I was flying.

As in, in the air.

As in, I was a freaking horse that was literally flying in the air.

I screamed (or neighed) and suddenly my wings, which had been on some sort of auto pilot, completely froze. I started tumbling to the ground.

Green rushed towards me, but I didn't know what to do. My body was completely different. There were muscles in places there had never been muscles before. I tried to spread my wings but ended up spreading my forelegs instead.

So yeah. I face planted.

Pain shot through my face, arms (well legs) and my legs (other legs). I gasped in agony. I didn't even try to get up, just lay there in a tangled heap of pain. Ow ow ow.

I faintly heard footsteps near me, but I couldn't really tell. Every part of me was throbbing with pain. But then I heard a voice in my head.

"Sierra?" it said hesitantly. I waited for something to happen. How was I supposed to respond?

Finally I tried thinking. It was in my head, so I respond in my head...right? "Yeah?" I thought.

Nothing happened.

I tried pushing the thought out of my head and into the air. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

I silently cheered at my success. "Not really. Who is this?"

"It's Sophie. I'm a unicorn."

Oh. Didn't see that coming. "How are you talking in my head?"

"Not sure. But...I think I'm going to try and heal you...if that's ok?"

I grimaced in pain. "Oh my goodness PLEASE."

"Ok. I'm going to try...I hope it works...sorry..."

For a moment, nothing happened. I waited in intense anticipation.

Just then, a warm feeling blossomed from a small point on my back. It spread, washing the pain away like a warm shower, spilling off my skin and taking the dirt with it. For a moment, every part of my body was filled with warm, strong, light. Then, like a cool breeze on a spring day, it lifted from my body and dissolved.

I breathed deeply in relief. I felt refreshed.

"Did it...work?"

"Heck yes it worked!" I fumbled with my legs for a moment, then gave up and flapped my wings twice, lifting me off the ground. I turned to a smallish unicorn with big eyes standing beside me. "Thank you."

"Good job," Ms. Hawthorn said, walking over and clapping. "Not only did you learn valuable lessons about pegasi, you learned valuable lessons about unicorns. Well done, both of you."

And with that, she dismissed the class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I practically bounced around for the rest of the the day. I felt energized, refreshed, and content. I honestly didn't remember the last time I had felt so good.

So naturally, Tess had to kill it.

"Nice job out there this morning," she told me during lunch. That was a beautiful plummet." She smirked.

"Tess," I said as evenly as I could, "I would appreciate it if you would just go away."

"Beat it, Barbie," Audrey said. Tess fumed. "I wouldn't be talking scarecrow," she said. "You were, what, the second to last to transform?"

Audrey raised an eyebrow. "You mean like you yesterday?"

Tess leaned forward with a haughty look. "Yeah, well, at least I don't try and suck up to the teachers by trying to fly on my first day as a pegasus." And with that, she walked away. Lee came up to us, looked as though she was about to say something, then scrambled off after Tess.

I was stung. It wasn't like I was trying to suck up! I hadn't even been trying to fly! It just sort of... happened.

Audrey was furious. "Oh, she'll pay for that," she seethed. "This war is strictly between us. She's not allowed to pick on my friends!"

"I doubt she read the rule book," I muttered. "And besides, Tess strikes me as the kind of person who would cheat."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Usage wasn't particularly exciting, we just tried getting used to the form we had transformed into earlier. Apparently we would try the other form next week.

Having wings is strange. It's like an extra pair of arms sticking out of your back, but they bend differently, and they're stronger, but lighter. Of course, I'm sure that our flying couldn't be completely physical, there HAD to be some magic involved...but to me, it felt as real as my legs.

Amy had less trouble walking as a unicorn. I guess I can understand her struggle better now, seeing as I had a new pair of appendages to deal with myself.

By the end of class I could successfully fold and unfold my wings, and I got used to walking around as a horse. When I transformed back, it took me a minute to remember how to walk as a human. Audrey had to help get me back on my feet, laughing her head off as she did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, I dreamt of the mirror.

Row, after row, after row of trees, nothing but trees, bushes, foliage...in a word, a forest. Everything was still and silent. Then the wind picked up, and the forest began to sway as one unit. I looked ahead, and then I saw it.

My destination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright clads, who's ready to be a mermaid?"

A cheer rose up from our small group. We were outside again. Everything was falling into place slowly: there were big windows, open corridors, and lots of courtyards because we did a lot of stuff outside. I had also seen students flying around as fairies, and I guess they needed lots of room.

"Alright," Ms. Hawthorn said, clapping her hands together, " Ms. Iseri will be teaching our class today, because she's the best mermaid. So listen."

Ms. Iseri laughed softly. "Thank you for that introduction, Janessa," she said, her voice raspy. She coughed. "As you can see, I'm still recovering from my illness, so I'm asking for your attention more than ever today. Does anyone remember what Mrs. Simone said about mermaids?"

Talia raised her hand. "Peace, freedom, and..." She bit her lip. "Something about flowing?"

"Good job!" Ms. Iseri said. "The last one is free-flow, which is hard to get. Great! Now, to transform, focus on those feelings and what it feels like to truly incorporate them into your soul. This is the pond you should probably transform in," she said, gesturing behind her. "Go."

"Oh come on," Audrey groaned. "I thought for a minute she would be a better teacher, but no, apparently instructions on how to transform are limited to: go."

I laughed and looked at the water. We were wearing bathing suits because chances are, you aren't going to get it the first time. So no worries there.

I took a deep breath. Peace, freedom, free-flow. I began to sway slightly, trying to relax myself. In the past, I had needed to let go of my human mentality. Relax, let it all drop away. Especially for a mermaid.

I began walking forward, eyes closed. Remember what you once were. Remember the water, remember the freedom, remember the--

Suddenly my foot caught on something and I fell forward.

So yeah. I face planted again.

I heard laughter as my hands began to sting. Thank goodness we were on the grass, all that hurt now were my face and arms, and only a little.

Well, my nose hurt a lot, but I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore it.

Slowly, I got up off the ground. Ignore Tess. Ignore her.

I took a shaky breath. Another. And another.

Remember the river, remember the peace, remember the freedom.

I stepped into the water, my trembling breaths steadying. Become the water Sierra. Become the river, the lake, the ocean, the rain. Always flowing, never cease moving. Even ice, ever so slowly buzzing in place, sliding. Relax. Let all the tension drop.

And I remembered.

I could see a river, raging and splashing against the banks. I could FEEL the river, sliding over me. I could smell it too, fresh and sweet. I'm that moment, it was the best smell ever. I could taste it, metallic and cool, and soothing. It giggled, it roared, and it was alive. And then I WAS the river, slipping and sliding and totally completely, free.

There is so much more to water than anyone could ever imagine. Taste it, feel it, be water.

I am at peace, settled, calm, deep.

I flow as free as the wind, going wherever I please, splashing, giggling, moving, that is what I love.

And I am free. Freer than the birds for even they are held back by nature. I AM nature, and I flow, I sing, and I am totally.

My breath seemed to swirl around within me, so I no longer need to breath.

Completely.

Then all the air left me at once, flowing out of my mouth in one long exhale.

Free.

And I was suddenly surrounded by water. I had gone under the surface without even realizing it. I melted into the currents, and let them take me whenever they pleased.

And then I realized: there were no currents. The lake was still. I was moving all on my own.

I moved my legs, but they were not mine.

For where my waist began, so did a shimmering, cobalt blue tail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, update on the world of Paint_splatt: I was working on the chapter and I walked away for a second and when I came back IT WAS ALL GONE. Though EXTREMELY annoyed at technology, I typed half of it again. Then I saved it, worked on some homework, came back, AND IT WAS GONE AGAIN. So I stayed up until 10:30 rewriting the dang chapter for the third time. You're welcome. :)

I shall be saving my chapters elsewhere now. :D

~Paint_splatt