Belonging to the Sky: Part Three

      "Spirituss?" I gasped. The friendly Draik from the night before had transformed into a fierce, fiery dragon, her silver claws gleaming in the golden dawn light and her turquoise eyes flashing with defensiveness.

      "I think you should leave," she growled in a terrifyingly calm tone. "Or I'll make you."

      With squeaks of alarm, the three pets pelted away like spooked Altachucks and vanished as they bounded down the rocky slope of the mountain. I myself was terrified as I stood, shaking in the Draik's shadow.

      "Friends of yours?" I turned as Spirituss jumped off the stone and snorted soot from her muzzle.

      I shook my head. "N-Not even close. Th-Thanks," I muttered, still shocked by the Draik's temper.

      "Don't worry, I wasn't gonna hurt them- or you for that matter- but I can tell when it's an unfair fight and I couldn't let that happen," she explained calmly before stretching her jaws in a huge yawn, revealing long, sharp fangs. I nodded as she slipped her backpack off and noticed that it was considerably more full then last time.

      "What have you been doing?" I asked curiously, my fear clearing away like a fog chased by the morning sun. She began pulling out strange objects from her bag and laying them out on the stone in front of me.

      "You said... you wanted to fly... Right?" she asked, pausing every now and then as she shoved her muzzle into the bag to drag out long metal rods.

      "Yeah..." What was she planning?

      "The best way to do that..." She pulled out a small booklet with her jaws and dropped it on the ground and a grin spread across her muzzle. "Is with wings!"

      I looked at the title of the booklet and my jaw fell open as I read the title that was on the cover in large, bold, blue print:

      'HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE WINGS; The key to flight for flightless pets~'

      "We're going to MAKE wings?" I murmured in disbelief. It was one thing to buy a set of wings and attempt to use them but making them yourself might involve several trips to the Neohospital!

      "Yep! And I'm gonna teach you how to use them."

      "Spirituss, you're insane!" I couldn't believe what she was suggesting!

      "Yeah, you're right, I probably am but please call me Spirit." She rolled her eyes before picking up one of the metal rods and examining it closer.

      My gaze racked over the objects she'd laid out; four metal rods, a bag of curtain rings, some blankets, a harness from who knows where and scissors.

      "Well, come on, we don't have all day! Well, we do... But I'd rather it didn't take that long; I have somewhere to go." Spirit explained and I nodded, too distracted to ask where she was going and she did seem to care anyway.

      We spent a few hours putting together the homemade wings, attaching the blankets to the metal rods with curtain rings and attaching them to the harness. When we finally finished our creation, it looked like more homemade version of Homemade Lavender Faerie Wings and I let a little flicker of hope spark in my heart.

      "Done! Phew! Like it?" Spirit asked with satisfaction. The wings weren't much to look at but the idea of flying made them beautiful in my eyes. As long as they worked, it didn't matter what they looked like.

      "No, I love them!" I chirped with pride and the midnight blue Draik gestured with her tail for me to try them on.

      Slipping one arm in, and then the other, I felt excitement boil beneath my pelt and I did up the strap to secure it.

      "How do they work?" I asked excitedly, rolling my shoulders to make them flap, throwing up small dust clouds from the ground as I did. Spirit grinned and stepped back a pace to give me room.

      "First, let's try from that outcrop. Get on top of it then jump off and flap the wings," she instructed, nodding towards the small stone outcrop behind us.

      I obediently scrambled to the top of the stone, almost losing my balance with the extra weight on my back. Hesitantly, I jumped off and flapped the wings just a heartbeat too late and slammed into the ground. I staggered to my paws and glanced embarrassedly at Spirit but she was nodding encouragingly.

      "Just keep trying until you land softly," she explained and I nodded. I was getting used to the wings quickly and every time I landed softer than the last, Skyheart would screech triumphantly and Spirit would give me the thumbs up. Eventually, I was actually able to glide a few meters forward before landing gracefully on my paws.

      "Very good! Now let's try launching. Watch me carefully," Spirit instructed and I sat down beside a stone that Skyheart was perched on as the Draik crouched lower, as she was already on all fours, tensing her muscles and spreading her broad wings. Her tail was straight out behind her but tilted up slightly and her muzzle was pointed towards the bright blue sky. Without warning, she pushed off with her paws, lashed her tail down when she was in mid-air and flapped her wings, throwing up huge clouds of dust, before getting high enough to let her wings go still and she glided back down to the ground.

      "Ok, now you try," she encouraged, sitting on Skyheart's other side. I padded over to the clear stretch of stone where Spirit had launched into the air and crouched down like she had. I began shaking nervously. I stretched out the homemade wings, pointed my nose to the sky before pushing up off the ground and flapping the wings. Suddenly realising that my tail was to one side, I didn't go very far before I veered to the left and crashed to the ground. My white paws stained with dust, I stood up and snorted a cloud of dust from my nostrils, swiping the dirt from my muzzle in frustration.

      "Close. Remember, keep your tail out behind you to balance yourself and keep it above the ground so it doesn't snag on anything because that can end really badly; trust me, I know!" Spirit explained and I nodded before trying again.

      I tried over and over and got closer and closer to the sky every time and by the time I perfected the launch, the sun was starting to sink steadily towards the horizon, setting the rocks ablaze with fiery sunset light.

      "Yes! You've got it!" Spirit finally cheered triumphantly as I took my final launch and managed to actually fly in the air for as long as I wanted. With a screech of joy, Skyheart launched into the air and joined me. It was amazing to feel the air beneath my paws and the wind rushing through my fur and the ability to go higher and higher into the sky that I'd longed for as long as I could remember was a feeling I could not describe. I was free.

      I landed gently in front of the blue Draik with a grin across my muzzle. She smiled before putting her backpack on her back and I realised that she was leaving.

      "Thanks so much, Spirit!" I thanked her and she smiled warmly.

      "No worries, buddy. Hey, one day, I'm sure we'll meet again," she said in a light tone and I nodded. "Have a great day!" she called before spreading her wings and jetting into the twilight sky.

      "Bye! Thanks again!" I called out as she disappeared into the depths of a cloud far above.

      Night was sweeping over Tyrannia like the shadow of an Eyrie's wing and shimmering silver stars were beginning to burst out of the darkness, shy in the presence of the proud moon that hung like a silver dewdrop in the night sky. The Lightmites were swarming around me in pretty, glowing formations as they spiralled into the sky. I no longer felt a thorn of envy in my pelt but wonder as I crouched low, my wings spread and I sprang into the deep, crisp night sky, Skyheart launching after me with a joyful yowl.

      My heart was higher than the stars above as I flew through the air, my scarf whipping around my mane and the wind whirling under my new wings, pushing me higher and higher into the sky. Thanks to Spirit I had a place where I belonged and even a name; Fang, which sounded much better in my ears than Hissi, 'glitch' or 33 and one day, who knows when, I knew I would meet her again. As the moonlight rippled along my pelt with shimmering silver light and a Lightmite flitted around my muzzle playfully, happily, I knew the sky was where my heart belonged, and where I would always belong~

The End

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