Chapter Text
“Why do the crows always follow us here?” I look towards my father as he leads me into the forest behind our house.
This was a weekly occurrence. Mother used to be a bit concerned, but father never took us too far so she just took father by his words of “father and son bonding”. It wasn't a lie, but there was a small detail he left out. But it was enough for my mother. My sister always wanted to join us, but mother would say they would have their own “mother and daughter bonding.” I think they were playing video games, which explains why she got better than me.
Crows were always nearby. Not that close, but close enough for me to notice once in a while. I once asked my mother, she said that since we lived close to the forest they probably have nests nearby. Sometimes I would see them at school. My teacher said they had never seen crows so close to the school before. I got used to them. Except whenever me and my father went into the forest, they would always follow us. There were more of them and they always seemed closer. Almost surrounding us. I pretended to just ignore them, but they were loud. I got used to it.
“What do you mean, Arlo? You already know crows lived in the forest.” Dalmund, my father answers. He continues leading me into the forest. That's all we really did. Take a nice stroll down the forest. We would talk. Well mostly him, he liked to talk a lot. Actually, my whole family is a family of talkers. Except for me. I was more on the quiet side. They were loud. Louder than the crows, which I liked.
“Ya, but they never get this close…and loud.” The crows caw, almost sounding offended as if they understood me.
“Hmm, they sure are.” He hums.
Me and my sister liked to tease them. We cawed back at them. We thought about maybe throwing rocks, but decided that was a bit too cruel. Still wanted to though.
We arrive at a fallen tree. He lifts me up, placing me on top of the tree. He sits next to me. I am 6. I am a bit shorter than other kids my age. My parents told me I'd grow, but I never really mind being on the shorter end. My sister teased me though. Despite her being the same age and still shorter than me.
A cold breeze passes through the trees. I shiver to the touch.
“Do you wanna practice what I taught you?” He asks.
I just nod.
“Ok, remember it comes from your soul first. Then from the earth. So focus on yourself first.”
I hold my hand out in front of me and stare at my palm. I try to focus everything into my palm. The crows scream at me.
Weak. Broken. Nothing.
I let out my breath that I didn't know I was holding. I fail.
“That's alright,” My father takes my hand, leaning over me. Telling me he'll protect me. I can't hear the crows anymore. “Here let me help you.”
His hands are warm. Not just from his soul, but his own body heat. It’s comforting. I try it again. I can feel my soul throughout my body. I focus on my palm. It glows. It’s warm.
“There we go,” He lets go of my hand and ruffles my hair. “See I told you. Magic takes patience.” My curly hair moves to his touch. His fingers would sometimes get stuck to my woven braids. Compared to my father, mine was also curly but with more short twists. I used to have something similar, but I saw someone with dreads and fell in love with it.
The crows coo.
“Would y’all shut up already!” He creates a small ember into his hands and throws it at a crow, scaring it again. The other crows laughed. My father just sighs in defeat.
“You know, crows are known to be connected to the spirit world.”
“Like ghosts?”
“Kinda I guess, but they're more of a different thing. I'll tell you another day.” He leans back, looking up to the starry sky. “It's more like our ancestors watching us through the birds' eyes.”
“All the time?” I ask, a bit concerned about my privacy.
“Probably not, they must be hella bored watching us 24/7.” He teases the crows.
“Are they watching us now?”
He stays silent before looking at his small boy.
“They'll always be loud.” He rests his hand on my head. I liked it when he did that. “They'll say awful things, things that you might think are true. They're not. But they won't leave you. They'll attack you, berate you, and try to steal your shinies.” He shows off the ring on his finger. His second ring. The crows caw angrily. He laughs at them.
My mother died giving birth to me. My father wanted her to get an abortion when he learned I would kill her. The elders said that they wouldn't allow it. Said that I must be powerful, too powerful for my mother to live after giving birth to me. My father didn't care and wanted to run away with her. But she said no. She wanted to have me, even if it would kill her. My father respected her wishes and she died. I was weak. So weak. I had little to no magic in me. Could almost pass as a regular human. They hated me. But not my father. I don't blame him though for wanting me dead.
For two years he raised me alone, until he met Kora. Her husband abandoned her shortly after giving birth to Dan, my sister. Kora and Dalmund got married a little while after meeting. He loved her, he loved us. And I loved him, all of them. The elders hated us. Kora and my sister weren't witches like us. They looked down on them. On me.
Their skin was cool tan while me and fathers were rich brown. Our eyes were red and theirs were dark brown. All of our hair was black, but their hair was straight compared to our curly hair. My father was the tallest out of all of us. Not like it was that hard considering two of the competitions were literal children. They were a bit chubby. I was kinda skinny. My father was decently built. Me and my father were humans. Witches, but humans nonetheless. They were demons. They had horns protruding out their skulls. Mother’s horns were bright red. Kinda like our eyes. Dan’s were a light purple at the tip that faded into white. Besides the obvious age difference, this was one of the only discerning features between them. In conclusion, we were very different from each other. And that’s what we loved about each other.
His red eyes stare into mine, like he's looking at his own reflection. I wonder what he sees.
“You can try to block them out, and you might. But it won't be possible forever, so I'll be here to help you. Drown out their words with my own.” His face saddens for a moment before giving me a comforting smile. “Even if not me. You'll find someone who'll drown out their words for you. Keep them close ok.”
“Ok.” I say. I don't often give verbal confirmation, usually leaving it to a simple nod, but I think he needs it. “Can I speak to the crows?”
“Why would you ever want to do that?”
“Tell them to shut up myself.”
He chuckles.
“Unfortunately no, but don't let me stop you.”
“What about wolves?”
“What about them?”
“Can I speak to them?”
He said, “I don't see why not.” He looked behind me, thinking. “Tell you what, when you turn 18, I'll show you how.”
…
My father died when I was 17.
…
When I started elementary school it didn’t feel too much different than kindergarten. Except instead we had to be in school for way longer. And no more nap times. It sucked.
“What’s with those crows?” Some boy sat next to me during recess as he stared at the crows at the edge of the playground. He was half-human, half-beastman. He could very easily pass for human, if not for his ears poking out of his head, and fluffy tail. It was on the longer side and curled upwards a bit. He only had fur on those mentioned parts. It was dark brown with white undercoat. His dark brown wavy hair matches his fur and his ocean blue eyes contrast his warm beige skin.
“I don’t know, but they really like Arlo.” my sister teased.
“I hate them.” I retorted.
“Wanna throw rocks at them?” the boy suggested.
“I was thinking the same thing. But the teacher would probably yell at us.” I answered.
“And it’s kinda cruel.” my sister added.
“I’m starting to not care.”
“Let me know when you do, I’ll join you.” The boy placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled.
His name was Kai.
…
I was 10 when I met my first wolf.
I went out to the forest alone. I liked to sneak out. Not to do anything malicious, but I started to enjoy taking a stroll in the forest. I couldn’t wait for my father and mine bonding time. Our house had three bedrooms so I had a room to myself. I lived on the second floor, but there were enough ledges to make it down safely. After opening the window I climbed down, hopped the fence and away I was.
I walked down, the only thing lighting the way was the moon and stars.
Weak. Broken. Nothing.
Oh right, the crows. I put my hands over my ears and I feel my soul flow through my body. To my hands. Then covering my ears. I moved my hands away and everything sounded muffled.
I continued my now silent walk through the forest. Sometimes I would run jumping over fallen branches or climbing trees. I would often return home with a few scratches. I would just tell them I got them from school.
It was a night like any other night, but there was something different in the forest. I could feel a pair of eyes glaring at me. It wasn’t the crows I know, I’ve long gotten used to their breach of privacy. I scanned the area looking. At first I saw nothing. I turned off the magic blocking my hearing. Then almost on cue I heard a crunch. I snapped my head to the sound. There was a bush. I moved slightly. It wasn’t a windy night so there was something or someone there.
I’m smart. I’ve gotten good grades all my life. My father said that while the spells were a bit weak, I could grasp the basics better than most witches and other magic users. I was proud, but always humble about it. Well a bit less humble considering I’m saying I’m humble, but still.
Yet tonight, I did the dumbest thing anyone could do in this situation. I approached the bush.
“AHHHHH-” I screamed out as a rabbit jumped out of the bush.
Well I looked stupid. Good thing there’s no one else here. Except for the crows. I think they were laughing
I took a sigh of relief thinking that’s all that was. It wasn’t. I realize I could still feel glaring eyes on me. I looked around again. Trying to stay calm, but I was kinda freaking out just a bit.
That’s when I saw it.
A pair of yellow glowing eyes stared at me. Its colour separated them from the rest of the dark forest. I stared back in shock, body unmoving. The pair of yellow eyes were attached to a wolf's body.
The wolf sat straight as it watched me. Its fur was white as snow. I’ve seen pictures and videos of wolves and I could tell it was on the shorter end. Must be a young wolf, which means its parent may be nearby. I don’t know if it was the same for wolves but, I remember mother bears were very protective over their cubs.
I wanted to run. To scream. To cry. But I didn’t. That’s when I noticed, I couldn’t hear the crows.
When I was with my father the crows were a lot louder as I realized we both had our own pack of crows following us. But when he was close to me, they were muffled. When he was touching me, I couldn’t hear them at all.
The wolf was 10 meters away from me and yet I heard not a single sound from the crows.
The wolf sat up and approached me. Its ears were perked up as it moved ever so slowly towards me. It didn’t growl or snarl. Do I run? Approach? Play dead? No. I just stood there until it reached me.
His eyes looked up to me. I looked down at it. I don’t know what came over me. I reached out my hand. At first it flinched to my movement, but when it noticed my hand the wolf snuggled into it. Its eyes softened to my touch, rubbing its soft fur into my hand. Its tail wagged from side to side. It purred. The first sound I heard it make.
I must be dreaming.
A howl rang throughout the forest. The crows’ caws echoed throughout the forest.
The wolf ears perked up again and growled at the sudden noise. It backed away from me, not before giving my hand a quick lick. It whimpered as it looked back at me before it ran. It was fast. Barely noticed where it went. But it was gone.
I snapped out of whatever daze I was in. I realized how tired I was and went home. I look back to where the wolf once was.
I definitely want to talk to wolves.