The Heathen

Aos jolted awake as she was still quite scared from the bird's actions. She quickly dismissed the nightmare, believing it only figurative. She sat up from the wooden cave's floor and looked around. Aos couldn't spot the black bird inside the cave until in her search she felt another burning sensation on her left arm.

The black bird as if sensing Aos' search for it responded with a *caw* from its perch on Aos' arm. Aos simply couldn't believe her eyes. The darkness she had been periodically visiting wasn't only real. It could affect her and others. The new development shook Aos greatly but she decided to distract herself in study, rather than aimlessly worry about whatever effects whoever in the darkness may inflict upon her and others.

She rather briskly stood up and headed out of the wooden cave with the tome of nature in hand. While walking to the familiar stump she was reading over some words in druidic until she came across a word she thought would be particularly useful. In the tome of nature, Aos had found the word for summon. The word's presence in the very front of the book signifying its importance to druidic. Aos then attempted calling for the black bird, "(bird)(summon)".

With the utterance of those two words, the black bird signified its understanding by making one *caw* before flying off the perch on Aos' left arm before flying out of Aos' skin and into the real world.

The bird had truly changed within the darkness. It was now double in size and 4-winged. The connection between Aos' and the bird becoming more of a permanent bond.

Aos now accompanied by her black bird friend, finally made it to the wooden stump.

Once Aos sat down on the wooden stump she began to memorize the next few pages of the tome before switching to meditation. The black bird friend often flying around or leaving to hunt for a few hours before returning. Aos never weary for the black bird since she could sense it's presence no matter the distance.

Eventually, night fell upon the land and Aos made her way back to the wooden cave with her black bird friend before calling to the black bird and saying, "(home)"causing the black bird to once again dive at Aos, returning to its perch on her arm. A few days passed in the repetitive training before Aos saw the old man again.