[SilverSamurai]

Won; January 3rd, 2017

Ｉ＇ｍ _ｊｕｓｔ _ｌｉｋｅ_ ａ_ ｃｒｏｗ

ｔｈａｔ＇ｓ_ ｆｏｒｇｏｔｔｅｎ _ｈｏｗ_ ｔｏ _ｆｌｙ

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^ Please click the image to go to the story! ^

Ｃｏｒｂｉｎ － ＂Ｃｒｏｗ＂

✦ Male - roughly 20 years old

✦ Mute: He can not speak, though he has limited communication with corvids through throaty growls and caws.

✦ Prefers to be alone; does not like social contact with others.

✦ A bit snarky and eccentric, though polite when communicating.

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Ｔｈｅ _ｂｅｇｉｎｎｉｎｇ

I sit in my room, writing in my notebooks as usual. In the other room, I can hear my parents yelling at another doctor they dragged in from a far away town. "There's nothing we can do, he just is the way he is." the doctors would always say, but my parents never took no for an answer. "There has to be something you can do! Try something!" they would argue with the doctors, but the doctors always ended up shaking their heads and leaving. I was born physically mute. All the doctors have said that my vocal cords never formed properly, causing me to be unable to produce proper words. However, I am capable of making very limited noises, such as growls or chirps, what my parents call 'pips' and 'caws'. I don't mind it much, I don't think iI would talk much anyway. But my parents see it as a negative trait; a disability that needs to be fixed somehow. Looking back at the first ten years of my life, I am extremely sheltered. I know nothing of the world outside of my city, and even that I hardly know. I am only permitted to leave the house with a guardian, and even so I am only able to stay on our house property. I live in a small city that is abundant and rich, where nobody needs anything and everything is perfect; until I came along. I am seen as a burden, a shame, and something to hide away to keep the town clean and perfect. Nobody ever questioned it.

Despite reading nearly the entire library and teaching myself basic mathematics as well as becoming proficient in writing, it still wasn't enough to please my parents. After all, all they wanted was a normal child, and have done everything in their power to try to 'fix' me. It's an endless routine; doctors come in, examine me, do some tests, shake their heads and leave, usually once a month or so. It has been this way for as long as I can remember, and it's tiresome. Of course I have tried to convince my parents to let me leave the house, to enroll me in a real school, to let me make a friend, but no such luck. They always come up with some excuse to keep me here; that they just haven't found the right doctor yet, I need to be patient, or my favorite, that things will get better. But I've never been one to sit around and wait.

Little did my parents know just what I took interest in while in the library. I studied the city I live in and discovered where I stand in this whole mess. A small, close knit town in the middle of nowhere. It is rich in materials and a city of artisan trade, and everyone has a specific role and purpose. Life goes on, content and fulfilling. I also studied life outside of this city and learned that a vast forest lays on the outskirts of the city, preventing major travel to and from this city. There also appears to be a smaller town just beyond this one, but no matter how much I look, I can't seem to find any information on it. Strange.

The more I learned about the outside world, the more I needed to see it for myself. To escape. To live my own life. My parents would never listen to me, and would only keep an impossibly closer watch on me. Something inside me changed, and the only thing I wanted was to get out of this house. Of this city. To find out who I really was. That's when I started planning my escape.

It began with just sneaking out overnight, seeing how far I can travel by moonlight. Turns out, not very far. I grew tired quickly and could only glimpse over the grassy hill on the outskirts of town. But over time, I was able to travel further and eventually made it to the small town that was unidentified on all the maps in my library. I decided to call it 'the Lost Town'. One night, I strolled through the dirty street of the town and scrunched my nose. It was nothing like my town; dirty, unorganized and crumbling. And yet, I felt an odd sense of connection here, like I somehow belonged.

I jumped at a rattling noise close by and froze in my spot; it was another Kalon, light in color and beyond terrified. They took off running down the road, and I'm not sure why, but I found myself chasing after them. Man, was this town messing with me. I found them curled up in an alley, their fur almost glowing in the moonlight. I made a small chirp to get their attention, and they jumped up defensively upon seeing me. Unable to communicate, I backed away and shook my head, but still maintaining eye contact. I had concern written all over my face, and they seemed to understand and once again broke down in tears. I moved in to comfort them.

"I-I didn't mean it, I swear!" she sobbed into her paws, shaking slightly. I reach out, but find myself unsure of what to do. You tilt your head as a question, and she continues; "The picture broke. It just fell over, I didn't mean to knock it over! I-" she wiped at her eyes and sniffled before continuing, "It's all we have left, and I broke it. They hate me, I know they do. Oh, what am I going to do?" Hearing her confession made my heart clench. I have no idea how she feels; my family has always had everything we could want, and yet, somehow, I completely understand her. I reach out and put my paw over hers, and when she looks up with her tear filled eyes, I only nod in understanding. She nodded back, wiping her eyes one last time and letting out a long shaky sigh. "t-thank you..." I sit with her in the alley for several hours, listening to her talk about herself and the people of this town. Her dream was amazing; to become a baker, but for the people who are struggling. What an amazing Kalon I thought before darting back through the night, carefully slipping back into my quiet home. Despite having everything we could ever want, this house felt even more empty then before.

I made several more trips to the Lost Town over the next month, each time meeting up with the beautiful Kalon I had met that fateful night. She grew more confident both in personality and in her baking, and even baked for me once. And wow, was it delicious. I grew slightly jealous of the Kalons who would be able to freely eat her pastries and breads. Spending more time in that town and outside of the prison of my own home, I longed to escape my sad imprisoned life. I carefully thought over a plan and waited to set it into motion.

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I waited for the darkest day of the month; the full moon. I waited for the house to grow quiet with sleep, and I snuck out my bedroom window, leaving a small note of 'I told you, but you wouldn't listen' and never looked back. Using the darkness as my cover, I easily slipped through the city. My dark fur appearing as a mere shadow in the moonless night. Once I was out of the city, I ran for the only other place I knew I would be safe- the thick woods on the outskirts of the city. Sure, I could have gone to the Lost Town, but that was risky and I decided against it in the end. Of course, I would love to stay there and felt an odd connection to the small broken town, but it would be potentially easy to find a missing Kalon in another city. Even if it wasn't on a map, it was close enough to send search parties to.

I ran for as long as a could, which still wasn't very long. Once I could hardly see the city behind me, I stopped to catch my breath. I can hear my heart beating in my ears and pounding in my chest. The cool air made my fur stand on end, and I didn't know if it was the adrenaline or the cold that made my legs shake. That's when I first met them. I jumped when I heard a throaty caw from above, and the trees began to ruffle with movement. My ears perked, somehow recognizing the sound. It sounded like the sounds I make, but in a different tone. Caws echoed through the night. Hesitantly, I let out my own caw, quiet at first, then loud and wanting to be heard. The echoed caws immediately stopped, and the night became still. The only sound I can hear is the loud thumping of my heart. But what seemed like an eternity, I heard wings beating rapidly through the air and the source of the sounds showed themselves.

One crow. Two, then three; a whole flock of them descended into grassy field in front of me. Most of them kept their distance, but one hesitantly hopped forward, muffling caws up to me. I took a step back, making a low caw of my own. At the sound, I can feel dozens of dark beady eyes gazing into my very soul, their confusion evident in their ruffled feathers. The crow at my feet gave a mighty flap of its wings and let out a series of loud caws. The rest of the murder cawed and took to the air, the wingbeats stirring the dust to swirl on the ground. Only the crow at my feet remained.

I bent down to look eye to eye with the crow. It made another low caw, and I somehow began to understand the strange bird noises. It's as if I have always known this language, but never had anyone who understood it as well. Until now. This dark bird knew exactly what I was saying. And strangely enough, I could understand it as well. I lay in the grass and express my concerns to the corvid, who only stares back at me. After listening to my situation, the crow took to the air without a response. Instead, it hovered closely above me and tugged lightly at the thick fur on my neck, guiding me further into the thick woods.

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That was almost seven years ago. Since then, I have been living with the strange corvids that had taken me in when I was lost and confused. I'm not sure what I would have done if they hadn't found me all those years ago, and I don't want to think about it. All I know is that I'm safe here. Im home.

Though I have never been able to shake that first night in Lost Town from my memory. The sight of the small broken town that makes do with whatever it can get, and the tears of the beautiful kind Kalon. Ah, how I wished I could do something about it, but at the time I was lost myself, and didn't know what could be done other than comfort. But after thinking about for a while, I found a solution to the problem as a whole; stealing the unused riches from my old home, and sometimes from the neighbors as well, and fixing them up to replace what those have lost or broken in the Lost Town. It sounded simple enough, but the first attempt was rough and I almost ended up getting caught. No, I needed help with this. I recruited my family of crows to help me carry some of the stolen items so I wasn't struggling with everything myself. This helped a lot, but there was still the issue of being seen. That's when I remembered the night I left my old life behind me; the dark cover of the new moon. The next attempt was a success.

During the few weeks between the new moon, I would watch from the high hill on the edge of the town and observe. Things that got broken, things that need to be replaced but can't afford to, and my mind jumped back to that night with the broken picture. I'll see what I can do about that. It became a cycle; quietly observing, stealing, reforging the materials and dropping them at the doorsteps for those whom had lost the original. Yes, I know that stealing is wrong. I feel a pang of anxiety and regret each time I slip into the unaware households, but at the same time I won't apologize for it. Something about giving to the broken families who will appreciate the items, which usually goes unnoticed by the theft victims, just feels better As if this is what I was meant to do all along. For the first time, I felt that I had a meaning in life.

Of course, over a few years of this, a sort of legend sprouted from it. Over the years, I could never bring myself to return to the town, other than to leave the stolen offerings at the doorsteps of the poor. I'm still not sure why, maybe I'm just not strong enough to face the beautiful Kalon again, who by now had opened a bakery on her own. With some generous donations from yours truly, of course. She would leave things for me, too. Plates of baked goods left out on her doorstep the nights I am in town, and I always look forward to tasting the sweet pastries on every thievery run.

And so, the legend of the Silent Crow became a beacon of hope in a crumbling town

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✦ When he is not watching over the city and collecting materials, Corbin is a rather laid back Kalon. He enjoys taking naps and drinking hot tea, as well as sweets when he can get his hands on it; they are a rare treat for him, usually having to travel to far away cities where he is not recognized just to get his hands on some.

✦ Corbin is very close with his crow family, which has had its ups and downs over the years. He has learned to care for them when they need it, mending a wound or pulling out a nicked blood feather, as well as watch the young stay out of too much mischief (but in the end, crows will be crows!).

✦ He has built a small makeshift cabin for himself in the woods, which he feels right at home in. The corvids may have helped slightly, but Corbin refuses to admit it.

✦ Corbin is a very proud Kalon, and hates to admit his mistakes to even himself.

✦ Over time, he found that he can not only communicate with crows, but has limited communication to the whole corvidae family. Not that they are very common, though jays are fairly common in the woods around his home.

✦ He has a soft spot for children! Though he will never admit it, Corbin is more generous to children and prefers seeing their joy over the adults. Deep down, he remembers the pain he felt as a child and doesn't want anyone else to have to go through what he did.

✦ Despite living in the woods for almost half his life, he has terrible allergies! This causes him to catch colds fairly often, and he often drags his feet and mopes around.

✦ He also highly dislikes water. Small streams and such are fine, but he hates to admit that swimming isn't his strong point.

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Even now, I look back at my reflection in puddles of water and can't help but wonder what my parents would think of me now;

ａｍ _ｉ_ ｃｒｙｉｎｇ?
_ａｍ _ｉ_ ｌａｕｇｈｉｎｇ?
_ｙｏｕ_ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ _ｄｏｎ'ｔ_ ｅｖｅｎ _ｋｎｏｗ _ｔｈａｔ.

Ah, how I wish to write to them now, to show them who I've become. What I've become. To show them that some birds aren't meant to be caged; that kits need their freedom, and you can't take that away from them;

ｌｏｏｋｓ _ｌｉｋｅ _ｙｏｕ _ｌｏｏｋｅｄ_ ｄｏｗｎ _ｏｎ_ ｕｓ_ ａ _ｌｉｔｔｌｅ _ｔｏｏ_ ｍｕｃｈ.

ｗｅ _ｒｅｍｅｍｂｅｒ _ｅｖｅｒｙｔｈｉｎｇ!

ｔｈｅ _ｔｈｉｎｇｓ_ ｙｏｕ_ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ_ ｄｉｄ _tｏ _ｕｓ _ｔｈａｔ _ｄａｙ;

ｅｖｅｎ _ｔｏｄａｙ, _ｆｒｏｍ _ｈｅｒｅ_ ｗｅ _ｃａｎ_ ｓｅｅ

In the name of revenge, I stand up by and for myself.
The scenery you see from there is dirty, isn't it?

[/quote]

And yet, in the end, I'm not strong enough to face them. Maybe I'm scared of what they might think. Or perhaps deep down, I wish they would want me back?

This is who I am, and I won't change for anyone. But sometimes I just can't help but feel that

Ｉ＇ｍ _ｊｕｓｔ _ｌｉｋｅ_ ａ_ ｃｒｏｗ
ｔｈａｔ＇ｓ_ ｆｏｒｇｏｔｔｅｎ _ｈｏｗ_ ｔｏ _ｆｌｙ