The light glows brighter around me and with another falling sensation, I land with a slight jolt on the ground. It’s harder without my wings. I didn't even realize I used them when I landed on Earth. I look over as Trigger kneels and places his hand on the soil, focusing on something. There’s something a lot like grass around us, but it’s far bluer than grass I’ve seen on earth. The trees seem to be more normal, although they too have a bluish tinge to them. I don’t see anything besides tall, tall trees, soil, and the grass-like plants around us. It’s slightly dark under the trees, and I can’t see the sun. Twila is looking around excitedly.

“It’s been so long since I got to jump! Do you know how long I was in that book while you didn’t know about your abilities?” She says, and the sound has a slight echo before being swallowed up by the forest. I glance down at myself and change my clothes with a thought to a long-sleeved shirt. I’m not uncomfortable, but it just seems right. I can tell it’s cooler here than it was on Earth, even if my new body doesn't care. Trigger seems to refocus, and stands up,

“Well, we seem to be the only sentient life on the planet.” He says, then adjusts his clothes to be camouflage, well-fitting, but not restrictive. I grin slightly.

“You have a morphing belt too?” I ask.

“I do, very useful it seems.” Trigger says.

I look around. “So, if we’re the only sentient life, can I use my true form?” I ask.

“Don’t see why not.” He says, glancing over me. I smile and let my body shift back to its new true form. My wings stretch and flap once, then settle at my back again. It feels good, like stretching after waking up. My halo glows a little too bright in the dark forest, and I focus on making it dimmer for a second.

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Trigger smiles at seeing my true form.

“It suits you well,” he states, before crouching, a change comes over his body, now seeming to move faster. Exploding upwards in a powerful leap, he flies up and surveys the forest, then drops back to land next to us. “Mostly forested here, but there’s a lake a few miles that way,” he points.

I was blushing, focused on his compliment, and it takes a few moments before I realize what he said. I nod.

“Should we head that way?” I ask.

“Might as well, not that we need the water, but that it’ll be a convenient location to build and train.”

I nod, then look at Twila. “Umm, you might want to demorph for this? Are we planning on flying? Pretty please.”

“We can fly, it’ll be only a few minutes, even at running speeds.

I smile. “Yay.” I cheer happily. “I’ll summon you again when we’re there,” I suggest to Twila. She nods, sighing, then vanishes.

Trigger smiles then floats upwards above the treetops.

I unfurl my wings and beat them twice to catch up. I always wanted to fly, and I’m excited to be able to. When I get above the trees, the sunshine hits me and I grin widely. This is everything I dreamed it would be. I glance down at myself and just for fun change my outfit to a sparkling gossamer floaty fabric. I feel amazing! I almost let out a cry of happiness before I catch Trigger looking at me. I smile sheepishly, ducking my head. Oops. I forgot I had a companion up here. He smiles at me, and then winces as if in pain. I tilt my head.

“Are you ok?” I ask, then remember. Vampires and sunshine don’t go well together.

“I’ll be fine, just slower than what I’m used to, I at least have enhanced speed in this form, so I can counterbalance it.” He calls above the wind. I nod, then let myself just enjoy flying for another minute before Trigger slows down.

“Here.” He says, gesturing at the open body of water underneath us. He then seems to stop flying and plummets into the clear lake. I blink at that, then descend slower than he did, landing near the shore. The water looks fine, and I’m sure my new body could handle it, but I have no desire to rush into strange lakes. I sit cross-legged and fold my wings against my back, waiting for him to come up, still exhilarated from the flight.