In the Skies Above Us

Chapter One

          I took a deep breath, one that shuddered as I shifted form, my bare human feet touching down on the cool dirt. I raised my amber eyes up to the sky as three circling ravens let out several shudder-worthy croaks.
           It's no wonder the humans know groups of them as Conspiracies, I thought.
          The three ravens, with spread wings, inclined their heads, turning to dive as they plummeted downward  through the break in the trees. They landed, shifting form almost as one. "We could have communicated as birds, you know," one girl with long black hair and dark eyes complained.
          She stepped forward, arms crossed over her chest. I straightened up, not allowing the lack of feathers on my own human form to lessen my confidence.
          "I don't much prefer the choking sounds of your croaks," I said, voice biting. She sighed, annoyed, and gestured flippantly toward me. "Look at yourself," she said. "Contrary to what you and your Murder thinks, ravens and crows are not very different from each other."
           "Maybe not," i asserted, "but your blood lust alone keeps us from ever getting along."
          "Blood lust!" The raven girl blurted, outraged. Her agitation unsettled the others, who moved to shadow her anxiously.
          "If you're referring to the Practice of gaining a human form by killing one for it, then you need to look at yourself first. It was your Murder that taught us. It was your Murder that began it."
          "And we have done away with it! My generation is one that has gained their human forms by being born to two shape shifting parents. You, i know, have probably stolen yours."  The girl recoiled at my accusation.  
         "Enough!" She seethed. Her dark eyes seemed to flash for an instant,  then she cleared her throat, and in a more reasonable tone, continued "I requested this meeting here," she glanced at the old Song Birds Oak, where shape shifters have come for years to make peace, and continued, "to form a kind of... treaty."
          I started to protest. "We do not want acceptance," she said quickly.
"We only wish to not have to guard our wings every time we take to the luxury of flight."
          "Fine," i allowed. "Just as long as you can assure me that no more will a human need to guard his own back when walking alone."
          "No!" She shouted. "You can not dictate our actions."
          "Then you cannot dictate how we protect ourselves and those who suffered giving us our very useful second forms." I met the other raven's gazes in turn, letting them think on that. "You owe the humans nothing! You did not take a human form, you were hatched with one."
          "Then it is my parent's debt that i pay," i compromised. I tried to hide the sorrow in my voice. It showed on my words. "And, as a member of my Murder, my responsibilities are those of all the other members. Even their mistakes."
           She was silent for a moment, then she drew breath to speak. "Then tell me, kin of my kin, how much responsibility will you put on your Murder's backs if you go home and report to them a deeper war than the one you came to end?"
          I drew in a ragged breath. "That is something i mean to avoid," i said, seeing this conversation going nowhere. "So, until you have the terms of your... treaty straightened out, i will withdraw now." Before they could react, i shook myself, letting feathers spread across my body as i shifted, and, in a cloud of black wind, i flew off, spreading my wings until they beat above the tree tops of the forest.
          My quick withdraw surprised them, and i saw from the corner of my eye when they broke through the trees, croaking loudly but not following. Steadily, i began the journey home.

<{¤}>

         It took nearly all evening to make it back to Crow's Nest, and as i landed on a branch on the tall tree in the center of the Nest where my murder made it's home, I looked around me, my bird's eyes catching the silhouettes of at least a hundred other crows, but not finding my mother or my father among them.
          "Caw!" The exclamation came from behind me, and i unfurled my wings, jumping to the side as my mother landed beside me, her wings ruffled. She opened her beak, and inquired of me in very distinct words that would sound like no more than annoying and repetitive to a human.   
         "what has happened with the ravens?"
           I bowed my head down before her and my murder. My father landed, but i barely acknowledged him. "Nothing was accomplished," i said. "The ravens do not seem to know what they want." A rise of protesting caws rose up around us, but my mother spoke through them. "We have failed," she said. "Next time, we will not." I bobbed my head, agreeing, but what i really wanted to say was I failed. I did.
          I was sent out to act as representative for the crows, and though positions of power were not specifically given to any person at any time, i was honored to be chosen.
I looked away, turning my head so i could see around me.
          I was surrounded by the familiar sight of stark black feathers, with only enough color to be caught in a fluorescent pattern by the sun. And, of course, the sound of fluttering wings as the birds shook them out.
          My mother let out a soft cry, commanding me to follow, and i dropped off with her to the ground. I shifted form after her, standing in front of her. She glanced at the trees, as of searching for eavesdropping birds, then, quietly, said to me "perhaps you might consider going to see Marus," she suggested, her voice low. "He has been known to give wise advice, and our situation with the ravens is precarious."
          Marus was an owl, one who had gained the form of a child many, many years before. Our human forms, while they kept us alive longer, still aged. Though they were different, only aging when we used them. A bird who spent all his time in human form would only live as long as a human would.
          However, if one lived the way most did, the hundred years of a human could be stretched into centuries of life.
          Marus had taken the life of an eight year old boy, and while it is frowned upon now, it is still recognized as a smart move on his part. Most had chosen older forms, adults mostly. Marus has ten more years of time as a human than most, and so he will live longer.
          I smiled, nodding assent to my mother. "Yes, i think you're right. I will see Marus on our... situation. He may be able to think up a suitable compromise." My mother nodded.
She looked about twenty-four years old, but i knew she had been alive almost two centuries. I, however, looked about seventeen. I used my human form more than she did. I loved mingling with people, and because of it, knew more about them than anyone else.
          It was something she frowned upon, since it took time from me, but even using this form as frequently as i did, i have so far lived one hundred and nine years. It was not a small number.
          "You may go tomorrow," she said. "For now, i do wish you would take to you nest. You look exhausted." She touched my cheek affectionately, and then shifted suddenly, black mist brushing my cheek as flew back up to the center most tree in the Crow's Nest.
          I sighed, standing there for a moment before shifting myself, flying to a higher branch. My nest was nestled ina bundle of smaller branches, and as i settled into it, the sun's soft rays began to fade and the night became cool. I closed my eyes and slept.