.Terran.

I hadn’t yet built up the muscle necessary for a good, long flight, but that wasn’t about to stop me. Only practice would improve the method, not to mention strengthen the new muscles that added rounded lumps to the top of my spine on either side of my body. The four golden wings had come in nicely, albeit quickly and painfully, but I was loath to let them sit there uselessly on my back. Today, I’d decided to try a leaping sort of approach to flying … and it wasn’t going quite as expected.

Take-off wasn’t so bad. I’d get a good trot in, leap upwards and then beat unceremoniously at my sides while trying to balance before landing roughly again. Eventually, I’d managed to stay in the air but I was tiring, and quickly. I was intent, however, to see the journey through and instead of resting when I should’ve, I only tried harder. For a moment, I was airborne - hovering and then moving forward rockily to ascend with a gleeful smile. My legs felt useless so occasionally I’d gallop mid-air or try to curl them against my belly. But it wasn’t until the true ache of having tried one too many times began to set in and then I was plummeting out of the sky to crash through limb and leaf with a defeated cry.

In a crumpled heap of wings and flesh I lay, tangled, near the border of the river that separated the forest from a kingdom and it took me about a second to realize that I was on the wrong side of the border. No matter .. I could… well I couldn’t very well fly away, could I? With an exasperated sigh I rise to my feet and begin the process of trying to wedge stick and debris from my glinting wings, only hoping that I won’t be interrogated by the inhabitants here.

Or something worse.

I want to live, I want to give, I'm a miner for a heart of gold