Alone and Useless {Tagged}

[dogzrock]

Zinqua had failed. She had been trying her hardest to save him but she'd failed. Nothing to stop the fact that he was dead. Her little Pip. Zinqua had fled the place where she'd laid him to rest in the forest. She'd flow as far as she could before collapsing. She'd awoke here by this crevice in the cliffside. All hope was gone. All light was no more. No stars shone in the sky the way that Pip no longer inhabited this world. It was all dark to Zinqua. Even in the sun, the shadows that the light created seemed dark. Here Zinqua perched in the crevice. She wished that it could all just disappear. She wished the world would leave her alone. She sighed as the sun broke over the horizon. She almost prefered the almost complete darkness of the night. It'd been a new moon last night. For many the new moon was a sign of a restart, for Zinqua it symbolized the death of something wonderful.

(singed)

[singed]

   Singed had been up before dawn that night, and although he dare not fly when he could not see far in front of him, he had been exploring the mountainous terrain for the past hour at least. It was in this rocky terrain, which he traversed on feet not meant for walking, that he had come across a rather curious sight. A scar marred the cliffside landscape, and being curious by nature the carrion crow could not help but investigate.

But he waited, yes. No sense in throwing ones self into a hole they could not escape from. In the rising light he returned to this place and took it upon himself to explore. The slim raven took to wing now that there was just enough light to see by, and in the first moments of dawn he had given not a second glance to the sky's colorful display for staring too long would deaden his ability to see in the little light available; take away his night vision he had built up upon waking. Garnet eyes scanned the area, and not too many yards away the crow believed he spied movement. The breathing and subtle shifting indicating something alive, something small... Singed focused on that spot, and cawed a soft, curious "Good morning,"

[dogzrock]

Zinqua's head popped up. The tiny bird looked up at the crow a couple feet away. She ruffled her feathers so that'd she'd look bigger. "There's nothing 'good' about it for me," she said huffily. Her tone was full of the still-fresh despair. Zinqua avoid the glimmering red eyes of the crow. Her bright green ones flicked from detail to detail. Those details formed the whole picture. By focusing on the details, Zinqua noticed things that other birds might not. She noticed the spider crawling right by the crow's foot. She noticed the tiny form of another bird circling high in the dawn sky. She noticed how empty everything was without Pip.

[singed]

    Singed paused, tilting his head as the smaller being's words and presence registered. Before the silence could become more tense or awkward than it was beginning to be already, he piped in again, still in a conversational, friendly tone. "I am deeply sorry if I have upset you, I suppose for others it may simply be 'a morning'." 

   Singed noticed that the smaller bird looked quite defensive, with her harsh speaking tone and her puffed-up feathers. With this in mind he took a slight but sudden hop forward, but did not raise a wing or talon at her, more to test if this stranger was of the skittish or aggressive temperaments than to close distance, of which there still was plenty. Mentally the crow hoped that she was for that would be rather amusing to him, but he would attempt not to provoke her directly for Singed was obsessed with appearances and to the crow there would be no greater error than to gain a reputation as someone needlessly aggressive. As if this had not happened he continued. "Whatever sort of morning it is, I can only hope that it improves for you. My name is Singed. Might I have the pleasure of knowing yours?"

[dogzrock]

Zinqua's huddled position didn't change as the crow hopped towards her though she slightly leaned away. She wondered for a second if she should keep her name a secret. Hiding her true name might, store away all those terrible feelings that she'd been trying to block out and hide. Should she hide her name as well? Names for Zinqua told of a bird's experience and there personality because of it. Zinqua's name now told of her suffering that she'd rather forget. Then again, Zinqua was her name, she couldn't just change it. It didn't matter whether or not Singed knew it. Her name was just a word for him. It was a way to get her attention and address her with. He would think of her as Zinqua from the moment he knew her name. All this pondering did nothing Zinqua finally decided. "Zinqua," she said shortly. Then after a second of silence she spoke again with a softer tone, "Mornings were never my favorite time of day. I prefer the night when the soft light of the moon replaces the sun that's too bright for me. Besides, I like the pitch black that surrounds the moon. It's as if the blackness extends forever."