Work in Progress: The White Raven, week 2

Writing got a little behind this week until this evening. Writing sex scenes does that to me — writing gets slooooow. Tonight, however,  I wrote a scene out of sequence, because I was inspired and didn’t want to lose it. Part of that scene is this week’s excerpt.

The White Raven
Week two total wordcount

Excerpt:

The courtyard was full of birds, the like of which Lorcan had never seen before. They were majestic beasts, long legs, long necks, and the longest tail feathers he’d ever seen. Some of them were a glossy blue, with tails of brown, blue and green. The others were pure white, the same color of Lorcan’s own feathers. As he watched, one of them fanned its tail up and out, forming a backdrop of iridescent blues and greens. Lorcan stared in wonder.

“Tavi? What are they?” he asked.

Tavi followed his gaze and smiled. “Oh. My grandfather’s pets. They’re Persian birds, and sacred to Juno. The first of them were given to him as tribute when he was my age. He’s kept them ever since.”

“They’re beautiful.” Lorcan stepped down into the courtyard. “Are they different colors for male and female? Like ducks?”

“Careful,” Tavi warned. “They’re vicious little beasts. I’ve still got scars from where they attacked me when I was younger. And no. These are all male. The females are smaller, and brown. Over there, by the wall. See them?”

Lorcan looked and saw the smaller birds. “But… the white ones—”

“Sometimes, they’re born that way,” Tavi said with a shrug. “The flock doesn’t seem to care.”

“Because they’re captive?” Lorcan asked.

“Because it’s normal,” Tavi answered. “The same way I have brown hair and you have—” he stopped, and his eyes widened. “White hair. You have white hair and blue eyes. Lorcan, you told me you’re one of the ravens of Hibernia. Does that mean you’re a white raven, like the white Persians?”

Lorcan nodded. “And I’m the only one. The only one that I know of. But if some of these can be white, that means that there can be other white ravens, too.”

Tavi grinned. “It’s actually not that uncommon. I’ve seen white ravens before.”