Practice

Dyani stood there for a moment, contemplating. Then without speaking, she nodded and looked in Soren's eyes trustingly. She wanted to fly. To experience flying like her bird friends had spoken of. And rather deeply, (not that she would ever admit it under torture) she wanted to trust someone. Especially someone that wasn't human. Someone like her. So she released his wing and stood, waiting for Soren.

It wasn't that she was frightened of Soren. Or of flying. Not even of any humans seeing them. It was the fear of letting herself like another being. Dyani had never particularly liked any humans, much less held any attraction for them. This boy with angel wings, however. She was attracted to him, and as she waited she realized it. The cold fear of loss and betrayal crept in again, but she pushed it down. It had been too long since she had trusted anyone. Might as well be someone that seemed to trust her.

Physical contact didn't really bother the Wendigo. It had the first twenty years or so, but humans were so touchy and affectionate with each other. She had become accustomed to their tendency to hug and casually swat her and other humans. "If it's anything like bird flight, I know it will be" Dyani replied, smiling and thinking about the bragging her feathered friends had done. Even though she wasn't scared, she put both hands on the arms around her front, just in case. He didn't seem like he would drop her, but holding on felt more secure.

If she ever retold this event, her version would include her eyes being open for actual takeoff. In reality, they were closed when she felt the gust of wind behind her, and then tightly shut when her feet were suddenly not on the ground. Solid land, and then abruptly and with almost no warning - weightlessness. Pure and utter flight, the word taking on a whole new meaning for her. Soren's wings had incredible lift, taking them past the trees. Not that she could see that until she opened her eyes, and her breath left her. It was indescribable, actually flying. Dyani hated airplanes like all manmade creations, so she hadn't ever come close to flying. Not that an airplane likely came close to this. Now she also know what the bird meant when they said that flying was like leaving yourself behind. It really was.

"It's breathtaking" Dyani managed, grinning like an idiot and holding tight to Soren's arms. There was officially nothing like fight. It was her new second-favorite thing, only surpassed by hunting. There was something detached about being up here, it made her feel like she was a little less lonely. Or alone. She liked it immensely, and was rather proud of herself for not running into the forest when she saw Soren.

"Yes, thank you so much for letting me see" she replied, leaning slightly to see down at the forest canopy. Each little thing was so much smaller from up here, like being God or being omnipresent. Like she could solve any problem with a wave of her hand. It was very different from being a predator on the land. Instead of replying to his comment on their altitude, she simply nodded vehemently.

They were off again, this time landing in a large tree. Dyani stood next to Soren, her right arm would behind his back and her left keeping her balanced on the branch. The smell of pine and animals returned, she hadn't noticed, but it was missing that high up. It smelled like home. "That was incredible! Thank you~" she said to Soren, her face flush with excitement and the air. She had a sudden compulsion to hug him, but she restrained it and settled for smiling widely and brushing her hair back from her face.

Dyani didn't have words for Soren's kindness, or his invitation to fly her another time. She simply stared at him, marveling. Why weren't humans like this? Were they broken? Sudden acceptance after literally hundreds of years of emotional isolation was jarring to say the least. As they landed, she was pondering all the new emotions she was feeling. Especially the last one, the one that could barely be described as an emotion. It was so deep and forgotten it hurt to try to name. She dismissed it for now.

"Thank you, Soren. That was amazing" she replied to his thanks, blushing and looking down. So odd, not having to pretend to like someone. Just as Dyani was thinking about this, she glanced back up to see Soren plucking a feather from his wing. Her face flickered with concern. "Doesn't that hurt you?" she asked, the concern still shining as the feather was placed in her soft brown hair. Oh, if she only knew how cute her human form was at that moment. Bewildered and concerned and with a single angel feather in her hair. She looked up at Soren and tucked the feather more securely. The feeling of him looking at her human form hurt, and it took a moment for her to think why.

"This isn't how I really look... I'm not human" Dyani said, suddenly muttering in the direction of the ground and ashamed. Well, here it goes. Hopefully she wouldn't have to find a new home. She changed, into the form she was more comfortable in. Her Wendigo form. Humiliated, she looked adamantly at the soil and waited for Soren's reaction. Her human clothes rested on the new frame, fitting more loosely but still well.

As her chin lifted, Soren could see Dyani's eyes were full of fear and confusion. Then slowly, gently confusion. As he spoke, the confusion was clouded out by something else. There seemed to be a million things running around her head at once, chasing each other and making it impossible for her to think. She knew if she bolted now, she would run until her feet bled. This was as close to home and... closeness since her family. So very long ago. Soren gently laid his forehead on hers, and she tried to read mockery or insincerity in his eyes. She saw none, and being as old as she was she was a rather good judge of character.

The half-angel embraced her, hiding her from the world as he spoke. Something in her chest was aching, demanding to be addressed. Dyani settled for wrapping her slender arms around Soren, careful not to poke him with her antlers. Her eyes had been closed for some time now in his arms, and she hadn't even noticed. This, she decided, was nice. Safe. The Wendigo decided to trust another living thing with her own trust, something she had not done since the slaughter of her brothers and sisters. It was like jumping off a cliff. Or... flying. "I thought I would be alone forever" she settled on, since nothing else mentally sounded even close to how she felt. Like coming home after a couple of hundred years away.