Raven Read Online Free

cabin, inspecting the strange structure and continuing to chatter. There were no windows, but it didn’t matter. As I came close to the front, a door opened for me, the trees still working in my favor. I stepped in as they braided back together behind me, setting Henry on a branch that protruded from the wall.
    I shut my eyes and focused on my wings as I once again felt them get sucked against my spine, and out of the way. Opening my eyes, I looked back on the space, finally feeling content with the idea of living in the woods. There was a small hole cut in the ceiling of the structure, where smoke from a fire pit, just below, could escape. In the corner, a few branches reached from the wall and down to the ground, creating a small table, or perhaps desk. Another branch reached from the earth, flattening out into a chair that did not necessarily look comfortable, but at least had its use. In the opposite corner, branches had created a frame in which vines had woven a hammock. I thought about how uncomfortable my back already was with the addition of the wings and cringed, figuring I’d grow used to it.
    It was dark, so I walked over to the fire pit, placing my hands above it as I conjured a fire out of nothing but air. The trees had done me enough service already, so to burn their own kind would be cruel. A blue light lit my face and Henry’s, my stomach now growling from the hunt, but I knew I was unable to eat. It was a curse of the guardian angel that food lost its appeal, and our hunger was never satisfied. Henry let out a cry that pierced my ears, as though thinking exactly what I had, except for him, there was something he could do.
    “ Do you want to go hunting?” I asked. There was no reason why I should still deny myself the pleasure of the hunt, even if it couldn’t be enjoyed.
    Henry shifted his weight from one foot to the next, agreeing.
    I nodded. “Well, then—let’s go. Darkness is coming, and now is the best time.” I walked toward him and put out my hand for him to climb on. “Like old times.”

    THE PURPOSE
    Edgar

    It had been nearly a month now, and I was growing bored of the same routine. A rabbit hung in the smoke from the fire, cooking as it filled the small cabin with a delightful smell. I was spoiling Henry, and torturing myself. Soon I figured I’d grow out of my hunger, and get used to the feeling. Henry stood on his perch, leaving only to hunt but always returning. Since he’d been back, I saw that something was different with him. There was a look of guilt in his eyes, and I wondered why that was.
    To my surprise, there was a knock on the side of the cabin, and it echoed in my head. I had become so accustomed to the silence of the woods that my hearing had heightened, looking for anything to entertain it.
    “ How does this work?” I heard an annoyed, but familiar voice from outside.
    I shook my head.
    Sam snorted. “Hey, I know you’re in there, and I heard that.”
    I let out a contented laugh. “Well, you’re right, I am in here. And you’re an idiot.”
    There was a sharp pound against the wall as the branches tightened, refusing to allow such abuse, and rebelling against letting him in. The pounding stopped.
    “ Fine. Have it your way.” Sam was talking to the trees now, and trying to convince them. After one last moment of resistance, they gave and the door formed, revealing my visitor.
    “ Hello, Sam.” I sat at my desk in the corner, my watch in hand.
    “ Sweet little set up you have here.” Sam waltzed in as the branches poked at him—still offended by what he’d done.
    “ Thanks.” I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, looking back to the book that lay open on my desk. After I killed the hologram, I had gone down to the college to gather a few of my things to help pass the time.
    Sam poked the rabbit, making it swing and spread smoke into the air.
    “ Could you please,” I began.
    Sam laughed. “What are you doing with this? Wishful thinking?”
    I