Raven Feathers

The big black bird sat majestically and proud high upon his favorite perch. He has been coming here every morning for weeks scouting for any new opportunities that may present themselves. Cocking his head and blinking his eyes, he waits, always relying on his senses, aware of his surroundings.

He hears a familiar noise and pivots around on his perch for a better look. Excitement fills his core as he spots his new shiny animal through the colorful array of fall time leaves; yes, that is her. He recognizes her sparkling aura, so prismatic and clean.

Hopping over to another branch, he marvels at the beauty of his new animal; she is shinier than the toys he has collected and jumps down further to lower limbs; he does not want to lose sight of her; can't lose sight of her! The drive within him to follow this tiny creature was great and urgent.

He had only seen her once before, immediately drawn to her; he had patiently followed her all day long until she was safely back inside her nest. He has not seen her again until now; she was his, belonging only to him; he was sure of that.

He could sense she was at peace and happy today. She was skipping down the road in a hopping-type motion quite like his own bound, only she was making very musical sounds as she went. Unlike his 'kraa' calls, her songs were beautiful; he wanted to sing with her. He will remember her tune and work on it later. He can easily mimic the sounds of the other creatures in his territory; he would mimic hers as well.

He hops quickly from tree to tree, completely content just following and observing, not too close to be noticed but not too far away either. He watches as she pauses momentarily to look at the pretty and colorful plants before continuing along her way. He doesn't know why he feels the need to be close to her, and he doesn't wonder why.

She does not venture too far before she suddenly stops. Something in her has changed, her aura now a deep dark blood red. Cocking his head frantically, he desperately seeks to spot the source of her immediate alarm. There, over there behind the old rotten building across the road, black aura! He quickly looks back at his animal; she is moving now, faster towards her destination. Good, she will be safe.

He now hops off his branch and takes flight flapping his massive wings to gain height for a better view. The large mammal with the black aura is still there, not moving, just watching his pretty little animal with the sparkling light disappear around the next bend. He circles around silently, gliding through the cool air until he spots a good perch where he can blend into his surroundings. He lands quietly on the windowsill of a neighboring building, the black aura; why is it here?

For a very long time, he sits and waits for it to leave. Nervously he keeps twitching his wings, ignoring the constant itch from the never-ending mite bites. His only focus is on the beast below, and he watches intently as it slowly stands up and starts pacing back and forth. It doesn't seem to want to go. Instead, it crouches back down, peering around the building, searching for its innocent victim.

He can see the impatience surrounding this malicious animal. Finally, it rises once more and starts to walk away in the other direction from the road, disappearing into the thickness of the forest. Good! Relief fills his tiny body, and he begins to relax.

Staying on the windowsill just long enough until he felt it was safe, he hops off and glides down to the same rotten building that smelled like death. Investigating, he picks up the filthy rancid scent that thing left behind. He can't stand it and bounds quickly away until he finds a pure spot to rest.

The biting nips are too much, and he lifts one wing to peck out the nasty parasites. He will just clean this one side before searching for his shiny animal.

He is just about to take flight when he hears something crashing its way through the thick brush, loudly snapping dead branches under its feet. He feels immediate alarm and flies back to the same windowsill instantly spotting the same evil beast. It returns with heavy, angry steps towards the same spot it just left.

He can’t stand the sight of it, the smell of it, its anger, and the black light that surrounds it, he needs to drive this threat elsewhere, away from his territory and his shiny treasure; she belongs to him.

Determined, he takes flight and calls for others nearby, signaling the sounds of available food. More of his kind to help would be better. It works; he hears their hungry answers; they are on their way.

The angry animal looks up at him and he can feel its evil penetrating eyes following his swift movements high above; he does not like it, this dark creature watching him from below. He continues to circle lower and lower, feeling the cool air ruffling through his feathers; he must remain patient.

The dark animal crouches, getting closer to its destination, it steps careful and silent now; like a stealthy cat. Its wicked stench wafts upwards, engulfing and invading his Raven beak, sending off alarms in his head. He can feel it; the time is now! He needs to drive this thing far away from here!

With a quick flap of his enormous wings, he dives down just as the others arrive. They, too, can see the black aura surrounding this creature, instantly knowing what it means. Together like a synchronized bobbing dance, they continuously dive and soar back up. The dark animal below barks at them loudly, waving its limbs, trying its best to wave them off.

The creature will not leave; it stands its ground and fights back. Why will it not go? Any other animal they have attacked fled; this one does not. ‘Enough!’ Diving further down, he tries to claw at the head of this invasive intruder. It starts flailing its limbs harder in self-defence, trying desperately to ward off the onslaught of slapping wings and sharp lunging beak.

Finally, in exasperation, the creature curls its paw and takes a measured swing hitting its mark. At the precise moment, the creature touched his Raven feathers; knowledge enveloped the big black bird, he knew instantly what this thing was.

Like a bolt of thunderous lightning, the premonition begins like a dream full of a continuous motion of nightmarish sights and sounds. The black aura turns darker, thicker as the animal silently stalks his prey. This evil predator follows his tiny target until the time is just right before introducing himself, enticing her with pretty little gifts of empty promises. Upon gaining her trust, he gently leads her away from her kind, away from the road, from safety, her future. It wants to play with his victim, hear her screams, to hurt and maim, then slowly kill her for his own sick pleasure until her light sparkles no more.

"NO! NO!" he calls out loudly, shaking himself back into reality. He mimics the sound he has heard before. He is no longer bobbing or diving; he now hovers and forcefully thrusts his wings in the face of this malevolent creature driving him back. With every backward step the animal takes, he pushes his wings harder, maneuvering the evil beast out into the open.

The others join in following his lead. "No! No!' they mimic chanting in unison, driving it further, pushing it out onto the road. Together they swirl around him, blinding him to his surroundings until they slowly guide him into just the right spot before sensing the necessity to soar away.

Ignoring his own need to leave the area, he keeps attacking the predator; the premonition had a bleeding effect on him. He wanted to hurt, maim and slowly kill this dark thing in front of him.

In the middle of the kill or be killed frenzy, the Raven saw the beast's black aura instantly change to a blinding bright red. Suddenly out of nowhere, he was hit hard, enough to send him tumbling down the rough asphalt of the road, his detached black feathers thrown swiftly up before drifting softly off to the side, landing gently in lush green grass.

Coming to a complete stop, he breathes heavily, unmoving. Momentarily stunned, he lays there blinking his eyes, trying to stay focused. Why was he there? What happened? Unbearable pain seeps into his brain; yes, the beast, get it away from here. He slowly flaps one broken wing trying with great difficulty to continue his mission.

He can no longer move and needs to rest; he moves his head to search for the thing that wants to harm what he is here to protect. He sees it, the hateful animal. It, too, was thrown onto the hard pavement, lying in a crumpled twist on the other side of the road. It is over. He knows the threat is gone as he watches the man's dark light fade into a sickening greyish hue before disappearing like a small puff of smoke.

***

The big black bird sat majestically and proud high upon his favorite perch. Cocking his head and blinking his eyes, he waits for the familiar sound that announces the approaching skipping steps of his human, the little girl with the sparkling aura, so prismatic and clean.