The Apries Lake had countless tiny coves and coastal glades guarded by reeds, as if created exclusively to conceal some mysteries. It even had one small island, where the littoral turquoise of the shoal shifted into crystalline sapphire further towards the depths. The shores were mostly sandy, but here and there one could find some gravel that creaked under the boots as if it was covered in a thin layer of ice. Only the northern end of the lake, where Yesta flowed into it on her long journey, had a marshy bed, rugged like a bird's feathers. The vicinity was tranquil, the world seemed to weigh less in this place...

It was at one of those secluded spots, far away from the gazes of unnecessary onlookers, where all three of us shared our knowledge about the use of our wings: me and Siaril from our observations during the last few days, Yasenka from the knowledge about dragon anatomy and mechanics of flight she found in the Dracascarion.

"Now..." the illathan glanced at the tome again after finishing describing every single part of my wing. She gave each a complicated name that I didn't bother to remember. "About how it's possible to stay up there in the first place," her finger brushed a few lines of text rather rapidly before stopping. "Simply put, it's about the difference of air pressure."

"Difference?" my brain was slowly starting to reach the daily limit of assimilation. The sun was making me lazy, and the pine forest overgrowing the shores closing around the small bay invited to take a break.

She nodded. "Between the air above and below the wing."

"How does that work?"

"It's because of the shape. It's convex, right?"

I unfolded my left wing. It wasn't that obvious when it was stretched all the way out, but it really was convex, which probably became even more evident when the wind filled it. "Yeah?"

"This causes the air to flow at different speeds above and below the wing. That's what creates the lifting force."

"That's all it takes?"

"Well, there are a few more things I suppose... I'd know more if I had that jay still at my disposal to send a message to the Silivren Forest and ask about the runes I'm not familiar with," Yasenka shot me a glance that was something between annoyed and amused.

"Oh come on, I just thought it was too cruel to make dinner out of something so small," I whined in protest.

"Is that really how you see my race? Honestly, just because we live in the wild doesn't mean we eat everything that crosses our path."

"But can't you talk to animals?"

"Oh, you noticed?"

"Yeah, is that normal?"

"Maybe not normal, but some of us can do it. We inherited it from the elves, but a few mages can do that too."

"So why did you need to keep that jay in a cage?"

Yasenka giggled at my attempts to justify my actions. "Just because I can talk to them doesn't mean they all trust me by default. It's like with people. You come to a new place where no one knows you, and you have to get to know everyone to start building up trust, right?"

"Ooh..."

"Anyway, back to what we were talking about..."

"Please don't," I didn't let her. "Are we even going to be able to use what is written there while in the air? I mean, shouldn't we rely on our instinct while we do our best to not fall to our deaths, rather than try to remember what actually causes us to stay up there?"

The illathan crossed her arms, giving me a contemplative smile. "Yes and no, I suppose. You really should rely on instinct, but sometimes adequate knowledge can save your behind when you don't know why something's going south."

"I'd rather learn how to use that fire to be honest..." I mumbled like a spoiled kid.

"I'd be interested in that too," Siaril broke his silence. "It was so fascinating to see you summon it..."

"Wait," I gave him confused look. "I thought you already knew how to use it."

Siaril raised an eyebrow at me. "Why in the world would you think that?"

"You lighted a campfire for me and Elithia. Big and beautiful, in the snowy mountains, during a blizzard."

"That was just some dry wood from the cave, fire steel and tinder by a wall that protected it from wind."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

He said that with such a straight face that I had to chuckle.

"Fine," Yasenka cut in, an amused smile on her face. "I think it's enough theory. Let's see how that instinct of yours works."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think? To the roof with you."

"To the... wait, you can't be serious!"

~

She was.

I squinted, looking up at the bright sky. I had to hold my wings tight to my body, so the fickle wind coming from the lake wouldn't lift me up from the mansion's top. I wasn't sure if I was more terrified or more excited. But it was a bit too late to declare any doubts now. The fresh smell of young littoral greenery reached even up here, the terns flying almost close enough to touch, the clouds seeming closer than usual...

I glanced down. Three figures stood by the shore to my right. The golden-brown hair of one of them waved beautifully in the fresh breeze. She looked calm and perfectly confident in our safety. Wish I had that. The other's eyes, this chestnut shade so vivid that I could almost see it from up here, watched us with deep concern. The third sat a little behind, lazily swiping the grass with the lush, silvery-black tail. The latter two must have been wondering whose idea it was to let us just jump from the roof of a three storey mage mansion. A fairly tall one at that...

I felt like I didn't want them to watch. Not that I was very afraid of the potential disaster that could occur in a few minutes. From this altitude, we could use our wings to land in the water relatively safely even if not everything would go as we predicted, and Yasenka made sure to ask us if we can swim. I was more afraid of the meaning of this action. It was a step after which there would be no turning back. If I somehow made it... that would mean accepting these wings and what they meant. Accepting what made me different... What made me a descendant of a race that mine once eradicated...

"Ready?" Siaril's voice made me jump a little.

I turned to look at him again, though as usual my eyes were drawn to his wings more than to his face. I had to admit I was still a little jealous... both of their appearance and the fact that he could make them disappear at will. But at the same time it seemed to me like they would suit no one better than him.

I forced my brain back into the moment. "Yeah... I think so."

"Do you want to try first, or should I?"

"What difference does it make?" I tried to cover my nervousness with jokes. "I'll either go up or down, the jumping order won't change anything..."

"Do you remember everything we talked about?" he asked when I carefully approached the roof's edge.

"Not really," I wasn't sure myself if I meant that seriously or not. I took a moment to watch the bright surface of the lake beneath. It looked like half of the heavens toppled over to the ground. "What if it doesn't work...?"

"It has to work. You just need to keep one thing in mind and everything will be fine."

I glanced at him, curious. "What thing?"

Siaril looked me in the eyes. "The greatest obstacle in life and in the air are doubts. So if your heart keeps the faith... the wind will always be your ally."

Something about those words started to melt the unpleasant chill in my chest... no, it was something about his eyes when he said it. He cared... even if he wouldn't admit it, he wanted this to work for both our sakes, and he would accept whatever it meant...

I felt my face brighten up with a smile, probably the most genuine one since we both set off on this journey. I turned to fully face the lake.

With one long exhale, I instantly cleared my mind of everything I deemed unnecessary. I wanted to do this quickly enough to not allow myself to even think much. I bent my knees a little, feeling a strange but pleasant tingling running down my spine, took one last breath and leaped forward, trying to put as much effort as I could into my legs before the wings took over...

I spread them...

... and suddenly the wind caught me mid-jump, took me with it as if it was waiting for this moment for centuries, smooth and easy like a water current takes a sailboat. The shiver that originated from just below my shoulder blades now spread across my entire body. I felt every touch, the wings suddenly seeming more sensitive than my fingertips have ever been... I felt everything. Each shift, every variation, every change of direction, and suddenly everything started to make sense...

Seeing the other end of the lake approaching, I lifted the outer edges, spreading them almost all the way out and struck my wings in a not too sharp downward angle. They caught the air just like Yasenka told me they would, and I sensed myself being lifted even higher. The lake slowly became smaller and smaller and I felt an irresistible urge to raise my gaze to what the water reflected. There was a vast azure high above, an endless, open expansion of clear air and... of freedom...

Why was I afraid of it before...?

A bright, enthusiastic cheer reached my ears despite the loud singing of wind in my ears. I carefully plunged my right wing into the warm current of air, the shifting angle changing my direction as it progressed. I didn't even need to think much. It was as if a new instinct was born the moment I leaped from the mansion's roof, and was already fully developed when I reached the opposite side of the lake. It felt so right I thought I was doing it my whole life...

Coming out of my turn, I spread both wings almost to their maximum and let myself be carried back towards the residence. I saw Yasenka hopping with joy near the shore, her hair flickering like dark-gold flames in the warm sun. Her last hop was directed towards Light, and she swung her arms around his neck, passing the excess enthusiasm over to our dumbstruck host. Only Sivath seemed perfectly calm, clearly not understanding the need for this whole commotion and just moved his tail left and right, making up for the unawareness with a good image.

I abruptly raised my wings against the air current and came to a stop in midair not far away from the smaller part of the mansion. I started to beat them again to stay in place. Siaril was already standing at the edge of the roof, watching me attentively. I waved to encourage him.

The small group below froze for a moment when Siaril's wings glimmered in the sun. The next second he soared right above my head and my delighted cheer joined Yasenka's.

When my companion turned and came back the same way I did earlier, I noticed something in his face, something I've never seen before. There was a delicate ripple in his eyes, a change almost unnoticeable, but impossible to confuse with anything else.

A tiny flash miraculously close to being a true, lively smile.

I suddenly felt my soul and heart ready to fly as well. And when Siaril playfully dived underneath me in the direction of Yasenka and Light, as if urging me to give chase, I followed without a second thought.