"Wake up, sleepy," a young woman said softly, tapping Jordan's shoulder. "It's time to get up. There's a lot to do."

Jordan opened her eyes and blinked the light away. She still felt strange like her thoughts didn't belong to her. It was like her mind was a group of impulses rather than words. She couldn't think about the strangeness of her situation, she couldn't form questions in her head with any kind of clarity; instead, she felt like something about where she was living was right as if she had belonged there her whole life. She was full of acceptance for her situation. Looking at the woman in front of her, Jordan could see that she felt the same way. Something about it felt good... even with the nagging and subtle anxiety swirling around in the back of her head.

"I'm Cara," the woman said, smiling.

Jordan sat up and said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Jordan." Upon saying her name, Jordan felt a deep ache somewhere in her consciousness. She tried to understand what she was feeling, but couldn't quite comprehend it. It felt like she was forgetting something, but it also felt a little like she had lost something... someone.

Jordan was distracted from her thoughts when Cara's face rippled until it was coated with a thick layer of bright, yellow canary feathers. Jordan didn't know how or why, but she somehow followed Cara's lead, only she was covered in light brown feathers.

They looked at each other for a moment, sort of twitching their heads back and forth like smaller birds sometimes did. Cara took a deep breath and transformed back into her human state. Jordan took a breath, but her appearance didn't change. Jordan stood up and walked to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. Cara followed her.

"You'll a get a hang of it," Cara promised as they both stared at Jordan's birdlike reflection in the mirror. "It takes some getting used to."

Jordan ran her hand through her feathers and traced her narrow beak with her fingers. "Gina," Jordan said. "Did she do this to me?"

"She did it for you," Cara said happily. "This is who you are and this is who you should be. Gina says she has a sixth sense about these things. She can see us the way we really are," Cara explained. She smiled at Jordan, and Jordan smiled back.

Her face rippled again, returning her to her human form.

"You did it!" Cara said excitedly. She took Jordan's hand excitedly and led her out of the bathroom. As they ran up the stairs happily, Cara said, "Gina wants me to show you what we do here."

When they reached the main level of the cabin, Jordan looked around and saw all of the girls that she had seen earlier. Some were dusting, some were sweeping, some were wiping down tables, and others were cooking.

The old woman emerged from the crowd and said, "Good morning, dear. How do you feel?"

"Um," Jordan thought.

"You feel good," Gina said. "Don't you?"

Jordan smiled and nodded.

"Everyone," Gina announced to the room of young women. "This is Naeva," she introduced, gesturing to Jordan.

"My name isn't-" Jordan began to say.

"It is, now," Gina said decidedly. "It's beautiful, and fits the new you perfectly," she said. She put her hands on Jordan's face, and Jordan involuntarily morphed into her bird-like state. "It means born of night," Gina said proudly.

"I liked my name," Jordan said, morphing again, returning to her human form.

Gina grabbed Jordan's chin aggressively and possessively before transforming into a Hexenbiest. Her decayed face was even more twisted and wrinkled with the disapproving expression she wore. "You should be grateful for what I give you," she growled.

"I'm sorry," Jordan said weakly. She looked around at the other girls in the room; they seemed nervous. "Thank you, I think Naeva is perfect," she added quietly.

The Hexenbiest released her chin and took on her human shape once again. "You're welcome, deary," she said cheerfully. She smiled at Naeva and the others before asking Cara to give Naeva a tour.

"I'd love to," Cara said.

The old woman, still smiling peacefully, said "Perfect." She began walking upstairs, leaving Cara to do her job.

Cara pointed in the direction Gina had gone and said, "That's where Gina's room is. We aren't supposed to go up there unless she wants us to." Cara led Naeva to the kitchen where most of the girls gathered. "This is Dove and Polina," she said, pointing to two younger women that were mixing some ingredients together in a bowl next to a wood burning stove. The girls both morphed.

Dove was covered in brown feathers with black feathers speckling her legs and arms. She had a dark beak that was somewhat long and relatively straight. She looked like a Mourning Dove. She smiled shyly before turning back to her work in the kitchen.

Polina had thin, wispy feathers that were gray, brown, black, and white all mixed together. Even a single feather was multiple colors. Naeva could tell by looking at her that her feathers were soft. Polina smiled with a very wide, short, and somewhat curved beak. The strangest features, Naeva thought, were the whiskers that protruded from the side of her face, just below her massive, deep black eyes. A light colored V of feathers rested above her brow, contrasting her dark eyes. She looked like a Poorwill.

Both Polina and Dove transformed to their human state after being introduced and continued their work in the kitchen.

"This is Elda," Cara said, gesturing to a woman that resembled an eagle. She was dusting off shelves. Elda nodded in their direction, assuming her human state again, and continued her work.

"This is Gyllene," Cara added, pointing to a girl that was sweeping the floor. The girl looked down at her pile of debris she had gathered in the center of the floor and transformed into a bird with striking golden plumage. She was more nervous than some of the other girls, but she still smiled at the floor as she swept when she was introduced.

"And this is Febe," Cara said.

The woman that was wiping down a large dinner table looked up and morphed into a falcon-like creature with oily black feathers. She grinned and said, "Hello," while she continued washing off the table.

"Everyone here contributes to keeping this place clean, and happy, and together," Cara said. "Without us, it would be hard to live here at all," she added, expressing how important Gina had made her feel about the work she did. "It's not very big, but cleaning can be harder than it looks. That's why we play games or cook when we're finished." Cara was glowing with love and joy. She was definitely the most enthusiastic and sociable out of everyone.

Naeva smiled and looked around herself, noticing the large amounts of food. "Where does all the food come from?" she asked.

"A little bit of everywhere," Cara said happily. "Here, let me show you something," she said. She led Naeva outside to the back of the cabin. There was a massive garden; Naeva wondered how she had not noticed it before.

It was full of different berry varieties along with a few other fruits and vegetables. Cara walked along the rows of plants saying, "Radishes, lettuce, peas, beets, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries," as she went.

"This is amazing," Naeva said.

"It's also where we get a lot of our food," Cara laughed. "But we also get some from the forest around us. There are so many different herbs and edible plants to be found."

"Do you ever get food from the outside world?" Naeva asked.

"Oh, all the time. Gina came from a family with a lot of money, so we can buy whatever we need." Cara answered before making an unhappy face. "I guess I should rephrase," she said. "Most of the other girls and I aren't allowed to travel away from the cabin for any large distance. Gina says it isn't safe. She also says we shouldn't want to go anywhere, anyway." Cara sighed happily and sat down in the dirt. "And I don't. It's perfect here." She lowered herself down so she was resting her entire body on the mossy ground.

"Have you always lived here?" Naeva asked, sitting next to Cara.

"Nope," Cara said, shutting her eyes and sighing again.

"What did you do before you came here?" Naeva asked.

"I was a photographer. I always saw beauty in the world, so I chased it around with a camera," she laughed. "But we're not supposed to talk about our old lives," Cara said, keeping her eyes shut. She looked peaceful.

Jordan didn't know why, but something in the back of her mind didn't feel right. It was strange. She felt happy, and relaxed, and peaceful. She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be. However, something inside of her was uncomfortable with suspicion and urged her, wordlessly, to ask more questions.

"Why?" Naeva asked.

"Because, we're different now, and we're happy and safe. There's no point in dwelling on the past," Cara answered. She sounded like she was repeating something that Gina told her.

"Do you think that the world we left is unsafe?" Naeva asked.

"For people like us, it is," Cara said, referring to the fact that they were considered monsters by people who didn't understand them. "It took coming here to realize how unhappy I had been before and how violent the world could be. I'm never leaving here."

Naeva smiled and nodded before she felt that nagging feeling that she was forgetting something... or someone. "Isn't there anyone you miss? Like a family or friends?"

"This is my home. These are my friends," Cara said. She smiled and opened her eyes. From her position on the ground, she moved her head back to look behind her and grabbed a basket that was on the ground. She sat up and handed the basket to Naeva.

"Our job today is to pick berries," Cara said. She spotted another basket and grabbed it for herself.

Together, they picked strawberries, raspberries, and much more, cleaning the bushes of their ripe fruit.