Rannok jumped a bit as the door opened and Erean walked inside. The crow sat on his shoulder, and at the moment he didn't actually mind the feeling of its brain poking into his. They'd been deeply involved in a conversation that involved no words, only breaths and pictures and flashes of light and ideas. But Erean's voice broke the trance and brought him back to reality.

"You know, they've prepared a bed for you down the hall. We leave the day after tomorrow."

Rannok nodded, then got up and poked his head out of the room before continuing on, to make sure Sasha wasn't there. The idea of what they were going to do terrified him, but not as much as the thought of following her and a man who had desecrated dead bodies scared him even more.

"I do not believe you need to be afraid of Erean, but I think we both agree an earlier departure is optimal," the crow said. Rannok opened the door to his own room, then shut it again before he spoke.

"I don't either, but I don't want--" He sighed. "I don't want to be stuck with these people. And something about him gives me a bad feeling."

"I cannot see his thoughts, so I can't say." 

"Can you usually read people's minds?" Rannok asked.

"If they are receptive. Some are, some are not. I have not yet learned to determine why."

The thought made Rannok wonder what else his mind was receptive to, and a shiver ran down his spine. He went to the large bay window and poked his head out. The sun had set, but a soft glow still illuminated everything around them. He'd have to wait until the sky was truly dark before they made off. His stomach tied itself into knots, and a cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

"The horses are necessary. I promise to you that there are no reavers in Horizon. I will meet you outside." The bird left his shoulder and flew out the open window, presumably to take its rest somewhere in the treetops above.

It did not make him feel any better. Rannok waited for darkness to cover them completely, then crept outside, letting the door go so softly it scarcely made a sound. He stepped carefully, to avoid making any of the floorboards creak, and slipped out the open front door and around the corner to the barn. 

No one was around, and it made Rannok breathe a sigh of relief that was quickly replaced with terror when a large, brown creature poked its head up over a wooden stall door. It regarded Rannok out of one eye, then flattened its tiny ears against its dark head. It stretched its neck forward and nipped at his shirt. He let out a rushed yelp and stepped backwards. His hands shook. 

"It is only a horse, Rannok," the crow said, from somewhere he couldn't see. But all he could see in it was reaver, from its large, muscular neck that curved in an S to its body to its dark eyes to the snout that blew warm air out in a rush. Rannok could smell blood again, and hear screaming. He steadied the shake of his hands.

Rannok carefully unlatched the stall door while keeping arm's length from the animal, then grabbed at the leather cord hanging from its neck. It followed him out of its box with far less trouble than he'd imagined. Its feet made metallic clacking sounds on the ground as he led it through the oaken doors and out front. He grabbed a length of rope hanging from a post, then used it to secure the animal where it could not get away from him.

It stomped the ground with one of its massive, ironclad feet. Rannok stepped back and fluffed out his wings. The creature planted all four legs and dropped at least a foot. It let a snort through its nostrils and glared at Rannok, the whites of its irises showing. Rannok's heart raced, and he was sure his knuckles were already white. He patted its neck awkwardly.

"Good boy," he said, though he was positive this creature wasn't. 

"Just get on," the crow hissed. Rannok was not sure whether or not it was out loud.

"Please don't kill me." He untied the horse from the post and looped it over the horse's neck to make reins, like he had with Jojo back in the caravan. He led it over to a rock that looked like it would be big enough for him to get on, then tried not to flap his wings too much as he scrambled to get his leg over its back.

It felt like a tank, all muscle and sinew, and it tensed up and flinched as he sat upon it. Rannok flicked the ropes that led to the horse's neck, in the hopes that would get it to move. It flattened its ears to its head again, took a few steps forward, then broke into a bouncy gait that rammed its shoulders into Rannok's crotch.

"Wait!" He said, but the horse kept going. A few paces later, it planted all four feet again, let out a tremendous snort, then gave a little hop. All at once, it raised its back legs in the air so high and so suddenly that Rannok let out a shout, then clung to its neck. The animal sprang forward and did it again. Rannok fluffed out his wings. It raised its back legs again, and he slid off the side and landed on the ground in a heap. His diaphragm heaved and sputtered as he watched the horse trot straight back to the barn, then wait patiently outside the door.

"What in the hell--"

Rannok's eyes widened in alarm as he looked around for the source of the voice. He struggled to sit, then rose the rest of the way to his feet. The air in his lungs burned. He coughed a few times and put his hands on his knees, glancing around for the voice. The girl from earlier caught the animal by the ropes around its neck and glared at him. 

"Do you want to tell me why you are trying to steal my horse?"

"He tried to kill me!" Rannok wiped the dirt off his sleeves and glared at the animal, who snorted his indignance again and pranced around the woman.

"Maybe you should have stolen the pony instead, you would have had better luck." She rolled her eyes and walked into the barn. 

The crow flew down from the tree, landed on his shoulder, and laughed into his ear so loudly he thought it might fall over. He grumbled indignance at it, then followed her into the building while she took the contraption off the horse's head and tucked him back into his box. The animal picked strands of dried grass off the floor and started chewing them.

"I stole the horse because I need to get out of here," he said. He didn't mention the part where it was because he did not want to travel with her, or where it was because of the crow's behest.

"Oh? Well it might help you if you used a bridle instead of his catch-rope," she said. Rannok's face flushed and he looked down at the floor as she hung the piece of equipment back up on the wall. The horse lifted its face and huffed air at her. She scratched its nose. It was then that she noticed his companion, and she eyed it suspiciously. "Is that a magpie? How did you get it to sit on your shoulder like that?"

"Crow," it corrected. Indignance radiated off it as it preened its feathers. Rannok rolled his eyes.

Her eyes widened. "It can talk?" 

"Yeah, can't most of them?" Though he supposed he'd never met another crow before. The area was entirely absent any birds at all, now that he thought of it. Except for the sparrows, which were more colorful but otherwise looked exactly like the sparrows they had in Terres.

"No," the crow responded. The girl took a few steps backwards and nearly tripped on a bale of hay that had been left out in the aisle. The crow cackled in amusement and leaned into Rannok's neck. He brushed it away, and it flew down to the floor.

"He's harmless," he said.

"I haven't ever met a talking animal that's harmless." She held out her hand. "Sasha."

"I already knew who you are." He glanced back over at the horse. 

"Yes, and you're lucky I don't report you as a horse thief," she said. Her eyes did not hold the same sparkle from earlier. Instead they were dark and brooding, as if he'd committed a grave offense. She tucked a strand of the animal's mane back behind its ear, then put him into his box. He turned to eat his grass while occasionally giving both her and Rannok side glances.

"Please don't," he said. She certainly could. Even in Terres, stealing camels was a crime. Depending on where exactly you were, it was varying degrees of bad.

"Don't push it." She turned and began peeling flakes of hay off the square bales in the aisle and pitching them into stalls as if he wasn't even there. Rannok's face got hot again. He turned away from her and folded his arms. This was such a stupid idea. He shouldn't have even thought of it, much less listened to the crow. It landed back on his shoulder and nibbled on his ear. He wanted to brush it off and watch it slam into the ground.

"You were under no obligation to listen to me. For the record, she does not hate you nearly as much as you hate her." The crow's voice ended with an amused-sounding snort.

"I like birds much better when they don't talk," he said. He turned to walk back to the house.

"Even so, I don't think you'll get away with a second attempt."

Rannok didn't think so either, which meant for the moment, he was stuck with her. He flinched as another one of the horses reached its head out the stall door. Why did it have to be reavers?