when opportunity knocks

[Straia]

sometimes we want what we want --
    -- even if we know it’s going to kill us.

Straia only laughs, clearly amused. ”I feel very sorry for that owl,” she says, coming back to her normal shape with her normal, smoky voice, cool and unruffled as always. There’s a confidence there that cannot be shaken, a deep seated understanding of exactly who (and what) she is.

The raven watches the child with interest, and it seems entirely possible that somehow, this is the same raven from so many years ago. The raven’s of Straia’s magic seem just like that - creatures of magic. The assumption is that she calls them into existence and sends them away, and normally, she does. But Poppy’s keen eye might notice how this one stares at her and the feathers on her back that soon disappear. If it is not the same one, it seems to share it’s memories all the same.

Or maybe those are just Straia’s eyes in another form. There are some secrets she will not tell.

But Poppy’s words light something in Straia’s eyes, and she grins slightly. ”You are bigger than most.” She says, a cryptic compliment if ever there was one, for it is clearly not a literal statement. Straia herself, though not large, still looms over the girl. But sometimes physical size is not really what matters. ”It seems to me you ought to wake it.”

Her grin grows slightly, and there is a knowing look on her face. ”If you find you need my help, you need only ask. I will help you revive the North, and in exchange, perhaps you can help me revive Beqanna.” Lelian might not be completely opposed to her plans, but he did think in lines and boxes, and she wanted someone with a bit more on her side as well.

-- straia

the raven queen

@[Popinjay]