Flightless, Part 1

    
 WARNING: THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT, SUBJECT TO CHANGE. BECAUSE I USUALLY DON'T GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AROUND AND TRYING TO NAIL ESTABLISHED PERSONALITIES IS SOMETIMES HARD
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      Flight was the only thing Pit could ever wish for. The ability to soar through the skies, feel the rush of air, the gentle sun, the rush of blood through his veins. He was so excited to fly, he couldn't shut up about being able to fly with his fellow classmates in Skyworld's school. He counted the days before the teachers decided that they were old enough to be trained in flight. A month became a two weeks, a week, a day in a blink of an eye for the ever-excitable angel.

    The day of flight finally arrived at the Skyworld school. Angels were buzzing about how well they would do. Some were nervous, trembling at the thought of having their feet no longer touch the soft, safe ground. Others were already planning how to impress the teachers, claiming to already know how to fly. As for Pit...

    "WOOHOO, I'M FINALLY GOING TO LEARN HOW TO FLY, YEAAAAAAAAH!"  he shouted at the top of his lungs, waiting in line with the other angels as, one by one, they were tested. "I'm finally going to learn to fly! This is the best day ever! Only way it can get any better is if I get a nice big dinner tonight! Wooooo!" He turned to a big angel in front of him and asked him, "Have you ever been so excited? Its great, right?"

    The bigger angel stared at him and said in a deep, low voice, "It'll be great once I'm finally out of the line and away from you. You're annoying."

    His words stung, but Pit just kept on smiling. "Oh, heh heh, guess you're just, uh, really excited." The excitable angel then turned to an angel girl with long brown hair behind him and asked, "Aren't you excited?"

    "I'm more nervous, actually," said the girl, looking down at the ground and shuffling her feet. "I had a fear of heights even when I was a little baby. They said that fear would go away once you begin to fly, but I'm not sure." She looked up into Pit's blue eyes and smiled. "You're really looking forward to this, huh?"

    "That's right! I wanted to fly ever since I was little! I mean, come on, its exciting! And then I can actually visit the overworld! And Lady Palutena might consider me for her personal guard!" The girl could see his eyes brighten up with each word he spoke. His grin was as wide as a watermelon slice, or as close to it as a little angel face could possibly get. "Anyway, I'm Pit. What's your name?"

    "My name is Selena," said the girl, unable to resist grinning back. "Pit sounds like a weird name, though... I wonder why they gave you that name?"

    Pit scratched the back of his head. "I dunno, maybe it was some sort of dumb joke? Maybe I liked playing in holes when I was a baby?"

    "I'm not sure, but look! Its almost our turn!" Pit turned around to see that the line had gone up and hurried to take his spot. His heart beat faster against his chest as he watched the next angel take off. Finally, it was his chance to fly with the birds. He would fly gracefully, doing loop-de-loops and spins as the wind ruffled the feathers on his wings. The teachers would stare, the girls would swoon, the guys would say, "Man, I wish I was as awesome as Pit!" And then he'd get a reward and Lady Palutena would welcome him to the guard with open arms and he'd even impress Medusa-

    "Kid, hurry up." The harsh voice of the teacher broke the little angel boy's daydream. "People are waitin. Now flyin is simple: get a running start and flap your wings until you get high enough, then glide through."

    Pit smirked. "It's that simple?"

    "Easier said than done, but you get used to it after a few minutes. Now hurry up! We don't have all day."

    The little angel boy spread his wings as much as he could and dashed off the ledge, spreading his arms out and yelling happily...

    He plummetted like a sack of potatos.  Pit looked down and stared at the ground, a long ways to go. His limbs went numb as fear began to set in. Why wasn't he flying? Why wouldn't his wings flap or glide or anything? "Come on, you can do this," he told himself as he focused on trying to flap his wings. Nothing. His wings didn't budge.

    Well, there was only one thing left to do.

    "HELP MEEEEEEEEEE, SOMEBODY! PLEAAAAAAASE!"

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    It was the most embarassing day of Pit's life. Selena had to rescue him, in spite of her great fears. The other angels commented on how weird it was for an angel to not be able to fly. He went to the hospital and got his wings checked out, but the nurse bore bad news: "You see, Pit, all the bones in your wings are there. Its just that... well... How do I say this to a kid... Basically, the brain can't tell your wings what to do, like it can with your legs and arms."

    "Will it listen if I talk to them?"

    "No, Pit. It doesn't work like that. I'm sorry, but you can't fly on your own. Not at all."

    Pit couldn't hear her voice anymore. Her lips continued to move, but the words went through one ear and out the other. He could only stare blankly at her, feeling all his greatest dreams slip from his fingers and crumble to dust. His heart sank like a ship's anchor.

    He couldn't fly. In spite of his hopes, his dreams, everything, he couldn't fly.

    Skyworld's first and only flightless angel.

    As he headed home, hot, salty tears streamed down his cheeks as he finally realized just why he was named Pit.