Chris: I was juggling this idea in my head for a moment, since I knew that you don't get enough ravens in the game. Of course, that's also because Naesala is a jerk and the whole country of Kilvas is pretty anti-social anyway. I think we should have gotten a raven. Like more compensation from Naesala for selling his friend to a fat, weird, old man. A female raven, too, since there are not enough female laguz. Lethe is all alone. Not fair to her.

Disclaimer: Don't own Fire Emblem.

To Be A Raven

"You there! Pay attention! The next ship should be coming within a span of minutes!" A tall, brown-haired raven looked down at the perpetrator. "I hope that you don't arrive late to the battle again!"

I flushed. You see, last time, I was serving under a raven named Seeker. Back then, I was just a little nestling, just old enough to warrant piracy duty. That day, I didn't have enough stamina to arrive in time and when I finally got there, my comrades had already been killed and the ship had just started sailing away. That shame has stayed with me ever since. But it was not only shame I felt that day. Thinking to avenge the death of my brethren, I followed their ship.

I'm not absolutely sure whether or not they noticed me, for they were busy chasing some green-haired stowaway upon their ship. I smirked at their situation. In the raven country, there would never be disorder like that. We kept our doings secret, confined, and most importantly, orderly. However, it did seem kind of fun to them…But they were only humans. Who was I to determine what lowly humans found as amusing?

Strangely enough, I found one of the beast laguz there as well. That was confusing. I thought all laguz possessed a deep hatred of all the humans. Yet this one stayed with them…tolerated them, for the lack of a better phrase. It truly was confusing. I deemed it necessary to find out why this laguz would stoop so low as to be with humans. But before I could embark on my personal mission, another raven found me and commanded me to return to Kilvas. What could I say? I wanted to investigate humans? They would kill me for a stupid idea such as that. So I returned, and here I am, under the command of a new leader and reading for another assault on a passing ship.

"I don't want any mistakes like last time! The people under Seeker were fools and they died for their mistakes! We will not fail, you understand?" The leader cried.

"Yes, sir!" We returned. I wondered who we would be attacking this time. Two ships slowly floated into view. One ship bared no markings, but I recognized it as the ship that our King Kilvas had told us to not attack. The other ship, one that was slightly smaller than its counterpart, bared the flags and markings of the hated empire Begnion. I grit my teeth and felt the aura of war flow through my body. I could feel my hands turning into the sharp talons that could shred armor. I could feel my mouth becoming the beak that I used to pierce skin and bone. Soon, I would get my own personal revenge against these people that subjugated our people for centuries.

I looked over at my commander, who had already morphed into his true raven form. He cawed harshly, telling us to transform but not attack. He sensed the arrival of another person and he didn't want to dive into an ambush. The person he sensed appeared in front of us, moving almost as fast as the wind. Mentally, I gasped in surprise. The person that our leader had sensed was our very own king, King Kilvas.

"Hmm…Those humans didn't want our help. So ignore them. Attack whoever attacks you and steal as much treasure as possible." Naesala brushed back his slick, black hair. "Leave the humans to kill themselves while we grow rich off of their spoils. Remember, the only thing that matters is us and our nation of Kilvas. All others are just stepping stones for our path to greatness."

"N-Nestling…" An old, gray-haired laguz floated next to Naesala. "Are you certain of this action?"

"Nealuchi! How many times have I said to stop calling me nestling?" King Kilvas said, slightly embarrassed. "Come on, old man. Let's go." The two flew off, leaving us to do whatever we wished.

The commander looked at us again, cawing out new orders. He nodded. It was time to attack. I cried out in joy as I morphed into a raven, feeling the energies of battle flow through my body. With my transformation complete, I set out to do the work I wanted to do. To get rid of those Begnion bastards that destroyed any hope the laguz could have had about living in peace.

I shrieked happily, my razor beak tearing through one of the shields that a Begnion solder was carrying and my talons ripping across his throat, killing the foolish human who thought he could stand up to me. I looked around for another victim and spotted one. A young girl with long, black hair atop a horse. She seemed like easy prey. Sure, she carried a bow, but I doubted that she could do much. Crying out in joy again, I flew towards her, my beak angled for the kill.

Just as I was about to spear her soft flesh with my beak, a tall, large man encased in armor suddenly stepped out in front of her. Squawking in surprise, I quickly flew above his lance thrust and surveyed the new situation. This new foe seemed to be stronger and more skilled than his weak friend. He truly would be a challenge to kill, especially with the layers and layers of armor that he wore. Glaring at him angrily, I turned to face less difficult enemies. That's when I saw them.

That ship from earlier, the one that killed all of my comrades and the one that contained the creatures I wanted to study…That was that ship. I felt rage well up in my heart. Now was my chance to avenge my dead brethren. And perhaps, as I attacked, I could find out why beast laguz traveled with them. Hmph, the beast laguz were probably too stupid to realize not to stay with humans. Filthy, scum-ridden beings who had tossed away everything only to fulfill their own gain and desires.

Cawing in victory and ignoring my fellow soldiers, who were busy helping themselves to the loot, I plunged towards the ship. I ignored all else. The only thing that mattered was the beings on that ship and why they were the way they were.

"Humans are only useful to give us money." King Kilvas often told me. "They serve no other purpose."

Still, a portion of me believed that there must some other reason these weak beings lived. Casting any philosophical thoughts about the purpose of humans from my mind, I dived towards my first target, a young, brown-haired girl who clutched a healing staff nervously, looking on at the sight of battle.

Cawing in triumph, my talons lanced for the girl's throat. However, just like that other girl I tried to attack, another person got in my way. This time, a boy not much older than the girl, holding up a makeshift bow. With my attack ruined once again, I flew upwards.

"Stay away from her!" The boy cried in a shaky voice as he notched an arrow to his bow. His hands were trembling slightly, but I noticed, with a bit of admiration, that he held his weapon steadily, never changing. "Don't you dare try to attack Mist!"

Mist? Was that the girl's name? It was a nice name, more suited to a laguz than a human. No matter. I knew I would not be able to defeat the boy without sustained some sort of major wound. Because of his weapon's range advantage, I might get hurt before I could even touch the kid. It was surprising that I was getting discouraged from my attacks by humans, much less human kids.

"Hey, you! What are you doing, you stupid crow? Think you can take me? No one messes with my brother!" A man of around medium height hefted a weighty axe over his shoulder, glaring at me.

Crow? He dared to call me a crow? He will pay for that insult! Nothing will stand in my way of killing him and tossing into the sea with my talons! Nobody ever calls us ravens a crow! Shrieking with all the rage I possessed, I swooped down. The green-haired human with the axe just smiled, beckoning me to him.

"Face the strength of a seasoned mercenary!" He shouted, holding his axe in an obvious attack posture, leaving his whole body open. I smiled inwardly. He would pay for his insults against my race. However, as I was diving down, I felt a change come over in my wings.

No! This can't be! My crow form already had exhausted all battle energies that I had stored up earlier! This…I can't accept this! Even as I dived down, my wings were rapidly retreating into the pathetic forms that they took when I was normal. My talons were shifting back into legs and even my beak, my razor-sharp beak, was disappearing! Scrambling to find some sort of restrain against my momentum, I looked at the mercenary and saw his smile. NO! I will not be defeated like this! This isn't fair! I…I can't die!

I headed closer to the axe-wielding man, moving too fast for me to correct my course. I could only watch as I dived closer, my normal form offering no protection against his steel-bladed axe. I saw him raise his weapon high above his head.

Yelling curses as a sort of protest, I flew at him, intent on leaving some mark upon his body. His axe flashed before my eyes. I felt it rip through the ragged clothes I was wearing. I felt my life's blood pour out of my wound and splatter across the green-haired human's clothes. I collapsed to the ground, my pitiful wings falling to rest on top of me. No…This couldn't be…I wouldn't be able to find out why…Why they were like this. I wouldn't be able to avenge my brethren. I wouldn't be able to do anything…anymore.

---

"So, you're up."

My eyes snapped open and a hand flew towards the wound on my chest. Another hand, this one rougher, but at the same time, kind, stopped me.

"You really don't want to touch it. You're still healing."

I groaned slightly, feeling my wings being crushed under the weight of my body. I sat up, wincing as my chest flared. My dark-brown hair settled behind me and looked blearily around in the room that I was in. The first thing I noticed was that there were humans in the room as well. Feeling a sharp lance of fear spike through my body, I quickly called on my battle energies, only to find out that I didn't have enough. My frightened glance spread across the room, focusing on two laguz that were there, along with a young, tall, blue-haired man. The person who had taken my hand released it, and I saw that it was a thin, orange-haired man.

"Leave me alone! What do you want from me?" I yelled. The two laguz looked at me with pity. Well, the big, male one did. The cat-girl just looked at me for a while before turning away. "You stupid humans! Why did you keep me alive?"

The big, male laguz glared at me. "Do not insult Ike."

"And what about you? Why do laguz like yourself ally themselves with humans? It's unthinkable!" I cried, confused. Instead of siding with me, they were protecting the human! This went against every fiber of my being! "Answer me!"

"Be quiet, you fool!" The cat laguz hissed angrily, her purple eyes narrowing. "This…beorc is a much better companion than you! And you will refer to him as a beorc!" Her tail lashed around agitatedly. No doubt she wanted to attack me.

"Hold, Lethe!" The blue-haired human lifted an arm. He turned to look at me. "Listen. I am not your enemy. I believe that all laguz should have a right to freedom, and I am sorry for what my ancestors my have done. However, that is in the past, and you should not let that rule you."

I stared at the blue-haired hu…beorc for a while, confused. A person who didn't want us to remain separate. Perhaps that is why the other laguz follow him….No, that is folly. Trying to regain my composure, I cast a haughty glance at them all. "So then, what is it that you want to do to me?"

"Well, it's all up to you, really." The beorc looked at me. "My name is Ike, by the way."

I nodded. I wouldn't reveal my name unless I truly felt like I belonged with them.

"Anyway, you can leave and go back to your home country of Kilvas. Hopefully, you should be fine there. Just say that you were captured and just managed to escape." Ike proposed. That idea sounded nice, but I wanted to hear my other options.

"You can try to fight against us, but I assure you, that is a stupid idea." Ike grinned slightly. "I'm sure you figured that out?"

"Yes…" I nodded ruefully. There was no way I would try to fight them again, especially when I was still wounded.

"You can go somewhere else and live a normal life…Well, as normal as a laguz receives."

Hell no. I would never do such a stupid thing like that.

"And your final choice is…to join us. We can always use a helping hand and I'm sure you would enjoy staying with us." Ike finished.

I gaped at the blue-haired beorc. He was offering me, one of enemies, a position in his army? That was impossible. Nobody would accept the help of an enemy. It was unthinkable. Even King Kilvas, with his ideas of spreading his kingdom, would not accept help from an enemy, not even a fellow laguz. But…Perhaps this Ike was different. Maybe that was why everyone followed him. Because he was different.

My eyes traveled to the other two laguz. The big one smiled gently, nodding. And the cat-girl hissed slightly, her eyes traveling to Ike and back again.

The possibilities ran through my mind. Perhaps, this way, I could somehow help my country. It certainly was possible. I reached out my pale-skinned hand and grasped Ike's calloused hand. It was a strange feeling, holding a beorc's hand, even for a short while. "Very well. I accept your offer, Ike."

Ike just smiled and pulled me up. "Glad to hear it. Now, let me introduce you to the people in our crew. The two laguz over there are Mordecai and Lethe. Even though Lethe might disagree, they are both my friends, right?"

Lethe hissed, but her tone gave away the fact that she was lying. "Never."

Mordecai nodded. "Mordecai likes Ike. He does not treat us badly."

I nodded. Perhaps this Ike was different after all…

Chris: Well, there we go! I hope you enjoyed it and review please! And I still say we should have gotten a raven. Ravens are cool. You can only get Naesala and that's at the end of the game. And he has Vortex, which is cool. So we should get more ravens.