She looked out the kitchen window as the sun rose above the horizon. It was late in the year and the harvest was done and the rest of the year would be spent in individual growth and service to friends and neighbors. Winter nights had finished when the harvest did and there was still much time till Yule. Yes, there was still much time until Yule and she had prepared to take full advantage of the extra free time she would now have. But first, there were still chores to be done. The animals never cared what time of year it was, they still needed to eat, sleep, and be exercised. She moved toward the front door, wrapping her cloak tight around her before stepping out into the early morn. As her boots connected with the ground, loud thumps mixed with the crunch of icy grass beneath her, she looked up and out at the mountains surrounding her, her hands reaching up to touch the crook of her neck. The air was thin and sharp with cold and with every exhale her breath hovered in front of her in a soft visible cloud before mixing with the rest of the air. She reached into her pockets and removed her gloves, the leather worn and dirty from daily use. As she was inserting her fingers into the pockets of the gloves, she heard a soft cry from her right.

She turned and saw a dark crow sitting on the pasture fence. His feathers shined with the morning light, the mixture of black wings and an ashy-gray chest and back with eyes that were just barely turning dark brown from the juvenile blue it was born with. Those eyes...intelligent and questioning, waiting to see if she was going to yell and attack him. Crows were hated by farmers, they would come in swarms and eat at crops, destroying the food that the poor so desperately needed. The crow clicked his powerful beak, calling out to her again as his head bobbed up and down. He opened his mouth again, releasing several clicks in succession, those eyes continuing to watch her intensely. She felt a shiver run up her spine as she stared into those eyes, her arms becoming raised and bumpy. Other than being pests and crop destroyers, crows were also seen as harbingers of danger and death. And since this bird was focused more on her than the crops in the field behind it, it was hard to argue that it could be bringing good news.

She stepped back away from the fence and the crow perched on top and slowly moved toward the large barn nearby. Without taking her eyes from him she unlatched the door and slipped in. Once the door was shut behind her, she released the breath she hadn't known she was holding. This time her breath produced no condensation, the air warmer from the breathing and body heat of the animals inside. The quiet from outside also stopped at the closed door as the barn orchestration began as the animals awoke and moved towards their feed pens. For good measure she pushed the extra board down into its latch, securing the door from the world outside. As she stared at the door, she questioned why she was so afraid of a simple crow, she couldn't explain the uneasiness the crow had caused in her. She remained there, standing in front of the door, and would have continued her trance if one of the cows behind her hadn't called in annoyance at the delay in...