Sylvia and Allison kept me company as I waited for my family. Since it was only the three of us, we sat at a different, smaller table today. This one was close to the entrance and stood next to a window that granted me vision of the main hall. I kept leaning on its deep sill, staring at the door that led to the underground parking lot from my seat. They were going to enter through there. At least they were meant to.

Allison placed a hand on my head and smiled. “Anyone would think you haven’t seen them in years, little one. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be long now.”

“I know.” Mom had sent me a message just before they entered the forest, after all. “I’m fine,” I added after a pause.

“Are you sure?” Sylvia asked from the other side of the table. “Your tail seems to disagree with you.”

I turned around to see the blue whip slowly swinging from side to side. My face heated up, and my hand flew to stop its movement. Sylvia covered her mouth, trying to hide her snickering.

“Just you wait,” I replied, glaring at her. “A couple more weeks, and you’ll be too busy keeping yours in check.”

Sylvia’s own tail rested limply on her lap. Despite not being fully formed, the lifeless appendage was long enough to get trapped between the wheelchair’s rims when it moved, so she needed to be careful with it. Her transformation was quite obvious already, though there were still no signs of her getting any younger. Theory so far was that her pregnancy also had a hand in this.

The light squeaking of hinges echoed throughout the hall, making me look back at the previously closed door. Theo, one of the assistants, had come out and was holding it for someone on the other side. The next moment, I was sprinting towards the lobby.

A startled yelp made me stop in my tracks. The frightened man that came out of the door was definitely a visiting parent; just not mine. The sudden scare made him take a step back, crashing against the green suitcase he brought with him. The large object had four wheels, so it simply slid away, rather than fall. He was Thomas, the man that voluntarily got bitten in an attempt to get infected along with his wife.

“I-I’m sorry,” the man said, bringing his right hand to his chest. His eyes wandered away from mine. “I didn’t mean to yell like that.”

I sighed in disappointment and shook my head. “No, it’s my fault for running like that. I’m really sorry, mister.”

“R-right. I don’t mind.”

The man was trembling from head to toe. I was aware he wasn’t a fan of my appearance from the moment we met, but I didn’t remember his reaction being so bad before. Though, given the situation, I was probably the least of his concerns back then.

“Sorry, kid,” Theo said, earning a frown from me. He didn’t see it as he was busy dragging the runaway luggage back to its owner. “They’ll be here soon, though. Don’t worry.”

Once close, his hand reached out for my head. This didn’t sit well with me. Triggered by the sudden action, I took a step back and let out an unintentional warning growl. All of us flinched in response. Conflicting thoughts came to me. There was guilt from scaring them and fear of my own reaction, but also a sense of pride from making my opinion known.

“Nora!” Mom’s angry voice took me by surprise. I turned around to see her and Mary walking through the open door.

“No, it’s okay. It was my mistake. Sorry about that, Nora,” Theo said before he turned his back on us and spoke to the nervous visitor. “This way, Mr. Malin.” The man nodded, and both walked away.

“It really wasn’t my fault,” I continued once they were far enough.

“Allen did tell me you can’t control it, but you didn’t even apologise. I don’t think many people enjoy being growled at.”

“Well, he didn’t really stop to think if it was alright to pat my head, either.”

Nobody actually did, to be fair. What bothered me was more the reason behind it, than the action itself. I really didn’t like being looked down on.

“She’s right, Emma. If anything, I would’ve clawed at him,” Mary commented, striking an attack pose with her hands up. “Sup, Beastie- I mean, Bestie,” she added, patting my head with a mischievous smile.

I chuckled. “Maybe I should claw at you instead.” I stepped forward to give Mom a big hug. “Hi Mom.”

“Hello, sweety,” she replied, returning the hug.

I looked behind her as we embraced each other, searching for the two missing members of my family. “Where are Dad and Allen?”

“They’re dealing with the massive cargo we brought,” Mary replied.

“And why are you not helping them?” I asked Mary, letting go of my mother. All she had on her was her own backpack. She wasn’t super strong, but I was sure she could at least help out by dragging one of the cases.

She crossed her arms and shook her head. “I’m not kidding this time. They’re huge!”

“It’s only a weekend, you know,” I told Mom, confidently guessing she was the culprit.

Mom grinned and replied, “Oh, it’s not for us.” Not giving me time to process her words, she spoke again. “Hello, Allison.”

I turned around to see the giantess walking at us, followed closely by Sylvia.

“Good afternoon, Emma.” Allison replied, kneeling next to me.

“And you must be Sylvia,” Mom continued. She walked up to her to shake her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise,” Sylvia replied. “I’ve heard a lot about you and what you’re doing for us. I was really starting to hate these robes, so thank you.”

Huh?

“Oh, don’t thank me yet. You haven’t even seen them.” Noticing my puzzled expression, Mom chuckled. “Speaking of which, they should be here any second now.”

As if on cue, Dad and Allen stepped into the lobby with red faces, dragging two gigantic suitcases. Each of them was almost as tall as I was. It then dawned on me. She was the friend that Dr. Blake had told us about. No wonder she hadn’t been able to come the previous week. Once she got inspired, there was no stopping her.

After we were done greeting each other, Allison took no time in grabbing both containers, lifting them as if they weighed nothing, and leading us to her room. There, we inspected my mother’s work.

Following Allison’s request, most of her own clothes were long summer dresses with diverse floral patterns. Something I noticed was that, save for a few shawls and a couple of sweaters, there was nothing she could wear during the colder seasons. I did ask her, and she explained that there was no need for that. One of the perks of being a giant is that their bodies have less trouble keeping the heat because of their higher volume.

Next came my and Sylvia’s turn. While Allison’s had been just bigger versions of normal clothing, ours included some rather interesting designs to accommodate our non-human traits, flight being the most important of them.

Many of my outfits were pretty much skin-tight, though they seemed to offer enough protection against strong winds and cold. Not that I had to worry about those. These were very plain looking, clearly aiming to be as aerodynamic as they could, having embroidered and stamped patterns as their only decorations. The rest of the clothes were more visually pleasing and creative, my favourites being the skirts with hidden stud buttons that allowed them to turn into stylish shorts. There was something about transforming clothes that I really loved.

Sylvia’s were similar, but the focus for most was her pregnancy. Pleased with what she was looking at, Sylvia took no time in choosing one of the outfits and heading to the bathroom to change. She came out wearing her new pants and blouse, smiling from ear to ear, and threw the robe as hard as she could to the floor. Since I had my own clothes already, I wasn’t in such a hurry, and, despite my mother’s insistence, I chose to try them on later at night.

Mom also made some outfits for Rex, but he was still out in the forest planning the construction of his very own blacksmithing workshop, so we left them by the reception desk on the way to the cafeteria, where we would eat and wait for everyone else to show up.

---<>----------<>----------<>---

“Well? How do I look?”

Weird…

This wasn’t true. The clothes suited Rex well, but his image didn’t agree with my perception of how a dwarf should look like. It was too modern. With his flannel shirt and trousers, all my mind could see was a compressed lumberjack. He was just missing a beanie and an axe.

The others did praise him, so I remained quiet as I took another mouthful of food and enjoyed that I was no longer the centre of attention.

My family had me talk non-stop about everything that transpired in their absence. Every single detail. I thought about not mentioning the elven couple at first, but, considering there was a chance they would meet them soon, I chose to do it. Even if Belaury refused, Viken would probably enter the building to check on Anna. Speaking of which, I did make sure to omit my recent fall. Anna agreed they didn’t need to know, and she assured me she would come up with an excuse for her casts. She had yet to appear, though. In fact, other than Mary and my family, only Allison and Sylvia were present at the table.

Unfortunately for me, being the centre of attention and storyteller, I wasn’t able to touch my food until Rex arrived with his new outfit and changed the topic. I silently thanked him for it.

Mary leaned closer to me and whispered, “So when can you show me your newfound powers, Miss Freeze?”

I put the food back on the plate and slowly turned to her. “Miss Freeze?”

She nodded rapidly. “You have a super power now. You need a hero name to match! You know, a public identity to protect the secrecy of a real one! I also need to meet your teacher! Oh! And a flight demonstration!”

“I’m no hero, so no, I don’t need one. Plus, that sounds more like a villain’s name.”

“I mean, yeah, but it’s not my fault most ice users tend to be villains. Like, what’s up with that?”

“Do you also want me to speak using cold related puns?”

“Yes, please do,” she replied with more nodding.

“No!” I laughed and picked up my food again. “No hero names; no puns.”

With that, I went back to eating. Though her pensive pose told me she hadn’t given up on the idea. I had barely taken another bite when she tried again. “How about Vylt? I know you like that one.”

“Maybe because it’s my username for everything?”

She smiled proudly. “Exactly!”

I could only shake my head in response.

“So? Demonstrations? Elves? When?”

It was true that I owed her a demonstration. In fact, my whole family was quite interested in it, as well. I would need to apologise to my teacher for spending mana before the class, but I was sure Belaury would understand. After all, it still fit with our efforts to increase my capacity. It made me wonder just how much it would actually grow.

---<>----------<>----------<>---

We headed straight to the lake after eating. It was still the ideal place to showcase my magic. While buckets were enough for my training, they just weren’t as flashy.

“I can’t wait to get there! Do you have anything planned for your demonstration?” Mary asked as she bounced next to me. The rest of the group was farther ahead.

Adults and their long strides…

Her question had me thinking for a moment. Truth be told, I had nothing prepared for it. Last time I showcased my abilities, all I did was gather a few water droplets to form an ice needle. My capacity certainly allowed for much more than that, especially after Belaury’s training, and I did want to give them a bit of a show.

“How about an ice sculpture?”

Mary’s already wide smile only grew in response to my suggestion. “Oh! That sounds great! Will you take requests?”

I shrugged. “Sure, why not. Though, I would appreciate it if they are not too difficult. Keep in mind that all I’ve done recently is a bunch of marbles.”

Mary hummed, bringing a finger to the corner of her mouth. “Would a tree be too difficult? I think it will look amazing.”

I pondered it for a moment. It really wasn’t that hard. A tree was only as complex as one chose to make it. It would certainly require some concentration, but I liked the challenge of seeing how far I could take it.

“I can probably do that,” I replied.

We reached our destination shortly after. Mary followed me all the way to the lake’s shore, while the rest remained a few metres behind us. Only she knew what I was going to do, so it made sense they gave me enough distance to work.

“I’ll need to concentrate for this, don’t make too much noise,” I told Mary. She merely nodded, taking out her phone to record the event.

I crouched to get closer to the water and visualised the tree I wanted to make as the liquid rose to my open hand. I then redirected it to the ground, where I started building the trunk, including the roots to keep it standing, and worked my way up from there. It reminded me of 3D printing, in a sense. The biggest difference being that if I, the machine, stopped working, all the progress would be gone. I quickly abandoned the thought and continued.

When I reached a decent height, I split the tip and started branching all over. Finally, super thin leaves sprouted everywhere. By this point, I was having trouble keeping the shape stable, even with the image still in my head. There were just too many shapes that I needed to hold, and my mana was starting to drain quickly. Not being able to go any further, I took a deep breath and froze the entire figure in an instant. I felt somewhat dizzy right after that, so I dropped to the ground to recover.

There was a brief round of applause, though Mary simply frowned as she squatted to examine the tree. “I guess a bonsai does count as a tree, but I was really expecting something bigger.”

“Yeah? I want to see yours now,” I countered.

She laughed in response and took a picture of it. “Jokes aside, it looks really good. Well done, Bestie!”

I looked at my work again. The leaves were already melting, much to my mother’s disappointment. She would need to ask Mary for a copy.

Mary then stood up and pointed towards the training area. “Next destination, the flight platform!”

“No!” I growled immediately, also standing up. I cleared my throat immediately, though the damage was done.

She blinked twice in silence. “No flight demonstration then?”

“What?” I asked, confused. “No! I mean, yes! But not there. Not yet.”

“Then?”

“I can bring some of the guys to start up the boats,” Rex intervened. “We can just do what we have done so far.”

I shook my head at the idea. “I didn’t bring my swimdress today.” I didn’t get the chance. Mom’s message had thrown me off, making me forget about that. Without one, the water was off limits. I did not want to get my normal clothes wet by any means.

Looking at Allison, however, an idea popped in my mind. A slightly riskier idea that didn’t require wasting so much time. I walked up to her and spoke. “I think I can do it if you throw me.”

“I’m sorry, little one,” Allison quickly replied. “I don’t think that’s safe.”

“Wait! Hear me out first.”

Allison groaned, and her focus shifted to my Mom’s panicked expression. I took the silence as my chance. “If you throw me upwards, I should get enough altitude to take flight. When I’m done, I’ll just come back so you can catch me. If you can’t, I’ll just dive into the lake as usual.” My clothes would be quite heavy, but I was confident they would help me out in time.

“I don’t know sweety,” Mom interjected. “It really doesn’t sound safe.”

I turned back to Allison, “Trust me. This isn’t the child me speaking. I already thought about it. I’m pretty sure I can even land on my own like before, but I’m choosing to keep it safe.”

It took some more honeyed words, but I eventually convinced them, even Mom, to let me try. Allison knew I was capable. She was just nervous because of the new method. By then, I was no longer dizzy from mana depletion, so I didn’t even bother mentioning it.

I swear, if I get this wrong, I’m going to really hate myself.

“You… be… fine.”

Oh hello spirit. I didn’t expect you to show up at this moment.

Didn’t you need mana or something?

I kinda ran out, you know.

There was nothing after that.

Well, thank you for your encouraging words, I guess.

I lifted my arms up for Allison to pick me up, which she did with some hesitation.

“Are you really sure?” She whispered when we were at eye level. “Your fall was still very recent.”

“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “Just send me up. If I feel like I can’t do it, I’ll let you catch me again. Be ready, just in case.”

Allison pressed her lips, but remained silent after that. I then felt myself going down. She was getting ready to throw me. That or she was having second thoughts and putting me back down. When she stopped, I knew it was time I closed my eyes. I would open them once I spread out my wings.

The next moment, I was high up in the air. I could feel the fear creeping its way in just as I reached the maximum height. My wings opened by instinct the moment I felt myself falling, and my eyes quickly followed suit.

Success!

The worst was over. At least until I needed to go down.

I kept gaining altitude as my wings flapped with everything they had. Soon enough, I flew past the tall trees and began to glide. Loud cheering had me look down, where everyone was waving at me. My magnified vision allowed me to see Mary’s phone whilst she recorded. This time, Mom was also ready.

My plan was to hover above them the entire time. That was until I spotted a certain someone watching from somewhere else in the forest. I couldn’t see my teacher, but Viken waved at me with both arms. I waved back, to which he shook his head in response. I circled around the old elf, trying to make out what he was trying to say. He kept moving his arms frantically.

Even with my improved sight during flight, I couldn’t tell what his expression was, so I didn’t know the nature of his message. Giving up on his attempt at sign language, Viken looked around him and grabbed a long branch from the floor. He then pointed it forward, as if casting a spell.

Belaury!

I nodded in understanding. Next, he gave a few exaggerated steps without moving from his spot, followed by him pointing at the sun. He kept pointing as he moved his arm down.

My teacher is coming tonight!