Free Fall

The Jade Forest, year 34 ADP

I had been with Aroki in Pandaria for five days already and each day the burdens that weighed on my shoulders back home were pushed further and further from my mind. It had been a marvellous time so far. We had visited pretty orchards, explored Paw’don village, visited the local Jinyu and camped outside together with one of Aroki’s old friends; a Pandaren woman named Li-Han Ironale, the wife of Aroki’s old teacher. We had escorted Li-Han back to her home outside Dawn’s Blossom after our night of camping and she had invited us to stay for a while. Though, invited was perhaps not the correct word. She had -decided- that we would stay with her for the next few days and I had learned very quickly that you do not argue with Li-Han when she puts her mind to something. Not that I minded terribly.

Li-Han’s house was situated atop one of the very narrow mountain tops that dotted the landscape of the Jade Forest. The trek to reach it was gruelling to say the least, but the view once we did was definitely worth it. It was absolutely spectacular and we could see everything for miles around. The wind was strong up here, but it helped add to the sense of exhilarating freedom that I had been feeling more and more each day since our arrival. It was breathtaking and I loved it.

This particular night Aroki and I were standing close to the cliff edge, enjoying the view and engaging in some light-hearted banter and conversation. My spirits were high and it was so easy to forget the boundaries that usually existed between us. Aroki was not wearing his mask for once, and I savoured the chance to study his features and commit them to memory. The wind teased Aroki’s long, dark blue hair around his face and I had a sudden urge to reach out and pull my fingers through it. It would probably not be in my best interest to do so, however, and I stomped the urge down as best I could. But the longing was still there, tugging at my heart and will, and it was almost overpowering enough to make me forget what we were talking about. (We had been discussing wind serpents and how they managed to fly without wings.)

In order to distract myself, as well as Aroki, from what was going on inside me I grasped at the first idea that came into my mind. It was a crazy idea and I had a feeling Aroki would plant his feet and say “No” and that would be that…but if he did not…the idea was just insane enough to work. I peered over the edge of the cliff, studying the drop with interest.
“I wonder…”
I could feel Aroki’s apprehension rise as he studied me.
“What are you thinking?”
“I wonder if I could levitate down to the ground. It would be very annoying to have to trudge all the way back up though…but the way down could be fun.”
I looked back up to meet Aroki’s stone-faced expression.
“You’re serious…aren’t you?”
“It is the closest we would come to flying on our own without the help of hippogryphs.” I beamed a smile at him and Aroki’s eyes narrowed the tiniest of fractions.
“…you want to levitate down now don’t you?”
“…maybe?”
“Right now?”
“No time like the present?”
Aroki let out a sigh and shook his head in disbelief. It was as if he could barely believe the words about to leave his mouth. In truth, I was just as disbelieving when he said: “Very well…let’s go.”

I stared at him for a few seconds before giving him a brilliant smile of pure delight. I reached out and grabbed his hand in a firm hold, fearing that he might change his mind and balk at what we were about to do if I didn’t hold on to him.
“Excellent! Let us try not to hit any trees on the way down…”
“Yes..let’s not do that.” Through our clasped hands I could feel some of Aroki’s tension. He was, quite clearly, not as keen on this idea as I was. But, we had committed to this plan now, and with that in mind, I closed my eyes and murmured the spell that levitated us off the ground. Now all we had to do was to float over the edge and we would, in theory, be able to float down to the ground without too much damage. Easy!
“Are you ready?”
“…As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Very well then. On three…one…two…”
I floated towards the edge, pulling Aroki along with me. On “three” we went over and dropped into free fall.

The wind whipped the hair around my face and I let out a slightly panicked “Eeep!” at the speed of the drop. It was not quite flying, but we were, thankfully, not hurtling towards our deaths either. We were descending at a fast pace, true, but not fast enough that we would be crushed once we hit the ground. It was frightening as well as exciting and I could feel the adrenaline roaring through my body as the trees and bushes along the side of the mountain brushed past my body on my way down. I had to concentrate to keep the spell in place and keep us floating, but it was incredibly hard to do so when all I wanted to do was to let go of everything and let out a “whooop!” of pure joy! The feeling of going into free-fall was exhilarating and I could feel my heart beat faster and faster within my chest, but if that was from the excitement or the small tinge of fear that was still present within me was hard to tell.

Aroki held my hand in a death grip and when I turned my head to steal a glance at him I could see that his eyes were wide and not quite as void of emotion as usual. Exactly what emotion was presently raging inside him was not something I was able to tell, however, but the fact that I had managed to crack through his usual calm and collected exterior made me feel just a tiny bit smug.

We landed with a soft “thud” in the grass far, far below the mountain and it took a few moments for me to gather my scrambled wits and remember to keep myself upright. I turned towards Aroki and gave him the biggest smile I could muster, my eyes wild with excitement and my hair a complete and utter mess.
“That was so much fun!”
Aroki himself was sporting the same messy hairdo as I was and beneath his calm exterior he seemed just a little bit frazzled. He looked at himself, then at me and then back at himself, his eyes having a slightly wild look to them as well.
“Good…we survived.”
“It was frightening, but so much fun! But it is a really good thing Li-han was not here to see it. She would have murdered us…” the words just tumbled out of my mouth and I couldn’t seem to stop them.
“That’s closer to the truth than I’d like to admit.” Aroki’s tone was dry as he looked at me.
“So…good thing she was not here to see it. This was fun, yes? Did you hit a tree on the way down? I did not hit any trees, luckily. But my hair is a mess. So is yours by the way.” It was very, very hard to keep myself from bouncing excitedly in place with the adrenaline still raging like wildfire in my veins.
“No…I didn’t hit any trees and it was different, a good different.”
I tried to reign in my excitement for a moment and consider what we had done in a slightly more rational frame of mind.
“Though, we should perhaps not mention to anyone that we think it is fun to jump off mountains just to see if we can float down without dying…”
“Yes…I agree.”
…and then I tossed any lingering rationality right out the non-existent window and beamed at Aroki, giving him the most dazzling smile I could possibly conjure up. Who needs rationality while they are on vacation anyway?
“We should do it again!”

My suggestion seemed to make his mind stumble and he lost his usual ironclad grip on his emotions for just a moment.
“…What?”
“Yes! Jump off again! It was fun, right?”
“A-are you serious?”
The incredulous tone, coupled with the dumbfounded expression, made me pause for a moment.
“It was not fun?”
“I mean it was, yes.”
“But once was quite enough?”
“It was my first time floating down on what feels like nothing…it is a…surreal feeling.”
“I agree, it is. Very exciting…but a bit…panic-inducing too I suppose.”
“Besides, we still have to climb back up first.” Aroki’s words were practical, but they dimmed my excitement just a little all the same.
“Hm. That is true. I suppose any excitement at jumping off again might have vanished by then.” I sighed and glanced up at the mountaintop far above us. I could feel Aroki studying me, taking in my expression and I could swear I heard resignation in his tone when he spoke.
“You still want to jump off though, don’t you?”
I turned towards him and smiled again, a smile that was not as wide and dazzling as before but a smile that was pure mischief.
“…perhaps.”
Aroki raised his free hand and pulled it over his face with a sigh before focusing his gaze back on me. “One more time.”
With an excited “Yay!” I pulled him along with me and we began the steep climb up the mountain only so that we could jump off and float back down…again.