KORBIN
Leave my loneliness unbroken!
- quit the bust above my door!
- quit the bust above my door!
The sound of the reindeer's call brought a sudden silence over the thickets. Birds and critters that had been quietly chirping and skittering about grew still, and a deafening stillness settled over the area. It was as if the very earth was holding its breath.
For several heartbeats it persisted, until a black mass of birds suddenly burst forth from the underbrush. Ravens, four of them; they winged their way swiftly upwards toward the open sky, off and away from the shelter. Their flight was hurried, as though chased. No sooner had they taken off than a small figure shot up into the air, leaping high. A fox, white against a white backdrop. It snapped its jaws after the birds, and sharp teeth closed around the tail feathers of the corvid at the very rear of the group.
Yanked from the air, the bird squawked in fear and pain, and a pulse of absolute terror pulsed through the bond. Mindless, thoughtless; blind to anything but the gnashing teeth and the paws - soft, clawed, big against a feathered wing - that pinned the raven to the ground.
For several heartbeats it persisted, until a black mass of birds suddenly burst forth from the underbrush. Ravens, four of them; they winged their way swiftly upwards toward the open sky, off and away from the shelter. Their flight was hurried, as though chased. No sooner had they taken off than a small figure shot up into the air, leaping high. A fox, white against a white backdrop. It snapped its jaws after the birds, and sharp teeth closed around the tail feathers of the corvid at the very rear of the group.
Yanked from the air, the bird squawked in fear and pain, and a pulse of absolute terror pulsed through the bond. Mindless, thoughtless; blind to anything but the gnashing teeth and the paws - soft, clawed, big against a feathered wing - that pinned the raven to the ground.
Quoth the Raven,
"Nevermore."
"Nevermore."
