Flying was everything I had ever imagined it to be and more. Even if I was only a passenger in Lenore’s body, if I let go of my notion of self and simply allowed her physical impressions to flow into me, it was almost as if I was flying myself. For the first time, I felt Lenore’s instincts at work, the small, subconscious mental processes that allowed us to use our bodies with proficiency. There was a lot more to flying than flapping your wings, concepts I half-remembered from physics class were constantly evaluated, estimated and predicted, allowing Lenore to glide on the winds, gracefully soaring into the dark night sky.

Sadly that blackness meant that our flight was a short one, far too short for my liking. Lenore was not willing to fly far, especially with the unknown quality that was my newly established Hallow. For now, it worked just fine and as it should but was it stable? Neither of us had any idea just how I had established my Hallow, meaning neither of us could even try to predict its behaviour. Lenore reminded me that establishing a Hallow could have negative effects on the host, depending on the affinity both participants had to each other, a nebulous idea neither of us could grasp.

In addition, Lenore didn’t like flying in the night, even with her small affinity for Dark Magic, giving her some low-light vision, and her Magic Sight she felt diminished without light. Her sight was, quite frankly, her most important sense and without it, she wasn’t as secure in herself. In addition, I could feel from her memories that there were quite a few dangers lurking in the darkness, nightly predators just happy to snag a carelass bird, turning them into a snack. I doubted that Lenore was in a lot of danger from random animals, not with her current level, but there seemed to be some evolutionary instinct in play that made her reluctant to fly at night.

Once we were on the ground, we began to gently prod and poke at the Hallow, trying to make sure everything was working as it should, me prodding from the inside, Lenore poking from the outside. Our careful tests didn’t reveal any problems but allowed me to familiarise myself with the function of a Hallow. It seemed that the body I was using inside was merely a representation of my Avatar, something I only noticed after a bit, when I actually looked at myself. Instead of the dark and sturdy leather-clothes I was normally wearing, I was in the most interesting outfit, a flowing, strangely cold tunic, made from what I could only describe as Ice-Type Astral Power, held together by my subconscious mind and the idea that I was supposed to be dressed. And that was the other part, the Hallow was formed from Astral Power, my Astral Power to be precise. It was quite literally my magic, creating a space for my… Avatar? mind? soul? to be. I just didn’t know what I was dealing with but it made me curious, made me want to know more.

“We should head back in.” Lenore broke me out of my stream of thought and my contemplation of how far I might be able to shape the Hallow, into a domain worthy of myself, an idea that made me chuckle, just a little.

“Most likely, yes. Let’s see if I manage to get out of here, without causing permanent damage.” I replied, hopefully joking.

After a moment to quiet my mind, I considered how I had managed to get into this, trying to figure out how to get out. I had been observing my own Astral Power and the channels it was moving through before noticing my connection with Lenore and following it. That meant, to reverse it, I would have to get a bigger distance between Lenore and myself, maybe by projecting my will, or rather, the non-permanent contents of my Hallow, outside. For that, I needed to perceive the outside, so I started to look around, out into the world. That part was relatively easy, as long as I did it with Lenore’s senses, but I had to do it with my own, which was a lot harder.

It took me a few minutes to get an impression of the outside world and the Astral Power flowing through it, from there, it seemed simple. Taking everything that wasn’t part of the Hallow with me, I imagined myself next to Lenore, as I had been sitting earlier. In a flash of inspiration, I used Lenore’s memory, giving me an outside view, to go with my own impressions and memories.

I felt a moment of disorientation before I was back outside, not quite sitting as I had planned but safely on the ground. Pushing myself up from my awkward, half-lying, half-kneeling pose, I made sure that every part of my body and, of lesser importance, my clothing were where they belonged. I had no idea, none at all, just where the clothes, or my Avatar’s body, went while in the Hallow, but it seemed that every part had come out without trouble. That even included the tiny chunk of Eternal Ice that was left after I had used it against Tzar Bolotnik, a small sliver, something I could easily control.

After making sure that everything was where it belonged, I looked over to Lenore, making sure that she was fine as well. I couldn’t help but notice that there was a small, frozen spot under her claws, most likely an effect of our connection.

“That worked better than expected.” I admitted, getting a slightly annoyed caw in response, the avian equivalent of an annoyed snort.

“Let’s go back inside.” I told her, now that I was back in my own body and didn’t need to worry about leaving my Hallow, the memories of our first flight came rushing back, making me giddy with excitement. After scooping up Lenore and putting her on my shoulder, I almost skipped inside, knowing full well what to do next. Or maybe that was who to do, I was feeling quite frisky.

For once, Sigmir was the one who woke up first in the next morning, looking at me with a bemused expression.

“Want to tell me what was going on last night?” she asked, once she realised that I was awake.

“I don’t think you’ve ever been that…” she paused, looking for a word, “...exuberant before. Not that I complain, mind you, but I’d like to know.”

I had to grin at her candid description of my state the night before, even as I blushed a bit at the memory. I had come in and, quite literally, dragged her off, not taking no for an answer. Not that she had protested all that hard, or at all, really. Looking around in the room, I wondered just how her underwear had landed on one of the light-fixtures, before shaking my head, deciding not to think about it too deeply.

“I achieved something new yesterday, I somehow managed to establish a Hallow on my own.” I began my explanation, getting a surprised look in response.

“We went flying. I’ve never felt that way before.” I admitted, before letting my mind drift a bit. Just why was I so excited by the ability to fly, why spoke it in such a way to my mind, making me feel…

My mind paused, trying to come up with a word or concept to describe the feeling. It had been as if I was experiencing something I had been missing all my life, a feeling of glorious homecoming as if part of me was finally completed. I didn’t understand it, I had been in airplanes before and had been excited by it but never to an even remotely similar extant. What I had felt back then was like a single snowball, compared to the might and power of an avalanche.

“And you enjoyed it?” Sigmir asked, pulling me out of my headspace, an amused grin now on her face.

“It was more than enjoyment.” I admitted, now smiling myself. “It was a glorious feeling, I have to admit, one that I struggle to describe. It was almost as good as being with you.” I admitted, a blush creeping on my face. It had been a completely different sensation but the intensity had been similar. Maybe that had been why I had felt so, as Sigmir had put it, exuberant afterwards.

“That must have been one hell of a flight. Let me know when you go flying the next time, will you? That way, I can prepare.” she asked, before pulling me a little closer and gently kissing me. Before I could inquire in her plans, she shifted and from my comfortable position, lying partially on top of her, using her arm as a pillow, I was moved, suddenly finding myself lying below her, with her grinning down at me from above, her grin mirroring the grin I had the night before, when dragging her off.