Clawed hands laced together around the long handle of his wooden staff and his glowing eyes settled on the largest of his scrying pools. His rumbled growl continued at a constant and his blood began to boil as he watched, the images in the pool coming to him much clearer now, through the eyes of the Raven.
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The Raven squaked as it flew, darting in and around trees, whipping about expertly through the branches as if it had done this so many times the way was burned into it’s instincts. Wings flapped and fluttered as it whipped around a tree. The form of a large hawk sat on a branch as the Raven landed, it’s head darting back and forth, the eyes turning to see as the Hawk took a human form and then dropped to the forest.
Another wolf came up to them and the Raven squaked again, rather loudly.
The bird was a big one, much bigger than the usual Raven, maybe twice as big. Familiars often were in the old days. Stories were still told about them, but most of the memories had been lost by now except in tales told to children. Or superstitious rumors.
It spread it’s wings wide slowly flapping them as it looked down on the Wolf and Hawk shifters in an eerie foreboding image of the spreading raven, a symbol often taken as a very bad omen. Ravens were always bad omens.
The big bird took off again in a flutter, a single black feather falling down to the forest floor between the two shifters and turned darting off expertly through the woods toward the commons. It flung itself through the air with a flourish, twisting around and arching over the clearing in a big circle to let it’s master see through it’s eyes…...and there it was. Two of them, a Shifter and Human together….and they weren’t killing each other.
The Raven’s red eyes blazed and it flung itself down toward the back of the human warrior’s head, claws extended as it cawed and pulled itself up just before it clobbered him in the back of the head and it’s claws extended, talons reaching out as it turned and raked along the back of Theo’s neck. Nothing more than some pain and a bit of blood, but the big bird flew up and perched on the broken down roof of the building, wings spread wide, red fiery eyes blazing and it’s beak opened in a deep hiss as it stood there.
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Shank’s growl grew to full force, eyes blazing as he overheard conversations and saw the abomination before him. His head reared back and he roared, the monsterous belly roar ended in a great howl that shook the forest around him resonating and echoing in every direction. The howl lasted for many moments, ear piercing, but clearly a wolf…..or at least partly wolf. After many moments the howl died away bouncing in every direction from the echo, and whispers followed it, the anchient whispers of long dead foes, ghostly sounds that were just at the edge of hearing. The kind that drove men to madness.
Shank whirled around in anger, arms spreading wide, glowing eyes blazing as he raized his claws skyward and began to chant again. The song he sang was an old one, and his body girated and jerked as he chanted, power crackling through his staff while four very distinct scars began to glow a bright blue on his arm.
Outside, the sky began to look ominous. The blue of it was still there, but grey clouds began to close in around the Commons in circle as if being called from every direction…...and the soft sound of thunder rumbled in steadily getting closer……..
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