He tells her of his magic and it manages to distract her, even for a little bit. Corr imagines what life would be like if she could talk to the trees. What would they say to her? What stories could they share? She has always done her part to respect the Earth and its creatures, so she hopes they would appreciate that at the least.
The man then shares a saying his adopted mother used to tell him and it makes Corr smile. It's accurate for their troubles right now. It's also good that the trees are on their side, so hopefully that makes this puzzle a little bit easier to solve. She tries to stuff her worries away, like what she does to the clutter she doesn't feel like cleaning in her house. She stuffs it somewhere that she can't see for a time and she can deal with it later. Maybe not the best solution, but it could work.
"Your mother sounds like a wise lady," she says, thinking back for a moment to her own family.
Then, she realizes she still has not introduced herself to this man. It's incredibly uncharacteristic of her, but her mind had been muddled by all this worry.
"My name is Corrdelia by the way- Corrdelia Maude." Her introduction does not have the same flare as usual with her bow and longer title. They don't have time for that as they wind through the trees and follow an invisible trail set by the woods. Put that way, it does seem a bit crazy. "And your name, kind sir?"
The pleasantries and nostalgia immediately disappear when she feels the tone change. She can't easily describe it other than that it's dark. There are no colored auras, just darkness. Black. Her heart races again and despite his mother's saying, despite her stuffing away that worry, it didn't do any good. It's all back to the surface again as they quicken their pace.
Suddenly, they stop.
The man comes to such a sudden halt that Corr almost crashes into him. She manages to secure her footing before that could happen and she turns to follow his gaze. There is a pit in her stomach.
He steps forward first to observe the scene, but even before her eyes take it in, she knows. She knows what he sees. She almost doesn't want to look, but she has to.
Hāsta's body is mangled. At a quick glance, it almost doesn't look like the corpse of a bird. It's been torn apart like some savage had at her. There are feathers everywhere, blood, bones. No wonder her mental link was gone because Hāsta was gone.
Gone, gone, gone, g-
Corrdelia's thoughts become cloudy as the tears well up in her eyes. How could this happen? Why? Who would do such a thing? She knows there are predators out there that need to eat, but why a crow? Why her Hāsta?
It's been so silent, but there are no words. Corr can't find them.
As if the questions spinning in her head weren't bad enough, she thinks that she never told Hāsta how much she loved her or appreciated her. Although the crow was usually in a grumpy mood, she cared deeply for Corr and was always watching over her. Now the only way she can do that is in spirit, but it just isn't the same.
"I… I don't," she manages to say, her voice cracking while tears stream down her face. "How- who could've done such a thing?" she finally asks one of the questions out loud. It just seems so much more violent than a creature simply getting a meal. For that reason, this feels more wrong and more dangerous.
She so badly wants to think this is a dream, but she knows it's not. It's her worst nightmare.
@Ipomoea ;____; my heart <3
