Author's Note: Hey everyone. I know I shouldn't be writing a new story even when I have so many unfinished ones. But this one just would NOT stop begging me to put it on virtual paper for who knows how long! Then I found the So-Ra-No-Wo-To soundtrack and the Haibane Renmei image album and I thought "OKAY! That tears it! I don't care how many stories I have unfinished! This one just CANNOT be allowed to slip up any longer! I NEED TO WRITE THIS NOW!". By the way, I'm on spring break so I'll be binging on anime, manga, games, and stories! And yes, the animes So-Ra-No-Wo-To and Haibane Renmei (especially their music, OH MY GOD!) are the inspirations for this story. Anyway, I present to you all the birth of my new story: Oria of Araceli! Read and review please! NO FLAMES! Happy reading!

CHAPTER 1: The Birth of a Star

It came down from the sky deluged in twilight. The gentle but turbulent wind blew it gently across the sky and down below. A single, clear, opalescent, white feather was being carried off by the wind and into the world down below. The sky was deluged in the dawn of twilight. Most of it is blue, but the bright yellow sun was slowly and slowly peeking up from the horizon, causing the sky to become a mixture of a bright, soft orange, a mauve and rosy purplish pink, and with a small spec of vermilion red. Some specs of yellow began to appear little by little. The diminutive feather let itself become one with the gentle breeze and was carried off into a small little world down below, consumed by color and a sense of pristine purity. The pristine white feather then gently went further into the world down below and was now trapped within the confines of many trees. Most of them had very thin barks that looked blue and green in the morning, but their leaves were pure malachite green, glimmering in the morning sun because of the little dewdrops that hung from their tips and on the leaves themselves. In fact, the evergreen grass down below was consumed by morning dew, which made it shimmer in the fleeting light.

There wasn't just grass and trees. Most of the world down below was consumed by flowers. Flowers, flowers, flowers of all kinds. Bright red, pink, and white roses, little blue stars, delicate white daisies, cheery and blithe sunflowers, vibrant violets, prickly poinsettias, angelic white narcissi, and even rosy white magnolias. Some of the trees were consumed by vibrant apricot blossoms and rose-colored plum blossoms. Of course, summer was here and the flowery trees were soon to be no more...for a little while. Most of the flowers were surrounding a rather large house. Most of it was made of wood, with the roof tiles also being of a grey wood. It looked almost like a large school dormitory. The main entrance had large wooden doors with very refined glass knobs, a set of greyish yellow stairs, and a large clock on the top, though it did not stand very tall. There was a small dirt path that led to a little city that happened to be nearby. It seemed that the residents wanted a more peaceful and nature filled style of living. Soon, the little feather then got caught in one of the wooden roof tiles and it seemed that it was unable to free itself. But it hung from a tile that pointed to a very very very large oak tree consumed by it's green leaves almost completely. It's branches and bark were absolutely large, but it stood only 40 feet away from the dormitory-like building where the feather was hanging from.

But what's this? Someone is sleeping on one of the branches! It is a young boy, about 14-15 years old in age. He is fair-skinned and slender, and has very short but choppy dark yellow hair with it's bangs part down the middle and facing both sides of his face. He is wearing a very long, orange night dress with long sleeves and white buttons on the chest part along with a long, floppy orange hat with a little yellow bell hanging from the tip. His head lay peacefully on a leafy branch as he snored in a blithe but quiet manner. Some drool was sticking to his diamond-cut jaw. His right leg hung helplessly from the branch, but it seemed that the sleeping boy did not have a care in the world and is having a very peaceful and wonderful beauty sleep. The lucid white feather stared at the sleeping boy from afar, then it finally broke away from the wooden roof tile. It gently flew through the air again and it fell near the building. The building has many windows that are about 3 feet apart from each other, with the exception of the main entrance that doesn't have windows. The feather finally fell into a pot of small daisies that is next to the stairs and remained there for simply a short while...until another figure appeared through the doors.

This time, a girl is wide awake and entering the outside world that is slowly turning brighter and brighter as the sun finally began to paint the sky orange, rosy pink, and mauve purple altogether. This girl looks to be about 12-13 years old in age. She has short red hair that is straight and goes to her chin, which is quite well-cut. She also has sweet and munificent-looking bronze eyes like chocolate. She is wearing a short-sleeved white dress with ruffled lace on the sleeves and the long skirt and is decorated with little purple dots. There is also a purple ribbon wrapped around the waist. She is also wearing black slip-on shoes and a black ribbon in her hair. She is tall and slim, but she looked quite refined, congenial and genteel in appearance and manners. The red-haired girl looked to her right and saw the little feather trapped within the daisy pot. She ambled toward it in a polite manner and, as she arrived in front of the pot, kneeled down in front of it. She slowly but gently waved her hand toward the feather and it was carried off by the wind again. This time, it headed toward another bouquet of flowers that were planted in the grass.

The blueness in the sky finally dissipated as the sun's golden effulgence began to consume the sky. The sky became even more like twilight: consumed by a bright and soft orange, a rosy and mauve, purplish pearl pink, and a spec of vermilion red. The girl looked up and smiled politely at the lucid and exquisite sight. Morning had arrived, and what a beautiful and munificent morning it is! The red-haired girl raised her arms behind her and stretched her arms and legs outright to awaken her body. The girl immediately ran out of the house and into the outdoors. She looked up at the large oak tree which seemed to cover up part of the sky. She noticed the sleeping blonde figure dressed in orange snoring peacefully. The girl caught sight of him and chuckled in a quiet but quaint and polite manner. The quaint little flowers below were gently embraced by the wind's gentle caress, and so were the girl and the sleeping boy. The sky, flowers, trees, and the whole place itself did not have a prosaic touch to them. Everything was beautiful and elegant in one way or another. The feather finally decided to leave the area as it was carried away by the wind's embrace. As it left, it passed a large wooden sign that read "Welcome to Araceli, District 4! The city of blooming flowers and twilight". It seems that the world that the feather left is called Araceli. Araceli looked as if it were above the clouds and floating in the sky. Yes! Yes it is! Araceli means "Altair in the sky", so it is a mythical and pure city in the clouds. And it seems there is more than one district. The sleeping boy and the red-haired girl are in a small part of District 4. It almost looked like a utopia, with flowers, trees, a beautiful sky, everything.

The red-haired girl was about to walk away from the tree when suddenly...THUD! Someone thrust the doors open with great force and bounced out of the house in a bright and cheery manner. It is another girl! She has short, green hair like the leaves of the trees tied in small pigtails with dark blue ribbons along with violet purple eyes. She is wearing a short-sleeved, dark blue shirt with a white collar and a yellow tie hanging from it, along with a matching dark blue skirt. She looked as if she were wearing a Japanese school uniform. She also wore dark brown socks that went slightly below her knees and black tap shoes. The red-haired girl was shocked when the green-haired, blue-dressed girl suddenly appeared in such a sudden manner. She heard the magnanimous sound of birds chirping and twittering in the sky. She saw two little birds in the large oak tree. One was a bright red, the other was a pristine, lucid, angelic white color. Soon, the green-haired suddenly jumped happily in front of the red-haired girl.

"Hey! Good mornin' Anne!" The green-haired girl exclaimed loudly in a happy manner, calling the red-haired girl Anne.

"Clover. You shouldn't be so loud. Everyone's still sleeping at the moment. See, Pence is sleeping in the tree with the birds right now," The red-haired girl, Anne, told the green-haired girl, Clover, gently while chastising her for her sudden entrance. She pointed to the sleeping blonde boy, Pence, who was still sleeping peacefully in his dormant state. The birds that Anne saw are suddenly right next to Pence and chirping right next to him.

"They're tryin' to wake him up!" Clover said. Anne giggled slightly at the sight, but it seemed Pence wasn't bothered by it at all.

"So, Anne! Wanna play again today?" Clover asked with a smile.

"Why of course. But we can't play too loudly. Everyone is still waking up...Oh? Is that Yoko over there?" Anne told her, but then saw another figure. This time, it was inside the building. It is another girl, who has short, midnight blue hair and blue eyes as blue as the ocean. The girl in the house looks like she's dressing herself in a bright pink dress.

"Well, it seems everyone's wakin' up. See? It's almost 7:00," Clover said as she pointed to the clock. It read 6:57 AM.

"Some of them sleep late, so we still have to be quiet" Anne said when she suddenly saw a small group of very young children, aged 7-9, running out the door. Another voice echoed in the soft morning air.

"Hey! Get back here!"

A young woman appeared from the house and chased after them. She looks to be 16 years old in age and has very short, black hair cut in a boyish style, along with having dark gold eyes that shone like fine jewelery. She is pale-skinned, and doesn't look very genteel. She is wearing a long-sleeved, dark blue jean jacket over a grey shirt along with black jeans and thick, brown boots. She is quite choleric as she is chasing after the young children. But once they ran around and began playing, the black-haired girl finally panted in exhaustion and decided to abdicate. The children's voices permeated the air, giggly and happy to be outside. They played under the oak tree and near the building. But it seemed even this failed to wake up Pence, who is STILL sleeping soundly.

"Argh. Sometimes they really make me wanna snap," The black-haired woman murmured in a slightly low-pitched, tomboyish but womanly voice. Anne and Clover caught sight of her and ran to her.

"Good morning, Raven!" Anne exclaimed.

"Mornin' Raven!" Clover exclaimed.

"Morning, Clover. Morning, Anne" The black-haired girl, Raven, replied.

"Having trouble with the young Esthers again?" Anne asked politely.

"Ugh! Tate over there keeps causing mischief whenever I take my eyes off of him! Seriously, he's done this every single day! I can't count how many times he causes his usual morning mischief! He can't even sit still when Luljeta and Margery are making breakfast!" Raven vented loudly. Anne giggled a little.

"Well, they are children after all. They don't like to sit still, even though some of them are very polite at heart. I wonder if Tate likes to alert us and wake us up in the morning with his antics?" Anne asked.

"That could be the case. He's certainly not what I'd call lazy, that's for sure. But he could at least be considerate of others! Besides, his favorite food is gonna be on the table soon!" Raven told them.

"Hot cakes with lotsa raspberries and maple syrup?" Clover asked, curious.

"Yes! I know you like them too, Clover! But they're not ready yet, so you'll have to wait," Raven told her.

"Awww," Clover said, crestfallen.

"Hey Clover? Why don't we play for a while before breakfast. They say it's good to exercise before eating" Anne told her gently.

"Sure! I'm up for it!" Clover exclaimed as she and Anne decided to join the young children and engage in social interaction and play with them.

Clover and Anne smiled and laughed joyfully as they played with the smaller children. Raven watched with a sense of pride and supervision as she observed their harmless social interactions. She observed the outside, focusing her gaze on everything. The pearl and rosy sky, the malachite green trees, the myriad of little colorful flowers making a little rainbow, and the sun's orange colored effulgence slowly rising from the horizon. Raven's dark colored hair began to look a little lighter as the sun's rays peeped out from the horizon. Raven has been used to looking after, and chasing after, the children. She was assigned this task by some women that she befriended. Raven did act nice whenever she wanted to be, but make her angry and she will erupt in a fit of rancor and even become volatile whenever it got really bad. She is on good terms with other children she knew, such as Clover, Anne, and Pence, who is STILL sleeping soundly on the large branch. As Clover turned away from the children to look up at the sky, she suddenly stopped and froze in her tracks. The thing she saw in the sky made her very, very surprised and awestruck. Her plum purple eyes seemed to get bigger and bigger the more she focused her gaze onto it. Anne and some of the children saw this and they ceased their social activities in their tracks. Anne slowly walked up to the frozen Clover. This is abnormal, as Clover is usually very energetic and hated staying still.

"What's wrong, Clover?" Anne asked politely. Clover didn't respond at all. Anne snapped her fingers in front of her face twice and waved her hand too, but it didn't work until a few seconds later. Clover slowly raised her hand toward the sky, and her index finger pointed toward the twilight sky. Anne looked up with it and caught sight of the object...and she was frozen with shock.

A very small but glimmering little star was discovered in the mauve and rosy sky. It glowed and shone brightly, the solitary little star. The sun was already coming out, but the star clung to the sky valiantly and continued to shine. Was it a morning star? Stars are normally present in the night, but never in the morning. The children and Raven looked up and happened to see the little star powerfully clinging to the morning sky, not wanting to be put to sleep until the night came. Everyone was in shock. They could no longer seal up their shock anymore. The star's appearance was so enthralling that Clover snapped.

"AHHHH!" Clover shouted with sudden glee.

"A morning star! Raven! Raven! Could this mean...!?" Anne exclaimed happily as she clapped her hands like a little child.

"Oh my God! I better tell everyone!" Raven exclaimed as she ran back into the house with blinding speed. Clover then caught sight of two trash cans that were near the house. Both of their lids were both on the grass.

The children began running around like crazy, as if they were suddenly on a high dose of sugar. Clover immediately ran to the trash cans and scooped up the lids. The birds began flying around the sky, chirping and twittering in a lyrical rhythm that almost sounded happy and joyful. A voluminous amount of birds appeared and began flying and chirping. Clover carried the lids and immediately ran to the large oak tree, right under the branch in which Pence is sleeping. Clover immediately opens the lids apart, arms akimbo, and suddenly...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Clover shouted and banged the lids between them like cymbals with all her might. The loud sound finally awoke Pence from his beauty sleep. The sound was so loud and piercing that his dark orange eyes shot open and his body shot up like a jack-in-a-box. His orange hat flopped around and hung from the side of his head, the little silver bell tinkling along with it joyously.

"Wake up, Percy!" Clover shouted. Pence immediately caught sight of her with his tangerine-colored eyes and was slightly choleric.

"Clover! Don't wake me up with those! And I told ya to quit callin' me Percy!" Pence yelled in a typical teenaged male voice.

"Come on! You're gonna be late!" Clover told him. Pence was confused.

"Late? Late for what?" Pence asked in confusion. It was Anne who answered for him.

"Look! A morning star is out! That means a new Esther is going to be born! That large egg that Suzu found is going to hatch!" Anne told him with excitement.

"Come on! You better hurry up!" Clover told him as she threw the trash can lids onto the floor and ran across the grass along with Anne and
the children, who were following. Pence was immediately overcome with excitement. Some birds flew past him as he grasped the situation.

"Well! If that's the case, then...!" Pence said as he sat up on the branch and closed his eyes as if he were waiting for something to appear right at that moment.

And lo and behold, something did happen? And what's this? Wings! Wings popped out of his back like magic! There were no holes in his night dress, so the wings appeared magically. They were large, pale yellow wings that shone like the sun's golden effulgence. Pence immediately looked toward the building and...jumped!

"Wait for meeeee!"

Pence leaped foward, jumping off of the branch and into the sky. His large, pale yellow wings flapped twice as he became one with the sky. He then began to descend toward Anne, Clover, and the children as he spread his arms out and moved his feet and legs toward the ground. His night dress was pushed against him by the wind as he descended onto the grass while barefoot. His feet finally made contact with the ground and began running toward the main entrance when he came across one of the windows and decided to stop.

"Now while I'm at it..." Pence muttered to himself when he walked up to the window and began banging on it with his hand. He was willfully trying to get a certain someone's attention.

"Hey Suzu! Wake up! Your giant egg's gonna hatch!" Pence screamed with glee as he tried to get the unknown attendant's attention. His wings fluttered slightly and his feathers ruffled as he moved.

"Suzu! Come on! Don't ya wanna see the egg hatch!? A new Esther's gonna be born! Hurry up! It's on the second floor!" Pence told the unknown attendant, but was so excited that he decided to give up and catch up with Clover and Anne. As he left, a small pair of eyes began watching him from the white curtains.

"Hey! Race ya there!" Pence yelled happily as he caught up with Anne, Clover, and the gleeful children as they ran around the building with such excitement and joy.

"You're on!" Clover replied with courage as she willfully tried to race up to Pence.

The many children turned left as they arrived inside the building and went down some hallways. They finally found a small flight of stairs that led to the second floor. They were oblivious to the fact that other people began chasing after them. They were much too focused on getting to the room that contained the "giant egg" that everyone is talking about. Much to everyone's surprise, even some birds flew into the building and began following them. There were many doors and rooms in the hallways, and their running caused quite a racket. The commotion was apparently waking everyone up. Clover was apparently screaming at the top of her lungs, shamelessly telling everyone indirectly that the giant egg is potentially going to hatch any minute and a new "Esther" is going to be born. Her attempt was successful, and very curious and joyful people began following them. Soon, they were finally arriving toward a mahogany door that was at the end of the second floor hallway. The door knob was gold. To their surprise, the door is already open! They were almost there. They finally approached the door and suddenly...

THUD!

Pence tripped over his bare feet as he finally managed to cross the threshold of the room, which was already occupied by many people already. Anne, Clover, and everyone else caught up to him.

"Hahahaha! I wiiiin!" Pence exclaimed happily as he gloated over his...hurtful yet exciting victory.

The room was already occupied. Raven is inside the room along with two other women. One woman looked to be in her early 20's, and has long, soft, and wavy brown hair, curled at the tips, along with matching brown eyes. She certainly looked like a polite and genteel young lady, fair skinned and pretty, slender and tall. She is wearing a short-sleeved lavendar-colored shirt over another white shirt along with a long, pale maroon skirt and brown slip-on shoes. The woman next to her has straight, long, dark, rosy pink hair that goes to her back. Some of her hair is braided and wrapped around her head while the rest of it is left to hang down her back. She also has violet eyes like Clover, only darker. She is wearing a long black dress with long sleeves and a large, white collar. The dress resembled that of a nun's, only this woman did not have the headgear that nuns normally wear on their heads (I don't know what they're called! Sorry!). The woman has a well-cut jaw like Pence's and a fine-looking face, but her eyes are sharp and she looked very cross.

All three women were standing in front of a large, opalescent, lucid, pristine white egg that is almost the height of a teenaged girl. It is sleek and flawless, and it's shell is a perfect shade of white and it looked absolutely magnificent and angelic. It is sitting on a large pile of soft blankets and pillows that were placed under it for protection. The room itself is quite large, but it is empty because everyone cleaned it out for the egg's safety. The curly-haired woman ambled toward Pence and helped him up.

"You all shouldn't have been running in the halls, but I can certainly understand why that is so," The curly-haired woman told him in a polite and lady-like voice.

"Hehehe. Sorry, but we were so excited to see it hatch that we couldn't help ourselves!" Pence replied with a laugh.

"We apologize for the trouble, Luljeta," Anne bowed politely in front of the brown haired lady, whose name is Luljeta. Luljeta smiled brightly at the children, but the pink-haired woman immediately walked toward them in a slightly cantankerous and cross manner.

"Percival! What do you mean by this!? You dare come into this room in your pajamas? How utterly impertinent and vulgar! You should know better than to run
around this house in your pajamas, especially when there are others around! Now go and change immediately! And while you're at it, wipe that drool off your chin!" The pink-haired woman chastised him crossly, but Pence, whose real name is actually Percival, retaliated.

"You're one to talk! So what if I'm wearing my pajamas!? I just woke up and got here! So what!? There's nothing wrong with oversleeping! Plus I wanna see that egg hatch with my own eyes! Besides, nobody here minds!" Pence replied sharply. Some of the children laughed in response to his comment. The pink-haired woman was about to respond, but Luljeta gently put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Now, Margery. There's no need to be angry. I'll handle this," Luljeta gently told the woman, Margery, and decided to talk to Pence.

"Pence. I know you're excited, but can you at least put something old on? You could get soaked with amniotic fluid once this egg hatches" Luljeta told him politely.

"Ah, fluid shmuid! I've gotten this thing soaked hundreds of times before! And I'm not gonna miss out on this thing! No ma'am!" Pence told her proudly.

"That's right!" Clover exclaimed.

"And maaaan, I soooo cannot wait for the new Esther to come out!" Pence exclaimed happily as he wrapped both his arms around Clover and Anne.

"I wonder if it'll be a boy or a girl? What's he or she gonna be like?" Pence asked the two bewildered young girls. Luljeta laughed while Margery said nothing and walked away from them.

"Suzu found this egg in one of your flower patches, didn't he, Luljeta?" Raven asked.

"He sure did! And he didn't even tell us about it until a week after he found it last month!" Luljeta replied with a smile.

"Luljeta's flowers are always pretty! That's why Estheran eggs are always found in them!" A small boy with messy and shaggy black hair yelled out loud.

"Keep your voice down, Tate!" Margery ejaculated crossly at the young boy.

"What's this new Esther gonna be like? I'm so excited!" A little girl with poofy and wavy light brown hair exclaimed joyfully.

"When's it gonna come out?" A boy with silver hair asked with excitement.

"If it's a girl, I wonder if she'll be my older sister?" One little girl with blonde hair and green eyes asked timidly.

A lot of discussion and excited noise permeated the room. Everyone was excited to a point where they couldn't stay still or keep their mouths shut for even a simple millisecond. Except for Margery, as she kept herself quiet and looked quite irritated at the moment. Even the little birds that are standing at the window began flying around excitedly, chirping loudly and musically, twittering like they're high on sugar. Raven, Luljeta, and Margery stayed quiet. Luljeta smiled at the joyful children. She herself wants to see the new Esther also. She had been taking care of the egg since Suzu found it approximately a month ago, but didn't tell her about it until a week after he found it. Luljeta understood why, but felt that it was important for everyone to know. Plus the egg would grow and grow until it reached it's limit before hatching completely.

Everyone was blithe and oblivious to the fact that the last person to arrive had finally appeared. A young boy he is. He has short but thick, foofy, and fluffy brown hair like Luljeta's. His large, round eyes were a perfect and exquisite shade of emerald green, as if they completely came from nature itself. He has a perfectly round and cute face and an innocent look in his eyes. He is a slim, supple creature with a quiet demeanor who had an aversion to pandemoniums and commotions of any kind. He is wearing a short-sleeved light blue pajama shirt along with matching pants that slightly went below his knees. He too is barefoot like Pence. He silently ambled toward the sight, while his gentle face began to have a pinched look in response to everyone's palavering. He ended up succumbing to the excitement, but he didn't show it. He gently went through the crowd of children and managed to walk up behind Pence. The young boy gently raised his hand and placed it on Pence's back, successfully grabbing his attention. Pence turned around and saw the small, slender boy looking up at him with his innocent, gentle, curious, and beautiful green eyes.

"Suzu, my boy! Here you are! Look how big your egg's gotten!" Pence exclaimed merrily as he wrapped his arms around the boy and directed him toward the large egg.

Suzu's large, green eyes focused on the large egg that everyone said that he'd found in a clump of Luljeta's self-planted flowers in the backyard garden. Suzu's luminous eyes became rather big as he focused his gaze onto the pristine, lucid white egg. It had certainly grown a lot bigger than when he found it long ago. A month ago, it was simply the size of a normal chicken's egg. Young Suzu had gingerly and gently taken the egg to heart and raised it for a while before he finally told Luljeta about it. Everyone became surprised and joyful. The egg had soon begun to grow to a size where it became too heavy for Suzu to carry, so he and Luljeta kept the egg in this room. Suzu had visited the egg on a daily basis and talked to it as if it were his best friend. This was normal, since lots of Esthers do this whenever they find an egg. They take it to heart and it becomes important to them. Suzu slowly ambled toward the egg and he kneeled before it with awe. Suzu then slowly but gently placed his small hand onto the egg's hard white shell. He then put his ear toward it to see if he could hear a noise coming from within it. Everyone watched as the timid boy closed his eyes as his round head was pushed against the eggshell. Everyone watched with anticipation and interest as Suzu touched and examined the egg.

Then! All to suddenly...Suzu could hear a faint gurgling sound coming from within the egg!

Suzu's eyes shot open as he heard it. Everyone saw this.

Then, the gurgling began to get louder and louder.

"Whoa! I heard it make a "bloop" sound!" Clover exclaimed. Even Margery stood up from her seat to watch.

The gurgling's pandemonium increased, and everyone gathered around to face the egg with curious and interested eyes. Then...

Crack!

A small crack popped from the egg, and pieces of it fell to the ground. Everyone, except Margery and Anne, moved closer toward the egg to watch it hatch. Soon, the crack slowly became bigger...and bigger...and bigger. The crack was ever too rapidly extending from that little spot to the entire egg! Everyone became excited and their eyes glowed with anticipation, though Margery and Anne left the room so that their clothes couldn't get wet from the amniotic fluid that Luljeta was talking about earlier. Then, the cracking sounds became louder and louder! Soon, the egg would be completely covered in cracks!

Until finally...

crackle crackle crackle...

Snap!

SPLASH!

A large wave of bright purple water consumed the entire room, like a tidal wave!

"Whooooooaaaaaaa!"

"Ack!"

The room was entirely wet! Even parts of the outside hallway got wet! The water broke through the door, but it didn't break it. Everyone was against the wall, soaked and surprised. Pence was the first to awaken himself. Clover was right next to him. Pence suddenly felt a strong compulsion to scream with excitement.

"WHOOOO! Hahaha! What a ride!" Pence exclaimed loudly. Clover followed suit and both children gave each other a high five.

"Waaaah! My clothes are wet!" Suzu wailed frightfully in a high-pitched young boy's voice.

"Don't cry about it, Suzu! We'll wash them later!" Pence told him with a reassuring and amiable smile. Then, Yoko, the blue-haired Esther, pointed toward the center of the room.

"Look!" Yoko cried out in surprise.

Someone was lying on top of Raven!

But Raven gallantly stood herself up while carrying the sleeping figure.

"Luljeta! Can you help me out with this one?" Raven asked.

Luljeta immediately ran to Raven and decided to help her. They decided to take it to one of the bathrooms to wash it up. Everyone else, all of whom got soaked by the amniotic fluid (except Margery and Anne), was delirious. Some of them became unconscious. Soon, Pence forced himself up and decided to wake up all the other Esthers. Thankfully, he had hidden his wings so they wouldn't be soaking wet. Anne came back and helped him out. She had put on an old apron that was longer than she is, but it's enough to cover her whole dress. Pence knew that the newborn was taken away by Raven and Luljeta to be cleaned up and taken care of, so Pence, Clover, Margery, and Anne decided to clean up the rest of the children and wake them up. The fluid had a kind of saccharine taste to it, but Pence tried to put this behind him as he carried the unconscious Tate along with another little girl. Pieces of the large egg had scattered everywhere, all over the room! Thankfully, they aren't very sharp and are easily broken.

Once everyone was cleaned up and changed into newer clothes, they all gathered in the living room in accordance to Margery's orders. Even the younger children were quiet but that didn't stop them from wondering about the newborn that they were unable to see because of the large wave of amniotic fluid. Clover was dressed in the same clothes that she did earlier. She had an extra pair. Pence got out of his soaked orange night dress and is now wearing a light brown shirt along with black jeans and red and white sneakers. Suzu is dressed in a sleeveless dark blue shirt and black shorts and is still barefoot. Yoko dressed herself in a new yellow and white cotton dress and white shoes. Everyone found it rather eccentric that they were unable to see the newborn, but felt that it was for the best. Raven and Luljeta were taking care of the newborn. Margery and the teenagers waited patiently while the younger children started to grow impatient. Soon, half an hour had passed and finally Luljeta appeared with a smile on her face.

"Everyone! It's a girl, and she's all cleaned up now" Luljeta told them. Everyone became overcome with excitement and decided to quietly follow Luljeta to a room on the other end of the second floor hallway. Once they finally arrived, they saw Raven and the newborn in a large bed.

The newborn was just absolutely beautiful. It is a pretty little girl. A slim, supple creature lying under the embrace of the large, light blue blanket and peacefully sleeping next to Raven, who is awake and watching her with a smile. She has semi-long, very light, pale brown hair that almost looked gold or blonde. Her skin was pristine white, white as snow, but had a tint of pinkness forming in her intelligent little face. Her slender body was tucked under the soft, comfortable blankets. She had been cleaned up nicely and was dressed in a white lace night grown to keep her clothed. Her golden brown hair spread out below her even though she was completely dormant. Everyone watched and groaned in awe as they finally gazed upon the sleeping newborn. The little girl did not look older than about 11 or 12 years old. Her head rested peacefully on the white pillows while Raven quietly sat next to her, with her golden eyes fixated on this girl that seemed to almost be practically the spitting image of an angel. The little girl had quite the angelic appearance. If only she had a halo and wings. Then, to everyone's joy and excitement, the little girl moved slightly and her long black eyelashes fluttered. Soon, her eyes finally began to peel open. The girl's eyes are revealed to be a stunningly lucid and sublime blue green color, almost like the ocean and the sky put together. The crystal green water, the stainless blue sky, together in the form of an angelic little girl's eyes. The girl also has small hands like they're an infants hands; soft, tender, and very tiny. This new little Esther is simply noble and sublime.

The young girl's eyes peeled open and she caught her first sight: a group of people looking at her with curious and interested eyes. Normally someone would scream and cry until something would coax her to calm down. But this newborn was not at all abashed by the many eyes that looked at her. In fact, she seemed very curious and looked at them in the same exact way. She looked quite decorous and her elegant blue green eyes looked very quaint and innocent, like a little child's eyes. Her hands looked very innocuous and soft. She looked at everyone with her exquisite blue green eyes and began observing everything and everyone around her. Everyone remained quiet but entranced and enthralled by her appearance. This little girl was quite robust indeed. Soon, the cluster of Esthers began talking to her quietly.

"Hello," The little girl with blonde hair and green eyes said gently and quietly.

"Hello there," The little girl with wavy light brown hair and light brown eyes said.

"Hello little Esther!" The silver haired boy exclaimed.

"Hello! Hello there!" Yoko said.

"Hello little princess!" Most of the younger children exclaimed. Soon, a whistling sound echoed in the room.

It came from Pence. He rolled his lips into an O shape and whistled like a bird in front of the young girl. His whistling almost sounded like an actual bird's singing. The girl seemed interested in Pence's whistling as she raised her head up to stare at him and Suzu, who was hiding behind him. Pence then stopped his whistling and hid his face behind his hands like he's pretending to cry into them, only he wasn't going to cry. Then, he quickly opened his hands and went "Boo!" in front of the girl. The girl tucked herself deeper into the bed and next to Raven, but slowly raised her head back up to look at his diamond-cut face. Pence chuckled happily at the sight. Right after that, the little girl let out a small laugh herself. Everyone was amused by this gesture that Pence did to get her attention. Soon, Clover saw something that caught her attention.

"Look! She's trying to get up!" Clover exclaimed with a smile.

It's true. The young girl was trying to push herself up and make herself sit upright. Raven saw this and gently put one hand on her back and another on her stomach to hold her up. But what the girl really wanted was to stand upright like everyone else is doing, so Raven decided to help her out of bed. Raven gently placed the newborn Esther on the floor and made her small, slender feet touch the floor.

"What little feet! I never saw such little feet! They're so cute!" Yoko exclaimed with glee. Suzu peered out from behind Pence to observe the little girl. Raven held the girl by her hand so that way she could keep her balance. Soon, Raven slowly let go of the girl's hand and saw that she was standing perfectly without falling down.

Clover immediately walked in front of her and started walking around her, her purple eyes fixated on her majestic appearance. The newborn's blue green eyes were fixated on Clover as well. Clover walked around her and the newborn Esther's eyes could not avoid her gaze. Clover moved around slowly, then right when she went in front of the girl again, Clover quickly walked away, causing the girl to wobble and move her legs quickly. The girl walked a bit! She fell into Raven's arms.

"Kinda wobbly, isn't she?" Clover asked. Luljeta was surprised by Clover's rather snide remark.

"Clover!" Luljeta chastised the green-haired girl, who seemed crestfallen by Luljeta's slight crossness.

"Well she is," Clover murmured to herself before turning back to the girl.

Raven decided to put the girl back into the bed, so the girl cooperated and went back under the blankets. But she sat upright with her small hands folded. Raven pulled out a brush and decided to do her hair. Raven pictured the girl with two long braids in her mind and wanted to make that vision a reality. She had on her two little blue ribbons that she wanted to use. Raven gently brushed the girl's hair with the yellow brush and it's brown bristles. Everyone watched with interest, but it seemed Luljeta wanted to get the morning over with.

"Alright everyone. I suppose it's time we all left. Breakfast is almost ready," Luljeta told everyone. Everyone complied and decided to leave the room.

"Raven. I'll let you handle the little angel here" Luljeta told Raven with a smile.

"I'll take good care of her, Luljeta. I'll see you later" Raven told her with a smile. Luljeta smiled back and decided to leave. But the only one who didn't leave yet was Clover. She wanted one last glimpse of the newborn Esther.

Raven was oblivious to Clover's presence as she began to slowly and gently braid the girl's hair. Raven had many thoughts in her head. 'This girl has golden brown hair that almost looks blonde. She looks like an angel. I want to raise her as one too. I wonder how she died as a human? Does she want to be reborn? What will her wings be like? All of us Esthers have wings of a certain color. What color will her wings be once they grow? I don't want her to be scared or frightened by them like Suzu is. This new life came into Araceli, the city beyond the clouds, where we Esthers reside. What does she want to be reborn as? I'm sure she must have been a very good little girl in her human life. Golden brown hair...golden...golden...I wonder if that name will work?'

As Raven is finally finishing up the girl's braids, she finally noticed Clover staring at her with her violet eyes, curious and gleeful.

"What are you still doing here, Clover?" Raven asked strictly.

"I wanna look at her a little more," Clover replied quickly.

"It's impolite to stare," Raven told her.

"I know, but she's so pretty! I can't stand looking away from her!" Clover exclaimed.

"I'm sure everyone else feels that way too. Go down and get some breakfast. Once I freshen this girl up, you can play with her all you want. Now go and get breakfast. They have pancakes" Raven told her.

"But one question" Clover said.

"What is it?" Raven asked.

"What'cha gonna call her?" Clover asked with curiosity. Raven smiled down at the girl who is looking at her with her deep and lucid blue green eyes.

"Well...I think I'll call her...Oria" Raven told Clover quietly. Clover pondered the name.

"Oria...hmmm...Yeah, I guess that'll do alright" Clover said and finally left the room. Raven finally finished braiding the girl's hair and tied the blue ribbons on them.

"She's beautiful," Raven murmured to herself. The girl looked up at her with her blue green eyes and smiled gently at her. Her smile was small but it was bright as a sunflower. Raven's face turned a little red and she blushed, but Raven continued to smile at the girl and prove to her that she is not a threat. Raven then stood up and looked down at the young girl.

"My child...you are an Esther. You have become one of our bretheren. Welcome to Araceli...Esther Oria,"

The newborn child, Oria, is now officially a native Esther of the altar in the sky, Araceli.

Author's Note: Yes! I finally finished the first chapter of this! And boy, am I super proud of how this came out! I wish it was longer, but I'm happy with how it is anyway! I'm really excited to work on this story. I can't seem to focus on any other story! I haven't even been thinking about TCR, even though I wanna redo some chapters and add new ones to it! I really want to work on this story more! I'm on spring break this weekend and I'm gonna finish up some anime! Anyway, I better go now. I'll see you all later! Read and review nicely please! NO FLAMES! Bye-bee!