Chapter Twenty-five
OVER THE NEXT WEEK, MORGAN AND Sparrow managed to get their apparatus going to keep the Dimmers off the camp shield.
They were still trying to get in, though there didn’t seem to be as many as before, and they were coming out later, usually well after dark and leaving before sunrise. No one had been able to establish a telepathic link to one of them. It was as if they were completely mindless.
The ruling council had decided the Dimmers seemed more like pests than anything else and had hired - who else - Nuisance Apprehenders, Inc., to evaluate them and come up with a method of containment.
Jade’s trip back to the Dome had been delayed for a couple of weeks, to allow her to get rested up and get in some flying practice.
She began practicing with Eagle again and was having fun with it. She was still wearing her hair in three thick braids - it was easy and kept her hair out of her way - and had taken to wearing colorful knee length tunics with loose pants because she still didn’t fit most of her clothes, and Maggie had gotten the garments for her on a trip back to the Dome.
She quickly got very good at flying, and they began to attract an audience. Eagle had discovered she did much better with its lessons if allowed to dance, so it would play music or sing for her, and she would dance her way through the exercises.
The first time Kendis saw her doing that, his jaw had dropped. He had known she liked to dance but had never seen her do so. He hadn’t known how good she was at it. He had stood watching her, mesmerized. Then one day Eagle, overcome with the joy of watching its student, had joined her in the dance, and together, they seemed to light up the sky. That day, they got an ovation from the watchers.
Jade had been surprised. She hadn’t realized how many people watched her and Eagle. Then she thought about it, and understood why they watched. One reason was, she was the first Human flyer, another was - except for the baric ball matches between teams the young Humans had formed - there really wasn’t that much entertainment in the camp, and going back and forth to the Dome was kind of awkward.
Once you were out, it was easy to get back in because all you had to do was walk in and step back through the window at the cottage. To get out though, you still had to have a Human, a Dog, a Cat, and an Elvwist. Going for entertainment was not something done lightly or often.
There had been some grumbling lately, and the ruling council was looking into appointing a committee to help with providing entertainment for the workers. So for a moment, they had been the entertainment.
At the end of the week, the Elvwist telekinetic adept, Owl arrived. It was anxious to meet the first Human flyer and her telekinetic partner, so it wrapped up its business in order to get there a few days earlier than anticipated.
Jade and Kendis joined Owl and Eagle at the practice field the first morning of the weekend. They glanced over at the things Eagle and Owl had brought to the field with them, dropping them to the side: a box of baric balls, two long poles, a very large wooden block - about five feet by five feet - and a bag of what appeared to be colorful ribbons.
Mystified, they looked at each other and shrugged, figuring the Elvwists would tell them what all the stuff was for.
Eagle introduced Owl, who at twelve feet, dwarfed everybody on the field - and in the camp. Maybe in the world.
“Good morning,” it sang, surprising Jade and Kendis with its melodious basso voice. It was the first Elvwist bass voice they’d heard.
“I’m very pleased to meet you.” It gave a graceful bow as it spoke. Like Eagle, it called her “Jade” - and used contractions.
Jade looked up…way up at it and grinned. It was the tallest Elvwist she’d ever seen, she came nowhere near its waist. Actually, she could probably walk under it if it stood with its legs apart, only having to dip her head a bit. She thought about her short friend, Ro. Owl could probably hold her comfortably in the palm of one huge hand.
She got an image of Ro sitting in Owl’s hand, dangling her feet over, hanging on to its thumbs, looking down as she danced through its legs. She heard a chuckle from Kendis.
Oops. She peeked at Eagle, who was grinning broadly, and looked back up at Owl, contritely. Its blue eyes were shinning down at her and it burst into a booming laugh.
“Well,” it said when it stopped laughing, “I see at least two things I’ve heard about you are true!” It grinned. “That was a pretty good image joke, Jade. And I see you do have trouble with your shields. Well, let’s see if the third thing I heard is true. Come to me, little one,” and it held out its hand to her.
Jade looked at Kendis and Eagle, both nodded at her, so she took off, rising up to catch Owl’s outstretched hand. It watched her come with amazement in its eyes.
“Then it is true!” it thundered as it caught her hand. “You can fly!” With her hand clasped firmly in its own, it rose up with her, to her astonishment.
she sent,
It grinned widely.
It nodded towards Eagle and Kendis, who were both lifting from the ground, Eagle holding Kendis’ hand.
She turned to look, and laughed with glee at the sight of Kendis’ mahogany face beaming back at her.
said Owl.
Jade took them back down to the ground, Owl bending its knees as it landed. She landed lightly back on the grass, her heart beating rapidly.
She heard Eagle and Kendis land to the side of them, and as soon as he touched down, Kendis laughed.
“Woooo hoooo!” he yelled with delight. He rushed over and picked her up, swinging her around with exhilaration.
He hugged and kissed her and set her back down as she laughed.
“Felt good, huh?” she asked, grinning. She turned to the two tall Elvwist: “Let’s get going, guys! We’re ready for our lessons!”
Eagle and Owl looked at each other and smiled at the little Humans’ enthusiasm.
They sat down in the grass with them and together they planned their lessons for the next week.
For the next two hours after that, they were taught techniques for coordinating their interactions and conserving energy. The rest of the morning was spent practicing. They learned to hold hands and fly together, and they learned the purpose of all the paraphernalia Owl and Eagle had brought.
Kendis learned to pick up various objects simultaneously - beginning with five baric balls - and bring them into flight with him and Jade, towing them along behind. To their delight, Eagle and Owl allowed themselves to be towed for practice in lifting living objects.
By the time they left for lunch, they were tired and sweaty but satisfied with themselves.
They had mastered flying together - they had clicked on that almost immediately, impressing their teachers with just how well they did - and could tow a number of objects while in flight. They couldn’t do them all yet, and Kendis hadn’t been able to lace any of the long ribbons - turns out it was a bag of ribbons - around the two ten foot poles but he was going to work on it.
They discovered their connection worked both ways: not only could Kendis fly when touching Jade, but she could lift when she touched him.
Owl and Eagle were ecstatic when they saw this. It was something they couldn’t do. When they flew together, Eagle lifted Owl, and Owl lifted everything taken into flight with them. They briefly consulted with Lark.
replied Lark, happily.
Eagle and Owl nodded. They were both wondering, though, how to go about telling the two Humans how much easier it was to fly unclothed.