It had mostly been an escape and now it felt like a mistake.
Running away wasn't a solution, it was basically just a way of postponing a conflict. He had signed up for the summer camp and applied for financial aid because he hadn't felt up to spending another summer in Sukhumi with his mother in the tiny two room flat where he slept on the couch for a lack of an extra room. If everything had worked out as planned in the past months Zviad would have graduated this summer and he would have been free to go his own way.
Now, however, he was facing the prospect of another year at Durmstrang. Another year as an outsider and, what made things remarkably worse, a year without his closest friends. For him the worst thing was that Mihaela had graduated, leaving him behind with no one who knew about his secret. On the one hand it was good if not many people knew a secret as it would otherwise cease to be one, on the other hand, though, Zviad needed a confidant if only for his own safety.
He had hoped that being at the summer camp would make him feel free and adequate in a way, but he had soon realised that he was mostly just bitter. Had he not crashed into the window of the library and passed out in his magpie shape, Marja would not have picked him up, would not have locked him into a cage, and he might or might not have succeeded to graduate...
What also irked him was that the boy had basically had to start from scratch regarding his flying practice. Having had his wing bandaged for several weeks and thus having been unable to move a lot, his right arm in particular was weaker than ever. He had been trying to build up muscle again but it still didn't feel quite as strong as it had before the accident. In fact, Zviad had hoped to practice a lot during his stay at the camp but he was hesitant, not having Mihaela around who could fix him up, and not even being allowed a wand that he could use to heal himself meant a bigger risk than he liked to take.
He had morphed into his animal shape a few times anyway, trying to fly only the distance of a few human steps and staying so close to the ground that a rough landing wouldn't do much harm but he wanted so much more. By now he knew the camp surroundings rather well, having already spent some time exploring. He had found a maple tree in a safe distance from the camp where he spent most of his time alone. Usually he sat down, leaning against the thick trunk, reading a book or simply staring at the mountain that was close, thinking that he could climb it up a bit, transform into his animal shape, and then fly back down with little effort.
Today the weather perfect. It was dry, the temperature was pleasant. There was a little wind, enough to support but not to endanger the flight of a bird. Zviad tried to focus on 'Anna Karenina' but the book did not capture his interest quite so well now. He felt restless and strangely excited as though his fate was to climb up the mountain and then glide down through the air. He could not resist. It felt like he simply
had to do it. He placed the book on the ground and walked until he reached the foot of the mountain. Then he climbed until he was at a decent height.
Scanning his surroundings carefully, Zviad was relieved that nobody was anywhere close enough to see him when he transformed and so the boy morphed into his magpie shape. Although he had done this countless times by now, it still felt strange. In a way he had got used to getting rapidly smaller and his body changing but the tickling sensation and the queasy feeling in his stomach were still there every time he transformed. For a while he just looked down the mountain as his heartbeat, breathing and also his vision adjusted to his other body.
Then he took off and spread his wings to soar through the air. The wind seemed to carry him and Zviad let out a screech of delight. What could be better than this? Adrenaline kicked in and he sped up, steering carefully, and trying to fly a few circles. Flapping his wings, he noticed that his right one was rather weak and tired already after a few seconds but he was unwilling to land just yet. After all, landing was still a scary thing to do and one that he wanted to put off for as long as possible. So far Zviad had never been able to land properly after a flight at a decent height like this.
He was losing height anyway, his tiny body just wasn't in a fit state. He tried to gain more control over the speed and the angle in which he'd come down. He pulled up his body some more and fanned his feathers. He was maybe 15 feet above the ground now and it was probably his best landing attempt yet. Nonetheless, Zviad panicked. First he flapped his wings hectically, not trusting his own ability, and then he lost it entirely, retransforming into his human shape while still up in the air.
If gravity hadn't been his best friend as he had still been in his bird shape, it now clearly was his enemy, bringing him down to earth in an instant. When Zviad his the ground, he groaned in pain. His body crashed into the stony ground and for a moment he couldn't breathe anymore. It took him a few seconds to move again at all. Carefully he pushed himself up and got to his feet. His legs were trembling and his eyes watering. His jeans was had a hole on the height of his right knee, blood was soaking the fabric below the hole. His costal arch felt particularly painful but he didn't want to wait for help or go and get some.
Not too far away he saw the maple tree and stumbled over there only to sink onto the ground below it as soon as he reached it. His pulse was still quick, he was shaking and sweating, and he wished, once again, that Mihaela would be there to help him now.
After a few minutes he sat up slowly and leaned against the trunk. His body was still aching. However, Zviad figured that he might be better with some rest. He'd just sit her for as long as needed. When he heard steps coming closer through the high grass, the boy quickly picked up his book and pretended to read, hoping that this would drive any unwanted company away. However, he was unaware of the scratches on his cheek and the bleeding knee. The boy didn't even realise that the was holding the book upside down.
@Justýna TesaÅ™Ãková[OOC: this turned out way longer than I expected... let me know if I need to change anything <333]
