Nimbus Summit and im a good walk to the river

It was the feeling of eyes raking over her that caused the isabella merle to slow and eventually stop in her tracks, skin prickling as her spotted crown swivelled searchingly. It wasn't difficult to spot the perpetrator, pale as they were. The huge crow perched upon the boulder stood out in vivid relief against the backdrop of the forest and mountains. Imaq's hackles raised as apprehension skittered along her spine. 

Imaq's mind drifted back for a moment, back to a time when she was young and still loved by her family. To Êrsta's bed stories of the spirits and the land of their people. It was said that long ago, Raven and Owl were both as pure as the snow though in time they wished to decorate their feathers for beauty. Raven had ground dye of black earth and blackberry to paint the intricate curves upon Owl's pale feathers. But when the time had come for Owl to paint Raven, Raven would not hold still and Owl accidentally spilled the dye over his feathers and turned him to the onyx color seen in corvids of today. 

Imaq set her bundle down carefully when she had overcome her shock, taking a hesitant step towards the bird as her speckled muzzle lifted to scent the air. 

Was it possible she had fooled herself all these years? Had Salik truly cursed her with death and forced her to roam the nightlands of dreams and spirits? Was the bird spirit of Raven from Êrsta's tale and she little more than a lost inua doomed to wander in ignorance, thinking herself to still be alive? 

inua: spirit(s)