A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 34: "Spar," He Said...Hell No You Liar

Five hours later...

     Yeah. It was seriously five hours later. Like, really Kitri? It took you five hours to pop up?

     I was absolutely scalding in the sun after deciding to even out my tan, all sides of me almost as brown as a cookie. My hair had decided to become as wild as my looks, so I felt that if I wore only a loincloth then anyone would believe the story that I lived in the jungle for a year.

     I had stripped and laid out on my air cushion nicely like I was drawing a snow man, then waited. I flipped every once in a while, but mostly it was just waiting.

     Of course I had put something below me that kept anyone from seeing anything if they looked up with good vision, but then again that was just courtesy; everyone had seen everything already when I had run at Kitri the day before during the festival.

     Kitri had exited the main cave entrance at midday, stretching his back while extending his wings to the fullest, then took off into the forest with a haggard look on his face.

     Dude, what did you do to make it seem like you aged ten years? Was it paperwork? Paperwork gets even the best of us, I know, that's why I like computers.

    Liked, actually. Past tense, since I will probably never see a single device or anything related to modern technology ever again.

     With that, I pulled my mana clothes back on again and dropped from my cushion, dismissing the spell and replacing it with one that didn't let anything hit my face as I fell. I learned after Mother took me to see Brownie and Blondie's fight that one time, when I got all those bugs in my face. How can people be majestic when you've got a gnat about to hit your face? Bird poop about to drop on you from above?

     It took quite a while to reach the tips of the forest since I had been very far up. Right when I was about to impale myself on a tree, I used [Inertia Dismiss] and slowed down completely with no reprimands to my body. I wish I knew this spell when Mother had tossed me up in the air, then I wouldn't have such a shamefully strong fear at that time.

     Oh well, what's done is done.

     From the top of the tallest tree, on par with the second to highest cave entrance, I stood on the air. I surveyed to see if there was anyone waiting anywhere, then went searching for Kitri when I was sure I wouldn't be followed. Pesky people were all around, I could tell from the "meeting" we had the first time.

     I found the spriggan wandering through the forest lazily while trying to locate a big enough leaf to collapse on. I didn't understand why he couldn't find one, since the one we had slept on was only a dozen feet above his head, but went up to him anyway.

     "Kitri," I poked around his head and startled him.

     "Wha-Fir?! Where've you been? I was searching everywhere for you this morning, but there wasn't a single trace left! You were just-"

     "Gone? I know, I left looking for food and then got a little...caught up in something."

     Destroying other's way of life, almost getting my hand eaten, finding the edge of the continent. You know, the stuff I do everyday.

     He sighed while his wings fluttered incessantly, staying afloat. I guess one mystery was solved.

     Spriggans don't glide like birds, they flutter incessantly like butterflies. Intriguing. They don't have that majestic, "I can fly without flying" aura that most mangas made fairies portray...wait, Kitri hates being called a fairy. Never mind.