Chapter 31 - 31 I Believe I Can Glide
Kat's legs left the ground and she hung in the air for a brief moment before unfurling her wings to their full height. Her wings strained under the weight, forcing Kat to clench her teeth and do everything she could to simply glide. *My wings are not happy with this arrangement. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up, but I certainly can't fly while holding Minor.*
"Minor, where do I need to go, I can't fly like this if I even can by myself. I'm not sure how long I can last gliding either" Kat yelled to be heard over the rushing wind
"Just a little bit left" Minor yelled back. Kat tried to bank gently to the left but found herself going into a spiral. Kat's instincts quickly righted her again but now she was even more lost
"Ok, that, was horrible" said Kat.
*System why did that happen? I'm using my wings for their intended purpose I think so why my instincts are so thrown off.*
USER KAT, D.E.M.O.N.S WOULD LIKE TO REMIND USER KAT THAT USER KAT'S WINGS WERE POTENTIALLY NOT VALID METHODS OF FLIGHT JUST MOMENTS AGO AND IS NOW ATTEMPTING TO LIFT APPROXIMATELY DOUBLE USER KAT'S WEIGHT
*Right… I really should have thought of that huh? Maybe all this walking has been getting to me as well. I'm missing things. Perhaps I haven't properly relaxed in some time.*
"Minor, which way do we need to be going" yelled Kat
"Surprisingly we seem to have ended up facing the correct way" yelled Minor
Kat nodded in response. *I guess I just fly straight, or glide I suppose. My wings are screaming at me so hopefully I don't have to keep this up too long. I keep feeling the need to flap them slightly. I wonder what we are- is that a wall?*
Panicking slightly Kat said "Hey Minor, we got a problem wall incoming at 12 o'clock"
"What does that even mean?" said Minor
"There is a wall and we are heading right for it" said Kat with slight panic
"Um, eh, um we're to high at the moment, we need to be lower" said Minor
"And how do you propose we do that? I can't turn in circles to easily without going into a spin and I certainly can't hover in place; I need the extra movement to keep us both in the air at all" said Kat
"Um can we just hold onto the wall" said Minor
"Ah yes, let me ram face first into this wall with you in my arms" said Kat
"Look, if you have a better idea let me know" said Minor
The wall was rapidly approaching Kat and Minor were running out of time to make a decision
"How much lower do we need to be" said Kat
"I can't tell. I only get a sense of direction; the enchantment was never designed to work like this I don't think" said Minor
"Well think fast" said Kat
*Ok what options do I have, face first, turning at the last second once I fold up my wings and letting it hit my back, trying to circle around a few times, or try diving down maybe? Circling around it has to be then even if we end up in a spiral at the very least it will slow us down a bit and I can try to correct, the others are far too risky*
Kat angled left as carefully as she could trying to avoid spinning uncontrollably as her right wing screamed in protest, her back muscles and those lining the wing threatening to rip under any increased pressure. Gritting her teeth Kat struggled to concentrate on the gliding and looking for an entrance but the pain in her back was building and it was getting harder and harder to keep her mind in order.
"Minor, you have to give me some sort of signal, I can't concentrate properly the pain in my back is getting to me. Just tell me when I need to go straight" said Kat as she closed her eyes, they were already starting to water and the pain was making it hard to keep them open.
* I guess I just have to trust Minor here.* Time seemed to stretch on for an eternity for Kat, and it was only slightly shorter for Minor. She was concentrating as much mana into her eyes as she could and tried to split her mind between looking for a gap in the wall that was just barely within her vision and the feeling that sat at the back of her mind that told her where to go.
The pressure increased on the pair as nothing changed but neither could afford to let their concentration slip for a moment. The air was thick with anticipation. Kat waited for Minor's signal, and Minor desperately searched for any indication that it was time. Minor's intense focus on waiting for the signal left her almost unprepared for the signal to go forward, because unlike her normally subtle hints this one slammed into her as if an anvil had dropped on her mind from a great height.
"Now!" yelled Minor
Kat instantly tried to stop her spiral and direct her wings forward, but in that moment, she felt something tearing in the centre of her back. Using her tail to hold Minor she brought her right hand around to try and stabilise her wing desperately trying to keep them heading straight. Minor's panic however was twofold, she could see Kat struggling with her wing in the corner of her vision, but her main concern was the rapidly approaching wall. There was no gap. No seem in the rocks, nothing but solid stone as far as her burning eyes could see. Closing her eyes and raising her hands to protect her face the wall slowly approached.
A moment past and when no impact happened Minor opened her eyes to only to be greeted with the ground. Kat's legs impacted the floor throwing her to the ground with Minor who Kat instinctively tried to raise up at the last second only to fail due to the length of her tail. Minor quickly erected a small bubble of mana in front of her to dampen the impact but it popped almost instantly. The pair slammed into the floor and bounced a few times before coming to a stop in the corridor.
In the darkness Minor recovered first. She looked around to find Kat sprawled out beside her blood over the floor and face against the ground. Panic gripped her heart as she stared dumbly at the girl that had quickly become her only friend. Minor slowly started to reach out a shaking hand toward Kat when she stopped. All of the blood surrounding Kat was being sucked back into her body.
Pain. That was all that filled Kat's thoughts. She could tell she was in bad shape. Her back still burned from before but now her pain was concentrated in the front. It felt like she had decided to use a sandpaper slide as a method of transportation and her knee might have shattered. Slowly however the burning pain in her back chained into a strange itching. Her muscles wormed their way underneath her skin quickly reducing the pain in her back. Her knees felt like they were being compressed by a vice crunching them down until the pain there to stopped. Slowly, Kat begun to get shakily to her feet attempting to stand shakily
For Minor's part she watched in horror as Kat's body jerkily stood itself up, covered in still moving blood, then the things eyes snapped open through the blood and a deep purple light seeped out of them taking in the surroundings.. The demonic visage in front of Minor suddenly began to cough, and wheeze before turning to the side and spitting some disgusting gunk out of its mouths then turning to Minor with a smile.