Flight School: Prey

Falling Flight

The boy could only fear desperately.

Fear.

Fear—

And listen to Lyra's words of concern.

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What's the matter dear? He heard his Avian ask.

I think I'm going to be sick. 

N-Nonsense. You look perfectly fine. Besides, once we rise above the clouds, the ship—I mean, plane...the plane will...stabilize.

Io found himself thinking fairly anxiously at this point. Lyra's words had better be the truth or else he was quite sure that his stomach would be emptied at some point in the air but as soon as the very thought left his mind, the odd angle of the plane began to resume its previous appearance of it having been on the ground. 

The plane had stopped rising.

Io glanced past the strange boy from before and out of the window.

Cruising among the clouds. 

Had someone told Iolani Tori a month ago that he would be on a plane to some peculiar-looking place in a couple of weeks' time, he wouldn't have believed them; let alone soaring above the clouds, no. It was beyond his realm of fantasies and certainly did not fit in his world of fears. 

At present however, his inability to see anything besides white fluffy material neutralized the sour lump at the back of his throat. The creature within his cage calmed itself.

Just then, the fellow prey beside him unbuckled his seat belt, even though the sign stated that we were to remain seated.

"Where are you going?" Io asked immediately, afraid for his safety to which the boy responded with a raised brow. 

"Outside. Duh."

He blinked in confusion.

"Out...side? We're in the air," he felt silly stating the obvious. 

"Are you coming?" His companion evaded the fact, as if it wasn't a problem.

The boy was having a hard time understanding.

"I...um, okay...?" Glancing around, he was surprised to see that several passengers were also making their way towards the back of the plane. Will Pipa be there? Io wondered if she had the fortune of making any friends so far.

Well of course she has. She's really friendly, said Lyra at the back of his mind.

As he approached the aft of the plane, Io noticed an odd winding stairwell leading upstairs. He hadn't noticed the presence of a second level before and was beginning to doubt his observational skills.

The boy turned around, beckoning Io to follow quickly and he obliged, padding along, trying to match his pace with the former.

"Hold on to the handles," he advised shortly, and Io nodded blindly—gripping on to the wooden railings as tightly as he could. The first thing he noticed was the scent in the air. The air that touched his skin was cool, fresh and...foreign. One that weaved tales of excitement and anticipation; of spring, blossoms—a new beginning.