Ori and the Spirits Within: Revitalized

Chapter 5: What's Left

A new day had dawned on Niwen, a bright one with a few clouds peppering the sky. A gentle breeze blew through the village, taking with it a few crumpled leaves and specks of white dandelions. It looked to be another peaceful day, and given the excitement of having Niwen's heroic spirit return to them, an easy day was welcomed.

In the peace of the new morning, the newly reborn spirit awoke in the comfort of his nest... and the young purple owl still snuggling against him. Ori looked at the owl, seeing her calm face, and smiled softly. For the little time he's gotten to know her, he could already tell that Ku loved the spirit with her whole heart. He was a brother to her, and knowing how devastated she was when he sacrificed himself made him glad to be reawakened in the real world. He hoped his memories of her would return so that he could love her just as much as she did him.

Wishing to get along with his day, Ori quietly lifted one of Ku's wings up so that he could roll out of her snuggle, being careful not to rouse her awake. After doing so successfully, the spirit quietly hopped out of the nest and stepped out into the sunlight, stretching his arms to the sky. However, as he did so, he suddenly felt a force pick him up from under his arms, making him squeal in shock. He quietly flailed in the unknown assailant's grasp until they finally made themselves known...

"H-Honey, it's me," a motherly voice spoke. Recognizing her tone, Ori turned around to see Naru holding him under his arms, an amused smile on her white face.

"O-Oh... s-sorry I squealed like that," Ori apologized.

"It's alright, honey," Naru replied, bringing the spirit to her chest to give him a warm hug. "I'm sorry I scared you like that. I forgot you're still not... adjusted to all of this yet."

"It's fine," he replied as he hugged his adoptive mother back. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept alright," Naru replied, putting her adoptive son back on the ground. "I'm sure cuddling up with Ku felt very comfy."

"Y-Yeah, her feathers are... p-pretty soft," he chuckled.

"Your fur is quite soft as well," Naru laughed, gently stroking the top of his head. "I remember when you were very little back in Nibel. I used to hold you in my arms and rub your tummy while you napped. It didn't take you long to fall asleep when I did that.."

"Aww..." Ori rubbed the back of his neck as he blushed, a slight hint of embarrassment coming over him. However, that comment had a piece of information unfamiliar to Ori's amnesic mind.

"Wait... N-Nibel?" Ori questioned.

"O-Oh... you don't remember that either," Naru muttered. "I suppose we didn't talk about it much last night."

"I... think I heard Ku mention it once, but she didn't really elaborate," Ori replied.

"Well, Nibel is where we all came from," Naru explained. "It was where we all became a family, where we all lived for a very long time. You were originally born from Nibel's Spirit Tree, but... now, I suppose you are a spirit of Niwen now?"

"And what was it like?" Ori asked, curious to know more about his original home.

"W-Well... um..." Naru, unfortunately, wasn't as happy to divulge that information to him. Sure, many things about their life in Nibel were pleasantries. Family life, amusing tales, heartwarming bonds, there were a lot of positive things to tell. However, the main thing dwelling in her mind was the journey Ori had to go on, one that wasn't as... nice. She worried that, if she told him what happened on his journey, all of the pain from those days would start flooding back, and she didn't want that to happen.

"W-We... We c-can talk about that another time, honey," Naru said with wavering certainty. "Besides, you wanted to go see Seir today, right?"

"O-Oh..." She... She's nervous about something, I can tell. But... m-maybe I shouldn't push it. "R-Right, yeah. Uh... maybe I should have some breakfast first?"