Goodness Gracious I'm sorry that I can't shorten it at the moment and it's kinda long on mobile. I wrote a little Drabble about my crow babb, if you wanna read it. All was silent All was still. For tonight, the Alternian moons shone over the sprawling forest landscape in an area untouched by the usual populace of the planet. Uncountable stars sparkled, spread across the vast empty sea of space above. The almost dead breeze breathed across the trees, swaying their leaves soundlessly. The tranquility was touched upon by wings beats softly sounding in the far reaches. A figure cloaked in black flew over with wings darker than the night itself, skimming over the tree tops and keeping low. There was a teal glow where their eyes would be, and a rather somber expression overall. This flight had been a while coming, and it was long, but nearing the end. The right wing, noticeably more ruffled than the other, was recently healed and finally in working condition for long flights. That being said, the traveller felt the need to return home for one sole purpose. Home, being the grounds of which her old tribe laid claims. One of the few Avian tribes left, in fact. That was of no concern however, as the task at hand was far more important. The destination was set at a cave opening at the base of the a mountain, the biggest of the range and the back bone of the two tribes on either side it loomed over. Mooncatcher, some have named it in their many lore. Be what it may be, the crow alighted on the mossy ground right outside the opening. She looked it over, noting the orderly language symbols covering the walls going inside. With a fluid motion the avian removed her cloak to hang it on a branch outside, walking in with talons clicking quietly on the cold rock floor. She appreciated all the carvings done into the wall, recognizing most of them as titles to legends and epics of avian stories. As much as the writings were interesting, more so was the dim candlelit glow and scratching noise of a pen coming from within the rooms ahead. A larger avian, hunched over at his desk with a furiously scribbling quill in his hands, sat inside. Cyeryl could notice the place had not changed in her month of absence, the raven still buried under a mound of scrolls, scriptures, books, and whatever whatnot he'd write endlessly. The same soothing smell of ink and parchment still reigned strong as well. The crow clearly saw that her hatchmate was still rather underfed, overworked, and exhausted from his usual stubborn refrain from sleep. His feathers and hair were messy and unclean with ink splotches, to be clean later. His robes, bless the elders for giving him the comfiest scribe robes, were still frayed at the joints and stained everywhere. The thief gave a cough, the writer's head raising with a snap. Cyeryl winced, realizing he had probably not gotten up for nights. The fact that he was tired only added to the rapidly tense air in the room. "Porret, I'm back." She said with a wide grin, nervousness hidden just underneath. "As I see." The raven turned around in his chair to look at his thief, tired pale blue eyes gazing at her with an unidentifiable emotion. "I-" "Pray tell, what were you up to for an entire month? Galavanting off with your wingless crush and defying orders again? Or did they finally see the wisdom in refusing your company?" Porret cut her off before even one word, each of his calm and stagnant. He had probably waited to say that for days coming. Cyeryl flinched as they were spoken to her, looking a little irritated that he had started on this so early. It wasn't smart to get riled up so easily or soon though. "My wing broke when I fell out of a building wrong, so I stayed with my /mATESPRIt/ while it healed. My apologies if staying with someone I love upset you." Her answer had a soft hiss at the quadrant. Porret silently narrowed his eyes at the crow. This argument had been batted back and forth between them for some time after the thief's actions in the past got them both kicked from being inside the protection of the tribes. "You realize you'll have to come back and stand trial. You'll have to take responsibility for once on the matter of us getting sent to live out here. Your bloodline rests on this too. Mine should be fine since the tribes need a scribe that can keep up with them... But you're.." "Useless?" Cyeryl's feathers puffed out in anger as she felt a growl at the back of her throat. "I might have been the reason we had to leave, but the fact that you constantly hold it over my head will not make me go back. You've used that excuse to leave me to die before! You've always had YOUR interests before my life, and I'm sick of listening to you constantly vindicating me for being alive!" Her voice grew steadily louder with each argument, black talons starting to dig into the hard floor. "Cyeryl-" The raven started. "NO! I'm not going to listen to you anymore! I have, for the past TWENTY FIVE SWEEPS! I keep thinking you'll change, you selfish fucking excuse for an avian! I was left to die the last time I asked you for help! You KNOW I can't help it when I get the urge to steal and I ASKED for you to help me Porret! I begged, on my knees, for you to find some way to shut these voices up!" Cyeryl was shaking by now as she yelled her anger at her hatchmate. Porret's eyes were certainly wide as he heard her voice drop with a crack in it. "You know what you did that day, Porret? When I asked for help? You turned your back and said I DESERVED THIS! I NEVER ASKED TO BE THIS WAY, AND YOU KNEW IT." With a stamp on the ground and a vicious snarl, the crow breathed heavily after her fury. She could barely see through the teal tears she hadn't even noticed were now dropping down her cheeks. "And I don't care, about that stupid mother bird thing or whatever. I'm never continuing my lineage if this is what they'll go through, if they have to have their own family turn their backs on them. Well you know what? I'm never coming back. I have a home and someone who's fine with who I am. I... I don't know if she'll want me around for much longer, but at least I'm happy, and that's infinitely more than this place has and ever will do!" There wasn't even time for Porret to get up when she ran out, the crow taking to the skies instantly while snagging her cloak. It was unlikely the scribe would follow her, much less fly. He never was good at it in the first place. Back home the traveller would fly again with the moon's light on her wings. Back home to the quiet treehouse she'd stay and mope around for however long until she either caved and visited her fox, or the other way around happened. Either way, it would let the avian shove everything from tonight back down into memories she'd rather never keep. Besides, she still had a certain gift to obtain soon, hopefully without any broken bones in this attempt.
