The large raven cocks its head at me, blinking.

And boy, was she huge. She was still bigger than me, even after I'd evolved. About the size of an eagle, perhaps a little bigger, with her height extending around 1 meter off the ground. Comparing my previous appearance as a Carrion Raven to her, the shape of our wings were different as well. My wings were sharply defined, each feather arranged neatly like sharp blades. Her feathers, on the other hand, while still sharp, were wider, to accommodate her heavier frame.

I wonder how old she was. And how long did ravens live, anyways? I knew that birds had a shorter lifespan compared to humans. That's no good. As long as I kept evolving, hopefully my lifespan would increase as well.

Mother shifts her weight from one foot to another, looking me up and down. 'My how big you've grown!' Was the sort of reaction I think she was giving me.

Her torso was thicker than mine, with large talons that could probably grasp and crush any goblin's head easily. The overall shape of her body reminded me of the large military helicopters used for transport.

I for one, would not want to be on her bad side.

Speaking of airplanes, I would say that me as a Carrion Raven would look more streamlined, like a fighter jet, or perhaps one of those bullet trains.

Appraisal!

{Greater Forest Raven: A female Greater Forest Raven inhabiting the Wildlands.}

Even if she was my mother, the system wouldn't show me her status like it did with Greenie. Only the usual information that I knew already was displayed before me.

As a young baby chick, I'd missed so much. I hadn't realized her true size when I was looking up at her from below.

Um.. Hello?

She runs her beak on the top of my head, in that same familiar, comforting way.

Now this was a surprise family reunion. But it wasn't anything tear-inducing, like the ones on tv.

It was more like a 'Oh, hey there! I'm glad you're alive' kind of feeling I got from my Mother. That was understandable. She was a raven.

The gurgling croak that rumbles in the back of her throat as she shuffles closer to me was comforting. It reminded me of the times when I was still without vision, confused where I was and what creatures were around me. I knew when I heard that croak that she was trying to comfort me, and that she would stroke me right after. It was one of the few bright spots when I first came to this world, before meeting Greenie.

Mother continues to stare at me until she yawns. And a long yawn it was, till she breaks her gaze and looks down. With the feathers around her throat ruffling, I stare in horror as something dark drops out of her mouth.

Falling to the ground with a plopping noise, the oblong shape lies between us. I really, really missed being a human.

It looked like pooping. But she'd done it with her mouth.

A long line of spit connects the poop-like object to her beak while she smacks contentedly. I wasn't sure if I should politely look away or continue watching. So I continued to stare. Our gazes lock again as she hunches her neck down, and goes back to staring at me.

From the way she looked around the clearing once and not at whatever she'd regurgitated, she seemed kind of embarrassed.

I mean, I would be too if I'd pooped out of my mouth. I was desperately hoping whatever Mother had just done was a race aspect that belonged solely to the Greater Forest Raven class. I was not willing to have to defecate from another orifice if necessary.

It reminded me how a cat would hack up a hairball. I didn't know that ravens did that too. Though I'd never experienced the urge to do so. But then again, as a human, we did throw up. I didn't know which was better. At least as a human we didn't naturally throw up every once in a while, only when we were sick.

"Kraaawk!"

Mother calls out to me again, hopping once, then turning back to me, ruffling her feathers and cocking her head.

If Mother was here, that must mean the tall tree we used to live in was nearby. And probably my siblings too. Looking around, I don't see the familiar ridiculously thick trunk of our home tree. Until Mother flies atop one of the Ironwood tree branches and I follow her. Her eyes point in one direction, and I follow her gaze.

There was the tree! I hadn't noticed it before, not having flown above the treetops in this area. Although it was the tallest tree, finding it without Mother's help would have been difficult. I would have to fly to a good enough height in the skies to be able to pick it out. I'd been flying out in the open skies for a while now, but never that high. The trees were the perfect hiding spot if there were any flying predators who noticed me out in the open.

"Craaaaw"

I knew she wanted me to follow her, from the way she looked up at the sky and then back at me, wings twitching restlessly.

But I didn't want to go with her. I had my own place now, with Greenie. We still had to find a new place to stay, and make weapons.

Shaking my head, I step back and away from Mother. Though I wasn't sure if she understood, I used Thought Transmission to let her know.

I'm not going with you Mother.

There's someone waiting for me.

After a few more calls and some more stroking her beak on the top of my head, Mother flies away in a flurry of wingbeats. I watch her go, the wind caused by her wings making me blink hard.

She was a powerful bird. Dare I say, cool, even?

Guess I could go visit her sometime.

I go back to get my special Y-shaped stick, but pause to check the brown object lying on the ground. It was the size of a large pine cone, with bits of grey and white mixed in.

What exactly was the thing she'd dropped? I knew it wasn't raven poop, since that tended to be white and runny. Poking it with my talon, I peer closely and see the hardened mixture that comes apart as I pull at it with one hooked in claw.

It was a clump of fur and brown seeds. And not just fur. There were entire skeletons in here. Small rodents that Mother had eaten whole, as well as a few skulls scattered here and there.

I could use this! Urgh. Ignoring the fact that I was holding my Mother's pellet with my talon, I head back to Greenie and our cave.

--------

Laying out the items in front of me, I think on where to start.

Ok let's see.

Y-shaped Ironwood stick. Check. Chewed-up sinew. Check. Crescent Moon Leaf. Check.

First, create a few notches in the Ironwood Y-shaped stick.

『Peck』!

『Peck』!

『Peck』!

That didn't work. My pecks were still not strong enough to even leave a mark on the stick. Those Ironwood bears must be strong then. From the rough bite marks on the bottom of the Y part, I knew this stick was a piece discarded by the bears when they chomped away at the bark.

Either way it was perfect. And the notches weren't exactly necessary. I'll just have to move on to the most important part.

I use peck to drill 2 holes in the Crescent Moon leaf, and work on poking the string of sinew through the holes.

It was still difficult. After 15 minutes of trying, with my tongue hanging out of my mouth in concentration, I give up and ask Greenie to string it through for me.

When he does it in seconds, I hide my disappointment. Oh to have proper fingers again! Even with my wingtips extended into a pseudo thumb and pointer finger, I didn't have the proper hand-eye coordination for more delicate tasks like stringing sinew through a hole.

Swallowing my pointless pride, I also ask Greenie to knot the ends we'd pushed through the leaf. And then it was wrapping time!

I wrap each string end around the top of each Y, testing the tension of the sinew when I pull back by hooking the leaf on my beak.

Snap!

It expanded and sprung back into shape perfectly.

Greenie we did it!

Yes Master! Greenie nods excitedly.

But what this?

Picking up the item we'd created, he swings it around in the air. Well of course. Greenie was used to a weapon like a spear or the hoe. He was happy that I was happy, but still confused as to what we'd created.

It's a sling-shot, Greenie!

Sling-shot?

Yes, you use it like this.

Instead of twisting my back trying to show him how to use it, I send him and image of how it works. I wasn't going to even try showing him. How could I, when I didn't even have a wrist! My only concern was whether Greenie would understand my explanation.

You put one of the stones in the leaf here, pull back, aim, and fire!

Easier to make than a bow, smaller, which makes it more portable, and completely silent. I would even dare to say that in our situation, a slingshot would work better than a gun. After all, a gun needed ammo, and wouldn't work in the rain. And with skill, a slingshot could become a terrifying weapon, perhaps even more accurate than a handgun.

I would know. I'd gotten called to the principal's office as a child for bringing a slingshot to school. How was I to know that it was considered a weapon!? I thought then that it was nothing more than a toy. Something like the toy bb guns you could show off to your friends. Until my father picked me up from school, and showed me just how much power a slingshot could exert. The soda cans he'd lined up and hit in our yard had become crumpled up with holes punched through the tin metal.

Not that it stopped me from sneaking it into school again and showing off my improved slingshot skills to my friends.

While he may have failed in teaching kid me the scariness of a slingshot, it had left a mark on me. A mark that said:

Slingshots were the best!

[Skill: Odd Weapons Crafting Obtained!]