"I was worried too, but this isn't nearly as hard as walking!"

"More room for error," he agrees. "As long as you don't make a long string of mistakes it's more forgiving than the ground."

"Exactly. There's nothing to run into. Except you, and we're leaving room."

"Yeah, for exactly that reason. Because collisions aren't fun. Especially when I have antlers and you have claws. That's just - asking for trouble."

"My claws aren't out," Bella points out. "I'm not sharp when they're tucked away."

"Okay, well, my antlers do not shoo on command so easily. Just when they shed. So I am potentially dangerous."

"They shed? When does that happen?"

"Annually, mine usually in the winter. I've been tempted to keep a set of them, but I decided they were tacky and passed."

"It's winter now; is this a new set or will it be falling off any day now?"

"Any day now! It varies a bit, though. Could be a week, could be a month, I have no idea. Definitely can't be a new set. They don't grow back that quickly, they start again in like - April and May."

"I bet that itches."

"It really does. It's kind of annoying. I like them when they're there, but growing them and losing them is kind of a pain."

"Poor thing."

"I manage. Somehow," drawls Darren.

Bella flaps and spirals up. "This is great. I wonder how long it'll take my wings to get tired. They haven't exactly had any exercise."

"Isn't it?" agrees Darren, delighted. "If you do get tired you can just glide, too. So it helps with that."

Bella nods. "How long do you usually fly at a stretch?"

"Usually an hour or two, I can fly for longer but I try to do it at night, so sleepiness is an inhibiting factor."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Swoop! Wheeeeeeee!

"...Yeah. Forest fire? Unlikely in this kind of weather though."

"It is definitely not. What do we do?" asks Bella, nearly forgetting to fly, then recovering her focus and altitude.

"If by run you mean fly I'm right behind you -" She beats her wings and books it west.