Sound descending, not falling

Apollo felt a little embarrassed. It wasn’t that he was in a rush to end the experience- far from it, he wished that it could last forever. He was having the time of his life, and he was truly enjoying Echo’s company, as Echo seemed to be enjoying his. In truth, Apollo felt it was safe to say that he hadn’t really enjoyed many people’s company in a long while—so this moment was quite the pleasant change of pace.

It was just his own paranoia getting to him. He didn’t want to worry the people in charge on the boat with his disappearance; God forbid, they may have already declared him missing. Even worse, he feared he might make a bad first impression on any Academy staff or students he would encounter by showing up too late—or too early, for that matter. All of these thoughts were creeping up on him at once, threatening to shatter his moment of bliss.

He gave a sigh, and with it attempted, though a bit unsuccessfully, to expel his anxieties from his mind. He allowed the smirk to come back to his face, and a glint of mischief to light up his blind eyes, as he got an idea for a new bit of fun.

Five minutes, huh?

Just how fast could they get to the island?

“Now that you mention it,” he considered, “I was wondering what it would feel like to reeeeeeeeally pick up speed…” His smirk grew wider. “Would you be willing to show me?”

Perhaps Apollo should have been just a little more worried by the fact that he was allowing himself to be Echo’s guinea pig for flight speeds. As he listened to the angel deliberate, he felt a small tugging on the back of his mind, a little voice telling him that this is probably not a good idea. But ever since that near-fatal fall he had survived not too long before, Apollo had begun to feel different. More confident. Certainly much more confident in Echo’s capabilities than he had been when they first started. Despite Echo’s reassurances that this was brand new territory for him…

Besides, he reasoned with himself. While Echo may have seemed a bit uncertain about this course of action, it also seemed as if it had a definite plan. After all, if it was putting this much thought and calculation into a simple increase in speed, then surely the angel knew exactly what it was doing.

What could possibly go wrong?

The angel’s lack of experience with the limits of traveling with humans (and his continued warnings of this fact to Apollo) could not shake the strong faith the boy had in it. With a grin on his face, Apollo just shrugged as Echo considered which length of time to aim for. “Whatever time you feel,” he said, placing everything into Echo’s ‘capable’ hands. “I’m ready when you are!”

Echo had taken a few moments to himself, and Apollo waited in silence, wondering if the angel might still be worrying or running even more calculations—or, perhaps, praying. Did angels pray to God the same way humans did? He’d have to ask Echo about that someday, but before he could really consider the matter, he felt himself being readjusted, so that Echo now held him by the shoulders. This was a significantly more comfortable position, while still providing Apollo with what he felt was a sufficient safety net. He let out a deep sigh. Here we go.

And they were off. In retrospect, Apollo thought it felt like what roller coasters must feel like to those who had the privilege of experiencing them. He'd always wondered what that was like, having never been taken to an amusement park himself- and now it seemed he had sufficient evidence to understand why people enjoyed going on them so much.

However, in the moment, he was not nearly as contemplative, but instead had burst into a fit of giddy laughter. His mind was completely empty, save for the return of that indescribable rush as they zoomed through the air, this time in a much safer manner than the last, but still at an exhilarating enough speed. He let out a cheer as the hair blew back from his face and the cold air whipped around his cheeks. Closing his eyes and clearing his mind, he focused on feeling as much as possible, taking in every sensation as they soared above the water.

Three and a half minutes passed by like no time at all, and before he knew it, Apollo found the sound of the sea fading from his ears. He cocked his head, opening his eyes once more as the wind died down. “Have we made it?” he asked, as if awaking from a dream.

Apollo felt them slowing down as they made their descent, grinning softly as Echo mentioned they were above the beach. The beach. Now that was something very familiar to him. He started to think back to the warm summer days he would spend with his parents, lying out on a towel, letting the sun’s rays wash over him, with the ocean breeze blowing across his skin, the feel of the sand moving between his fingers and toes, the smell of the sea, the sound of the crashing waves against the shore... He missed those days. He missed those feelings. Just the thought of being on the beach again- a place that seemed so normal, so serene- filled his heart with warmth.

He turned his head back once more to Echo, showing the angel his smile. “It was absolutely thrilling,” he told him, trying to convey as much of his appreciation as possible through his expression. “And hey, what a way to arrive, right?!” He laughed, looking down for a moment, thinking. “Um….maybe we should land? I think I’d like to feel the ground beneath me again, for a little while.” He also felt kind of guilty- he didn’t know how much weight the angel could sustain over such a long period of time, and he didn’t want to be a literal burden for it. Echo should rest, he thought, after doing so much for him. And besides, he wasn’t lying- he was itching to feel the sand between his toes once more…

“It’d be nice to just take a break and relax for a bit, don’t you think?” he asked, partly to get some kind of clue as to whether or not Echo was tired- or could even get tired, for that matter. Apollo really had no knowledge of angels to speak of- no knowledge of any supernatural creature, for that matter. Perhaps he should see if there’s a class he could take on them; after all, he may have to know these things at a school like Starlight Academy…

“Perhaps we can even explore a little bit.” The thought occurred to him as he tried to imagine what might be below them- surely it couldn’t just be all beach! There had to be something interesting to experience in the immediate vicinity, right? And if there was, Echo could help him find it. It’d probably even be enjoyable for Echo too, he thought, taking stock of the island for a while, allowing its curiosity to run wild. Plus, they definitely had some time to kill before the boat with the rest of the incoming students caught up with them (any thought of perhaps getting back on said boat having completely fled from Apollo’s mind…).

“So! What do ya say? Sound good?

Apollo was a tiny bit startled when his shoes touched down upon the sand. He wobbled ever so slightly as he attempted to regain his bearings, but did not fall, holding his arms out to keep himself balanced. Slowly, without saying anything, he took off his shoes and socks, placing them down in the sand next to his feet. He took a few steps forward, away from Echo’s voice, towards the sound of the sea itself. He kept walking, ignoring Echo’s query for the time being, taking very small and carefully placed steps forward until he could feel the ocean waves lick the tips of his toes. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath of the salt filled air, letting it out gradually. This feels nice, he thought. This feels really really nice.

After a moment, he turned back in the direction from where he had heard Echo’s voice- which was now, he noted, very definitively one voice, and not multiplied as it was before, though he still couldn’t place its gender. He smiled sheepishly, slightly embarrassed for letting his subconscious emotions get away from him for a moment, and looked down towards his feet. “U-um, sorry,” he stammered, his cheeks flushing pink. “I-if you wouldn’t mind…yeah, I’d really appreciate your help getting around. Thank you,” he added, taking a few small steps back, though unknowingly drifting slightly to the left of where the angel was standing.

"S-So, uh...you want to lead the way? What's worth exploring nearby?"