"Where are we going, Jake?", Dwight asked as he followed his friend through the woods. "I found something", came the response. Dwight rubbed his hands together, trying to get the warmth back into them. "You're starting to scare me", he said quietly. "Stop it...We're almost there". The pair continued through the woods in silence. Dwight eyed Jake intently, envying the man's jacket. He wished he was more appropriately dressed, as he shivered inside his bloodstained shirt.
Jake lead him into a small clearing in the trees. Dwight followed and obeyed when Jake told him to sit. "Don't be too loud or make any sudden movements", Jake ordered, as he slowly approached a nearby tree stump. "Wha-" "Shhhh". Dwight watched as Jake slowly reached behind the stump and lifted a small crate into his arms, both curiosity and fear forming inside him. Jake made his way back to his friend, placing the crate in front of Dwight so he could look inside.
A crow.
"Jake...It's a crow". "I know it's a crow, Dwight". "Why?". Jake reached into the crate and gently lifted the crow into his arms, with little objection from the creature. He always had a way with animals. "Look", he nodded towards the crate. Dwight peered into the crate, his eyes growing wide when he saw the tiny blue eggs inside. "Oh! Aw, look at them", Dwight exclaimed, before remembering where he was. "Wait...the Entity allows crows to have babies? I always thought it kinda just...made them". "I thought that too", Jake responded. He gently rubbed his thumb along the crows head. "But I guess it shows, they're still just animals". "It's so weird", Dwight moved to pick up one of the eggs, only to be stopped by an angry caw from the bird. "Hey, take it easy, Jezebel", Jake said, soothingly rubbing the crow's head again. "You named the crow?", Dwight asked, raising an eyebrow. This whole situation was ridiculous.
Jake sighed and placed the crow back with her eggs. "Look, the reason I took you out here is because she's hurt. I found her trying to fly into one of the trees but, I think her wing is bothering her. I noticed the nest on the branch so I...I couldn't just leave them there". "What does this have to do with me?", Dwight asked, eyeing the bird suspiciously. The crow cawed aggressively at him again, making him jump. "I...I want to take care of them", Jake began to explain. "It's a long walk out here and I...I thought I should bring them back to camp". "No way", Dwight said, firmly. "None of the others will agree to it". "That's why I bought you out here!", Jake protested. "I need someone to have my back against the others". "No". "Please, Dwight". "No way", Dwight shook his head, to emphasise his point. "Anyway, that thing hates me". "She doesn't hate you! They need our help", Jake pleaded. "Jake you are not bringing that crow back to camp. That's final".
Dwight made the trek back to the campfire in a huff. He could not continue to argue with Jake's sad eyes, and reluctantly agreed to bring the bird and her eggs back to camp. Jake whistled happily, as he carried the crate. Dwight eyed the bird, who eyed him back, cawing along with Jake's tune, as if it was mocking him.
They were met with mixed reactions from their companion. "What the fuck is that?", David scoffed, as the survivors gathered around to meet the new addition to their group. "Oh it's kinda cute", Meg cooed. "Kate, come look". Claudette sighed, "As long as it doesn't hurt anybody". "I can't believe you let him bring that thing here", Feng seethed at Dwight. "Those things are evil". Dwight threw his hands up, exasperated, and stomped away. He hated the stupid crow. Feng was right. They worked for the Entity, and he brought one here to spy on them.
Some time passed. Dwight guessed it was a couple of days but, there was really no way to tell in the Entity's realm. Jake, Meg, David and Feng were currently on a trial. He and Claudette took the opportunity to doze lazily by the fire. The sound of loud rustling disturbed him. He sat up in a panic, quickly realising the sound was coming from the crow's crate. Although he hated the bird, he knew Jake would be heartbroken if anything bad happened to it. He reluctantly approached the box, peering inside. The crow was sitting uncharacteristically still, and looked a little flat. Was it dead? "H-hello?", Dwight slowly lowered his hand into the crate, poking the bird. The crow immediately reacted, cawing, pecking and scraping his hand aggressively. "Ahhhhhh", Dwight yelped in pain, startling Claudette awake. "Dwight?! What are you doing?", Claudette rushed towards him, just as the others returned from their trial. "That thing tried to kill me", he pointed accusingly at the bird, with his now bloodied hand.
"What's going on over here?", Jake asked, followed by Meg, David and Feng. "Your crow attacked Dwight", Claudette explained. She was already in the process of bandaging his hand. "Told ya they were evil", Feng shrugged. "She's not evil, Dwight must have scared her", Jake protested, kneeling down next to the crate. "I did not! I thought it was dead. I was checking to it if she was ok", Dwight retaliated.
Kate joined Jake by the crate, gasping as he lifted the bird into his hands to reveal a group of tiny birds. "Oh look, the darlin's had babies. Aren't they sweet?". Dwight watched in disgust as the group gathered around to coo at the newly born chicks. "Oh Feng, not you too", he pleaded, as the smaller girl approached to look at the birds. "Hey, they might be evil but even I can't resist a tiny animal".
The birds seemed to grow older with every trial that passed. Dwight collapsed onto a log, exhausted after his last trial. Jake approached him and silently sat next to them. He watched as Dwight rubbed his eyes under his thick rimmed glasses. "Tired?", he asked. Dwight simply nodded, "It was a tough trial". "I know what will make you feel better", Jake said, as he stood. He gently picked the crate up and brought it towards Dwight. "Jake, I don't wanna hear anymore about those stupid crows", he sighed. "No look", Jake removed the mother crow from the box, revealing the now larger chicks, who cheeped merrily. "They're getting feathers", Jake smiled, as he passed one of the chicks to Dwight. Dwight watched as the small bird nuzzled against his fingers, completely content.
Jake scooped up the remaining chicks, and placed them on the ground. They hopped around and pecked at the ground, excited by the rustling of the leaves that lay there. The chick Dwight held cheeped merrily, attracting the attention of it's siblings who rushed towards it. Jake chuckled, as he friend was overrun by tiny birds. "I think they like you". "Well...I guess they are kind of cute". Dwight's expression suddenly changed to one of horror as the birds began to scatter. "Jake do something! They're going everywhere...They're gonna get hurt!". "I thought you hated crows", Jake said smugly as he began to gather the chicks, returning them to their crate.
More trials went by, with each the birds got older. Dwight would take the opportunity to pet and play with them, after each trial, much to Jake's delight. Dwight took a liking to one bird in particular, the smallest of the bunch who was more brown than black. Dwight was not sure if it was male or female, so opted to name it "Pepper".
Dwight was placing Pepper back in the crate with it's mother and siblings, when Jake approached him. "Turning in for the night?", he questioned, as he watched Dwight give the bird one last scratch. "Not yet", Dwight replied. He noticed the somber look on his friend's face. "Hey what's the matter?". Jake sighed. "I think...I think we should start thinking about returning the birds to where we found them". "W-what? But they just got here". "They've been here for a long time, Dwight. I'm afraid if they stay any longer they'll never be able to live on their own". Dwight's eyes drifted towards the crate. "But...What about Pepper?". Jake rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "I know it's hard, Dwight but, they'll have to go too. It's for their own good" "But you said you wanted to take care of them!", Dwight protested, trying to hide the crack in his voice. "Dwight…They've had time. Jezebel can almost fly properly again". "No! They're not going anywhere!".
Dwight huffed as Jake lead him back towards the clearing. He carried the crate close to his chest, watching the crows as they sat quietly inside. Jake took the crate from Dwight when they reached their destination. He gently lifted each bird and placed them on the ground, allowing them to roam around and explore. The birds suddenly took off together, flying towards the tree branches. The flap of their wings made Dwight jump, while Jake looked on, delighted. He turned to face Dwight, who was now sniffling. Jake chuckled, "Are you crying?". "No!", Dwight quickly wiped at his eyes. "Come here", he said fondly, pulling his friend into a tight hug. "We can always come back to check on them". Dwight continued to sniffle into Jake's shoulder. "I thought you hated crows". Dwight pulled away, wiping his eyes. "I hate you for making me like crows". Jake chuckled, putting his arm around the leader's shoulders, "Let's head back". Dwight looked back as the group of crows cawed after them, then shook his head smiling. "See you soon", he thought, following his friend back into the trees.