Something Old, Something New

[Lani Stranger]

80th of Winter, 518AV

If you don’t stop bleeding in three days, come back. The words of her doctor rang in her head. Lani sat on her chamber pot, soreness emanated from anything below her belly button as she looked at her undergarments, there were faint brown stains that extended further than any moon bleeding could have done damage to, even with a leaked rag. Leth had not yet departed from the sky, which was why she took the time to change her rag this early in the morning, but she could unfortunately still see the faint splotches of discoloring and her mind knew exactly what they were. It only served as a reminder, and although she shouldn’t care if there were stains on undergarments that no one cared about or saw, the dull aching pain in her abdomen seemed to increase by the reminder of the stain. It had been two days, and it was the morning of the market day, with not a spot of fresh red or brown on her undergarments. But she had run out of the pain remedy the Avora had given her, and the soreness in her abdomen demanded more.

Sighing, the half-Eypharian cleaned herself and departed from the chamber pot, pulling a fresh Bryda over her stained undergarments to cover the shame that sat with her. On the request of the Avora doctor she had been allowed four days to recover. The three days to stop bleeding and one more for rest. The Avora had said she would be in pain for upwards of ten days, but she could work again one day after she stopped bleeding. Although she didn’t have to begin work for another two days again, the idea of sitting around doing nothing didn’t appeal to her. Lani decided she would take the rest of the day for herself and return in the morning. Knowing she had nothing to do that day, Lani sunk into the stiff chair of her table, watching the room shift and change from the dark blueish grey to the lighter pale white grey. Syna could not reach through the clouds to reach through the air vents in her ceiling and light her room, but she knew it was day because of the dull change in color of the room. Still, Lani watched her fireplace, a mute tone settling over any emotions she would have had.

Something seemed missing, and she knew it wasn’t sadness or depression over the loss of a baby she hadn’t realized she had. It wasn’t the pain of her recent surgery either. Yes, the herbal remedy they had given her likely dulled her emotions in some way, but she hadn’t had any since last night. The burning aching soreness was at full force, but she could tell it was duller today than it had been when she had first left the infirmary. Miscarriages were not an inpatient requirement. After the initial scraping of her insides, she was given time to work the drugs out of her system and then sent home with herbs and strict instructions to keep her fluids. She still had to keep the portions given to the Chiets as the supplies dwindled, but she was allowed off of work as compensation. Something was missing and it dulled Lani to the core.

[Lani Stranger]

Narth hadn’t visited her. She wondered if she imagined his kind touch and his words that night. It might have been a hallucinogenic dream by the drugs, but the information he shared with her had been true. Still, the doctor could have told her during the chaos and she simply didn’t recognize the Nari words until she had gotten rest, and the dream chose a form that would be comforting to her. But something told her that she couldn’t imagine up the pain and worry in his face. It wasn’t as if Narth was her lover, he had no obligation to her nor did she have any to him. She joined his bed when he requested, and they got along, but that was all. Her mind floated over the strange emotion in his aura that she had felt not too many days prior to the event, and she knew she was in denial of what that emotion meant. He loved her, and she did not love him. She was comfortable with him, she liked him, but she found no place in her heart where the burly man could nest. No room in her soul for his emotions to be cared for alongside her own. And, apparently, there was no room in her womb for a child of his.

It was at that thought that an image appeared in her mind. A little black haired boy flitted through her mind. She didn’t know why but his face strongly resembled Narths and nearly none of her own. To her joy the child had stark blue eyes like the Endal, with rich white human sclera seeping in from the sides. He grinned up at her, small crooked child’s teeth sticking out every which way. There was no smattering of freckles across his nose like his father, but he didn’t have the shimmering half-Eypharian skin that Lani held either. He was slightly olive-toned but still very pale with bright eyes and midnight glossy black hair like her own. He was beautiful, and he would never be.

The thought made Lani slightly less anxious. She could not imagine bringing a child like that into a world like this. Wind Reach would be unforgiving of his parentage, even if she did not raise him. Black hair like that would doom him to the life of a Dek, a Chiet if he was lucky like his mother. The Inarta that surrounded him, of which he would only ever be half of, would rip him apart, offering no social survival, no matter how ingrained in the society he was. She also could not imagine being forced to give up her child. Four short years of knowing him, and then he would be raised by the communal caretakers with the other Yasi? Of course she would always know which one was hers, and he would likely always know she was his, but would he want her? Would he blame his mother for being the reason he suffered as he did? If she did not have the right to care for him into adolescence, would she ever get the chance to? She couldn’t fathom having a child and raising him in such a city, and yet it occurred to her that she couldn’t fathom having a child and not raising him. The unknown pregnancy had been halted by the unkown miscarriage and so both realities would never have to be confronted by Lani, and this eased her.

[Lani Stranger]

The Avora had said she had been about ten to twelve weeks along, unknown to her, which was why the miscarriage had been so difficult. The Avora had also assured her it was not her fault. There was no trauma or starvation that would have caused this, it was simply hr body deciding it could not carry the baby to term, only it had been late enough for it to be a treated similar to a birth. Of course the child never would have survived if she had birthed it at such a young age. The ration cutting had made the ordeal more painful than it needed to be though, her malnutrition was not the cause of the miscarriage, but it was why she had suffered so much. And why she would continue to suffer, although she would survive. It seemed unfair for her to have to suffer the death of a child she hadn’t know she had. It seemed unfair for her to have gotten a child even though they had been careful. She would have gotten it within the first few days of their relationship, and simply had not known. The creature had not changed her abdomen enough for her to realize it was there and the sickness of pregnancy did not alert her as being unusual.

So all she had to do now, was recover. The half-Chaktawe finally stirred herself from her stupor, black eyes crossing the dark room to land on her slightly dented mirror. There was not enough light to see her reflection properly in the dark, but she could see the dark figure staring back at her, and it made her angry. With a burst of energy she plucked the mirror from the table and chucked it against the wall over her bed. She heard the ding of metal and though it finally bent all the way. Immediately she felt bad and she didn’t know why, the mixed blood stood and walked over to her bed, finding the steel thing had fallen into the crease between the mattresses in the wall. When she picked it up and examined it, she realized it was not completely folded as she thought the noise had done, but bent in one corner now. It was not that large to begin with and now it had a dent just outside of the center and a bend in one corner of the squared piece. Now that she was holding it closer to her face she could see the details on her expression and the morbid tone disgusted her. She wanted to get angry with it and break it in half, but she knew she would not be able to, even if it was thin. She didn’t know why she had kept that dinky little thing for so long, it wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford a new larger mirror freshly polished and shining, but she had held onto it for some reason.

Memories of Narth laughing at the odd detail in the mirror flashed in her mind, and she grimaced, turning the polished side away from her. She suddenly didn’t like owning the thing, she didn’t like the homely dent in it or that it now sported a larger bent angle from her recent anger with the thing. Lani sighed, tucked the mirror under her shoulder, grabbed her coin purse and left the room.

[Lani Stranger]

As she was walking down the corridors of the Darvina Commons, she realized why she had sat still for so long. The sudden upright walking was far more painful than she had anticipated. And although her first plan was do go to the Tomb of the Fallen to dispose of the mirror, her need for pain herbs overrode that want and she begun heading towards the Infirmary. The walk was painful, but it was not as slow as she anticipated. She was no longer waddling like an elder with frozen joints, bent over trying to hold her insides together. The soreness from the events still burned in her nerves, ringing in her ears, but it was tolerable, at least for the short walk. She knew her endurance would not give her the whole day or the following days, so the Infirmary was her first stop. Once Lani reached the place, ducking past the spread of beds and towards the Apothecary, she recognized a familiar tussle of red hair and hulking shoulders as Narth bent over the desk facing away from her.

For a few ticks, the mixed blood paused where she stood, hovering just outside the doorway and deciding if her need to relieve her pain was worth the conversation that was surely to ensue. She could likely find the Avora who had given her the prescription in the first place, but the half parchment with roughly scrawled Nari dictated what she could have and when she could have it would be proof enough of her need, even to Narth. Taking a deep breathe, Lani straightened her shoulders and smoothed a hand lightly over her stomach as if it would banish the pain there, and pushed through the door. Narth looked up, and Lani met his gaze, keeping her own face as straight as possible.

”Hello Lani,” The cool voice seeped from Narth’s beard, and the tone paired with the use of her name made her stumble. Focusing on the man’s aura she felt vibrations and movements in her finger tips that she had not experience from the man before. There was a sharp curving emotion that made her feel as though he was in pain, as well as a lethargic heavy movement that told her of defeat… or sadness. This strange aura and the second time hearing her name from his mouth made her think that that night had not been a product of her imagination. His tone had changed from the loving coo of that night to a monotone boredom, but his mouth formed the same sounds around her name and she knew the memory was not a fake one. And for some reason this relaxed her.

”Hello Narth,” She spoke with equal coolness, pulling the slightly crumpled paper and producing it for him. She knew a chiet was supposed to get her the medicinal herbs she needed but since Narth was the only one in the shop she saw, she thought he would help her. Normally she expected him to turn his nose up at the paper like any Endal should, but instead he silently took it, grazing the words with his eyes for a tick. Realization seemed to set into his brow as he understood the herbs better than she and what they meant.

”How are you feeling?” He asked, and Lani paused again. She logically understood he was asking to be able to determine the dosage she needed, but she thought she suspected a tone of caring in his words. She couldn’t answer with a lie, but she wanted to.

”In pain,” She shrugged, but tried not to offer further information. She wanted the herbs, but she didn’t want to talk to him. Stark blue eyes judged her reaction for a moment, and she was reminded of the imagery of the unknown child in her mind. Something roiled and caught in her throat at the thought and she found herself forcing a gulp down and trying to keep her eyes from reddening and watering. Narth seemed to have noticed this sudden change in her demeanor and turned away from her. While he poked through the bottles in the room, Lani leaned on the counter, focusing on her breathing. It helped with the pain as well, but she was trying to force the crying down. She had no reason to cry, the pain was not strong enough and it had been days since the miscarriage. She was fine. She had to be fine.

[Lani Stranger]

The small mirror in her grasp slipped and she pulled it from under her arm, placing it carefully on the counter to wait until she got the herbs she needed. Narth returned to her, placing a very small glass bottle on the counter with an even smaller spoon beside it. ”One spoonful at morning and night until it runs out. You will think you’re no longer in pain before it does, but if you skip it will come back.” He said, sliding the two objects closer to Lani. She took them, examining the dark liquid in the bottle for a few ticks as if she would understand anything about it, and then tucked them both into her coin purse. She returned all her weight to her elbows on the counter and looked up at Narth to say thank you. He seemed focused on the mirror, even though the polished side did not face up, and she realized he noticed the new dent. Lani sighed.

”How are you feeling?” He asked again, and this time she knew it was not for medical knowledge.

”Fine.” She answered curtly, focusing again on steadying her breathing as the stone threatened to lodge itself in her throat again.

”Lani…”

”Stop call me that!” She snapped, this was the third time she had heard her name on his lips. She had hated the stupid nickname he gave her when he first met her, and as he had used it more she had grown to like it. I represented a familiarity she had not previously gotten with anyone. Even Madeira had always called her by her full name at the time when it would have required a nickname, out of respect for Lani’s mother. She had never gotten a nickname from anyone but Narth, and suddenly she hated him using her chosen name. It felt like an insult. It felt like he was removing himself from her because of what had happened. As if she hadn’t already gone through enough.

”Why start now?” She finally asked, peering up at him, and she saw pity in his eyes, reading the emotion clearly in his aura. She didn’t have to be the most practiced mage to recognize this new emotion, she knew Narth well enough.

”I thought you hated the nickname?” He questioned, and the pity was slightly clouded by confusion.

”I hate why you don’t use it now.” She whispered, anger beating down the stone in her throat and clouding her vision. She snatched the mirror from the counter and stomped out of the Apothecary as best she could. She was about to slam the door when her self-preservation reminded her she had already treated the Endal with enough disrespect. He was too lenient on her, and if she continued to be angry with him, she would find punishment soon enough. Lani paused with her hand on the door, and turned slightly, remembering she hadn’t thanked him for the medicine yet. ”Thank you.”

She didn’t wait for a reply or acknowledge a reaction from her suddenly soft words and continued out the door, no longer finding energy to stomp or slam. As soon as she exited the Infirmary, she pulled the small bottle from her purse. Carefully balancing the spoon with her other hand, she poured the few drops into the small portion and tilted it onto her tongue, liking all of it off the spoon. It was a little past morning now, but she had more to do today, and she would need the pain medicine to set in quickly, and was sure she would need it again by the night when she finished. Lani then tucked her coin purse back into her pocket and begun down the warrens of the city, making her way down stairs and winding halls until she found the Tomb of the Fallen again.

[Lani Stranger]

When she reached the long corridor at the end of the Reach, where it seemed no one wanted to be, Lani felt the oppressive heat beginning to set into her weight, pulling the liquid from her skin and making her breathing harder. Oddly enough it didn’t seem to heighten her pain as she thought it would, although it didn’t help it either. A thought in the back of her mind made her imagine it was the pain syrup but she knew the medication would not work so quickly. Still, Lani pulled the mirror from under her arm where she had tucked it and looked into the thing, grasping it firmly between both hands as if she would drop it. The glowing light from the center of the room where the magma wound just beneath the surface allowed her to see her own distorted reflection in the steel.

She remembered all the experiences she had had with the mirror, and it occurred to her that this trip was not just a garbage dump, but nearly symbolic. This mirror, although poorly treated, had been by her side in Wind Reach. It was the only thing that she could see herself truly in, and it wasn’t just for the literal use of it. She had used the mirror to practice her language, to practice her morphing, to blend in, to prepare herself in the way that Narth liked. It didn’t feel like a vanity item, but more of a support item during a time that she had felt the most alienated by something she could not help, her looks. And suddenly she hated it. She hated the crutch that it represented. She hated that she had used it to conform to a society that hated her, and had never been recognized for her efforts.

Anger surged through her hands, and she forgot her pain for a few ticks, lurching forward and launching the steel into the magma pit. It did not provide her with the satisfying ding of metal on stone as it had the many other times she had thrown it. Nor did it splash into the magma like it would have in water. Soundlessly the mirror lodged itself into the thick liquid stone. She could see the active earth already moving and swallowing up the mirror which was during white with the heat and giving into the grasp of liquids stone. The whole thing took under two chimes to completely disappear. Lani thought she could see a small mark of glowing white where the metal was still trying to merge with the rock, but it was so bright in her vision that she could not be sure. The awareness of her pain was resurfacing, and Lani thought she had looked at the bright liquid earth long enough to know that the unsatisfying end to an era was done. Sweat was cooling her armpits and the nape of her neck underneath her hair and her body was craving the cool release of the stagnant air in the hallway that was somehow less hot than this room. Not giving into the pain Lani slowly made her way from the room, placing one foot in front of another to make sure she did not hobble, but not to stress her still recovering insides.

[Lani Stranger]

As she left, not pausing but instead making her way up the warrens to the indoor host for the market day, Lani realized something. She had just thrown away the end of an era. If she was to stay here in Wind Reach she would no longer have the crutch that the small dented mirror had provided for her. But it then occurred to her that she didn’t have to stay. She had managed to save enough to move on, and the only reason she remained was because the rains. But did she want to continue on to The Spires? To risk going through the city of Morwen, to see how the recent years might have affected such a city? Only then to risk it in the wilds that had nearly killed her the last time she attempted to traverse them? Wind Reach had a port, but the Spires did not.

Wind Reach has a port… Lhavit has a port. The thought registered in her brain, and then her mind flew to her friend. She could not help but imagine the nine year old girl that she had seen last. Pale blonde hair and skin, sad blue eyes had turned sharp during the three years they had known each other and ambition rested between them. From the letters Lani knew that she would be changed, Madeira would be nearly twenty one by now after all, a mere two years younger than the mixed blood. She was also pregnant, an even that surely changed a woman. The though made Lani nostalgic and sad as she thought of her friend, and it occurred to her that she didn’t have to be. Madeira had offered Lani a place at her hearth, and while she doubted the woman genuinely thought Lani would ever take her up on her offer to live with her, the welcoming words meant that if Lani did appear in Lhavit, she would not have lost touch with her friend.

As Lani wound through the corridors, finding her way to more crowd sections that neared the indoor Market Day, she was too lost in her own thoughts to notice those around her. The storms could not last forever and she knew that in time the port would be open again, and trade ships would be coming through. She had enough to secure a place on a common trade ship or with a Svefra pod if she could find one, although the latter seemed more risky. She didn’t know the wild sea children so well, but was curious about them all the same.

It wasn’t until she was deep in the throngs of the market day that she heard her name being called. ”Stranger! Stranger!” Very few Inarta knew her last name and no one referred to her by it, but Lani still found her head whipping around to answer the human voice that called for her. Although it was her last name, it was spoken in Nari, which may have been a sign that it was not a word meant for her. No one seemed to react, and when she begun looking around the voice stopped. Lani scrunched her nose, worried for a few ticks that she had imagined the voice. Surely this medication was not a hallucinogenic one like that which was given to her during the surgery? But just before she took another step, she heard the call again. ”Stranger! Stranger!”

Only this time she heard someone shush the voice and was now able to see who was talking to her. If she hadn’t already been doubting her sanity she would have glimpsed past the bird, not counting it as someone who could have called to her. Black eyes stared her down and just as she hesitated on the bird, debating if it had actually called her or now, it opened its mouth. ”Crow!” It shouted at her, and as she recognized the Nari word, Lani jumped slightly. The crow seemed pleased with this and stepped to either side of its perch impatiently, watching her. Confused Lani stepped out of the movement of the crowd, closer to the thing but still far enough away that it could not reach her. ”Crow! Crow!” It snapped at her now, and she had no choice but to accept that it was genuinely speaking to her.

[Lani Stranger]

”Are you a crow?” She asked the thing in Nari, wondering to what extent it could speak and understand her. It didn’t look like a crow as far as she was concerned, there was a band of white across it’s chest and it was smaller than she thought. Her mind traced back to the bird in Val’s apartments, the pitch black raven, and this crow looked nothing like it. Were crows and ravens even the same birds?

”He doesn’t understand you that well.” Someone interjected and Lani turned to see the Inarta that had shushed the crow earlier. ”He is a pied crow, I think he likes your eyes.” The clearly Yasi spoke, approaching the bird and offering him a nut. The crow took it carefully and then walked to the other side of his perch to slam the shell on the wood to attempt to break it. Lani looked over at the child, who seemed more adept at handling this curious creature than she would have suspected. It was clear he was soon to be assigned a caste, and she had no doubts the boy would work with the animals. Curiosity overwhelmed her as she realized how smart the creatures were. While she watched the crow attempting to crack his nut, he would paused and look at her. It took a few ticks before the thing gave up, deciding that the wood of the perch was too soft to break the shell of the nut.

Still grasping the nut in his mouth the crow watched her again and then without warning threw the nut at her. Out of sheer reaction, Lani reached up and caught the small thing midair, holding it in her hand, and examining it before tentatively offering it back to the crow. He avoided her hand, and Lani frowned, unsure if it was a gift or a disposal. Deciding she didn’t care the mixed blood began opening the thing, and just before she popped it in her mouth the crow began jabbering nonsense to her, dragging her attention from the nut. He was pacing on the end of his perch nearest her and cawing at her repetitively, keeping her from eating the nut. It took her a tick to realize he had wanted her to open the nut for him, and not to eat it. A awe inspired grin settled on her face as she extended an open palm back to the bird. He carefully took it, seemingly aware of his sharp beak in proximity to her soft fleshy hand, and with a quick snap he tilted his head up and let the nut fall into his mouth, swallowing it in one.

”Smart creatures,” The Yasi spoke Lani’s thoughts out loud and she turned back to the boy, wonder on his face.

”What they use for?” She asked in rough Nari, trying to find what an intelligent bird like a crow could be used for in the Reach.

”Vermin hunting, companionship.” The Yasi shrugged, reaching up and petting the crow over his head two times before turning to fiddle with the straps that connected his ankles to the perch.

”How much… knowledge you need to own?” She asked, curiosity seeping into her voice. This bird enchanted her slightly, and she was inspired by its creativity. She wasn’t sure that she had a use for the thing, but if companionship was an acceptable reason, than it was reason enough for her.

”They are actually pretty easy birds to keep. They are bratty though, so you have to be careful with your things. But if they like you they will stay with you. And if you feed them.” He said, and as he did he unattached the strings from the perch. The crow seemed well aware of this action and as soon as he was freed, he launched himself from the perch gliding to land on the Yasi’s arm. Slowly the boy walked towards Lani, and the mixed blood did not shy away.

[Lani Stranger]

”Crow! Stranger!” The crow cackled at her in Nari, and she realized it was a curiosity that drove him to speak to her. The Yasi was right, he liked her eyes.

”I am a crow, and a Stranger.” She grinned at the bird, replying to him in the Common Tongue. He seemed stumped by this tongue for a tick, but leaned into her as the Yasi brought him closer.

”I think he likes you, or at least is curious.”

”Does he?” She asked in NAri, excited at the thought. The mixed blood eagerly reached out an arm for the crow to step on, and the Yasi handed her the ends of his ankle strings, which the crow seemed largely unbothered by.

”I think so, keep talking to him.” The Yasi encouraged, tucking the ankle strings into her hand. The crow letp gingerly onto her forearm, and she winced at the sharp points of his claws digging into her flesh. It was not enough to draw blood but it was slightly uncomfortable while the bird balanced on the bone beneath.

”Do you understand me little one?” She asked the bird in common, and gingerly reached up to pat it’s head like the Yasi had. ”I like you. If you like me you get to hear me talking like this all the time.” She told him, and the crow flattened his head slightly watching her hand come nearer, but ultimately let her touch him. When she went in for another pet though, he ducked away.

”Don’t force the affection on him.” The Yasi advised from her side, and Lani relaxed her hand, letting it fall by her side again. The crow had stopped speaking and was looking at her curiously now as if listening to her words, although she doubted he understood them. ”He will come to you if he likes you.”

”Oh so you’re just like me. Picky about who you let in.” She told the crow in Common, an amused tone filling her words. She concentrated her aura on the bird to see if she understood his emotions as well as a human’s. With her hands she could feel the swirling curiosity and a mild annoyance in his aura. She wasn’t sure what annoyed him, but the Mixed blood decided not to worry too much about it. There was a seeping vibration of excitement in his aura as well, and since it replicated her curious excitement for him, she decided to focus on that emotion instead.

”I like you, little one.” She told the crow with a grin, and as if he understood what she said, he let out a low cackling caw as if to answer. Logically she knew he didn’t understand her words, but he seemed to understand her tone and was mimicking an agreement of his own. With no more hesitation she turned to the Yasi. ”How much?”

There was a slight expression of shock on the Yasi’s face. It occurred to Lani that she had walked up to this crow and decided to buy him all in the span of a few chimes. She was sure the Inarta were more deliberate and knowledgeable about their avian purchases, but she didn’t care. She was already reaching into her pocket with her coin purse, raising it to her left arm that held the bird and fiddling with the draw strings to open it.

”Oh, you’re serious. Hold on, let me get the shop owner.” The boy spoke, backing up and walking behind the booth away from the crowd. Lani turned back to the crow which was now looking at her drawstring bag with a curious hunger that she could read in his aura. She giggled at he undying curiosity of the bird and stuffed the purse back in her pocket, away from his prying eye. He cooed at her as if it would bring the purse back, but instead she stepped back over to the perch, putting her arm up against it so that he could step back onto it. The crow refused to move, turning his head slightly and looking at her. Lani sighed and let him stay. She was still in a bit of pain and her arm was growing slightly sore from holding his weight, but she liked this bird so she let him have his way. Instead she held her left wrist up with her right hand and began slowly walking to where the Yasi had disappeared. When she reached the edge of the booth she peered around to see if she was allowed to enter.

[Lani Stranger]

”Oh, I was just coming to get you.” The Yasi appeared in her face, and Lani and the bird spooked slightly. The crow complained out loud, but didn’t move from Lani’r arm. ”Come on back,” He waved her over, and Lani followed the Yasi back at a slower pace.

”Hello! I hear you are after one of my crows?” The Nari of a cheery Avora rang out and Lani smiled sheepishly. She had thought they were for sale, they were in the market place after all.

”He is not for sale?” She asked in measured Nari and the man chuckled.

”Of course he is. A Juvenile about nine weeks old, he is.” Nine weeks! Lani looked at the crow, realizing he seemed full grown for being so young. The crow was paying attention to the Chiet shopkeeper now, his aura showing Lani that the bird was hanging on the Inarta’s words, although she was still not sure he understood the Nari entirely, he seemed to respond to with more precision than with the common tongue.

”Have you got any birds?” The Chiet shopkeeper asked, pulling a small box from under his counter and then selecting a few more things, a dish and two perches, from the side of the booth. He brought them over to Lani, and she answered his question by shaking her head. ”I suppose a crow will be a good start for you then. Welcome to Wind Reach.” He spoke as if he had not seen her black hair in the halls for two seasons already, but Lani didn’t mind. He was trying to sell to her, and she was happily eating it up.

”What I need to do?” She asked him, and he pointed to the perches.

”Crows are easy birds, if you don’t mind their curious nature. He will steal anything you consider precious, so make sure they are locked away if you don’t want them broken. Otherwise all he needs is a water dish every day, and about a half a pound of meat and some fruits or vegetables, or nuts. He can be trained, although it may not be necessary, and he will grow to understand your words the more you speak to him. Yirred here is a fan of speaking, so he will speak back to you.” Lani nodded at the sudden onslaught of information. Her Nari was getting better, but she didn’t think she was going to understand all of his instruction.

”Wait, please, slower, please.” She tried to slow him down, waving her right hand for a tick to grab is attention before using it to support her left arm once again. The crow seemed to be alerted by this, and he carefully stepped over to her right arm, thinking she wanted him too. Lani was surprised by the move and had to adjust to hold him, but was otherwise grateful to give her left arm a break. Only the bird waltzed right past her forearm, digging his claws into her bicep and then hopping onto her shoulder, perching there. She had to switch her grip on the ankle tassels to give him enough room to move onto her shoulder, but she adjusted to this new position quickly.