Ravenwings (Imaged + Completed) [1st in Trilogy]

Part I: Chapter 9

We'd made it to a full week together, and I was getting pretty good at chess. Raven could no longer beat me in four or five moves.

Now he had to stop and think after the third or fourth one, and he wouldn't beat me for another three moves or so. But hey, you always have to improve from somewhere, right?

And no, I did not just start to finally teach myself get the hang of it. Raven is teaching me to play!

"Checkmate. Better," Raven encouraged me.

"How many moves was that?"

"Ten."

"New record!" I exclaimed triumphantly.

Upon having thrown my arms in the air in victory celebration, Potatonut hissed and growled at me as if I'd thrown a shoe at him.

"Oh, buzz off you old broad," I muttered.

The gnarled cat hissed again.

"Hey!" Raven exclaimed, taken aback.

"'Hey' me or him?"

"Both," he said, looking utterly appalled.

"Wait, why, what'd he say?"

He raised an eyebrow and didn't reply. He simply went back to resetting the chess board.

"No, really, what'd he say?"

He very firmly shook his head to note that I really didn't want to know.

I didn't ask again. Potatonut shot us both a nasty look and thudded on his jump down into the hall, and I heard his paws patter across the floor as he padded into my room.

We didn't say anything until after I made my first move.

"So how are your flights going?" I asked.

Raven had begun making nightly flights outside to get used to flying. After the first night, the night after I'd found him on the roof, he'd been really sore, I knew that. And the night after he'd gotten a little better. I hadn't asked him about last night yet. It's been a whole week now...

"Fine," he said, as plainly and flatly as if a child whose mother had just asked them how school went.

There was another long, awkward pause.

I had just opened my mouth to say something again when Grandma started yelling up the stairs.

"Melly!" she yelled. "Melly, I need'ta speak with you!"

Oh crap. I sprang from the floorboards to see what was the matter. "Yes, Grandma?!" Jumping down to the hall and half falling down the stairs, I kicked up such a clatter I half expected Raven to peek out to check that I was still alright after the sudden rush.

"Melly, don'tchu run in the house," she snapped. "Where's that damn cat?!"

"In my room...why?"

"She's been makin' enough racket in that attic the last two nights to wake the spirits themselves!" My Grandmother; nutty as peanuts and batty as well...a bat...but blessed with un-bat-like hearing. I was surprised she even heard it.

"Uh..." I started. Well...at least Grandma didn't find Raven. It was probably true he made a lot of noise coming in and out of the attic between flights so much. "Maybe there's a squirrel up there or something."

"Oh, so now Imma waste money calling pest control?!"

"No no no, that wouldn't be necessary."

"And even if there been squirrel up there, Potatonut should'a taken care of it, and it's still her fault!"

"Well...then we can lock him in a room at night."

"It's a her, Melly, and that ain't the only thing that damn cat did, there are motherf*ckin feathers all over my yard!"

"Feathers?"

"Yeah, feathers! Big black feathers, that cat has been eating my birds!"

Well, Potatonut hasn't eaten him yet... "So...should we still just lock him...her in the bathroom at night?"

"I say if that cat wanna eat my birds outside, then she gonna stay outside!"

"Oh, good idea, I'll go get him," I said, my voice layered with many deep levels of happiness to kick that cat outside, and eagerly turned back towards the stairs to go nab him.

But then I remembered that Raven enjoyed his company. Even if I loathed that cat's very existence, he was Raven's friend.

I sighed.

This better be worth it. I turned back around.

"Well, it's a good idea, Grandma, but kicking him out will probably just get him eating more of your birds."

"Well if I kick her out, them birds will git the sense to stay out of reach'a that mangy beast!"

"But what of your hummingbirds?"

"Oh no, they're too fast, I've only found raven feathers."

"Raven feathers?" I said, mustering up a very fake nervous laugh, trying to play stupid. "How do you know they're not crow feathers?"

"Cause they too big. Foot-long feathers don't come from Hummingbirds, Melly!"

"Okay, makes sense..." I said slowly, trying to think of what to say next. "But don't you want the big birds out of your feeders?"

"A bird is a bird, Melly, those seeds rot before they're eaten without those big ones. Now go get that cat and throw her on the porch! She can come in when she shuts up and leaves my birds alone!"

I sighed. There was no fighting Grandma Nutty. I mean...Nancy. I never should have really expected her to listen to reasoning.

My arms became halfway comparable to Raven's back with the numerous scrapes Potatonut so graciously gave me in locking him outside.