To the Raven, She was more than a curio.

[wildfire6]

The following is the journal of a young man by the name of Rist Ainsworth about his time spent with a girl by the name of Crow. Feel free to comment and give critique.

[wildfire6]

Today the new shipment came in, which means it is time for me to begin a new journal. My name is Rist Ainsworth, and I am an archeologist and psychologist by trade, young for the job at 16, but it's what I'm good at. I don't work in the field obviously, I've been confined to a wheelchair since an accident that occurred the only time I ever left the city years ago. I do not mind though, I can study artifacts and people perfectly fine from my office. My parents are long dead, and I was raised by my two older siblings, both dead now. That is about all that needs to be noted before I begin. I shall watch them bring the artifacts in now, things that came from deep in South America. I suppose I should resume once everything has been unpacked.

Rist Ainsworth, Day One

[wildfire6]

Inventory

Arrowheads to be carbon dated-39
Pots (Clay)-19
Pots (Steel)- 3
Platters (Clay)-19
Platters (Steel)-2
Platters (Gold)-4
Eating Utensils (Steel)- 4 (Fork, Spoon, steak knife, butter knife)
Knifes (Weapons)- 17
Tools- 15 (Hammer, Flintknapps (12), small knife, hand axe)
Statues/ Idols- 18
Spearheads (Obsidian)-6
Bows- 4
Arrows- 45
Writings- 24
Dolls(?)- 9
Fragments of Carvings- 27
Jewelry (Various metals and stones)- 60 Earrings (17),Necklaces (9), Bracelets (34)
Toys- 12
Mummified Bodies-2
Mysterious Living Girls in Bird Masks- 1

-Rist Ainsworth, Day One

[wildfire6]

Continuation of first entry
I was surprised to find that they had delivered a living person, a fifteen-year-old girl in a rusting metal mask fashioned after the skull of a bird clad in the skins of animals native to the area of the Amazon Rainforest where she had been found. Apparently, she had been hostilely guarding the area where the people in the field had been picking up artifacts and perplexing modern day items. Right. Send the dangerous, wild, jungle girl to the teenage boy in a wheelchair. What could possibly go wrong? In any case, I was told that she had not made a sound aside from the stray grunt even after she came to. She was assumed mute.

This girl was not mute.

I went to introduce myself to her before putting away the items I was to study and restore.

"Hello, My name Is Rist.” I stated to the girl, pointing to myself and repeating my name, "Rist."

She seemed to get a kick out of that, "I'm not an idiot. I heard you the first time."

I was shocked to hear that not only did she speak, but also she spoke English, "It was assumed that you were either mute or had little to no prior human contact”.

The girl snorted, "I only speak to people who aren't trying to steal my things”.

I could not help but laugh, "I assure you, had they known they belonged to someone they would not have tried to take them.”

She glared at me, “No, they’d just kidnap me and take me to a strange man so lazy he has a chair with wheels so he never has to get up”.

“I’m in a wheelchair because I am incapable of moving my body from the waist down Birdmask, not because I’m lazy.”

Birdmask made a growling noise, “My name is not Birdmask”.

When I inquired as to what her name was she appeared not to know, but quickly came up with her own moniker, “Crow”.

Rist Ainsworth- Day One

[wildfire6]

What information I have been able to extract from Crow leads me to believe that she has had minimal human contact for the past seven years; in fact, the archeologists who brought her may well be the only people she has spoken to. I allowed her to go through the artifacts, asked her what was hers and what she used it for. She did not like me very much when she discovered I was in possession of her belongings, but that did not last very long considering I let her take them back. They were the modern items, one of the dolls, the tools, and a few of the weapons. I had no more reason to study them as I then had all the information I needed on them.
Inventory
Arrowheads to be carbon dated-39
Pots (Clay)-19
Pots (Steel)- 0
Platters (Clay)-19
Platters (Steel)-0
Platters (Gold)-4
Eating Utensils (Steel)- 0
Knifes (Weapons)- 14
Tools- 0
Statues/ Idols- 18
Spearheads (Obsidian)-5
Bows- 2
Arrows- 27
Writings- 24
Dolls(?)- 8
Fragments of Carvings- 27
Jewelry (Various metals and stones)- 60 Earrings (17),Necklaces (9), Bracelets (34)
Toys- 12
Mummified Bodies-2
Mysterious Living Girls in Bird Masks- 1

She is currently out shopping for clothes with one of the maids who struck up an agreement of mutual non-hatred and maybe budding friendship with her whereas I understand that the rest hate her and a in a bit of an uneasy alliance with her. I personally believe it is the bird mask, but Crow refuses to take it off. They will get used to her eventually… at least I hope so.
Seeing as this entry is already devoted to Crow, I might as well put down all I know about her so far-

Notes:
Name-Crow
Age-Roughly 15
Gender- Female
Disposition- Easily set off and volatile
Condition- Crow appears to be undernourished, but is physically adept, from what I understand she took out one of the guards (a grown man known for his prowess in fighting) with her bare hands….


Moving on from that I should note that dinner with her was quite interesting, she was very confused by the bread and how it was made. Then she made herself sick eating too much… it took several hours, but eventually we got her to pace herself and eat some broth. The conversation that we had during that was a curiosity.

“Why don’t you take off the mask?” ,I had asked her.
“Why don’t you get out of the chair?” ,I do not think she actually believed that I was physically incapable of standing.
“I told you earlier, I can’t.”
“Why can’t you?”
The subject of how I had become paralyzed was not one I liked to speak of, “You still haven’t answered my question. Now do not tell me you can’t; the thing is not fused to your skull.”
Crow appeared to find that humorous, “I wear it so nothing can see my face.”
Well. There’s a psychological anomaly for me to study, “Why can’t anything see your face?”
She bit her lip and scanned the room for other people, something that made me feel far more trusted, “Because the Raven comes when I show my face.”
“The Raven?” ,this was suddenly more interesting.
She nodded quickly, “I don’t know how he knows, but whenever I take my mask off I find whatever saw me dead within a week”.
This girl just became more and more of an enigma, “And how do you know it’s the Raven?”
“Because he told me when he killed my mother, he gave me the mask and he said, ‘If you ever take this off and show your ugly face I’ll kill whatever sees you.’ , I don’t know why he said that, but he kept his word.”
I hadn’t expected to hear something like that, “You don’t need to worry about him here though, this is London and he’s back in the Amazon Rainforest, you’re an ocean away, he probably can’t get to you here, and that’s if he knows where you are.”
“He’s everywhere and he knows everything.” ,she was shaking.
“You don’t want to talk about this, do you?” ,I was stating fact more than asking a question.
She shook her head violently, she really did not want to talk about it.
After that, we kind of just sat there in silence.
-Rist Ainsworth, Day Two

[wildfire6]

I have successfully translated the first text and it is disturbing to say the least:

Do not fear The Raven though he may devour the rotting flesh from the corpses of the battlefield,
Do not fear The Raven, though he wears death’s solemn hood
Do not fear The Raven, though he plots your demise,
You sacrificed yourself to The Raven,
Fearing he Raven does you no good.
But fear The Crow!
For she is a clever beast,
Fear The Crow,
Who tricks you by taking just what she needs,
She starts an innocent,
She begins her descent as nothing sinister,
But this is the vessel.
Cover her human face with one more suiting,
Put out of its misery whatever sees the visage of this wretched thing.
Fear the Crow.
She will destroy everything, everyone by all means.

It was written in the language of the Aztecs, strange because it was found outside of their lands. I find it odd that this poem was found near Crow, who speaks of the Raven, but I doubt it has anything to do with her. I would ask if she knew, but considering how it lines up with her history, I will keep this one from her so as not to spook her.

Speaking of Crow, I have not seen her today… one of the servants reported that she was in the garden hunting a rabbit with a bow and arrow. I should probably make an attempt to curb such activity, or at least find somewhere for her to do that without so many people around.
Rist Ainsworth, Day Three

[Koschei]

Looks good!

[wildfire6]

Thank you!))

[wildfire6]

I have commenced studies on the first of the two corpses, something that mortified Crow when she walked in on me cutting away a section of skin to get a more precise estimate on its age. I shall have to learn to close the door when I have bodies out. She is fine now though; once I explained what I was doing, she gave me a dirty look and asked me how I would like someone digging up my corpse.

I told her I would be honored.

I do not believe that is what she wanted to hear.

Back to the corpse

Notes:
Gender- Female
Age at Death- Somewhere in the mid-twenties
Height-139.7 centimeters
Weight- 1216 ounces at death
Age of corpse- To be Determined
Cause of Death- To be Determined
It appears the corpse is yet another misplaced part of Aztec culture, naturally mummified in a cave off site as I am told. The abundance of Aztecan artifacts leads me to conclude that either the range of the said peoples was farther than previously soon or we have stumbled across the bodies of a couple of outcasts. Whatever the case there is something particularly strange about this woman: She is wearing a bird mask similar to the one Crow hides her face with. I believe that is nothing more than a coincidence, but it is most unnerving. Due to the curiosities of this corpse, I believe I will need to forget about sleep and research it through the night; I do not like to leave any more than absolutely necessary when there is a corpse involved.

Rist Ainsworth, Day Four

[wildfire6]

Notes:
Gender- Female
Age at Death- Somewhere in the mid-twenties
Height-139.7 centimeters
Weight- 1216 ounces at death
Age of corpse- 408 years as of 1846
Cause of Death- The heart was eaten pre-mortem. Likely by birds. The face also shows signs of severe pre-mortem trauma from being pecked at.
I will run an analysis on feathers I found on the body, but I hypothesize that they will belong to a raven despite the fact that it is out of the bird’s range.
Rist Ainsworth, Day Five


I have been proven correct.
Notes:
Gender- Female
Age at Death- Somewhere in the mid-twenties
Height-139.7 centimeters
Weight- 1216 ounces at death
Age of corpse- 408 years as of 1846
Cause of Death- Heart and Fact Devoured by Ravens
Rist Ainsworth, Day Six