Raven's Watch oh the wind is blowing, it hurts your skin

@Lumiya

there are birds. there are so many birds.

caw stands with paws planted on the dirt, staring up at the mountain. he has been walking for so long, and he has been starting to wonder if leaving was the best idea. but now – here is the proof! all atop the cliffside there are ravens, outlined against the sky, cawing so loudly it carries on the still night air.

“it is good luck!” caw says excitedly, near to vibrating on the spot. his tongue lolls eagerly from his jaws as he twists his head over his shoulder, blinking at the crow perched there. “you see? just like if we were home.”

vrána croaks at him, brushing her beak over his muzzle. this is good! caw grins toothily at her, wiggling like a squirrel caught in a wolf’s jaws, and prances forward, allowing his passenger to sweep up and back into the air. he watches her go until she is indistinguishable from the rest of the birds in the air, difficult to see against the purpling sky.

there are so many things to do! there are ravens, but they need the proper offering before he can ask anything of them, including their permission to sleep beneath their cliffs. meat, perhaps? or…

loping forward, caw combs his mind through the list of his herbs. mugwort, oak, lavender…he will have to ask vrána to remove a feather from the ruff around his neck, of course! it is a shame to lose any of them, but there will be plenty more if his offering is accepted.

The fae queen had done a great service to the realm, she believed - in turn, it would grant her her one wish. She'd still have to work hard for it, but with each passing day she felt the strength of her court growing. Old fae folk and new souls alike would soon join their voices together in a song of victory and perseverance, one they'd deserved fair and square. The inner realm of the willows they'd call home, hopefully forever more - and soon, in spring time, they'd welcome the newest generation of faeries within the Seelie Court. Of course, not after celebrating at the midsummer festival, be it a bit late, and the one in midwinter. It was all so exciting, she found, and it put her in a good mood.

Loinnir, her albino owl companion, stood stately 'pon her moonbeam back. His head whipped around as the fae took him to unexplored lands for both of them. She'd wondered what had been up here for a while, but recent events had kept her from coming to take a look - but, of course, the Gods of fate would allow her now that her job was done.

What she found was a man, painted in colors similar to her own - be it a darker palette, and a gaze of a bloodied red. He stood 'top the Raven's Watch, the birds which it was named after decorating the scene. Were those feathers sticking out his mane - was he a raven turned wolf?

Greetings. The small fae spoke in a voice akin to a melody, curtsying in greeting should the man turn to take a look at the girl that had come to visit.

the ravens stare down at him as he snuffles around the base of the cliff. they are suspicious. this is understandable! hopefully it will not be for long.

he can remember this. lavender likes…dryer weather…and there is water nearby, he can smell it. this is unfortunate. also, it is dark so it is difficult to see – also unfortunate. this is okay, though. he has a good nose, after all, and a friend to help. if he can’t find what he needs now – he can come back in the morning.

he is going to try though! raising his head, he yips for vrána, who spirals back down out of the air to land on his shoulder like a scrap of torn cloth.

“hello! i know what we are looking for.” caw looks around. “blood is the best, but it is hard. you tell me if you can find it.” he waits for the dip of vrána’s head before continuing. “good! and then there is the lavender, mugwort, oak. no nightshade until we know them. just to be safe.”

so absorbed in this conversation is caw – and paying so little attention to anything that is not the ravens – that he does not notice anything until vrána stops watching him and starts watching someone else instead.

he does not even have the chance to question it.

caw flips around like a startled deer in headlights at the voice, but being the way he is, he immediately starts towards them, yipping curiously. he has been told at least a dozen times not to do this, but there is no fun in that! and there are no parents here to scold him! there is only vrána. she has given up.

and he has to get close to see! it is a little hard in this light. this is sad because she is very pretty, her fur all black and white just like his. her eyes are not red like his, though. caw has to squint to see, but one looks to be purple, the other snowy white. and she has a bird! it is not a raven or crow, but his tail wiggles as he sees it anyways.

“hello!” wait. that is not right. “hello!” he tries again, this time in heavily accented english. “caw is name.” he gestures with his nose to his crow. “this vrána!” introductions thus made, he peeks over her shoulder as best he can, staring after the little bird perched on her back. “you have owl?”

She feels bad for startling the guy, but not for very long as he pads toward her - making a noise she barely recognized as speech. She steps backwards a little as he now startled her, almost making Loinnir and herself take a tumble as one of her hind legs ends up in something akin to a pothole. It makes her swallow her spit wrong, actively choking on it, and she begun coughing. Loinnir hooted in response, flapping his majestic wings to try and get a stable grip on the now vibrating woman.

But her panicked response was probably for nothing, she realizes, as he greets her and then introduces himself and his companion in broken English. Gr-... She got out before another fit of coughs hit her. Greetings! She responded, stressed. This wasn't going well at all. I'm Lumiya, and this here is Loinnir. She composed herself as she spoke, getting a stable grip on the earth again and acting like the queen she was. Your bird's name sounds like some of my friend's names - what language is it? She asked then, curious - it wasn't every day she met someone with a familliar.

caw pays no attention at the best of times. not to anything that isn’t fun! that is their rituals and omens, and plants, and seashells, and shiny objects, because their name is not just for their fur. this is to say they missed out big time on the “proper social interaction” part of their childhood. or were, more likely, off goofing around when the lessons were handed out.

he does stop when she stumbles backwards, though. he does not mean to scare people! not right now, anyways. luckily for her, this complete lack of comprehension as to how someone is supposed to act keeps caw from seeing anything as particularly odd.

“lumiya,” caw parrots, and then, with eyes widening, “loinnir!” he wiggles more. this is familiar! he has found someone else! “yes! is good choice.”

muzzle angled in the owl’s direction, he leans forward, eyes glittering. “you have a pretty name! it fits you well.”

to her question, caw clicks his tongue and looks back to vrána, hosting a quick whispered conversation. they know her language! not as well as their own. it is not used as often as his own anymore. “is slovenian! is language some use back at home. not same for all of us. most speak irish! just like loinnir.” he leans in, buoyed by this information. “caw’s name not caw! is caróg, but hard to say if not from home. mean crow.” he puffs up a little at the announcement, very visibly proud of this fact. “is good name, yes?”

The strange man repeated the names she'd given him, but his enthusiasm was very infectious. Though he had seemed slightly bonkers, perhaps he was just another lone soul in this realm, happy to meet someone else for a change. She could relate to that, though the queen fae herself was rather reserved in comparison. He calls their names good choices, and the fae simply mentally shrugs at this. She wasn't here to debate on the accuracy of names being someone's own choice - then again, now that she thought about it, someone could hypothetically simply go by whatever name they wanted. Perhaps there was more truth to it than she had initially thought.

The feathered man speaks in a different language, addressing Loinnir. He seemed to swell with pride and let out a small hoot in response. Whatever the man had said, Loinnir had understood and it had inflated his ego even more - unnecessarily so, as the bird was already vain.

She tilted her head in interested as he went on to explain. She wondered if his parents had named him something meaning crow before or after he had gotten his familiar and begun sticking feathers in his mane. He was a peculiar soul, there was no doubt about. I suppose we faeries have Irish origins then - how interesting. Perhaps some of the older members back at the original court knew, but this was her first time connecting the dots. She liked Irish. She liked this peculiar, red-eyed man. It is a good name - very fitting, though do forgive me for just using Caw, I'd hate to butcher your beautiful language. She spoke sweetly, all of it meant.

What were you doing? I can't help but feel like I interrupted something important.

caw grins toothily at loinnir’s response. he is happy to have made a good impression! there are not many people who even understand his tongue.

“faerie?” caw’s head tips. this is also a word he knows, even if it is english! it is important to know who they are in any language. protectors, creatures of the moon – dangerous but only if you are unkind to them, or the lands they guard. his scarlet gaze returns to lumiya, even more curious than before. “you are faeries?” he has heard the stories! he has just never expected to find them. the sidhe take many forms, of course…but he has not expected one to be wolf! he looks curiously from side to side. “where is place you protect? and others?”

briefly distracted from this revelation by her compliment, caw wags his tail, nodding again. “thank you! is good! is what name is for.” he is beginning to resemble a bobblehead on the dash of a car going down one of those really shitty back roads. but! this is just very exciting! there are not only friendly people here, but there are faeries!

surely she will understand what he is doing here, then! “yes! am finding plants for…” he points eagerly with his muzzle at the looming cliffs, where the ravens wheel and call amongst each other. “am new here. and is not good to sleep or hunt here without offering! cliffs belong to ravens. is bad manners.” his voice slopes into the next words, low and warning. it is not good to take this lightly. “bad luck.”

The owl spoke not and communicated only in hoots and body language - but he seemed to understand many languages. Lumiya was a bit jealous of him for it; she only knew the local tongue, English, and apparently a few Irish words. The old court's ranks had been in Irish she now realized - she knew it had been a different language, but hadn't known it was the same one Caw spoke. She had gotten Loinnir's name from the ranks, not realizing it fit unusually well. She just thought it sounded pretty.

Her eyes widened with interest as the man repeated the word faerie, as if he had heard it before. She didn't remember him being at the old court, so that couldn't be it - but she knew the concept of faeries was not a new one. It surely was spread far and wide, and seeing as Caw spoke Irish, perhaps it had stemmed from his culture as well. What an interesting thought! She motioned with her head to somewhere behind her. Our willow forest is near here. We settled there moons ago. She explained, not wanting to share their numbers, just to be safe. They were but a forming pack after all, and they couldn't afford no-gooders coming to ruin it - not that she suspected Caw of it, but you never knew.

She copied him in waving her tail - strange, she was usually not so self conscious about it, but it was hard to match the man's enthusiasm and she didn't want to come across as rude. The girl looked at him befuddled as he explained... vaguely... what he was doing. The faeries had their own ceremonies and strange habits, but she hadn't heard of the raven-cliff one. Do they now? She asked, but not in a way that was doubtful - more so intrigued. I suppose I should offer them my apologies then, I had no idea.

caw has not passed by the willow forest yet. this is probably to his benefit, as he is not so smart about wolf borders. it is good to know he has not trespassed on faerie land, though! they would not be pleased with him. they are much pickier about borders than the birds are – or so the stories go.

he follows the motion of her head, though there is of course not much to see. for once he has noted the lack of an answer to his question. he is still curious! but he is not curious enough to prod a faerie, even if they are new to the area. “is okay to visit?” a twitch of the ear. “what offerings faeries want for passage?” every one was different. it was important to ask!

her tail waved to match their own, and, encouraged, caw went on. “oh! is okay.” faeries probably do not need to ask these things, but caw does not know! either way, caw will do his best to help them! the birds can be forgiving, and it cannot hurt. “like i said. am gathering for offering to them. will ask them for your passage also!”

Unlike many, the queen fae handled trespassers with hospitality and kindness. If it was an honest mistake, chances were they'd merely be escorted out and be sent on their way again. Were the intentions malicious, well... The faeries could get rather violent, and the trespasser would be fought with till the death or until they fled. The hard part was figuring out those intentions, or lack thereof, but Lumi had proven to be quite good at it.

The man asks questions that are not hard for her to answer, but she pauses anyway. They never had visitors, nor had they asked for offerings. Perhaps the faeries Caw had in mind were not so akin to what her court was, but no matter. She was there to explain. Of course - though you only have to give something if you decide to stay. She answered sweetly. She was talking about loyalty and the will to provide and protect of course - that was all she asked of her faes.

She chuckled sweetly. Why, thank you. She'd never had trouble with ravens before, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She didn't want her behind pecked after all!

caw’s ears perk at this. there were many things faeries could require from someone who chose to stay. the stories said it was not always smart. but that was the exciting thing about it! and these faeries do not seem bad – and caw has left home of his own accord, but he does miss it, a little.

and he is curious, now, about what these faeries’ home is like. this is not another coven, but he had not been expecting to find one! his family does not know any others themselves. they must be very rare.

“what do faeries want for staying?” caw blinks. he is not sure he has much of value, truthfully! but if she does not know about the ways to offer to the crows and ravens, perhaps there are things he can still provide. “can teach rituals, how to make offerings, read omens. can help protect willow forest.” caw nods. “is rude to trespass on faerie land. dangerous, also.”

The fae listened intently to the raven man as he listed his specific skill set before answering him. She was interested in those too after all. Though they had their own rituals, there was always only a benefit in knowing more and learning from those around you. They could teach him their ways, and he could teach them his. She thought it sounded fun, especially for the pixies in the future, to learn from Caw.

I'd just need your loyalty and your will to provide for and protect the court. She answered, stretching her neck as Loinnir stepped on a nerve between her shoulders. There truly were no voodoo-strings attached to a pledge to the court, nor would they haunt his dreams or something if he ever decided to leave. Faes came and went, so was life - to learn to love was to learn to let go also.

 

caw is not overly concerned with any wrath that might come down upon his head for any decision to leave, simply because he would not be even if he had bothered to consider it. he is not the type of person who thinks in anything but the short term; this is more often a problem than a blessing, but it is what it is.

tail still sweeping from side to side, caw looks back at vrána before he speaks. finding no objection, his head swivels back around again. “yes!” he chirps. “can protect the court. will do best to provide!” caw is truly not great at most providing tasks that do not involve gathering plants and hunting tiny animals, but that is still something! and as far as he is concerned, having the correct plants around is always important.

Lumiya was a planner - she liked to be in control, even when she couldn't be. It made her perfect for her job, but unbearable in times of crisis. She got sick when she worried a lot, and pushed herself to the ends of the earth if it meant she was doing the right thing. She was rather self-destructive without knowing so, but it was all for a good cause.

She gave a small nod and a warm smile, asking then; Would you like to finish your ritual before I show you our forest? Though, you won't be staying the night I suppose. She asked, recalling his explanation.

caw shakes his head. "will not finish by tonight! need more plants that not here. like to bring with, but..." he shrugs sheepishly, "have not been able to since left home." it is embarrassing to admit! he has not been keeping track like he should. his parents would not be pleased. but collecting things only works when you have a place to store them and, unfortunately, he is lacking in conveniences such as pockets. or even opposable thumbs.

"must find new places where grow," he elaborates. maybe the faeries know more! even if they have only been around for a short while, it is much longer than he has! and he has no idea what they are capable of, or even how many there are. "will collect and store them! for me and for faeries. when have everything, will show you how to offer to ravens." even if the faeries do not need to do it, it is still a good lesson to know! and one he is very eager to share.

So he was a botanist as well - she wondered if he was any good at healing, though he probably would've mentioned it when sharing his specific skill set. She knew there was more to plants than just herbs for healing, she knew some could be used as drugs and her parents had used them for offerings and rituals similar to Caw's. Perhaps they hadn't been too crazy after all.

We have a clearing where many plants grow - plus a small lake area full of greenery. I have little knowledge of it myself, but our healer has had no trouble finding the things she needs. She shared. She chuckled at his enthusiasm, wondering what that ritual might entail. She hoped it didn't involve blood - the sight of it made her dizzy. That does sound lovely.

it will take him quite some time, still to get familiar with this new place. he is aware of this much. lumiya’s offered information, then, is appreciated. caw sweeps his tail around his hind legs. “you have healer?” that is good! perhaps he will not have to spend so long searching, then. “will speak with! can work with healer. help collect things.” he has done it before! he is very good at the things he does, when he cares to do it.

her response to his offer, then, likewise earns a friendly, if toothy, smile. of course, caw is not aware of her…difficulties with blood. he cannot imagine anyone not liking it! it is a part of his work, yes. but there is no part of his work he does not enjoy! otherwise he would not have left and still be practicing. “will take few days! maybe less with help from healer.” he has not gathered anything yet, but the ravens will wait if he is not choosing to sleep here.

instead, he tips his head back and offers a short little howl, putting the proper notes in it to inform the ravens of his intentions, before he returns his crimson gaze to lumiya. “there. now can safely go and return later.”

I feel like this could be wrapped up with your post or right here? Feel free to archive :)

She nodded excitedly, hoping Deidra would like Caw as someone to work with. Their combined knowledge might just be the best thing to happen to the court thus far! She'd loved to learn more about botany and healing herself, though she was probably not cut out for it. The more knowledge the better though, or so she believed!

She watched and waited as Caw turned to call out to the ravens of the peak. He was a bit of an odd-ball, she supposed, but there was nothing wrong with that. She smiled as he announced they could go now and she turned in the direction of the willow forest. She waited for him to follow, and would lead him there without much small-talk.