Winds of Change

The First September: Learning to Fly

Sera spread wide her wings and took a deep breath. She could feel her partner's bubble, glowing strongly yellow with confidence, but didn't it work both ways? Could Olly not sense her anxiety?

The Brick Red was worried – worried she would not have the strength to catch her partner. Even more embarrassing was the fact that this was the very first part of Knight Academy training.

To her right a little, a pompous Pine Green going by the name of Alfo was loudly complaining. "Come on! If my partner wasn't such a wimp, I'd be halfway across the Sky by now!" It appeared he was having the opposite problem – his master, the blonde-haired Nathan, was afraid of falling.

A few paces to her left, Gael's partner was perfecting her loud whistle. She had nothing to be afraid of. However her own human was ignoring her emotions.

She sighed and looked over. She was pretty sure that Grace was heavier-built than Olana, and the orange Loftwing was rather scrawny. But as much as she wanted to try, and as much as Olly tried to coax her, she would not be budged.

The dark-haired girl wondered what was going on with her bird, until the small bubble she'd forgotten all about drifted down from where it had been hiding. She felt it, and it was a foul-coloured yellow green. It radiated fear.

She strode over to her bird and patted her feathers gently. "It's okay. If you can't catch me, somebody else will, okay? I'm going to be fine!"

Sera still wouldn't risk it. Who would be there? She had no faith in her strength at all, and didn't bear to try.

"If you're not strong enough, I'll catch her," Gael offered. "I'll fly underneath you just in case."

If there was one thing she had learned in her short while of being his friend, it was that he was the most reliable flyer she knew. He could overtake her with only a few beats of his wings, and she didn't know where he got it from.

"T-thanks. I'll give it a go."

Grace looked up as if realising something and patted her bird's wing. He took off, diving far below Skyloft, and waited. Sera nervously followed suit.

Olly jumped. She whistled. And she hit the warm, soft feathers of her Loftwing.

This was the first time for both of them, and it was needless to say that the bird was terrified. The girl seated on her back was clinging tight to her feathers but the bright and strong orange of their bond clearly showed the joy of a first flight.

After Gael had just rocketed off with a ten year old on their day of meeting, nobody had been allowed to take to the air for the rest of the month – just until the third day of September, when their training would begin. Even then there was a crapload of studying and writing down of things to do before they would be given this first lesson.

All that time, Sera had been dreading it. What if she let her precious partner fall to their death, down on the Surface, where a Knight would pick up her shattered body days later? She could never, ever forgive herself.

Her master was alright. She was fine. So she beat her wings and soared skywards, catching the wind in her feathers.

Olly displayed no fear throughout, pressing herself right down onto the dark red plumage of her bird and staring into the distant sky. She was experiencing almost exactly what Grace had the previous month – they were truly together.

All that time the Loftwing had longed so hard to fly with the one that would be hers and hers alone, to soar amongst the clouds with the one she was to protect until she died, and now it was a reality. Still keeping close to Skyloft so as not to alarm anyone, the Brick Red circled lazily around the area to calm herself. Nothing was going to happen.

Before the lesson ended and the students were hastily hurried back indoors, she swooped back down to land in the Plaza with everybody else. Olly dismounted, sliding carefully down her dark red feathered back, before throwing her hands around her neck and laughing.

The Loftwing laughed with her, shoving her beak into her hair and messing it up even more than usual, then grabbed her pair of glasses and stalked away with them.

"Sera, this isn't funny! I can't see!" she grumbled, tripping over the cobbles a couple of times. A hazy, Brick Red blob swam in her field of vision, and before she knew it her glasses were being shoved forcefully back onto her head. The bird gave a raspy, screeching laugh and took off again.

Nuzzling his partner goodbye, Gael followed her. "Want to race?"

"What, against your scruffy a**? You're on."

"Twice around the Thunderhead and back to the Plaza, alright?" the orange bird offered. She tossed her head and nodded.

"Three, two, one, GO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, expecting to get a headstart from her startling outburst, but it didn't take too long before her competitor was already ahead. "You son of a b****, Gael!" she huffed, frustrated.

It only succeeded in losing her even more ground. With a shriek of frustration she beat her wings even faster.

She didn't manage to catch up.

--oo00O00oo--

Finally finished with this one. Sadly, due to there being an unprecedented entire week of non-stop exams once I get back to school in two weeks' time, I might not update every day this holiday because revision...

Wait a minute, nobody's seen this story yet. My bad!

I'm really, really crap at spreading word online, so I'm going to wait it out for now. One day, somebody other than myself will read this...

I can dream!