Practice

-----Kaede's POV

I finished writing the letter to everyone back in Azalea. They'll most likely get it in a few days, so I'm hoping when the next weekend comes around, I'll be able to get a letter back from them. Of course I didn't write anything about the plans for Yarene just in case these letters do get read. I don't want to risk fucking up Iris' plans.

It was still quite early when I finished, so I decide to leave the city for a little experiment of my own. I haven't tried to summon a bird yet due to my fear of summoning something crazy, but if it's in an isolated place like this outside the city, then I think this will do.

I manage to find a decent sized clearing in the forest not too far away from the road, with sounds of caravans riding past.

Kaede: "Alright~"

I sit down sit down on my legs before beginning to carve out the crest to summon a bird in my own mana. I take note in exactly how I'm carving it so that I can more easily fill it with my mana later. I still have no idea how people can summon without needing to do this process, but at least for now, I'll try and get this right.

Happy with the result, I double check with my notebook, making sure the crest is exactly as I noted down when in class. Thankfully, I don't seem to have made any mistakes as I put away the notebook with a smile.

Kaede: "O-kay~"

I begin to pour my mana into the crest, making sure to follow the exact same path I used when I carved the crest. I make sure to only use enough mana to fill the crest, hoping that I'll just summon a small bird and nothing crazy like a dragon, even though I don't think they are even the same species.

Now that I know what I'm doing, I end up filling the crest a lot quicker than the time when I summoned Mai as the crest began to glow a bright white light. I watch the light grow brighter until finally, the light flashed before slowly fading. And in it's place, I saw what I just summoned.

It certainly is a bird, but it's a lot bigger than what I thought I would summon. It's feathers where pure white, with it's wings gradually fading to a light grey towards the tips. It's beak was sky blue, and it's talons where pitch black. I'm not sure what this bird looks like in comparison to my old word, but it's certainly a lot bigger than any bird I knew, maybe about 50cm shorter than me. I might not be able to ride it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it could end up carrying me.

Kaede: "H-hello?"

I don't know what I was thinking talking to a bird, maybe I thought that this bird was also crazy like Mai. But after a few moments, no response was given as I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank god that it's just a normal bird.

Kaede: "Fly?"

I didn't expect it, but the bird cocked it's head to the side, almost like it's questioning what I just said. Maybe it was questioning my uncertainty of my command? Maybe if I'm more commanding-

Kaede: "Fly!"

And in the next moment, the bird extending it's wings before launching itself up in the air with a single movement of it's wings. It proceeds to fly around in the clearing, hovering around roughly 5 meters above me. The wind generating from it's wings causes my hair to go everywhere as I try to keep my hair in check. "Beautiful" is the word that comes to mind as I watch it gracefully fly through the air. I find myself feeling envious about it, being able to soar through the sky as it pleases. "Down." I try to use my thoughts this time while focusing on the bird as it immediately began to descend, landing just in front of me, blowing more wind in my face before it brings it's wings back. 

Kaede: "Now how am I meant to un-summon you..."

I only learnt how to summon the bird, but I have no idea how to un-summon it. I could just kill it, but It feels wrong to kill such a beautiful creature.

Kaede: "Fuck."

This might be a problem.

Mai: "Oh? Did you summon that just now?"

Kaede: "Huh?!"

I quickly turn around to find Mai standing there, watching the bird and I.

Kaede: "Mai? I thought you were in prison? What are you doing here?"

Mai: "Everything's taken care of. Lilith seems to be in safe hands, but I'll check on her every now and again."

Kaede: "Well that's good news! So did you two make it to Yarene then?"

Mai: "Yes. Lilith has now become a personal maid to the Queen of Yarene in exchange for living there."

Kaede: "Couldn't she have just lived somewhere in the city? Or even a town?"

Mai: "That's what I was wondering. The queen told us that she couldn't risk taking in anyone at the moment."

Ah~ This might be something to do with Iris' plans with the queen. Maybe the queen is being careful to not take away space from Iris who will be coming? Because from the sounds of it, the queen of Yarene isn't entirely sure on how many people will be coming.

Kaede: "I don't think that's anything to worry about. I think we can trust her."

Mai: "Hmm? Okay. But I will still check on Lilith from time to time."

Kaede: "Yes. Thank you, Mai."

Mai: "Not a problem~"

I really am thankful for how much Mai has done for me recently. She was the only one that could help Lilith travel all the way there in the first place.

Mai: "So? Is that your bird?"

Kaede: "Oh- yes."

Mai: "As expected of my master. To be able to summon a Cloud Weaver."

So that's it's name? Cloud Weaver? It's a fitting name since the force of it's wings sure was strong. I wouldn't be surprised if it could actually shape clouds.

Kaede: "Is it strong?"

Mai: "For birds, certainly. Arguably one of the strongest birds out there. But amongst everything in this world, it's on the weaker side."

Great, so I did summon something crazy again. But at least hearing that it's on the weaker side among all things, it does relieve me somewhat.

Kaede: "Is there an even bigger bird than this?"

My hope is to maybe summon something I could actually fly on.

Mai: "Yes, but those creatures would fall more onto a hybrid kind of animal. If it's pure birds you want, then the Cloud Weaver is probably the biggest you can summon."

Damn. So I guess I'll have to learn a whole new crest in order to summon something bigger. And that's if I'll even be taught some hybrid crests in the academy.

Mai: "Why do you ask?"

Kaede: "I was just thinking about flying."

Mai: "Oh! Didn't you ask me if I could teach you how to use flight magic?"

That's right! I was preoccupied with Yui, but I do recall having that discussion.

Kaede: "Yes! Could you teach me now?"

Mai: "Like I said, I'm not much of a teacher. But I actually do have a question regarding that. Couldn't you just fly with your wings?"

Kaede: "Huh?"

Last time I checked, I don't have anything that resembles wings. If I did then I would most certainly look like a monster. More so than I already am.

Mai: "Vampires could fly using wings they grow out from their back. The same way when you grow out your nails into weapons."

Wait... So then how the hell do I grow wings? It's easier to visualize my nails growing since I can actually see them, but I have no clue how wings are meant to feel, let alone how to grow them out. There's also the fact that I'm not a full vampire, so maybe I just can't grow wings to begin with.

Kaede: "Maybe it's for full vampires?"

Mai: "I'm not sure. You're practically the first half breed of vampires, so I wouldn't know more than you do."

So this will have to be something I need to figure out on my end. Ugh~

Kaede: "Then what would be something big enough to fly on?"

Mai: "A dragon?"

Kaede: "Funny. Come on, seriously."

Mai: "So something you can control?"

Kaede: "Yes."

Mai: "Hmmm. Honestly, there's not many options. Griffins are similar to dragons and are too intelligent to completely control. Oh! What about a Wyvern!"

Kaede: "Like the wyverns you mentioned during your travel to Yarene?"

Mai: "Yes. Wyverns are intelligent sure, but not to the extent of dragons. Might be difficult, but if it's you, I think you can do it."

Okay, noted. To be honest, I was hoping to fly on a bigger version of the Cloud Weaver, not something scary like a wyvern. But maybe they're not as scary as I'm imagining.

Kaede: "Do you know how to summon a wyvern then?"

Mai: "Summon one?! Now that's a bit crazy. You know how much mana that would need? It'll be more practical to just tame one properly."

The way Mai phrased that, sounds like it is possible to summon one. But maybe Mai's right. She could just teleport me to where she spotted the wyverns and I can do my best to try and "tame" one. But then what will I do with it? Sure summoning one might be a pain, but at least I can un-summon-

Kaede: "Wait! Mai, how do I un-summon this Cloud Weaver?"

Mai: "Hmm? It's made out of your mana, so just absorb it back into your body."

Hearing her say it now makes me feel like an idiot. Sure enough, after concentrating on the Cloud Weaver in front of me, it slowly morphs back into pure light magic as I begin to absorb it back into my body.

Kaede: "Now couldn't I do that with a wyvern?"

Mai: "I see what you mean, but that can be quite dangerous. You'll need to replenish your mana multiple times in order to summon it once. So when you want to absorb it back into your body, your body will be flooded with an intense amount of magic that your body will collapse. It's too dangerous."

Kaede: "Like, die?"

Mai: "You can, yes. So let's just try and tame a wyvern instead."

Kaede: "Okay."

I guess I do have some time left before I have to go back to the dorms. I'm sure Yui is still busy at her place.

Kaede: "We could go now, maybe?"

Mai: "Ohooo?~

She smiles at me as if amused by the idea. I could wait till tomorrow and tell Yui about my plans, but it is intriguing to just go there now. Hmmm~