’re not going to reach your limit. Can you fly so high you touch the clouds?” There was a hopeful look in his eyes as he looked towards Cathedral- almost as though he needed the answer to be yes. 

“... Yes,” Cathedral said almost against her will,”... It is hard though, actually. Not a lot of birds or fliers up there - the air gets thin, you see? Like uhh.. ” Cathedral struggled to think of a comparable example that a land-walker would relate to,”Like.. Mud? Sort of? Like how you sink in mud unlike solid land, except instead of sinking its more difficult to breathe. Its even difficult for a lot of fliers- the only reason I really can is because my parents trained me and its hard when its for long periods.”

Cathedral wasn’t sure why she was trying to make this strange and disheveled Oviraptor feel better, but she could watch the near relief in his eyes. It made her chest and heart feel a bit strange- in ways that made her uncomfortable.

“Welp, its that time!” Cathy said as she stretched out her wings and prepared to fly off.

“Wait!” The Oviraptor said as he stood up quick enough to startle Cathedral into the air,”I don’t even know your name!”

Cathy felt her wings beat faster as she Oviraptor rushed over- he wasn’t going to hurt her and she knew that- but the last thing she needed was a cross-species romance with an Atlantean. Still, the thought of it all.. Left her heart feeling a little heavy and her head a bit clouded.

“Its Cathedral.” She spoke as she continued to rise up looking down at the Oviraptor’s admiring gaze,”And you’d do best to stay away from here. My Gang doesn’t take lightly to Atlanteans and I can’t guarantee they won’t go through with killing you.”

“I’m Tiainen!” He said seemingly unphased as the distance grew, almost coming to a shout,”I hope we meet again!”

Cathy wasn’t sure how she felt about the male, a mixture of worry and almost a guilt crossing her mind as she took to the wind and flew away. The thought of him would certainly leave an impression on her for a while..