Murkrow and Honchrow

To anyone else, the attic space was a reserve of junk. Tacky beaded lamps lit the room in a multicolored display. Ratty old clothes made with sequins hung from crocheted hangers. An overabundance of glitter coating made the room seem like a small child had gotten hyper enthusiastic with a craft project. A disco ball missing a few mirrors hung from the ceiling. The aging cardboard boxes held a ton of costume jewelry and other shiny things. The door was locked and the key in one of the cardboard boxes, so the humans had forgotten that this mess existed.

To the Murkrows, the attic space was a grand palace. Everything about it, the glitter, the glaze, the beads, the mirrors, the disco ball, the jewelry, it was all that they treasured. They had brought the bits and pieces here in honor of their esteemed leader, the one and only, the main man, the Grand Honchkrow of Snowpoint. He lived in the old attic and all the Murkrows called him The Boss.

The Boss had a problem, though. He was far more powerful and cunning than the unevolved birds. That was why he could order them about and make them do all the work. If needed, he could come out and fight off some Purugly or whatever was bothering his cronies. However, the reason he could do this was because the Murkrows had no idea how to evolve. He was the only Honchkrow in the area, and he had intended to stay that way.

But then he had seen it again. A Dusk Stone. One of the Murkrows had brought it in as a gift, thinking it especially nice in that it was dark, shiny, and somehow tasty smelling. "Like something sweet and salty and smokey, and really good," he had said. "I thought about eating it myself, but then thought better of it and brought it to you."

That was last week. He had thanked the fellow and given him a single pearl earring, as if it were any other mysterious but shiny thing. He didn't want them to realize just how special it was. But what to do with it? The Boss had thought long and hard on this issue. He kept coming back to one solution. For that, he left the attic and went to a nearby roof to call a meeting of all his Snowpoint Murkrows.

Down on the streets below, people saw the Murkrows gathering. Whispers of some bad fortune coming over the town began to spread. They had noticed as the mischievous black birds had begun to infiltrate Snowpoint, but had no idea how many there really were. Upon seeing how many Murkrows were sitting on the rooftops... and whatever that grand black bird was. Seeing a Murkrow was thought to bring bad luck, but that Honchkrow, it had to foretell some terrible event coming upon them. The humans hurried home, making signs to ward off evil.

As the Murkrows were all chattering over what this meeting could be about, The Boss spread his wings wide in a showy display. It hushed them. He then nodded, made a grand gesture of tapping his foot, then started his announcement.

"My followers, you have all been loyal and true. I thank you for all your assistance in making this city our own. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten this far."

The Murkrows all cheered to this. "But you're The Boss, man," a few called out. "We would've gone nowhere without you."

"Our Boss is the greatest, man!"

"Our Boss is the Man, man."

The Boss chuckled. "Thank you, fine fellows. Now I have been thinking over my life, where I am and where I'd like to be. I have decided that it is time for me to take a bride. If any of you girls are interested, you are to find a great treasure within the next week that represents your devotion to me. To the lucky lady who wins my heart with her gift, I will use my special magic to make you a Honchkrow as grand as I! And probably more beautiful; we'll see about that."

There came some excited twitters among the female Murkrows. They were given the chance to become as great as The Boss? This would certainly cause a fierce competition.

The Boss smiled to himself. This was the perfect way to deal with that stray Dusk Stone and make sure he stayed in power. Delighted with his own cleverness, he went back to the attic and started plotting other plots.

A week later...

Dozens of gifts from potential brides lay on the floor in front of The Boss. A string of glass beads shaped like pink hearts, a great many jeweled rings, several school art projects made by gluing a thick layer of glitter in hopefully artistic shapes, this was just a sampling. The Boss was pleased, but still looking for something outstanding from the one he would choose.

The next hopeful put down a shiny spoon. "I'm an interesting bird, so I choose to give you this interestingly shaped object, just like our love would be interesting for everyone else to hear about in interest," she chattered.

The Boss picked up the gift. It was interesting, with a clamshell shape at the end, but he had other treasures of the spoon. And she talked a lot. "Very nice. I will consider it."

The next female came over, dragging a heavy gift with her. It was a silver hand mirror, with a beautiful human woman on the handle and black curly lines like a flower on the back. After she made the effort to bring the mirror in front of him, she bowed. "I bring you this fine gift as a token of my feelings for you. I think it fits nicely."

As he was much larger, The Boss picked it up with little effort. He admired his reflection and cooed. "It is a pretty thing."

"It reflects just you now, but maybe it will reflect us?" she asked hopefully.

"Maybe."

The next female bumped into her with excitement. "Here, I found this pretty ring, it's so pretty," she clamored.

"Yes," he said patiently. And he stayed patient while the rest of the hopefuls came forward with their gifts. When he grew tired of the exercise, he flung his right wing out. "Stop. I have made my choice."

The last few females to bring gifts looked at him expectantly. The others looked on nervously. Save for one. She was completely cool under the pressure.

The Boss pointed her out. "You, the thoughtful miss who brought me this lovely mirror. You are to be my bride."

Amid coos of protest, disappointment, or thoughtless cheering, she hopped forward. "Thank you for choosing me. I did my best to bring that mirror back to you."

"Now the rest of you leave so I may work my secret magic on her."

After the other Murkrows left, The Boss closed the window shutters, just in case. She didn't seem nervous at all. Just curious about what he was going to do to her.

What he did was start a random muttering of stuff. One time when he was a Murkrow, he had watched a television program on wizards, and they seemed to always be doing random mutterings before casting their magic. Showmanship was more important that having actual 'magic'.

"Are you just muttering random stuff?" she asked.

"No," he replied. He brought out the dark shining Dusk Stone and passed his wing over it a few times. Then he handed it to her. "Here. Eat it."

"A rock?"

"It's not a rock. It's a magic piece of salt."

She sniffed it, then took it. "Alright." She ate it thoughtfully. "It does seem to be some kind of salt mixed with something else. Hmm..."

"You are sharp to notice that," The Boss said as the white light of evolution surrounded her. She grew into a lovely Honchkrow. A fitting bride to him, one who would prove how powerful and clever he was.

"Your magic does seem to have worked," she said, looking over her form. "May I see the mirror?"

It seemed like a harmless request. "Sure." He handed it over. "It will reflect us now, as you wished."

"Hmm." She tested it out, comparing her new strength compared to when she had to struggle to fly the thing up here. "Did you look closely at it?"

"Of course."

"Then you must have noticed the royal lady here." She showed her off. "This is a Queen's Mirror, you see."

At that moment, The Boss felt like he had made a mistake and had chosen a female cleverer than he was.

…

Emerald entry: Murkrow were feared as the alleged bearers of ill fortune. It shows strong interest in anything that sparkles. It will even try to steal rings from women.

Honchrow Pearl entry: It makes its Murkrow cronies bring it food. It idles its time away, grooming itself in its nest.

Cronies is an awesome word. Don't deny it. Making the evolution stone a piece of salt makes most sense to me. Salt is a very important nutrient, plus it would easily bond with whatever other minerals would require making a Dusk Stone, Fire Stone, or whatever.