{"sf1_id":968159,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Diogenes Takes to the Air (part 1)","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":4708,"posted_at":"2016-02-23T14:07:00.000Z","tags":["Dreamscape","Elf","Fantasy","Flying","Gryphon","Humna","Tiger","Transformation","Wings","harpy"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/968159-diogenes-takes-to-the-air-part-1","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/968159","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=968159\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#8 of The Life of Diogenes\n\nOK, so the newest chapter got a little long so I'm splitting it up.","content":"\n                \"Anything?\nThat opens up a lot of possibilities Diogenes.\"\n                \"You\nbet it does. All my life I've lived within the confines of the rules society\nthrew at me. Now it's up to me to make the rules. Why wouldn't I be open to\nanything?\"\n                \"You\nhave a point, and a valid one at that. But I'm thinking that maybe you should\nlearn a little more about this world before you go off the handle. All you have\nseen is a mere scratch upon the surface. I think that you might do well to\nlearn about other people and their significant others.\"\n                \"You\nmean their wives?\"\n                \"No you\nfool. First off, I meant those who live here, in this realm. And as you should\nalready know, not everyone here is male. Like me!\"\n                \"Sorry.\nThat was stupid of me to assume. I've gotten sort of wrapped up in all that I\ncan do that I guess I not completely aware of the variety of, what do I call\nthem; species? I mean, how many types exist here? And what would you suggest I\ndo?'\n                \"I\nwould suggest to you that there are a lot of unattached beings here, ones whose\noriginal creators have died. Usually they die too, but not always. I think they\nwould rather vanish back into nothingness, but something tethers them to this\nrealm. What say I introduce you to some of them?\"\n                \"Sounds\nintriguing. But before we do, what are you expecting me to do for them?\"\n                \"Meet\nthem.\"\n                \"Yes,\nand then what?'\n                \"Then\nhelp them. If they want to fade away, I think you can help them do that. If\nthey want to live, then you can release them from whatever bonds hold them,\nreal or imagined.\"\n                \"That comes\nacross an awful lot like killing.\"\n                \"Yes, I\nsuppose it does. But what point is there in living if you have no reason to\nlive?\"\n                \"I\nsuppose you could be right.\" He still sounded doubtful.\n                The two\nof them went off. She led them to a door that seemed to appear out of nowhere.\n\"My study\" was all she would tell him. The door opened to a room filled with\nbooks, a dess, even windows to a blue sky and a lovely garden. He stepped back\nout and walked around the solitary door and frame. He tried to open it from the\nback. No good. He returned to the other side and opened it up.\n                \"This\nis really, really weird!\"\n                \"There\nis absolutely nothing here that is weird. If you can imagine it, it can exist.\nJust never try to go through the other way.\"\n                \"I did\ntry. Nothing happened.\"\n                \"That's\nbecause I was already here on this side. Both sides can't be occupied at once.\"\n                \"Oh.\nWhat's on the other side?\"\n                \"My\ndarkness. We all have it. Sometimes tis a better thing to hide it away from\nview. Less danger of offending people that way. Now get any ideas of entering\nit out of your head. For now we need to put out a call to those I spoke of.\"\n                She\nborrowed his power and called out mentally to all the lone, unattached\nresidents. They began popping into existence like fireflies congregating in the\nnight sky. He was amazed at how many there were. \n                \"Whoa!\"\n                He\nfound himself confronted with many more beings than he had counted on. They\nranged from little doglike creatures to great hulking beasts. He did his best\nto assess them as companions rather than sex toys. A lot of real people just\nwanted friendship, not kinky sex. He did his best to view them as such.\n                Despite\nhis resolve, his eyes fell on several that seemed to have potential possibilities.\nHe didn't make any advances however, because at present this was her rodeo. He\nwasn't about to step on her toes at this point. There would be plenty of time\nlater on to investigate a few of the candidtates.\n                \"Hello\neveryone and welcome! First off I'd like to thank you all for coming. Since\nyou're probably wondering why you have been called here, I would like to cut to\nthe chase and explain. This gentleman here, Mr. Smith, seems to have the power\nto exert a certain amount of control over your present existence. Therefore, I\nwould like to have some volunteers who are tired of their lives and wish for a\nchange, whether it is a release from it or some sort of improvement to it.\"\n                The\nlooks she got were quizzical. One voice shouted out, \"You mean he can kill me?\"\n                \"Now\ndear, that seems a little harsh. He can, I think, make your existence end\npainlessly, so yes.\"\n                The\nspeaker can forward. She looked tired and weary, but it did nothing to dim her\nlovely looks. She was, as best as he could figure out, some sort of harpy, only\nnothing at all like the ones from the lore of the Greeks. True, her arms were\nwings, and her face, while a bit hawkish, still retained refined and delicate\nfeatures Grecian qualities. Her feet were avian, but between the ankles and the\nshoulders she was one hundred per cent human. \nGive or take a bit of plumage.\n                \"My\nmaster died a long time ago and I cannot make myself fade. If you have the\npower to do it, please destroy me.\"\n                \"Uhhhhhhh.....\"\n                The\nlady elf looked at him. \"What's the matter?\"\n                \"I\ncan't kill her!\"\n                \"Why\nnot?\"\n                \"Well,\njust look at her! She's beautiful. I would never have had the imagination to\nthink her up!\"\n                The\ncreature looked up at him, holding her wings out in a defensive way. \"Beautiful?\nLook at me! I'm a conglomeration of two completely different species!\"\n                \"Yes\nyou are. In human mythology, you would technically be called a harpy.\"\n                The elf\nlady scolded him. \"She is no vixen! Cremille is a wonderful, kind hearted\nperson.\"\n                He shot\nan angry look in her direction. \"Do you know everyone here?\" Then it dawned on\nhim that she had just baited him.\n                She\nnodded. \"Yes, pretty much. What's the point in having neighbors if you don't try\nto meet them all?\"\n                He\nshook his head and turned to the creature, this Cremille. \"If I thought you\nwere ugly, I would have said so. Since I don't, I didn't. But at the same time,\nI don't think I could ever kill you, or anyone for that matter.\"\n                His\npartner in mind and body pulled him aside. \"Not everyone here will want to be\nsaved. And not everyone will want to be bedded. So you had better figure out\nyour intentions sooner rather than later.\"\n                That\nmade him a little angry. She had complained about his morality; now she was\nfoisting hers onto him. Sure, she had been old and maybe she had been ready to\ndie. But just because she and he were now sharing so much, it didn't mean she\ncould tell him what to do. Oh, he knew she was probably right, and even if\nthese creatures weren't real, they deserved more out of him than him being some\nsort of Dr. Kevorkian.  \n                So it boiled\ndown to a matter of giving them a choice. Fine. He would supply the poison and\nit would be up to them to take it. He imagined in his mind a ball. He made it\nblack, like death, shot through with red, like fire, and added touches of gray,\nto mimic ashes. He formed it in his mind and made it appear in his outstretched\nhand.\n                \"There.\nI refuse to be part of your destruction. If you want to die, touch the ball.\nBut decide well, because once you do, you will not be able to change things\nback to the way they were. You will no longer have your consciousness. You will\ncompletely cease to exist as you know it.\"\n                Cremille\nstared at him. \"What the hell does that mean?\"\n                \"It\nmeans that you touch it and poof, you're gone. No muss, no fuss, no pain.\"\n                She\nsuddenly looked nervous. \"Do you really think I look pretty?\"\n                His\nsmile said it all.\n                \"What\ncan you offer me if I decide to live?\"\n                \"I'm\nnot sure what you're asking...\"\n                \"She\nwants to know what you can do to make her life tolerable if she decides to\nlive.\" Those were the words of she who presently shared his body.\n                \"Oh. I\ncan release you from your connection with your original creator!\"\n                \"That's\nnot enough. I need a reason to live.\"\n                \"So\nwhat do you want?'\n                \"I want\na life, my very own life, to do with what I please, without interference or\ncondemnation.\"\n                \"Done.\"\n                \"What?\"\nHer look was as sharp as an eagle's.\n                \"I said\nit was done.\" He leaned out and touched her hand. Fire ran across the tips of\nher wings and made her hair stand on end.\"\n                The elf\nleaned over and whispered, \"Show off!\"\n                \"Hey,\nmaking a show of it makes people appreciate it more.\"\n                Cremille\nstepped forward. \"Tell me to make love to you.\" Her voice was strained and\ndeadpan.\n \"Uh, ok. I order you to make love to me.\"\n                She\nwaited. Her wings quivered in place. All of a sudden she launched into the air,\nnarrowly missing bashing her head on the high ceiling. She swooped and dove and\nturned and banked, even losing a few feathers. When she landed she ran up and\nengulfed him in her wings.\n                \"I\ncan't believe that you could do that! You have set me free. I don't have to\nlisten to another being for the rest of my existence!\"\n                \"Was\nthat a problem before?\"\n                \"Yes!\nYes! I was ordered by my creator to live on after he died. I think he meant\nwell, but once he told me that, I was stuck. I had no happiness, and I had no\nescape from my misery.\"\n                \"So\nwhich choice will you make now?\"\n                She\neyed him warily. \"Why, what does it matter to you?\"\n                \"Nothing\nI guess. Like I said, I think you're pretty. I also think that any life has\nvalue, even if some of them are less appealing to me than others. But I have\nalready been chastised for throwing my will around too freely. You may choose\nanyway you like without interference from me!\"\n                \"Is\nthat so?\"\n                \"Uh...\nyeah. I said that didn't I?'\n                She\nreached for the globe. It was roiling with dark energy. He had purposely made\nit intimidating to deter the weak and foolhardy from touching it. Only those\nwho truly didn't fear their end would nerve themselves to touch it. \"So if I\ntouch it, you'll not try to stop me?\"\n                He\nhesitated. \"Uhhhh. Correct.\"\n                \"And if\nI do - what then?\"\n                \"Then\nyou'll be gone and I will lament your loss.\"\n                Her\nfeathers ran with fire again. \"Is that so? Prove it?\"\n                He was\ngetting angry. \"How? If you die, and I lament your loss, you'll never know!\"\n                \"Yes, I\nknow. So prove it to me while I am alive!\"\n                His elf\nlady nudged him. \"This is a fantasy world, but its real in its own right. She\nis asking you, for the moment, to take the place of her creator. You have given\nher new life and she wishes to share it with you.\"\n                \"You\ngot all that out of that?\"\n                Cremille\nnodded. \"She is wise. It would pay for you to listen to her.\"\n                \"Ok.\nI'm learning. So what did you have in mind?'\n                \"Since\nyou seem hesitant to watch others emulate themselves, maybe you and I could\nretire to somewhere a little more inviting?\"\n                He\nlooked to the elf, who shrugged. \"Don't look to me for advice. I will go with\nthe others and counsel folks wavering with their choices. I don't want anyone\nmaking a rash decision.\"\n                He\nclosed his eyes and thought of a place suitable for a harpy. What his mind came\nup with was an ancient Greek palace, nothing like from the real world, but a\nmodern invention in the old style. It had a bed, and flowers, and music. It was\na credit to his expanding imagination. It wasn't lavish in a decadent way, but\nit was opulent enough to show that he had put some effort into it.\n                She was\nsuitably impressed. \"Better than what I've been used to. Interesting,\ninteresting...\" She saw a few places she could perch if she wanted, and wondered\nif he did it to be funny, or if he was just trying o be accommodating. She\nopted for the latter because otherwise she was going to have to hit him.\n                She\ndidn't think of herself as a freak, but she did often compare herself to the\nothers in this world. She was neither the prettiest in looks, nor the fastest\nflyer among those with wings, but she liked to think she was somewhere in the\nmiddle. This weird tiger person apparently had power here, which was fairly\nnovel in itself, because even the average creator was limited to his own\ncreations.\n                This\none did seem to have potential. It was probably a good idea to get on his\npleasant side. That meant pulling out the stops for him. \"So tiger. What's your\nname?\"\n                \"Diogenes.\nAnd I'm not a tiger. I'm a human.\"\n                \"Human?\nYou mean like the otherworld humans? You're really a creator?\"\n                \"That's\nwhat they tell me.\"\n                \"Your\nlady friend is one too. It's a bit odd to have creators working together. This is\nsupposed to be a place where your type comes to relax and have fun.\"\n                \"Yeah,\nI suppose so. I never realized it was real in any particular way. But now I see\nI was wrong. I'm finding it to be a much more fulfilling and educational\nexperience than I ever thought possible.\"\n                \"Educational?\nI think you're doing something wrong then.\"\n                He\nshook his head and chuckled. \"Oh, I'm doing it right alright. I mean, think of\nall the possibilities I have open to me here. I'm only limited by my own\nimagination.\"\n\"I see,\" she said, looking at him\nwith a look of concern. \"Imagination is what created this place. Just what do\nyou expect to accomplish by changing it?\"\n\"I didn't say I was going to change\nit.\"\n\"But it seems inevitable that you\nwill. If you can do for others what you have done for me, a fundamental alteration\nin this reality will occur. I think you need to be careful how you propose to\ndo that. For one, I'd hide that dark orb away from sight. If it's as powerful\nas you suggest, can you imagine the temptation it will hold? Residents here\nwill just have to touch to see if it works. And when it does, they'll be gone\nforever.\"\n\"You're right. But why not just\nremove it altogether?\" He held it up and willed it to disappear. Nothing\nhappened. The foul looking thing remained where it was, swirling with the ambience\nof evil.\n\"So? Get rid of it?\"\nHe gulped. \"I tried. What's wrong?\"\n\"How should I know? You created\nit.\"\nHe stared at the ball for a long\ntime. \"I can't make it go away.  Ineed to\nhide this away somewhere, and I need to do it now!.\"\n\"Then find a spot that no one goes\nto.\"\nHer words struck a chord within him.\n\"I know. I'll put it in a place that no one would ever go.\"\nHe vanished for a few moments\nbefore reappearing. \"Done!\"\nShe gave him a stern look. \"Where\ndid you put it?\"\n\"Now if I told you that, what good\nwould come of it?\"\n\"You have a point. I think we need\na distraction to clear it from our minds. Do you have any suggestions?\"\n\"Sex is always on my mind, but I\nhardly wish to be viewed as a demanding pervert.\"\n\"Why not? That is what this place\nis all about, though there are plenty of others things to do.\"\n\"Such as?\"\nShe fluffed her feathers. \"Such as\nflying. I thought it was the epitome of freedom before I met you, but now, I\ncan only imagine what life would you would be like.\"\n\"Flying?! I'm frightened of\nheights!\"\n\"In your world, I could understand\nthat. But you aren't there anymore. Here, you can be and do whatever you want.\nSo give yourself some wings and join me!\"\nIt took him a moment to comprehend\nhis situation. He was so confident of all he could do in this world that he had\nforgotten about those peccadilloes and dreads that were particular to him. Even\nin his original dreaming states he had clung to the ground. He sought an excuse\nto forgo taking to the air.\n\"But I'm a tiger!\"\n\"No, you're a human in tiger form.\nChange!\"\nHe thought about it for a moment.\nHe liked this form for it made him feel powerful, something he definitely\nwasn't in real life. Something with wings? He rather detested bats, so that was\nout of the question.  Some sort of bird? No,\nbirds didn't have the proper genitalia for playing around (remember, he was\nstill thinking literally at this point).\n\"There's nothing that I want to change\ninto.\"\n\"Seriously? What kind of creator\nare you? There're dragons, winged horses, gryphons...\"\n\"Gryphons? But those are\nmythological.\"\nShe rolled her pretty eyes. \"Yes,\nas are harpies. But here I am. Let loose your mind just a little bit more and\nsee the possibilities open to you. At times you seem quite brilliant, and other\ntimes you seem as helpless as a babe.\"\n\"Hmmm. You're right. I tend to\nthink rigidly. But a gryphon? Is that something you can handle?\"\n\"In what manner? I am an experienced\nflier. You won't be. So I'll have an advantage over you, creator or not.\" \n\"Alright. I'll tell you what. Sex\nis optional, but if I beat you, then maybe I can have just one go with you?\"\nShe spread her wings, showcasing\nher wonderful chest.\"If you beat me at flying, creator or not, then you can do\nas you please with me.\"\n\"I could do that anyways you know.\"\n\"Yes, I suppose you could. But I don't\nthink that appeals to you.\"\n\"Neither does flying.\"\n\"Oh come on. Do you really think it's\nall that bad?\"\nHe sighed. \"I guess there's only\none way to find out.\"\nHe dropped to his hands and feet\nand clung to the floor. Over the next few seconds, stretching on to a minute or\nso, he grew and shifted his shape until he was a winged lion bearing an eagle's\nhead. It took him a bit of time to gain this new form, seeing as he was\nunfamiliar with it. One might think that a minute, a mere sixty seconds was no\ntime at all, but he was disappointed by the delay. But once he was finished, he\nstood up on four feet and raised his handsome head.\n\"Well, this is a change.\"\n\"It certainly is,\" she said with\nadmiration in her voice.\nHe spread his wings and gave them a\nfew random beats. His action stirred up little mock swirls of dust. This world\nhad no dust except that which was dreamt up by the creators. But it made for a\nwonderful effect. His muscles rippled under the stress of pumping his brightly\ncolored wings, sending a wave of motion through his sleek form.\nIn the next instant he launched\nskyward, losing a few feathers in the process. He took the leap and decided to\ntackle his fear head on. While he was under the impression he wasn't likely to\nget himself hurt doing anything like this, he wasn't about to take any undue\nrisks. The only thing he felt he needed to do was to out fly Cremille and earn\nhis prize.\nShe was taken aback by his sudden\nflight and departure. A few seconds after his liftoff, she too was airborne,\npumping her wings furiously to regain lost ground. She caught up with him a\nshort while later, slipping in behind him before overtaking him by a nose.\n\"Not bad for a ground-hugging fraidy\ncat.\" \n\"I'm only part feline in this form,\nI'll have you know. I'm also part eagle.\"\n\"My reference was meant to your\nfear of flying, not to your present anatomy silly man.\" \nThe eagle head shrieked with\nlaughter. \"It's funny how I suddenly don't find this terrifying. What accounts\nfor the sudden turnaround?\"\n\"Attitude. I'll just bet you had\nsome experience as a child, or heard some story that gave you a phobia for no\ngood reason. Sure you could possibly fall, and for you in your world that could\nmean death. But here, you control he skies. The only way you can fall is if you\nwill it.\"\nHe cocked his head to hear her\nwords, as the wind rushing past was a roar to his hearing. It was so refreshing\nand invigorating to be soaring through the air that he had forgotten everything\nelse for the moment.\nBut just for a moment.\n\"So, if this is to be a contest, it\nwill need some rules.\"\n \"Indeed it shall. Shall we test speed, agility,\nor endurance?\"\nHe thought for a moment. \"I really don't\nsee how I can lose at any of them. I'm a creator after all.\"\n\"True. You have the advantage of\nbeing able to fix the outcome. That would imply cheating. Is that the way you\nwant to win?\"\n\"It's tempting, seeing as I can fix\nthe results, but I think I see a flaw in that reasoning. If I win at everything,\nthis world will soon lose its charm.\"\n\"Good, good! Now you see the trap of\nperfection. Once achieved, you lose interest in life since there is nothing\nmore to gain from it.\"\n\"You seem awfully smart.\"\n\"What did you expect? A bird-brained\nfeather head?\"\n\"I can't say that I had any\nexpectations. But still, how come you can grasp these concepts?\"\n\"My creator was what you would term\na professor, one of classical civilizations and of mythology. He imbued onto me\nsome of his own qualities. Trust me Diogenes, I know who your namesake was, as we\nwould spend hours discussing matters from your world. If you are looking for an\nhonest man, look to yourself. Be that man.\"\n\"I see. So I need to figure out  way of taking on this challenge without\nthrowing the results in my favor.\"\n\"Yes! I have an idea if you wish to\nlisten to it.\"\nHe slowed his flight to a mere pumping\nof his wings, allowing him to hover in midair. She followed suit. \n\"Go on.\"\n\"Give me the power to create a\nplace that won't be familiar to you. It'll mock real places on your world, and\nthus will have mountains, clouds, forests, lakes and all sorts of other distractions\nand obstacles.\"\n\"Hmmm. That just might work. I'll still\nhave the upper hand, but I'll be hindered by not knowing the landscape. I like\nit!\"\nHe extended a talon and hooked into\none of hers. She felt a brief surge light her up much like he had before. She\nclosed her eyes and when she opened them, her breath was taken away. They were\nstill hovering, only now it was over a narrow lake whose pristine waters reflected\nlight glancing off the sides of steep, majestic mountains. The air was calm,\nthe clouds might as well been made of gossamer spider webs and the sky so blue\nyou felt you could swim in it.\n\"Well done Cremille! You have more\nto you than meets the eye. I'll be intrigued by what else you have hidden\nbeneath your lovely surface.\"\nHis implication was well taken.\nShe felt her cheeks flair up as the\nblood rushed to them. This man might be less refined than her original creator,\nbut he too had qualities that were only just beginning to show. She was tempted\nto forgo the contest and get down to business, but a stubborn streak held her\nto her original course. Besides, she hadn't had a good aerial competition in\nforever. That would be the preamble to her constitutional, the appetizer before\nthe main course. Oh, she knew he'd win no matter what, but she was going to make\nhim earn whatever right he thought he had over her.\n\"We'll see about that. The race hasn't\neven started.\"\n\"No it hasn't. So what are the\nterms?\"\n\"That's an excellent question. A\nsimple race to a finish line seems a little boring. I was thinking that what we\nshould do was to attempt to keep the other person from crossing first.\"\n\"Isn't that pretty much the same\nthing?\" \n\"On the face of it, perhaps it is. I\nwas thinking more along the lines of interfering with each other. You know, making\nthe race more challenging by throwing up roadblocks.\"\n\"Roadblocks in the air? Isn't that\na contradiction?\" he said with good humor.\n\"You get my meaning. Consider it\nlike a game of tag. The person who is \"it\" can't cross the line until they tag\nthe other.\"\n\"Oh I see. The only one who can\ncross will be the one free of the onus.\"\n\"Onus? Well, if you wish to call it\nthat, then fine. You have the power. You can create a spell that will restrict\nthe one burdened with it from crossing the finish line. Agreed?\"\n\"Sure. But what and where will the finish\nline be?\" \n\"Hmmm. A good question. I know! Let's\nsay we have to swoop under that natural bridge formation over there three times\nto win.\"\n\"No, I don't think so. A triple\nloop and you win automatically. How about we make the line move and reset each\ntime? It can show up in a specific color, just like it does in some of the\nvideo games I've seen.\"\n\"Video games?\"\n\"I'll explain later, though now\nthat I think on it, there are probably characters from them inhabiting this\nworld. I mean, it only makes sense that some gamers have dreams about what they\nplay.\"\n\"Show me?\"\n\"The characters?\"\n\"No stupid, what you mean.\"\nHe pointed a wing at the bridge she\nhad mentioned. It glowed with a faint red aura. \n\"Like that. Once a qualified flyer\npasses through the region, they get the point and the line establishes itself somewhere\nelse.\"\n\"Oh, I like it. But what if we end\nup tied, with two apiece?\"\n\"Then whoever crosses last wins of\ncourse.\"\n\"OK then. I agree with this method.\nI think it'll make this much more interesting.\"\nHe waved his wings and the red\ndisappeared.\n\"It has now moved to a random area.\nSo we'll have to tag each other while looking for it, and hope that we find it\nbefore the other.\"\n\"Sounds like a plan. Who gets to be\nit first?\"\n\"I'll go. But remember, once you're\ntagged, you have to be rid of it before you can score.\"\n\"I got the gist of it. Now, on you\nmark, get ready. Go!\" She tore off through the sky like a meteor.\nDiogenes watched her form vanish\ninto a cloud before taking after her. She was wily, and yet he felt like he had\nan unfair advantage, even with the rules they had set. After a few seconds had\nticked by he pumped his wings and tore after her, shredding the cloud into little\npuffs of vapor as he strained to close the gap.\nIt was going to be a wonderful\ngame, and even when it was finished, he had a feeling the trophy at the end was\ngoing to prove to be the greater achievement. \n"}