Sunlight dappled through the leaves above her head, painting a dancing mosaic of gold onto Aspen's rubbery, black skin. It looked a little less glossy and oily than usual and Petunia was worried that it might be drying out because of the summer heat.
Should she bring him to cool down in the brook instead? This was what she did on those few especially hot days this summer, when the shed got too stuffy for him to sleep. It would have been hard to miss that Aspen was no friend of heat and sunlight, preferring the cool shadows of the forest or nighttime. Thankfully, what he was suffering through was an English summer: apart from a handful of dry heat waves it consisted mostly of cloudy skies and summer showers.
She glanced at the rope in her hands, its fibres spun so tightly it felt smooth in her palms. But would it aggravate his sensitive skin regardless, rubbing it raw and bloody?
Aspen didn't notice her worries, calmly butting his nose against her chin and temple, a huff of his icy breath cooling the little dots of sweat at her hairline.
"I'm afraid to hurt you," Petunia explained to him, gripping the rope tighter. It was smooth, but his skin was as well. It looked thin and delicate, stretched tight over his even thinner and more delicate frame, each rib and sinew outlined starkly. What if she broke his bones? Petunia certainly wasn't heavy-set, but she was nonetheless a tall girl, and her weight reflected her height.
But feeling Aspen nuzzle the fine hair at her temple, she conceded that he was quite tall as well. Thanks to his steady exercising in the form of nightly flights and hunts and his increased supply of meat as a consequence, he had hit a growth spurt that saw him more than a whole head taller than her. Petunia knew that he would get taller still, if Eugene was to be believed.
If he hadn't grown so much, Petunia would never even entertain the idea of trying to ride him.
Taking a breath to fortify her nerves, Petunia smoothed the blanket she had draped over his spindly back. Aspen was already used to its presence, as she had introduced it a month ago, letting him get comfortable with the feeling of something on his back and skin.
"Alright, don't be surprised," she told him, slowly looping the rope around his bony chest. Aspen didn't startle, calmly breathing against her neck. "I just want to make sure there can be no accidents."
Once the rope was securely fastened around him, Petunia tied the other end around her waist, tightening it around her thighs as well. The rope bunched the fabric of her white sundress but she ignored the wrinkles she would have to iron out.
For a second she stared at the rope hanging in the warm summer air between them, painted in sun spots that made it glow. It connected the two of them almost ... almost like a string of fate.
"Sometimes ..." Petunia whispers. "I wonder what would have happened to me if I hadn't met you, Aspen."
What if her mother had decided that not only Lily but also Petunia was too young to witness the death of her Grandmother? What if she had found Lily and Severus that day in the forest before ever laying eyes on Aspen?
What would have happened to her, drowning in jealousy and bitterness, with nothing to set her apart, to give her solace and distraction? Nothing that offered her at least a slight glimpse into the world her little sister would always be part of, a world that had closed its doors for Petunia?
Who would she be, now?
A slight pinch on her scalp redirected her attention. Looking up she saw a strand of her pale hair tangled around the sharp hook of Aspens' nose bridge. He had noticed it as well and stilled, waiting for her to untangle it, afraid to hurt her if he moved his head.
Petunia felt herself smile.
"I'm glad I found you, Aspen."
❀
Petals,
How did your first try go? I need some details, and fast - I already imagined at least a hundred scenarios this could have gone wrong and I'm not sure you'll be as interesting if you're squashed into a pancake.
Now that I wrote that, I think I'll have to skip breakfast.
Hungry and sincerely,
Gene
❀
Eugene,
Don't skip meals.
It went alright, I secured myself and Aspen didn't leave the ground. Learning to steady myself while he gallops is my first step at the moment.
And I regret using only a blanket as a saddle, your Grandmother didn't understate the comfort of a Thestral's back in her notes.
Sincerely,
Petunia.
❀
Petals,
No need to mind my delicate sensibilities, call it what it is: those aren't notes but a rant. A rant about the superiority of comfortable, feathered Hippogriffs as opposed to invisible skeleton-horses.
As a celebration of your continued survival, I'll eat my weight in pancakes today. Only the mother of all stomachaches can stop me now.
Best,
Gene
❀
Eugene,
Rant or not, those notes are very precious to me. So, thank you.
Petunia stared at the drying words on the clean paper before glancing at Krampus, who was busily grooming his feathers. She didn't know what else to say. One part of her was struggling with even the little two words she had already written - thank you.
Thanking someone, it turned out, was almost as hard as apologising. It made her feel vulnerable and unsure of herself. As if she was turning her back to something dangerous, open to attack and not knowing whether it was coming or not.
Her pen, the one with the expensive ink, left an indent in the side of her fingers, her pale skin turning from red to a yellowish white under the pressure. Petunia barely felt it.
She couldn't deny that she was ... grateful. More than grateful. Without Eugene, without his Grandmother lamenting the fact that Thestrals were not only aesthetically unpleasing but also not bred for comfort, she would have never even thought about riding Aspen. In her head, the possibility of flying was always something she considered reserved for people like Lily. People who were born special.
But now she knew better. Thanks to him.
Petunia tried to swallow her anxiety as if it was an unappetizing morsel sitting on her tongue. The pen clattered from her hand when she forced herself to relax and Krampus' orange eyes focused on her at the noise.
He must think she had finished as he stretched out his clawed foot and hooted impatiently. Petunia didn't let her fingers falter when she folded her very short letter and fastened it. She didn't allow herself to look away as she was watching Krampus sail off her window sill into the greyish light of dawn - carrying her first words of sincere thanks away with him.
❀
Petunia was certain that the first time Aspen's hooves left the ground while she was seated on his back would always be crystal clear in her memories. The rush of euphoria mixed with raw nerves, the dizziness as the forest grew smaller beneath her, the whistling of wind around her ears, the sting of her hair whipping into her cheeks and eyes.
And the laugh that bubbled out of her chest as she was suddenly weightless. As she was flying!
Aspen threw his head back proudly, his wings spread impossibly far, billowing like two black sails on either side of her. She felt his sharp ribs poke her inner thighs with each of his inhales and thankfully she had used enough padding this time that the protruding ridges of his spine were only a dull pressure.
Her trembling fingers clenched the rope so tightly she was sure that an impression would be left in her flesh.
Glancing down towards the ground, she saw the rustling trees of the forest, bathed in pale moonlight. Petunia had never realised that her small patch of forest was shaped just like a bean. Her family's house on top of the hill looked like it was owned by dwarves and not humans from her vantage point. She could see the framework her father had set up over the summer, outlining where he intended to try and build Lily's fireplace, but it looked too small. Everything was too small and far - and new and exciting.
Her eyes were tearing up and Petunia wasn't sure if it was because of the biting night winds or the emotions clogging her throat like a cork, leaving everything to bubble faster and faster in her stomach with no outlet.
Being up here was scary and unimaginable and exhilarating. It was the best feeling in the world.
Petunia didn't need magic, or a special school or a stupid broom to fly, to leave the confines of gravity and the ground. She only needed Aspen.
And someone who had thought of her enough to look through his Grandmother's stuff until he found what he was looking for.
❀ As always, thanks for all the reads, votes and comments, they never fail to make me smile ❀