The sun shined through the window of a certain man whose eyes were beginning to open while still in bed. His emerald eyes gleamed in the reflection of the sun as he moved his right hand over his eye to help him see better. His left hand lifted from underneath the bed covers and stretched in the air as he awoke. A yawn slipped from his lips and his eyes closed by instinct. He wore for the first time in a very long time a white t-shirt.
"Already morning, I presume?" said Rex as he lifted his upper torso from the bed and looked out the window.
The light he saw signaled the renewed emergence of the sun over their world. Rex felt an eerie presence on his back as he looked and found that his sense of direction with his wings was coming back to him. He moved his right hand to touch the tips of his gift and rubbed it gently, not wanting to harm it.
Rex grabbed the sheets covering his lower body and moved them aside to free his legs, revealing the pajama bottoms he almost never used, as his journey rarely allowed him the pleasures in life such as a comfy bed and night-time clothing. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up properly. He then walked towards the bathroom, opening the door, walking in, and closing it behind him.
"Let's see… there's my shirt, now where are my pants…? Here we are. Now for the socks, gloves and boots… Alright, and now to get this jacket on."
The door reopened, revealing a Harpuia, now more suitably dressed. His hair was Peruvian brown and his emerald eyes completed his facial features. The pants and boots were solid liberty blue and his jacket had matched chest and inner sleeves blue accents as well. The shoulder and waist were pearl white, as was the belt he wore.
His wings were tucked away underneath the jacket in such a way that no one would be able to notice a bulge on his back. Rex walked out of the room and reached for the iconic sword of his father and fore-fathers for the last four generations until his own.
The sword that brought the end to the war on Lucrellia, the blade of a traitor which ended the tyranny of Grugund's elite, that lead to the bringing of peace for Graccea, the weapon of choice for the hero and protector of Fendias who, to his credit, saved the lives of those who were unable to do it themselves and brought two lovers together, despite all the odds. It was the instrument of one of the greatest shipmates to ever sail on the seas of Enhambre. The name mattered little compared to the one who wielded the golden blade, and now it was in his possession to use.
Rex took the blade's sheath and strapped it to his back, placing the sword inside the scabbard. He looked himself in the mirror and approved. Turning to the door which led to the hallway, He opened it to leave the room walking until he reached a stairway leading down to the ground floor.
Touching the ground floor in the bar, he saw a bartender in the corner of the inn the crew was staying in. Rex greeted the bartender and continued forward towards the exit. Reaching the door, he bumped into arguably the most important person in his childhood and, possibly, life. He looked down and saw nothing but pink hit his chest until the woman looked up.
"Ahh… hello, Ellis. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Rex said, moving aside so the elf could enter the inn.
"Were you daydreaming again? I thought we fixed that years ago," teased Ellis with a motherly smile on her face. "Say, you do look a little out of it, are you okay?"
"Huh, ya, I'm fine. Actually, could you tell me if you have seen Murmina by any chance?"
He asked his mother figure, who looked at him, puzzled. "And what do I obtain from telling you this?"
"The satisfaction of helping me, Ellis." Rex told Ellis, who rolled her eyes at the answer. "Still, have you seen her anywhere? I need to speak with her about a certain topic."
"Your wings, I presume?"
Rex did not reply to the question, only shifting his eyes towards the direction of the bartender who was busy with his own duties. Ellis slapped her face with her right hand at the stupidity of her comment. The elf apologized for her choice of words and explained that Murmina was currently at the indoor firing range in town, practicing once more.
The hybrid thanked his mother figure and began walking in the direction of the range. Rex felt the winds coming off the sea to the south, blowing on his body as he walked down the streets of Lingen. Despite the ever increasing need to get to their other two destinations to prevent either the destruction of one country or the capture of a key fortress, Rex knew that his team, more importantly his army, needed to recover after the hellish battle for Kaluni Kahla.
Word had gone out throughout the country about the bravery and heroism of Rex and his comrades, causing many of the people who recognized him as he walked to come up to him, wishing to hear every detail about his encounters. Although Rex did not mind such attention, he did not like that it was a false attention, as he could not show his true self to the public.
Despite being half Harpuia by blood, Rex was, at a very young age, disregarded by his fellow brethren on Enhambre as impure and an outcast, despite his mother and father. Additionally, on Aegisthus, the last and most powerful tribe of Harpuia was eradicated AT the hands of Vashtor and his dark armies. Because of this, Rex had to adopt THE mask of being a pure human and not a hybrid of any type. Also, Rex had no advance knowledge on how to use his wings for any means so he HID them to prevent any form of leverage BEING used against him in battle.
However, with the emergence of one survivor of the Ura-Luk tribe, the opportunity for Rex to learn how to finally use his mother's gift could finally be realized. Still, he had to get Murmina to agree to train him, which could easily result in a very quick and decisive no. Yet, the boy of mixed blood had to try and try he would.
Rex was looking at the sign in front of the door which he read out loud. "Danger, possibility of stray bullet and flying casings. Put on the safety glasses and ear muffs to your right before entering." He looked to his right and found a black pair of ear muffs and a set of crystal clear glasses. He took one of each and placed them on his face. With each safety placed on his face, he opened the door, the smell of gunpowder greeting his nose. Rex saw hundreds upon hundreds of shells on the floor with the shooter holding the firearm down range, still as a statue.
"Rex!" A voice called out to the newcomer as he turned to find the other gunslinger in the group sitting in what appeared a desk in the corner.
"W-Winfield? Why are you behind a desk in an indoor firing range?" Rex asked as he began walking to] his comrade.
"I need to make my own money somehow since you refuse to allow me to have any."
"And for good reason too…" Rex commented to himself as he began to notice a small smile slowly creep up Winfield's devious face. With a chill beginning to settle in his spine, Rex asked "What are you thinking…?"
Rex's fears were extremely justified as detailed accounts from both Ellis and Plum stated that whenever Winfield had an idea, you had best be prepared for everything and anything. Rex took a gulp and braved himself for the response. Instead of giving words of idiocy or perverseness, Winfield rose up from his seat and began to walk towards Rex, causing the boy to feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Hey Murmina, I have a surprise for you." Winfield said as he got behind Rex while the newest member of the crew turned from the firing range to look at what the man was talking about.
"Winfield, what are you-"
Rex started, but Winfield grabbed his jacket's zipper at the top, quickly running it down to the bottom, bypassing the bandoleer that held the sword, releasing the connection to each side of the coat. Rex quickly grabbed the sides of his coat to prevent the man from removing it.
"Off with the jacket, Rex!"
Winfield declared with a shout as he began to tug at the piece from behind, wanting nothing more but for things to get extremely interesting between the other two. Rex demanded that Winfield release him, to which the gunslinger said that Rex would thank him later for doing such a service. Rex felt his jacket slowly slipping from his fingertips as Winfield had the better gripping and position. With a final burst of his manly strength, Winfield unleashed his power on the boy and ripped the jacket clean from his grip.
Rex felt like his very identity was being stripped away from his being like blade from its scabbard. His eyes opened up as his momentum from his fight made him fall forward towards the cold flooring. He slowly turned in mid-motion to see Winfield's grin reach new bounds. However, his attention drew on Murmina, the only pure blood left on this continent. Rex fell onto the cement flooring with his tail wings nailing it first. The contact with the cold floor caused his upper wings to react to the introduction of such temperatures and made them expand.
"White…"
All Rex heard was just one word before he saw a firearm let go from Murmina's hand. Her eyes told everything about what type of emotion was coursing through her body, astonishment. The gun touched the cement and went off upon hitting the floor without any regard to any one persons well being. Winfield jumped at the sound of the weapon going off but saw that neither Rex nor Murmina flinched, not even look in the direction of where it set off. Both bird people just looked at each other; Rex for how Murmina would respond after say the tint of all colors, Murmina for her mind taking in the information not being processed.
Finally, after a minute of silence, Murmina's lips parted from each other and spoke. "Your wings… they are white…" Those five words were all that came from her mouth before closing once more.
"Yes, they are," Rex responded and rose up to his feet to look at the woman on even footing. "which is why I came here, looking for you."
"Because of the color…?" Murmina's voice showed caution, not truly trusting the male before her who only just saved her a few days ago.
"No, not just that…"
"Then what?"
"Because Rex here," Winfield began, throwing his left arm around the back of Rex's neck like they were best friends. "Knows absolutely nothing about his wings, the meaning, hell, he doesn't even know how to fly with them unlike his mother."
Rex threw the left arm of Winfield off his body while snatching his coat back. "That's enough, Winfield." The Raglan said and quickly placed the jacket back on him upper body, including the hiding of his wings. This action greatly put Murmina's mind to ease by their disappearance. "Murmina, I need your help." He said, walking over to her and picked up the firearm and offered it to her.
The lone female quickly retrieved the weapon and placed it in her right holster. She then looked at Rex's emerald eyes and saw nothing that would make her want to reject his plea. "I suppose this is payment for saving me. Fine, I shall assist you in learning how to properly use your wings. Meet me in the Lingen City Gate in thirty minutes. Murmina told the boy and began walking to the door before turning to face the hybrid. "And come with your wings out, otherwise, I shall not help you." And with that, she opened the door and left the building.
"What do you think she means by that?" Winfield asked, moving his eyes to look at Rex whose face knew exactly what she meant.
"She wants me to feel comfortable with me having them out in the open."
"Which… says to the people that, in fact, you lied to them about your true self? Quite a risky situation to put yourself in just to learn how to fly, huh?" Winfield quickly turned his head to look over all the brass that Murmina went through in her shooting; the brass he would have to clean up.
Murmina leaned against a pillar with her eyes closed. The sound of children laughing and parents caring for their young ones made Murmina sick due to them not realizing how much was sacrificed just so they could walk in this city without worry. Having heard the discussions from Rex and his majesty, the country is protected to a point where it could send troops to the greater fight.
Her head moved to the outside fields and ocean on the rim of the horizon. The idea that humanity would at least be fitting this war united is still an idea to Murmina, not believing that they would be so willing to put aside small differences just to face a common foe. She used her hawk-like eyes to look on in the distance to see the weather was going to become bad. Estimating the arrival and wind speed, she gauged that the two had two hours of sunlight before the storms took over.
"That is, if he does show up."
Murmina softly spoke, trust being an issue still. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps and found a man in blue and white walking to her. What's more, she saw the one requirement for Rex to become her student. The woman remained silent as the half-breed came closer to her.
"Hello, Murmina."
"I see you have followed my instructions after all."
Murmina commented, getting a slow nod from Rex. She turned her back to her commander and began walking out of the city. "Let's go…" She told Rex, who sprinted to her side as the two made their way to the roads leading out of the city area.
Author's Notes – A little side project for a certain person I know. Who that person is, I will not divulge the details unless he or she wants their name identified.