"I'm not stalling, these uh, these straps are a pain y'know?" Toby said in reply to Inadi's advice. His friendly spear jabs caught him off guard, as a result he blurted out an excuse that didn't sound too believable. The boy didn't realize he was nervous until Inadi brought it up. "I'm eager to get down there too! Finding a souvenir is my top priority! Er, that and the USB of course." All the technology, the mechanics, there was bound to be an epic toy somewhere in the city. Toby pondered where he could find it as he stood on the railing. Assuming there was some type of toy store or general goods, money would probably be necessary. Hopefully Niran was generous enough to lend the stars. He could already hear the conversation in his head.
"Please Ran! Pleeeeaaaase! I really want it I really do want it,"
"You've already lost two toy's Toby, I really don't want to add another to the list,"
"PLEEEASE!"
The sound of an engine snapped the boy out of his daydreaming, the source coming from a bike piloted by....Niran? His parachute was missing as well. Toby almost wanted to believe his friend had landed, purchased a bike, then flew all the way back up here. "Ran! You don't have a- uh, uhhhhh..." He knew the word existed but it just wouldn't come to mind. Something you need to drive? A card? Paperwork? It felt as if it were on the very tip of his tongue, the feeling was stressful. "uh, you don't have permission to ride that thing! You silly man." Riley proposed they ride the bike down before jumping off, a thought he regrettably didn't think of first. "Awh good idea," Toby remarked. Watching Riley jump onto the bike, his heart jumped and he almost leaped overboard as the vehicle swayed to one side. Niran wasn't wearing his parachute so he would've been forced to chase him through the sky. Thankfully it hadn't come to that.
"Okay, okay, all is good! C'mon Toby, c'mon. Everyone's already left us behind, and we can't just lose to Ace!"
"Ace?!" The boy looked at a variety of different chutes gliding through the air. "HA! Yeah right!" With that, Toby leaped off of the rail and downwards to the city. He was pretty much looking for an excuse to leap off unexpectedly, hoping that would ease his nervous mindset and make the journey down more pleasant. which it did. Espionage movies and war flicks began playing in his head. He recalled how soldiers and agents straightened their body like a bullet as they shot through the night sky. Toby mimicked their methods rather poorly. Instead of shooting through the sky like a bullet he couldn't help but spread his arms as if they were wings and dangle his legs aimlessly. It was impossible to hear his own thoughts over the rushing sound of the wind. A smile plastered on his face caused his cheeks to jiggle all sorts of ways as his hair moved at its own will.
Soaring through the sky towards the city, Toby fortunately caught a glimpse of somebody's parachute and realized he forgot he was even wearing one. With haste he gripped the latch and pulled hard, the chute flew open and yanked him from the air, carrying the boy safely towards the ground. The giggling wouldn't cease, it couldn't. The parachutes straps felt tight around the boy's chest but this newfound feeling of gliding through the air drowned the burden out. How exhilarating! Not only had he flown for the first time but skydived as well.
"Wooooohoooooo!"
Japhet could be heard shouting instructions from below, however the boy couldn't exactly make out what he was saying. Soaring through the sky at unfathomable speeds before pulling a string and gliding through the air can throw one's sense of speed off balance. Toby imagined his landing to be light and smooth, like a leaf, gently falling from a branch and onto the ground. However as he came closer and closer towards the ground he showed no signs of slowing down at all. "Oh geez," Not wanting to crush his legs he instinctively pulled on the strings of the parachute, significantly reducing his speed.
"Bend your knees! Tuck and roll! Tuck and roll!"
Toby was beyond grateful Jasper had repeated their guides instructions. Pulling on the stringers tighter and tighter as to slow himself down he began to bend his knees. "Ace!" The boy shouted as soon as he was close enough for her to hear. His feet met the pavement causing him to jog forward slightly, eventually coming to a complete stop. The landing turned out to be much less painful and simpler than he initially thought, but the boy was on quite the adrenaline high. "Ace!" He shouted once more as he began to undo the straps tightened on his body "I hope you don't think you w-uh?! agh!" Just as Toby began to speak the parachute hovered above his head, slowly and gently descending onto his face like a blanket would descend upon a bed, interrupting him with grace.
Thrashing about he was eventually able to pull the thing off of his head, crumpling it up as much as one could crumple something so large before tossing it to the ground with a sigh of relief. The boy rustled his hair in a poor attempt to fix it and gain his composure from the sneak attack before he began to speak once more. "I hope you don't think you and Leila beat us to the bottom because you guys had a head start." Toby walked alongside Ace as well as the others while he spoke.
"Inadi started distracting me and Riley, then Ran stole a bike or something and there was just so much going on, I demand a rematch!" It was at that moment Jasper gestured towards the group to inspect the windows. Toby approached the building, pressing his face against the glass windows in awe. He was too distracted by Niran's dancing on the airstrip to notice the boy on the hoverboard, this was his first time taking in the sight of the contraption. A devious grin overcame Toby's lips, the boy lay his eyes on the hoverboard he desired. A rematch would no longer be necessary.
