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At first, Lucifer didn’t know if Charlie’s wings would ever grow to carry her. They were small and fragile— but he was certain that they’d get bigger and stronger over the years. Yet, they never did. As Charlie emerged into her teenage years, her wings did not. They remained the same size as when she was a small child— and oh, were they delicate. Whenever she preened them, even the smallest adjustment was immensely uncomfortable and sometimes, even painful.
This, of course, did not go unnoticed by Lucifer, as occasionally he would his daughter to preen her wings. He could see her twitch every time a feather was touched, as much as she tried to hide it. Initially he thought that her sensitivity could be because of the incident that’d occurred when her wings first sprouted— how he’d had to help her preen her bloodied, ripped feathers. But, Lucifer had damaged his wings before and never gotten that sensitive. And, the girl’s feathers had grown back anyway. He didn’t see how damage that’d long since been repaired could hinder Charlie’s wings from growing.
Until the day that she turned 16.
The day after his daughter’s birthday party, Lucifer could’ve sworn that her wings were a little bit wider than before. The following week, they only grew more. They grew so much, in fact, that they grew to tower over Charlie. They were almost as big as Lucifer’s by the end of the month— what the hell? How had they grown so much in such a short span of time? Lucifer was perplexed— but all of that disappeared near instantly when he saw Charlie’s excitement over her wings. Whenever she looked back at them, her face lit up. She could touch and preen them without discomfort.
But best of all, she’d finally be able to fly.
Charlie had tried to fly many times on her own. But, she’d never even managed to lift herself off of the ground. Usually, one would learn how to control their wings as they grew. But Charlie’s had developed so abruptly and so quickly that she didn’t really have any time to learn how to use them. And, since they’d been tiny before, she hadn’t had any use for them, so she never really learned to control them. Now that her wings were all of a sudden absolutely massive, they were also throwing her off balance.
Lucifer would sometimes watch her struggle from afar. She would spread her brilliant crimson wings, the six of them huge for her small frame. Then, she’d try to fly— but she'd get thrown off balance due to the weight of her wings and fall to the ground. She repeated this process many times— sometimes until her feathers would fall out (which led to her preening more frequently). Eventually she learned to balance herself. But she still couldn’t get off the ground. She had no idea how to put such power into her wings— Lucifer could tell.
One night, over dinner, he decided to bring it up to her. “So, Charlie,” he said, making the girl look up from the food that she’d dug her fork into, her warm amber eyes alight with wonder. “Ever since your wings have grown, and, y’know… with how you’ve been trying to fly on your own— what do you think about if I gave you some pointers? Helped you out some.”
Charlie’s eyes widened as she nearly choked on the food that she’d been chewing. “Y-you saw that!?” She yelled, her face hot with embarrassment. Lucifer suppressed a chuckle at his daughter’s reaction, but she quickly turned her humiliation into excitement as her eyes shifted to show pure ecstasy.
“Wait. You would help me?” Charlie gasped, throwing herself out of her chair so that she could jump up and down, before running over to where her dad was sitting and encasing her arms around him in a hug. “Hell yeah! Thanks, Dad!”
Lucifer smiles, reciprocating his daughter’s affection as he puts an arm around her. “Of course! After all, you can ask me for anything. I’ll always be here if you need me.”
All of a sudden, Charlie released herself from the hug and shot out of the room, almost tripping over herself as she ran down the hallway. Lucifer could hear her yell, “I’ll be in the courtyard! Hurry up, Dad!”
Lucifer sighs, feigning exasperation as he looks at her half-eaten dinner that's been left on the table. He hadn’t expected her to leave just like that— although, knowing his daughter, he definitely should’ve. “Man, what am I gonna do with her? That girl…”
Lucifer quickly finishes his food, getting out of his chair and unfurling his wings afterwards. Then, with the snap of his fingers he teleports to the courtyard— right behind Charlie, who doesn’t know that he’s there and is making an attempt to fly. She flaps her massive wings clumsily— they aren't moving in unison. Rather, they’re moving wildly, and all at different times. There wasn’t any power behind her movements, either.
“Charlie,” Lucifer says, startling his daughter. She jumps at the sudden voice, losing her balance and falling to the ground in the process. She covers her face in shame as her dad smiles, offering a hand to her which she gladly accepts. As she’s pulled up from the ground, Lucifer spreads his wings, and in one, strong flap, is up off of the ground.
“Wha— whoa! How’d you…!”
Lucifer snickers, putting a hand over his mouth to hide his playful smile as he hovers in the air above her.
“Charlie, from what I’ve seen, you aren’t putting enough power into your wings as you try to lift yourself off of the ground. Focus on controlling how much strength you’re putting in, so that you can create an airflow that’ll push you into the air.”
Charlie nods determinedly, closing her eyes. She starts to move her wings subtly— but Lucifer can already tell that they’re moving in opposite directions.
“Move them in unison, Char! Otherwise you’ll be put off balance by your wings going in so many different directions, and you won’t be able to get an airflow.”
That’s when Charlie falls, caught off-balance by all six of her wings moving unsynchronized. This time, however, Lucifer doesn’t help her up. He lets her pull herself to her feet on her own, and she dusts herself off before trying again. He can tell that his daughter is taking his advice to heart— he’s sure that he can feel some wind created from the power in the girl’s wings, and she’s much more focused on moving them in unison.
Yet, it is failed attempt after failed attempt to fly. Lucifer can tell that she’s now putting in the power— but having to move all six of her wings in unison must be overwhelming. On her seventh attempt, he can hear Charlie growl in frustration, her gaze downcast and disappointed.
Lucifer lowers himself to the ground a few feet away from her. He had an idea. Perhaps, instead of just offering his daughter advice, she’d learn better if she’d show her, first.
“Alright, Charlie!” Lucifer says enthusiastically, getting the discouraged girl beside him to look up curiously. “Think you can follow what I’m doing?”
Charlie hesitates for a moment— but, just a moment. Soon the fire is back into her eyes, burning with fierce determination. “Yeah!” She says, a toothy smile coming onto her face.
Lucifer stretches wings, Charlie following with ease.
“Now,” he says in a serious tone of voice. “Point your wings slightly towards the ground, so that you can push up off of it when you take off.”
Charlie nods and does just that, the concentration apparent on her face.
“Great! Now, I want you to focus hard. Focus on all six of your wings, and move them in unison. I know it’ll be difficult, but I’m right here with you. You’ve got this. I can even show you— just like this.”
Lucifer moves his wings in sync, although he doesn’t put enough power into them to fly just yet. Charlie watches, her amber eyes taking in his every movement before turning her gaze towards the ground and closing her eyes. This time, though, she’s focused and more determined than ever. She starts to flap her wings subtly, making sure to feel the direction in which all of them are moving.
“You’re doing it, Charlie!” Lucifer exclaims, his voice oozing with pride. “Now, it’s time to put some power into your flaps! As you’re moving your wings, put one sudden burst of strength in to lift you off of the ground. Remember, Charlie, you’ve got this. Focus.”
Charlie takes a deep breath in, and suddenly— she isn’t there anymore, only a cloud of dust and feathers left in her wake. Lucifer looks up to see a small figure hovering in the crimson sky above, and despite struggling a little bit to maintain her balance in the air, she was doing it.
“DAD, DAD, LOOK!” Charlie exclaims, her voice filled with exhilaration. “I-I’m doing it! I’m flying, Dad! I’m flying!”
Lucifer laughs out of pure, fatherly pride. “Hell yeah you are, Charlie!”
The King of Hell shoots into the air in an instant to be beside his daughter, grabbing her hand to help balance her as she flaps her wings wildly. As she feels her Dad’s hand though, she’s able to calm down and stabilize herself. But he never lets go— instead, he gently pulls it to urge Charlie to follow him through the air, an offer that she gladly takes.
Lucifer had been disheartened when Charlie’s wings had been small. He’d always dreamed of teaching her to fly— always wanted to show his daughter hell from above. Always wanted to feel the pride that came with seeing his little girl soar.
And that feeling of pride was unmatched as he flew over the grandiose city of Hell with his daughter.