"Don't check. It tickles."

"But then how will I know if you're a duck or not?"

"Ask something else."

"Of course, of course. Wings, do you have wings? I've never seen you fly..."

"I am a flightless duck. Be sad," instructs Astrid.

"I am heartbroken," says Lynn, gravely. "What happened to your wings, dear duckling?"

"They were clipped."

"Bad people."

"Bad people! Why, I'd argue that they're worse than that. They are," she lowers her voice conspiratorially, "supremely aviophobic. And they're not even the ones flying!"

"Aviowhat?"

"Aviophobia is the fear of flight. Usually it's when a person gets on a plane and goes flying, but I stretched the terminology a smidgen to mean fear of flight in general."

"Oh. Well, maybe that's why they did it."

"Maybe! But it could be something else entirely. They might want a monopoly on flight." She wiggles her fingers menacingly.

"Oh no!"

"They'll raise the prices on wings! The fiends!"

"Can you buy wings?" asks Astrid.

"You can buy fake ones, but they don't let you actually fly."

"What's the point?"

"Pretending to be a thing that flies. A fairy, or an angel, or something. For a holiday like Halloween, or in some cases, just because it's fun."

"Oh. I guess. It would be better if you could get flying wings."

"I agree, and so do other people. That's why we have planes, because people wanted to fly. Though they might figure out ways to give ordinary people a set of wings so they can fly casually one day."

"Planes don't count."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't get to do flying. It's like being in a car."