Lisa arrived with Sara at the Necime’s grove. After being led to Avery’s tower, they had to wait a ridiculous amount of time before being allowed access to the tower. Apparently the young master was in the middle of receiving other guests and was not in a rush to finish his business.

“So, do you think Ashley is already inside?” Lisa asked.

“Probably.” Sara sighed, “I just hope she’s not getting into too much trouble. It’s really not proper for her to meet with Avery alone.”

“He does have a reputation; you don’t think he’d go too far, do you?”

“As an orphan, Ashley’s protected by the church until adulthood. If anything happens, Avery’s judge will be the Parental Conifers.”

As she said this, the guard that led them nervously excused himself to check on the situation atop the tower. Shortly after, the guard returned with Ashely, Avery and another woman in tow. Their hair was dripping wet and their clothes disheveled.

“What exactly was going on up there?” Sara fumed.

“Nothing important,” Avery waved dismissively, “what are you two doing here?”

Sara looked to Ashley, but she just gave a grin and wink as reply. With a huff, the tension released from her shoulders. “I am here on behalf of the Budding Order to ensure you two don’t get into any trouble. My friend is here to accompany me.”

“Ooh, are you going to the thicket with us?” Ashley asked.

“As your chaperone, I am required to follow and ensure you establish proper safety precautions.” Turning to face Lisa, she continued. “I’m not sure if you want to join or not, it’s really up to you; assuming they don’t take issue.”

When Sara turned, Ashley slunk behind Lisa and started messing with her feathers. She poked her head out before replying. “Sure, adventure is all about meeting new friends!”

Lisa jumped, proximity too close for comfort.

“I wish I had wings,” Ashley said, “flying around would be so fun. How high can you go? For how long?”

“Hum? I can go up to about three stories. If I’m rested, I can glide pretty far, but actively flying is pretty taxing and I can’t sustain it for too long. After that it's like sprinting a marathon.”

“How much can you carry, can you take me for a ride?”

“Um, no. Well, maybe if we glided off a building but we wouldn’t get far.”

“Ok let’s try!” Ashley said, pulling Lisa towards the stairs.

Lisa gave a pleading look, but Sara just smiled in return.

“I’ll talk security details with Avery, you two have fun. But be safe!”

Reaching the top of the tower, the two looked out over the ledge. It wasn’t very tall, only about four stories. Normally Lisa could glide at a ratio of 10:1 depending on the wind, but with a passenger she suspected she would be lucky to do more than prevent a painful landing.

“So, how are we going to do this?” Ashley asked, looking off into the distance with a grin. The ruffling of fabric caused her to turn around.

Lisa had removed the long skirt from her dress to reveal a pair of long shorts.

“Which of your forms is the lightest? It will be easiest for me to carry you with my talons.”

Ashley poked and prodded Lisa’s legs before she started shifting between her forms with varying features. She settled on a hybrid feline form with lanky features that reduced her overall weight by nearly a quarter.

“Alright, let's go!”

Lisa flapped into the air and grasped around Ashley’s arms.

Before she could build momentum, Ashley sprinted before performing a long jump over the edge of the tower. A mixed reaction followed the reaction as they plummeted like a rock.

“Aah shit!”

“Woohoo!”

Stretching out her wings, Lisa felt like the wind was trying to rip them out as she provided the lift required to turn their downward plunge into an upward swoop and glided.

Unconcerned, Ashley flapped her arms as if flying on her own.

Just as the knot in Lisa’s stomach untied itself, she realized they were gliding over a thick patch of trees in the Necime’s grove.

As their altitude lowered, she found herself unable to dodge the trees quickly enough. As she watched a massive trunk jutting out from the earth quickly approach, she lifted upwards as much as she could in an attempt to slow the impact.

“Fucking fuck. Fuck!” Lisa closed her eyes and braced for impact.

As they reached the tree, Ashley morphed her form to include more feline features and climbed up and around the tree with Lisa on her back.

As they reached the top, Lisa sighed in relief. Ashley jumped off the top with arms spread wide.

“Again! Woot”

Lisa spread her wings and struggled once again to make up for the surprise drop. Muscles from both her wings and back burned from the lift required to both slow their fall and guide their descent away from the trees.

When they finally touched the ground, they landed in a thick bush of thorns. Fortunately for Lisa, she was able to maintain her perch on Ashley’s shoulders. Allowing her cargo to take the brunt of the damage.

“Yeow fuck. Ok, next time we fly, remind me to wear clothes.”

As they reached a clearing, Lisa heaved for breath on her knees. The knicks and cuts that covered Ashley’s body made her appear to be a bloody mess, even though the actual damage was minor.

“You alright?” Lisa wheezed, “Some of those cuts look… uncomfortable.”

“I’ll be alright. Luckily, my fur stopped the worst of it. I heal better than most too.”

Lisa walked over to inspect the wounds and noticed that most had already scabbed over. The smeared blood was mostly from the initial impact.

“Why are you covered in so much blood? You weren't hurt long enough for there to be this much.”

“I bleed more than most,” Ashley shrugged, “I think it’s the infernal in me, but I’m not sure. I've never met another to ask.”

“Yea, it's pretty rare to find sane ones,” Lisa looked Ashley up and down, “I’m not sure if I’ve met one yet.”

“Ha, being sane is insane. Too boring!”

“There’s some logic to that, but there’s a need for moderation.”

“That’s me, moderately insane.” Ashley grinned.

As their march back ended, Sara stared at Ashley with widened eyes. “What the hell happened? I thought I told you to be safe!”

“It’s nothing, just some scratches,” Ashley said as she interlocked an arm with Hellen. “I’ll have to trouble you for another bath,” she winked.

Sara watched as Ashley pulled Hellen to the tower stairs with a twitch in her eye.

“Five minutes,” she yelled, “is that so much to ask?" Five minutes without getting in trouble.”

Ashley poked her head out of the door frame, “Don’t worry, we’ll be a lot longer than that!”