Ep 199 Script

S:(a white crow?!)

HC: Well? Will you tell the truth, or risk a letter from The Council exposing you, regardless?

F: ree and i went to Kooup to find the Crow King.

C: i told you their quest was foolhardy.

R: if you already knew then -

HC: yes, cereea already told me of your true intentions. I just wanted to see if you’d own to it. and then give an explanation for such a poorly-planned venture.  I find it hard to believe The Council is at all interested in locating the lost Crow King. not for any non-nefarious reasons, at the very least.

F: it was our own idea. Scra is a childhood friend and we convinced him to come with us. it was a foolish escapade borne purely from fairytales and childish fancy.

HC: and yet you made it to Kooup, and hid there successfully for years.

F: (smiles) i didnt say we were entirely unprepared.

HC:...and what did you find during your time there?

R: nothing. it was just a waste of time.

HC:...i see. well, im sure The Council will have something to say about your antics.

R: Oh come on, surely you can just let us be on our way -

HC: you violated a border treaty with a hostile nation, law requires me to deliver you to The Council to stand trial. i suggest you do not make this harder for yourselves than needs be. you will be allowed to return to your ancestral roosts should The Council deem it suitable. until then, we will escort you to Avarie and you will be treated as criminals.

R: are you serious -

HC: go willingly and quietly and i am sure your punishment will be more lenient. i will assemble a small Guard to take you, in the meantime you may roam Puurtch so long as you stay out of trouble.

R: But -

F: thank you, High Crow. we wont cause any disruption and appreciate your clemency. (To Ree: out, now, before you make this worse)

all turn to leave. bird flies to standon pillar next to scra. looks at his with beady eye.

HC: you seem bemused, my boy.

S: i’ve never…seen a bird before.

HC: the Pale Crow has held residence on Puurtch for centuries, a silent guardian to watch over our training.

Crow: CAW

HC: or, not so silent.

S: the same bird -?

HC: *chuckles* no, when one passes another will appear 7 days after, drifting in on the horizon on an undocumented current. but surely you know this? does the Eldwode roost not also have a Guardian?

S: o-of course, i just didnt know if it worked the same here, also. and ive never seen our one, it’s more…reserved.

HC:...i see. i sense something about you, you know. a strong desire for knowledge, answers, many questions. that is an attribute we covet here on Puurtch, as our purpose here is to preserve our culture’s ancient traditions, and to train the newest generations of Ashguard. we are always searching for like-minded recruits.

S: oh. i, uh, have some other responsibilities first. but…thank you for the offer.

HC: you will be welcome to return should you change your mind.

S goes to leave

HC: you all have it, that yearning for something outside of yourself. see that you do not give up the search for it.

S: (looks at crow who looks back) we won’t.

group sitting on roof overlooking ocean and training grounds to side.

R: ffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu -

F: there’s nothing we can do about it. we’ll just have to go to the Court and hope for the best.

S to K: you’ve been quiet this whole time.

K: oh, im just tired is all.

R: why cant anything ever be easy, huh? (leans back on elbows

S: why didnt we just tell them im from Kooup?

R: because you did something better and namedropped an ancient and established Crow Clan and that old Crow bought it for some reason and now we’re gonna use it to coast through society as far as we can.

S: i just used the name of my first Murder. Pak’s Murder name. Cyras mentioned once the Murder names were based on old Clan names so i just got lucky.  it felt wrong to use the BlackAsh name since ive been excommunicated and marked as kill on sight.

R: well, you picked a good-un’. look at thenm go down there, theyre pretty good ay.

S(remembers ree at the start hating crows as she watches crows train below)

S: you know… when we first met at The Roost, you weren’t the biggest fan of crows. was that…just an act, or…?

R: (leans forwards, sighs) yeah, i…sorry, about that.

S: i wasnt fishing for an apology, i just wanted an explanation.

R: right. …i knew corvids were seen as basically vermin on Kooup, so i acted how i thought most Avians there would react to seeing one in their prestigious school…but most of it wasnt just performative. youll find out once we get to Avarie, but…what the High Crow said about the Eldwode Clan wasn’t out of the norm. it’s rare to see a Crow on the street there.

S: what, so Crows are pariahs there, too? great.

F: no, most of them are nobility.

S: what -

R: they dont mix with the common-folk, much. it stems from the Crow King days, and many are still advocating for the return of a Crow monarchy to put them back in power.

F: after the Crow War, and the disappearance of the King, most of them just abandoned the rest of society and left us to rebuild. they holed themselves up in their Keeps and haven’t emerged since.

the crows here are most likely high-born, this is one of the few ventures prestigious enough for their families to consider a suitable vocation, as labor and politics are considered beneath them. for some it’s the only way they’re allowed to go out and see some of the world.

R: some of us might still harbor some resentment towards those Crows who left us to rot. there’s a lot wrong with our society that they could’ve used their influence to fix at the beginning.

(f glaces at her sideeye)

R: i apologize for taking my feelings about it out on you, it was insane that i did that.

S: right, well, i dont know about you all but i cant sit around anymore. who’s up for some exercise?

R: (smiles) sure, buddy. go ask if we can join them down there.

(Scra flies off with ky)

R: its funny. the whole time on the Island, while i was acting like a speciesist asshole, Ky never said anything bad about Crows, or showed any vehemence towards them. ever. even when it made him look like an outsider and blow his cover.

F: interesting. when he probably has more reason than the rest of us to do so.