The eager young lady grinned at Sera, adding her own giggle to the tomboy’s.  When the other girl collapsed with mirth, it only made Nikki laugh harder.  She’d mostly subsided by the time Rahna came to help Eli up, untangling herself and rolling to her feet.  Her head jerked up at familiar shout, and she caught sight of first Blin, then Blank overhead head out into the sky.  “Time to go~” she caroled.  “C’mon Eli, Rahna -- you too, ruins-crow -- last one past the clouds is a muddy duck~!”  Without waiting for a reply she scooped up her folded glider and ran full tilt for the edge of the island, diving neatly over the side.

The wind rushed past her ears as she picked up speed, free hand dragging her goggles into place.  Gaius and his massive glider moved at a snail’s pace ahead of her, then above, and Blank quite a bit below.  The reckless woman pulled her arms in to streamline herself.  The most daring of her tricks brought wild intensity, but freefall was a simpler and far more relaxed joy.  She could see the odd shape of Blank’s glider opening below her as she drew closer, and as he let the the canvas snap into place she dropped passed him, laughing gleefully.  Spreading her arms and angling them to roll herself over, she waved cheekily to the young man now above her.  He shouted something scoldy at her, but though she heard she didn’t appear to listen, her eyes shining with unrestrained glee.  And then she was flipping back over as she plummeted downward, adjusting angle and drag.  Blank hollered again, and she didn’t bother to reply.  She’d heard the first time, and of course she wasn’t going to dive all the way to the surface.  He could be so silly at times!  But carelessly opening even the strongest glider at speed was more than reckless, it was downright suicidal.  She’d done this before, and knew what she was doing.  First a little, then a bit more, Nikki kept a tight grip on the handstraps as she started to spread the wings and check her speed.  When she’d brought it to just a fast dive, she let the wings snap open the rest of the way, and tilted the nose back hard.  She leveled out with a joyous whoop, then started climbing so she could circle back again to the others.