The trip back was somewhat slow and careful, with a fragile vial to protect. And some big important thoughts to make. There was some more discussion about what to do, and how to do it. And Sala.. Raucous still isn't sure what Sala's game is.
What should I do, if I'm supposed to save the world?
Well, I don't know what form the destroyer will be. What it'll be able to do. How it'll work. And I do know that I'm supposed to be the wrong person to do it. I'm supposed to have great power, maybe something broken, and then save the world through having more or better numbers.
But that's wrong. You don't need to be strong to save the world. You just need to use what you have to the best of your ability. Anything. Confusion, freedom of thought, freedom of travel.. those can be as important as a blade or a mighty spell. I might not be able to smite these people with my strong right arm, but they don't think the same way I do. They don't know about how power is an illusion.
The night is passed halfway up a tree, making a small nest for the vial. Sitting on it should do to protect things. Still, there's plenty of time to think, particularly since tomorrow is a dull day, with a little rain and misery. A good day for dark thoughts.
What if I can't do it? What if I plan some marvelous prank, but it isn't enough? What if I set up something and my own thoughts mean I fail to see the issue with my plan? Or there was something I could have done, but I'm not the person to do it? I might be World Champion, but that doesn't mean I'm right all the time.
A couple days ago I almost died, almost got choked out and killed by accident. Sure, I was able to get the better of them, but that isn't a guarantee that all my plans are going to win. Maybe it'd be best if someone else solves the problem and I provide leadership. Or maybe it'd be better if I was at the front, being a creature too weak for the enemy to care about, a creature too strange for them to see what threat I pose.
..These things could go either way. I don't know what I'm going to have to fight. I don't know where I'm going to have to fight it. And I don't know what I'm going to do to defeat it. I need to fix those things if I want to save the world.
Do I want to save the world? It's fun. It's certainly a fun place, and it should still be fun even when people start knowing who I am or what a black bird can be. Sheer unjustified terror has it's own appeal, too, and people seem to be fairly willing to work with me. If I want to spend my life pranking people and finding amusing things to do, this is a good place for that. So yeah, I want to save the world.
After a lazy few hours of wet flight, Raucous returns to Benanda. There isn't much going on today, with most people staying out of sight and taking it easy. Sala is in her office again, and opens the window. Raucous is thankful once again that he now knows how windows work.
"Ahh, Raucous, good to see you. And you've got the vial! Well done."
"I'm afraid there wont' be some evil plan this time. I've mixed your vial with some rennet, and brough the result back, but I did not adulterate her rennet. She still has a clean sample."
Sala doesn't seem worried about it.
"I'm not sure what you're saying, but all I wanted was to make cheese. That vial just held some sugar water, so you could steal the rennet and it would stay alive on the trip here. Now I can make my own take on her cheese."
"Huh. So I was just stealing cheese?"
"Well, it's a bit more than that. That was the secret to her fine cheese. Now I should be able to make something similar to that, or maybe better. And the Kuzenkos will be able to spread it further around than her one small town. Once we get a good mix, we can sell it to the entire country."
"So.. it was all for cheese?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Seeing the bird do nothing, she continues. "What do you think the Kuzenko's do, anyway?"
The bird opens it's beak, and then closes it, a moment later.
"Huh. Well, let me give you a bit of an explanation.."
The trip back was somewhat slow and careful, with a fragile vial to protect. And some big important thoughts to make. There was some more discussion about what to do, and how to do it. And Sala.. Raucous still isn't sure what Sala's game is.
What should I do, if I'm supposed to save the world?
Well, I don't know what form the destroyer will be. What it'll be able to do. How it'll work. And I do know that I'm supposed to be the wrong person to do it. I'm supposed to have great power, maybe something broken, and then save the world through having more or better numbers.
But that's wrong. You don't need to be strong to save the world. You just need to use what you have to the best of your ability. Anything. Confusion, freedom of thought, freedom of travel.. those can be as important as a blade or a mighty spell. I might not be able to smite these people with my strong right arm, but they don't think the same way I do. They don't know about how power is an illusion.
The night is passed halfway up a tree, making a small nest for the vial. Sitting on it should do to protect things. Still, there's plenty of time to think, particularly since tomorrow is a dull day, with a little rain and misery. A good day for dark thoughts.
What if I can't do it? What if I plan some marvelous prank, but it isn't enough? What if I set up something and my own thoughts mean I fail to see the issue with my plan? Or there was something I could have done, but I'm not the person to do it? I might be World Champion, but that doesn't mean I'm right all the time.
A couple days ago I almost died, almost got choked out and killed by accident. Sure, I was able to get the better of them, but that isn't a guarantee that all my plans are going to win. Maybe it'd be best if someone else solves the problem and I provide leadership. Or maybe it'd be better if I was at the front, being a creature too weak for the enemy to care about, a creature too strange for them to see what threat I pose.
..These things could go either way. I don't know what I'm going to have to fight. I don't know where I'm going to have to fight it. And I don't know what I'm going to do to defeat it. I need to fix those things if I want to save the world.
Do I want to save the world? It's fun. It's certainly a fun place, and it should still be fun even when people start knowing who I am or what a black bird can be. Sheer unjustified terror has it's own appeal, too, and people seem to be fairly willing to work with me. If I want to spend my life pranking people and finding amusing things to do, this is a good place for that. So yeah, I want to save the world.
After a lazy few hours of wet flight, Raucous returns to Benanda. There isn't much going on today, with most people staying out of sight and taking it easy. Sala is in her office again, and opens the window. Raucous is thankful once again that he now knows how windows work.
"Ahh, Raucous, good to see you. And you've got the vial! Well done."
"I'm afraid there wont' be some evil plan this time. I've mixed your vial with some rennet, and brough the result back, but I did not adulterate her rennet. She still has a clean sample."
Sala doesn't seem worried about it.
"I'm not sure what you're saying, but all I wanted was to make cheese. That vial just held some sugar water, so you could steal the rennet and it would stay alive on the trip here. Now I can make my own take on her cheese."
"Huh. So I was just stealing cheese?"
"Well, it's a bit more than that. That was the secret to her fine cheese. Now I should be able to make something similar to that, or maybe better. And the Kuzenkos will be able to spread it further around than her one small town. Once we get a good mix, we can sell it to the entire country."
"So.. it was all for cheese?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Seeing the bird do nothing, she continues. "What do you think the Kuzenko's do, anyway?"
The bird opens it's beak, and then closes it, a moment later.
"Huh. Well, let me give you a bit of an explanation.."
