The Crow was Calling

[Cara DeGraff]

There was a wall of fire circled around her, distant sounds of screams echoed loudly in her ears as she frantically searched for a way out of the flames. The heat grew hotter and she could feel the skin melting off of her face. The smoke burning in her lungs, choking her. It was so loud. But there was no escape and the circle of fire crept closer and closer towards her, trapping her even more. This would be how she died, she thought-- with the painful agony of being burnt to death. But suddenly, all the noise ceased abruptly, the flames danced in slow motion and pointed away from her as if the wind were trying to blow it out. Then, there was a faint sound of a single crow’s cawing. It got closer and louder until it landed on the ground in front of her. As its feet touched the dirt, the flames immediately extinguished around her, replaced by harsh clouds of smoke, that made the air so hazy, she could barely see.

The crow hopped towards Cara, cawing loudly as if to get her attention. She slowly crouched down and held out her hand, to which the bird climbed onto and traveled to her forearm, grasping tightly to it. Her bright blue eyes stared at the bird, noticing a single feather of his was white against all of the black. Its eyes were blue, nearly matching her own, which seemed peculiar to her. Cara found herself unable to do anything but stare at the bird. It cawed loudly at her and stared right back before it began to speak. Its voice was low and raspy in a creepy sort of way.

You see the two roads in front of you.
One dark, the other light. One loud, the other silent.
One difficult, the other simple.
Which do you take?
You can no longer stay put, my darling.
You feel that you do not belong--
It is because you belong somewhere else, doing something different.
I shall whisper secrets in your ear,
just nod yes,
and be silent.
Let my voice push you.
Let it force you onto the correct path.
Look.
Listen.

The crow cawed again before it flew off, the smoke dissipating with it. Off in the distance, Cara saw two roads. One was indeed dark, filled with tree limbs of a shadowy forest, the path twisting and turning until it disappeared into the horizon. The other road was clear with a light that seemed to glow along its path. It looked straight as far as the eye could see. She took a step forward. The easier, lightened path seemed like the obvious choice, but when she turned her gaze back to the dark one, there was a figure standing there. A man, his eyes glowing bright blue and they looked like hers. He held his hand out to her, and when he spoke, his voice sounded loud and chaotic and came out as a thousand crows cawing angrily at her.

Cara gasped loudly as she sat straight up in her bed. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she could feel the sweat rolling down her face, her hairline soaked. She breathed heavily trying to catch her breath, that noise that had once filled her ears was now replaced with the sound of ocean waves hitting against the docked ship. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed and leaned forward, placing her face into her hands as she realized it had just been another one of those dreams. They were happening far too frequently now. That damn bird. But what did it mean? Deep down, Cara knew that she was on the wrong path to wherever she needed to be--that much was clear based on the messages from that damn bird. But without knowing anything of her past, how was she supposed to understand it?

She slipped out of her bed, slipping her feet into her boots and throwing her jacket on before leaving her room and finding her way up on the deck. They had been in Tresteria for a short time--something about Sevrin needing to meet with his cousin- the Prince, for what seemed like it could be a new mission given to the Brotherhood. Though she would go along with whatever was asked for her, something was telling her to do otherwise this time around. She couldn’t stay put. Not this time. But what else was she supposed to do? Would Sevrin be upset if she stayed behind now, after all of what he and the Brotherhood had done for her? She didn’t wish to leave the Brotherhood and was certain that she would come back after whatever this was she needed to do. But what if wherever she was going, wouldn’t allow for such?

Cara sighed, leaning against the railing of the ship, her eyes staring off into the shores of Tresteria. It was silent and dark, and she imagined most of the kingdom was asleep at this time of the night. Her mind raced with thoughts that her head was beginning to pound. But when she heard the slightest sound of a flutter and light thud on the railing, she glanced over, seeing a single black crow with a white feather. It appeared to be looking right at her. It cawed once as if yelling at her to pay attention before it flew off.

She stood there, dumbfounded before her face twisted in a look of frustration. “What the hell do you want from me, you dumb bird?!” She shouted out into the air. Why was her life so damn confusing?

[Kade Barret]

Most of the crew had gone to land the moment they docked at Yule. Kade had disembarked briefly, just to stretch his legs and get a proper home cooked meal, but he didn't feel like wasting his coin on a room at the inn. Why bother when he had a perfectly good bed on the ship? So, he remained on The Alloter for the most part, keeping to himself which wasn't terribly unusual for him. It was late, however, the mercenary found himself on the top deck with a book he was currently reading by lantern light.

The air was still cold, yet he found it rather refreshing. Perhaps because there was no wind for once. Kade had his back against the railing while he sat by the helm, lips moving as he glossed over the words inked. He'd grown up not knowing how to read, only a little from what his father had been able to teach him. He had to teach himself, seek out those who could show him during his travels. It was a sore subject with him, because he found it rather embarrassing. At least he wasn't completely illiterate and had certainly progressed over the years, but still. Green eyes flickered to the tattoo on the inside of his left wrist, his whole motivation for wanting to read in the first place. He wanted to know what it meant and where he could have possibly gotten it from. Asking around had gotten him nowhere- no one knew what the symbol meant. He couldn't even recall how he had gotten it. For as long as he could remember, he always just had it inked there on his skin as though it was a birth mark.

Fingers turned the page as his head rolled back to try and get more comfortable when he heard the caw of a bird, followed by Cara's shout. It made him immediately on alert as he got up to his feet, but her words left him perplexed. He caught the tail end of the crow as it flew into the night. That was strange, wasn't it? They weren't usually nocturnal.

"I'm fairly certain it doesn't know how to talk," Kade spoke up. He didn't smile, but there was a bit of amusement in his eyes as he held his finger inside the book as a temporary bookmark and leaned upon the railing next to the wheel. "Having trouble sleeping?" He noted how late it probably was, and he swore he had seen her wander down to her bunk hours ago.

[Cara DeGraff]

Was she going insane? It was one thing to see the bird in her dreams because she knew it wasn’t real. But for the same looking bird to visit while she was awake--she had to be going crazy. Or maybe she was still breathing.

Cara pinched her arm and instantly felt the stinging sensation. She silently growled before pressing the bottom of her palms against her eyes and then slowly ran her hands down her face. What did all of this mean? It made her head throb and her chest feel tight. With a heavy sigh, Cara bent forward resting her arms down on the railing before laying her forehead on them.

But as she heard the voice from behind, she instantly stood back up and turned to find Kade there. "I'm fairly certain it doesn't know how to talk," Her brows lowered and pinched together, confused by his statement until she realized what he meant. The crow--he saw it too? Bright blue eyes glanced in the direction the bird had flown and she shrugged, not looking back at Kade right away. “It certainly knows how to talk in my dreams…” She muttered nearly inaudibly.

She finally glanced back at him as he approached the railing and questioned her, to which she shook her head hesitantly. “Something like that, I suppose… I woke up and can’t quite fall back to sleep,” she explained, hopeful he wouldn’t pry. “You?” Maybe he would have something interesting to say regarding why he was still awake, and it would steer the conversation in that direction rather than about her and her dreams--about how insane she was going. Would anyone even believe her? Would they think she was going crazy too?

As much as Cara tried to stifle her thoughts and feelings, and attempted to give Kade all of her attention, she very much still seemed bothered and absent-minded.

[Kade Barret]

Not only did she look annoyed with something, he could almost feel that aggravation seeping off of her. Maybe he should stay out of it- then again, he had made a promise to look after her in order to pay back his debt for her saving his life. Kade often wondered if she ever regretted doing that, since he'd become somewhat of a looming shadow. Still, he knew when to give her space, obviously. He wasn't a creep.

From their short distance, he obviously didn't hear her cryptic murmur, but there seemed to be a bit of hesitation to her answer. "Happens to the best of us, I suppose," he commented. Kade opened the book, just long enough to fold the corner of the page before closing it again. When the question was turned back to him, he shrugged lightly. "Sleep is a rarity for me." He had learned to run on so few hours that sometimes, if he slept a normal amount, he felt overly tired. Strange how that happened.

Kade slowly began to descend the short steps from the helm to the deck below. He didn't want to pry, knew it was none of his business, but it was strange to see her so rattled. His brow furrowed in soft contemplation. "You can tell me to sod off, but...is everythin' alright?"

[Cara DeGraff]

Cara was typically a private woman. Not because she wanted to be, but because she honestly, deep down, did not know anything about her past or who she was. It was something that ate away at her and she didn’t feel like many would understand what that was like and how crazy she felt. That, and she wasn’t certain she wanted or knew how to talk about it. But even still, Cara carried on normally, friendly and helpful where she could be. Many probably thought that she just didn’t speak of her past much.

She forced a small smile to Kade, “I suppose,” she repeated his words, in agreement. At his shrug and admittal to sleep being a rarity, she nodded. “I suppose that happens to the best of us, too,” she indicated as if she rarely slept as well.

Bright blue eyes watched as he descended the steps, and she feigned surprise by his question. A slow smirk crept along the edges of her lips, “sod off?” She breathed a huffed laugh and shook her head. “I’m fine. Just--” She sighed, “I don’t know.” Her lips pursed together and she turned her gaze out towards the horizon. “You ever wonder if there’s part of your life you should be living, but you’re not entirely sure what that is?” She probably wasn’t making sense, and she wasn’t certain why she was opening up, however vague she was.

She returned her gaze to Kade and forced a small smile, “I had a strange dream, is all-- I can’t help but feel like it means something...But I honestly don’t know what.” She signed and shrugged her shoulders before glancing down at the book he held. “What are you reading?” She tilted her chin towards the book, hoping her change in subject would deter them from whatever conversation her words may cause.

[Kade Barret]

It wasn't hard to see that she didn't particularly wish to speak about it, and yet, whatever it was, it was eating away at her. Kade didn't need to know this woman personally to understand that much, yet he would still tread carefully so as to not overstay his welcome, so to speak.

He merely smirked at her echo of his words before the smile widened just slightly at the sound of her quiet laugh. There she went again, struggling to explain, perhaps without having to actually explaining? He wasn't sure.

'You ever wonder if there's a part of your life you should be living, but you're not entirely sure what that is?'

Why did that suddenly make him pause immediately? It was like her words struck some chord deep within him, tugging on it and his memory. A memory of what, though? He really didn't understand it, but he couldn't seem to let this feeling go all of a sudden.

His brow furrowed, and he followed her gaze out to the horizon, so that when she finally looked back over to him, his attention was elsewhere. Kade just appeared bewildered. Cara was mentioning a dream then, one she didn't understand, so as he was glancing back over, about to ask her what it was about, she was already changing the subject.

Kade just looked further perplexed until his dark gaze dropped to the book in his hand. "Geography. Nothing very interesting, to be honest." That was when he paused, sighing as he lazily leaned forward against the railing and studied the dark waters below.

"I, uh, well..." he trailed off, smirking to himself again, and shaking his head lightly in that soft embarrassment. "I'll let you in on a little secret." Slowly shifting, he leaned there now on one elbow so that he could face her. "I struggle to read. It's hard for me because I was never properly taught, so...I've had to learn on my own. My father had only been able to teach me so much." Perhaps he thought, by sharing this, it was letting her know that she didn't have to be completely secretive. He was trustworthy...although, she likely didn't really know that.

Kade canted his head, mouth curling into an amused smirk again. "Now, no one else knows that, so...I trust you won't embarrass me further in front of these dirty vagabonds. I may not be able to read well, but I can crack their skulls still."