Edited by Dankmemez
Chapter 4
Three weeks flew by after Blaze's friendship with Elyssa and with Rebecca dropping him off at the library almost every day, he and Ely spent a lot of time together. Over the weeks, they stopped getting on each other's nerves and grew quite fond of each other. Blaze still teased her, but both knew that it was just friendly banter.
Elyssa slowly stopped seeing Blaze as a child and now considered him her equal. Especially when it was related to Math and Physics. Blaze had surprised her with his mathematical understanding of flight dynamics. He understood concepts that most adult angels didn't even bother trying to learn.
Meanwhile, the intellectual exchanges with Elyssa helped Blaze understand more about the world. Blaze's initial impression of the world was that it was in a steampunk sort of era.
However, he couldn't have been more mistaken. The lack of technological proliferation seemed mostly because the angels seemed to be not as materialistic as humans.
But he couldn't really compare the technological advancement of the angel world with the human world. The angels had no concept of electricity. He found traces of the concept in their equations, but there was no physical technological equivalent.
The energy they used seemed to be something entirely different. Maybe dark matter and dark energy? He had an inkling that maybe the physical laws themselves may be different in this world or universe.
To put it simply, the angels seemed to be more advanced than humans in some areas, while less so in others. For example, they had no electricity, computers, or cell phones. But they could form energy weapons out of thin air and could shoot devastating laser like beams out of cannons. They had not traveled into space but had mastered the efficient use of energy in the world.
Blaze figured that the difference between the two worlds may be due to the longevity of the angels. The angels were theoretically stronger but practically weaker. They didn't have as many people to develop new things and change took longer than it did for humans.
Now five weeks since Blaze's appearance, he and his two angel aunts gathered outside the walls of their cottage. It was the morning of Loredas and he was eager to begin his flying lessons.
His wing length had finally reached four feet, which was enough to jump high and glide short distances. Thus, on Blaze's insistence, Jie Er had agreed to teach him the basics. Rebecca was there to help in case anything went wrong.
The sight of three angels standing in the idyllic grass fields with their wings manifested was a sight to behold; spotless white fluffy wings of Jie Er, dazzling red wings of Rebecca & the red and white wings of Blaze. When he first manifested his wings, they were only red but now the inner regions of his wings were white and smoothly melded into his red outer feathers.
"Blaze Er, try flapping your wings as hard as you can without taking off," Jie Er instructed him.
Filled with excitement, Blaze channeled energy into his wings and flapped them hard. The wings managed to create a lot of wind, picking up dust and ruffling the angels' hair and feathers. They did not provide much lift. His heels were tipped off the ground, but it might've just been him standing tip toe in anticipation.
"Do you know why you didn't feel any lift?" Jie Er questioned.
"I guess we will all need a good shower after this..." Rebecca complained softly. She seemed to have received the brunt of Blaze's wing attack.
"umm... probably 'cause I didn't angle my wings right?" Blaze guessed using his knowledge of wing dynamics.
Jie Er looked surprised for a moment.
"Smart kid! That's correct. After the first push, you must angle them this way while bringing them back down," she explained, demonstrating slowly with her wings. Her wings moved through the air in a graceful oar like fashion.
"Angling your wings, the right way, is very important. Wing movements depend on what you want to do in air. There are six basic movements: taking off, ascent, descent, hovering, diving, and landing. We can learn the more complex ones after you learn to do these intuitively. It may be a little frustrating at the start, but all angels will eventually learn to fly as easily as they can walk," she continued with a smile.
Jie Er stepped back slightly, "Now, move back a bit."
"Stop!" she called out when they'd created a 50-meter distance between them. Rebecca stayed somewhere in the middle.
"Now try to fly to me. Use your instinct and don't be afraid. Rebecca and I will be here to catch you!" Jie Er shouted.
Not being one to fear minor injuries, Blaze nodded and concentrated on his wings. He moved his wings and went over the technique a few times, before he braced himself. He pushed off against the ground and leaped towards Jie Er; timing his feet and wings to be in sync with each other.
He managed to attain lift off with the first flap of his wings and then beat them rapidly to gain height. He soared to twenty feet and continued gaining elevation.
Unable to control his movement towards Jie Er, he awkwardly leaned forward and tried to angle his wings horizontal to the ground. His wings tilted as he leaned, gravity taking over as his body dived towards the ground.
He spotted Jie Er and Rebecca taking off towards him. His wings strained against the air as he drew ever closer to the ground. He desperately tried to regain control. The sudden feeling of lift pulled at his wings. A slow drag became a sudden yank against his back. The speed of his descent slowed, just as Jier Er caught him and he fell into her warm embrace.
"Good Job!" Jie Er beamed, as he hung on to her neck. The feeling of exhilaration filled him, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Not too bad for your first time, kiddo," Rebecca said, as she hovered beside them.
"Again!" Blaze screeched in excitement as he ran back to his position as soon as they landed. He felt like the first time he had learnt how to float in water; only this was much better.
The two older angels gave each other a grin before taking their positions.
For the next couple of hours, Blaze eagerly practiced even though he messed up almost every time. But slowly, he started gaining control and by the end of the day he had managed to crash right into Jie Er's arms on the ground. Learning to land was another day's lesson.