Ruby stretched slowly, curling her toes. She felt the knowledge that the sun had sank deep below the Pacific and darkness was fully engulfing the cave. In an odd way it was nice having an internal clock, although it was set to yet unnatural hours for her.
"Marko?" she reached over and expected to find the Lost Boy's body under her hand. She came up with blankets. "Marko!" Ruby scanned the room, but it was empty save her. Ut-oh.
"CAAAAAAWWWWWWW!" the sound of crows echoed up the hall, racing around the tiny alcove-like room and rang in Ruby's ears.
"Give me back my pizza, you damn bird…s!" Paul was shouting. Birds? Normally there were pigeons living in the cave, occasionally a seagull or two blown in by a storm, but crows? Ruby pulled the blanket off the bed with her, using it as a coat against the chill, then realized she felt no chill now. It stopped her dead. For a whole minute she stood there trying to figure out if she should take the blanket and use it or just wander around in her t-shirt and jeans. She probably would still be standing there if it hadn't been for the second mighty caw that rocked the room.
Ruby ran down the tunnel.
The main cave was a sea of black feathers, literally dripping with a mass murder of crows. They perched on anything they could: the fountain, the tables, chairs, couches, oil barrels, surf boards, tool chest, even rocks jutting from the cave walls. What few of the pigeons remained were roosting nervously on their nests, the rest having long been chased off by their larger relatives.
The cawing was almost deafening. Dwayne was trying to read a book, a crow or two trying to use said book as a perch. Marko was starring in horror, cradling one of his friendly pigeons. Paul was attempting to eat day-old pizza, not getting very far because the crows were ganging up and stealing the slices and the box en masse. David wasn't in sight.
"What is going on?" Ruby called before she entered. Which was a mistake. Every pair of beady eyes trained on the entryway and onto Ruby. The silence was now more deafening then the cawing.
"They're here for you." David appeared practically out of thin air over in the mass of crows by the cave entrance.
"Me?"
"Ruby?" Paul, Dwayne, and Marko chimed in.
David raised a pale eyebrow. "You can't hear them chil… Ruby?" Marko's flinch was barely visible.
"You've totally lost it, D." Paul shook his head, now sharing his pizza with the crows.
"Hear them? The crows?" Ruby pointed at the hoard of birds. Instantly they cawed in unison, practically rocking the cave. Ruby jammed her hands in her pockets in shock.
"You know we have powers Ruby."
"So what, I have power over birds?"
"Over crows." David folded his arms across his chest. "This isn't a joke Ruby. I didn't send the Boys off to gather all these crows and trap them in the cave to tease you. They came here of their own accord, to find you."
"Yep. Totally crazy." Paul remarked, mouth full of pizza.
Ruby looked at the crows; they looked back, each and every one, eyes unblinking. "Are you here for me?"
"CAAAW CAAAW!" Ruby jammed her fingers in her ears.
"This isn't happening."
"Oh but it is Ruby. Now please, kindly ask your minions to leave our cave." David seemed incredibly pissed. Ruby tried to briefly touch their mental link but the boiling anger seemed almost to burn her mind. Instead, more to cover the flinch, she closed her eyes and sought out what David had told her. To hear the crows.
There were a thousand little minds at once, almost unbearable. Gripping the rock wall, Ruby concentrated harder and forced the mental crows to join into one voice. They were welcoming her, offering their lives to do anything she asked, to protect her and those of her family. They were almost overjoyed to have the opportunity…
Ruby gasped out of habit, coming back to reality. "They're almost like… offering to be my soldiers."
David nodded. "Well now. Marko has his pigeons. Ruby has her crows. Looks like someone was wrong." A pointed look at Marko, who looked away and down to the pigeon in his arms. Dwayne chuckled.
"Ruby, thank them and send them away?" Dwayne suggested.
"Oh." Ruby felt stupid. "Thank you for coming but really… I don't require your services as of this moment?"
The crows left en masse, cawing, like ink pouring back into a bottle. Except one. Trying to fly off with Paul's pizza box, three times its size.
"Damn bird!" Paul tossed a ragged magazine at the bird.
"Paul, don't." David commanded but it was too late. Ruby was on Paul before anyone blinked.
"You will not hurt my birds." She hissed.
"I haven't seen this since Paul threw a shoe at Marko's pigeons… what… five years ago?" Dwayne mused. David just rubbed his face.
"Sure girl. No harm no foul." Paul swallowed as Ruby released him. "Get it? Foul? Fowl?" Dwayne cuffed him upside the head. "Ow! Can't a guy make a joke to diffuse a potentially harmful situation?"
Ruby reached down and picked up the crow, which hopped into her hands. "Paul didn't mean it. You're always welcome here." Then she grinned and held the crow out towards Paul's face. "Apologize to Archimedes."
"What!"
"Apologize." As if to drive this point home, the crow pecked Paul's nose.
"OW! You sonnaofabitch!" Archimedes cawed loudly, wings flapping in Ruby's hands.
"Paul!" David roared.
"FINE! Fine! I'm SORRY!" Paul got up hastily, did a smart-ass bow to the crow and stalked off towards his room. This time David did sigh.
"I only meant it as a joke." Ruby sighed as well. "I'm sorry."
"Paul will get over it, chica." Dwayne replied.
"Enough. We have a lot to do and little darkness to do it in." David turned, the coat swirling around him. "Marko, get Paul and get topside. It's dinner time." Without a glance back, David headed up outside. Marko released the pigeon and headed after Paul. Dwayne rose and grabbed his coat.
"Dwayne, I only meant it as a joke."
"I know Ruby." He patted her shoulder then stroked Archimedes' glossy black head. "David and Marko had quite a fight this evening before you got up."
"What!" Ruby nearly dropped Archimedes. He fussed and cawed in her hands. "Is that why… why I feel like the link to David burns me?"
"Prolly. David tried to apologize to Marko, but Marko really went off. I can't say I've ever seen him that mad. He didn't come right out and accuse David of doing it on purpose, of stealing you, but it's all between the lines. He did go on about how he wanted you to have some of his gifts, not David's. And apparently Marko just got his wish."
"Marko talks to pigeons, I talk to crows." Ruby released Archimedes who flew a short circle and came back to land on her shoulder. "Archimedes!"
"Why do you call him that?" Dwayne smirked, watching Ruby try to scare away the crow.
"As a kid, my brother and I watched that Disney movie, Sword in the Stone, a lot. And I guess that's the first thing that came to mind, the talking owl named Archimedes."
"It fits." Dwayne laughed. "I don't know if Marko's named any of his pigeons, but I know he talks a lot to them…well, did, before you came."
"David and Marko aren't speaking to each other are they."
Dwayne shook his head. "I'm sure the fight would still be going if it hadn't been for the ton of crows that suddenly spilled in here. It was right before you came in, too."
Ruby thought. "Maybe they knew I woke up?"
"Wouldn't doubt it. Smart little buggers." Marko and Paul were returning to the cave, Paul muttering angrily about the crows and Marko trying to smooth it over. "We better go upside. This is going to be a big night and I think D is anxious to get it going, to complete it."
"Huh?"
"Come on Ruby. You can't forget that easily." Now Dwayne raised an eyebrow at her. "Your first kill?"
"Oh. God, I keep doing that!"
"Don't worry, we all did at first."