"Do you even know where you came from?" The black raven blinked and cocked it's head, looking at the curly maned black and white Tokota who was quietly following the bird. "You dress all pretty with those feathers in your mane. You make sure your pelt stays clean to impress others. But it's all a front isn't it." "You don't want anyone to know what you really are." Magpie huffed. "Shut up stupid bird. I'm only putting up with you because I have to complete this task. It's important to me."

Magpie sighed quietly and watched how the black raven took off again, flying to the next tree in order to wait for him to catch up again. The pair had slowly been making their way to the hunting grounds. He glanced at the huge trees next to them and wondered how ancient this forest must be. He had been tasked by finding a path to the ancient hunting grounds which was supposed to be teeming with prey. A good place for a pack of Tokotas to spend the winter which was for sure going to be scarce with prey to hunt. However, this know it all bird had been appointed his companion and Magpie had hated every second of it so far. Who the heck did this bird think he was? He huffed again and wished this task was over soon, he couldn't wait to return to the pack. "Is it important to you, or is it important so you can impress others again?" The raven circled towards Magpie and landed on the path before him. Magpie shook his head, did he really think he could block his path with his unimpressive stature? However the black and white Tokota stopped and glanced at the bird who's eyes were like beads, piercing his soul.

The bird took off again without waiting for an answer. "We're almost there!" Magpie sped up his walk to a trot but what he saw in front of him, wasn't like anything he'd been expecting. A wall of thorns spread out before them and Magpie watched how the small raven dove into them, avoiding the sharp thorns with seeming ease. "Really?" The curly mane grunted but followed reluctantly. The first few huge branches were easy enough to crawl under and squeeze past, but the further the pair got, the harder it became for Magpie to get through the thorned deathtrap. Magpie was an average sized Tokota but his size was starting to pose a serious problem if they were to really get through this. "Wasn't there a way around this?" Magpie shot at the raven that fluttered ahead in front of him. "No." The bird retorted coldly. "Looks like you're going to have to get your paws dirty if you want to get the hunting grounds." The thorns started getting caught in Magpie's mane and one scratched the bridge of his nose painfully. "You have got to be kidding me." He sighed and pushed under a branch, pushing through with his chest on the floor while his back legs did much of the work. There was almost no getting through where they were at the moment. The black and white Tokota's breathing quickened but he refused to give up. He looked up at the raven who was standing only an inch from his face, glaring at him with those eerie beady-like eyes. "You don't have to prove anything, you already are what you're supposed to be."

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RoD for my Tokota boy Magpie ♥ Still like it a lot so I thought I'd share it here too. :3

Art & character © me 2018