Chapter Text
“Telling a fish to fly. What an idea...”
“Jade, did you forget flying fish actually exist?”
“They do not use brooms!”
“Not what you-”
“Floyd, I’m trying to concentrate!”
Up until a few minutes ago, you had been flying up in the sky to your heart's content. And then you picked up the Leech siblings' argument and realized they hadn't spent a second in the air since class had started. Which was over half an hour ago. Now you were hovering a good twenty meters over them, close enough to able to hear their words clearly. It was quite surprising, really, to hear the normally so collected Jade act this frazzled. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he had a fear of heights.
The mere thought of being afraid to fly filled you with emotion. The freedom of the sky. The wind whipping at your skin. Sitting on your broom, sturdy and reliable, reaching speeds that mocked your best running records. To think some people might not experience that pleasure was horrifying...
There wasn’t anything you didn’t like about flying.
No. There actually was one thing that irked you: the fact that second years were only allowed to fly under supervision.
So when the school set planned extra practice hours - obligatory for nearly all students who were failing flying ("nearly all", because Azul had somehow managed to get exempt) - you had jumped at the opportunity to join. The one condition was that you assisted any students who needed help.
It seemed like you'd need to fulfill your part of the bargain today.
From your spot in the sky, you saw Ashton run up to his only two students still on the ground. “Leech twins! What’s all this about?! Get up in the air. Now.”
“Yes, sir!”
Yet, even with the enthusiastic affirmation, Jade’s feet stayed firmly on the ground.
A glance at Ashton’s face told you you had very little time to save the two moray eels from becoming sushi. “I’m on it, sir,” you shouted while you skillfully, silently, guided your broom over to the twins.
“We’re fine,” Jade called out to you even before you had landed. “We’ll call if we require your assistance.”
Making sure you caught his eye, you glanced over your shoulder to Ashton's retreating back, before throwing Jade a meaningful look. You lifted your eyebrow to silently drive your point home.
Jade stubbornly looked away.
Floyd, on the other hand, waved you down towards him. “Watch me,” he said, showing you his trademark grin before a look of concentration washed over his face.
Resolutely, he took his broom and pushed off from the ground. You didn’t miss the split second his eyes went wide before he managed to stabilize the broom in the sky. His posture was a little shaky and he was moving his hips as if he couldn’t get comfortable, but in all, he was up in the air. His joyful exclamations had you wonder why he hadn't done this before catching the blunt of Ashton's anger.
Before you could compliment Floyd on a job well done, he moved his gravitational center to the right of his broom. Hooking his left knee around the bottom part of the broom while holding the top with his left hand, he called out to his brother. “Whee! This is fun! Jade! Come on up~ It’s so nice here!”
It was only after you heard his words, did it register that he had intentionally let himself fall off.
Well, it could've been worse.
Never one to disappoint, Floyd's pleasured tone quickly turned to fright. “I’m slipping!”
You had to fight back a groan, burying your face in your hands at the display. You’re literally two meters above Jade… And that posture is exactly why you’re so prone to falling. Oh pixies, what do I do with you…
Shaking your head, you guided your broom underneath Floyd’s right foot to push him back onto his own broom. You were in half a mind to suggest him to sit aside his broom, rather than astride. A multitude of mental images of the youth sliding off on either side, breaking various body parts by landing face first in the ground or breaking his neck by falling over backwards, made you think twice. Nope. Best let him figure that one out himself.
Meanwhile, Jade had managed to get astride his broom with proper posture, though with both feet still firmly in the grass and his gaze just as firmly on a heap of dirt in front of him.
Who said progress needed to be rapid? Now, how to get him in the air.
“Floyd! Could you fly forward till you’re above those trees?” You pointed at a group of tall pine trees further down the training field - right in front of Jade.
“Sure~” The near blinding speed at which Floyd flew away send a chill through you. Hadn’t he been shifting left and right on his broom just a moment ago? How does he move so steadily and fluidly now?
You pushed the thought away. What mattered now was that Floyd was in position. After giving the expressive twin a quick thumbs up, you gently floated down towards Jade.
“Jade, Floyd is hanging rather precariously over those trees...” Your tone was suggestive. Honestly, you didn’t need to fake much of your worries. One glance at Floyd told you he somehow only managed to stay safely on a moving broom.
It didn’t matter. Jade did exactly what you hoped he would do; redirect his attention from the ground below to the sky above. It was nearly comic to see how wide his eyes went, before he pushed off with surprising strength and speed.
“Floyd, do be careful! Those trees look awfully prickly.”
You closed your eyes for a moment. You most certainly preferred Jade’s normal snark over whatever his current state of mind…
“In case you hadn’t noticed,” you started, making sure you were flying higher than the twins as to prevent their attention from shifting to the ground, “both of you are flying. Keep a hold of those brooms and you needn’t worry about prickly trees.”
The clearing was silent except for the sound of other second years whooping in glee or crashing to the ground.
Tentatively, Jade flew closer to his twin, face tense in concentration. When he finally hoovered stably next to his mirror image, he let out a deep breath.
“That was pretty decent.” You felt like trying your luck. Even if the remark angered him, there was no way he was going to chase you down here in the sky.
“Well, I’m still doing better than Azul...”
Yeah, though both of you still suck at this. You didn’t speak the thought out loud, though. There was trying your luck and then there was being suicidal. You wouldn’t be safe up in the sky all day.
“Class dismissed! Go train your bodies some more, guppies!”
Helping the flying eels down, you regretted you couldn’t have flown some more. Well, at least they made some progress .
Your thoughts were interrupted by Floyd slipping off of his broom with a cry.
Oh well.