The Chained Watcher

Trust.

~~~

Pearl veers sharply left, reaching out in an attempt to slap some part of her aerial duel partner. Her fingers miss just barely as her opponent dives down hastily. So close!

Scar can't help but taunt, "Is that all you've got?" Oh that little-

"You wanna see what I've got?" she challenges with a grin. "Alright, I hope you're ready!"

Scar lets out a little "Uh oh" as she dives down after him. A rocket lets him gain altitude, but she copies the motion, staying right on his tail and forcing him to zig zag to avoid being 'it'.

Then, he's a little too slow in slipping to the side. It looks like a maneuver Grian would do, stretching his wings out perfectly straight and letting himself sideslip out of the way of whoever or whatever's coming at him. Elytra aren't exactly built for that though.

Her hand hits his back hard, courtesy of his lost momentum and her retained speed, though the angle means it just skims along his back instead of actually hurting him. She turns away-

A sudden jolt on her arm stops her from pulling away from Scar. Looking down, she sees the strap of his elytra hooked on her elbow. It had to have gotten hooked when she tagged him. Unhooking should have been a simple matter, even midair, if not for one key thing. She's not hooked on an inanimate object. She's hooked on Scar.

Surprise surprise, Scar is not in control of his elytra right now, and is flailing and trying to right himself because of that. His flailing jerks her around, which twists the strap further, and it's all just a huge mess that's probably going to end in respawn.

See? The ground's too close now. They're going to hit it in a few seconds-

Their fall comes to an abrupt stop. Impact. Though... not with the ground. Pearl stares with wide eyes at the vibrant purple feathers suddenly interposed between the two of them and the floor.

Yep, that's too close for comfort. The wing smoothly lowers to rest on the floor, allowing for easy disembarking, and who is she to refuse such an obvious hint?

Or so she'd like, but Scar apparently has other plans. Scar grabs her hand, stopping her from hurrying over to the edge of the violet wing she's standing on and jumping off. "Wait," is all he says. His expression says he's found an opportunity, and he's not letting it go.

She frowns. "Why? He's not forcing us to stay here."

"Just for a minute," Scar pleads. "Just... sit. Please." Sit. Right here, standing upon the wing of a Watcher, Scar is suggesting she stay.

And for some reason... She does.

She lets Scar pull her down to sit on the feathers longer than she is tall, remaining within reach of the Watcher. No, of Grian. Is this...

He feels... less scary this way. Grian, she means. The feathers are soft in spite of their size, and it feels less like she's venturing in range of him and more like she's just existing alongside him.

After a while, Scar pulls her to her feet, silently urging her to walk with him with a smile. He leads her not towards the ground, but instead towards Grian's main body. And for some reason, she lets him. Grian doesn't even glance back. Actually, can he even feel their weight? Scar manages to coax her off of the wing and onto the oversized sweater. Is their weight even enough to tickle?

The spot Scar guides her to is, if she's correct, between the shoulder blades. He has her sit down again. Then, he gestures for her to put her ear to the sweater. At this point, might as well, right?