Upon emerging from the cocoons in which they first appear in the world, Haibane appear to be normal human beings. Shortly afterwards, Haibane painfully grow feathered wings from their backs, and are given halos specially forged for them by the Haibane Renmei, which may take a few days to float properly over their heads. They always have a sense that they used to live in another place and were someone else, but they cannot remember where or who they were. Haibane are generally children or teenagers when they come into the world; adult Haibane are not shown or mentioned in the series, except for Kuramori.