Our Beginnings [Fantasy AU]

A story about learning to fly

"Hey, Moca. Remember when we first met? You said you couldn't fly, right? Well why don't you try?" It was just a question Misaki asked Moca one day after staying at Misaki's for a week. This got Moca thinking, 'Since I'm a crow now, I have wings and all. I should be able to fly, right?'

Moca sheepishly opens her wings slightly and gives a few small test flaps. She could feel the wind being beaten down by her feathery wings. She tries again, once, twice, then jumps on the third, pushing down with her wings harder than the first 2 times.

She manages to get some air, rising further above the ground than her usual hops. Well, before she fell and crashed back onto the grass and dirt. She stood back up and shook herself off before trying again.

She readies her wings and looks toward the sky. She hops a few times just to get herself prepared. She starts flapping her wings again and jumps up into the air. This time, she continues flapping her wings while still in the air. She gains much more height than before, but as she kept going, it got harder and harder to keep it up.

She feels a pain shoot through her left wing as she tries to keep herself in the air. She tries to hold her left wing out but it crumples in and she starts falling back down. She closes her eyes, 'Oh no no no! I'm going down!' But when she lands, it's not the hard crash she expected.

"Are you okay?! I saw you fall from all the way up there..." Misaki had been watching her? Oh, how embarrassing...

"I think I pulled a muscle in my left wing or something." Moca caws in pain, unable to holding her left wing with her right. She doesn't know any proper terms to use in this situation, and she's in too much pain to think of one.

"Shit, alright. I think I've got a sort of medicine in here somewhere." Misaki brings Moca back inside for some treatment. She places Moca down on her desk and kneels down to bring a large wooden box out from under her bed.

While Misaki rummaged through the box, Moca leaned down from the desk to look at Misaki's belongings. One object in particular caught her interest, a picture frame. Fashioned from what seemed to be ivy, the material was covered from top to bottom with expensive looking jewels ranging from rubies and sapphires to emeralds and was that a lunar stone?!

Another thing about it caught her eye, however. In the frame was a picture, with Misaki and another 4 people. Who could those people be? A tall charming woman wearing a fur collar cape with a sword at her side, a light blue haired girl in a maid's attire, a girl flashing a toothy smile with a little fang showing and another hyper looking girl with messily cut hair and a crown atop her head. All with Misaki in the middle...

Misaki finally pulls out a bottle filled with a pink liquid with a soft "Aha!" She pours a little bit of it onto a bandage which soaked up the pink substance. She wraps the bandage around Moca's wing, chiding Moca "You were lucky I was watching, you know. What if I wasn't? You would've crashed into the ground and might've died!"

"I'm sorry Misa-chin..."

"Ugh, nevermind. Just... make sure you don't do it so recklessly next time, 'kay? I'm sure you'll figure out a more effective way of flying by watching other birds."

-----

Another day, another attempt. The medicine covered bandage had healed her wing completely overnight. Feeling completely energized, Moca stretched her wings and headed back out for more practice. Misaki seemed to still be asleep.

She leaves her home to find a couple of pigeons on the ground. She wonders, 'If I'm a crow... do other species of birds understand me? ...Can I understand them?' Well, only one way to find out. Moca makes her way towards the pigeons, hesitating before opening her beak.

"H-Hello?" She calls out, the pigeons turn to look at her, before returning to whatever they were doing before. Nope, looks like that wasn't gonna be any help. Maybe she could...

Moca caws at the top of her tiny little lungs, alerting the pigeons and scaring them. They spread their wings and flying away as Moca watches. As they flap away from the little lake clearing, Moca tries to copy them.

'Alright, wings spread like this... Flap with about this much force, maybe? One, two...' She hops off the ground and starts copying the pigeon's wing work exactly. From how to position her wings midair to when exactly to beat the air down. 'I'm doing it...! I'm really doing it!' Moca had never been happier as a crow than that very moment.

Then, she returned to reality. 'How... am I going to land...' She holds her wings out, trying to copy the little minors that'd visit her village and sometimes try to steal her bread. How they landed next to her...

She glides down to the ground, turning her body to an angle which allows her to fall slightly faster. As soon as she's close to the ground, she tilts her body back to a standing position and beats her wings down to reduce the fall, landing on her little feet. She has her wings out like a gymnast after performing a trick.

'Phew~ that ended much better than I thought~' She still couldn't get over it. She flew! Not just levitated by the village magicians but actually flew! All on her own! She turns to go back in for some rest and sees Misaki standing at the doorway.

"Haha, congratulations. You're a quick learner, aren't you?" Misaki was genuinely smiling down at the little crow. Moca caws happily, hopping around like a little dance. She jumps and flies up to Misaki to stand on her head. "Hey! I didn't say you could do that!"

Moca only laughs, and feels like she's finally gotten used to her new form.

Word Count: 1027
A/N: Sorry for such a long wait,,!! I got caught up in stuff and really distracted and honestly I'm still not feeling the greatest but I felt like this would make me feel better! I'll try to get the next one up soon!!!

Posted: 24/10/2019