He nods, turning to look up at the surface, and then to Zephyrinus' face, still pressed up close so they can speak. 

"Perhaps we should surface, then?" He suggests. 

"We should!"

He goes straight up. The length of his body crossing in front of Jaim's face.

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

At least there's no one down here anymore to see Jaim's face turn incandescently red. 

He does follow him up, eventually, once his blood is flowing to more than two places again.

He is completely unable to make eye contact, however. 

"...Wings?" He asks once he's dismissed the spells. Also clothes. 

"Yeah, we really shouldn't leave them here. Eventually, they will starve and might be dangerous for anyone to touch."

Back to shore, then, to dress and wing up. He uses a quick freecast to wring the water out of his shirt and push it off his body, and then pulls on the rest of his clothes - still looking anywhere but at Zephyrinus. 

Can he get the wings on himself or does he need Zephyrinus' help for that? 

He can put on without help now that he knows how it works. Zephyrinus moves the water by freezing it and then throwing it down the lake. A process that he doesn't appear to find unpleasant.

...It would make sense for that form to be cold-resistant, he supposes. That's probably why. 

...Also he's definitely not looking at Zephyrinus, so how could he possibly know how he appears to feel about that? Not looking at all. See these eyes, pointed everywhere but in that direction? Definitely not glancing at him every so often, no sir.

He checks his pool again, before they leave. He's down to a few threads worth of Air again, but his Water pool is still a little under a 1/4 full, and his smaller pool of unrefined mana is at a third of its full capacity.

"Are you ready to go?" He says tapping the wings with another display of sparkles.

He stretches the wings out, doing his level best to ignore the proximity. 

"Yes," he agrees, lifting into the air with an unnecessary but satisfying flap of his wings. 

He takes flight. "It's good that you can enjoy it. I am not sure if most people can, since it doesn't appear to feed off your mana very well."

"-Wait a minute! What do you think it would happen if we used artifacts to siphon mana out of someone with the mana plague?"

Jaim halts in the air, swinging around to face him, a considering look coming to his face at the question. 

"...It would fix some of the problem, I think," he says after a moment. "Without mana in their pool, they would not be fighting off their own magic on top of everything else." He pauses, "I do not think it would fully solve the problem, however. The mana in the food, in the air... There is no escaping it," he concludes with a sigh. 

Sigh. "And I never heard of an artifact that drains at range. I am pretty sure they are not draining mana from non-living sources. Still... I should make a dozen or so wings and let them magic starve, and then we can test the effects. And I might be able to drain mana from people?"

Oh no, not the sad face. 

He's not sure how to fix it this time, either. 

"Yes, we can test that," he says, and, "They definitely do drain mana - which many people will find very unsettling, by the way. There is no way to steal another person's mana with our magic." 

It's likely he would have been more alarmed himself, if the item doing the draining were not wings. There's nothing like them in this world - some unsettling mana drain is more than worth it. 

...Hm.

"...Your world isn't filled with ambient mana, is it," he states, thoughtful. 

"If it is, we didn't notice."

"If we could keep their mana drained, and they lived there..." 

It would be challenging, but could it be done?

"Mana Sickness runs in families," he explains, "I think I mentioned that. If they were moved to your world, and any children they had with the sickness were given artifacts to drain their mana - I expect it still wouldn't be the most pleasant way to live, but it would mean that they could." 

He pauses, "Most every family I know who has lost a child to the sickness would be entirely willing to trade the safe water of this world for the lives they lost." 

"Assuming we can move between worlds." He points out. "But it's worth trying. And if artifacts can drain you. I am relatively certain that the right could drain you. Maybe even the right artifact." Sigh. "Well, it's another thing for the to-do list."

And he's still sad. Jaim slips closer, tentatively reaching out to pat his arm. 

"...Not every solution is obvious," he offers. "We'll figure something out. With so many new options - there must be something to be done." 

He pauses, "We were going to do more magic experiments than just testing whether the wings work for me," he comments, the mention of moving between worlds reminding him, "We could go back to the field where you came through, tomorrow, as well, and do them there, along with taking another look at the door," he suggests. 

"Yeah, we should. We probably should go back and brainstorm some ideas."

"Yes," he agrees. He pulls up and away from him, "...Race you back?" He suggests, somewhat recklessly, his smile tentative.

Snort. "Sure." And he gives a strong flap of his wings.

(That's better)

Jaim flaps as well! He's not as experienced at flying, though, so it's unlikely he'll be a great challenge, even if he does have a knack for it. 

Zephyrinus is not really trying to out-fly him. Though he still wins, yes. He looks pensive when they land.

Jaim's not terribly competetive himself - it just seemed like a race would be fun. He doesn't mind losing.

Pensive? 

He lands next to him, glancing around the field for anyone who might evesdrop, but the watchers have left while they were gone. 

"Something bothering you?" He asks.