Skyfall

Learning

"Ok'ravi Ais Isra."  Briih put a finger on his chin.  "There are no human names like yours."

"What do you mean?"  I asked, looking up from the pictures on the walls.  He called this labyrinth of boxes an 'apartment', and there were photos of animals I recognized from the forest.

"There are no human names that are like ours.  They have their given name first, then a name denoting their familial tie.  Like my name, Grigio Sanchez - my parents are from the Sanchez family, and they allegedly named me Grigio."

"Family tie?"  That was a strange thought.

"Yes.  Humans have more care for family than plumage, since they don't have the varied plumage we have."

"And no levels?"

"No, no Ok'ravis in the human world.  There are ruling families, like Lik'mas but passed down father to son, but they are living far from here and have little influence."

"So... I need a name like the humans."

"Exactly.  To fit in."  He came to join me, and looked at the picture on the wall.  "Beautiful, isn't it?"

It was a photo of a macaw in flight,  deep red and bright blue feathers shining against the dark green foliage.  "Gorgeous.  I can still feel..."  I touched my fingertips to the tail of the bird.  "I can imagine what this bird is doing.  The feathers here are catching the most wind, and his tail is flared because he's turning towards us.  And his face...  so happy.  I wish I could be him."

Briih sighed, putting his hands on my shoulders and rubbing his thumbs in the top of my wings.  "I understand.  I would like to say the pain gets easier, but...  These photos are all I have to remember flight."

I put my hands on his.  "Why were we stripped, Briih?  Not enough to take us from the flock, but to also take away what makes us Masli?"

"It does no good to dwell on these things, Isra."  He steered me away from the pictures and back into the apartment, putting my tea into my hands again.  I settled on the table, holding onto the warmth.  "Your name."

"Is it so strange to keep my name right now?"

"Very much so.  Humans don't appreciate differences.  I had to change my name to fit in, and so must you."

I sighed.  "Tell me some of them."

"There is Isabella, Ohara, Olivia, Izadora, Alessandra.  Alice, Renata, Raquel, Pietra, Edilaine."

I took a sip of tea.  "Is there something more like our own names?"

"No, fledgling.  Nothing close to Isra."

"What about birds?"

"Robin and Dove.  We could name you Iara, that's close to Isra, yes?"

I looked out through the clear wall.  Briih called it 'glass', and it allowed us to see outside.  There was a falcon soaring on an updraft over the city, head turning in search of food.  "Peregrine."  I said.  "I want to be named Peregrine."  The peregrine falcon visited about a quarter of the year.  It never preyed on us or our parrot cousins; rodents were less lucky.

He frowned.  "That's... unusual, even for humans.  But it could work.  Could we change it to Peregrina?"

"We could."  I drank some more tea.  It was very sweet.

"How about shortening it?"

"Shortening it?"

"Yes, it's called a nickname.  Instead of Isra, for example, I could call you Iss.  I could shorten Peregrina down to Gina.  Does Gina sound nice?"