Desiree floated over to him. "Just wait. First, we need to find you some food. We can't exactly practice in the middle of the desert."

"Do ghosts need nourishment?"

"Well, no, but I don't want to take any chances. Besides, you can't stay as a ghost forever. You could slip into the ether and go…insane."

"Good point. But how are we going to get to the city?"

"Inquisitive, aren't you." Crossing her arms, Desiree floated upwards. " Well, as I'm sure you've noticed, many ghosts have the handy ability of flight, and we can reach very high speeds. We should have you back to the city for breakfast." Pausing, she eyed him critically. "More likely lunch."

Danerik glared at her. "I suppose you couldn't have told me this when I was still a ghost?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry-"

"No, no, it's fine. I needed the practice." Sighing, Danerik was able to reverse the process more quickly this time, and looked up at the raven-haired ghost. "So how am I supposed to get up there?"

Desiree put her head in her hands. "It's going to be a long couple of weeks."

Calling down to Danerik, she said, "Think of floating, like I'm doing. Your…body should respond automatically. Imagine yourself lifting, rising…" Slowly, Danerik's feet left the ground as he closed his eyes. When he was nearly five feet off the ground, he opened one eye and "eeped" quakily. Curling into the fetal position, he plummeted to the ground and moaned.

Desiree floated down to Danerik and frowned. "I suppose now would be a most opportune time for you to tell me that you are afraid of heights?"

Danerik groaned and rolled onto his back. "No, not really…this never happened in the marketplace."

"Well, you're going to have to get used to flying without anything beneath you. Now get up."

Doing so, Danerik began his rhythmic breathing. "Okay." Slowly, he floated up again until he had reached Desiree's previous height, about twenty feet above the sands. Opening his eyes again, he dipped unsteadily before hovering beside Desiree. She nodded approvingly and pointed to clustered shapes on the horizon.

"Those are the tallest towers of your city. Judging by the sun, it's nearing mid-morning; and to fly, simply concentrate on the area you wish to go."

"More concentrating…"

"You have to concentrate to walk, don't you? This is just like that, it'll be second nature in no time. Just keep flying and I'll tell you about other powers." Once Danerik was able to pick up speed, Desiree began talking again.

"Now, once we can see the city wall, you should probably revert back to human form. I'll wait outside the walls." She lazily flipped over onto her back, and did the ghost equivalent of dozing, still easily keeping pace with Danerik.

"Showoff." He muttered, and kept his eyes on the city ahead. Neither of them noticed two goat herders staring at them, opened mouthed, before falling on their faces and bowing to the 'messengers of the gods'. The brick walls of the city appeared sooner than Danerik had anticipated, and he looked to Desiree. "We're here."

She yawned dramatically. "So, are you comfortable-"

"Oh, yeah. I even tried out other…powers while you were, um, sleeping."

"Really? You're doing better than I thought. Now, to get you some food…"

"Oh, I have that covered."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. You just need to teach me how to go through solid stuff."

"In human form, I suppose."

"Well, yes."

"Intangibility, huh? Kid, why do you always pick the hardest ones?"She turned to point to the wall. "Picture yourself gliding seamlessly through that wall. You are, um…intangible. Airy. How should I say this…almost non-existent."

Danerik paused for a moment, the floated up alongside the city wall. He confidently flew straight for it-

-And banged his head on the stone. He winced and looked to Desiree, who simply smiled. "Try again. And again."

"Alright." Eventually, after a few more painful minutes, Danerik wisely decided to use his hand as a test, and worked from there to slip all the way through the wall. HE came back to Desiree's side and went back to human form.

"Very good. I'll stay out here while you grab some food. "

"Believe me, that's my best skill." He grinned impishly, then slipped through the wall and avoided all the guards.

"The way he acts, I was afraid he didn't have a skill." Desiree muttered to herself, then began her favorite task of convincing city guards they were going insane.