Those Who Fly

Chapter 4: Aspiring Angel

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Hey, Ember, we have to go to dinner."

"Food? Awesome! I need food! Wait, hold on, let me just finish— damn it! Ugh, why do the bosses always have to kill in one hit? I need to evolve my dragon rider!"

Evangeline smirked. "Enjoying AstralNet, huh?"

"OMG, are you playing SkyLegend II: Ascension? I love that game!" Violet cried.

AstralNet was awesome. There was an app called Flyby that was a flight simulator— you tilted the phone to turn left, right, up, and down, and tapping the screen flapped your wings. It was very realistic, and there were so many cool areas to explore and stuff to collect, with pretty music. Just my kind of thing. I'd already been playing SkyLegend II: Ascension before coming to Caelum, but signing in on AstralNet had given me access to new characters and worlds. I hadn't even realized that demi-angels created this game! "Look at this, Violet: It's an angel with purple wings! Isn't she cool? She's my most powerful character." I grinned. "I didn't even realize that demi-angels played this game, but I guess it isn't that surprising. Now look— I've got a sky angel, a dark angel, a light angel... I like those wings."

"That Star Warrior reminds me of Seren," Violet remarked.

"Seren?"

"Oh right, you still haven't met Seren or Aracelis! Well, that's why we should get to dinner."

"Oh yeah, right, food." Food is important.

"Here, put this on." Evangeline handed me my uniform. It wasn't really my style, but it wasn't that bad either. I kind of liked the pleated skirt. The white blouse was trimmed with gold lace. It had an open back that was buttoned at the top, clearly so it could go around the wings I didn't have yet. Evangeline handed me a white sash with a bronze wing pin on it. She had an identical sash, and Violet had a purple sash with a silver wing pin and a purple spiral pin.

"The sash and pins indicate your field of study and form stage," said Violet. "This white sash is pre-fledgling, and the bronze wings mean you're still wingless. When you're a fledgling you get silver wings, and when you're fully-fledged, you get gold wings. The other pins and the color of the sash show what kind of magic you do."

I shrugged. "That's kind of cool, I guess. I like the pins." I tied the sash around my waist. "Should we go eat? I'm hungry."

The dining hall was yet another white room, and it was gigantic. It had tall pillars and an intricately carved vaulted ceiling. Hanging from it were beautiful crystals, some clear and some colorful. In the center of the ceiling was a spinning crystal mobile that gave off a soft light, like a chandelier. Light was also coming from a row of stained glass windows depicting angels and geometric shapes. There were many, many round tables— with no legs. They were actually floating off the ground, surrounded by floating stools. "Wow, this is the most epic place I've ever been in my life! Oooh, food!"

"Help yourself," said Evangeline.

There were so many different kinds of food. Salads, meats, pastas, soups, fruit, ice cream, angel food cake... I didn't know where to begin. I ended up taking some of everything, with a glass of some golden liquid labeled "angel water." "This looks good."

"It's beyond good," said Evangeline, serving herself a plate of food. "It's excellent. We're demi-angels. Demi-angels prize artistry of all forms."

"Come over here! This is where we always sit," said Violet, gesturing to a table where Noelani and Xholanis were sitting with another girl.

This girl was pale with very long black hair and gold eyes (though Violet's eyes were lavender, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised). She had fully-fledged wings, which were minty green with black tips on the primary feathers. Her sash was blue with a gold wing pin and a pin shaped like a scroll. Xholanis and Noelani were wearing sashes now, too. Noelani's was light blue with a silver wing pin and a white feather pin, and Xholanis' was teal with a silver wing pin and a blue teardrop pin.