On Feathered Wings
The trees, they were everywhere! Flowers blooming down below me and the scents of fresh grass welled up from the ground. There were dazzling colors of green and brown and yellow and red, the colors of earth and life that I spawned from. Up above was blue and white, the bright piercing yellow and orange of the sun, the colors of a daylight sky that I chose to dance within. Ohmygosh it was just so hard to not throw my arms open and squeal, everything was so nice! The wind on my feathers and the aroma in the air, the heavy exertion of forcing myself off the ground.
A branch up ahead. Duck! I swerved low beneath the bark and shoved my arms through the parting leaves.
No speed lost, with a grin on my face I curled my wings up against my shoulder and, dive! Dive! DIVE! Down into a swoop, twirling to fit through two branches close together without touching either. The wings flare open, I feel the strain in my joints to catch the wind. Holding it all against my chest and in my arms. I was hugging the breeze between my feathers and the air hugged me back. I could only throw my head back and laugh at the wonder of it all.
Flying! This is what it meant to be free and on the wind, I wasn't going wherever the wind chose to take me I was holding wind by the hand and leading it in a dance and song. The song of happiness in a young girl's heart.
Another branch close by, I tucked my knees against my chest and dove toward the leaves in a cannonball motion. Touch! Foot against the green, flapping my wings for balance. Letting my weight dent the leaf down as it strains to hold me up, and I myself keeping myself centered to not fall off.
BWOING!
A powerful thrust from my legs, a dainty thrust from my wings, and I was off surging into the skies once more with the tree's branches acting as a springboard. Bare and dainty feet touching against their fingers to let the plants know I was there. I twist my head back and flip, flip, spin through the air from one branch to the next. Swerving around in the most glorious dance.
On feathered wings I soared, warm air against my bare skin. Giving the trees some peace from my antics. My wings burned, and I went up. And up, and higher until the clouds seemed not so distant and the forest beneath me was a sea of green and brown. I could see a high cliff face to the east with water streaming down from the pond. I could see a field of flowers all lush and vibrant as they took in their fill of the spring air. To the far west I could even spot a city, their long stone towers and glistening windows against the sun. Colors and streams of their banner hung over the walls, a people too distant to gaze upon in clarity.
But right bellow was the forest, a lush clearing and healthy plants all eager to grow this season.
"Ahah! Yes, YES! W-wheeee!"
Okay so maybe I did squeal. Just a little. Don't judge me, if you had wings to fly on you'd be happy too!
Out here it was so easy to forget. Sweeping out the house was a distant bother. The clinging of my sisters and brother something I could push aside for as long as I dipped into the clouds. My mother's worries about the approaching giants, beastly monsters with ropes trailing from their face who snatched up little children to place in jars. I didn't have to worry about money or food or finding a husband, I could watch the roads in peace and safety. The hunters of the forest, foxes and cats and all manner of dangerous beasts could be forgotten. Ignored as it was all too distant to care about.
My own worries, whether my dance will be good enough to impress or if my songs are strong enough to move the hearts of men. Toes in, pinky out, joints well cleaned and my dress carefully ironed, all minor nuisances that paled before the sheer joy of flying high under my own power. For a moment I wondered about asking him to share in my wonder. Was that too forward? A date between two fairies hoping to find love. Would that compare to the union between earth and sky? Where the clouds dip down to kiss against the trees, and the trees reach high to grasp at the skies splendor?
It would just be awkward. And boring. He'd be the stiff and boring person who only wants to keep up appearance, to be prim and proper and show just how obedient he was. How easy he'd be to mold into whatever I desire, as if my whims were more important than a mind's freedom. What happens, exactly. What happens when one is commanded to be free? My thoughts were heavier than my body, much too heavy to float high and free. Worry of responsibility, worry of the future, worry over ethics. Everything was always so heavy.
I tucked my wings in up over my shoulder, curled my legs against my chest, and hugged my own knees. It took a while before the skies understood my intent, the wind letting me fall and the ground rising to meet me. Closer, faster, closer still! My smile growing wide, the earth's embrace so clear and so direct. It would soon become very intricately direct if I were to just drop and plow into the dirt, but that would have been silly.
Brace! Flare! On feathered wings I grasped at the wind and hugged it so very close. The wind hugged me back, supporting and strong and doing it's level best to catch me as I fell. My arms spread wide and my legs spread behind my, a wide tail angling to hold myself strait. A skydiving bellyflop, as happy as a clam in high tide, watching the trees zip up behind me and the ground coming up fro below.
It was glorious. It was magical. There's nothing I could ask for that's better than flying about my home~