65. Practice Makes Progress
Aster’s unrestrained laughter was almost loud enough to drown out Olzu’s shrieks. Almost. At this point the demon was fully upside down and looked 10 seconds away from puking. He was also much too high up for Isaac to reach. He scowled at Aster, but the fey was too preoccupied with her own amusement to be of any help.
Sighing, Isaac scanned his surroundings. The streets of Solonell City were always oddly clean and free of debris—it was ironically one of the things that made it most different from Chrowall—but one of the nearby buildings was an old, worn down shack that was half in ruins. It stuck out like a sore thumb beside its neighbors, which both had much more modern architecture and were decidedly not in pieces. Hurrying over, Isaac ducked under the door frame to find the interior of the area simultaneously both more and less destroyed than he’d expected.
On the left side, the shack actually looked pretty usable. The wooden walls were old but intact, and there was still a small table and chair left standing under a thick layer of dust. There was even a couch and a bed. The other half, meanwhile, was a complete wreck of broken pieces. Everything on that side had been reduced to its fundamental building components, their former states unrecognizable.
Isaac quickly searched the pile and grabbed a long wooden plank that was mostly intact, then hurried back outside to the “square,” where the pillar of silver light and Olzu’s flailing form were still visible. Stepping up to just outside the magic circle, he could feel the repulsion force from where he stood. It wasn’t very strong outside the designated bounds of magic, but he felt distinctly like he was being pushed away from the ground.
After double checking that the end of the plank wasn’t sharp, he raised his arm, passing the plank through the borders of the light. Immediately he nearly let go of the plank as it was yanked upwards with significantly more force than he’d expected. He grit his teeth and kept his grip tight, though, and used the end of the stick to nudge at Olzu. In the bounds of the magic circle, it felt as easy as flipping someone around underwater, and two good shoves were more than enough to get the demon right side up again.
Olzu made a noise that sounded like a squawk, but Isaac was too busy yanking the plank back out of the circle to think too hard about it. He set the wooden piece down and rubbed at his arm, which already felt sore from just the strain of keeping the plank from flying upwards. Cake decorating was going to be annoying later. He sighed.
“You good now?”
Olzu mumbled something that Isaac assumed was a thank you, so he said, “You’re welcome” and shot a glare at Aster for all the help she’d been. The fey didn’t look remotely remorseful, and Isaac just shook his head and turned back to peer up at Olzu.
“How’s the flying going?” he asked. The demon scrunched his face.
“I’m doing great!” he yelled back. Aster snorted.
“He can’t even control directions yet, and I seriously doubt he could get off the ground with those scrawny things.” She gestured at his wings, which, now that Isaac focused on them, seemed to be moving more smoothly than before.
Isaac frowned. “Is the flying competition in a straight line?”
Olzu nodded, glaring at Aster. “Yes! So turning is of no concern!”
“It’s a basic foundation of flying you—“
“Okay okay, cut it out.” Isaac turned around to glance at Rosalinde, who’d remained off to the side, palm still glowing as she watched the interaction. “Can you lower the, uh, repulsion force on this thing? Without the whole thing going away?” He gestured vaguely at the magic circle, and the woman hummed in thought.
“I believe so, yes.”
Isaac nodded and turned back to Olzu. “Okay, your wings look smoother to me, so maybe we can try lowering the magic and seeing if you can keep the same height in the air. That fine with you?”
Olzu visibly swallowed, but he nodded. Aster raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and watching with blatant amused interest. Rosalinde stepped closer, palm raised, and after Olzu had braced himself, Isaac gave the woman a thumbs up. She closed her eyes, and the silver light emanating from the magic circle grew ever so slightly fainter.
Olzu’s wings visibly began shaking more, though it seemed to be more out of fear than anything. “Just keep doing the same thing!” Isaac called out. He wasn’t sure if the demon heard him—the imp-like creature seemed to be using most of his focus on not looking at the ground—but while there was a slight wavering, he otherwise stayed at the same height.
Rosalinde had been watching with keen eyes, and without needing to be prompted, she raised her palm again, and the light dimmed even further. This time Isaac could see the strain as Olzu flapped his wings faster, but he didn’t fall. “You’re, uh, you’re doing great,” he said. He cringed at how awkward the words sounded out loud, but he didn’t have much reference when it came to encouragement that wasn’t patronizing or overly pitying, so it was the best he could do.
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This time they waited several minutes before Olzu looked slightly less tense while flying, during which Aster had begun tapping her finger against her arm in impatience. Isaac ignored her, and he glanced back at Rosalinde. She nodded in understanding and took a slow breath. As she exhaled, the light further dimmed until the silver glow was barely discernible against the red sky.
This time, Olzu dropped downwards, and Isaac instinctively stepped forward, but Rosalinde’s magic prevented him from hitting the ground. Instead, he ended up falling down about 5 or so feet. Isaac heaved a sigh, shoulders relaxing, and his own relief was matched by the demon, who looked over at Rosalinde with a look of such gratitude that Isaac was pretty sure the demon would’ve started bowing right then and there if he wasn’t still suspended in the air. Rosalinde just smiled pleasantly.
“Okay,” Isaac said. “That was definitely progress.”
At first Olzu looked bewildered, but he quickly wiped the expression off his face and attempted to puff out his chest, which didn’t really work midair while flying. “Of course! I’m a quick study!” the demon boasted, though he couldn’t fully hide the lingering tremor in his voice. Isaac raised an eyebrow, silently amused at the demon’s attempted bravado.
“Well, anyway, it looks like this might be the best method for practicing.”
Aster muttered something under her breath about turning skills, which Isaac promptly ignored. He didn’t disagree with her, in fact he very much agreed that not being able to turn was a problem, but they didn’t have the time to worry about that right now. He kept his eyes focused on Olzu, who still looked a bit nervous, but his shoulders weren’t as hunched as they had been at the start. If he could gain some genuine confidence, that’d probably help a lot, Isaac thought.
He shook his head. Well, they only had until the next day, so they’d better keep it up.
—
It was difficult to tell how much time had passed, given Solonell City’s unchanging red sky and lack of a sun or any other astrological object. He knew it must’ve been fairly late, given how exhausted he felt. His voice was hoarse from all the talking, and Aster’s grass hair no longer stood up quite so straight. Olzu, meanwhile, was visibly fighting sleep. His head kept drooping forward in exhaustion, and his wing flaps were weaker and slower, visibly strained as he forced himself to continue practicing.
“We should rest,” Rosalinde said. She, at least, looked as calm and unruffled as ever, though Isaac couldn’t tell if that was actually the case or if she was just really, really good at pretending. Considering she’d been using magic nonstop, he was leaning more towards the latter. “It’s night now,” the woman continued.
Isaac frowned and squinted up at the sky. It looked the exact same to him. Aster looked equally baffled, but Olzu took it in stride, though the demon was half-asleep at that point, so he might not have even understood what she was saying.
Rosalinde carefully lowered her palm, and the silver glow died out as she did so. Olzu slowly drifted towards the ground as the magic circle faded until the demon’s legs finally touched the earth. He stumbled a bit, but managed to stay on his feet. Rosalinde turned to face the whole group. “You may all stay at my home for the night, if you’d like. We can continue in the morning.”
Aster let out a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes. “Nah, I’m done. I’m heading back to the Woodlands. I got shit to practice for too.” She glanced at Olzu, and her exhaustion temporarily vanished as she smirked. “Don’t fuck up, tiny demon.”
That, at least, seemed to reignite some leftover energy, and the demon yelled at the laughing fey as she turned and made her way to the subway station, soon vanishing from view.
“What about you? Are you staying?” Rosalinde asked. Isaac frowned.
“I mean, I guess? I wouldn’t want to bother you, though. That shack’s abandoned. I don’t mind staying there for the night.” He gestured at the worn down building in question.
“I can stay there too!” Olzu said, doing his damnedest to maintain his usual volume but failing rather miserably. Rosalinde hummed in acknowledgement.
“Alright. Please let me know if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll see the two of you in the morning.” She nodded her head, somehow managing to make the simple movement carry the grace and elegance of a full curtsey. “Have a good rest.”
Olzu blushed (might as well call it what it was), and he nodded vigorously. “You too!” he squeaked out. Isaac snorted.
“Thanks again,” he said. “See you in the morning.”
With a final smile, the woman turned and headed down the twisting streets, shoes clinking lightly against the ground as she walked. Once she was gone from view, Isaac gestured for Olzu to follow, and the two ducked into the shack.
It was exactly the same as it had been since he’d last stepped inside, and Isaac tossed the wooden plank he’d taken back into the pile. He paused, frowning at the layer of dust, and picked the plank back up, using it to roughly shove the grime off the furniture before he put it back down again. The motion kicked up a cloud of dust that made him and Olzu cough, but it beat sleeping on the stuff. He wiped his hands off on his pants and nodded at the demon.
“I can take the couch,” he said. He didn’t leave the demon any room to argue as he strode over to the piece of furniture in question and sat down immediately. It made a creaking noise as he did so, but the cushions, even in their old and worn state, were honestly softer and more comfortable than the dingy couch from his childhood memories, the one his parents always collapsed onto when they got home.
Olzu looked hesitant at first, but after Isaac sat down, he gave the man a grateful look and scampered over to the bed, leaping onto it and stepping around the mattress in circles before finally settling down. It reminded Isaac of a cat, he thought amusedly.
The rundown shack was soon filled with the sounds of Olzu’s snores, which were about as loud as Isaac had expected. He frowned and adjusted his position on the couch. This was the first time he’d really “spent the night” in the Underside, now that he thought about it. He’d been around during various nighttimes (especially in the Woodlands), but he’d never properly slept while inside the collection of realms. It had never felt right to.
It was disconcerting to him, that despite the obviously different surroundings, when he closed his eyes he could easily imagine that he was back in Chrowall City, lying down on his rigid bed. He frowned and shifted again.
Slowly but surely, Isaac felt his consciousness begin to slip. Finally, after what felt like hours, he fell asleep.