Short Stories of the Packs

Wings' Trials

"You sure about this, Wings? They don't look so stable," Gadget commented, watching her friend strap on the prototypes. "They look too heavy, and they don't seem capable of flight."

"You worry too much, you know that? I'll be fine! This is me we're talking about. Besides, who's the expert here?"

"I guess you're right, but I just don't want you to be hurt." The wings were different from his usual feathered craft. They were metallic, the gears were exposed. They weren't even painted; they were left in their bronze glory. But the "feathers" were metal too. They weren't lined up side by side, so she didn't think he could glide, and they looked far too heavy to generate any lift. He had also elected to build more wings, upgrading his usual two to four.

As Gadget came back to the present, she noticed that Wings had finished strapping on the harness and had already checked the clockwork to make sure everything was in order. He shot her a wink and started up the machinery. The wings gave a few jerky movements before starting up properly. Seeing that they were prepped for takeoff, Wings gave them each an experimental flap. Satisfied, he began to run, beating the wings as he tried to lift himself off the ground. It wasn't long before he felt his weight lift off of his feet. Once in the air, he began excitedly flying around in circles. Both he and Gadget were amazed.

"Look! They work! I'm flying!"

Gadget laughed, partly out of relief and partly out of amusement. "You are! I can't believe it!" She was cut off by a terrible screeching noise. She looked back up at her partner and saw, to her horror, his mechanical namesakes failing. One by one, the clockwork wings froze and folded up, until Wings fell from the sky. Panicking, Gadget raced over and caught him, getting cut some by the metal feathers in the process. "Are you okay?" she asked, still shaken.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine. I guess they still need some work, huh?" He climbed out of his partner's arms and gave one of her deeper cuts a sympathetic lick.

Gadget hit him on the back of his head with her paw. "You think?" she twitted. "Just don't fly so high next time." She waited a bit and then asked, "So what was it like? Was it fun?"

"Yes!It was amazing! The wind in my fur... I felt like a bird!..."