Chapter 3: Bedrest

"There! One new haibane, dressed and presentable as ordered," Cole grumbled in a pouty tone of voice, showing in the newcomer as Petra was drying off her hair.

"Thanks, Cole, I-" Petra's words died in her throat as she turned to face them and she stared with a mixture of horror and exasperation on her face.

The new haibane was dressed, if one could even call it that, in a hideous mismatch of clothing that nearly made his previous nudity a preferable state. There were the bright orange pantaloons with patches on the knees that seemed to be both too gigantic and far too short for his long, thin legs. This was accentuated by the fact that it looked as though the only thing holding them around his narrow waist was a multi-colored scarf. The gray button-up shirt seemed to fit him fine at first glance, but the shoulders were obviously a bit tight even though the cuffs covered his fingers nearly to the tips. The newcomer refused to look at anyone from behind the still-dripping curtain of his limp black hair and pointedly stared at his fingertips, which were fidgeting with the corners of his sleeves. He looked lost and Petra felt a stab of sympathy for him. After all, even though she'd been at Old Home for years, she would never forget the feelings of loss and confusion, of worrying about intruding on a bunch of strangers that she'd felt those first few weeks after her Hatching. Of course, now, she was the oldest, and everything seemed to fall to her, which she secretly hated and loved at the same time.

Ever since Rakka had gone on her pilgrimage journey around the Wall, things just weren't the same. Cole and Zephyr were fairly certain that Rakka had finally gone on to whatever came Next, but Petra wasn't sure. She spent the meager time she had to herself on short expeditions to the Wall, but had not found the golden ring that haibane always left behind when they reached their Day of Flight. She still had hope that one day, she'd see Rakka again.

Truth be told, Petra disliked being the longest-living resident at Old Home, even though the thought of reaching her own Day of Flight filled her with a sick sense of dread. Perhaps that was why she was still at Old Home, caring for the Little Feathers and keeping things in a controlled sort of chaos around the building. There had always only been girls and women at Old Home, but when Cole and a handful of male haibane had hatched within the walls of the buildings, none of them had been willing to send them away to Abandoned Factory or the Ancient Hollows further south.

"Petra, do you still need me or can I go now?" Cole sounded like a petulant child half his age, but Petra knew that he was just hurt that she hadn't thanked him profusely for helping clean up the newcomer.

Cole was tall and broad-shouldered but still gangly like the teenager that he was. Something about his personality craved attention, regardless of whether or not it was positive. He'd dyed his hair green for the same reason, and the effect had not gone unnoticed when Pyrrha had begun blushing every time she took a look at his unnaturally colored hair. Petra still called him "broccoli head" from time to time, but it was more of a term of endearment than an insult.

She approached Cole, who had ushered the new haibane over to the bed. The newcomer was obviously weak from the entire ordeal, and it looked as though he was barely keeping himself awake. Petra was impressed. Most haibane fell back asleep after their Hatching and had to be given a sponge bath before being hosted into bed to sleep off their fatigue.

"Cole, I really appreciate all of your help," Petra said gently, using the warm washcloth she'd kept in her hand to wipe off a small bit of egg-gunk that had affixed itself to his cheek, "Why don't you take a nice warm shower and get yourself cleaned up. We have much to celebrate tonight!"

Cole gave her a half-smirk and nodded.

"I'll leave it to you, then, Mo-er-Petra," he said, ruffling his hair with embarrassment as he made a quick exit.

Petra smiled wistfully and waved. Cole had called her Mom a lot when he was a Little Feather. He'd been a bit of a crybaby, too, even though now it was impossible to tell.

She turned to the new haibane and looked at him with a gentle expression that she hoped was welcoming. He'd bent forward in a sitting position, his nose nearly pressing against his lap, and she was pretty sure that he had begun snoring.

"Now, then, that will not do," Petra tsked, approaching him.

Luckily, Cole hadn't put any shoes on the newcomer, but his feet were still bare and cold, which Petra knew couldn't be comfortable. Still, when she touched his shoulders to gently push him back against the mattress so that he could sleep more comfortably, he jerked up, his dark eyes staring at her suspiciously.

"I...I was just trying to help you get more comfortable so you could rest!" Petra stammered under his accusatory glare.

"Mmf," he acquiesced, allowing her to lay him back against the pillow.

"I just need to get you a quilt. I'll be right back, I promise," Petra said, turning to open the linen closet.

She put a gray blanket over his body and was glad that even though he was tall and had very long legs, his feet did not hang off the end of the mattress.

"There, much better," Petra said, trying to be cheerful and doing her best not to wince at how fake it sounded.

Rakka always knew how to be gentle and say the right words to put people at ease, but Petra felt as though she was constantly pretending. She only hoped that he would be too tired to really remember her horrible bedside manner, even though the keen gaze upon her told her otherwise.

"Where..am I?" he croaked, his face peering out from under the quilt.

"You should rest, you know," Petra said concernedly, "It's not as though we're going anywhere. You've had a busy first day."

"You said that...before…" His voice was deep and yet somehow slightly nasal as well. It was disconcerting and musical at the same time, which filled Petra with an odd feeling in her belly.

"Yes, and I believe that there will be plenty of time to answer your questions once you've recovered your strength!" Petra said abruptly, feeling a flush rising on her face even though she couldn't say why, "I need to start preparing for the evening meal, so please do not concern yourself with anything for awhile. I shall bring your food here so that you don't have to strain yourself."

His eyes narrowed and he frowned slightly, making a strange facial expression that Petra supposed must be him trying to suppress a yawn.

"Am I...a...prisoner?" he asked darkly.

"What?! No! Of course not!" Petra exclaimed, "Did Cole tell you that? Why, I'm going to go give him a piece of my-"

"No, he...never said...sorry. I just...I should rest." He turned and faced away from her.

Petra nodded and lowered the light in the room before stepping out the door.

"I'll be back later," she whispered into the near darkness.

He made no sound or movement to show that he'd heard her.

Petra decided that the best way to get the strange emotion fluttering under her ribcage to go away was to start on supper. She had the feeling that Cole was going to be peeling a lot of potatoes in the very near future.

As Petra closed the door, she did not hear the muffled sobs coming from under the quilt.