No, monsters don’t always come with decaying flesh and pointed teeth. Her father did, but she has always known him to be a monster, long before she saw his true form. But Straia? Straia came with raven feathers in her hair (though she does not wear them out in the field), a tangled mane and tail, three colors splashed on her hide. She is beautiful in the sort of way that doesn’t try, doesn’t care to be beautiful. She is regal by habit, not by title. But she doesn’t look like a monster. Doesn’t look like a girl capable of selling her father to the Valley for her crown.
Oh, but she did. For the best of reasons, in her mind. Not for a crown, not really. But for the Chamber. Because her father had ceased to be an effective leader, and she could rule better than he had. So she took what should have been rightfully hers anyway.
Today, Straia comes to the meadow as a raven, so very innocuous in the field. She spots him long before his head drops, before he pretends to be something other than what he is. She spots the other as well, the mare with the scars down her side who likely is not pretending at all. She dips lower before disappearing outside the border of the field. When she comes back, she is all horse. There’s no trace of the raven on her now. It’s a brilliant, useful trick.
When she comes back, she hears the mare speaking. Her ears flick forward, and she catches bits and piece. A name, some muttering about ghosts. Certainly, he looks like a ghost. But really, isn’t Straia the ghost? The ghost of his past, anyway. The ghost of the place he did not simply return to. Though she doesn’t know this, cannot know this, because his time was long before hers. He looks so tired, but even if she didn’t know better, Straia has never been the type to come running up and ask if you need help. If you say yes, she’s not interested.
“I didn’t think ghosts have red eyes,” she says, because she never starts with introductions if there’s something more interesting to play with at hand. And the mare had provided that. But still, she’s not here to waste anyone’s time either, and so she adds. “Straia, from the Chamber.”
straia
the raven queen of the chamber
Use of mild power playing is allowed; no injuries without permission