Ravensblood Forest your life's a dimestore novel

When the stranger began to run his mouth, Screech quieted. He listened aptly but was tense, ready to strike out if they chose to give in to temptation and do something to him. The insults slid off of him like they were mist, and he had his good eye trained upon the stranger up until the retreat.

...I'll be back when the crows circle overhead. Promised the masked man as he fled. When he was gone, Screech couldn't relax in the slightest; he felt his gut roll and thought he might be sick, but there was nothing inside of him ready to come out. He lay there while a stillness settled all around but he was anything but still - looking around from where the stranger departed to the terrain in every direction, trying to ascertain if this was a safe place for him to rest.

Not that he had a choice.