Sex: MaleHe had promised to make his journey to visit his father quick. The boy had promised to make his venture quick in the sense of running across the mountain to visit the grave site of his father once more. He sniffed at the ground as the winds seemed to shift. There he stood in the fen, at his log that he used to use as a balance beam, and he realized how much he had grown since the peaceful days of Pitch Pine Trail with his mama Ana and his father by his side. He was almost a grown man… or so he would like to believe. He sat down next to where he knew he had dug at to bury his father and he howled to the winds. It hadn’t even been a year and it had already impacted his life more than anything else would ever. It had shaped his very existence and while Karpos wished that his father were there with him to guide him, he had to thank him for the experience. The sadness that had overtaken him nearly 8 months prior had faded away only to be a numbing of the heart. He remembered his father’s last words to him ever. The last promise his father had ever made him make… "Adsi, Karp, promise me that you'll never go and look for Elettra. She is growing older, she will be gone and she will.... never.harm.you.again." Karpos hadn’t understood the promise at the time but he knew what the importance of it was now and he wasn’t willing to keep it. As much as he wanted to keep the last promise to his father… he wanted justice for what had been done. He didn’t care the circumstances of his father’s leave from Willow Ridge BUT he did know that Elettra Archer had stripped two small cubs of their father when they had already lost their mother. That… that was unforgivable. |
do you dream that the world will know your name? so tell me your name... The winds had indeed picked up, delivering the black-feathered spirit back towards the east. When he had landed, he immediately preened and poked at his feathers, counting his primaries and secondaries as if to make sure he had retained them all. He had just given his whole body a good shake when he heard a rather doleful cry - a song that should have belonged to one much older than the vocalist himself. The raven's head tilted curiously and he grimaced as he took to the air towards the source of the sound. He lowered himself down on the branch of an old elm whose roots were submerged and anchored into the fen. His eyes narrowed into slits as he peered down to the ground. Ah, there he is... The bird chirruped at the young man, clicking his beak in consolation. By the looks of it, the youth had just reached beyond his one-year milestone. It wasn't too surprising; some cubs at about his age often struck out on their own. He was alone though and for a while the bird pondered if he had become lost. Inching along his perch towards the end of the branch so that the bough started to bend downward from his weight, the avian softly called to him, using the common raven tongue that was ordinarily used to call attention to close friends and family. He slowly opened his wings and swooped downward, making a complete circle over he lad before casting himself upward onto a lower branch of another elm tree. From here he could at least see the young Slayer clearly, discern every expression in his midnight black face and every move of his swarthy frame. For a moment he grew still and again the breeze whistled past. Oh, he knew this place... It was a wonder why he had easily overlooked it. His beady eyes took a good glance around, particularly eyeing the patch of ground where Shade Slayer, Leader of Pitch Pine Trail, had been laid to rest. What's wrong little prince? he cooed, his gaze finally coming upon Karpos' face at last. Why is it that you cry? |
The boy hadn't noticed the feathered creature swooping down as he blocked out the rest of the world to remember. What was there left to say that he had not already though, cursed, or screamed about? He just didn't know what was left for him. He had his dreams, his family, but he didn't have that incentive. He had only felt like that one other time before and it was a day he would never forget. With that he started to talk to himself, talking to his father as if he were alive while unknowingly answering the raven's questions. "What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." He'd never forget and never forgive. He looked up from the patch of dirt that had been grown over with grass and flowers to spot a raven sitting on the branch of an elm tree nearby. His father had told him a story where the raven of death had come to take his mother and father away from him... it was the story of when his aunt Shadowstorm and his father had left home. He must be crazy but he started to talk to the bird. "Have you come to take me to join my father? Are you the raven of death he always spoke of?" The questions held a shaky voice as he looked at the bird. He must have been mad to try conversation with a creature who could not speak the same tongue as he. |
do you dream that the world will know your name? so tell me your name... Of course the raven had not expected the yearling to understand him, but for Karpos to stop and actually speak to him was appreciated. "Have you come to take me to join my father? he had asked. Are you the raven of death he always spoke of?" As much as he wanted to chuckle and giggle, titter and snicker in an assortment of tickled notes like a common songbird, he didn't. Instead, he merely stared at the youth, whose tone of voice had made him think twice about being forward and audacious. The plumed aviator straightened and with a shake of his head from left to right, he universally told the boy that: No, he was not going to take him to join his father and No, he was not a Harbinger of Death (as most wolves, he realized, believed). Whether this chance meeting was an omen or not, it was for the Slayer to figure out, but for the raven to be here, right now, in this very instant was for the sake of his companion's comfort, curiosity, and hope. He folded his wings close to him, observing the heir in utter silence. A part of him had wished he had brought something as an offering, just as he had with the other sacred sites of the Lore. "Awwwk" he sounded, the singular syllable meaning nothing in particular as he wondered why exactly the winds had summoned him here. Truth be told, he had an inkling of an idea, but he was not entirely sold just yet as to whether or not it was appropriate for this certain encounter... |
Did... was that? Did the bird respond to his question with a shake of it's head to signify no or was it just a coincidence? He relaxed a little bit as he looked away from the bird and again to his surroundings. He missed this place. He remembered where the den was and where his uncle Lach's old storage was. He remembered the log that he had spent his time crossing when he wasn't off adventuring or getting into trouble. He remembered when his uncle promised to take him to the mountains so he could hold the stars in his paws. He remembered when everything was right and at peace. Then it wasn't all the sudden and he'd spent everyday of his life since trying to have that feeling of peace again.
The 'Awwwk' from the bird was what drew his attention away from his thoughts. What was it that the bird wanted? Was it trying to tell him something? No. Birds couldn't do that! It was probably just Karp feeling overly superstitious. Oh, he knew. Maybe the bird was some kind of spirit. Maybe it was a spirit that only he could see... a spirit of his father. He got so caught up in his thoughts that he held the curious look of a tilted head towards the bird. What was it trying to say? Surely if it were the spirit of his father then it would be a wolf and not a raven? Karpos didn't know what to think about it.
do you dream that the world will know your name? so tell me your name... The more the rook stared, the more he realized just how much had changed, how much Karpos had endured to get to the very place he had first started from within Relic Lore. Just like Sceral, Serach, and the other yearlings, he had also seen the young Slayer mature and grow up. The bird might have smiled with a slightly parted beak, but as the youth gazed back up at him, he did the same. His head tilted to one side for a brief moment before straightening. Cawwwwww-CAW, he sounded out with a small flap of both his wings. In the language of raven-speak, it might have been translated as something like: Don't you worry yourself, lad. As it stood, the spirit could only hope that maybe the young wolf would somehow come to his own conclusion about what he was trying to say on behalf of the woodlands. He trilled a lilting sort of note as some sort of added affirmation, then repeated the singular sound again, "Awwwk." His tail feathers quaked below him and he fluttered down to the ground not far from Shade's grave. For a while he stared at the dark yearling, watching and waiting, as if anticipating a reaction that would either invite him closer or shoo him away. He hoped it would be the former of the two reasons. A part of him had been sorely affected to see how such a young heart ache the way Karpos' had. While standing completely still, he slightly expanded his wings, ready to take off if he had overstayed his welcome... |
He suddenly felt calm and at peace but he couldn't explain it. His mind raced with the thoughts of all that he had done wrong and he came to the sudden realization that had been building up for months. His reactions caused the entire mess in the first place! If he hadn't gotten so defensive of his family to Aponi then he wouldn't have caused her to run away. His exile was entirely his fault! Then there was Silver... oh no! He had called his aunt Silver a bitch! Oh man, she was gonna kill him for sure next time he saw her! His muzzle parted and his eyes widened. Perhaps it wasn't the conclusion that the bird had meant to give the boy but it was one he had come to after several months of futile anger.
He realized that he couldn't even be mad at Elettra for doing what she thought was right. Silver had been right because Elettra didn't know that Shade was going to die.
The bird stared at him, not far from his father's site and it was really strange that he considered this bird his friend. It was a bird... it was prey. But somehow, Karpos couldn't find the will to shoo it off and he couldn't bring himself to try and hunt it either. He gulped and looked to his father's grave and then to the bird. All he could manage were a few words. "I'm probably insane for thinking I can talk to a bird... but thank you for being here."
do you dream that the world will know your name? so tell me your name... Expectation hung heavily in the air surrounding the feathered spirit but as Karpos turned to further acknowledge him the bird let out a rather happy string of notes as he trilled back in appreciation. Even if the boy had commented that he believed himself to be crazy for {trying to} communicate with him, the bird was happy to have been around; and, it seemed that he had done his job, just by being there to listen to the young Slayer. The raven issued a murmured squawk - which sounded more like someone saying the word "mip" - and took a step closer to the yearling. He was stopped however by the faintest sound of small, flitting wings. It buzzed past his hidden ears and when his eyesight focused on what it was that had flown into their midst, the bird repeated the word he had said before with a different tone. Look, he had meant to say. He looked to the young Slayer, his wings flapping excitedly. The dragonfly hovered over Shade's gravesite just long enough for Karpos to take note of it if he managed to also catch sight of it before zooming about Karpos' head and hovering just past the boy's leathery nose. Mip-mip-mip-mip, he sounded out again, hopping forward just once while curiously staring at the large black-hued dragonfly. Truth be told, he really was not Shade Slayer's spirit reincarnated, but if first impressions could be held accountable in this instance, the bird could have believed that perhaps this impressive, large-winged dragonfly was a sign the heir had asked for and needed... The dragonfly took flight, hovering in front of Karpos before zooming away in the depths of the fen, leaving the black-plumed bird in a sort of awe that left his beak parted in unmistakable wonderment. |