Chapter 1: The raven and the pearl

Everything seemed quite calm, as the sun was setting in the west while an autumnal breeze blew coldly through the thick forest in southern Canada.
For the most animals, it was time to go back to their dens and nests in order to get a good amount of sleep for the next day, while only a few insects stayed whirring around. Having nothing to worry until the night active creatures would wake up and hunt them down for their breakfast.

Thanks to the wind a little, brown leaf, not bigger than a young child's hand, lost its grip on a branch and wafted down softly through the air.

Right before it could touch the ground a different air stream caught the leaf spinning it away and a raven with feathers as black as the night and sparkling blue eyes landed down between the roots of the great, old maple tree.

Vigilantly he scanned the area as if in search of something very important. But whatever it might be, there was no trace of it here. At least not yet.
However, the bird decided to wait. Not caring about the wind and the cold that caused him to ruffle his feathers.

After a while, he randomly began scratching through the dirt with his claws, in order to fight the boredness which was getting to him slowly.
But for that, he only used his left talon while his right stood still on the ground, wherein he held a tiny object.
A very important object which he knew he couldn't lose. Not before meeting the one he was looking for the whole time and who still hasn't arrived yet. But no matter how long it would take the bird would wait.

Suddenly there was a snap in the undergrowth, causing the raven to turn his head in order to see what was going on.

A tall creature stepped out from behind the trees looking like nothing the raven had ever seen before in his life. Was this the one he was looking for? This strange creature standing right before him covered in weird colorful leaves and a bunch of brown fur on its head?

For just a brief moment the raven did nothing besides looking directly into the creatures olive-green eyes with his own sapphire blue ones. Then he eventually blinked shortly and back up into the sky.
Leaving behind a very confused looking human girl in her early twenties.

~Vanessa's POV ~

(A few minutes earlier)

''Why don't you visit the lake in the local forest. It's a great place to relax.''

Grinning my teeth I kept walking through the woods, thinking about the wonderful advice from the receptionists by the hotel I checked in a few days ago.
Sure she had been right with the place. It really was nice and relaxing to sit there in the middle of nature with just the sound of animals around and no other people there to bother me.
I actually really enjoyed it sitting there on the bank of the lake, reading a book and listening to some music on my cellphone.
Everything was just fine except the fact that I forgot to check the time and got lost on my way back.

Seriously how could I've been so stupid? Going into an, to me, unknown forest in a foreign country without a map or a flashlight or anything. Did I think this was like a walk in a park or something? I really should have known something like this would happen. Especially after having some problems finding the lake in the first place.

It was already bad enough that my sense of direction was as bad as the one of a pebble but the advancing darkness made it even worse.
It practically decreased my chances of finding a way out but raised the inevitable in spending the night alone in the forest.

And that without a tent or a sleeping bag.

The only things I had with me were the clothes on my body and a bag around my shoulder with some snacks, a water bottle, a book and my cellphone inside. There was nothing that could've kept me warm through the cold night.
My light brown jacket was too thin just like my black sweater I wore underneath and my dark aubergine colored jeans.
Furthermore, my water bottle was almost empty, my cellphone low on battery and a single apple and some cookies my only leftovers to eat.

How frustrating.

Nevertheless, I knew complaining alone wouldn't help me to get out so I did my best and continued my way through the thicket.

Several times I wiped away strands of my long dark brown hair, which the wind kept smacking into my face cheerfully, while I stumbled across roots and sticks on the floor covered in colorful leaves.

Now and then I flinched, hearing unexpected sounds like the call of an animal or the crackle of wood when I broke a twig by stepping on it.
With the increasing darkness around me, my surroundings certainly started to creep me out a bit.
More than I ever I wanted nothing more than to get out of the deep forest.

Joyfully I found an opening between to threes and stepped through, hoping it was my way out.
But instead, I came to a small clearing, bathed in moonlight.
How nice, I thought, even though I was a bit disappointed and looked around until I spotted a black bird right in front of me between the roots of a large maple tree.

For a moment I did nothing but stared at the bird, while he stared back at me with his unique blue eyes. I wasn't sure if it was a raven or a crow though but this one seemed to be special.

Never before had I seen a raven or a crow with such eyes. The ones I saw had black eyes not blue.

Slightly confused I kept this staring contest up until the raven suddenly blinked and flew away without making a sound.

Still puzzled I watched him fly away before sitting down by the maple tree, wanting to rest my feet from all this walking. Just as I sat down I noticed something shiny under the leave right next to me.

Curiously I wiped away the leaves and pulled out a tiny pea-sized pearl with a beautiful sapphire blue coloring which reminded me of the unusual eyes from the raven.

Did he lose this pearl here? If so, where did he get it and was this even a real pearl or just a fake?

Various questions run through my head while I looked at the pearl, rolling it between my fingers but much less I knew what to do with it now?
It sure was pretty, the little pearl, but since I didn't like tiny things like bugs and jewelry so much I didn't quite feel like keeping it with me.

However, before I could decide what to do with it I glanced up into the sky hearing a fluttering sound above my head. Happily, I saw a bunch of bats flying through the night.
Unfortunately, as quick as they came as quick they went away again.

I sighed, still looking up at the darkening sky, watching the stars appearing one by one.
Just for the moment, I allowed myself to forget about my miserable situation and just kept staring at the starry sky, hoping to see at least one more bat.
But instead, I saw something else. A bright light dashing over the night sky.

''No way!'' I called in astonishment. I had never seen a shooting star before in my live and was really happy to be lucky enough to see one now. Despite the fact that I got lost this day wasn't so bad after all. First the relaxing afternoon at the lake and now bats and a shooting star.

I knew I couldn't stay here all night but I wanted to keep watching the sky, just for a little while longer. Maybe I was lucky to see more shooting stars or even another bat. But nothing.

''I wish I could meet another bat.'' I sighed crestfallen and didn't notice the strange thing that happened to the tiny pearl in my hand.

Without warning the pearl began to glow brightly in a bright blue light. So bright as if someone was shining a flashlight right into my face. Confused about what was happening I shut my eyes tightly in order not to get blind while holding the pearl as far away from me as possible.
Unfortunately, the light got even bigger and brighter until it completely engulfed me with its bluish color.
On top of that, I was starting to feel a headache coming up, followed by a sudden different pain in my left hand in which I held the pearl. It felt like someone just stung a needle into me.

I wanted to let go of the pearl and away from the pain and the light but for some odd reason I just couldn't.
It wasn't like I couldn't move more that I was unable to let go of the pear. Instead of opening my hand to let the pearl fall to the ground I simply clenched my fingers around it as if not wanting to let go of it at all. No matter what I did my hand stayed this way, not listening to me at all while the pain grew worse each second.
Eventually, it got so bad I began to feel dizzy and collapsed right onto the floor in the middle of the forest.

AN: Here it is the first chapter of my rewritten Silverwing Fanfiction. Please read and review ^^