Vylt: The New Dawn

Chapter 33: A Frozen Flower

Allison stood by the lake's shore, watching me as I began my descent. She seemed ready to catch me the moment I got close enough. Unbeknown to her, however, I had altered the plan a little. My new intention was to try and land without any assistance. For the record, this wasn't the child in my head taking over, but a simple desire to replicate what I had achieved once before. I did stumble that one time, but that was precisely why I needed to practise.

My goal was, in theory, quite safe for me. At least as long as my acrophobia wasn't triggered. Considering recent events, it was something important to keep in mind. Though, while that was always a real threat, my previous experiences indicated that such a thing never happened when my wings were in control. They granted me the sense of security I needed not to fear flying.

Should something go wrong, I could simply stick to the original idea. Allison would become my safety net, and I trusted she could do it. Even if she couldn't, there was always the option to keep going and fall into the water instead. Unfortunately for me, none of my planning mattered.

"Nora! Wait!"

Allison was quick to notice my precocious descent and took off sprinting towards me. I barely had any time to react as a large pair of arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a hug the moment I got close enough to the ground. Still not used to stopping her momentum, Allison ended up being the one to stumble for a few seconds.

Once stable, the giantess pulled me away from her and turned me around as she held me. "Are you okay? What happened? Did you get tired?"

She resembled a customer trying to spot any signs of damage on the doll she intended to buy at a toy store. The doll in question was quite disappointed.

Having recovered from the sudden interception, I sighed. "I'm fine. I just wanted to try landing on my own."

Allison stopped and frowned. "And you didn't tell me because..."

"I only thought about it once I was up there. I wasn't expecting you to run like that and catch me. My bad."

She pouted briefly, then slowly shook her head and put me down. "We can try that next time. Just let me know beforehand, okay?"

"O-okay." I was fully expecting her to scold me for it. "Thank you."

"Nora, are you okay!?" Mom shouted, still running my way. The time it took them to reach us served as a testament to how fast giants could be when they wanted to.

"Oh my gods! That was so cool!" Mary yelled right after. "There was the flying, and the running, and then the epic midair catch! And I got it all on camera!"

Allison jumped!?

I hadn't even noticed she did. I really needed to watch that video.

"I'm fine, Mom. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." That seemed enough to calm her down. Fortunately, she wasn't aware this would've been my second time landing on my own. "And Mary, I hope you remember that you can't publish that thing," I commented. "Or anything you record here for that matter."

She snickered, "Oh, I know, I know. You don't have to tell me. Plus, they are my treasures! Only for me!" Noticing my mother's disappointment, she added, "Don't worry, Emma. You know you're the exception."

Mom immediately smiled, "Thank you very much, Mary. You're an angel."

"Heh, I know," Mary replied. "Well, that's demonstration number two. Next is that illusion ring!"

I shook my head in response, "That will need to wait."

She deflated upon hearing my refusal. "How come?"