ORIGIN

James stood in the center of Polaris, humming softly. Originally he was here alone, but he suspected that wouldn't be for long. He breathed in, breathed out, wings spreading out.

A wisp flashed into existence, growing brighter and brighter, a ball of spectral flame about the size of a beach ball floating above his head. He spread his wings and smirked gently before tossing it back and forth in the air, dancing from foot to foot.

He galloped forward and took off, twirling and rolling in mid-air, the ball of light following him faithfully, zipping between his legs and around him as he swooped back around, eyes narrowing. The rock he was aiming for was right in front of him, his target.

James whipped himself around and the wisp flew forward, streaking through the air. It seemed to catch fire and caught a terrific amount of speed, whistling through the air before slamming into the rock, making it tremble. Magical fire licked around the edges before disappearing, leaving a massive scorch mark on the surface.

He shook his head and turned towards Comet, grinning happily as she flew to meet him, "Hello! I'd forgotten you gained wings from the Hunt, how do they feel?"

He gently flew downwards and landed on the ground, shaking out his feathers and peering at the rock with a smile, "I'm just practicing. It never hurts to practice even if you're really good at it. Besides, I'm regaining my experience after my trial, soon I'll be good as new, possibly even better!"

He was excited to try out his new transcendent ability, but he wanted to ensure he got in some good practice before then. He didn't want to exhaust himself right away, after all.

James hummed and nodded, "I understand. For a good month or so I was too afraid to fly higher than the trees. It's only when we properly moved here that I started flying for real. They're a part of me now, as reliable as any of my limbs."

He cocked his head as he watched Comet siphon the water, cooing, "I've yet to try it... but here goes."

He inhaled and exhaled, locking his legs and closing his eyes. His wings fell to the ground and his head sagged suddenly, and if it weren't for his locked knees he'd have fallen.

A white, smoky ghost separated from James, coagulating in a vaguely horse shape before solidifying. James blinked and faced his body, gasping. He looked down at himself and lifted his wings, amazed. In the next moment he was running around the room, wings barely flapping as he darted to and fro, a massive smile on his face. It had worked!

The specter realized too late that Comet was falling, gasping silently. He couldn't catch her in this form and would fly up too late if he returned to his body, so he took a chance. He closed his eyes and reached out his magic, trying to catch her before she hit the ground.

Comet was suddenly caught out of the air, James' spirit returning to his body. He opened his eyes and carefully stood, straining to ease her to the ground. He let out a breath as she was set down and shook his head out, dazed.

"Are you okay?", he asked with worry, running forward to bump his nose against her in worry, "That was weird, did you not notice the magic fading?"

He nudged her head with his nose, knowing she was okay but still worrying.

James huffed and bumped her nose, "Hey. None of that. Spells fail and you learn from them, right? Maybe the lesson to take from this is to not fly so high with a temporary spell unless you have something else to land on. Or water beneath you."

He nipped at her ear playfully and trotted away a few paces, "Now come on, practice some more. I'm certain you'll get the hang of it, and we can still fly, just not so high."

He smiled kindly and flicked his tail gently, as if to mimic Comet's own happy wags, before taking off with an excited whinny and flying into the air.

He swooped down and let a hoof drop, veering in a tight circle around Comet, fungi growing where his leg touched the ground before he was off again with a laugh, the sprouts glowing gently.