Will let his recurve bow slowly fall to his side as the last arrow was emptied from his quiver and buried itself deep into the bark of the target tree.
"An ordinary Archer practices until he gets it right, A ranger practices until he never gets it wrong." The words had been drilled into his head day and night by his mentor Halt, ringing in his head as he strolled towards the tree to retrieve his arrows.
As he clasped his hand around the arrow he heard a small rustle of leaves. Immediately, Will's senses were on high alert, as a ranger apprentice he was constantly taught to be weary of even the slightest change around him. His ears strained desperately to try and find the source of the sound as he continued to pull the arrows from the tough bark.
Since there was no wind, he scratched out the possibility of it just being the breeze. The sound came again but softer and hardly noticeable. Wills eyes darted back and forth under the shadow of his cowl, unnoticeable by any unexpected stalker.
A sudden high pitched croak rose over the bushes, Will instantly stood up straight, sure that no human could have made the strange noise.
Silently, Will made his way towards the dense undergrowth to the side of the clearing, his strange green and gray mottled cloak making it look as if he was simply drifting across the ground.
As he neared the bush he slowly crouched, his hand instinctively moving to the hilt of his sax knife. With his other hand, he slowly parted the undergrowth, grimacing slightly as the thorny branch of the bush dug into his finger.
A sudden gasp escaped his throat as the parted undergrowth revealed a small black feathered ball. The creature lifted its head and gave a small croak. Will's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the creature's head was nothing but a skull, small black iridescent feathers lining the large deep black holes he assumed were its eyes. As the creature unfurled it's feathers he noticed the wings and long tail.
"You are one strange bird…" Will softly chuckled, a gentle smile lighting up his features.
The strange bird gave a quiet squeak in reply, cocking its head to one side. Will slowly lifted his hand from his sax knife, holding it out to the bird. It instantly recoiled, curling into a ball once more.
"It's okay...I won't hurt you.." Will said softly, trying his best to reassure the small messy ball of feathers. The bird slowly lifted its head, eyeing Will suspiciously. At least Will thought he was eyeing him suspiciously, the large round eyeless holes in the birds skull were rather difficult to read.
Will stretched both hands forward slowly, stopping a few inches away from the birds frail body. The birds watched him carefully, curling inwards. The two sat quietly for quite a while, when Wills voice suddenly shattered the silence.
"Can I pick you up..? I'll be gentle." He said quietly, smiling softly. The bird shifted it's gaze to him, feeling a strange need to trust the young man kneeling over him. It placed its head on the ground, giving a small squeak.
Will took it as a sign that he was allowed to pick the bird up. Gently as he possibly could, he slid his hands underneath the body of the small weak bird. As he softly lifted the bird up he took a few moments to notice how weak and frail the poor thing was.
"So..are you a girl?" Will asked, feeling a little awkward asking the question. The bird simply looked at him. "Boy..?" Will asked. This time, the bird gave a small squeak. He held the bird closer to his body, wrapping his arms protectively around the small fragile creature.
"Well...what do I tell Halt..?" He thought out loud, not sure what his mentor would think of him having a pet- no, companion. The bird simply buried his head in Wills tunic, fluffing up it's messy feathers. Will couldn't hold back the smile as it stretched across his face. He suddenly looked over his shoulder, half expecting his Mentor to appear behind him at the simple mention of his name.
He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before carefully standing up, trying not to jerk the bird in any way.
He made his way towards the creek, staying clear of any twigs or rock. As he crouched down by the creek, he softly placed the bird on a bed of moss. He quickly unslung his bow and quiver, placing them on the large stones to the right of him. He then unclipped the cloak from around his shoulders, folding it up in a neat rectangle and placing it on the ground by the creek. He lifted up the bird and placed him on the cloak.
"You know what? I think I know what to call you. How about Karasu?" Will asked cheerfully. Karasu cocked his head, squeaking softly.
Karasu? I like the ring to it. Karasu seemed to say. Will smiled.
Will rolled up his sleeves, cupping the cool water in the palms of his hands. He slowly let the water drain out of his palms, falling gently on Karasu's iridescent feathers. Karasu flinched as the cool water touched him, tensing his nerves and muscles. Will smiled reassuringly, gently stroking Karasu's head. When he was satisfied that Karasu was calm he cupped more water into his hands and let it soak Karasu's feathers, not caring if his cloak became dirty.
Will gently combed through the messy feathers with his fingers, humming softly. He softly picked up the frail but clean bird in his hand, slinging his bow and quiver on his back with the other hand. He slid the damp and dirty cloak into his satchel before heading off towards the cabin.
"Karasu, im sorta stuck here." Will thought out loud. Karasu whistled softly. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Halt about you when he gets back. He usually doesn't let me do these kinds of things...he seems always so focused on making my life miserable. Even though I know that's not his true intention." Will finished, sighing softly. Karasu made a noise that sounded like a snort but also a croak. "You're not the one doing housework constantly." Will snorted back.
What makes you think I'm even capable of doing housework like you? Karasu cocked his head.
"Well….I'm losing an argument to a bird." Will growled in annoyance. He stopped as the cabin came Into view. He immediately noticed the smoke rising from the chimney and the silhouette of a short well built man sitting contently with a cup of freshly brewed Coffee in his hand on the cabin verandah.
Will cursed under his breath.
Will frantically took his cloak out of his satchel, gently setting Karasu in it before returning the cloak. He made his way towards the cabin, trying desperately to look normal.
"About time you got back." Halt said, not meeting the eyes of his apprentice. Will simply shrugged, walking up the stairs and grasping the door knob.
"Will?" Halt asked. Will stopped and looked up and met his mentor's steady gaze.
"What?" Will replied. Then immediately mentally smacked himself.
"What's in your bag? Don't think you can go sulking pass me and think I'm dumb enough to think nothing of it." Halt asked, annoyance evident in his voice.
"Oh...my cloak got wet so I put it in the satchel." he said, shifting the weight he put on each foot. Seeing the question on his teacher's lips he immediately answered, "I Fell in the river on my way back." He said, not realizing his voice grew higher.
Halt opened his mouth to reply but quickly shut it. Alright Will. I'll play this little game.
"Well that cloak is expensive so don't mess it up with your clumsy butt." Halt spat.
Will mumbled an apology before quickly opening the door and softly shutting it behind him. He ran into his room and closed the door behind him. He put the satchel down and took his cloak out, then gently took Karasu out and set the bird on his bed. He knelt down by his bed.
"Thanks for keeping quiet." Will smiled, gently stroking the top of Karasus head. Karasu suddenly burst into what sounded short of a laugh but was close enough to a cackle.
"What!?" Will asked, baffled on the idea of a bird laughing.
"Well that cloak is expensive so don't mess it up with your clumsy butt!" Karasu echoed, his voice strangely sounding similar to Halts.
Will stared at Karasu in utter confusion. We're birds supposed to talk!? Upon hearing the cabin door open and shut Will grabbed Karasus beak and softly clamped it shut. Ksrasu looked up at Will, cocking his head to one side.
"Will!" Halt yelled. Will opened the drawer to his nightstand and set Karasu Inside it.
"I'll be back." Will whispered before softly closing the night stand. He leaped to his feet, running out of his room and into the front room.
Halts eyebrow shot up. "get your lazy butt outside and collect some firewood. And I want you back before dinner."
"Okay." Will said quickly before walking past Halt and opening and shutting the cabin door behind him.
Halt watched him leave before setting up for dinner.
Halt set the last plate and cup down on the table. He nodded to himself, satisfied. He stopped when he heard a small croak from Wills room. He turned around, listening carefully for if the noise came again. He slowly made his way to Wills room, making not even the tiniest of sounds. He stopped in the doorway, looking around the small tidy bedroom. Halt shifted his gaze to the night stand, noticing that one drawer was not completely shut.
Halt laughed quietly. If you want to hide something Will you have to do better than that.
He crouched by the drawer, grasping the handle. He slowly opened the drawer, finding a small ball of black feathers.
"What…?" Halt cocked his head to one side, unsure of what to think of the ball of feathers laying in his apprentices drawer. He heard the cabin door suddenly open and close then the sudden thud of firewood being dropped on the stone by the fireplace.
Will sighed as he set the large stack of firewood on the side of the fireplace, looking up to find his mentor standing by the fireplace with him. A small gasp of surprise escaped his throat as he stumbled back, catching himself on a wall shelf.
"So are you going to tell me what the devil is in your drawer?" Halt asked his staggering apprentice.
It took Will a few seconds before he understood Halts words. "I...can explain! I found him well I was practicing with my bow and he was really weak so I took him to the creek and cleaned him up and that's how I got my cloak wet and then I came back to the cabin and said I fell in the creek instead and-" Will quickly realized his rambling when Halt held up his hand to stop him.
"Will. I would like to know why it's in my cabin, NOT how you found it." Halt replied with obvious annoyance that Will would have done well to recognize.
"Oh...well..he was really weak and I couldn't just leave him in the woods to die!" Will spat. Wills next question was suddenly upon Halt without him having time to stop his rambling apprentice.
"Can we let him stay? Please!? I barely get to talk to my friends with all the chores and practicing and even a horse is hard to talk to sometimes!" Will pleaded desperately. Halt sighed, crossing his arms. Will wasn't the easiest to ignore but it was possible. However his pleading was a whole different situation. True, the boy hadn't had much social interaction with other people since he started his training, and that fact was giving Will a winning chance over the grizzled old ranger.
"Please…?" He heard Will say again, his tone losing any previous harshness as He watched his mentor in silence. Finally, Halt spoke.
"Fine. But he's your responsibility! And I'm not helping with taking care of that thing. But I will tell you to get the poor thing out of your drawer." Halt growled in defeat. A wide grin spread across Wills face.
"I'll take care of him! I promise! Thank you!" Will said cheerfully with a wide grin. He rushed to his room, opening the drawer and taking Karasu out. Halt watched him.
" You're making me soft Will." Halt mumbled under his breath. But despite this, he still felt a warm feeling at the sight of Will's overwhelming joy.
After dinner, Halt set out the paperwork Crowley had assigned him at the meeting that day well Will cleaned up the kitchen.
Will stretched his aching muscles. The day had been rather stressful and Will was glad to be over with it. He looked over at Halt sitting at the table with all his paperwork. He quickly hid the grin on his face, turning away from the old ranger. He knew his mentor well enough to know he hated paperwork. When he was done with his chore he made his way to his room where Will found Karasu on his bed.
Halt looked up to find Will pulling out a chair beside him with Karasu perched on his arm. As Will sat down Halt then noticed Karasus long tail and skull.
"What kind of malformed bird is that?" He asked gruffly. Will looked up at Halt.
"You said I could have him. There's no going back on it." Will said calmly. Halt simply raised an eyebrow.
"I thought it was a bird. With a normal tail." Halt replied as Will set Karasu down on the table, his talons clicking against the polished oak. Karasu looked at Halt, cocking his head. Halt couldn't help but wonder if his head was really just a skull. Halt reached out and softly tugged on the beak of the skull. Karasu cawed suddenly, stepping back and shaking Halts fingers from his beak.
"What was that for?" Will asked, his annoyance obvious. Halt crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, slightly surprised.
"I was seeing if "Karasu" as you call him, just happened to be a bird with a malformed tail that got his head stuck in another bird's skull." Halt shrugged. Will slumped down in his chair. To be honest, the thought hadn't occurred to him when he first met karasu.
"I hadn't thought of that." Will admit. Halt laughed softly.
"Oh course you didn't. Well Karasu, I have to admit, is one strange bird. it's best you don't bring him out in public." Halt said, studying Karasu.
" Yeah. Now don't use my bird to get out of doing paperwork." Will accused. Halt sighed deeply.
"If Karasu pooped on my papers, I wouldn't be mad. Give me one more reason not to be assigned paperwork." Halt grumbled. Will couldn't help but laugh at his mentor's annoyance. As long as it wasn't directed to him. Halt gave his apprentice a long suffering look.
Will stood up and pushed his chair in, having Karasu perch on his shoulder. He glanced at his mentor who still sat with his stack of papers.
"Well, goodnight Halt." Will said cheerfully, patting his mentor on the shoulder.
"Night." Halt replied
Will set Karasu down on his nightstand where he had previously made a makeshift nest. "Goodnight Karasu." Will whispered before slipping under his covers and quickly succumbed to a dreamless sleep.