Sitting crisscross atop the ancient rafters Gwin dismissed his armor and summoned a memory he had earned from the apocalyptic swarm of man-sized locusts. He needed to ration his essence as best he could to be able to train for as long as possible without draining his reserves. From his back sprouted a translucent mantle in a rain of sparks. That mantle split into two translucent wings. Gwin twisted his head back to study the magical elytra. He studied the way it connected to his back as well.
'Cool!'
Memories that gave the ability to fly were rare and expensive in the waking world so he had been fortunate to receive such a valuable memory! Feeling satisfied with his new memory he stood and froze.
'How exactly do I use it?'
Just as he thought about spreading his wings and flying his memories wings began humming behind him before lifting him up into the air.
"Ah!"
He heard something rattle below him as Elena turned her gaze in his direction. However she seemed to know he was the culprit of the humming noise. The noise of surprise had come from his mouth though. He was still naked so he simply gave her a thumbs up from where he was. The rafters were so large that thankfully she wasn't able to see him entirely. She relaxed as she saw his thumbs up before continuing to mull over the map.
He then willed the wings to send him higher. Currently he was hovering a few feet above the ground as the wind displaced by his wings played with his messy hair.
'I need a haircut.'
He waited to ascend however he never did. After a couple of moments he tried again to no avail. He willed the wings to take him left and right as well as forward and back which it seemed capable of doing just fine. He then willed it off of the rafter. As it crossed the threshold it began slowly falling. He grabbed the edge before he got too far and pulled himself back up.
'So it only hovers?'
He was feeling more than a little disappointed but he couldn't be too sad. It was still a valuable memory and would also help him use his aspect better. The wings stilled, dropping him to the ground. He landed deftly and began focusing. His mind was full of the countless segmented limbs and translucent wings of the black locust swarm he had witnessed. As he did his back and legs took on a few changes.
He dismissed the [Dark Wing] as the skin on his back became pale and glossy. A moment later two large translucent wings peeled from his back before falling into place. These were much larger than the memory version of them and were much closer to the original. A much more disturbing change was happening in his legs though. Gwin watched with repulsed fascination as his legs began bending the wrong way. His knees began to bend backwards in a disturbing yet painless process.
The skin from his waist down began to darken before becoming inky black. It then formed into a jagged and segmented carapace all over his legs. His calves became narrower and his feet became slim before forming into hooked dorsal claws.
Gwin staggered as he struggled to remain upright. He reflexively flexed his dorsal claws which dug into the wooden rafter and steadied him. His essence was leaving his soul like a stream and he could only keep it up for a couple of minutes before he would begin draining his reserves of spirit essence.
'This is so…'
The feeling was extremely foreign sure but he already had experience with controlling tentacles so reversed knees wasn't so bad. It only took a few seconds for him to gain his balance and begin testing out his legs. They were about half as strong as the originals, or at least that's what Gwin thought, so he did not expect to rocket upwards a dozen feet after trying to jump. In fact he jumped so high he bashed his head on another rafter above him. He fell clumsily to the rafters below. The wind was knocked out of him as he landed flat on his back yet thankfully his wings cushioned the fall slightly.
'Ouch!'
It was moments like these that made him miss his ability to curse under his breath. He had actually tried to but nothing came from his throat. Before he ran out of essence he wanted to practice moving some more. He decided to give flying a try after walking around for a bit, it was safe to say these legs weren't meant for walking. Gwin could still recall most of his memories from his time at the academy which included extensive knowledge on the anatomy of insects. He had been full of bitterness while studying them because he had never been fond of bugs since…why didn't he like them again? It wasn't important anyways so he closed his eyes in focus as his wings twitched on his back before rising.
They began fluttering behind him. The wind played with his hair again as he began picking up the pace. Their pace was erratic as his feet began leaving the ground. He swayed left and then right before shooting up at an angle. He crashed into the rafters above him again while scraping across its length. Elena snapped to the noise again however this time there was not a rafter to protect his dignity.
Luckily Gwin could not see the look on her face. He was currently fighting to gain control over his trajectory. His essence would soon run out and he did not want to use his reserves just as much as he didn't want to plummet two dozen meters to the ground. He slowed the pace of his wings and began dropping in altitude. Using his instincts he beat his left wing harder and began moving right. He went too far right and almost crashed into the vertical king post of the building.
Before he could lose control again he grasped onto a rafter and dismissed his transformations. He was hanging from one of the rafters as he summoned the [Mantle Of The Drowned] and pulled himself up.
'That hurt…'
His face and shoulders were raw from being dragged across the ancient wood and he could taste metal in his mouth.
'That could have gone better.'
It actually hadn't gone that bad if he ignored his stinging face and bloody nose. He had managed to kind-of fly in his first attempt. More practice was needed if he wanted to fly like he always wanted to but it was a start. He sprawled out on the rafter as satisfaction filled him.
'Progress feels great! I bet Changing Star can't fly! Lena can't fly either! Well on her own at least.'
Regardless, he was feeling better. Lena's earlier harsh words had put him in a sour mood so learning his aspect better filled him with spiteful satisfaction.
'Who is helpless huh?'
Looking over the edge of the rafters he gazed at Lena's pacing figure.
'What does she even know?'