Etude 7 (continued)

More fun in the realm of the Butterfly People! Sarah gets to giggle at Armand. Armand gets to insult her back. (Thanks to my friend Jacob for suggesting the insult... I was stuck for a while!)
Meanwhile, I'm liking Armand better than Sarah. I think it's because at the moment, Sarah's kinda spineless and therefore boring. She badly needs some backbone.
Also, this section's 2,218 words. It's the most I've written in a day so far! Wheee!

Sarah looked back at the Spring Flower's blossom. She could just barely make out the shapes of the Flower and Armand standing there, talking to each other. "Lysshander, what are they doing?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "It's the Flower's business."
"What does the Spring Flower actually do?"
"During the season of Spring, she is ruler of our realm. At all times, she is also the healer and creator. She helps things grow."
"Will she always be a child?"
Lysshander laughed. "No, she will grow up eventually, and another will take her place as Spring Flower. She may or may not take on other duties, depending on her inclinations. Of course, it has only been a few years since the current Spring Flower was chosen. She is still very young, in many ways."
"I like her."
Lysshander smiled. "Yes, we all do." She tugged at Sarah's hand. "Now, your flying lessons."
"Oh. Yeah."
"You already know the basics, instinctively. They are not hard. However, there are some things about flying that you will need to know, and of course you need to be instructed on etiquette."
"Okay."
...

Lysshander spent some time teaching Sarah how to land properly in small spaces, how to quickly change her altitude, and the best ways to carry things. Sarah learned more quickly than she thought she would, so Lysshander decided to teach her some fancy flying maneuvers. Those were more fun than she'd thought they would be. It was a little like the first time she'd ever been on a slide or a merry-go-round -- the rushing, breathless feeling, knowing that you were doing something that felt a little dangerous, but also knowing that you were still safe and would be safe at the end.
"Excellent, Sarah! You move almost as if you were born with wings."
"Thanks, Lysshander. You've been so patient with me." A sudden thought occurred to her. "Oh, but shouldn't you be watching the borders?"
"No, another guardian has taken my place. It is no problem."
"Oh, good. I was worried."
Lysshander smiled, looking more relaxed. "The Spring Flower may look young, but she is old enough to know how to rule properly."
"Yes, of course, I should have known."
"Now, I need to teach you some our etiquette... I'm afraid you will find this less interesting than the flying lessons."
"Etiquette, yuck."
Lysshander smiled at her sympathetically. "Don't worry, there's not very much of it. Well, there is, but you'll be excused from knowing most of it because you're an outsider. Now, the first thing you need to know is how to get permission to land on another's blossom..."
The etiquette lesson continued on for some time. It was indeed less interesting than the flying lesson, but Sarah managed to pay attention and keep it straight in her head. At least I think I have it all straight... Lysshander stopped suddenly and looked away. Sarah followed her gaze and saw Armand fluttering towards them with a magnificent pair of gold and black wings. And they totally clash his with his black leather and spikes look. It was all she could do not to giggle.
Armand made a perfect landing on the edge of the blossom, folded the wings back and walked towards them. He must have noticed something, because he glared at Sarah and said testily, "What are you looking at?"
Sarah couldn't hold it back any longer and started giggling. "You look so funny with wings and black leather!" She giggled some more.
Armand glared at her again. It looked like he was about to punch her again, when he shook his fist and let it drop to his side. "Well, you don't look so hot yourself. I thought butterflies were supposed to be beautiful." He turned around, ready to take off, then looked back. "But putting butterfly wings on a pig doesn't make any difference." With that, he flew off, leaving Sarah to gape at empty air.

Stupid girl. Making fun of me. As if I didn't have enough problems without her getting on my back. He'd flown off without really thinking about it, but he knew he wanted to be somewhere he could be alone. Knowledge trickled through him from some mysterious source, and he headed off towards the east. The exchange with Sarah still irritated him, and he let the wings do most of the work of flying. Damn her! First she gets me into this mess, and when I go to check up on her she has the nerve to laugh at me! What really rankled, though, was the knowledge that Sarah really did look quite pretty in her wings. He squashed that thought and buried it somewhere. He looked around at the place he'd arrived. It was underneath a particularly large bloom, shaded and isolated. The Butterfly People didn't seem to be particularly fond of the areas underneath their flowers, but that was all to his benefit. At least the grass here looks normal. Not that I'm going to try kicking it anyway... This whole expedition has been infuriating from the start. The last thing I want to have to do is depend on some twit like Sarah. And what's this the Spring Flower was blabbing on about me having power? But the memory of the wings coming to life in his hands nudged at him. Even if I do, I have no clue what to do with it. Great, I can make wings flutter. Whoopee. I think it's going to take something a bit stronger to get me out of here... He glared at the stalk of the flower in front him. Bet I can't kick that either. And I can't take off these stupid wings, at least not if I want to get clear of those bastards who get in my mind. He traced little patterns in the ground. At least the Spring Flower talked straight to me -- well, mostly. And I guess Lysshander did, too, even if she was trying to knock me out at first... Damn it, I really want to rip something apart. Destroy something. Hah! The look on that bitch's face when I called her a pig... That was precious. That was good. Teach her to make fun of me. But he still felt restless, looking up at the shade of the blossom. Well, I have wings. I did kind of always want to have wings... I'll just try to ignore the fact that they make me look like a fag. This time, he concentrated on the feeling of straining to catch the air, as he beat his wings and flew upwards. And reached for the sky.

Lysshander eventually told Sarah that it was going to be time for dinner soon, and did Sarah want to join her?
"Oh, yes, definitely! What do you eat?"
"Mostly nectar, and other parts of flowers. Don't worry, I'll make sure there's something more filling for you. We trade with others, and I can easily give you some of what we trade."
"Oh, thank you." Sarah seemed to be thinking for a while. "What, um, what about Armand?"
"I'm sure someone will take care of him."
"You don't like him?"
"He's very... confrontational. A little too aggressive. Too much like a predator, I suppose."
"Oh. Well... I guess... I do feel kind of bad about giggling at him."
Lysshander gave Sarah a cryptic look, then shrugged. "Come, I'll show you to my house."

It was fairly dark when the messenger caught up to Armand. "Sir, Armand? The Spring Flower requests your presence for dinner."
"Oh. Um."
"You my follow me, sir."
"Okay." The messenger led the way to a different blossom than the one on which he'd met the Spring Flower. This one formed a deep cup, with one petal bowed down to form a lip at the edge. It seemed to glow with an internal light, the surfaces of the petals iridescent. The Spring Flower sat at the head of a small table set with delicate-looking dishes.
"Oh! Armand! I thought you'd never get here!"
"Well, um, I'm here."
"Sit down, sit down! I had Seraiel bring some of the things we reserve for visitors, so I hope you'll enjoy them."
Armand sat down gingerly. The chair was backless, but had a little bit of a rise at the back, as if to prevent someone from sliding off backwards. There was something recognizable as a fork beside the plate, although it had only two prongs. There was also a spoon and a knife. He breathed an inward sigh of relief; he wouldn't have to navigate a fancy dinner setting with far too many forks and spoons.
"Oh!" said the Spring Flower. "I offer this food freely and without conditions, under the Lord of the Stars and the Lady of the Moons." She inclined her head towards Armand. "I didn't really need to do that, but it's safer. There will be other times when it's necessary, and there are some foods that you must never eat while you are here."
"Um, thank you."
"Eat, eat! It's very good!" The Flower poured some sparkling liquid from a delicate filigreed pitcher into a vessel in front of her, and then began to sip from it. "Flower nectar," she said, smiling. "I don't think you would enjoy it very much. But try some of the sprouts! They're a new plant that the Rafells brought us just last year. We're hoping to cultivate and trade them."
The sprouts had been prepared in a delicate honey sauce that was only slightly sweet. The sprouts themselves were crisp and light, and tasted a little bit like celery. Armand wasn't generally very fond of vegetables, but these were actually quite good. He said so.
"Yes, Seraiel prides himself on his cooking for outsiders."'
"How did he learn?"
"Whenever outsiders visit, he approaches them and asks questions until they give him answers. It's very funny when he does it." The Flower grinned and sipped more of her nectar.
"What's so funny about it?"
"He's very insistent. And I've been told he has strange ideas of how to cook."
"How does he cook?"
"Mostly by sunlight. We don't like open fires here, since the flowers are susceptible to flame. Mostly, the outsiders look surprised when he starts questioning them about eating meat."
"Ahh. Um. What are those white things?"
"Those are a kind of grain, soaked in water and some herbs and mushrooms. Try them!"
Not seeing any way out of it, he did. It tasted a little like rice, but more piquant. After a while, Armand stopped worrying about what he was eating and settled down to enjoy the meal.
"There was another reason I asked you to join me for dinner."
"What was the first reason?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you?" She giggled. "Because I didn't think you'd want to eat with Sarah and Lysshander. And because I like you." She beamed at him. She was really cute... He smacked himself mentally for thinking like that. "But anyway. The other reason is that there are some things that you need to know about that Sarah doesn't."
"Like what?"
"I've been thinking about what you can do. And I think you need to find your true name to really free yourself from the Fallen Ones. And to gain full command of your power, whatever it is."
"Oh. But I don't care about this... power. I just want to get out of here."
She nodded. "I know. But you must have business here, or you wouldn't have come, even if you don't know what that business is yourself."
"Oh, great," he muttered under his breath. But he said, "How can I find out what that business is?"
"I think you'll have to visit the Eyes of the Wind, even though I don't like the idea."
"Who -- what are the Eyes of the Wind?"
"They're oracles that live in a vast whirlwind in the desert. All that is ever seen of them are their eyes. They know a great deal, but it can be difficult to get them to answer questions. They're capricious, and not easily won over." The Spring Flower looked very solemn. "Unfortunately, they're the only oracles that would know how to deal with outsiders to Farelle."
"How hard is it to get to them?"
"It may be difficult, it may be easy. Farelle is not like other lands that I have heard of. There are some places that are always fixed, that stay in the same place at all times. They can even be mapped. But there are other areas where the borders are unclear, and reaching them is more a matter of will and wish than it is of navigation. The desert of the Eyes is one of those locations, as are the locations of all the other oracles." She looked straight at Armand. "The oracles can only be reached when the seeker truly needs them, and then only after the seeker has been deemed worthy."
That worried him a little. "Are there other oracles that are easier to reach than the Eyes?"
"Yes, but I think it would do you little good. You need your true name, and only the Eyes of the Wind can help you find it. I'm sorry, Armand."