The sleepy forest wakes as the sun begins to dip below the distant mountains; a girl lies face down amidst a gravel riverbank. A tiny insect buzzes by her ears, causing her to twitch her head. She lifts herself from the ground, taking a seated position. I’m still alive…

She lets out a short breath as she looks down at her wounded hand. A burning light spreads from it in all directions and is accompanied by a dull tingling sensation. The girl is covered in dirt and has scrapes all over her. Her side is covered in blood, and weighty fatigue lingers over her.

She crawls up against a nearby tree and reaches into her beat-up satchel. After feeling around it, she pulls out a small piece of jerky far past its expiration. This is disgusting, but I need to eat something. The girl grabs the jerky and rips a small piece off, forcing herself to eat it as her eyes become wet with tears. After finishing her improvised meal, she holds her head in her hands. What am I supposed to do now? I’m alone and helpless. The girl lets out a sigh as her body slumps.

The girl sits there in silence, worries swirling through her head. I can’t just sit here; I have to do something! I need to treat my wounds, at least. Within her satchel, she has a few pieces of cloth that she promptly rips. After tearing the makeshift bandages, she approaches the river and washes the blood off her side. She then wraps her torso in the bandage as her face winces. After bandaging her side, she does the same with her hand.

There, now I won’t die of blood loss, at least. The girl continues moping as she whispers under her breath. “I wish there was someone to help me.”

The girl gives herself a slight slap on the cheeks as she tries to psych herself up. Well, I can’t just walk into town, but I can’t just stay out here in the wilderness. I can do this. I need to fly over the ramparts, get just enough supplies to survive, and leave. How hard can it be? Looking at her satchel, her mouth shrinks into a frown. I need money for that. Letting out another sigh, the girl hangs her head.

The girl looks down at her sword, and an idea comes into her head. I’ll hunt a monster and sell its materials. If that doesn’t work. I’ll just have to resort to theft. It doesn’t matter who I am. I’m not going to give up and die out here without a fight.

The girl gets up and wipes the dust off of her leather armor, then reaches down and draws her sword, assuming a fighting stance. She steadily practices taking several swings to warm up. After nodding to herself, she attempts to take a swing at a nearby tree.

“—Crrk.”

The sound of her sword lodging itself into the tree trunk resounds through the woods. The strength of a demon. The girl grabs the sword firmly and gives it a pull but cannot get the sword out of the tree. Come on, don’t get stuck! The girl grabs the sword with her entire body, placing her legs against the tree trunk she pulls with all her might. The sword slips, and she tumbles to the ground. A creaking sound screams out from the tree, followed by the sound of wood cracking. The colossal oak tree comes crashing down as the girl frantically tries to get out of the way.

The girl rubs her head as she gets back on two feet. I need to be careful. I could seriously injure someone if I get in a fight. No, what am I talking about? I’m not going to fight! Why do I have to fight to survive? There has to be another way!

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The girl looks around, waiting for something to happen before tears begin to well up in her eyes. I can’t do this. I’m not cut out to be a demon. How did it end up this way? I’m supposed to be a human! Even if I make it into town, it’s not like I can just stroll around. I know how much demons are feared. If they discovered me, they wouldn’t even give me a chance. I’d be killed on sight. I wasn’t able to even approach the town without being nearly killed. It’s not fair! I don’t deserve this; what have I done wrong!

The girl reaches up and touches her horns, and she lets out a sigh. No, that isn’t right; I have no memory. There’s no guarantee that I’m even remotely human. It doesn’t matter if I feel that I used to be human. I’m a demon now.

A formation of reptilian birds flies overhead in a V formation, causing the girl to look at the sky. It’ll be night soon, and I don’t know any magic. However, demons are supposed to cast spells without any incantations or magic circles. The girl reaches out her hand and closes her eyes. Her face twitches slightly, and her imagination soon settles on an image of a flickering flame dancing in the darkness. She feels the warm caress of the heat radiating on her skin. As she focuses on the mana flowing through her arms, she slowly opens her eyes. A tiny flame sits amidst her hand.

I did it! I can cast magic. Now all I need to do is make a torch. The girl approaches the fallen tree and, using her sword, chops off a mid-sized branch that’s still green. Taking the stick in her hand, she wraps the end in a piece of cloth that she used to bandage herself. She gives herself a small smile.

Now that the light situation is taken care of, I need to learn to use my wings. The girl reaches back and rubs her hand along her wing. Its rough, leathery surface brushes against her hand. Her wings slowly twitch into life. In a few moments, the girl flaps her wings. This isn’t too hard; it’s just like moving any other part of my body. The girl flaps her wings as hard as she can; the air pressure kicks away the gravel on the riverbank, but she remains grounded. The girl exhales quickly. I guess it’s not going to be that easy.

The girl racks her brain as she attempts to solve the secret of flight. I mean, it’s gotta be magic. The stories that she keeps in her mind describe the demons as many things, but she heard nothing about a demon flapping its wings hard. Now that she is thinking more carefully, the girl attempts to route the feeling of magic to her wings. She feels ever lighter. Upon looking down, she realizes that gravity lost its hold on her.

“This is amazing!”

For the first time since she woke up, the girl has a bright smile on her face. She flaps her wings and gains altitude, floating up into the sky. This view! I feel so free! As she feels more comfortable gets a little more creative with her wings. She does a twirl in the air, then does a quick dive. I’m a freaking demon! The girl swoops up just above the water and flies high up into the sky, bringing herself to a hover. Wow! The girl gazes at the sunset and breaks into an ecstatic grin. I guess things aren’t so bad if I can see the world like this.

[https://i.imgur.com/XZVUJCw.jpg]

As the girl floats above the sky, staring into the distant sunset, she loses altitude. Her slight decrease in altitude turns to freefall as her focus breaks, and she plummets to the ground. Wait, wait, wait! Noticing the predicament, the girl panics and flaps her wings, trying her absolute best to channel magic into them — she’s too late; although she decelerates enough to avoid getting hurt, she plunges into the creek.

The girl floats on her back in the creek as she breaks out in uncontrollable laughter; her smile beams as she relaxes a bit. She crawls up onto the riverbank. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could see this girl as a monster.

After she gets her laughter under control, the girl takes to the air once more, though this time for a more serious purpose. She soars over the trees, looking down, trying to find a real monster.