Disclaimer: Please make sure that all pets and luggage are fastened securely to your Rheaird before takeoff.
AN: All right, everyone knows I take requests and field questions on just about anything. I've been doing it for years now and I've got to say that the question I get asked the most is "How does Noishe travel by Rheaird?" So congrats Contraltissimo, your sugar-crazed query was the final straw. (Which is a good thing.)
By the way, this assumes that Noishe came with the group when they first fled to Tethe'alla. Just go with it.
"Come on, boy." Lloyd held the Wing Pack out with an almost pleading look on his face. "If you don't get in, you won't be able to come with us." Noishe gave him a disbelieving stare, Lloyd couldn't entirely blame him. The tiny pack hardly looked like a comfortable kennel for a dog Noishe's size, but it really wasn't that bad once you got inside, or so he heard. "Please, Noishe? I don't want to have to leave you behind. I know it's weird, but the Wing Pack is totally safe, we tested it on Zelos first to be sure."
Get in the Wing Pack? Not on your life! Noishe had no, repeat, no intention of even getting near the thing, much less in it. He didn't care who they tested it on first. Noishe shook his head and whined, then backed up a step. Why should he have to travel in some weird shrinky bag when he could just ride around on a Rheaird like everyone else? It wasn't his favorite mode of transportation, but it was better than the alternative.
"No, Noishe. You can't ride with me. Don't you remember what happened last time?"
Noishe whimpered. Of course he remembered. How could he ever forget that terrifying ride? His experience with Rheairds had been tainted from the very beginning. That first time in Triet when they found the machines, Noishe had a terrible sense of premonition; he had known no good would come of flying, but at the time they needed to escape so he threw caution to the wind and leapt onto the back of Lloyd's Rheaird. What a mistake.
Noishe hadn't been ready for flying, not at all. The roaring noise the engine made scared him, the way the craft wobbled for no apparent reason ever so often eroded his small confidence, and being up so high... Soaring miles above the ground at high speeds being buffeted by the wind while trying to balance on a small seat platform designed for a rider with two legs was anything but fun. More than once during that first flight Noishe was sure he was going to die. Fall to his death and... The protozoan shuddered.
Terrifying. But even worse than the fear of falling from a height was what threatened in the void between the dimensions. Noishe remembered scrabbling madly with his claws against the Rheaird's smooth riding deck, trying to stay on as the craft accelerated. If he had fallen off in the transfer from world to world... He didn't even want to imagine what would have happened to him.
The more he thought about it, Noishe realized that yes, riding on the back of the Rheaird was out of the question and, of course, so was riding in the front on Lloyd's lap. They'd tried it before, but Lloyd hadn't liked it. You're too big and heavy! You smell! Your tail's in my face! We're going to crash! What a baby. Noishe had never heard such whining!
Lloyd let the Wing Pack, and the arm holding it, fall back to his side as he glanced over at the Rheairds, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The machines were all primed and ready to fly, but it wouldn't take that long to tie all the ropes together...
"Hey Noishe, if you really don't want to ride in the Wing Pack we could try making you a harness again. I know you didn't like it when we tried before, but-" A growl from Noishe stopped Lloyd in mid-suggestion.
'Didn't like it', ha! Kratos' boy sure had a talent for understatement. Being tied securely to the Rheaird was just as bad as riding free! Both of the ways his opposable-thumbed companions had devised were awful. The first, being strapped down across the back of the Rheaird, was more painful than it should be. Riding that way for even a few minutes made Noishe feel like his legs were being stretched out of their sockets and it was almost impossible to breathe. And the second way, Noishe whimpered just thinking about it. Hanging underneath the Rheaird by a jury-rigged rope harness while the whole contraption flew at six hundred feet... No. Just no. Not again. Never again.
"Well then what else can we do, Noishe? You can't drive your own Rheaird, even if we did have an extra one." Noishe wasn't so sure about that, but Lloyd gave him a stern look and held out the Wing Pack again. "Come on, this is the only way you can go with us. You've got to get in the Wing Pack."
Noishe hung his head, miraculously tucked his tail even further between his legs than it already was, and took a shaky step forward against his better judgment. Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't like having to make Noishe do things that scared him, but he didn't relish the idea of leaving his dog behind, alone on a strange world either.
As he crossed the small distance between him and Lloyd, Noishe considered the few options he had on how to actually get into the little bag. The zippered opening looked way too small for him to jump headlong into, but he didn't want to drag out the whole ordeal by easing in an inch at a time either. The best thing to do, he decided, was to stop worrying, put his best paw forward, and just go.
Casting one last 'I really don't like this' look at Lloyd, the protozoan thrust his paw into the bag and promptly fell through the opening. Not quite what he expected, but at least it was over. Noishe shook himself off and checked out his surroundings. The inside of the Wing Pack looked like a small arena made of cloth and, up where the cheap seats would be, Lloyd was waving goodbye as he zipped the pack shut; leaving a few inches open so it would be secure but light could still filter in. At least it wasn't dark... From somewhere outside the pack Noishe could hear a Rheaird's jet engine roar to life. Circling a few times to find a comfortable spot, Noishe flopped down onto the floor of the pack and curled up, resting his muzzle on top of his folded paws.
He had to admit, hanging around in the pack didn't seem like quite such an awful way to travel now... But he really would have liked to drive himself.
AN: I wouldn't want to go in the weird shrinky bag either, but it's the easiest and most comfortable way to do things. I hope that answered your questions. Hurrah!