Chapter 1 - Five Years Later

The watch on Mina's wrist beeped, shaking her out of the half-daydream she always found herself in when she watched others dancing through the air. These ones were young, but some were quite talented. One or two could even probably make a living out of it if they stuck with it long enough. She rubbed her eyes as she stood to end free practice.

"Alright class! Line up! Sylvie, that means you too. We've talked about you sitting on the rafters. Now get down before I decide to ground you. Literally!" She called out from one end of the gym. One by one the skydancing students drifted out of the air into the space in front of her, with the young devilkin Sylvie landing last with a rather melodramatic pout on her face. The erratic flicking of her spade-point tail belied her irritation, but, mercifully, she didn't seem keen on trying to push her luck further.

"Now that we've got everyone here, it's time for training drills." Mina said.

Several of the students groaned, Sylvie included. Mina just shrugged.

"Those of you who don't want to stick around can leave if you want. No one's making you stay. But what I'm about to show you is pretty cool, and I'd hate for you to miss it." She said.

After a moment without further objections, Mina spoke again.

"Okay, so, how many of you feel confident in your back-airflips?" She asked.

Most hands shot up. A few newer students left theirs down.

"How many of you can do more than one in a row?"

Almost all of the hands fell to their sides, until only two were still up. Sylvie was one. The second was a shy fey girl named Marra with two pairs of gossamer-thin wings like finely worked sheets of stained glass. She was a terribly elegant and skilled dancer, but her lack of self-confidence kept her from truly shining. Mina nodded appreciably at the two of them.

"Two of you. That's more than I expected. Now, can either of you do more than one without your altitude dropping between each flip?"

The two girls looked at each other, and in unison slowly lowered their hands to their sides sheepishly.

"That's what I figured." Mina said. She paused for a second, then asked "Who would like me to show you how to do it?"

A dozen hands shot into the air. For the next two hours, Mina walked them through it, step by step, finally demonstrating the end result to a now rapt audience. The technique wasn't that hard, really. Just completely counterintuitive. Who would think to force their wings open on the upstroke too so that your wings were actually flapping in both directions? It felt wrong when you did it for the first time. It was awkward, and uncomfortable, and required the use of muscles not used to being placed under that kind of strain. The first time she'd tried it years ago, she'd sprained one of her wings in the process. But it got easier with practice, and once you got the hang of it, it quickly became intuitive. By the time the class ended, nearly every single one of the more skilled dancers had managed to do it at least once, and all of them were drenched with sweat and exhausted. Marra took to it almost immediately, and before long was spinning perfect vertical rings in the air over their heads. Mina figured it probably had to do with her wings being different than the bird- and bat-like wings of the rest of the class. Or the girl was just a natural. Mina smiled inwardly. If that girl ever learned to get past her own self-criticism, she was going places.

Once the sweaty gaggle of dancers were dismissed, Mina locked the gym. For the next few hours, she had the place to herself. After limbering back up, she spread her wings and shot upwards. She put herself through her paces, practicing each moveset until she felt satisfied what she'd done was good enough. Flips came first, first front, then back, then the far more complicated airwheels, which borrowed part of their name from the cartwheels they mimicked. After that were dives and upward skyrockets, then airborne arabesques and a host of other physical flourishes. She even did some of them upside down, just because she could. And, more than once, she caught herself smiling without even meaning to.

She was in the middle of an inverted leg extended spin when her focus was broken by the sound of someone clearing their throat. She fell out of form and tumbled downwards a dozen feet before she was able to right herself. She glared down at the intruder.

"June, I swear to the gods, if you ever interrupt me and I get hurt, I will kill you." She said.

"Well normally, you just stop in place when I try to get your attention. I wasn't expecting to fall out of the air like you'd just been shot." The young woman said, laughing. She pulled Mina into a bear hug, then immediately pushed back with a disgusted look on her face. "Gods, your drenched."

"That's what happens when you exert yourself. You should try it sometime." Mina said, impishly poking June in her stomach.

"Hey!" June protested. "I walked all the way here. We humans can't just soar through the air like you, featherbrain."

Mina looked at June for a long moment before cocking an eyebrow.

"...featherbrain?"

"Oh shut up. It sounded better in my head."

Mina laughed.

"Well, since you've so rudely interrupted me, I suppose that means you need the gym space."

June nodded.

"'Fraid so. Our local demi-polo team wants to practice in an actual play space before they head off to their next game. I tried to buy you some more time, but you know how... aggressive centaurs can get when a woman doesn't let them have what they want."

Mina covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing out loud. She slapped June on the arm.

"You're terrible!"

June adopted a look of mock offense.

"I am not. I am a paragon of virtue and grace, and you should be honored to be in my presence. But seriously, you gotta go. If I don’t let them in soon they’ll probably do something stupid.” She said.

Mina sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

It took a minute or two to towel off and gather her things. June stood there with her for a long moment, seemingly in thought, before she spoke up.

“You know, you’re really too good to be teaching kids, Mina.” She said.

Mina turned to June as she toweled her hair dry.

“What? No. Besides, if I don’t teach them, who will? And what better way to improve my skills than to have to constantly refresh myself on what I know by showing others?” She said.

“Is that why I never see you doing anything new on your own time?”

Mina stopped, unconsciously lowering the towel from her hair.

“No, I just- I like to really polish up the things I know. You know that.”

“Mina, I’m being serious for a change. Try and listen to what I’m saying. You’re wasting yourself here.You need to go out and do something… I dunno? Bigger? Get a gig as the skydancer in a perfume commercial maybe.”

Mina laughed and rolled her eyes.

“I thought you were being serious.” She said, slinging her gym bag over her shoulder and heading for the door.

“I am! Totally and completely!” June said, following after her.

“I’m happy where I’m at, June. I like my job. I like my students. I like having to put up with you all the time. I don’t need anything more. Really.”

June put her hand on Mina’s shoulder.

“Just… consider the possibility, okay?”

“If I agree to, will you let me go home?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, I agree to consider it. Now let me go! I’ve gotta make dinner for Papa before he gets all cranky.”

Mina turned and walked out into the fading sunlight. She made it about five steps before June called after her.

“Hey! We still on for your birthday tomorrow?”

“Yes. Seven o’clock. Bring food.”

“I’ll bring booze too!”

“No June! Don’t you dare!”

“Why? You’ll be old enough.”

“That’s not the point. Just, no. You hear me? Don’t do it.”

“Fine.” June said, pouting.

Before either of them could say any more, Mina turned the corner out of sight.