Unholy Alliance

[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
It'll be raining soon. Feels like a thunderstorm.

With a powerful flap of his wings, the blue-eyed fallen angel flew up higher to get a sense of the weather. His ice blue eyes stared up at the clouds, trying to decipher the message they held. The sun was peeking out ever so often, enough to illuminate the jagged scar the stretched from just under his right eye to the left side of his lips. There were darker clouds ahead, and a smile crossed the fallen angel's lips.

While the rain was annoying, as it soaked into his wings and weighed him down, the promise of a lightning bolt often outweighed the risk. Either way however, it was likely best to land in case there wasn't one. Glancing around, his enhanced eye sight spotted a nearby island. It was floating a bit lower than the normal ones, with a brilliant waterfall casting rainbows in the sky. It looked like a nice place to stop, as he was close to his goal, and there wasn't a reason to hurry. His beloved could wait, even for a bit.

His tan wings swiftly carried him down to the island, his eyes searching to see if anyone else had been here before him. It was unnamed, as he recalled earlier after his glance at the map, and there likely shouldn't be anyone this far out. The main cities were all east, their beautiful castles and homelands on larger continents of floating land. He had come from the cities himself, that had helped him to pick himself up when he fell. But now he was on a mission, and he had come to find something in the unoccupied lands to the east.

There was something there. It looked like a fire, flickering in the shadow of a cave. Once he flew closer, he could see some twigs with a chicken roasting over it. Something recent. Someone was here. Bailey was a lot more cautious now, slowing his descent, before coming to land nearby. There was a sword on his sheath, however he didn't touch it yet. The last thing he wanted was to immediately make whoever was here hostile. Instead, he decided to call out to whoever was in the cave.

"Hello? Is there anyone there? It's rare to see someone so far from the cities on this layer."
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[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
With her right feet Ailyna sought balance on a narrow ledge, whereas she placed her left shoe on another flat piece of stone. With her left hand she grasped an extended piece of rock, before pulling herself up onto a plateau near the peek. The mountain wasn't that large, but the steep slope made the climb pretty difficult. She could just have used her snake to fly her up there, which was now snoozing, while strapped around her waist. Or she could have used her own wings for that matter. But she didn't want to waste an opportunity to train her strength. Until a few weeks, back in the mountain ranges below, Ailyna used to do climbs like these almost daily, but since she moved up into the sky she didn't found that much opportunities anymore.

With proud, Ailyna took her position near the top of the mountain. Her bright green eyes stared into the sky. "Great" she mumbled with a tone of sarcasm in her voice. Dark clouds filled the air. A storm was coming. She now stared into the distance. She'd hoped to travel quite a lot further east before setting camp for the night, but navigating in a storm was pretty hard. She knew she had to abandon her plan.

Luckily Ailyna set up her campfire in a cave. The flames would be safe for now. Her mouth filled with water, thinking of the chicken that was roasting above the fire. A searing pain went through Ailyna's body, as if someone was pulling her stomach apart. She was hungry. Very hungry.

Suddenly she heard a voice coming from below. His call was echoed by the hollow cave.
"Hello? Is there anyone there? It's rare to see someone so far from the cities on this layer."
Ailyna turned around and jumped down a plateau to make her appearance.

"Heeey! I'm over here!" she shouted down. "Hold on a sec." She jumped further down. The snake opened her eyes, awakened by the sudden change in movements and now hissing quietly. As soon as she was fifteen feet from the ground, on a rather stable-looking plateau, she stopped her descent. She looked down on the boy.
"I could say the same 'bout you. Shouldn't you be home, playing with your dolls or something?" She studied the boy for a moment. He was rather long and had a nasty-looking scar covering his face. "What are you doing so far away from civilization?"
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[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
Bailey looked up, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. His eyes traced over the girls form, trying to figure out what exactly she was. His wings curled around him, the longest of his feathers dragging on the ground. She had an athletic look to her, and seemed to have just been climbing. Then she began to speak, and Bailey's mood grew sour.

"Dolls? I don't think that's very nice," he said sarcastically, sighing. Why had he even bothered? Shaking his head, he debated on what to say before replying. "I'm looking for something nearby. I'm sure you wouldn't understand though," he added, annoyed that within the first few seconds she had already insulted him. His wings flared out, the tan feathers stretching.

He looked to the snake around her waist, wondering if that was how she got around. No one could be on the sky layer if they couldn't fly, or they were demons. Those tended to skulk in their lairs under the mountains, in their own layer. He wasn't particularly fond of them; he had had bad experiences with a few of them already and he wasn't looking forward to meeting more. Suddenly, he remembered that she hadn't answered his question yet.

"I asked you what you were doing here, and I have answered your question." He stated it calmly, but if she didn't want to answer then he'd be on his way.
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[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
Ailyna sighed in annoyance. He took her comment way too seriously. The remainder of his words were overly defensive and blocked any hope on a friendly conversation. He didn't even try to explain what he was doing and yet he 'answered her question'. Ailyna jumped off from the cliff, right in front of him. The red-scaled snake slid down from Ailyna's body, now fully revealing Ailyna's clothes: a plain white tank top, a bright pink-colored vest and green-brown baggy pants with an army-pattern. The snake hissed more loudly and took on a more threatening pose. It was as if he was expecting a battle, but Ailyna decided that the stranger wouldn't be worth anymore second of her time.

"I'm following a trail. But I don't think you'll understand either" she said in a plain and uninterested voice, imitating the words which the stranger used before. "There you go, now I have answered your question too."

Ailyna walked into the cave, followed by her snake. She spun the chicken upside down. It would take a little longer before it was done. She straightened her arms and from the palm of her hand a fireball summoned which she shoot into the campfire to speed up the process. A growling sound came from her stomach as she greedily watched the chicken got cooked.

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[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
Bailey took a step back as she jumped down, his eyes on the snake that had slid down the other and was now hissing at him. A sword rested in a sheath at his waist, but he didn't draw it just yet. His eyes studied her choice of clothing, narrowing ever so slightly. Nothing seemed to stand out, he couldn't tell what exactly she was. Sure, some pieces were bright, but anyone in this age could wear anything they want. He himself had on a dark grey T-shirt with slits cut in the back for his wings, and dark green cargo pants.

Groaning inside his head, he followed her. He needed to make sure she wasn't after the same thing he was, because there was only one and it was necessary for what he needed to do. He kept his distance from the snake, not liking how it threatened him earlier.

"What are you after?" He asked, his voice cautious, trying not to give any hints as to what he was after. "It's unusual for someone to be this far." He watched as she shot a fireball towards the campfire, wondering exactly what race she was to have that kind of power. He had lost most of his during the fall, but she didn't seem to have any of the emotional baggage that came with it. Not only that, but if she had been an angel then he definitely would've recognised her. A demon perhaps? But there were no signs, no bat wings, no horns. Sighing, he simply waited for her to respond.
[/fieldbox]

 

[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]

Ailyna knelt next to the campfire. With little puffs she blew in the campfire to further stoke up the flames.

Meanwhile she heard what the stranger had to say. A little grin appeared on AIlyna's face. He just asked a similar question to get his answers. Normally Ailyna would have probably found it very annoying, but the fact that she had something that he desired, information, gave Ailyna a nice advantage over him. She would probably toy around with him a little longer, before finally revealing her goal.

The grin on Ailyna's face extended. "So many questions, so little answers…" She turned her head to the stranger, now with a more serious expression on her face. "You really don't understand how this works, do you? If you don't plan on telling me what you are looking for, you can forget I will ever tell you what I am looking for!" At that point Ailyna realized they could very well be after the same thing. "Ooh…" she added. "Maybe we're looking for the same! That would be nice! Let's do a challenge: whoever gets it first, gets to keep it!"
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[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
Bailey regarded the stranger with annoyed eyes. The last thing he wanted to was reveal what he wanted, but he needed to know what she was after. Plus, her whole attitude was frustrating him. His wings fluttered a little when a gust breezed past. He was itching to be in the air again, but he had things he needed to do which included getting information.

The last part of her sentence irritated him greatly. That was exactly what he hoped not to do. Why did he have to run into someone at this time? And someone childish enough for this nonsense. But, if she wasn't after the same thing he was, then there was no harm in telling her.

"The Pendant of Search." He hoped that she wasn't after it, because then he'd probably have to kill her. Or something. Just to make sure she didn't get there before him. He was so not up for a game, he just needed to get the pendant and get out, because someone was waiting for him.
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[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
The name of the artifact was laying on the tip of her tongue. I'm looking for the Pendant of Search. The only thing that kept her back from actually saying it, were the words of the stranger. She waited patiently and shortly noticed his annoyance. Of course, he'd hoped Ailyna would spoil her goal first. But, as soon as he would name his goal, she would name hers, that was the promise.

Finally his mouth opened. "The Pend..." What followed was unnecessary. Ailyna immediately knew they had the same objective. Her face expression turned into a huge smile. "You had to say it, don't you? You just had to be looking for the same thing!" On the one hand Ailyna realized that her quest just became a lot more difficult with a rival hanging around. On the other hand that gave her a certain sense of excitement. The fact that she couldn't waste any second anymore, the time pressure, the fact that she would have to fight for the artifcact: all of that gave her quest an additional thrill that was absent before.

In a sudden movement she pulled the chicken from the campfire and as a beast she shove the full thing into her mouth. She ate from it as if it was the last thing she would eat in a very long time. Only the bones remained. After she was done she gave the stranger a grin. "I hope you didn't plan on sharing a bite?"
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[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
Bailey was both surprised and annoyed. Of course he had known it was a possibility, however it had been the absolute last thing he had wanted. Just why was she after the same thing he was? Now he had competition. But she would likely be a difficult opponent, considering the snake and the fire display he had witnessed earlier.

"No. Why are you after the Pendant of Search?" He asked, trying to get more information out of her. He looked slightly disturbed at how fast she had eaten the chicken, a shudder rippling through his wings. Perhaps they could work together, even for a little bit. Despite how much he hated company, he would prefer not to die before he reached his goal as well.

His knowledge of the Pendant of Search was pretty small, but he was certain that there wasn't that many things one could do with it. He would only need it once, and if they needed it for the same thing, than perhaps they would be okay. Besides, it was better to work together than against.
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[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
Annoyed by the question, Ailyna yawned publically. What did he think this situation was, asking question like this? A quiz? It made her wonder. Were all angels like this? Preferring words over actual deeds? Thinking that he could solve all world's problems, just by talking? The way Ailyna looked at it, a competitor had just arisen. All she could think of, was getting the artifact as soon as possible. She didn't have the time to sit around, answering questions like these. In the end, Ailyna just ignored him like thin air.

She walked past the stranger and kneeled next to the lake. In her hands a bucket appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Ailyna filled the bucket with water and walked back into the cave. She emptied it over the fire, extinguishing the flames. When she was done, the bucket disappeared again, out of her hands, as sudden as it came.

Ailyna walked out of the cave, again passing the stranger on her way out. The large red-scaled snake followed her. She moved around one last time. "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, asking me questions like this, but I don't have time to respond, I have an artifact to find!"

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[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
Bailey's eyes narrowed as he watched the other. Was she ignoring him? It sure seemed like it, and it more than ruffled his feathers. However he didn't have time to really act, as he watched as she summoned a bucket from thin air to put out the fire. She was surprisingly powerful, but he didn't mention it.

Hearing the words come out of the girl's mouth, he cursed in his head. It looked like they would be competitors after all. In that case, he needed to rush. That pendant meant everything to him, and he'd be damned if he let it fall into the hands of this girl who clearly had no business with such an artifact.

Stalking out of the cave, he spread his wings. Not waiting for another response, with a strong thrust he was in the air. It was coming back to him now, the path he needed to take. His trusted wings would get him there in no time, the slight pain in his shoulders making him smile. Flying always felt good, no matter what. And a race; well, he hadn't had one in a while. However he wasn't about to lose.
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[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
A grin appeared on Ailyna's face, somewhat proud on what she'd accomplished. A few minutes ago the stranger seemed uncertain and indecisive: trying to fetch information about her goals and missions. But now he was rushing through the air as a mad man, just to get the artifact in his hands before it landed in hers. Ailyna got herself a real competitor, a rival, but more importantly… a teammate.

The red-scaled snake slid between her legs, and raised his head somewhat, making eye contact with Ailyna. The two of them were thinking the same thing. The snake unfolded his two bat-like wings and Ailyna stepped on its back. Only seconds later the serpent took off with Ailyna surfing on it. The two quickly gained speed and she managed to catch up with the stranger. "My name is Ailyna, by the way, what's yours?"
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[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
Bailey kept a fast pace, his wings only flapping every so often, preferring to use the wind currents to guide himself. His wings were large enough that they could do this with ease, and he was surprisingly agile in the air as well. He had no idea how the other could fly, it almost seemed like she couldn't. His surprise was clear as she caught up next to him.

His eyes darted to the snake, before going back up to the girl. While he wanted to go on ahead, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to converse just a little. "My name is Bailey." He didn't want to say more than that, and he didn't need to. Another island was coming up, and he decided to go above it. The scarred male pushed hard against the wind, his wings carrying him up.
[/fieldbox]

 

[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
A floating island appeared in the sky. She leaned somewhat more to the left and back to the middle again and with an elegant S-shaped curve the snake flew past the isle. Bailey seemed to have chosen the route over the island, which separated the two for a moment. AIlyna took a moment to look down, to her red-scaled pet. Its relatively small wings were flapping constantly, pushing itself through the air. With his large wings Bailey seemed to have almost no trouble flying through the air, and she doubted he was even pushing towards his speed limit. Unfortunately, Ailyna and her snake were flying at top-speed and she could see how it made her snake pretty exhausted.

"Ssssh" Ailyna whispered, indicating that the snake could slow down a little more. It wouldn't hurt to take a little more distance from the angel. She took a quick glimpse of the sky above her. Dark clouds were covering the sky in front of them, a thunderstorm was coming. It would be a difficult ride, but it would give Ailyna a slight advantage over the angel. The rain would soak his feathered wings and it would slow him down and he would have a hard time avoid the lightning bolts. Ailyna on the other hand would have much less of a penalty. Unlike feathers, the little bat wings of her snake didn't absorb the rainwater. Besides that she had trained her pet under weather conditions like these, they were used to rough weather conditions. The lightning scared Ailyna even less than the rain. Lightning strikes were like little fire sparks, in a more intense and uncontrollable form, but they wouldn't affect Ailyna even a bit.

In a little slower pace Ailyna and her snake continued their flight in the direction of the first artifact.

[/fieldbox]

 

[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
The thunderstorm was approaching fast, and Bailey couldn't help but grin. He could already feel the electricity surging through the air, and through him. The rain would be a problem, until he got hit by a bolt. His feathers would be electrified, and the rain would be unable to stick to them. It was the only time he could fly in a thunderstorm, and he loved it.

He could smell the rain, approaching faster and faster. Then suddenly, he was among it. The rain poured down, soaking into his feathers, which caused him to drop a bit in height. He just needed one lightning bolt. Bringing up his power, he could feel the energy surging within him, waiting for the right strike. It was trying to attract bolts, as if like a magnet.

And finally a bolt struck. A huge flash of light lit up the clouds for a moment, revealing to all nearby that he had been struck. To people who didn't know, it was assumed he was dead. The noise boomed ahead, but the flash was already gone.

Electricity was surging through every part of his body. The hairs on his body were standing up, and his wings seemed to crackle as lightning ran through them. The scarred male was grinning, but he kept the power contained until he needed it. He could no longer feel the rain, and with a powerful thrust, he continued forward.
[/fieldbox]

 

[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
Bailey took the lead quite fast and within a few minutes, quite a gap had appeared between the two of them. However dark clouds were approaching them and Ailyna knew that she could turn the weather in her favor.

Suddenly they were surrounded by the thick dark clouds and heavy rainfall started to pour down on them. But Ailyna didn't care and neither did her snake. He kept flying at the same speed, bravely defying the thunderstorm. Bailey on the other hand seemed to have more troubles. His wings were getting soaked and he seemed to be losing height. "Flying is harder than you think, eh?" Ailyna tried to say, but her words fell away against the noise of the thunder. Then suddenly a flash illuminated the sky and a lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere and struck Bailey. For a moment Ailyna almost got a panic attack, she gasped loudly. Did he survive the strike? Was he still alive? Of course Ailyna wanted to be the first one to get to the artifact, but she didn't want her opponent to die.

But he wasn't dead. He kept flying. He stayed at the same attitude and kept going with the same speed. Huh… but what, how, why? Ailyna felt a little flabbergasted, trying to think of an explanation how he could have survived such a lightning strike. It was as if it didn't affect him… or maybe it did? Maybe it charged him somehow?
"Shoot" Ailyna muttered. She was already lagging behind quite a lot, and now it seemed her assumption were wrong. If she would continue like this, she would never win the race.

Ailyna sighed. She realized she had no other choice than to unlock her other self. Her heart already started pumping faster and faster. There was no point holding back anymore. Energy started flowing through her body. There was no way stopping it anymore. Ailyna knew the transformation would start any moment.

Then a loud scream escaped her lungs as her body shuddered in pain. Two twisted horns grew out of her forehead. Enormous wings spread out of her back, ripping holes through the back of her clothes. A smile appeared on her face. Even though Ailyna hated her other self, deep inside, darker feelings emerged, embracing the changes that had happened to Ailyna's body. Her shoes ripped apart, her feet becoming hooves and finally she felt how a jolly dark pointed tail made its way out of the back of her pants. Little strands of blonde hair were falling from her body. Even though she couldn't feel or see it, she knew her usual golden blonde headdress had made place for a more lighter blonde hue, her skin on the other hand had turned more dark.

During the transformation she'd absorbed all of her pet's energy. Beneath her feet an empty shell remained, more looking like a rope than like a living animal. The lifeless red scales felt down, but she didn't need her pet anymore. AIlyna swiftly flapped her own wings and quickly caught up with Bailey. The grin on her face extended as she flew next to him.
"Did you miss me?" she asked playfully.

[/fieldbox]

 

[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
The crash of thunder and the pouring rain made it hard to hear, and Bailey completely missed the first question she threw his way. He felt as if he could overcome anything, with the power surging through his body. People were often scared of lightning strikes, with how much power they had in a single flash, and he could control them. Looking at his wings, his eyes seemed to sparkle at how they looked, with electricity crackling between each feather.

A loud scream, the sound cutting through the wind and rain, stole his attention. Glancing around, he tried to figure out where the sound came from. He was tempted to send a bolt through the air, to illuminate the clouds, but he didn't want to risk killing anyone. At least he didn't have to wait too long to figure out the source of the scream.

The scarred male's eyes narrowed as he saw the other figure fly up next to him. "You're a demon," he said accusingly. He should have guessed, but the features he saw now he hadn't seen before. He couldn't have guessed it, but he was wondering how she managed to hide it. Bailey himself didn't mix well with demons, considering he was a fallen angel and a lot of his kind did become demons themselves. "Where'd your snake go?" He asked, his eyes glancing around to find it.
[/fieldbox]

 

[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
Ailyna kept flapping her wings frequently, pushing herself through the air. She tried flying slightly faster than Bailey, even though she burned a lot of energy doing so. It seemed like Bailey could fly a lot faster, but the reason he'd chosen his current speed was probably because it was his most optimal speed: the pace he could keep up the longest. By flying slightly faster, Ailyna hoped he would go faster too and hopefully exhausting himself. Luckily the thunderstorm was almost over, and the chance he would be struck by another lightning bolt was pretty low.

Ailyna rolled her eyes upon his remark that she was a demon. She frowned upon his intonation. Yeah, she was a demon, but that didn't immediately imply she was bad. There were more than enough angels who'd became demons, the opposite seemed almost impossible: good demons turning into angels. Besides, the fact that she was a demon didn't mean she was another person, or very different from angels for that matter. She just had more darker thoughts flooding her mind.

When he started about her snake she apathetically turned her head. Why did he even care? They were in the middle of a race… there were other things on her mind. "Come on!" she said in a pushing voice. "We will have time for useless chatter later. As soon as the night falls you can ask me anything, but you'll have to beat me in this lap first!" Ailyna flapped her wings even harder and soon after that, she took the lead.
[/fieldbox]

 

[Danger]

[fieldbox=Bailey Fallen, #e0ffff, solid]
Bailey scowled, annoyed at the other's childish behaviour. Was everything a game to her? Was she not taking any of this seriously? The energy he had stored sparked to life, and he left a trail of crackling lightning behind him as he shot forward, past the demon. He hoped for another lightning strike, but the storm was soon coming to an end.

Why was he even putting up with this girl? It wasn't like he needed a companion or anything... There was only one person for him, anyway. Which was why he was on this quest... He needed to have her back, had to. It was his fault she was gone, and he would do everything in his power to get her back.

Even if he had to kill this other girl. He would likely feel a little bad about it, but not for very long. They were just strangers after all, simply after the same thing. Glancing back, Bailey narrowed his eyes before glancing up. He could feel another powerful bolt brewing, but he wasn't sure if he could handle that much power. Either way, he had to try, he had to win. Taking a deep breath, he released some more energy to attract the bolt to him.
[/fieldbox]

 

[Yanaike]

[fieldbox="Ailyna Cross, moccasin, solid"]
A little smile appeared on Ailyna's face when she saw how Bailey used his power to quickly take back the lead. She hadn't had a challenging opponent in quite a while and she was happy how easily she could trick him in trying to be faster than her. Ailyna could barely keep up his pace. She realized her limits were near. Pushing her limits was one of her strengths, but she couldn't keep pushing her limits forever.

Ailyna's eyes widened as she noticed a change in Bailey's behavior. He seemed like he was trying to… trying to attract another lightning bolt!
"Oh no!" Ailyna mumbled. "No, no, no! Don't you dare…" Ailyna flapped her wings as hard as she could. He already was much faster than her, she had to prevent him from taking another lightning bolt. In her hand she summoned a fireball. She came closer to him, and when she was almost near him. She pushed him away with a flaming fist, burning up the last bit of the strength she had left.

With Bailey out of the way, the lightning bolt quickly found a new target in the form of Ailyna. A flash appeared before her eyes, followed by a piercing pain cracking through her bones and muscles. Her long blonde hair was scorched and was standing right up, filled with static electricity. Heavy breaths escaped Ailyna's mouth. Her whole body was shaking. She couldn't control it. She couldn't control her legs, her arms.
"Must… keep… flying" Ailyna mumbled. "Must… win… this… race…" She flapped her wings a few more time, managed to fly a couple more feet, then her wings paralyzed and she lost consciousness.

Her wings folded back in, her pointy demon tail disappeared, the horns on her forehead quickly diminished and the hooves made place for bare human feet. Ailyna had changed back into human form and she was falling, quickly loosing attitude.
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