Sabine handed both girls the thin paper tubes. "Alright. I know that it's super late, but this is our first proper sleepover together and Ivy's first proper sleepover ever. So, we can't just go to bed."

Lucy eagerly ripped open the casing of the powered candy and poured it into her mouth. Ivy, on the other hand, was more hesitant. She tore it open gently and poured a small portion onto her hand before popping it in her mouth like a pill. Her eyes widened - she obviously liked it.

"Bet you didn't get many of those in the orphanage," Sabine jested. Ivy shook her head, pouring more into her palm. "Well, those oughta keep you kiddos awake for at least another hour. Am I the best babysitter ever or what?" The girls nodded. "Now." She reached into her bag and pulled out a box of glowsticks. "Lucy, turn out the lights. No real lights allowed at a sleepover. Only lanterns and glowsticks. Ivy, help me make all of these into rings." The girls set to work turning the plastic strands into glowing jewelry and lighting the room with color instead of bleak electrical light. "So, what do you girls want to do? I have some card games, and a bag of microwave popcorn. Obviously we don't have a microwave here, but there's one downstairs and I can easily fly down and use it."

"Fly," Ivy said quickly.

"... Yes, fly," Sabine said again. "Was I unclear...?"

"No, no," Ivy stammered. "I mean I want to fly. You asked me what I want to do. Both Atlas and Carter have already learned to fly and shift. And in one day, nonetheless. But I'm still useless-" Both Sabine and Lucy opened their mouths at this to protest, but Ivy didn't stop, "-and I can't fly, or shift, or really do anything. So please, we're free and it's supposed to be easy, so teach me now."

Sabine looked in Ivy's eyes. The girl probably didn't expect Sabine to say yes. She looked like she was bracing herself for a hard 'no', for Sabine to brush her off and continue doing what she wanted to do.

But this wasn't about what Sabine wanted. It was about what her girls wanted.

"Alright. Let's teach you how to fly."

✵✵✵

Ivy leaned out of the large window on the second floor of the lake house. Just earlier that day, she'd watched Lucy shift and fly up to this very window, so easily like she'd done it a million times. And now Ivy couldn't even bring herself to lean a few inches further. All she could see in front of her was the dark, unforgiving ground that would break bones if she crashed wrong.

"Try not to look at the ground," Sabine advised. "Looking at the ground is only acknowledging what's waiting if things go wrong. Think about it this way: The ground is your prison. It keeps you tethered. Your wings are your keys. They are the secret to escaping your prison. Now look up."

Ivy swallowed and raised her chin. Above her, she was met with a familiar and welcome sight. The millions of bright, shining stars that encouraged her seemed to almost pull her up, like strings were tied to her shoulders and were hoisting her higher and higher until she could be with them.

"The sky is freedom," Sabine said wistfully. Ivy got the feeling Seb wasn't addressing her anymore. Instead, she was just trying to express a little of how she felt. "It is everything you want. You can get there. You just have to want it badly enough."

Ivy took a deep breath but didn't close her eyes. She spread her wings a little wider.

Lucy was hovering in midair a few feet away from the window in her tabby cat form. She looked so small, just fluttering in the night air. Ivy knew she was waiting on her.

You can be up there, Ivy thought to herself. You can be with the stars.

With that thought still in her head, she let go of the windowsill and began to fall.

Her wings instinctively unfurled and caught the air below her, cushioning her fall. They angled, tilting forward to pull her higher and higher.

She felt herself changing, too. Her wings felt smaller, her other muscles refining and her senses sharpening. Her whole body just felt different- in a good way.

She craned her neck to look at herself. Her arms and legs were thinner than normal, and her head was more firmly attached to her neck.

She was a wolf. A gray wolf, covered in fur and armed with claws and fangs.

"Amazing, Ivy!" Sabine cheered, leaning out of the window. Her own white wings were exposed, and she was getting ready to jump. "We told you it was easy, didn't we? And look at you, you got it all down in one leap!"

Ivy couldn't find words. Though her brain was usually always working, trying to figure something out, it seemed to still for a moment. Her whole life, she'd depended on others. To feed her, to house her, to set her free. But now, everything she'd ever known left her, and she was left with only her, keeping herself up with her own wings amidst the stars and the sky. The moment was brief but liberating.

Lucy floated over to linger at Ivy's side. "You look really cool as a Lupine, may I just say." The cat's eyes met the wolf's, and though her face was not adapted to the shape, Ivy might have said that Lucy was smiling proudly.

"Thank you," Ivy managed to sputter out. "I-I can't believe I did it."

"Believe it," Lucy affirmed. "Because you did do it."

Seb launched herself out of the window after them and did a quick loop in the air, landing on her feet on the roof. "Y'all, I think it's time for your first proper night flight. Come on kiddos, follow me, I shall take you to the stars and beyond!"

Unafraid for perhaps the first time in her life, Ivy propelled herself towards the stars.

✵✵✵

"You cheated," Carter accused Luke.

"Whaaaat?" Luke said humorously. "I did not. You're just jealous because I'm better than you."

Carter took the paper triangle in his hands again and repositioned it. The two boys had been playing a few rounds of paper football, trying not to be too loud but having trouble suppressing laughs. Luke was having trouble, at least. But he could see that something was bothering Carter.

"Are you okay?" He finally asked. Carter looked up at him, already beginning to shield his eyes from emotion. Luke could tell that he was experienced in the art of hiding who he really was.

"I'm fine-" Carter said quickly. "Let's keep playing, I know I can get the next point-"

"Don't give me that," Luke interrupted him. "You're obviously not telling me something. I can't tell whether it's something bad or something you feel like you have to hide just because you think I'll judge you, but I promise I won't. You can be frank with me, I'm not gonna shun you or anything."

Carter was silent. He was taking deep breaths, but Luke didn't know what that meant. Was he going to cry? Was he getting angry? God, Luke was grateful that he was good at friendly social interactions, but when it came to comforting someone or dealing with negative feelings, he was definitely not the person to call.

"I don't know," Carter started. "It's really stupid, honestly. I don't think you want to hear it."

"Of course I want to hear it. If it'll make you feel better by saying it, please just say it."

Carter rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. I guess I just want to say thanks."

Luke raised his brow. "For what?"

Carter shook his head awkwardly. "For just... for being there. I feel like you genuinely like me. It's weird to think that I met you, like, three days ago, but I'm already getting attached to you... I really shouldn't, I know that-"

"Woah, woah, why not?" Luke leaned forward a little bit. "Carter, why shouldn't you get attached to me? Are you planning on leaving or something?"

"No... but you are," he said uncomfortably.

"What is that supposed to mean? I'm not going anywhere."

"No, you're not leaving this place yet. But I guess I kind of figured that after a while you'd get tired of me." Carter rubbed the back of his neck, clearly wishing he had not said anything at all. "Everyone I'm close to eventually gets tired of me. I mean, just look at my dad. He and his new girlfriend moved all the way to Florida just to get away from me. H-How stupid of him right? His loss, heh heh." Carter ran a hand through his hand and took a shaky breath. Luke wasn't good with emotions like this, but he could tell that Carter was trying not to cry. Oh God, why couldn't Alaric be here now? He was so much better at comforting people than Luke.

Luke scooted around the table until he was at Carter's side. The other boy was definitely regretting talking. "Are you sure you're okay? I don't want to pressure you into telling me all your problems, I just want to make sure you're not doing that thing that all teenagers seem to do and just bottling up your emotions, okay?"

Carter smiled weakly at him. "Thanks. I guess, I just... People in my life just come and go, and every time I try to keep someone, they always manage to just slip through my fingers and I can't do anything but watch. I just want someone to stay, someone I can hold on to."

Luke put an arm around Carter's shoulders comfortingly (what he hoped was comfortably, at least). "You can hold on to me."

They held eye contact for another minute or so in silence before the door crashed open. Atlas stood in the doorway, pausing awkwardly. "Am I... interrupting?"

"Only if you don't know how to play paper football," Carter said smoothly, lifting Luke's arm off his shoulders. Luke was surprised. He sounded as if they hadn't been discussing his deepest fears moments ago. He must be really used to covering that up, he thought to himself.

Atlas took his place at the opposite side of the table, and the previous conversation was gone.

A/N: What an awkward chapter! I must admit I am horrible at writing emotional moments (perhaps it's because I'm trash at dealing with my own emotions... hmm {Every day is leg day when you're constantly running away from your feelings!}) but hopefully this one turned out okay. I should also apologize for my crazy update schedule: First it was daily, then every other day, then every two days, then all of a sudden: Nothing, for like a month. So I shall try to be better about that. But please know that I am not giving up on this book, I plan to see it to the end, however long that takes. Thanks for reading, comment and vote,  point out the errors that are hiding in here somewhere, see y'all with the next chapter!