In the Skies Above Us

Chapter Three

          I returned to the Crow's Nest mid morning, tired from the flight. I landed on a tall oak and sent out a beckoning Caw! To anyone who would respond. I knew someone would. A crow, who i knew was  named Nicias, landed on the branch beside me.
          "What is needed of me?" He asked. "I need you to deliver a message to the ravens," i answered.  Then, i amended "The Murder needs you to deliver a message to the ravens." He bobbed his head and asked, simply "What message would the Murder have me deliver?"
          I told him to relay my request for another meeting at the Song Birds Oak, and to explain to them that i may have a suitable compromise. Nicias cawed in confirmation and flew off with fresh energy just as my mother's wings fell over the sun.
          "Ava," she greeted as she landed. "Mother," i responded. "I spoke to Marus," i said. "He was very helpful." I explained the compromise to her, and as i finished, her bird's eyes, which had an aware light that the wild owl i had encountered earlier had very obviously lacked, widened considerably.
          "It seems like a very good compromise," she stated, her voice approving. "I told you that Marus is wise." I bobbed my head.
          We exchanged words for a moment, and then she flew off, sharing the news. The entire Murder knew in only a few minutes. Communication was not an issue among us.
          I waited until i saw Nicias, and then, assured that he had returned safe, i separated myself from the Crow's Nest, letting out an abstract sound as i left. Some would hear it, and it would become known that i was gone.
          I set off for the place i loved the most. I had all day, and i would not spend it here.
          I flew high over the human city. It had a depressing look from this height, but when you got close... I swooped down, landing on a tree branch. I shifted to human form, and clutched the trunk, using it for support. Sunlight filtered throught the breaks in fresh, green leaves, touching my bare skin in patches of warmth. I reached into a hollow in the tree, feeling the plastic supermarket bag as i wrapped my strong, human fingers around it and pulled it out, smiling.
            Inside, my clothes were clean. I had managed to aquire a pare of ripped up skinny jeans and a purple
t-shirt with floral designs winding up the side. And, of course, undergarments.
             Bracing myself against the rough bark, i quickly donned each piece. Then, with an agility that came with practice, i slid down and dropped to the ground. I was a crow by nature, but i had always loved my human side in a way i could not fully express. I knew someday it would be the death of me.
            The sun was high in the sky, as it was close to noon. There were a few people milling about on the streets, but most were passing by in cars. I simply walked, smiling and greeting everyone i passed politely, trying to be warmer than my Murder's crows.
            I was still walking, considering what i wanted to do, when i heard the two boys talking. One spoke to the other with an almost teasing rhetoric. "C'mon, bro, it'll be fun. Eric's parties are great." The other boy's voice was reluctant. I leaned against the building i was passing, listening.
            "I don't know. They're pretty crazy, and I can't get arrested again, my mom will kill me." I bit my lip, biting back a laugh. They were adolescents, inexperienced and uneducated in life. "All they do is get wasted and trash the place until the police come and break it up." The first boy sighed.
            "That's not all. They dance, too." The boy's voice was teasing as he added "and i know how you like dancing."
           The second boy sighed too. "Don't remind me." There was a silence for a moment, and then the second boy sighed again, this time deeper. "When and where?" He asked. "2174 Clearview Drive," the other responded automatically. "7:00."
            I decide i had heard enough. Undecided about going, i turned and walked in the direction i had come from. The party sounded like just another poor excuse for young humans to act like fools, but then, there was dancing.
            The human art of dancing was a luxury i preferred to use as often as i could. I would go tonight. I would go, and i would dance.