Black Feathers

Taking a deep breath in, I spread my wings. A cold gust of wind almost unbalanced me, but I dug my talons deeper into the bark of the oak tree I had perched myself on. My wings flapped rapidly, throwing black feathers all over. The yellow tint of the clouds was a clear sign of snow. I looked down at my feathers, noticing how sleek they were, compared to the baby fluff feathers I had the week prior. They had a tint of purple to them, but the main color was black. I mean, I’m a crow so it would be pretty weird if I didn’t have black feathers. I always preferred birds having bright colors. Red, blue, yellow, green, orange, because they were a part of who you are. Black is just so boring, I mean who wants black when they could be a peacock. I spread my wings again, this time I was determined. 

Narrowing my eyes against the wind, I took flight, following closely behind the rest of the crows I was travelling with, my murder. Where were we going? I don’t know, but what I do know is that my mother and father came from this place. I guess we were supposed to go there too, but-

A loud bang, followed by many loud chirping shocked me, and when I turned around I saw one of the ravens beside me fall to the ground, blood trailing after them. Then I saw it. A long, shiny stick, pointed right at me. That’s when I knew I had no chance. When a bird was chosen for death, that was it, that was your last moment alive. 

I heard another bang and suddenly, the breath was knocked from me. I looked up and a blurry flash of red was all I could see. I suddenly realized that I wasn’t dying, rather someone pushed me out of the way. I felt their feathers brush against mine. I shook my head, I couldn’t let this happen. We fell to the ground, both of our wings beating rapidly. I was aware of myself going limp, but I tried to open my eyes. It was all in vain though, as the darkness engulfed me. 

I woke up, and it was nightfall. Every muscle in my body ached, but I forced myself up. I looked around and saw the same red bird that pushed me out of the way, passed out. I nudged him with my beak. “H- hey! Wake up!” I chirped. His wing twitched, and he let out a loud groan. I sighed in relief that he wasn’t dead. “Are you okay?” I asked him, holding a wing out to help him up. He opened his eyes and looked at me for about ten seconds, jaw gaping. He bolted upright, not even acknowledging my wing. “I-!” He cut off after that, getting extremely red. I tilted my head, hardly remembering anything that happened. 

“I like your feathers…” He mumbled. My eyes widened and an awkward smile spread across my beak. Nobody had ever complimented my feathers before, it was always either my eyes or flying skills. “Thanks, but I wish I had colorful feathers, like yours,” I pointed out, stretching my wing to his. He looked at me as though I had grown three heads. “Really? Black feathers are really pretty- Ah! N- not saying I think you’re pretty- you’re- not um ugly though, either, I’m j-just..” He covered his face in embarrassment, leaving me smiling so much it felt like my beak might fall off. I looked at his feathers. “You’re a cardinal, aren’t you?” He nodded. “How’d you know?” 

I shifted my wings, “I know quite a bit about colorful birds.” I admitted. “I wish I had colorful feathers, I mean I’m a crow with plain old black feathers. Peacocks are so pretty, and parrots too.” I looked down at my talons. He tilted his head. “You’re right, but look at peacocks, how well can they fly? And parrots, at night any predator can see them. But crows fly so gracefully and majestically, and at night you’re practically invisible.” He protested. 

I smiled, though I didn’t know whether the words he said he genuinely thought or if he was only trying to impress a female. I looked around us, realizing I had no idea where I was. Every feather on my body was pricked up in fear. The cardinal seemed to notice it as well, because his feathers were ruffled too. I knew we needed to find shelter, so I nodded to a tree and we both flew over to it. Snow had fallen, and I was sure there was more to come, so I hid him under my feather. We had a bit of a size difference. He reached up only to around the beginning of my neck, and his stubby, round body was nothing compared to my long, thin tail feathers. 

My murder must’ve been gone by now, and I realized that I might not make it through the winter. Crows didn’t usually migrate because of the weather, but rather to mate. If a female didn’t find a mate, they would be looked down upon the other females for not having offspring. Most crows lived in solitary, but I had never known life that way. I lived like a fish in a school, safety in numbers. The odds of getting shot in one in twenty is low, but the chance of getting shot one out of two is much higher.

My murder must’ve been gone by now, and I realized that I might not make it through the winter. Crows didn’t usually migrate because of the weather, but rather to mate. If a female didn’t find a mate, they would be looked down upon the other females for not having offspring. Most crows lived in solitary, but I had never known life that way. I lived like a fish in a school, safety in numbers. The odds of getting shot in one out of twenty is low, but the chance of getting shot one out of two is much higher. 

There was nothing I feared more than death. I could go through so much pain, but as long as I am alive I will be grateful. I needed to live, just until I could see my chicks take their first flights. Then I will die happily, but until then I wouldn’t let myself be killed. I needed to first find shelter, and the rest would come later. I saw a tree with a hole in the middle of the trunk. I flew over to it, nodding my head to him, beckoning him to follow. 

We settled into the old tree, and I tried to use my wings to take off the cobwebs curtaining over the entrance. It was cramped, but it would be enough to protect us for the night. I don’t know how long we were knocked out, but it couldn’t have been too long because I was still tired. My wings felt like they might fall off, and I couldn’t feel my talons. 

I laid next to him, tucking my neck into my back feathers, keeping my feet tightly under me to preserve warmth. I drowned back into the waves of sleep, ignoring the slight snores coming from my companion beside me.