Ahahahaha! This. Is. Awesome!

After giving in to the desire to play around, I feel like I have a bunch of energy within just waiting to burst out. I pull into a direct climb, rapidly losing speed, then retract my wings and start doing backwards loop.

“Rrraaaaaaaah ahh-hahahah!” As I reach the peak I can’t contain it anymore, integrating the [Aspect of Fire] into the form with a burst of fire. I glimpse my previously brownish gray tail and wingtips, now tinted red. I briefly wonder why the aspects work like they do, seemingly affected by human folklore and even pop culture.

I quickly lose such complex thoughts as I feel the lurch of gravity finally overcoming my previous speed and give in to the plain fun of flying. Finishing my loop, I stare at the ocean below, the island not too far away. I spread my wings so catch some air and regain control, but keep them partially folded and close to my body to streamline my shape and gain as much speed as possible.

Feeding a small, but continuous stream of mana into the magical effect that caused the previous explosion, I can see a sparkling trail behind me, a bit dim in the sunlight of day, even underneath clouds. Speaking of which, it seems to be raining in the direction I intend to go. Later. I want to keep this mood for a while, it feels good.

I bet this would look really pretty on a dark night. Perhaps I can get a job as fireworks? Heh. I would like to see how this looks, though. Maybe some of the people on the boats or island film me. If they do, there’s a certain chance the vid ends up on the net. Let’s make it easier for them - Let’s fly somewhat low over the sparse settlement on the island.

I spread my wings wide, feeling the G-forces pulling at me as I flatten my trajectory from a dive to a level flight. Maaan! I twirl, doing what has been popularized as a… well, “Do a barrel roll!”

It’s actually an aileron roll, though. With planes anyway, it’s not like birds or this form has ailerons. Tail roll? It’s a corkscrew-y spinny kinda thing anyway. The name isn’t important. Loop time, weee-oah!

Okay. Let’s calm down a little.

Phew.

That was fun! And tiring. I knew beforehand that I probably shouldn’t do it, but wow do I have no regrets. Let’s revert from the [Aspect of Fire]. I should probably do flashy and impulsive things a bit more often. Or, at least, at all. That was cathartic!

Flashy magic would generally be kinda ineffective. I mean, why blast someone with a huge, obvious fireball that can be dodged or otherwise defended against? And don’t get me started on laser beam spam. I’ll admit it’s cool, though. Cool but impractical. This is reality, so I much prefer boring but practical. I mean, why not just snipe them with a penetrating bolt of magic? Or if the target has no magic defences, just explode vital organs like the heart or brain from the inside. Probably wanna mind the power, rabbit brains are…. Eww.

I hadn’t really thought of using the elemental aspects on top of my forms, but it clearly works. And is safe. I probably should’ve tested that in a more controlled setting. If something went wrong… Well, the wolves seem fine, and with my somewhat limited, but increasing, testing, I don’t think I will hurt myself by simple use.

Actually, if I can become some sorta phoenix man with Fire, what about the [Aspect of Air]? I integrate the aspect into my form, much more carefully and deliberately than the earlier… outburst. I don’t feel all that- oh.

Oh.

This… I can feel the air. Airflow. Not only on my body, but around it. I think I can control it. I flap my wings. It has a much larger effect than without the extra aspect, producing a ‘woosh’ sound. It also destabilizes my flight a bit with the sudden force. I quickly regain control again. [Aerokinesis] is nice, but I use it carefully, since I have a rather surface level understanding of flight mechanics and aerodynamics. This, however… it feels close. Familiar. Intimate, even.

And I can combine them. I keep experimenting with the use of mixed magics as I cross the last part of the ocean, coming in over mainland Denmark. As I do I pick up speed, and using that, I gain altitude. I’ve been careful with how high up I go, as both thinner air and poorer air control can be dangerous, but I think I have a decent safety margin.

Losing control isn’t that big of a problem, at least not from going too far up, as that very altitude will give me more time to regain control. Besides, I’m flying with my own body instead of in a plane or or a glider, so I feel much more directly how much lift and control I have. I wonder how high and fast I’m flying?

Mmmm, okay. I pull out my old phone from one of the side pockets of the bag, using [Force Magic] more or less like telekinesis. The wind threatens to rip it out of my magic grasp, so I manipulate the air to smoothly move around it. I tap the power button with another push of force. And then I realise I should probably have turned off the pattern lock.

Touch screens work with a tiny bit of electricity (I think), but I would rather not risk frying it. I mean, it might be somewhat disposable in that I no longer use and I brought it to use the GPS function since it’s okay if it gets damaged or destroyed. I would rather not, though. Especially not before I actually get anywhere.

Can I do trick where I use my nose? I smoosh it against my nose, body gliding as not to make it harder for myself. Mmm, failed. Take #2… Failed. One more fail and it will PIN lock- no wait, the PIN code is for the little card which I don’t have in it. Is third time’s the charm?

Ahh. Good! Let’s see; Altitude: 4142 meters, descending very slightly. Speed: 57 km/h

That’s pretty decent. I’m not actively using my abilities, though. What if I make full use of my abilities? Well, not full use, but as fast as I can go while still sustaining a longer flight. 62, 65, 68, 70, 72, 73, 74. Okay, I think I can hold this speed for a while. I think I could go faster without tiring quickly, neither physically nor mentally, but it becomes a bit harder to control my flight at this speed.

This form is mostly based on the [Aspect of the Duck], which is not exactly the fastest or most graceful/agile flier. I have this faint sense of magnetic direction from [Aspect of the Pigeon]. Yeah, I got it. And seagull and a bunch of other birds. And dog, and cats. I’ve been studying every animal I come across for their aspect. I think I’m close to getting [Aspect of the Squirrel]

I apply some force to the power button of the phone to put it in sleep mode(after changing my direction based on the map), then put it back in the side-pocket of the bag, closing it. I wonder how fast I can go if I base my form on eagles or hawks? Eagle World is the last place I’ve planned to visit, which I kinda regret now, but they only hold shows at certain times, and no more than once a day, so I had to make sure I could get there in time.

Hmm, how close will the audience be to the actual birds? I should try to get as close as possible. Not something I can do anything about now, so let’s focus on the task at hand. Which is continuing southwards, then navigating to a specific area. Given my current location, it will still be a while away. I’m maybe three quarters there?

Using a phone is so much easier when I can actually use my hands, even if they, at the moment, are somewhat awkward and stiff. I’m not gonna bother returning to human form since I’m just making sure I’m more or less on the right track. Seems like I’m twenty to forty minutes away, assuming I actually find my way.

It’s kind of impressive how birds do that. Actually, wait, no. They are not looking for a specific place as much as they look for any good place, usually for nesting and/or getting food. Even I can do that with no tools: fly around (over land) until you find fresh water, then follow the edges until you find people. Simple.

On that note how do birds handle rain? I’m pretty big (for a flying creature) and can use magic, but flying in rain sucks. I am drenched, both my coat of feathers and my clothes. Clothes being my shorts and underwear. I haven’t worn footwear the last week or so since I don’t need to, and T-shirts don’t work with wings. It’s in the bag.

I look out into the light rain falling outside the little bus shelter I’m taking shelter in. Ugh. It’s not like I can’t fly in this rain, it’s just a drizzle, and there haven’t been any lightning. While a bit chilly, it’s not cold, and my feathers mostly repel the water. That mostly is why I’m still dawdling. The little water that sticks eventually makes my wings feel heavy, and it feels unpleasant that my feathers are wet.

My feet -talons- hit the ground next to the entrance to the Scandinavian Wildlife Park. Ignoring the looks I get, I somewhat awkwardly hop-glide under the roof and revert to human form. Perfect. Not. Now I’m drenched in human form, and without the insulating layer of feathers, I actually feel cold. Whatever. I blanket myself in mana, removing the water from my skin and evaporating what remains. Hmmm, my precision control is pretty good, at least on or in my body.

Next up…. Wolves here, huh? Should I skip it? I stop. Might as well get a feel for their aspect. Maybe it’s different from the mist wolves? They’re a bit of a distance away, but with my familiarity with the aspect combined with increasing proficiency in magic in general, I get a sense of them. They’re quite similar to the mist wolves, minus the magic mist part, of course.

They’re mostly just lazing around under the little shelter in their habitat, having eaten recently. I just missed a feeding, huh? Well, not like I haven’t seen wolves eat before, closer than I could here. Actually, how come the mist wolves were so comfortable being around me to begin with? I know wolves generally won’t attack humans unprovoked, but now that I reflect back on that first day, they- Someone screams.

I turn to the source of the scream. An adult woman, looking down over the rail, to the wolves’ habitat below. Wasn’t there a kid with her? I follow her line of sight. Oh. There was. The wolves have been alerted by the sudden intruder, warily getting to their feet and stalking in this direction. They seem to recognize the crying of the kid as that of alarm of a possibly wounded creature. From my understanding of their emotions, I don’t think they draw the connection to an easy meal, most likely being bred in captivity, but an intruder is still an intruder.

“Calm down lady!” I say in English, opting to not use Norwegian since clear communication is of the essence, even though danes generally understand it, at least easy sentences said not too fast. “I’ll get him up.”

I turn my attention to the kid, reaching out with my mana to levitate him back up to safety. As I thought, using magic, even if not meant to harm, against a living target, is tricky. The mana seems to slip off the kid. I manage to get a decently good grip on his clothes, and use a second to ensure they won’t rip. It also seems fine to push on his outer skin, though it disperses more mana than, say doing the same to a rock.

With a combined push and pull, he lifts from the ground with a lurch, and with the wolves still some ten meters away. He’s over the walkway above the habitat, and I gently set him down, the wolves still alert, but returning to their shelter.

“How did you do that?!?”

Oh boy, I feel like this explanation will take a while…