Anger

Lucifer didn't pluck his wings that night.

Dan stayed with him, the two of them spending the majority of time down in the club to have some fun and it helped relax him a lot. It was also kind of fun to sneak around with two women on his arms.

He had no idea what time Dan went back to the flat, but it must have been a few hours after he had gone up. He wasn't there for the sex part of the night, but was the next morning.

Things were looking up with him emotionally. He felt more centred and calm and ready to give flying another go. He had called Linda to let he know all his feathers were still intact and that Dan had stayed with him. He also informed her he would be trying again as soon as he got to his forest clearing.

Soon enough, he not only had called the others to let them know, but found himself driving there at the appointed time.

And now he was wings out, glaring at the ground for existing and panting slightly from his first attempt for that day, because he was going to refuse to give up today.

Today he was going to get off the ground and stay of the ground for longer than a second. The second attempt was just as much a failure as the first. At least he hadn't stumbled this time though.

"I have forgotten how to bloody fly! This is so stupid..." he stated out loud, before he began flapping his wings and hoping for the right amount of lift to get him off the ground and keep him there.

He managed to get off the ground a good 3 inches for a few seconds before he tried to keep in that position. He spread his primaries, his left alula joining in on the fun and he turned slightly in the air, surprising him. He flared out and flapped once, wings uneven, and fell back to the ground.

This time he didn't manage to stay on his feet, though he wasn't hurt by the short fall. He had lost balance, both in air and on the ground. His hands curled into fists and he hit the ground once, before getting to his feet again.

"You got better at it that time!" Ella stated, smiling widely at him. He felt the odd urge to slap her. He had never wanted to actually hurt anyone he was close to like that before.

"I can't keep balance. I think the wings are bigger than they used to be. Or maybe smaller. I don't know. My body knows what to do, but it is going off old and outdated memory. This is so frustrating!"

He put that energy he was gaining from that frustration to what he hoped was good use and began flapping again. he soon realised that if he was going to get any higher than a couple of inches in the air, he needed to jump o be in the air already, but he was afraid to try that. So, instead he flapped his wings hard, trying to keep them even and find the right way to hold them for the best lift from a ground starting point.

He did get off the ground and stay off, but he couldn't keep up the flapping for too long. His wings were made for gliding when in the air, though they were also made to get in the air from a standstill with a little help with a jump and a few exact flaps.

He couldn't get the exact part right and wasn't ready to try jump starting a flight.

The next time it was the position of his wings being too forward after one harder than normal flap and he fell face first to the ground. He needed to learn to catch his balance. He knew he used to be able to do all of this. And it was more than a little frustrating now. Now it was full on annoying.

He growled into the ground and was about to get up again when a hand was felt on his shoulder.

"You okay?" the Detective asked and he shook his head.

"No. Don't touch me right now..." he was getting a headache. He had hit a tiny bloody stone on the way down and he could feel a trickle of blood reach his eyebrow.

"Damn it, I'm bleeding. I hit my head. I'm frustrated and angry at myself. I can't keep my balance. This is stupid! I just want to stay in the air and glide like I am made to, but I can't get to that point. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!"

The temper tantrum he had after that was not something that made him feel any better. Now, along with bleeding from a cut on his forehead, his hands were scraped up from where he had hit the ground with his fists. He was sore and tired and grumpy. Dan told him he'd had enough that day and that maybe they should all go home.

But he wasn't ready to quit yet. Now he was determined to get in the air again, regardless of the fear still eating at him every time he left the ground and then fell back to the ground right after.

He got back up his feet nd managed to get his wings up and ready t start another round of flapping liek an idiot. And yet another hand stopped him, this time it was Linda. "Lucifer! Dan's right. You've had enough for today. Put the wings away and go home. You need a break. You're exhausted, you're frustrated and you're not going to hlp yourself if yu try to relearn a skill in the mod you are in."

His wings became sharp and pointy and he was temted to use them as the weapons they were, but he liked having flock and friends.

Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths and tried to relax. "Yeah, maybe...I jsut don't want to quit. I'm not...I want to fly again."

She nodded. "I know, but you're not going to get it in just one day. And look, you did do a lot better today. You can stay in the air now. You went up a bit higher and you stayed up longer. So give yourself time to breathe, to learn.

Sighing loudly, he folded his wings up and put them back in their other dimension, because Linda was right. "Okay...I'm getting tired anyway."

As a group, they all walked over to where the cars were parked, hopped into his Corvette and stopped as he watched Ella and Chloe leave.

He had wanted to stay put and wait until they were all gone, but both Dan and Linda seemed Hell bent on making him go home. Both of them stayed to watch him and, sighing loudly he started up the car and drove off in the direction of home.

He didn't go back.