In the Warm Gray

~

The air was crisp and cold. Typical of this land. Somehow, she knew this, without ever having really known it. The clouds drifting below her, the piercing baby blue of the sky. All home to her, yet...she never really remembered it.

No matter. Celene took happiness in the small sounds her footsteps made as she walked on the rough cobblestone. Young children ran past her down the stairs she was ascending, their soft, fluffy ears back as they ran, tails to match streaming behind them.

This village was home to her. She knew it. Every building she passed bore resemblance to something she knew. Right?

She knew her ears were different than the others'. Her aqua blue ears could be interpreted as having feathers or fur, depending on how one looked at them. Yes, she was attracting way too much attention. But why? They were all locals. She knew all of them by name.

What were their names again?

She passed an old bookstore, and peered inside. It smelled like dust and old paper. Standing on a desk in the bookstore, there was no one, but a single raven, who peered at her in that unnerving sideways glance birds are so good at.

"What brings you here, stranger?" the bird said, taking Celene back for a moment. The raven had the voice of a strong, but gentle, old woman.

Celene opened her mouth to respond, but found that she didn't really know why she was there. "Um, um...honestly, I don't know. I just felt like I needed to come here."

Her ears lowered a bit in embarrassment as she said, "Actually, I don't really know where I belong at all. I don't really know where I am."

The raven hopped once toward her. "That's because," the raven said, and Celene swore it had a twinkle in those beady black eyes, "you're everywhere, somewhere, yet nowhere really."

Celene snorted for a moment, then cringed inside at how disrespectful that might seem. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Even I don't know," the raven said. "But what I do know is this; on your journeys, you must remember these things. That you are Celene, that you must find someone who can help you, and there will always be someone, you just need to know where to look. And that someday, you shall indeed reach your destination. Tally on, now."

And before Celene could say another word, she found herself opening her eyes again.