Chapter 6: A New World
A school. He was standing at the edge of the balcony looking at the courtyard of a school. Sure, it was run down, the ancient stone walls covered with hanging vines and infested with vibrant green lichen, but that wasn't what caused a bubbling sense of anxiety to pool in his belly.
'I know this,' he thought to himself, his mind reeling so much that he couldn't bear to speak the words aloud.
Nothing bothered Nereus as much as the feeling of deja vu that struck him so hard that he stepped back as though he'd been physically knocked off balance. He could feel the brisk breeze shoot past him and kick up a flurry of tiny brittle leaves that had collected on the brownish grasses below. Though he couldn't tell how he knew it, he could tell that winter was approaching quickly, and for some reason, this too seemed to pull up the ghost of an imprint of a memory, not of events, but of a breezy, near-winter morning from long ago in the place he'd lived before he'd come to this place.
"Ah, s-so there you are," a soft voice said from behind him.
He turned and nodded curtly at the girl who'd placed the halo over his head only a short time before. She was hugging a large book in both arms and peering somewhat shyly over the top. He realized rather belatedly that he was scowling at her and a glance at the reflection on the glass door confirmed that he did look rather frightening.
"I apologize," he said gruffly, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he was in pain, "I promise that my appearance is far more...intimidating...than I truly am. At least, I think that's the case. Anyway, Pyrrha, was it? I fear that I may be terrible at remembering names, though whether this is true or simply a condition left over from hatching out a bloody giant egg, only time will tell."
She blinked and nodded, and he realized that her fiery red hair was truly that- it wasn't orange, but was dark enough that it could nearly be called crimson. She was wearing a pair of rounded glasses that she hadn't been wearing before. He assumed that she probably only needed them for reading, and the glass seemed to make her large, amber eyes glow almost golden in the light of the sun.
"P..Petra told me to ask you if you'd like to come down for lunch...I mean...you don't have to eat if you don't want to, just as a way to get to know everyone," she said softly, mumbling more into the book she was holding than truly at him.
"Thank you. I...shall join you shortly." he sighed, grasping the railing of the balcony and bent forward slightly, savoring the pinching ache in his back as his wings twitched, growing more and more a part of him. "Oh, and Pyrrha?"
"Yes sir?" she squeaked, abruptly standing at attention at the usage of her name.
"Thank you for giving me this," he said, pointing at the halo, his head half turned back as he smirked slightly. "Funny. Though I can't tell you why, the thought of having one of these makes me feel oddly surprised. Maybe I was some sort of demon in my past life."
"I wouldn't know, sir," Pyrrha replied quickly.
He tensed. There was something about the way she called him by that honorific that twisted painfully in his chest.
"Please…" he said quietly, "It's Nereus. Not 'sir.' I...do not care for that term."
"Yes, s-Nereus," Pyrrha corrected herself.
"Even though I can't remember my old name anymore, something about being called by my new one fills me with a peace that stills the pain in my heart," he mused, turning back to her, "So, I suppose I thank you for that as well."
He noticed belatedly that her face had grown scarlet and she was making a choking noise that sounded something like "gottagobye" before she fled through the opened door from the balcony.
He sighed and turned back to look down towards the courtyard where a couple of small children with tiny wings and halos ran around kicking leaves and squealing with excitement. FInally, he stood and straightened his back, only wincing slightly when his shoulder blades ached a bit. As he turned to make his way back inside the building, all he could think about was that this was a second chance to...he wasn't exactly sure what it was a chance for, but he was sure as hell not going to waste it.
"Now then," he said to himself, "I do believe that lunch is in order."
"NEREUS! SIT HERE! SIT HERE!" Zephyr cried out excitedly, slapping the empty chair next to her emphatically.
Nereus stared at it dubiously and crossed his arms.
It had taken him a couple of minutes to orient himself, but it wasn't hard following the noises to where the dining room was located, judging by the sound of conversation and the merry jangling of silverware and dishes.
"He looks so scary!" He turned to see a small child pulling on the leg of his slacks. She looked up at the expression on his face and squeaked, her tiny wings fluttering madly as she ran around the table and hid behind Petra, who had just walked in with a tray of food.
Three boys ran around him laughing and chanting some sort of made-up rhyme and sped over to the smaller table, which had been set for about eight children.
"One feather for summer, three more for spring, ten feathers for autumn, four feathers between. Winter has no feathers, but soon comes the sun. When summer's upon us, we go back down to one!" They chanted it over and over, sitting at the table with their fork and knife held in opposite hands as they drummed the ends on the table in time with the rhyme.
"Ahem." Someone cleared their voice softly and the children went silent, their eyes as they hurried to place their utensils back where they were supposed to be on the table.
In fact, it hadn't escaped his notice that the entire room seemed to have gone silent, himself included.
Manami walked through the door and sat down at the head of the table gracefully. A few children were following behind her and they moved and sat down at the smaller table in an imitation of their teacher, which was quite amusing indeed. She picked up a small teacup and poured from the pot of green tea that had been set on the table already, taking slow, steady sips as the others began to talk softly again until the room was back to its lively dull roar.
"Come on, then," Petra said, clucking her tongue and steering him into the closest open chair. "You sit here next to Pyrrha."
"Petra!" Pyrrha protested, flushing as she looked at Nereus, "That's where C-"
"Hey! Why are you sitting in my chair, old man!"
Nereus turned his head and glared at Cole, who had entered the room from the kitchen, his arms laden with a pitcher of juice and a stack of empty glasses. The younger man started and backed up a step before he recovered and kicked at the floor with his sneaker.
"Fine. I'll just sit over here," Cole muttered, setting down the drinks and taking the empty chair next to Zephyr.
"Yaaaay! Cole's here!" Zephyr exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Cole tightly as he protested at her rough treatment.
"Well, then, looks like we're ready to eat," Petra said, finishing passing out the sandwiches to the little feathers. Everyone together, now!"
"Thank you for our food!" everyone said together, clapping once at the end.
Nereus sat silently, observing the ritual, and waited for them to start eating before he began to try the sandwich on the plate in front of him. It was surprisingly good, with a bit of cucumber and ham and some sort of spread that kept it moist. Still, he was grateful when Pyrrha handed him the pitcher and he pulled a glass from the stack that Cole had placed in the middle of the table to pour himself something to drink.
When everyone was finished, Manami was the first to leave, clapping twice to get the attention of the little feathers, who bowed to her and followed her out of the dining room in a straight line. Nereus was reminded of a mama duck with her ducklings and had to stifle a small snort of laughter.
"What's funny, Nereus?" Zephyr asked brightly, causing everyone to stare at him.
"I…" he felt his face growing hot at being placed on the spot like this. "It was just...nothing."
"Hah, the old man is speechless!" Cole crowed, earning a glare from Petra.
"Didn't you say that you were going over to Abandoned Factory to help them with the Crossbeam Project?" Petra said unamusedly, crossing her arms and pointing to the little cuckoo clock on the wall.
"Oh crap!" Cole shouted, standing up abruptly and shaking the table slightly as he pulled his chair back. "Gotta go!"
He raced out of the room in a blur of green hair, his long, blue coat flying open and loose behind him.
"He looks like some kind of blue bird with a green plume when he runs like that!" Zephyr giggled.
Pyrrha giggled softly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. The way she looked at Cole...Nereus felt a stab of recognition at the combination of sadness and longing coalescing in her expression.
"I...I have to go return the ring cast to the Haibane Renmei anyway," Pyrrha said, mumbling into her napkin.
"May I accompany you?" Nereus asked suddenly, and she stared at him, her eyes wide with surprise.
He wasn't sure why he'd said it, but there was something about her sadness that made him want to protect her, like an injured animal lying on the side of the road. It was stupid, he knew, but he knew he couldn't take it back without looking like an idiot, so he simply sat there silently and let her think.
"Are you sure that you're fit to walk? It's a bit of a ways and there are a few places that require you to walk close to a very high drop," Petra said, leaning forward with a concerned expression as Pyrrha thought quietly.
"I am fine," Nereus said. "I feel as though I will go mad if I am stuck inside for a minute longer."
"I'll take the scooter. It'll be fine." Pyrrha said softly, pulling the small knapsack up off of the floor and hanging it across her shoulders so that it hung down on one side.
"Excellent." Nereus said it because something needed to be said in the awkward silence that followed, but he didn't feel excellent at all. For some reason, butterflies filled his belly as he remembered what Petra had said about the Haibane Renmei. They were officials of some sort who looked after the wellbeing of haibane, and he was unsure about what to expect.
"Come on, then," Pyrrha said, standing and starting towards the door.
Nereus could see where the handle of the halo container was poking out of the top of the knapsack and knew that she meant to go immediately.
"You can choose from the shoes in the hall closet next to the front door if you'd like. Just grab a pair that fits you best and we can sort out something more permanent once you have a chance to go to the thrift store in town," Petra said suddenly. "I know you don't expect to walk all the way there in your socks. Looks like you already have a jacket, so you should be ok as far as that's concerned. It's not really cold yet, but the breeze can be a bit chilly when it kicks up."
He nodded.
"Thank you, Petra," he said softly, "The meal was delicious."
With that, he turned and followed Pyrrha out of the door and down the hall towards the entrance hall, hoping that he'd find big enough shoes for his long, bony feet.