The early morning sun had just begun to rise but could not yet penetrate the heavy clouds blanketing the pre-dawn sky. Consequently, it was cold and dark still when Pip’kha woke Brak from his deep slumber.
“The captains must gather for a brief meeting,” called Pip’kha while already winging away to undoubtedly disturb others’ sleep.
Brak merely grunted in reply, not being fully awake, but did manage to comprehend that his presence had been requested. After a few moments of attempted wakefulness and a ruffling of feathers, he took off from his nighttime perch and headed in the direction Pip’kha had taken.
It did not take long to locate Pip’kha and the other captains. At lakeside grew a sparsely leaved tree that made a good meeting area for the birds. Most of the captains had already settled onto various branches, so Brak quickly alighted upon one of the upper limbs not yet taken by others of the crebain.
The captains had only to wait a brief period for all to arrive and Pip’kha wasted no time to explain the recent, more clearly defined mission of the murder. The captains generally nodded in comprehension and approval and the meeting appeared to headed towards a quick close. However, it was Brak who decided that it was not yet time for this gathering to disperse.
He was not sure whether it was the loss the Krikaw and the others or just the unpleasant, unexpected awakening that morning, but a fire was burning inside of Brak that would not easily be smothered.
“Caw! Wait just a minute!” cried Brak. The other surprised captains cut their chatter immediately and settled back down on the branches. “Is that all we are about?” continued Brak fervently, “finding a few of the two-legged? We are heading into treacherous mountains that will surely claim at least a few lives from the murder, and we have already lost too many crows as it is, and for what? We owe nothing to the wizard and we care nothing for these other land based creatures. Why should we risk our feathers for those who have no effect on us? Am I the only one who finds this to be utterly ridiculous?”
As Brak finished he was greeted with only stares and silence. He could hear himself breathing heavily from his animated diatribe but he refused to appear flustered, so he slowed his breathing and stared back defiantly, waiting for a response.
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