After we finally got up to the roof, which couldn't come soon enough for me, I grinned evilly. "Oh no. What is it?" Dylan asked.
"Oh, nothing! Don't worry! I'm just remembering when I taught the little ones to fly with Jeb! Fang and I would take them up to the roof and push them off. Repeatedly. Until they got the hang of it. No lessons, nothing. All on our own. Every single one of us." For the first time since I met him Dylan looked scared.
"But you will help me, right? I mean, I have no clue how to even begin to fly!" Whoa, nervous much?
I decided to get on with it. Before he could even remark on it he was freefalling down the side of our house into the canyon. I had to try really hard to keep my laugh in as I watched him plummet downward. Was he even going to open his wings?
He did open them. All 15 feet of them. And they caught his wind and held him up. Unfortunately, this was as far as he got before he hit the ground. Apparently he wasn't injured because he didn't wince as I grabbed him and brought him back up to the roof.
"This time why don't you try opening your wings faster, right after you fall? And why don't you try doing something with your feathers? They're not meant to just sit on your wings you know!" I pretended to know everything.
"Fine, whatever you say Max!" As I pushed him he was a bit more prepared and partly jumped as he fell. True to his word he snapped open his wings right away and moved his feathers. He angled himself around but didn't succeed in bringing himself back up. Once again he hit the bottom of the canyon.
"You know, you're slower at learning than any of the flock were! Use some common sense and brainpower!" I told him as I landed nearby.
"God, Max, you don't have to be so rude! But yes, I will try to take off from here if it pleases you." He teased.
Dylan jumped of the rocky floor and snapped open his wings. His upward momentum kept him going up for awhile. Then he began to fall again. I heard him telling himself he wouldn't fall all the way, he'd catch himself. It was quite funny, actually.
Then, miracle of miracles, he did it. He brought his feathers down and rose out of the canyon. He practiced using steering and mixing it with his new skill, rising higher into the sky, until I could barely see him. Then he dove down to me again and landed.
"Whoa, that was awesome! I see how you love it so much!" Dylan said, shaking out his feathers.
"That's just great. Fantastic. Now can we please go back inside so I can be with my flock again? Although, I really will miss the time away from traitorous Jeb."