The moon cast an eerie glow into the dark canyon. Trees clung to the rocks, casting bat-like shadows across the open space. Eight ravens swooped down, identical in their movements. Their flight was silent, and so was the world beside them. Fog hung low into the canyon, making the place seem even more mysterious than it already was. The ravens flew into the canyon’s depths and landed on small roots and stones. The biggest one, Jupiter, spoke.
“I’d say it’s time.”
“It can’t be! R.W.D. already expects an attack. The sooner the worse --- they’ll be prepared!”
“But the moon will disappear soon! We can’t fly in the dark. They know that. They’ll prepare for the next moon. Now has to be the time!”
“The wind is cold! They’re much stronger than us! We’ll probably lose a few birds in the fight, and now would be the worst time for that!”
“But they know that. They’ll expect an attack in WarmBreeze. Now’s the time to strike!”
“But after we have a chick how will we survive? There will be another mouth to feed and less ravens to find food!”
Twilight, the young leader of the ravens, spoke in a cold, firm manner.
“We don’t know what they expect. The humans are hunting, so they will be wary and possibly weak. But, Dusk has a point, losing ravens in ColdWind would make things very hard for us. Even if we did succeed.” He paused to look at his followers. “Which is unlikely. As you all know, we are weak as well. Humans already think of us badly, and the hunters make it even more dangerous. We won’t attack now. When the air is cool and crisp we will attack.”
Dusk and Jupiter exchanged confused looks.