A child dreams

Ravensha is but a child, yet sometimes a child's dreams can carry a kernel of truth.

 Ravensha's body twitched as she slept. She whimpered quietly. One of the women tending the fledglings nudged her with her foot. “Wake up, child.”

Ravensha opened her eyes with a gasp. “Red eyes,” she whispered. “The red eyes are coming.”

“Be silent.” The foot struck her wing harder and Ravensha cried out in pain.

“What goes on here?” Ersa, favored mate of the Sky-Lord, walked into the cavern.

“Just an unruly fledgling, my lady,” the woman said, kicking at Ravensha again. “My apologies if her cries disturbed you.”

“What's disturbing me is your abuse of the Sky-Lord's daughter,” Ersa said coldly. “Ravensha was recognized as his child. You have been told to treat her well, and I find you striking her with the intent to harm. Shall I speak to the Sky-Lord about your actions?”

The woman blanched. “No, my lady.”

“Then I suggest you moderate your treatment of his daughter,” Ersa said. She looked down at Ravensha. “Now, what disturbed your sleep?”

“Red eyes,” Ravensha said again. “The red eyes are coming.”

Ersa raised an eyebrow. “Red eyes? Coming here?”

Ravensha nodded. “I saw them. They crawled down the stone like the rock creepers. They're coming here. They're bad people. They're going to hurt us.”

“It was just a dream, Ravensha,” Ersa said. “You know no one comes down the cliff. Go back to sleep.”

“Yes, mama,” Ravensha said. She wrapped her wings back around her and closed her eyes.

“My lady, I understand that she is the only female the Sky-Lord has claimed out of the many he has sired, but should we really be treating her any differently from the rest of the fledglings?” the woman asked.

“It is rare for a Sky-Lord to recognize a female,” Ersa said. “You know this. He must see some value in her, and I will not see her harmed just when the Sky-Lord finds favor with her. He could summon her to his presence at any time. Do you want him to see her bruised?”

“No,” the woman said. “But I also do not want to have him see her undisciplined.”

“Chastise her if you wish, but moderate your blows,” Ersa said.

“Yes, my lady,” the woman said. Ersa left.

Sunday Snippet - Raven

This is just a little bit of another one of my WIPs.

Arcturo waited until there was barely enough light to see. The fledgling ignited whatever the Aeryons used for lights and the cave entrance blazed in the darkness. “There,” Arcturo said. “Aim the grapples for that opening.”

Four of the men took a few steps back, the metal hooks whirling above their heads. They released the hooks and the metal barbs sailed through the air. The first one hit on the first try, but it took another shot to get the other three connected. Arcturo slung one of the tangle nets over his shoulder and started climbing. The others followed his example. A faint tingle in his hands told Arcturo that the anti-slip spell was in place on the ropes.

Arcturo pulled himself into the aerie. There, reclining on a pile of curtains with a book open in front of her, was the fledgling he'd come to steal. Her hair was as black as her wings, and strands fell over the feathers. She was paler than most Aeryons, which gave testament to her imprisonment in this cave. She looked up from her book, eyes wide. “Who are you?” she demanded, pushing the book to the side.

Before she could move any further, Arcturo gave his net an expert flip and it tangled around her wings. The fledgling shrieked as she struggled against the net. Two more nets wrapped around her. The more she thrashed the harder it became for her to move until finally she was completely immobilized.

“Fastest I've ever seen those things work,” one of the men said as Arcturo pulled a long, thin needle out of his belt. He approached the fledgling, who stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

“I'm sorry, youngling,” he said in a quiet voice. “I can't let you stay here.” He inserted the needle into the side of her neck. A few seconds later, her eyes fluttered closed and she went limp. “Quickly now, get those ropes up here. We've got to work fast.”