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Of Earth, Sky, and Everyone in Between
Chapter 2
Leo couldn’t help but be amazed at the size of the city. He had visited only a few largely populated areas before, but this was the crown jewel of anything he had seen in relation to sheer volume of people. As he took a look at the towering buildings, he felt a desire welling up within him.
His wings were a glitch of genetics; they hadn’t been designed for his use. He wasn’t truly capable of un-aided flight, as he was much too heavy for his wings to keep him in the air and gain altitude at the same time. Instead, he would normally leap from a high platform, and glide downwards, performing aerial stunts to please the crowd. He had never been higher than 200 feet above the ground, but it was still always a short ride to the ground. As he looked up at the towering buildings, he felt a pull, an urge to go higher than he had ever before.
He quickly jolted out of his thoughts as Jessie turned to him and said, “Umm... Leo... not that I’m not enjoying the ride, but I’m getting hungry, and you still haven’t found a restaurant.”
Leo blinked and focused on Jessie, still slightly lost in thought. “Oh... sorry,” he replied, “I’m a bit disoriented in a city like this. I’ll keep my eyes out for one.”
Jessie smiled. “No need. Look over there,” she said, pointing.
Leo turned his head, and silently cursed himself for getting so absorbed in his thoughts. About 150 feet to his left sat a small restaurant. Damn it, he thought. How could I have missed that? It must be some sort of suppressed instincts that didn’t come out until now...
Having come to a conclusion about his behavior, he took a closer look at the building and remarked, “Hmm.... Milliways... I wonder how it is...”
# # #
“Come on Zelda,” Nancy persisted as they took their break in the lobby, “Just because you’ve dated a few losers in the past doesn’t mean you should give up.”
Zelda sighed. It was no use arguing with Nancy, no matter what she tried, Nancy always seemed to get her way. She tossed her braided hair over her shoulder and gave Nancy, a threatening look. However, because Nancy towered several inches over her, the look didn’t quite have the effect she was hoping for.
Nancy rolled her eyes and persisted. “Don’t look at me like that, you know I’m right. Sheesh Zelda, there are plenty of great guys out there, you just need to find them.”
Zelda gave her panda friend a soft punch in the shoulder. “Listen Nance... I usually listen to you on this kind of thing, but I’ve just run out of places to look. I mean, if they’re out there, why can’t they find me, instead of the other way around,” she said with a sigh.
Nancy gave her a pitying look, and patted her lioness friend on the back. “Hey girl, you haven’t looked everywhere. Hey!” she said, snapping her fingers, “Me and Alex were planning to go over to that circus that’s setting up on the outside of town, you wanna come with?”
Zelda turned her head, and was about to respond when she froze, staring over at the door. Nancy followed her gaze and whispered, “On second thought, we could wait here and let them come to us....”
They were staring, of course, at Leo.
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Jessie held the door open for Leo as he struggled to fit his massive wingspan through the door. In the end, he gave up and went through sideways. He thanked Jessie as he entered the lobby and took a quick look around the restaurant and bar; it was populated, but not crowded. “It looks like you picked out a good restaurant, Jess,” he remarked.
“What can I say,” she said, with a small smile on her muzzle, “One of us has to keep an eye out for places like this.”
Leo blushed slightly; it would be a while before Jessie would let him forget that he zoned out so badly in the car. “You’re never going to get married with that kind of attitude, you know,” he told her jokingly, and was rewarded by a laugh from Jessie. They sat on the benches near the door, and waited for someone to seat them.
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“What are we going to do?” Zelda asked in a hurried whisper, “I mean, we can leave them waiting there, but that guy is just way too strange...”
Nancy rolled her eyes. “We aren’t going to do anything. You are going to go over there and do your job. And while you’re at it, see you can strike up conversation with him.”
Zelda gave her friend a look somewhere between shock and awe. “You’re nuts! I could never do that! Besides, he’s with someone,” she sputtered, pointing to the tigress sitting next to him.
“By the looks of it,” Nancy said, squinting over at the pair, “I’d say they’re either friends or co-workers. You’d never see two people who are involved with each other act like that.” As if to emphasize this statement, the tigress poked the lion in the ribs and laughed as he tried to retaliate. “Better act quick,” she added, giving Zelda a small push forward, “They’re starting to draw attention.”
She started to protest, but stopped when she noticed that both the lion and tigress were looking in her direction expectantly. She gave a slightly uneasy smile, and said in the calmest voice she could muster, “Hi there, I’m Zelda. I’ll be your waitress this afternoon.”
The lion looked her in the face and smiled. “Hi, I’m Leon, and this,” he said, motioning to his companion, ”Is Jessie. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Jessie gave a small nod in greeting beside him. Zelda began to relax and smiled again.
“If you’d follow me, I’ll get you seated, and you can begin ordering,” she said as she grabbed two menus off a counter, and headed into the dinning area. “I’ll be right back,” she told them as she placed the menus on a table in the corner. “Would you like anything to drink while you decide on your meal?”
“Just water for me,” Leo replied.
“Diet Coke over here,” said Jessie with a small wave.
“Right, I’ll be back soon,” Zelda told them as she turned and hurried back towards the kitchens.
Almost as soon as she was out of their sight, she was ambushed by Nancy. “So what’s he like?” she asked eagerly, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet in excitement.
Zelda took one look at her friend and nearly burst out laughing. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you... just stop that!” she commanded as she went over to get the drink orders.
Nancy blushed as she stopped regained control of herself. “Spill it,” she demanded, suddenly serious.
“Well, he’s cute,” Zelda, related as she counted off points on her fingers. “He’s got a great voice, he seems nice enough, but he still creeps me out a little. I mean, he’s just too... I don’t know...”
“Loosen up, Girl! Just try to talk to him a bit when you’re over at their table. You seem a lot more interested in this guy than you seem to think,” Nancy said as she gave her friend an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
Zelda gave her friend a skeptical look. “I really don’t think that I could be interested in him. Besides, I don’t think I could decide on something like this so fast.”
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“You sure turned on the charm,” Jessie teased as she gave Leo a playful punch in the arm. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve got a crush on her.”
Leo nearly choked. “Where did that come from?” he asked, trying to recover.
“Oh come, on,” Jess persisted, “You smiled, you were polite... you hardly ever act like that unless you’re trying to make an impression.
Leo was silent a moment. “Really?” he inquired softly.
“Trust me, you were gone, and the fact that you didn’t notice just proves that your mind was fully occupied,” she commented.
Leo thought for a moment. “You’re crazy,” he finally concluded, giving her an accusing look.
He was about to continue, but was interrupted when Zelda returned with their drink orders. “Hi again, sorry that took so long. Are you ready to order, or do you need more time?” she inquired. To her embarrassment, she couldn’t help staring at Leo as he spoke.
Luckily for her, Leo didn’t seem to notice. He was gave her warm smile. “I’m not too hungry, I’ll just have a garden salad.” He gave an inquisitive look over at Jessie, who was still looking over the menu.
Jessie realized that the exchange had now moved on to her, so she gave the menu a last look, then replied, “Umm... I think I’ll have the house steak, medium rare, please.”
As Zelda turned to deliver the orders, Jessie took a quick look from her to Leo and gave a small exasperated sigh. She reached across the table and gave Leo a punch in the arm.
“Ow! What was that for?” Leo demanded.
“That’s for being blind,” Jessie retorted.
# # #
For Leo, lunch passed rather uneventfully. He was a bit confused by Jessie’s actions, but he had never really understood women, so he had eventually let it slide. However, everyone else had quite a bit more on their minds. Zelda was nearly dieing of embarrassment under the hails of questions from Nancy, and now, the other waiters who had noticed Leo. Jessie was still amazed that Leo could be dense enough not to notice his own reactions, and the other restaurant patrons didn’t know quite what to think.
Being noticed was inevitable, Leo thought to himself as he took a look around. At least these people seem to be more polite than most are.
The truth was, people were more confused by his appearance that uneasy or afraid. Most of them simply thought that is was some kind of publicity stunt, and ignored him after assuring themselves that the wings were fake. The people over at the bar, who had already had a few drinks in them thought that they were hallucinating (two of them swore off alcohol after they saw Leo walk in). Small children didn’t quite understand him, and believed that he was an angel.
Still, no one approached Leo, so he and Jessie ate their meal in relative peace. Every so often, Leo thought he saw Zelda looking over at him, but when he looked closer, she always seemed to disappear. Every time that happened, he felt strangely disappointed.
Maybe there is some stake in Jessie said, the though, but I really don’t see how there could be any possible connection between us. His wings rustled slightly as the fought that mental battle, a gesture that did not go unnoticed.
Jessie took a quick look at Leo, and smiled to herself as she sipped on her soda. She could easily tell what was going on in his head, but she decided to let him figure it out for himself. It’ll take him a while to get it all right, but it’ll be a good learning experience for him, she decided.
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Meanwhile, things were continuing to happen. Over at the bar, one particular group of drunks was beginning to stir up trouble. Ever since Leo had entered, he had been the focus of their attention, and amusement. They were thoroughly convinced that his wings were not real, and for the past while, they had been daring each other to run up and try to pull them off. As the drinks piled up, they came closer and closer to taking the dare.
Finally, after a lot of persuasion (and a few more beers), the largest one (a bear, over 6 ft and muscular) stood up and began to saunter over to Leo’s table.
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When she had a free moment, Nancy pulled Zelda aside. “Listen girl, you probably don’t care one way or the other, but if you want to find out about that Leo guy, this is probably your last chance.”
Zelda turned her head and sighed. “I want to know about him, but I have no idea of how to approach him. I mean... you haven’t talked to him, he seems just like a normal guy, but... I just don’t want to insult him by bringing up anything the wrong way.”
“Listen, he’ll be leaving soon, when you give him the check, just say that you’d like to get to know him, and ask if there’s anywhere you can meet up with him later. That way, you can think about how you’re going to ask for a while before you actually do.”
Zelda thought for a moment. “You know... that might just work,” she finally said. “Yeah... thanks Nance,” she continued, drawing more resolute, “Yeah, I think I’ll do that.” She drew away from Nancy and strode over to the table.
Leo finished the last of his salad, and put down his fork. He took a deep breath, then turned to Jessie and asked, “Alright, so if I really am interested in her, what’s the next step to take?”
Jessie was caught off guard by this question and had to think for a while before answering. “Well, I guess you have to find out if she’s interested in you. Arrange a time to meet up, and talk for a while, you know, see if you have anything in common. If you do, great, if you don’t, then the two of you just agree that it’s not likely that anything will come out of it. Just give her a few tickets to the circus and tell her to bring a friend. That way, it’s a public place, and she’ll feel more comfortable... I think,” she finished with a shrug.
“Well... you’ve had a heck of a lot more dating experience than I have... but it seems too easy,” he commented.
“It’s harder than it seems,” Jessie said airily, “And having more dating experience doesn’t help with the amount of different people out in that world.” She blinked and gave him a look over. “You do know, that if you two plan to get together, that I’m going to have to take you shopping. You simply can’t go out in the stuff you normally wear. If you do, I’m afraid you’ll be mistaken for a beggar, and you know we can’t have that!”
Leo groaned. “You know I hate shopping, Jess. Besides, I always get such odd looks when I go out in crowded areas.” He shifted uneasily as he saw Zelda approach. “But I guess it’s now or never, right?”
Nervousness was visible on both of their faces as Zelda walked up and placed the bill on the table. There was an awkward moment of silence, then they both burst out talking at once.
“Sorry,” Leo apologized as he dug out his wallet and paid for the meal, “you go first.”
Zelda tried to smile, but it faltered slightly as she started to speak. “Umm, well you see-“ She didn’t get to finish her sentence. At that time, the drunk from the bar (you all remember him, don’t you?) pushed her down and made straight for Leo.
Outraged, Leo jumped to his feet. “What the hell do you think you doing!” he demanded.
“I’m stealing yer wings, pretty boy,” the drunk replied in a slightly slurred voice. He then reached out and gave a solid tug on the wing closest to him. To his immense surprise, they stayed in place, and he only managed to dislodge a few feathers. “How the hell are those attached, you freak?” the drunk yelled as he reached out yet again.
Of course, Leo wasn’t slow enough to have the same thing happen again. He took a step back, and on impulse, swatted his protagonist’s hand away. “Touch me again, and you will deeply regret it,” he threatened.
Jessie took one look at Leo’s expression and paled. The last time she had seen him this angry; he had nearly ripped the arm off of a guy who was harassing him. She quickly edged out of the booth and helped Zelda to her feet. “Come on,” she whispered hurriedly, “In about a minute, all hell will probably break loose, and the last place we want to be is at ground zero.”
“But what... I don’t...” Zelda stuttered, still a bit dazed from her trip to the floor. Around this point, the other patrons began to realize that things were about to quickly go downhill fast. Most of them backed as far away from the two as possible, but quite a few stayed close enough to easily see what was happening. The drunk, now more confused and angry at the failure of his prank, decided to go on the offensive. He backed up a few feet, and then charged at Leo with his arms flailing.
Leo calmly watched, and as the drunk got closer, he suddenly ducked under the assault of fists, and thrust his head directly into his opponent’s stomach. This didn’t faze him as much as Leo had expected, so he was unprepared for the punch that was suddenly thrown at him. He took the punch to the side of his chest, and hesitated for a moment. His opponent was much bigger than him, so he decided that a surprise attack would be better than conventional fighting. He moved himself into a more open area and steeled himself for the next attack. He didn’t have long to wait.
Still in a drunken rage, the bear didn’t see the next hit coming. As he moved within fist range, Leo stretched one of his powerful wings and swung it with all his power at the drunk’s right arm. He was rewarded with a sound of bone snapping, and the pained scream of his opponent. Leo then quickly crouched down and knocked the feet of the drunk out from under him.
He stood up and took a few steps back to view his foe; now lying on the floor, groaning in pain. He felt a strong arm pull him back a short ways, and heard Jessie’s nervous voice.
“Come on Leo, we have to get out of here before something else goes wrong,” she insisted as pulled him towards the door.
Leo slowly submitted, but then saw Zelda sitting on a bench behind the register, being comforted by a panda. He started to move towards her, but Jessie’s incessant tug forced him away and out the door. Once outside, he slowly walked over to the truck and climbed in, while Jessie fussed over him and continuously told him what an idiot he was.
It didn’t occur to either of them that they had left the stack of fliers and tickets behind, back at the restaurant, and neither would they have cared if they remembered. In fact, the stack went undisturbed, for the most part, until Zelda found them some time later.