Efron moved to the edge of the sparse forest and Gretel positioned herself a few paces behind him. The young revealer dragon glanced back at his friend, who gave an encouraging nod and summoned a tailwind. He then got a running start and leapt up, flapping his small wings which did catch her wind with each downbeat.
He yelped when the summoned gust had propelled him forward at an unexpected speed.
“Sorry,” Gretel chuckled nervously as he struggled to adjust.
She lessened its strength, but by that point he had just gotten used to the original force and now was unprepared for the change; Efron immediately fell without the previous amount of support.
“Eep!” she chirped in a panic, stopping the forward wind altogether to redirect it skyward so he wouldn't crash-land.
That was when she realized he was right about the difference in their weight: revealers were a lot heavier than wind dragons, even though he was young and fit. She steadily increased the force of her wind but couldn't strengthen it enough in time to keep him airborne. It did cushion his fall, though; he managed to catch himself on his hands and knees.
She ended her abilities and rushed to his side. “Are you okay?!”
“That… was a lot,” he said with a breathless, somewhat hysterical laugh.
Gretel shrank. “Sorry. I've never tried to carry another dragon before. Ma-a-a-aybe we should plan ahead…”
He rocked backward over his haunches to sit with his legs in front of him, still trying to orient himself. “I see... I think can adapt, but only if you keep the winds consistent.”
“I can keep it consistent, but that would mean the consistent wind has to be the perfect force and direction for you from the start; if it isn't, you'll fall unless I change it. The problem is trying to figure out exactly what 'perfect' is.”
“How do we find out?”
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“Hm… I know! Stand up, spread your wings, and hold still,” she instructed, and he obliged her. “I'm gonna send a gust at you with more and more force until it knocks you over. Ready?”
“Oh–uh, okay. Ready!”
The tiny white wyvern backed up a fair distance, reared onto her hind legs, then flapped her purple-striped wings just once to summon wind directly at him. The heavier dragon type was unfazed at first, until she picked up its strength into an eventual gale; he shielded his eyes from the debris, dust, and loose leaves scattering around him. His feet planted into the ground, their claws digging in to grip the flattened grass between his toes. He was fighting to keep his wings from being blown back.
She frowned. “Your wings really are weak, aren't they?” she called, her volume control letting her be heard over the wind. “Do you want to stop? I don't know if flight is possible for you yet.”
Efron opened his mouth and she vaguely heard his voice, but it couldn't reach her. He realized this and shook his head in answer. The young violet revealer stiffened his blue wings, actively trying harder to keep them open and still. With that effort, they caught her wind and he was blown backward clean off his feet, landing ungracefully on his rump.
Gretel whooped and ended her ability. “Yay! I got the force down! If you can keep your wings steady like that, then you can glide after all!”
“Really?” He gathered his legs beneath him to stand, beaming. “Great! So what are we waiting for? Let’s try it, then!”
“Right! Now… get in position, maggot!” she commanded with a laugh to show she was kidding.
“Sir, yes, sir!” he chuckled, playing along. The two went back to the forest’s outskirts.
“Ready-y-y-y? Go!”
Just like before, he leapt and she summoned a tailwind, but this time she aimed it up at him with the same force that had knocked him over, and he kept his wings stiffened enough not to bend back under the pressure.
“I… I'm doing it…!” Efron realized. “I'm gliding…! Gretel, you did it! I'm gliding!” he called out joyously.
Gretel couldn't bring herself to respond; her head was beginning to throb. I'm overexerting myself… But I can't quit now--we only just started! I have to keep pushing.
When she didn't answer, he risked a glance over his shoulder; the motion unbalanced him, though. He flapped his wings in an attempt to orient himself, but his wingbeats were unsynchronized and he panicked too much to find a rhythm. “Gretel, what's the matter? I–” The sentence ended in a gasp when her wind petered out and she collapsed.
“Gretel?!” he called again, more worried about his friend than himself even though he was now dropping from the sky. He crash-landed, momentarily stunned from the pain, but forced himself up and raced to her. “Are you alright…?!”
“I…” she tried to speak between labored breaths, but her voice faded out along with her consciousness.