a story

the man i was died last night- this is the story that was in that man's head as he died.

"there was a snake, a carrion bird and a bird of prey.
the snake was poisonous, but he never pretended otherwise- he was true to his nature. he would only poison those that threatened him.
the carrion bird fed off death, but she would take the living if they were weaker than her or she was hungry enough. she loved the distance created by her flight- this was also her nature and she never pretended otherwise, but was unable to tell her friend the snake.
the bird of prey would feed off anything weaker than itself, but it would attack those stronger than it from its instinct for the kill.

neither of the creatures could understand the other- they had different natures, but the carrion bird and the snake shared a relationship in the desert of their lives.

it should have been no surprise to the snake that the two birds would be attracted to each other- they flew high while the snake crawled along the ground, and the bird of prey and the snake were natural enemies. the bird of prey would feed on the snake and the snake would climb the trees and feed off the young of the bird of prey.

and so the bird of prey swooped down and savaged the snake, but failed in killing him. the snake got a bite in and let his poison flow. the snake crawled into the desert to heal and grow stronger than he had ever been so that he would never be injured again- but he thought of his friend the carrion bird and prayed she realized that a bird of prey will attack any other bird to feed itself, and that she too would survive and grow stronger even if they never shared the same desert again."


when someone forges a sympathetic relationship with a god or animal, they take on that creature's nature. don't fuck with magic if you aren't prepared to accept the consequences.