"Watch me!", Azeal is laughing as he clumsily lands on a ledge, his wings awkwardly splayed. All his baby fluff and down is gone, replaced by sleek flight feathers. His wings are a light tan color that fade to white at the tips of the feathers.
"Your landing was terrible", Donnel snarks, but he's having fun, too. His wings are also fully grown, and just a little darker then Azeal's.
     The two Caelum boys are branching, gliding from ledge to ledge, on the cliffside. Sulena and Clenith are both circling in the air nearby to catch them if they fall. Neither of the boys have any fear at being so high off the ground. The waves crash on the beach far below them.
Donnel opens his wings up, sliding off a ledge and clumsily gliding to the next. A few small rocks rain off the edge as he lands. Azeal looks down at his cousin before opening back up his own wings. His feathers easily cut through the air when he pushes away from the cliff. He lands lightly and just manages to avoid crashing into the older boy. Both their wings are getting stronger.
    "You almost knocked me off!", Donnel complains. He would rather have the ledges to himself then share.
     "Did not! I didn't even touch you!", Azeal wines. He's tying his best impress his older cousin. Azeal looks up to Donnel quiet a bit.
"Go find your own ledge", Donnel scoots the edge, slipping off and gliding down to the next outcrop. When he lands, the rock breaks underneath him. Donnel slips off the ledge sideways and ends up falling back first. He can't spread out his wings that way, and he can't flip himself over. There's real fear in his eyes now.
Azeal doesn't know what he's doing when he dives after him. He tucks in his small wings as a surge of energy and adrenaline shoots through him. Azeal feels a burning sensation in chest.
His dive is faster then Donnel's fall, and Azeal collides with him. Donnel still can't get his wings straitened out. He's shocked when Azeal grabs him.
The young Caelum are only just beginning to learn how to use their wings. They can't fly because their wings are still too weak. Worse, there's no way that Azeal's wings can support their combined weight. He won't be able to glide.
There's a burning in his chest again. Azeal's vision suddenly sharpens, and he has no doubts when he opens up his wings. They don't snap from the weight like they should.
When Donnel looks up, jarred from the fall, he sees that Azeal's wings are somehow three feet longer then they should be. His wings are outlined in a black fog that somehow catches the wing. Azeal's eyes have changed from yellow to pitch black.
The boys crash down on a lower ledge after Azeal turns sharply. His wings loose their new color, and his eyes brighten back to yellow. He has a hard time remembering what he just did, only that Donnel was falling.
"Donnel! Are you ok? What's wrong?", Azeal tucks his wings in close, leading over his cousin. Donnel groans and turns his head, but he doesn't sit up. It's strange how tired Donnel is. He doesn't have any energy left to to even come up with a reply.
"Azeal!", Sulena tucks in her wings, grabbing onto the cliff face and hanging off the side. Azeal runs over to her and jumps over the gap. His mother pulls him to her chest so that she can carry him.
     Aunt Clenith lands on the ledge to get to Donnel. He seems drained and out of it, but buries his face in her neck. All of them saw what Azeal did.
Donnel was sick for a few days after that. He had no energy and slept a lot. Aunt Clenith didn't visit as often after that, and Donnel was never with her.
Azeal couldn't figure out why, but he's sure that it's his fault.