"Who are you?!"
Kael sprang to his feet in a blur of motion, his cloak swirling like a stormcloud around him as he leaped back, his bony fingers tightening on the hilt of his blade.
"Calm down, I mean no harm!"
Kael's head tilted, the empty sockets of his skull narrowing as if squinting. His hollow voice grated out, sharp and wary. "What are you, and how can you talk...?"
The figure perched on a brittle, sun-bleached tree was a raven, its feathers glossy against the arid, lifeless backdrop of the desert.
"You are a raven," Kael murmured, his tone edged with disbelief.
"Yeah... it seems so," the bird replied, its head cocking to one side with an unsettlingly human mannerism.
"Huh." Kael's jaw hung slack for a moment, before snapping shut with an audible click of bone. His hollow stare lingered, tracing the bird's movements with suspicion. His fingers flexed, restless. "Who really are you?"
The raven shifted, its talons scratching against the dry bark. It paused, its beady eyes glinting as if rifling through a foggy memory. Then, in a measured tone, it said, "I can't really remember. I don't know why..." Another pause. The bird fluffed its feathers, the motion strangely jittery, almost anxious. "I feel like I had a name. Or a past. Something important, but... I just can't recall it."
Kael's posture stiffened. "Huh. Why?"
"I can't remember why or how. All I know is that I woke up in this wasteland, and I've been surviving here ever since."
Kael narrowed his gaze, his bony jaw clenching. "Is this some kind of trick or joke? Because it won't work on me."
The raven straightened, its feathers bristling indignantly. "Huh?! You think I'm lying?"
"Your story is more absurd than believable," Kael said, his tone cutting.
"I told you, I don't know why! But it's the truth!" The bird's voice rose, its wings flaring as if to punctuate its frustration.
Kael's cloak fluttered faintly as he gestured toward the dead spider nearby. "If that's the truth, why talk to me? Why follow me?"
The raven froze for a moment, its gaze darting to the carcass before answering. "I wasn't following you. I just happened to be here, enjoying the view. Watching that big spider tear through the smaller ones so I could swoop down and eat them afterward."
Kael's sockets narrowed in faint amusement. "So that's why you're up there."
"Exactly."
Kael leaned forward slightly, his cloaked body casting a sharp shadow on the cracked ground. "So you scavenge instead of hunting. Why not go after the big one yourself? Grow stronger, get more bigger meat."
The raven cawed sharply, the sound almost derisive. "Do I look like a fool like you? What do you take me for... an idiot?"
"You damn bird!"
"And you're welcome, by the way," the raven shot back. It hopped closer along the branch, its movements sharp and jerky. "Thanks for killing it. I was starving. But why did it take you so long to finish it? Are you really that weak?"
Kael pointed to the hulking corpse of the spider, its legs curled grotesquely under its massive body. "Do you know how tough that thing was? That--" he jabbed his bony finger at the carcass, "--might be the strongest monster in this desert."
The raven froze, then stared at Kael as if he'd just said the sky was green. A few seconds passed in silence before the bird burst into harsh, rattling laughter. Its whole body shook with mirth, wings fluttering.
Kael watched, dumbfounded. His empty sockets seemed to darken, a faint hint of irritation rippling through his rigid stance.
Finally, the raven's laughter died down, and it fixed Kael with a piercing look. "You truly are stupid."
Kael tilted his head, his neck creaking faintly. "What do you mean?"
The raven's feathers puffed up again, amusement still lingering in its tone. "Strongest... That spider you killed? It's the lowest and weakest monster in this desert, trust me I have seen more terrifying ones than this."
"Lowest?!", Kael shouted in disbelief.