Up, up, and ... c'mon, you can do it!

Goldenblade finds herself on the first floor of the tower, where, not too far away, an airfield is under construction. But they're not bothered by that. Goldenblade and Uta have worked out an alternate plan that does not, at first, require the main feature of the airfield, which is the mountain just to the west. A glider has been appropriated, as the airfield isn't quite ready yet and so the gliders are not yet seeing any use.

Goldenblade has gotten a good night's sleep in the village just by the entrance to the Tower, and has come out first thing in the morning. Or rather, she started out frist thing in the morning, but since everyone walks everywhere, it's somewhat later when she arrived here.

The Palace Landers may have been evicted from Yamato (mostly), but life hasn't -completely- returned to the same exact normality as earlier. Case in point, Uta's main job is still the temporary gig as monster vet at the Scale monster menagerie and, more relevant to the events of today, as a nurse in the clinic of Tolbana.

She is preparing to return to her life before the invasion, though, so today she only had a short shift, and as soon as it was over, she darted out of work as if this was the opening of the Flintstones.

"FLIGHT! FLIGHT! FLIGHT! FLIGHT!", she exclaims, as she runs through the fields towards Goldenblade, in a dark leather uniform similar in cut and style as her usual nurse's uniform, but giving off more of a thief/assassin vibe (including the knife at her side).

Someone must have embraced Sprigganness, ging through a goth phase, or both.

Goldenblade calls out a greeting as Uta bounds toward her, running through the field, a sort of Wednesday Addams meets 'girl running through field' stock footage, with a side order of caveman-driving-on-freeway. Luckily, Goldenblade is not put off by this, having commuted by rail most of her adult life, and grown up in a household without cars, and in fact in an era without today's traffic problems.

"You can relax, Uta," she calls out, amused. "There is no rush." Not for her, anyhow, but she doesn't really take into account Uta's obsession. "So," she says, when Uta has come close enough that shouting is not necessary, "I have tried unsuccessfully to actually imbue Flight. But I can boost your competence with Air significantly, and that may be enough."

Uta slows down and comes to a stop close to Goldenblade. "Oh, man," she says between pants to catch her breath. "I'm so grateful that you're helping me with this, Paula. Really, really greateful. I am indebted. Really, all I can think of right now is-"

Silence.

"...do you suddenly have a craving for giant brontosaur ribs?" She frowns a little, unsure of where that thought came from, and then shakes her head. "I understand, Flight was a long shot, and deep inside I was expecting this." She puffs up, hands on her hips as she briefly raises to the tips of her toes, "But we can try the Air buff, yes!"

Back to her usual standing position. "...so, uh, how do we proceed now?"

Goldenblade gets a puzzled look on her face at the mention of brontosaur ribs. "Would you be able to even hold them without tipping over?" she wonders. "Brontosaurs are /really/ big. Were really big, anyhow. I haven't seen any in game, though there are some pretty big critters out there."

"Anyhow," she says, putting a hand to the badge she wears from the Westelande military, "by the authority vested in me by the Holy Empire Westelande, I grant you power over air." And there is a swirl of magic, and Uta will feel the boost in the power of her Air magic.

"Yes, that's the whole point! So big they tip you over! That'd be -amazing-!", Uta rambles, before sensing that something... happened. She blinks, looks down at herself, and wonders for a moment, "...can I keep myself aloft now?"

Inhale. Look downward. High C! At full power!

Her operatic note explodes in the form of a sonic blast, the kind that that makes the air ripple, th ekind that produces a shockwave that washes all over the meadow, so powerful it projects Uta quite some feet up in the air merely as recoil!

Once there, Uta looks ahead, spreads her wings, her arms, and the corners of her mouth, then, with the widest smile she can master-

...she begins to slowly fall back to the ground. Regular feather fall.

"That was -AMAZING!", she says, as her feet are back on the ground, "...too bad it wasn't proper flight. But still, best. Use. Of. Song. EVER."

Goldenblade gets up from where the downwash had knocked her over, picking herself up, dusting herself off, and looking over at Uta as she wiggles a pinky finger in her ear. "That was impressive," she admits. "And deafening also." She wiggles a finger in the other ear. It only helps a little. She nods about not proper flying, though she says, "Maybe we can find a job for you as a jet aircraft. You can do the sonic booms already."

But the rest presents a problem. "I don't know how to grant you flight, and Air doesn't grant it, it seems. I tried it on myself already, but my air is next to nothing, so I wasn't surprised at no benefit. But now, I'm not sure where to go next."

"I think I know!", exclaims Uta, snapping her fingers. She rushes off into the distance, and comes back, later, carrying a slime.

She stops exactly where she left, arms outstretched, little blobby thing held there, and... she frowns. "Wait, no. No, this is not what I was thinking of."

Run off again, slime and all, and she comes back still later, carrying-

-...is that a hang glider? "They're opening a flight school! And I got a... reward for being a backer or something? I think? Not sure. But I'm -almost- sure that I'm allowed to take this. Almost." Pause. "Sure enough for government work."

Goldenblade watches as Uta dashes off, inspired, and is waiting in the same position when she returns with a slime. She opens her mouth to ask how that will help when Uta dashes off again. She nods in understanding, waiting patiently. But then Uta returns with a hang glider, which the construction people would not have objected to, as Uta is a very important backer as well as a known test pilot, and Goldenblade looks surprised, but nods in acceptance. She picked the area as it had good winds and a lot of flat terrain to fly over, and you could see where someone crashed from a good ways away. But the proximity to the Flight School is a bonus. "All right. Your Air buff should still be going, do you want to try it again?"

"You bet your-" Pause. "...favorite... betting... item?" Look up, confused, forehead frowning. Shake head. "You bet your favorite betting item that I want to try again! Watch this!"

Take a few steps back. Breathe in. Determined face. The breathing in and making a determined face are important. As is waiting. And then, run, run, run like the wind, run like the thunder, leave crackling lightning and sonic booms in your wake as you accelerate to impressive speeds, and then, one last blast, as the sail is tilted at the right angle...

...and presto! The Spriggan is aloft, landing a takeoff- wait, can you -land- a takeoff?

...-nailing- a takeoff worthy of a seasoned pilot. Still deep in concentration, but the result is visible to everyone, as that triangle draws its sihlouette against the sun.

...is there even a sun in the Tower?

Goldenblade laughs at Uta getting confused about metaphors. "Your bottom dollar is what you bet on a sure thing," she reminds Uta. "That's the last dollar in your wallet or in the bottom of your coin purse." Because dollars come in coins also, if infrequently. "Your bottom dollar is a thing you save for emergencies and don't let go of without considerable thought. But if something is a sure thing, you can bet your bottom dollar on it, safe in the assurance that you will win the bet."

Historical notes on metaphors complete, she watches as Uta trundles down the field, steps booming like thunder, and then the sound of thunder fades into Uta coasting in the hang glider, the air beneath her surging up, pushing her forward, to FLY. "Very cool," she observes.

Uta's serious concentrated expression slowly eases into one of confusion, then of reasoning. That brow furrows again, until understanding dawns.

"I... I am... flying..." Smile widens. "I am -flying-!", she exclaims. "Like, flying! For real! In the sky!"

With trembling hands, she gives the glider a tentative tilt. "I am... EEK!" Quick maneuver to correct the angle. Things may be easier now, but she's still a beginner. "...FLYING!", she exclaims, as she attempts another sonic blast to gain more speed.

Breaking the wall of sound it might be not, but the sudden flash of light as she veers back into view of Goldenblade is still quite a sight to behold.

Goldenblade applauds Uta's flying, not that she can hear it with the wind rushing by, but she smiles to herself, pleased at what results we have gotten. "Be careful!" she shouts, as Uta lurches but then she's regained control. The Air-assist makes gliding much more doable, and seems like it can extend the duration of the glide considerably. Goldenblade has to run to keep up with Uta as she flies, but is quickly outpaced, though she turns out to be pretty fast.

When Uta veers back into sight, Goldenblade gives her a thimbs-up gesture, and she shouts, "You're looking good!" as loud as she can. Though it'd still be hard to hear as Uta really really flies. She's been waiting two years for this, and Goldenblade is pleased to see it happen.

"I blame Gwen!", Uta jokes from up in the sky, as she continues her flight. She's starting to enjoy this, as evidenced by her laughter, possibly caused by the rush of adrenaline, but most likely, not only. She flies in circles first, then going up and down, in helixes, and eventually, having gained enough confidence, starts to risk some figure eights.

Goldenblade smirks at Uta's joke, then realizes she doesn't need to shout and just direct-chims her, since we're not in combat. "You're definitely doing well," she chims, still trying to follow along below Uta, though unable to keep pace. "How high can you go? How far can you see?" There's all sorts of sciencey questions she's wondering.