Chapter 5: New Feather, New Name, Old Home
"I look ridiculous."
Petra glanced over and stifled a snicker.
"No you don't," she said, putting a hand on her hip.
"Do not lie. You are laughing under that hand." It was his turn to put his hands on his hips as he scowled at her.
"I guess you caught me, heh," she replied. "Come on then, I'll help you fix it properly."
His scowl deepened but he nodded and she walked towards him, helping him tie the garment properly.
"It's called a yukata," she said, "but don't ask me how I know that."
"I'm beginning to realize that is part of being...what did you call us again?"
"Haibane. Hi-bah-nay," she replied, repeating the name phonetically as she secured the tie and stepped back. "There! Much better! I still can't tell for the life of me why you chose this over the trousers, shirts, sweaters, and other items that I prepared from the closet."
"I can't tell you why, but they feel...familiar. Though I'd prefer if they were less garishly patterned and a bit longer." He surveyed himself in the mirror, looking dubiously at how his pale, skinny legs stuck out the bottom.
"Here, just wear these underneath for the time being," Petra said, handing him a pair of tweed trousers. "We can stop at the thrift store in town for something a bit more your style."
He looked at the trousers as though they'd committed a crime against him. "No thanks. I'd rather die of pneumonia."
They both turned sharply as a soft knock rapped against the door before the knob began to turn slowly.
"I...I'm sorry to interrupt…" A freckled girl with long, red hair done up in braids pinned around her head entered the room.
"Hello Pyrrha," Petra said, motioning for her to enter.
"Can we come in too?" A chorus of voices sounded from behind the red-haired girl, who blushed furiously and looked away as though she was expecting to be reprimanded.
Petra looked over at the new haibane, who shrugged.
"Fine, then," she said, "just don't make a ruckus."
An assortment of haibane filed into the room, the youngest ones jumping up onto the bed with their shoes on, which earned them a stern look from Petra.
"So, has he told you about his dream yet?" Cole asked as he leaned against the doorway, his curiosity poorly hidden.
"Yeah! I want to know what it is too!" The hyperactive girl, Zephyr, was nearly vibrating as she jumped up and down behind Pyrrha.
"I've spoken to Petra about it," the new haibane said, his voice surprisingly calm even though he looked uncomfortable.
"Are you sure that you want to...talk about it? I know that we were going to go-" Petra went silent as she cast a surprised look at the door. An older woman with closely-cropped graying hair and a long, silk garment with a flowery design embroidered down its length was standing by the door with an inquisitive look on her lined face. She lifted a large, bulky bag with one hand as though it weighed nothing and set it down beside her with a small smile, her eyes bright behind small, rectangular glasses.
"Manami!" Petra called out, taking a step forward before she could finally control herself.
"Hello everyone." All heads turned to look at her and the smallest haibane laughed as they ran to her, throwing their arms around her with shouts of welcome.
"I see we have a new addition," Manami said softly, walking through the room gracefully, as though she did not have five small children attached to her arms and legs. "Welcome to Old Home, new feather."
"I...I...I have...the...ring!" Pyrrha stammered, holding up the small metal container. She fumbled it slightly but caught it at last, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Very well. But first, the dream, yes?" Manami said. It was very obvious that everyone, even Petra, looked up to her.
There was something about the sound of her voice- soft, yet stern. It filled him with a sense of longing, though he couldn't say why.
"It was the ocean. I was...deep, deep down. There was only a sense of greenish blue light...and...I was sinking." His voice shook slightly as he tried to describe the lingering mental images that rose before his eyes. "I remember...red...something...There was someone...but...no...I think…"
He looked down at his hands, his eyes widening as he realized they were shaking.
"I couldn't think of a name, so we were going to go to the library," Petra said softly.
"How about Greenlight?" one of the children squeaked.
"I like Watery!" another chimed in.
"Shush, you two!" Petra scolded them, but from the smirk on her lips, it was obvious that she was not actually angry.
"Hm...water...water...what about Bubbles?" Zephyr said brightly.
"Psh," Cole scoffed. "No way. That's totally lame."
"I am glad that I am not alone in that opinion," the new haibane said with a snort.
"Nereus."
Everyone turned to look at Pyrrha, who was blushing a deep shade of crimson at the sudden attention.
"I...I read a book…" she stammered, clasping the metal case to her chest. "It...is a name associated with the sea. Of the minor god who created the Nereids."
"Hmm…" Something about the name seemed familiar to him, but once again, he was struck with the sensation of being unable to remember the details. He couldn't help himself. He nodded.
"Nereus it is, then." Manami nodded sagely.
It seemed that the matter was settled, then.
Pyrrha steeled herself and stepped forward, though she looked like she was about to faint. Opening the metal container, she pulled a pair of tongs from her belt and pulled a shining golden circle from inside.
"New Feather, Nereus, we welcome you to Old Home. Please receive this halo as a symbol of your birthright."
He had to bend down onto one knee, as she was more than a head shorter than him. He could feel a strange sense of warmth and energy as the ring was placed above him. However, instead of pressing against the top of his head as he'd expected, it merely wobbled a couple of times before it began to float in place. She stepped back and gave him a shy smile.
"Thank you," he whispered, not daring to say anything further. For some reason, when surrounded by so many smiling faces, he felt a mixture of anxiety and pleasure that twisted in his belly and seemed to coalesce in his throat.
"Come on, now! Let's give our new feather some room!" Petra said loudly, shooing everyone out.
"Ok! See ya, Nereus!" Zephyr cried, waving happily from the door.
"Meh, I still think that it's not as cool as my name," Cole groused, walking out and stretching his hands behind his head. The children had finally detached themselves from Manami and were running at Zephyr's heels as she challenged them to a race outside.
Manami stayed behind, nodding at the others as they made their way through the door.
"It's been a big day for you, hasn't it?" she said softly, "Petra, please follow the little feathers outside and make sure that they're not getting up to any monkey business."
"Ok!" Petra said, looking back at him oddly before heading through the door and closing it behind her.
Manami went through the curtain at the side of the room and emerged several minutes later with a pot of tea and two small cups.
"There," she said, setting them down on the small table, "Now, then, how are you feeling? I am sure that you have many questions. Between you and me, I've been around for quite some time, as you can probably tell."
"Where...am I?" he asked after a long silence, sipping slowly at the bitter tea.
"Petra hasn't told you yet? I am surprised," Manami looked at him over her glasses before smiling tightly.
"I...I've been sick, and my wings grew, so…" he trailed off, feeling his wings twitching back and forth uncomfortably without a conscious effort on his part to move them.
"It's understandable. From what I can tell, you were recently born from your egg. It's surprising that your wings grew so quickly, though. Most newborns take a couple of days to achieve their Winging."
"I...I'm not a baby, though," he said, his voice growing hard, "I...I know that I know things, but I don't know my name, nor can I remember anything about what happened before...this."
"That is one of the mysteries of the haibane, Nereus," Manami replied solemnly, "If we existed before we grew into our eggs, we cannot remember the lives that we had before. And, if we go from this place on our Day of Flight, it is said that our time here will no longer be remembered by anyone other than those that remain."
"I heard that this place is referred to as Old Home. What does that mean?" he asked, looking around with a slightly puzzled expression. It was odd, hearing his new name being used to refer to himself. But the name he'd known before was like a half-remembered dream, and there was a pain to it that he couldn't put into words.
"We call it Old Home, but it seems that it used to be some sort of school. There are dormitories and a building full of classrooms used to teach the little feathers, as well as a large courtyard and a bell tower. It keeps good time. Zephyr keeps it in great shape now, but it was fixed quite a long time ago." Manami smiled wistfully. "Oh, Kana...if she could only see it today…"
"Have you been here long?" Nereus asked, trying to ignore the discomfort rising in his chest.
"Yes. I've been the housemother for quite some time," Manami replied, her eyes growing sharp behind her glasses. "Petra helps me with teaching the little feathers. Part of being a proper haibane is that you must work in some capacity. In return, you receive a notebook which you will use to receive everything you should need for daily life. Pyrrha will be returning the ring cast today. She will likely bring you a letter back from the Haibane Renmei, the organization of individuals who oversee the care of all haibane in this world. I've been around for many hatching days and hope that I shall be around for many more, so I will give you the following advice, for what it's worth. Take some time to get acquainted with Old Home and get to know the others. If you have any great talents, it will help you to realize them once more so that you can find something enjoyable to work at."
He nodded politely, knowing that she was still staring at him pointedly. To his surprise, she stood, smoothing the fabric of her clothing where it had bunched while she was sitting and bowed slightly to him.
"Welcome, new feather," she said formally. "I expect to see great work from you."
"Thank you," he replied, standing and bowing back. He didn't know why, but he felt that it was the proper thing to do.
When the door had closed behind him, Nereus found himself looking at the bag of clothing that had been left near the wall by the door with interest. Soon, he'd dragged the bag over to the bed and dumped out the clothing. Most of it was terrible and somewhat threadbare, but then, near the bottom, he pulled something out that made him pause. It was wrinkled and the shoulders were slightly baggier than would be perfect, but it fit him well and it was a very dark charcoal gray. The main problem was figuring how to get his aching new wings through the slits in the back of the shirt, but eventually he managed, though there were a couple of feathers on the floor and he could feel the gauze pull painfully against his still-healing wounds.
When he finally stood and looked at himself in the mirror, he frowned slightly before turning to the side. The long button-up jacket looked good over the ivory dress-shirt he'd found, and though he would have loved for the black slacks to be somewhat tighter, they still fit his waist well as long as he cinched the black leather belt he'd found at the bottom of the bag tightly around him. The silver buttons at the cuffs and up to his throat looked somewhat tarnished, but they still shone in the late-afternoon light as it came through the large windows. He had left the last couple of buttons undone and wavered between buttoning them all the way up his throat and letting them hang loose. Something about the feeling of buttoning them all the way up was seared into his muscle memory, and it simply felt wrong not to do so. The sensation of knowing the feelings of pulling and pressing buttons through buttonholes was somewhat disconcerting, since it was a knowledge that he'd not known he'd had until it had been needed, but at the same time, he found himself smiling at the thought that he'd found something comforting even if he couldn't tell anyone why it was familiar.
With a final look in the mirror after pulling his long, black hair from out of the collar where some of it had gotten stuck, he strode over to the large, doors that he guessed went out to a balcony and pulled them open, savoring the fresh, cool air that poured in.
With that, Nereus stepped out onto the balcony, his wings twitching with excitement as he took a first look at the outside world.