//------------------------------// // 13: Silent Pleasures // Story: Fortresshy: The Nine Fathers // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Sniper sat calmly in the lookout, staring out at the view. He was up here every day, whether he was on duty or not. He was more comfortable at a high vantage point, regardless of whether he was there to snipe, draw, or indulge in other hobbies. He wasn't on lookout duty today, as it was his turn to watch Fluttershy. As such, he brought her up to the lookout tower with him, figuring a winged creature like herself would be just as fond of high places as he was. Admittedly, he found he was mistaken. The moment she looked down the ladder, she had crawled into his lap and shivered, whimpering. Sniper, however, wasn't about to let it go at that. He simply held her, gently stroking her head and back, until she calmed down. Once she was calm, he held her carefully over the edge until she got used to the height. Once she no longer shook when she looked down, he tossed her upwards, to show her that not only would he always catch her if she fell, but that her wings would kick in instinctively in mid air. Once she realized and understood that, she was completely comfortable in the lookout, although she stayed off the ledge at his request. Once Fluttershy was fine with the heights, Sniper had begun one of his favorite off duty pastimes up here, bird watching. Given how much Fluttershy seemed to love animals, he figured this would be a great activity to share with her. They shared a companionable silence as he scanned the sky for any sign of avian life. When he first spotted a bird, he pointed it out to her. She quickly stood up on the ledge to look. He started to offer her the binoculars, but then she let off a chirping whistle. Sniper now sat back, his bird book to one side as he stared at the menagerie that had gathered around Fluttershy. "You know, you take the fun out of ornithology, Fluttershy," he commented. "As much fun as it is to spy all these rare bird species, no other bird watcher will believe me in that I spotted them, or in how. You even called up a dodo, and those are extinct!" He stared at the specimen in question. "Or, perhaps, just extremely well hidden." The dodo squawked at him, and Fluttershy smiled sheepishly. She could tell there was no true rancor in his statement. Birds of all sorts from the southern latitudes - from albatross to yellowhead - were arranged around and on the little filly, the larger ones preening her as the smaller ones nested comfortably in her mane and tail. Fluttershy was plainly happy, and Sniper didn't really have the heart to scold her, even if he meant his harsh words. Instead, Sniper pulled out a large canvas and began to draw what he saw before him. Normally he just drew landscape or the occasional bird or wild animal he spotted, but he had a much more interesting subject to draw now. "Hold still now," he said. Fluttershy smiled, doing her best to hold still. The birds, surprisingly enough, seemed to catch her energy and also held still. Shaking his head in amazement, Sniper proceeded to draw the scene. He did his best to get every detail down in the black and white drawing, not making a single mistake. After a time, he lay the canvas down. Fluttershy then lay down, most of the birds then flying away, a few circling around for a bit before nesting on the roof of the lookout to watch what happened next. The dodo seemed to vanish into nowhere. Sniper reached over and gently stroked her between her ears. She leaned into the caress, sighing contentedly. Sniper then returned to watching the landscape, picking up his binoculars to see if anything was approaching. When nothing was in sight, he pulled out another canvas, looking around for something else to draw. His eyes fell on Fluttershy, who had crawled over to the drawing of her and the birds. She had pulled out her crayons from the tiny saddlebags Spy and Engineer had designed for her to carry little things with her, and had begun to color the picture, holding one crayon in her mouth and one in the tip of each wing, her feathers wrapped around the shaft of the crayons. Sniper was torn between complaining about her using his sketch for a coloring book and amazement at her holding crayons with her wings. Realizing that he could probably reproduce the picture if Fluttershy was willing, he decided to focus on her amazing feat of physical dexterity that defied the laws of physics as he knew them based on available data. Seeing the perfect opportunity for another drawing and recording new physical capability of Fluttershy's, he proceeded to draw her coloring. He was able to finish the drawing just before Fluttershy finished with her coloring. As he set his new sketch aside, she held up the picture for his approval. He could only stare in amazement. The colors were all completely within the lines and as detail accurate as crayons could be. He could easily distinguish each and every animal, and saw that she had grabbed his shading pencil for added details. As he stared, Fluttershy looked up at him, clearly nervous. Smiling, he reached out and stroked her head again. "Well done, Shy," he said happily. "Can't wait to hang it up." Grinning happily, Fluttershy set the picture down carefully before rolling onto her back, batting at his hand with her forehooves. He obligingly began to rub her belly. After a time, she began to doze off. Smiling softly, Sniper scooped the drowsy filly into his lap, once more returning to his observations of the world around him. He'd often come up here to be alone, as most of the others were a bit too energetic for his tastes. The only other ones who knew how to take things slow and silent were Spy and Engineer. Unfortunately, Sniper never felt completely safe around Spy, given his habit of backstabbing, and Engineer always brought his guitar along. Now Sniper had no problem with music, but sometimes he just wanted to listen to the sounds of nature. And now here was Fluttershy, with whom he could share the wonderful sounds...of silence.