Nevermore the Raven Cried (quest)

[<3Kodi]

Rowena kept her pace brisk as she headed through the hollow. Moonlight leaked weakly through the trees dappling her path. The midnight-dark mare was determined to reach the desert in decent time. In her maw she carried a hunk of coal for the strange stallion in the desert named Komi. There was one more thing she needed however, a raven's feather to achieve the task Komi had set out for her. Keeping at a brisk trot, Ro picked her way through the Entrapment Hollow, auds perked in case wolves were in the area or something of the sort. Her pace was brisk but cautious, knowing that the hollow was known to still have potentally deadly human traps still within its shadows.

The forested hollow however was the best chance Ro had at finding what she needed and that was a raven nest. Raising her head the young mare scanned the overhead branches for the nest she needed. She'd been circling around the forests and woodlands for about three days looking for the blasted nests and since wolves tended to come here, she figured ravens would be near since they were often considered "wolf-friends".

There!

Ro's optics lit upon catching sight of a nest in a low-slung branch harboring a large sleek black raven. Slowing her trot to a walk, Rowena made her way to the base of the tree. Putting the coal in the roots, Ro looked up at the bird, debating how to get a feather from it. The raven let out a caw, its beady eyes watching her mistrustfully. Experimentally Rowena let out a nicker, just to see how it would react. To her surprise, the raven sprang into flight opening its dark wings with a rattle of feathers and cawing loudly. Rowena's ears flicked back and she took a step back from the tree, flicking her tail. The bird cawed and cricled above her head twice before it dived.

Letting out a surprised shriek the black Paso Fino tossed her head and reared up to strike out at the bird and keep it from pecking her eyes. The bird banked and her hooves missed. Dropping to all fours again, Ro shied from the bird's nest, letting out a snort. The raven dropped low and flew toward Ro's face. The mare tossed her head and let out a surprised shriek again as the bird's sharp claws raked at her muzzle leaving shallow cuts on her tender nose. Rowena flung her head high as the raven circled away.

"You blasted bird!" Rowena neighed angrily ready to kick its beak in.

The bird cawed and banked again, flapping toward its nest. Shaking her mane, Ro retrieved her coal, ready to leave in a huff when she caught sight of something on the ground near her hind hoof. Turning the mare's eyes lit up as she caught sight of a single ebony feather. Snatching it up, Ro twisted around and tangled it in her mane before picking up the coal again and setting off at a brisk pace toward the desert again, sporting scratches for her trouble.