Jimena looked outside the window, watching the skies for a pair of mechanical wings. But False was nowhere in sight. Sighing in frustration, she flopped back down in bed, pleased to note that her back felt less sore now. "It's getting dark," She told Jimmy. "Maybe you should head back to Tumble Town." "False told me to watch you and she's not back yet," Jimmy said. "I'm not a baby you have to babysit!" "How old are you, anyway? You're kind of short." "Uh..." Jimena racked her brain. "I'm actually not sure," She admitted. "I forgot my age when I got amnesia."
"Well, that's convenient," Jimmy snorted. "You still look like a teenager, though." "I get the feeling I'm older than that," Jimena frowned. Something buzzed at the back of her mind but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. More memories that she wasn't ever going to get back. If only Grian didn't run off. Maybe she could have learned stuff from him. Why did he run off, anyway? What was it he said about False?
Suddenly her stomach rumbled. "Dinner," She said. "It's time for dinner." "I'll go cook something," Jimmy said, leaving the room. In a while he came back with some leftovers and they ate on the bed. "Are you sure you're not leaving?" Jimena asked him. "Yup," Jimmy nodded. "Uh, is there a bed I can borrow?" "False has an extra bed in her room. I think she'll let you borrow that one." Jimmy managed to move the bed to Jimena's house without any unfortunate mishaps and plopped it on the other side of the room.
"I guess this is a sleepover," Jimmy said. "Why are you still babysitting me?" Jimena asked, wondering if she was annoyed or confused. "You're my best friend in this life, I need to make sure you don't die or anything." "That's rich coming from you, you die almost as much as Oli." Jimena said, laughing. Then she realized what she just said. Wait, why do I know Oli dies a lot? And then she realized what Jimmy just said. "Wait, did you say 'this life'?" Jimmy covered his mouth like Grian had. "Sorry, uh, slip of the tongue, forget what I just said! Goodnight!" He turned the lights off and immediately started to fake snore. Jimena frowned and went to sleep as well.
And the dream about the void came back. It wasn't surprising to her anymore. She just stood there, floating endlessly, waiting. Somehow she knew something was coming to her, and that she shouldn't miss it. It was hard to stay in the same place, though. The void had no gravity for her. She just floated, unable to choose where she moved. It would have been like flying if everything wasn't so still. I wish I could fly. As if she'd summoned it with her wish, she suddenly spotted a pair of wings flying towards her. Whose wings were they? She reached out and touched the soft feathers.
And then Jimena was awake, blinking confusedly in the light of the morning sun. A cool breeze rushed in through the open window, bringing with it the fresh mountain air and the scent of pine needles. Jimena yawned and got up, happy to feel that her back wasn't sore anymore. She glanced at Jimmy, who had slipped off his bed in the middle of the night and was practically on the floor already with his mouth wide open. Stifling a giggle, she grabbed a new outfit. After getting a concussion the day before, she'd completely forgotten to take a bath and change her clothes and now she'd ended up sleeping in them.
Jimena went into the bathroom where she could change without Jimmy seeing her if he woke up. Locking the door, she started to undress in front of the mirror, throwing her clothes in a pile next to the sink. She was mildly excited to try on a new outfit. She liked her off-white and gold clothes that matched Cogsmeade's theme, but today she was more inclined to wear something purple. Jimena was just starting to put on a lavender skirt when she glanced into the mirror and saw something that shouldn't be there. Shocked, she turned her head as much as she could to stare at her back. What she saw in the mirror she saw in reality. There were wings sprouting from her back.
Jimena just stared at them for a second, not comprehending what was happening. I have wings? The dream she'd had last night suddenly flashed through her mind. I guess it wasn't a dream... or at least, not entirely... Jimena thought for a moment and then tried to make her wings move. She succeeded in stretching them out as far as they could go in the cramped bathroom, allowing her to see them in their full glory. And they were beautiful. Ten feet long, with curved white feathers tinted purple at the tips. Jimena cautiously touched one and ran her hand down its edge. It was as soft as she remembered.
Remembered...? Did I see these wings before? The dream flashed through her head again. They were the exact same pair of wings that she now had on her back. But it stirred a question in her mind. How did I even get wings overnight? Surely she didn't just get it from dreaming, right? That didn't make any logical sense. But neither did waking up to find out you had wings.
Just then, the sound of knocking came from the door. "Jimena? Are you in there?" Jimmy asked, his voice sounding slightly muffled though the thick door. "Yeah," Jimena said quickly. She glanced at her clothes. How do I wear this with wings on? She didn't want to poke holes in her clothes. Her shirt had a low neckline, though, and her wings seemed to stem from her shoulder blades, so maybe wearing her shirt backward would work to make it fit. She tried, and it somehow worked.
Jimena unlocked the door and opened it. "Good morning, Jimena..." Jimmy trailed off as he noticed her wings. "Yeah, I have no idea how they got here," She said. Jimmy just stared at them with his mouth open like a goldfish. "You didn't have those yesterday?" He asked. "No," Jimena said. "They just appeared overnight." "Or grew overnight," Jimmy said thoughtfully. "Uh, we can discuss this over breakfast." "Discuss?" Jimena blinked. For the first time ever, Jimmy was ahead of someone. "What's for breakfast anyway?"
They went to False's house to find out that the grand architect had returned to her empire after they'd fallen asleep. "Good morning, sheriff, Jimena," False said cheerily. Then she caught sight of Jimena's wings. "Oh, did the sheriff give you a new elytra? They're really pretty and very realistic." "Uh, they're not elytra," Jimena said. "They're real wings." False shot her a double take. "What?" Jimena flapped her wings, stretched them out, and then folded them back in again. "Okay..." False said, sounding unnerved. "How do you suddenly have wings now?"
"They've been growing for a while now," Jimmy said. He turned to Jimena. "You said your back was sore. It's a sign of growing wings," "That was because I fell down the mountain." Jimena corrected. "Well, maybe that too," Jimmy conceded. "But it's also a sign of growing wings." "How do you know that?" False asked curiously. Jimmy looked awkward. "Uh, a bunch of friends of mine were part bird in a past life. Don't ask." Jimena and False glanced at each other. Both of them were starting to hate it when someone told them to not ask.
"So um, breakfast?" Jimmy asked. False waved at a pile of toast. "No eggs," She said, pointedly looking at Jimena, who grinned. "Past lives?" She asked Jimmy, who instantly choked on his toast and started to drink milk. "Stop asking about my lives!" He told her firmly. "No one's supposed to know about them!" "What makes you an expert?" Jimena asked. "I'm not, I just- I just know you're not supposed to remember but some people just do," Jimmy groaned. "Look, you seem fine now; I think I can go." "Bye, babysitter," Jimena said, and Jimmy shook a finger at her. "I am not a babysitter. And don't tell anyone about this. I don't want it to blow up like the toy joke did."
"Why does everyone want to call you a toy again?" False asked, screwing her eyes up as she tried to remember. Jimmy sighed. "Just because I'm a sheriff, they think I look like Woody from Toy Story. He's the main character in this movie series," He added at Jimena and False's confused look. "And now they've built Toy Story-themed stuff around Tumble Town and call me a toy whenever they see me and once Joel even made me toy-sized." "Wait, how?" False asked. "That's possible?" "He brewed a lore potion. It's supposed to show you what the user really looks like but it's rigged, because I'm obviously not a toy!" Jimmy ended up almost shouting at the last bit.
"If it bothers you this much, how come they still bully you about it?" False asked cautiously. "I make a really big fuss that's fun for them to watch," Jimmy said bitterly. "Maybe they'd leave me alone if I stop, but it's been happening forever and I don't think I'm stopping anytime soon." "Just tell them you're not a toy and to leave you alone." "Do you think I haven't tried that?" Jimmy asked. "Over and over again, I tell them that I am not a toy!" He ended up yelling again. "Of course you're not a toy," False said soothingly, patting his shoulder. "You're a human being. Don't let other people tell you otherwise." "Thanks," Jimmy said gratefully.
Jimena twisted to look at her wings. "I don't think I'm human anymore, if I ever was," She said suddenly. "Well, there's nothing wrong with being a hybrid either. A lot of my friends are hybrids," Jimmy said. "I'm pretty sure everyone's been a hybrid at least once in a past life." "Jimmy, how are we supposed to not ask about other lives if you keep bringing it up?" Jimena groaned. Jimmy covered his mouth again. "Maybe I should just stop talking." "No don't, you're a nice person to talk to," False said quickly and Jimmy smiled. "You guys are good friends," He said.
"Of course," Jimena said. But just then came a voice that she had nearly forgotten about. <Pathetic,> She froze. The voice was back. If only it could stop making his snide comments all the time. <Friends? Really? Please tell me this is just your attempts at manipulation, because if not, you've changed in ways I would prefer you hadn't.> Jimena tried to ignore him. He's just a voice... He can't hurt you... Whatever he wants, you're not giving it to him. But there was this powerful urge in her mind to listen to what the voice told her.
Jimena's wings itched to move. "I'm going to try and fly with these," She said, stuffing the last slice of bread in her mouth and walking out the door. "Wait! Jimena, real wings work differently than elytra!" False called after her, standing up as well. "I know," Jimena said. She didn't stop, though. She walked out the house and looked up at the sky. She felt the air swirl around her, felt the wind rustle through each individual feather. She flapped her wings and felt herself move the teensiest bit off the ground. She tried again, and this time she jumped.
It was like instinct; the next thing Jimena knew, she was high up in the sky. Her wings were stretched out as far as they could go and they were even bigger than she originally thought. "Wow," Jimmy breathed, standing on the ground next to False and looking up at her. He looks so small from up here. Jimena tried to fly in a circle, curving her feathers to change the angle of the wind. For some reason it was easy, and soon she was doing loops in the sky and laughing happily. <Yes, flying is such a wonderful thing, isn't it?> The voice didn't sound malevolent or mysterious now. In fact, he sounded relaxed; and maybe even happy. And Jimena agreed with him.