The Crow's Song pt2

I pondered this new turn of events as I left the wood and scanned the moonlit plains. The field was pregnant with grain, and I suspected it would be harvested soon. I chose a path through the think grasses and made my way across. My horde, the sum total of all I was, followed with no argument. The white Raven on my shoulder dug it’s claws into my shoulder. The pain was not unbearable just enough to make sure that I did not forget his presence. Like I could anyway. This trip had become very, very strange, but the white Raven was by far the strangest thing that had happened to me tonight. This was supposed to be an uneventful trip, more of a walk really, to clear my head. I was not expecting to come face to face with all that was good and bad about me. But it happened, and here they were, flying all about me, as if they were controlled by the winds more than they rode them. I supposed I was quite the site, coming down from the forest, my generic trench coat blowing in the breeze created by innumerable crows circling me, cawing and crowing in every possible way. I have to admit, I felt quite powerful, in command of my own one-man universe. Everything I thought I could see and think and feel was out in front of me to manipulate and study. Self discovery does seem to be ultimate power. The pain in my shoulder seemed to verify that.
The birds were so thick round me I wondered how I saw where to walk, but somehow I did anyway. The moonlight reflected off of their feathers the same as it would a deep black lake. At night everything is black, white, or some shade of grey. It makes things simpler, to my eyes. I do better with shades of grey than with color anyway. The Raven on my shoulder eyed me like I had stolen something from him. I ignored him and concentrated on seeing through my new eyes. Though they only saw in shades of grey, I saw everything much more clearly, in refined detail; kinda like HDTV. Somehow, with all of my newfound senses, I missed the Coyote directly in front of me. As I noticed him, my horde of crows circled him like a tornado, then swirled back to me and calmly settled around us. Again, there was a black night all around us, flecked with a million pairs of starry black eyes reflecting the moonlight. The Coyote, strangely, was unperturbed by this display. Similarly, I was unperturbed when the Coyote began to speak. “Feed me.” He said, simply. Finally, I was greatly perturbed by the vacuum of perturbability that had formed around us, and decided to be perturbed for everyone present. “I beg your pardon, did you just talk?” The Coyote gave me a sideways glance and responded, “Did you?”
It wasn’t a bad question. “I believe I did. And I believe you did. This would mean that we are having a conversation, you and I.”
“Well I’m glad you’re all caught up to speed there Flash. So what are you going to do about feeding me?”
I was still trying to come to terms with the fact that my consciousness had taken the form of a murder of Crows. I had just come to terms with the idea that all of my sins, fears, and misgivings had coalesced into the form of a large white Crow. And now, I was being confronted by a rather uppity Coyote who was demanding dinner.
“These Crows of yours look mighty tasty.”
I hadn’t considered the tastiness of my inner thoughts. “Um, I suppose so. I uh, guess I could spare one… But I wouldn’t know which one to offer; you see they’re all rather close to me.”
The Coyote’s mouth began to water. Now that I looked directly at him, he was a scrawny, mangy thing; he must not have eaten in days. “Good. I knew you looked like a gracious guy. I’ll take the white one.”
“The white one?”
“The white one. He looks the fattest and juiciest. Yes I’ll take him if you don’t mind.”
Now, I am a firm believer in the phrase beggars can’t be choosers, but in this case I was happy with the beggar’s choice. It meant that I could get rid of this persistent pain in my shoulder, and ass for that matter. “Um ok. Let me just… just…re-move-him from my shoul-der…” As I tore the Crow from my shoulder, he left bloody marks on my flesh. I offered him to the Coyote, who swallowed him down hole… that little bastard glared at me with his blue eyes all the way down the Coyote’s throat.
“Mmm, just as good as he looked. Well, I’ll be off then. You uh, you take care of yourself. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” And with that he trotted off, looking far healthier than when he arrived.
It was a strange occurrence, but at least now I was closer to normal than I was since I left the forest. That damned Crow was off of my shoulder, and I felt far lighter, and far… stronger than I did before. My horde had changed as well. They seemed to swell with… confidence? They seemed livelier, rowdier, more like normal crows. They still did as I commanded, but with a lot more gusto than before. As they took to the air to continue our travels, I felt as if I would take off with them. My swirling mass of thought and action had come alive, and the world would be wise to stay out of our way. Seemingly on cue, a town appeared on the horizon. I would go there, and see what my journey had done to me, and what effects I would have on others. Even though the dawn was approaching, night was just falling on this small village.