TimeStamp
Ash 58, 121
She woke up in the darkness of the closet she stashed herself away in during the previous night. It was safer in here. There weren't any of those people from before in here. It was warm, there were furs to lay upon. There were spiders to eat when she was hungry. So many spiders, more than even back home in the comforts of her forest. But she had a new mother now. Her last mother was dead, though not gone. But she had always told the girl that everyone needed a mother to watch over them, to guide them, to make them strong.
So the girl accepted her new mother.
But the girl hated these worlds she'd been thrust into. She didn't like these big buildings of stone, she didn't like these big open roads with no trees, the feeling of the hard dirt and stone beneath her feet. It was cold, it didn't feel alive, not like back home. But she mostly hated these people here. They were loud, they smelled. And there was too many of them. Before her new mother found her, she had only ever known her first mother.
Life goes on, and as the girl snuck out of the closet in Nnerka's quarters, she looked around. She didn't see the large mother anywhere. She wanted out of here. She looked around the dark room, sniffing at the air, finding it a bit musty, with strange herbal smells lingering. She was quiet, unmoving, her ears listening. There were strange noises from the other side of the wall. She was told this was a place where pay money to have sex. She had no idea what that meant. She'd never even heard of the words 'money' or 'sex' before. But she'd been told that if there were strange noises or sights, it would likely be that.
There had been a couple of rules that Big Mother had had to explain to the girl. Multiple times. Speaking slowly. Very slowly. The girl did not like the rules and threw a fit each time that her new mother had said it. The girl had to be placated with food each time, and still she stared daggers at her mother. Even now, as the girl thought about the rules, she was considering ignoring them. And she was getting angry. Stupid rules. 'Don't break anything.' & 'Try not to kill anyone."
In the forest, if she tried to do either of those things, she would've died. Many times over. But she had trusted her First Mother. She followed her rules without question. But her rules made sense to the girl. These did not. The girl walked over to the closet she had slept in, grabbing her spear that was tucked inside and with a loud, angry snarl, she thrust it deep into a pillow and out the back of a chair, and left it there.
She crept over to the door to the room, pressing a hand to the door's surface, seeking to feel vibrations. Finding none, she slowly turned the handle, peeking through the crack into the hall. She saw no one. She edged open the door, and peered out around the door jam, seeing no one in the other direction either. She pulled the door open fully now, looked both ways again, then running with her light feet pattering against the carpeted floor, she made her way to some stairs at the end of the hall.
She climbed the stairs higher and higher, as high as they could go. She eventually found a ladder, and she climbed it too, pushing open a door that was at the top of it. She heaved herself over the edge, finding herself on the roof. She closed the door quietly, and looked out at the wide open sky. The sun was rising, the air was cool, and the sky was clear. The girl took a deep breath, and immediately crinkled her nose. It stunk here. It smelled of smoke and urine and other smells she did not know but did not care for.
Soon, there was a large raven in the girl's place, and it squawked as it took flight off the roof of the Velvet Cabaret, flapping its wings, staying high overhead. It scanned the world below it as it flew, feeling a rumbling in its stomach. The spiders last night had provided some midnight snacking, but were not enough to sustain the girl on. As she flew, her eye caught sight of a tree, tucked secretly away in the middle of one of these buildings she so despised.
She flew in closer, circling about, now seeing a squirrel sitting on the branch of the tree, chewing away at a nut. The temper within her ignited further. She hated squirrels. Every time she would hide food away, a squirrel or a rat would come along and steal it. It angered her so much. And before she knew it, she was diving down toward the tree, wings tucked back, body following beak.
To the squirrel, she appeared out of nowhere, coming from just outside of a tuft of branches. The especially large raven pulled up at the last moment with a flap of the wings to slow down, claws reaching out. Using her larger size, she grasped the squirrel and with a quick peck of her beak, ended its life. She flapped a few more times to keep going, working to maintain her flight with the momentum still being carried. The branches disappeared and suddenly there was a wall. A startled squawk, she flapped her wings to break, pulling up a bit.
And soared right into an open window in the empty guest bedroom of Bianca Faust's home above her work. The raven dropped the dead squirrel on the floor as she got control of her wings, squawking loudly in the room, turning tight curves until she landed with a hop on the floor, happy to see the squirrel was still there, bleeding out in a small puddle.
Soon, she was there in her Zoan form, tearing into the flesh with her teeth, her hands tearing away the fur and tossing it aside. She ate flesh and organs, crunched on the bones, and she was content. This was a nice breakfast for the girl. Especially because she hated squirrels.
Ash 58, 121
She woke up in the darkness of the closet she stashed herself away in during the previous night. It was safer in here. There weren't any of those people from before in here. It was warm, there were furs to lay upon. There were spiders to eat when she was hungry. So many spiders, more than even back home in the comforts of her forest. But she had a new mother now. Her last mother was dead, though not gone. But she had always told the girl that everyone needed a mother to watch over them, to guide them, to make them strong.
So the girl accepted her new mother.
But the girl hated these worlds she'd been thrust into. She didn't like these big buildings of stone, she didn't like these big open roads with no trees, the feeling of the hard dirt and stone beneath her feet. It was cold, it didn't feel alive, not like back home. But she mostly hated these people here. They were loud, they smelled. And there was too many of them. Before her new mother found her, she had only ever known her first mother.
Life goes on, and as the girl snuck out of the closet in Nnerka's quarters, she looked around. She didn't see the large mother anywhere. She wanted out of here. She looked around the dark room, sniffing at the air, finding it a bit musty, with strange herbal smells lingering. She was quiet, unmoving, her ears listening. There were strange noises from the other side of the wall. She was told this was a place where pay money to have sex. She had no idea what that meant. She'd never even heard of the words 'money' or 'sex' before. But she'd been told that if there were strange noises or sights, it would likely be that.
There had been a couple of rules that Big Mother had had to explain to the girl. Multiple times. Speaking slowly. Very slowly. The girl did not like the rules and threw a fit each time that her new mother had said it. The girl had to be placated with food each time, and still she stared daggers at her mother. Even now, as the girl thought about the rules, she was considering ignoring them. And she was getting angry. Stupid rules. 'Don't break anything.' & 'Try not to kill anyone."
In the forest, if she tried to do either of those things, she would've died. Many times over. But she had trusted her First Mother. She followed her rules without question. But her rules made sense to the girl. These did not. The girl walked over to the closet she had slept in, grabbing her spear that was tucked inside and with a loud, angry snarl, she thrust it deep into a pillow and out the back of a chair, and left it there.
She crept over to the door to the room, pressing a hand to the door's surface, seeking to feel vibrations. Finding none, she slowly turned the handle, peeking through the crack into the hall. She saw no one. She edged open the door, and peered out around the door jam, seeing no one in the other direction either. She pulled the door open fully now, looked both ways again, then running with her light feet pattering against the carpeted floor, she made her way to some stairs at the end of the hall.
She climbed the stairs higher and higher, as high as they could go. She eventually found a ladder, and she climbed it too, pushing open a door that was at the top of it. She heaved herself over the edge, finding herself on the roof. She closed the door quietly, and looked out at the wide open sky. The sun was rising, the air was cool, and the sky was clear. The girl took a deep breath, and immediately crinkled her nose. It stunk here. It smelled of smoke and urine and other smells she did not know but did not care for.
Soon, there was a large raven in the girl's place, and it squawked as it took flight off the roof of the Velvet Cabaret, flapping its wings, staying high overhead. It scanned the world below it as it flew, feeling a rumbling in its stomach. The spiders last night had provided some midnight snacking, but were not enough to sustain the girl on. As she flew, her eye caught sight of a tree, tucked secretly away in the middle of one of these buildings she so despised.
She flew in closer, circling about, now seeing a squirrel sitting on the branch of the tree, chewing away at a nut. The temper within her ignited further. She hated squirrels. Every time she would hide food away, a squirrel or a rat would come along and steal it. It angered her so much. And before she knew it, she was diving down toward the tree, wings tucked back, body following beak.
To the squirrel, she appeared out of nowhere, coming from just outside of a tuft of branches. The especially large raven pulled up at the last moment with a flap of the wings to slow down, claws reaching out. Using her larger size, she grasped the squirrel and with a quick peck of her beak, ended its life. She flapped a few more times to keep going, working to maintain her flight with the momentum still being carried. The branches disappeared and suddenly there was a wall. A startled squawk, she flapped her wings to break, pulling up a bit.
And soared right into an open window in the empty guest bedroom of Bianca Faust's home above her work. The raven dropped the dead squirrel on the floor as she got control of her wings, squawking loudly in the room, turning tight curves until she landed with a hop on the floor, happy to see the squirrel was still there, bleeding out in a small puddle.
Soon, she was there in her Zoan form, tearing into the flesh with her teeth, her hands tearing away the fur and tossing it aside. She ate flesh and organs, crunched on the bones, and she was content. This was a nice breakfast for the girl. Especially because she hated squirrels.
