The water was misting everything... holding it in shimmering insubstance as the heavy, hearty gusts of air kept buffeting and bumping the tiny form. She looked as small and brittle as paper as she was pushed around the rooftop limply by the winds. Sarah took enormous huffs of air from the winds, snatching them away to savour the taste and texture of this wonderful substance. Her eyes were incapable of processing the disc, but the blue was just about viewable through the mist of tears. She had stopped crying hours ago, but the wind was so fierce that her eyes were watering with panic and fear of blindness. She has dragged herself to the frame of the rusted door and hauled herself to sitting with considerable effort, the panic subsiding and childish curiosity took the reins.

Was it solid? A dome perhaps? It was so straight, unblemished that it had to be. This went in defiance of all her science teachers, not one of which had seen it for. That must be it; she thought wryly, their complete lack of experience had led to a complete lack of knowledge. The wobbling in her legs was starting to ease now, and she was feeling a little less dizzy, nausea still sat heavy on the pit of her stomach, lurching and protesting with every small movement; despite this she gingerly raised her small frame to standing, her sallow, tear-streaked face wincing as her eyes regained focus and she took her first unaided step out onto the open roof. It was getting easier now, she remembered to move with the flow of the wind, and how to walk to minimise her wind resistance.

She spent the next hour acclimatising to her new environment; she dared a glance or two towards the disc, but was incapable of looking at it for more than a moment, sunspots the reward for her semi-regular peeks.  As the sky changed from blue to orange she had gained full control of herself, yet marvelling at the miraculous colour changing properties of the phenomenon ‘sky’. “To the matter at hand!” Sarah exclaimed to no one in particular, her instructions were simply to go to the top of this building and the next step would be waiting. Miss Monet realised that the next step was noticeable by its absence. The gusty roof was whitewashed and bare, with no sign of life all around it. She looked at the lingering tendrils of amber and checked the watch sown delicately into her jacket, apparently night was coming... Did the sky change for night? Her train of thought was rudely interrupted by a loud, throaty roar that came from above her, “LOOK UP, YOU STUPID COW!”

The hunched figure perched himself above the roof access door and took to his waiting. This was common practise; most people would collect a newbie off the roof in a balloon and carry them back, a good teacher should do no such thing. The crouching onlooker preferred to fly them out, if they couldn’t do it the first time, there was no point in them being there. One green, bloodshot eye looked down at a struggling form, flopping around below him like a fish in the keep-net. It was the usual practise of course, and he himself had probably done it too at some point in the past, but pathetic is pathetic regardless of whatever precedence it can claim. Twitching and wheezing was not a dignified behaviour to watch, especially when it went on all afternoon and well into the evening. Patience was wearing thin by the time the sun had all but set, and the familiar aches and pains of being land-locked for too long were creeping up the length of his spine. Nope, it has simply gone on too long, she was fine now but too thick to find him ‘hidden’ as he was. He stood up fully, straightened his back, and let loose an angry yell at the thick little waif bumbling around below him.

Sarah was shocked into instinctual action, whirling around and looking in the direction of the noise before the subconscious would relinquish her body from its heavy grasp. As soon as someone less jittery was put in control, she noticed a man standing atop the box leading to the stairwell. Well... it was a man insofar as she was a woman, no sexual organs could she spy on his completely naked form, and a leathery eye-patch draped over one eye. He leapt forward, unfurling bat-like wings as he glided down to her. The wings now nothing more than fabric connected to a backpack. Another one was placed at her feet as the throaty creature spoke again. “Never in all my days have I collected someone so damn SLOW! You’d think you were learning to walk for the first time!” Sarah tried to mumble her apologies, unsure of how she should have reached when she reached the roof, but feeling very foolish now. She gingerly attached her own backpack, connected manacles to her wrists and ankles without so much as another word as the man continued to rant with his back to her. She saw the ropes leading from the manacles to the kite-like fabric concealed within the backpack. She familiarised herself with the functions of the various catches and pulleys in the time it took for him to stop ranting. When he turned around, she was preparing to begin her take-off, lowering herself into position like an Olympic runner before the 100 metres sprint. With not a word of protest as he yanked her pack back twenty feet and replaced her further back with a longer runway, and lowered himself next to her. He whispered over the gales “Impatience is my game young lady, but you’re not doing too badly, just follow my lead, and remember your movements. I’ll get you back home or my name’s not Gabriel Francois Doyen!”

“Is it?”

Hmm... We’ll find out if you touchdown.”

With that they launched themselves off the edge of the building and gusts of winds hit them so hard it blew right through to her bones.