Grey Gulls

An Ending

Yaga is the One who gave breath to the clouds that wandered, unfulfilling and un-desiring amongst a chaos of natural entanglement.

He the One who gave colour to the emotionless and grew dew when morning light first pierced the frost-covered earth. He who cast winds, winds which bare no desire except to wander at will; He also dawned those that crave, those that feel and those that experience. He gave order within a world of entropy and for that, the ones who are gifted the ability of flight are thankful as they soar through Yaga's desolate and unfeeling environment.

His grace comes with caveats, because those who are gifted must suffer in some form. This is Yaga's will and wishes, for He is the one who pondered first, He is the one that gave the meaningless a meaning. When Yaga created Fellows, they were gifted a part of him. To the ground dwellers Yaga gifted willingness and unity but upon those who are carried by wild winds, He gave something more:

An unwavering desire for freedom.

                                                                                       ***

Kana emerged from his cling on the Barr, a name given to the homes of those that fly the great leafed wood that they slumbered within. The hooded crow gently pedicured his young feathers that underlay the weathered blanket of black that littered his body. Giving his wings a stretch, he plodded around the ancient tree, eyeing up the female crow that still lay dormant in the murder he populated. The essence of spring circulated in the air as Fellows of Kana sought the same desires. He had borne no luck the previous year, wishing as he had to settle in a nest as his to be fledglings could ponder the earth as he once did. His house was not one that was offered much respect, and it was only the more powerful houses, those of Courrvile and Desmun which saw fit to couple females of their choosing, not to the disagreement of the females as these houses provided food and shelter. Knowing his dreams would never come to be he spoke softly.

"Oh Yaga, will you bless me one of these days?".

The sun had not arisen yet nor sparked the morning songs amongst the birds of the wood, instead a deep blue haze washed the land, neither dark nor light. A call to arms for Yaga's creations as they cleared their throats and readied for another day on soil and in sky.

Kana took in the cold air, a relief from the stench of earthy leaves and twig, shuffling around his protruding feathers before taking off and scanning the sweet grass for breakfast. Yaga's voice peaked upon the horizon as his light whisked away the morbid feel of the night sky and within it a shape appeared, clouded as it was within the brightness of morning Kana could not make out what it was until the spout of a sudden force knocked him aside. For a moment he thought that perhaps it was a stray Fraw but his fear subsided when a familiar voice cackled.

Leto!

"Friend, does Yaga's rest have no meaning for you?" cried Kana, recovering and trying to catch up with his friend.

Leto chuckled back as he fooled around, catching an up-thrust of air.

"Why should it?" he replied. "I wish to experience the world, whether in slumber or not!"

"You are reckless fellow", Kana stated, rolling his eyes at his friends' tomfoolery.

Leto croaked back, not so much a laugh as an exclamation.

"I am hungry, my friend - care to join me in a feast?"

Without waiting for an answer, Leto dove towards the woods below. Kana followed suit as both crows danced in a downward spiral.

***

Both Kana and Leto acknowledged that they weren't usual, that they shared a longing for something no other crow could see, yet they themselves were not sure of what could cure this ailment, if ailment it was.

Time passed as they feasted, yet eat well they did not.

"Leto," squawked Kana as he wrestled a grub from its crook of a rotting tree, "we must return before the other houses appear".

His friend seemed uncaring and continued to use his stick to dislodge another morsel. "We have time Fellow, don't be so anxious!"

Kana was less inclined to relax his guard and for every second that passed his worry increased. "Please Leto, do you not recall what happened just two lights ago?"

Kana vividly remembered the incident 2 days prior when Desmun House had caught the pair at their own designated feeding spot. Harried and pecked, the duo had barely escaped with a bruising. Later, Desmun house had sent a messenger cawing throughout the Barrs – if the lower houses were caught feeding again where they should not, the consequences would be terrible.