Chihiro apprehensively ran the flying cloak through her fingers. It was like watered silk.

"I'm not sure I want to do this," she said for the third time.

"Oh, it's easy," cried Linca. "Don't worry about it, you'll love it; if this is done properly you'll end up with a true bird form. That idiot Yubaba was so tied to earthly things she could not let her form go and let her spirit soar." Linca frowned with disapproval. "Flying around with that head poking above the cloak must have ruined the aerodynamics; I'm surprised she had any lift at all," she said disdainfully.

"Probably used extra spells," muttered Rin. "Used to terrify me when I saw that black shape heading for the bathhouse. She was usually in a foul mood after she visited the counting-house or the traders and she took it out on the staff."

Chihiro smiled; Haku could be a little bit stressed when he came back from the traders too. Of course, all it took was a kiss and a few whispered promises in his ear and he rapidly got over his vexation.

"So Chihiro is going to turn into a bird?" asked Scott, who was rubbing down the nygel with handfuls of leaves.

"Eventually, yes," said Linca. "Which species do you think she will be?" asked the sprite, with a glint in her eye.

"Goose," said Rin with a chuckle.

"Good flyer," murmured Linca, taking the wind out of Rin's sails.

"How about a bird of prey?" asked Scott. "Like a kestrel."

"Manoeuvrable and can hover," said Linca thoughtfully. "But not so good over long distances."

"A swan," snorted the nygel.

"We will need water and a running start if she turns into one of those," laughed Linca. "But a strong flyer. I'm personally going to go with something smaller," she said, eyeing Chihiro up and down. "A small songbird or a pigeon."

"Pigeon?" said Chihiro indignantly. "Great, you think I'm going to turn into a sky rat."

"They are not that bad," said Linca defensively. "It's not their fault that humans bred them for racing and now they are totally dependant on humans for their survival."

Chihiro rolled her eyes; Linca loved birds of all descriptions. She even enjoyed looking after the bathhouse chickens, though she had no qualms about slaughtering and eating them either.

"So how do I do this?" asked Chihiro, flicking out the cloak.

"Wrap it around you and wait; it will feel a bit strange but it won't hurt."

Chihiro nodded and slipped the hooded cloak over her. The most extraordinary sensation filled her body. The world got a lot bigger and her watching companions grew to giant proportions. She tingled all over; her arms grew and her legs shortened. It was painless but it made her feel a little sick. Her gait changed; she had a lot more weight before her. Her eyes allowed her to see behind her as well as in front of her. She got dizzy and sat down, fluffing out her breast feathers indignantly.

Linca laughed. The sound was loud and set Chihiro's heart pounding. She wanted to fly away from the sound but she was unsure how. Linca bent towards her, but Chihiro stood and scampered between her legs. She was terrified. Part of her knew that Linca was her sister, the rest of her was acting on instinct; she had to run and hide from the scary things that might hurt her.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Rin in a concerned voice.

"She's just a little bird-brained, that's all," said Linca with a small smile. "She'll learn to deal with it. Stand still and let her calm down."

Everyone fell silent, making sure they made no sudden movements. Chihiro's heart began to beat less rapidly. There was a bush to her left; she could hide in it if they moved. She felt a little safer.

"Chihiro," said Linca in a very low whisper. "It's alright, Chi, the fear subsides. You take on the instincts when you change. That's why Kisho told you to change only every other day. If you fly too much you will permanently change into a bird."

Very slowly Linca crouched down, facing Chihiro.

"When you are ready, come over to me," she said in a whisper. It took Chihiro a good ten minutes before she plucked up the courage to hop towards Linca. At least she was steady on her clawed feet now. She hopped onto the spirit's outstretched hand. Linca slowly stood.

"There, my little dove," said Linca softly. "Not quite so scary now, is it?"

Chihiro tried to reply, but instead, she cooed. Her eyes widened; she could not speak.

"Wait for me to change, then I will be able to talk to you," Linca said to her. "And might I say, you are a beautiful example of a collar necked dove. A good all-rounder, doves; fast, manoeuvrable and can go long distances. You may out-fly me with practice."

"Err, how long is this going to take?" asked Rin, glancing at the sky. "It's already mid-morning."

"Not long," replied Linca. "She will know what to do once she gets up; she just needs an example to follow."

Linca held out her hand towards Rin. Chihiro gripped Linca's thumb tightly; the ground looked a long way down already.

"Hop onto Rin for a moment, Chi; use your wings to get a bit of lift."

Chihiro braced herself and jumped, flapping her wings furiously. She was almost too successful and nearly missed Rin's shoulder.

"Oww," Rin complained. "Your claws are sharp." Chihiro selected a hair and pulled at it with her neat little beak by way of an answer. There was a flash and a large snowy owl was perched on a root on the ground.

"Ahh, that's better," it hooted. "I sometimes feel like this is my true form."

Chihiro was relieved. She could understand Linca perfectly. Chihiro hopped off Rin's shoulders and fluttered to the ground. She landed lightly and cooed happily at her small achievement.

"Yes, very good," hooted Linca. "Now come here and I'll explain some of the basics." Chihiro hopped over and was dwarfed by the large white bird. She was not at all afraid now. She was herself, not the bird she had changed into.

"Don't worry," Linca squawked. "I'm not hungry." She winked one huge yellow eye.

Rin and Scott stared at the two birds baffled by the stream of hoots and coos that were coming from them.

"Are they... talking?" asked Scott.

"I assume so," sighed Rin. "Best leave them to it. Let's gather the packs. Can you carry a couple as well as this lump of a human, Snaffu?" The nygel whinnied an affirmative.

"I'll be slow but I can do it; two humans would be heavier," he said with a horsy grin and a swish of his tail.

Scott tied two of the smaller packs to the nygel's flanks like panniers. The water horse could hold them in place with the same magic he used to hold his human victims to his back when he dunked them. Rin strapped the two heavier packs to her back and Scott mounted the small horse. His feet nearly touched the ground, but the nygel was not a normal horse and he could carry the tall human easily. Scott wiggled on the horse's back.

"I still hurt from yesterday," he complained.

"It's your turn to fly tomorrow," said Rin with a grin. "Your rear can get a rest then." Her grin broadened at the unsure look on his face. "I wonder what kind of bird you will be?" she mused holding her head on one side.

"Probably a duck, knowing my luck," laughed Scott. Rin laughed with him.

"We are heading off," she announced to the birds at her feet. "When you two finally get into the air you can scout ahead for us; find the shortest way out of this swamp. Snaffu will be keeping pace with me so he does not tire himself out. Remember we need a good campsite before sunset."

Linca looked up and snapped her beak at the tall spirit woman. Rin took this as a goodbye. She broke into a trot and Snaffu matched her pace. They hopped lightly over the surface of the swamp, barely even splashing themselves.

Chihiro thought she understood most of what Linca had told her; the primary and secondary feathers provided lift and her alular feathers on the tips of her wings helped with direction.

"Let's have a try shall we?" said Linca with an excited hoot. "Remember, big jump and big downward flap to get the lift; your wingtips should almost touch the ground. Then small sharp flaps to gain height. Once you are up, the rest should come. The air will tell your wings how to move. You're not a chick; you don't have flight muscles to build up. They are all there. By the end of the day you will be an expert."

Without another word, Linca flapped her wings and gracefully took off. The breeze ruffled Chihiro's feathers. She cooed uncertainly and jumped. She put as much effort as she could into her first flap. She shot upwards; she was so surprised she nearly fell out of the air. But she recovered and snapped her wings. She fought against the uncooperative air currents and rose slowly.

"Use the air, Chi," hooted Linca. "Let it flow over your wings and make small adjustments."

Chihiro relaxed and discovered Linca was quite right; she glided a little and she did not plummet back to the ground as she expected. A thermal buffeted her upwards, she cooed, startled. Linca flew above her, cutting through the air and letting Chihiro fly in the more gentle air she left in her wake.

"You're flapping too much, glide more or you will exhaust yourself by midday," warned Linca.

Chihiro took the sprite's advice, within an hour of reasonably continuous flight she was attuned to every breeze that blew over her. Just like a skilled sailor would keep adjusting their sails to tack against the wind efficiently, Chihiro continually adjusted her wings to compensate for the ever-changing air.

She flew differently from Linca. Linca was built for silent attacks and gliding over icy wastelands. Chihiro had a smaller, more streamlined body and she knew that with practice she could out-manoeuvre the larger bird. But she would not get ahead of herself, she was content to hold back and fly behind her sister.

They passed Rin, Scott and the nygel. Rin was running lightly over the marsh and the nygel was cantering to match her pace. Linca gave an obnoxious hoot. Scott and Rin waved and the nygel whinnied. Chihiro could almost see the edge of the mire. Linca decided it would be a good idea to circle around and guide those on foot, showing them the quickest way out of the mud.

Flying in short bursts was actually harder. Flapping a few hundred meters ahead of the pedestrians, finding a perch and waiting a few minutes for them to catch up, only to take off again was draining. At mid day, Rin and her party decided it was best to eat on the run.

Scott tied a nose bag over Snaffu's face. It was full of dried fish that Snaffu had thoughtfully brought along himself. Scott and Rin chewed on dried meat and some hard bread. Scott had the bright idea to crumble some bread up for Chihiro. She landed on his fingers while he rode the nygel and pecked at the crumbs on his palm; she was ravenous.

"Are we nearly out of here?" Scott asked her. Chihiro cooed and bobbed her head in an affirmative. "Good," he sighed. "Better find us a campsite as soon as we get to firm ground."

Chihiro dipped her head again. She took a sip of water from Scott's canteen and joined Linca in the sky again. The spirits did not really need to eat; eating gave them strength but it was not entirely necessary for them. Linca could comfortably wait till they made camp, as much as Rin tried to convince her to eat a little dried meat.

The sprite turned her beak up at it. Owls hunted, she informed Chihiro; she wanted something warm and wriggling if she ate in this form. Rin scoffed at the owl, who was ignoring her but could not argue with Linca when she could not speak to her. Chihiro drew alongside the owl, matching her speed.

"No doubt I'll hear about this later," Linca sighed.

"Rin's just making sure you don't tire," pointed out Chihiro.

"I know that," hooted the owl. "But she should trust me to know my own body." She squawked as if laughing. "Besides owls have this habit of vomiting up the stuff they can't digest. I don't want everyone to see me pass a pellet; it's disgusting even for me!"

They covered three times the distance they had the previous day. When they arrived at a small copse of trees on the edge of the marsh they stopped for the night. The birds landed on the ground when Rin and the others arrived. Chihiro felt like she just wanted to find a good branch, tuck her head under her wing and roost.

"Change back," Linca told her firmly.

"How?" Chihiro asked.

"Just think about your human form and the cloak will release you," explained Linca.

Chihiro closed her eyes and pictured herself in her mind. She had long chestnut hair, unusual for a Japanese native. She had large brown eyes and her skin was also slightly lighter than the normal Asian tone. There was western blood in her mother's family and it seemed to be still showing itself a few generations later. Her face was rounded, her cheeks were full, she had average breasts; she was flat chested compared to Linca, though Haku had never complained.

She had a slight curve to her stomach; it was not going to stay that way for long. Chihiro hoped fervently that as she was a small person that her daughter would not grow too large. She had dark, curly hair between her legs and well-toned thighs, the result of hours of Rin's combat training. Her calves were firm and her feet were ugly as far as she was concerned; calloused and rough, though she did have a high instep. Her arms were a little on the thin side, making her elbows look knobbly. Her hands were small but delicate and she had short, well-trimmed nails

"Are you going to open your eyes now?" asked Linca. Chihiro's eyes flew open. The sprite stood before her, back in her primary form, her white hair gleamed in the rays of the setting sun and her white pupil-less eyes danced with amusement.

Chihiro looked down at herself. She was back, and to her relief, clothed. She had pictured herself naked and only when she opened her eyes thought the cloak may return her to her human form nude. The flying cloak was in her hands. She carefully folded it up and laid it at her feet. She rolled her shoulders; they ached.

"Wow," she exclaimed at last. "That was amazing."

"Told you that you would like it," laughed Linca. Chihiro smiled.

"I'm convinced," said Scott behind her. "I want my turn tomorrow even if I do end up as a duck."

"I don't think you would be a duck Mulvey-Sama," said Rin almost overly sweetly, lowering her backpacks to the ground and whipping the mud splashes from her clothes.

"Oh no?" said Scott lightly, obviously expecting sarcasm to follow. Rin smiled up at him, pleased to prove him wrong.

"No," she replied. "I think you're going to be an eagle."

Scott frowned as if thinking he must have misunderstood Rin's meaning. He ran the sentence back in his head and could find no hidden meaning in her words at all. He raised an eyebrow; he thought he had possibly just been complemented by the prickly spirit.

"Well," he said quietly. "We will see if you are right tomorrow."