chapter #1

Alright yalls! This is my very first fanfic so be kind! I would love constructive criticism, even if you want to tell me I suck, just give me reasons why I suck so hard and I'll be happy! If enough people give me good advise, I will try to edit, but I can't make any promises about how often I will post and edit. If at any time, you feel I am misrepresenting old characters, please tell me what it is I'm doing wrong and I'll try to fix it (dude, Nawat is wwwaaaayyyy harder to write for than i thought! It's hard seeing him as a daddy...). Well, I see it like this: Nawat and Aly are married (der) and they have a daughter. They name her Junai after a fallen friend. But what oh what would a girl with this kind of ancestry be like? What powers does she posses? What physical and mental characteristics has she inherited? That's what I'd like to know! So here it is, the tale of Junai Alanna Crow, a quiet but strong girl with crazy powers and skillz yo.

Disclaimer: if i was tamora pierce i would not be the nerdy fourteen year old girl, typing on a crappy old compy now would I?

btw, "talking" thoughts and "animal talking"

Rated for more violence, thematic events and language up the butt later on.

Junai Alanna Crow lay on her stomach near the stream, a flower twisting between her fingers. She was singing softly, content to listen to the sounds, smell the scents and feel the nature all around her. Her soft voice drifted across the grass and water.

Lady with her eyes so bright,

watching over the endless fight,

Seeing the battle, to be free,

hoping this soon may be...

She loved taking inventory of her surroundings. She smelled damp earth, spice trees, the sweet clean water next to her and the camomile flower she still held. Junai felt the grass through her tight leggings and loose cotton tunic that reached her knees and the soft breeze on her face. She heard the stream, the chatter of small animals and the calls of crows. She frowned, listening hard.

"Cousin? Cou-sin?!"

Junai sighed, and let out a harsh caw in return, strongly contrasting her sweet singing voice.

"What do you want Rustaff? I was relaxing."

Rustaff lighted on her shoulder. "Your father wishes to see you," he preened her hair rigidly. "He says it is important. But I do not see the importance in the things he does, so I see no need to rush off dutifully to his side."

Junai sighed. "Does he put you up to disturbing my thoughts, or do you do that on your own?"

"A bit of both, you ungrateful child," he 'accidentally' cuffed her in the head with his wing as he took off. Junai rolled onto her back, staring up at the clouds. She smiled as a few eager fledglings careened toward her.

"Will you be flying with us today, wing sister?" One asked excitedly, trying hard to hover above her like a humming bird and failing miserably. She smiled and shook her head.

"I have to go now," she admitted. "And I make the regular folk nervous when I change near them. Thank you for the offer though, but I think I'll run home."

"Oh well, until next time, wing sister!" They left with difficulty, joining their flock. She sighed, getting to her feet and adjusting her quiver and bow on her back, care full not to let her storm wing fletched arrows get too near her neck. The set of arrows had been given to her by her father, who was as skilled a fletcher as a fighter. She had only brought along two mage killers, however. The rest were crow fletched. She noticed with a pang that the leather grip of her bow was unraveling. She would need to repair it that afternoon.

Junai climbed the nearest tree, using it as a starting point as she made her way home, hidden and almost completely silent as she lept nimbly through the leafy canopy. When she finally reached the town surrounding the castle, she jumped down, a puff of dirt blossoming around where her bare feet smacked the ground.

"Jun! Jun!"

Junai looked up, smiling at her friend Hazura as she ran toward her. Hazura had moved to the Copper Isles only months before, after living in the Tortallan desert. She had had no friends and was painfully shy, so Junai had tried to make her feel welcome. She liked Hazura, it was not simply pity that kept Jun talking with her and spending lazy days together. They were the same age and there were few commoners who accepted Junai as she was. Most found her intimidating even when she made an effort to be friendly.

"Hey Zura!" she threw her arm around the girl's shoulders. "What's new?"
"Your da's loo-"

"I know," she interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"But how?"Hazura frowned. "You've been out all morning."

"A little birdy told me."

"Oh," the little Bazier wrinkled her nose. "Would that be your literal birdies or the figure of speech birdies?" Though she had only just learned the language, Hazura had picked up quite a vocabulary.

"Literal," Junai grinned. "That's why I came back. Do you have any idea what he wants?"

"No," the shorter girl shook her head. "I've been at the seamstress' all morning. I only just escaped!"

"Oh you poor baby," Jun rolled her eyes. "Sorry I can't comfort you in this most dire time of need, but I've got to find Da." She took off running in the direction of the fletcher's shop. Hazura shook her head. She couldn't keep up if she tried.

"Da?" Jun called as she rounded a corner. "Oh there you are!" She sat across from her father on the bench outside the cramped fletcher's shop.

"I've been looking for you all morning," he smiled warmly at his only child. "Where have you been off to?"

She gave what her mother called a 'crow shrug.' "Just off thinking. Rustaff said you were looking for me, so I headed back. What's up?"

"Well," Nawat Crow placed an arrow carefully in it's shaft, choosing his words carefully. "I was going to wait until your mother came out of her meeting...but she's been so busy lately..."

Junai frowned. It was not like her father to be at a loss for words. "What's wrong Da? Is something the matter?"

"No," he continued slowly. "Jun, you know how Ysul says he doesn't understand your sparkle power- I mean- your magic?"

"Yes," she frowned deeper. "But what does it matter if he doesn't? It's my magic and I think it's just fine."

"That's true," Nawat began picking excess glue from his most recently dried arrow. "But your mother insists that you learn control. I don't understand it myself. Crows never needed control." He looked at her proudly. "And half of your sparkl- magic is from them."

"But ma says the other half is from a different kind of sorcery that is wild and difficult to tame," Jun rolled her eyes. "How many times have I heard that one."

"And she's right," he pointed out, carefully choosing his next words. Jun was like a small animal, prone to run off if he frightened her. "That's why I think it would be a very good idea for you to learn from someone who is accustom to... a different kind of magic."

Jun put her hands on her hips. "Spit it out Da, this is obviously important."

He ignored the suggestion, sanding down a fresh shaft. "I sent a letter to your grand parents." He bit his lip, praying she would not jump to the point to soon. He needn't have worried, Jun snorted.

"Da, you're terrified of Grandma."

"True," he smiled sheepishly. "But I needed to ask them about...something."

"Your scaring me," her frown deepened. "What about my magic did you need to talk to Grandma and Grandpa about?"

"Your Mother thinks that some of your magic may be what is called Wild magic," he said slowly, knowing that at any moment, Junai would put two and two together. He didn't have long to wait.

"You-you want me to-to," Jun stammered, staring at him with wide eyes. "Go and learn from- from Daine!" she gasped when he nodded.

"Daine understands shape shifting and speaking with animals," he explained. "She is the only one we know of who can do this. She is the only one who can train you."

"I don't need to be trained!" Jun protested, panicking. "I like it fine the way I am! Da, I can't leave you and Ma and Zura and all my friends!"

"You will come home," he pointed out reasonably. "I think you will be away for three years at the most."

"Three years!" Junai paled. "Three years with out seeing all of you?! Are you insane!?"

"Maybe your mother is wearing off on me," he crow shrugged. "But you need training, and Daine is the one to do it."

"Have you told mother this plan yet?" she demanded. Nawat looked guilty.

"Well..."

Jun grinned evilly. This she could work with. If she got to her mother first, she could give her Jun's own version of her father's proposal and Aly would be opposed to it before her father had the chance to put the idea in her head. "That's good, I think I'll go visit her in her office now."

"No," Nawat knew his daughter too well to mistake that scheming look in her oddly colored eyes. He shook his head. "I have already promised her Majesty that you will go riding with her this afternoon." Jun groaned. She couldn't ignore a promise made to royalty.

"Your getting better at this," she sighed dramatically. "Time was you were easier to get around Da." Even if his idea had made her nervous, she couldn't resist poking fun. "Now your almost as good as Ma, what's a poor girl to do?"

He smiled, at least she wasn't furious. "I don't know," he answered gravely. "You may just be trapped this time."

She gave him a swift hug before running off to the stables to saddle her stallion, Dark Wing. The horse was considered vicious and dangerous by almost everyone but Jun. He snorted when he saw his tack being lifted from the wall by his mistress.

"Why do I put up with this?"

"Because you're dog meat if you don't," she informed him. "Hold still and be a good boy today. We're riding with Dove so don't get any funny ideas about racing." With a pang she realized that if she left, she would be leaving him behind. He could never get the attention he needed if she wasn't around. She bit her lip, thinking hard. She was scared to go, and would fight tooth and nail if she was forced. But the truth was, a little part of her heart had soared when her father suggested it. She would love to meet the people her mother had told her stories about. Alanna the Lioness, her grandmother, George Cooper, her grandfather, Daine the Wildmage, her husband, Numaire and all the others. They sounded so exciting and interesting. To fly with a flock from legends... she thought bemused. But she couldn't leave Darkwing and the others. They needed her. When Darkwing was ready she led him out to where Queen Dovasary was already waiting astride her palomino, Sugarcane.

"Hello, Junai!" she smiled. "I was wondering where you've been!"

Jun managed a sort of half bow while simultaneously pulling Darkwing's teeth away from a foot man.

"Oh none of that," Dovasary flapped her hand impatiently. "Your as good as family! How many times must I tell you, only at court!"

"Just a few more times, for the message to stick," Jun grinned, swinging easily into the saddle. She winced, realizing she should have stopped in her rooms for shoes. She hoped the queen wouldn't notice her bare feet. "Where should we go?"

Oh, ty to Daughter of nature for pointing out that she probably wouldn't call her parents mom and dad (blush) i didn't think of that when I was writing!