Chapter 5: Chapter 4

Jane

 

"Honey? Do you want to take some berries with you?" My mother grinned broadly and held out a small wooden bowl full of berries to me. "I picked them fresh. Tinke will certainly be happy, and you make a good first impression! She is also sixteen. Maybe you'll find a new friend. Heaven, that dear girl needs friends. But you never wanted to accompany me to Miriel's nest. As a toddler, you played with Tinke."

"Did I? I don't remember. A good impression? For what? I visit her because the shaman demands it." I had two wonderful friends. What if Tinke was anything but nice? And what should we do together? Stare at the wall? Being bored together? Or if she didn't like me?

"And why does she demand that hm? Because my dear daughter is a fool!", snorted Mom and put the bowl back on the shelf from which she had taken it.

Our nest consisted of only one large room. We made our beds from leaves and moss that we collected. We washed ourselves in the river. Just like all harpies. Our life was very simple.

"I'm not a fool", I grumbled.

"Aren’t you? Only a fool would paint the feathers of another harpy! Go now. Tinke is waiting. But don't stay too long. Your father should be back soon. I hope he caught us a nice rabbit or a little deer! And now off with you, my little rebel! Be nice!"

Sighing, I left our nest and flew to the nest of Tinke's family. Tinke's parents, Neo and Miriel, had each five other children with different harpies. In their nest, they lived with the five harpies Miriel had given birth to, and their daughter. The two harpies were not a couple, but best friends. However, Tinke's father occasionally spent the nights in another nest.

When I arrived at the nest, only Tinke was at home. Her parents and younger siblings weren’t there. I couldn't hear anyone.

"Hello? Tinke?", I shouted.

"I'm here, come in!", she called out to me in a monotone voice. I entered the nest, where a harpy my age was sitting in a bed of moss. Next to her was a bowl of water and another bowl of berries. "You're Jane? Our shaman said you would come over."

The girl seemed bored. Or was she sad?

She was pretty. Very pretty even. Her moss green eyes looked at me tiredly. She was pale, probably because of the lack of sun, and her thick, dark red hair around her body seemed like silk. Her wings were also dark red. However, they hung down her body in a strange position and they were much too small. Like the delicate wings of a child.

"Hello. Yes. I'm Jane. May I sit down with you?", I asked.

"Sure." She pointed next to her, where I quickly settled. She looked at me motionlessly.

"So? What are you doing all day?", I tried to start a conversation.

She blinked briefly. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes. Nothing. I can't walk or use my wings. Unless my parents carry me outside, so that I can sit there for a while, I'm here. I play with my siblings when they're not playing in the air."

I looked at her red wings again. "Why are your wings so small? And crooked?"

"I don't know. I was born that way!" She shrugged her shoulders and held out the bowl of berries to me. "Do you want some?"

"Gladly!" I took one of the fruits.

"And what are you doing all day? If you're not upsetting our shaman and have to spend time with me?" She looked at me emotionlessly. Her voice remained monotonous.

"I meet up with my friends. Rosalie and Falk." Again I looked at their wings. "You're like the first! She couldn't walk either", I finally announced.

"Do you think so? But she could fly. After she died. That is of less use to me."

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"Would you like to fly?"

Tinke nodded. "Yes. With pleasure. But I never will!"

"And if you will?"

She made a strangely expressionless grimace. How was that even possible? "That's a bad joke."

"But if someone took you, it would work", I protested.

"My parents used to carry me through the air. But with all my siblings, they have too much to do now to fly with me." She shrugged again. "That's life. Besides, I've been too big for that for a long time. I'm glad that all my siblings can enjoy the sky."

We talked for a good hour and I told her about all the fun I had with my friends. In the end, she even laughed briefly. I saw this as a small victory. Tinke told me about her siblings. When I said goodbye to her, I was already looking forward to visiting her again the next day.

Tinke was a pleasant conversation partner.

"Tell us everything!" We sat on a thick branch above the nest of Falk's parents. My two friends grinned curiously at me. Falk's grin was about to widen bigger than his face.

"Tinke is very nice. It was nice with her and anything but boring", I answered truthfully. "I feel sorry for her. She can't fly."

"That's bad." Rosalie sighed. "And what's also bad is that your punishment turned out to be fun! Mine isn’t! Our shaman and leader have the worst nest I've ever seen! Most of the moss has dried out and the leaves are wilting! Everything has to be redone! Today, I disposed of all the leaves and collected a few new ones. Tomorrow it's the moss's turn! Terrible! And all their bowls had to be washed out. It took me a lot of time! The nest needs to be swept out and the wooden walls also need some love and attention! Luckily, I don't have to wash their clothes too!"

Harper and Hailey shared a nest in which their son still lived with them. Hailey had another daughter with a different harpy. Her daughter was now living in her own nest. Just like Harper's six daughters and his son. Harpies lived with their parents until they felt the desire for their own nest, or founded a family group. Most moved out between the ages of sixteen and twenty.

In families, it was normal to renew each other's beds. Having to redo the bed for someone outside of it was considered a popular punishment for missteps. Especially for teenagers.

"But after work, I met two interesting harpies." Now Rosalie grinned dreamily. "Maybe this will lead to a possibility. You know!" She giggled softly.

"And how was your day?", I quickly asked Falk. I didn't want to know more about these interesting harpies. Our swarm was big. Very large. Not everyone knew each other. There were hundreds of us and there were more swarms with their own shamans and customs.

"Successful." Falk nodded affirmatively. "Only this one, adorable harpy, does not want to be convinced that a time together with me would please her! I'm too small down there for her, she said. Insolence!", he snorted. Rosalie laughed softly. So we stuck to the topic. Of course. "Not just my tail feathers!"

We harpies only covered our upper bodies, as our lower abdomens were covered with dense feathers that hid what was nobody's business. Unless you wanted it to be. To 'impress' another harpy, especially the men performed an elaborate courtship dance, in which they flaunted their wings and tail feathers. But Falk had probably gone a little further. Without success.

Rosalie laughed amused. "Unfortunately, you can't change anything about your equipment, Falk!"

"Why are you still trying to do it with her?" I shook my head.

"I like her!" He put one of his soft, warm wings around me. "Do you have a tip for me? How do I win the heart of a young, beautiful lady?"

"You're asking the wrong harpy!" Meanwhile, Rosalie almost fell off the branch with laughter. "Our Jane is not interested in courtship!"

"Give up", I told him.

"No! Never! I will find my way between her feathers!", he announced. "That's my biggest goal from now on!"

I rolled my eyes. "Falk? You have a serious problem!"

"Why?" He looked at me confused. Rosalie fell laughing from the branch, but she caught herself with her pretty wings.

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