It was a dreary, overcast day. The insipid grayness matched the bitter cold of the weather. The Mackenzie stuck to the mountain rather than roaming in the lower valley of the Hinterlands, coming upon Ghost Lion Crag. She heard this was the area mountain lions lingered in the Wilds. Feeling a bit reckless, Zsuzsa traversed to this area to check on the population to see how saturated the feline inhabitants were. Unfortunately, she was sorely disappointed as there was no sight of any felines anywhere as of yet. Perhaps they already moved into deep crevasses of the crag for the Winter or were hunting in more densely covered forests of the valley. Giving her paws a break as she had been active with exploring the Hinterlands the last couple of days, Zsuzsa was at an elevation to where she looked out along the horizon and saw as far as the northern point of Alpine Lake in the distance. She was on the side of the crag that hugged the river spilling into the lake; simply following that river from the Strath to here in her wanderings.
Overhead, the Raven was a stark contrast against the grayed skies. There was something peculiar about the Raven’s behavior in the last several weeks. Zsuzsa discovered the Raven watching her sleep. She would wake occasionally during the night and see the Raven’s beady gaze stare at her blankly, coldly. The Raven would also be much closer than it usually kept itself to her during the daytime hours. She often snapped at it in irritation when she discovered it doing this but didn’t know why the Raven was suddenly testing itself to be in much closer proximity to her than it usually was. The avian always carried some sort of
dread with it, as if her prior pack sent the bird as a messenger to spy on her. The Raven descended from the skies, landing on a boulder not too far from where she sat.
Zsuzsa simply observed the Raven in silence, giving a sigh. Even on overcast days such as this, it was a reminder of a shadow that never disappeared from her.
Birds had many, many meanings.
From the mockingbird that caws leeringly, to the noble eagle as a stalwart guardian... All life forms had merrit in some way. Some use that even those they chose to attach themselves to didn't find. It fell to her, a beast of omen, to sometimes nudge their masters to accept them.
Though having no familiar for herself yet, the spook was not averse to such things. She saw the pair from a distance and approaches. Her fur is subtle and pale; only the eyes and faint markings were seen against the background. Coming to a halt as the woman breathed a sigh, she glanced at the raven.
Then back.
"It likes you" she smiled, though it did not reach her neutral eyes somewhat. It was as if the smile was false and she was making conversation through it. To appear normal. "how long have you had it follow?" The spook circles the rock where the raven rested, but made no move to lunge at it. A passing curiosity, to be sure.
From the distance approached another canine that was just as somber as the day. She was pale with silver markings and instantly took an interest in the perched Raven. In turn, the Raven saw her approach as well. Ruffling its feathers, the Raven cocked its head to the side in an inquisitive manner and blurted a caw at the lone female. Zsuzsa watched this interaction silently at first, mildly fascinated the Raven was actually interacting (somewhat) with another canine.
The pallid female remarked how the Raven took a liking to the Acolyte, to which Zsuzsa gave a short laugh. ”I would like to think so, but I don’t know about that.” She responded, mentally recalling the last time the Raven interfered in giving her presence away during a hunt. ”Since Autumn. Too long for my liking though.” Zsuzsa lamented when the other asked how long the Raven followed her. ”If you have any suggestion on how to rid of this thing, I’m all ears.” She didn’t understand the benefit of having this avian hover around. It was an annoyance and constant reminder of being followed, giving an edge of paranoia to her.
"Aw" she cooes, shoving her face nearer to the avian in an almost loving manner. The woman rejects the bird's presence in one fell swoop, asking to be rid of it "you can kill it, I should think that would be the end of your problems?" Just a guess though. A little answer.
She would love a fresh raven corpse for her rituals. Perhaps if the other wouldn't eat it... "Very rarely does a raven follow a wolf if not to eat their leftovers" she sings, lifting a paw to attempt to touch the raven but removes her paw just as fast. "this one is special."
Familiars were not to be harmed by a witch. "They are not bad omens. They give the sight. Perhaps it wishes you to have more out of life... To see beyond what you can?"
The Raven balks at the pale female, clicking its beak and giving a caw. Upon the suggestion of killing it, Zsuzsa lightly sighed. ”Already tried.” It may have been a cold thing to admit. There were a couple of times in the past she had (severely unsuccessfully) attempted to snap at it but it was always out of reach. The Raven knew better to keep a distance from Zsuzsa… except for these recent episodes of watching her sleep.
Fluttering its wings, the Raven hopped off its perch and bounced away when the pale female raised a paw to it, showing that it held cautious regard to the other just in case. When she mentioned special, Zsuzsa eyed the bird, then turned her glance back with a quirked brow. ”How can you truly tell if its ‘special?’” Looked like an ordinary Raven to her but Zsuzsa was interested to hear the female’s theory.
Elaborating further on how it wasn’t a bad omen, that was somewhat reassuring to hear but didn’t have her convinced entirely. Mentioning sight and seeing beyond, Zsuzsa took a moment to thoughtfully consider. ”To see beyond… does that make this a spirit guide then?” It seemed like the Raven followed her more than she followed it. She never took a firm belief in all the spiritual and religious figures but would hear this female out on her perspective.
"Well" the spook smirks as the raven takes off, cautious and rightly so of her presence "if it was a dumb beast, it would already be dead, no?" Special held many meanings as well. What is truly special? What is not? It was only special if one made it special.
"A mediator" she breathes, eyes focusing on the bird and only the bird "between life and death. They connect the dead spirits to the living... if you believe in such things." She chuckles darkly, her sight now to the ebony woman.
She had seen the like of bird and wolf working together. From above, the raven could communicate distant sight. It could recall what was ahead. It took years for such things to work, especially if the user was not a very... open person to such insights.
The pale female had a point. As Zsuzsa only lightly observed the behaviors of Ravens in the past, they seemed to be more of the intelligent species of avian that worked together amongst themselves. ”Mm. Suppose you’re right.” The Acolyte mused, now looking thoughtfully at the Raven. It simply stared back with its cold, beady eyes with occasionally looking at the two females. It definitely seemed like some gears was turning in its little bird brain.
The occult always fascinated Zsuzsa and she did believe certain things to a degree of it. Her eyes lit up some when she came to an inner realization. ”So then… kind of like a messenger from the beyond? Would this be how spirits communicate?” Zsuzsa believed in the paranormal and already her mind was wondering what dead relative of hers was trying to speak to her from the grave.
"The raven can sever the mortal and spirit realm, gliding effortlessly into each one and staying for a remainder of time" the spook's tone grew whimisical and wise at the same time as she addressed, her pale eyes glossy and faraway it would seem "it can ferry messages to the dead as well as the living."
The other woman seemed intrigued by such things. "Yet the deads' messages take a, ah, bit to decipher" a practiced, learned mind, for instance. "the dead hold no border on language, you see... they can communicate easily with birds as well as wolves. The living oft fall deaf to other tongues."
She stops, creaking her neck to look half-way at the female. "Do you seek the deads' wisdom, cherie?"
EDIT: Closing thread out.
Listening with a close ear, Zsuzsa had no idea a creature such as a Raven would have the capabilities of bridging the mortal and spiritual world together. The more Zsuzsa listened to what the female had to say, the more it began to make sense. The Raven appeared to her in a time of desolation and despair. She could never gauge the temperature on how the Raven felt toward her, but something drew it to her in a sign of communication other than the words they spoke. Perhaps Zsuzsa had to stop acting so nonchalant toward it and actually start paying attention to the language it was trying to convey.
Suddenly becoming deep in thought about all this, her attention was brought back to reality when the pale female asked a question. Her lilt and language of her tongue danced sweetly off her tongue. ”I… it would be helpful.” Zsuzsa had trouble answering that. Did she seek out a message, guidance, protection maybe? ”What is the best way to do this, to make sure the messages are interpreted?" It always felt like a one-way means of communication. She looked with a concerned glance at the Raven who was still watching the two wolves, tilting its head in its own questioning every now and then.
The two females talked more in-depth about the symbolism of the Raven until it was time for Zsuzsa to retreat back to the Strath. She gained new insight into the avian which, she did not think of it as much as a burden to her after all.