A few thoughts mulled about in Matthias' mind as their lesson continued. Like, what kind of procedure would one have to do to get gold teeth? Or, would gold teeth even look good on me? And what can a guy do around here to get some damn gold? A lot of it was just about gold, actually. But it was also about Malachi himself. Estimating how long it would take for him to learn how to use his wings, how long he had Malachi's services for, and if there might be any more use he could get out of Malachi. He decided not to make any hasty deals.
When Malachi tried and failed to keep at a hover, instead landing unceremoniously back onto the ground, Matthias resists the urge to wince or make a joke of it. He had a strong feeling Malachi wouldn't appreciate that. Channeling his inner dad-voice, conjured up from the days of teaching his daughter how to fly, he walks over to the wolf and says calmly, "That's okay. Failure is bound to happen. Just keep trying," then, he adds, "We want your wings to be sore but not painful. Do they feel sore or in pain? We can stop if this is too much."