Flight or Fight

"This is a stupid idea"

Theta and Robin made their way up a craggy mountain, sunlight filtering in through the oak leaves and pines suspended above them. She hadn't said much about their next trip, just that she wanted to go to Earth, he needed the large, bulky camping backpack she'd handed him, and that they would "get over your fear of heights, trust me".

Okay, maybe the environment wasn't so bad. While not being his all time favorite planet in the universe, Earth was very beautiful, especially in plant-rich areas like the Hoh Rainforest of North America. The sunlight wasn't too bright, the animals sounded pleasant, and it always, always smelt fresh and free, like an ice cold glass of water.

No, that's not why it was a stupid idea. Theta just hated not knowing whatever they were doing

"You don't even know what the idea is yet, shut up," Chris chided, carefully climbing around the rocky terrain, being extra wary of where she was putting her toes. There were quite a few places she just gave up climbing and flew to the top of the ledge, leaning down to help pull Theta up. They didn't need to get all the way to the top, just high enough to where Theta'd get plenty of air time. She was excited to show him what flying was all about, and she could only hope he'd cooperate enough to enjoy it.

Once they'd reached a place Chris deemed high enough, she smirked and crossed her arms, taking a deep breath in the crisp mountain air. It was really beautiful around here, but there sure were a lot of trees. Maybe she should have specified that they'd need a bit more of an open area, but she figured this could work anyway. For her, at least. She might have to guide him a bit.

"Alright, open the backpack. We're about to have an adventure."

"Yeah, yeah" Theta made a face at Robin, smiling again and continuing to climb however far she needed to go. Thankfully, they didn't go much further until they stopped, the area here fairly far up and a little more devoid of trees than the base of the mountain but still beautiful.

"Just be glad that you can't carry backpacks with those wings of yours" Theta kneeled down and zipped open the bag, blinking in confusion at the collapsible piping and what looked like parachute fabric that he found inside. The only thing they had on earth that used those materials and required being in a high place...

"No, no, this really is a stupid idea, I don't do heights" Theta backed away from the bag, shaking his head vehemently at the thought of being in the air with nothing underneath him for hundreds of feet, especially this high in this type of gravity.

"Oh come on, you know I'm not gonna let you fall," Chris nagged, nudging the backpack in his direction. She knew he wasn't going to want to cooperate. That's just how he was. But it was just so incredibly freeing to just glide through the air - it was a really unique experience and she wanted him to have it.

"I just reeeaaaally want you to see what it's like to fly. Pleeeaaaase try it?" She begged, clasping her hands and batting her eyelashes as if that would help convince him. "What are you actually afraid of, huh? I bet you it's nothing we can't fix."

Theta frowned and shook his head as Robin continued to speak, lips pressed tight into a thin, stressed line.

"Saying please like that isn't going to work, Robin. I just" Theta paced back and forth in front of the backpack, eyeing it warily like a crocodile that was going to come jump up and bite him "It was an awfully, uh, interesting idea coming here to do this, it really was, but you know better than anyone that I'm terrified of heights"

Chris scowled, arms crossed and talons tapping on the earth rhythmically. She was more than just a little disappointed, to be honest. Of course, she understood where he was coming from, though. In fact she was a bit embarrassed - she should have known better than to try to push him into this. Obviously it wasn't something he was just going to try on a whim. And she didn't exactly have any proof for him that it was worth it - nothing he'd trust his life on.

"Look..." Chris sighed, looking away towards the horizon so she wouldn't have to make eye contact. "I just... I really wanted to show this to you. You're taking me around and teaching me things all the time, and it's super amazing. It's just like, you know, when's the last time you got to feel like that?" She looked back towards him, but couldn't bring herself to pick her eyes up above his shoes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... I just wanted to show you something cool... S'probably not worth it anyway, we can go somewhere else," she decided, finally making eye contact with a feigned smile.

Now, wow, now Theta just felt awful. Her expression practically radiated lost hope and defeatedness; he sank down into himself a bit, feeling the awful feeling of guilt coiling up in his gut.

"Look, I'm sorry, I just don't have good experiences with heights" he looked down and scruffed his shoes up a bit in the dirt, thinking "Hey, but you know! Even if this is kinda high we could do something a little... smaller?" he grinned over at her, his eyes shining in that way that indicated he really wanted to make things up to her "Like, what is it, cat hawk? They tried out gliders just throwing themselves off of small hills and sand dunes, that could work, right? I bet nearer to the ground there are plenty of hills we could try out this, uh" he patted the bag awkwardly, trying not to show the  residual fear that remained from the suggestion of jumping from a really high place with only this strapped to his back "great device out on"

"Well...." Chris grimaced, pulling the device out of the backpack and starting to put it together. "We can.... But we can't go too far down, because.." Her sentence trailed off as she concentrated on connecting the piping, forming the shape of a hang glider. "Because you can't go up with this thing. Only very slowly down.." She began stretching the fabric around the poles, hoping that her going ahead to build the thing would help convince him to stay higher up.

"I mean I'd really rather not risk you being too close to the trees, you know? That could end really poorly, and while I'm pretty sure I can help support you on the hang glider, I don't know if I can pick you up all by myself..." Chris half-smiled in apology. "Are you suuuure we have to go lower?"