Max and Raven

Raven was not surprised to see us as he looked from the jagged trunk. "What bit of silliness pleases you? I remember a girl who loved to dance to music in a friend's garage. You had a pal with bright red hair - not this sort of red," he pulled at his beard feathers and continued with the memory of a freckle-faced neighbor. It seemed so long ago to tickle a bit of silliness that made me feel light and very much an unaltered me. But, he was right. "I do love to do little dances to songs, now old, like me. "Moonlight Bay." Oh my who remembers those songs today?

"Makes no nevermind, Miel," Raven chimed in from his perch. "I've seen you dancing merrily by yourself in sensible black boots and with tiny toes bared while you cook. It pleases you." Raven and Max were yet to meet, and Raven who was big on protocol flew within inches of us, landed firmly and tucked his bill with a gesture of respect. "I am Raven, though you have known my family and we are also called 'Alala. My ancestors have lived in the forests near your steaming craters when our voices were thick and many. The Silver Band of Ravens made the Salish their home. So my blood is Earth knowing and my wings, like you, love and know the Winds."

Max was delighted to hear the genealogy of my mate and stepped forward to greet Raven with his forehead. Exchanging breath the kahuna said, "I am Max to my friends and in other places I am called Saturn's Messenger. I am very aware of time and space and have spent my cycles with both. It is a pleasure to meet one of the Silver Band of Ravens and ancestor to 'Alala." Not to distract too long from the subject of silliness, Max asked impishly, "The real question is do you dance? With a tag like yours "The Silver Band of Ravens" you must dance!

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