for gold and glory

“A jerk is someone who is mean. Not like Medusa—you, I mean—because you didn’t know better. Now you do, so you won’t be a jerk to other birds like that, right?” She shook her head. After meeting Aster, she figured out that she quite liked birds. While yes, she did enjoy listening to them sing in the mornings and throughout the day, she had never actually talked to one, so they were one of many things on her list that she killed and added to her little dead garden. But after this? "Medusa won't be mean to the birds anymore!" She stated with a firm nod.

Then Aster asked her something she wasn't quite prepared for. “But you’re not with the Habari now, right? So why don’t just… not go back? You can befriend all the birds in the forest, trading little scraps of meat for collections of feathers—or anything else you want.” Her head tilted, and the more she thought about what Aster said, the more her head began to tic. (It seemed to happen more frequently when she was really trying to think). She...hadn't really thought about that before...honestly...she was kind of afraid. "Medusa wants to not go back, but...what if they find Medusa? What if they hurt her more? What if Habari jerks hurt Medusa's new bird friends? Medusa is just one, she can't protect all the birds from all of Habari..." The thought of living in the woods with new bird friends that she could trade things in exchange for feathers did sound very appealing...and the thought would almost seemingly drive her to do just that.

But it seemed Aster was seemingly getting her brain to really think in a way it hadn't before, and it felt...foreign to her. In fact, she didn't think she had ever thought about things like that before. Asking questions and showing concern for such things, and yet, here she was. Concerned about a bunch of birds that just a few minutes ago, she would have had no second thoughts about killing. The blue jay then stated how her kind weren't like wolves...and it got her curious. But before she could ask anything, the pretty blue bird asked if Habari was normal for a wolf pack.

That...that was something she didn't know. And she shrugged. "Medusa was born alone in the world. Her...mother...didn't care about Medusa. Medusa was alone for a long time, eating dead things and trying not to die. But then she trespassed before she knew what trespass was, and was taken as a slave. Habari is mean to her, and treat Medusa like she is nothing. Medusa has been seeing her daddy in her dreams, he said he died before Medusa was born, but now he tries to help Medusa in her dreams, but...Medusa is still really lonely in her den, and she has no friends." She dropped her hindquarters back to the ground, taking in a deep breath and releasing it in a heavy sigh. Sure, she enjoyed time with her dad in her dreams, but...she wished she could physically touch someone, especially during the days when a hug would be useful.

"Speech"