Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 90: Elation

Chapter Ninety: Elation

When Xaphile finally took to the air using his bone crystal and flew towards the hut on the island, he had to admit he was genuinely exalted.

He'd actually managed to learn the keys to making his wings move! And Amelia would most definitely be excited by his breakthrough with his new technique for using magic.

He felt, for the first time, like he had fully grasped the basics of himself.

And that small semblance of control, in a world where everything was whacko and kept evading his understanding, gave him a strange sense of stability even though nothing had really changed aside from his outlook.

The shift in his perception had actually put him in a decent mood.

Once his feet dropped onto the pebble beach, he trotted toward the front door.

Everyone looked up when he walked in.

Predictably, everyone-Sinmir, Ella, Amelia, Vrael, and even Gus-jumped up.

"Phil!" Amelia shouted, eyes widening when he waltzed over. "Where have you been?!"

Instead of answering, he merely grabbed her around the waist. The girl squeaked and went rigid when he pulled her close to his chest, hugging her tightly. Then he jogged over to Sinmir and embraced him before looking at Ella and giving her a wink that made her jaw drop.

"Hey..." Vrael pouted, ears drooping a little. "No hug for me?"

Xaphile smirked, sweeping over and catching him in a headlock; the elf yelped and flailed around with a fit of startled laughter when he was given a noogie.

"What in the name of Juno happened to you?" Ella scoffed, giving him an extremely flabbergasted expression. "And where were you all day?"

"I started my training!" he exclaimed, beaming. "You won't even believe how much I learned!"

Ella flushed bright red under the force of his expression, and before he could so much as blink, she averted her eyes, shifting her feet back and forth.

"Well?" Sinmir asked, raising an eyebrow. "What did you learn?"

Rather than take the time to explain it, Xaphile backed off until he was in the center of the room and out of everyone's way... then he leaned forward and raised his arms like he'd been taught. Everyone jumped when he flexed his lower back muscles, since his wings unfurled with a flash.

Then, he began to flap them, casting a mischievous grin in their direction.

Wide eyes and broad grins met his own when he righted himself.

"You learned how to FLY?!" Vrael squalled, clutching his hair in shock. "PHIL! THAT'S AMAZING!"

"Actually, my muscles aren't strong enough for me to fly just yet," Xaphile corrected, calmly unbraiding his hair and shaking it free. "I only learned the basics of making them move, but I did somehow manage to get myself about a foot off the ground by flapping. It was awesome!"

"Did you learn anything else?" Ella asked. "Surely that can't have been all."

"Well, I did learn the basics of controlling my magic," he tentatively allowed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck when Amelia shrieked in surprise.

"You learned how to use it properly?!" she cried. "In only one day?! Really?!"

"Nope, I only learned the basics," he awkwardly chuckled. "I guarantee you, though, if you hadn't taken so much time teaching me how to meditate, I probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn what I did today. The way faeries use magic is completely bizarre."