He walked onwards towards the distant mount. Somehow it didn’t seem to matter, the walking had subsumed him. The conscious effort to drive on had faded into the automatic reflex of an exhausted mind. This in turn had faded to the burning introspection of each step. One more closer, one more towards, one more step to the foot of the mount. Then only the climb to the peak, the aspiration, the inspiration, the pure perspiration and perpetual duration of human endurance as the thoughts slipped away once more to the drifting miasma of the, of the, damn, things were slipping away as memories flashed towards without changing of the sun and the town and the, and the, an de, why the a here crow? So damnable now clichéd, why not -
***
“You won’t make it.” A stark noise for a windless plain, starker through solitude. He looked, slowly scanning until he saw the crow. It stood in front and as he passed it turned and hopped sedately, matching pace. “It’s too far and you have no food, you’ll die within a day. Turn around. They’re waiting.”
“A crow?! A carrion symbol, subtle attempt to remind me of my mortality right? Tell them not to patronise me, I know where I am going and the consequences.”
“I was the only one who’d have caught you in time. I apologise if you think my appearance is for your benefit, I had grown rather attached to the form, there is a certain benefiting social stigma attached to carrion eaters. Something of our repulsive utility, it amuses me.” The walker grunted. “Action in the face of futility is a grand gesture, it will be noticed, yet gestures are merely that, they pass. Return and you could change something.” Silence prevailed over the rhythmic steps and erratic hops of the two. “What may I call you? I am Kaliel.”
The walker had not acknowledged the crow since his exclamation. This did not perturb the animal at all, it wasn’t sure it was capable of such an extreme reaction. It was troubled with a mild curiosity, a sensation in the wings it was not used to. After a few more minutes of silence it spoke again; “I shall call you Journeyman. Why the New Mount?”
“Because it is the one were my destination lies, drone, I am going there. I cannot stop you accompanying me, but if you want some banter you will not attempt to convince me to return.”
There was no pause before the reply. “In that case I shall accompany you for a while. May I ask why you chose to leave?”
***
“I remain curious however. There is nothing to prevent your return apart from your own willing it. The situation is redeemable. You can replace your implant, rejoin us for the Union.”
“Drone, you cannot understand. You have never known solitude. I was not designed; there was a time when my mind was ‘incomplete’ as you call it. This damned rash raped me of self. Maybe now I can recover the lost.” The Journeyman had tired. Their discussion had lasted several hours, neither was sure how long. Periods of intense silence occurred as the crow ruminated, the Journeyman had no desire to elaborate for it. The drifting sun brought with it clarity and a newfound potential of the Mount.
***
The Mount was pervasive. It had adopted a quality of sentience. The Journeyman had hypothesised much on his arrival there. He wasn’t sure what would be there, occasionally he laughed quietly and bitterly to himself at that thought. The crow always looked confused, cocked its head slightly at the sound, just visible in the peripheral of his eye. Strangely, perplexing the machine like this had amused him at first, but now it merely filled him with a faint sense of disgust, maybe even pity for the sleek preened bird. They had been walking together for two days now. Whilst he had not found a soul companion, a flash of anger at his own thought of allowing that automaton a soul, the company had aided him. He missed conversation, no matter how antagonistic. Its hopping had become somehow regular as well, despite its constant pauses to preen or merely regard the scenery. This confused the Journeyman, the preening was automatic, part of its Life, poor damn thing doesn’t even get to control its own instincts, but the pauses just to look around were niggling. They were silent, no ruffling of rearranging feathers. And the unchanging scenery was stored in its memory anyway; it wasn’t even appreciating the view, just taking panoramic recordings of the plain. All that would be there would be two drifting sets of tracks heading to the Mount.
He realised something; “Bird. Why don’t you fly?”
The bird stopped. It remained there for some time as the Journeyman walked onwards but eventually appeared to resolve something. After a minute of dedicated hopping it caught up with The Journeyman and said merely; “Because I am your companion.” In front of them was the silent plain, the Mount greater all the time and they walked on until the end in silence.
***
Both had stopped now, the journey had been forgotten in the face of something monumental. The Mount was barely two miles away, clear in a bright night, full moon shining on the dusty walker and his jet companion. The trail ended at this point. There was nothing dramatic, merely the two figures in the night. The days of steps in the soil, some seemingly eternal, some only implied by the presence of the rest, had concluded at this point where the Journeyman lay foetal whilst the crow patiently stood, regarding his face. This had been the situation for three days now. The crow had reached its decision several hours ago, slow, even for it. Its tendency to over contemplate had always marked it as slightly different. A crow was a slightly idiosyncratic choice granted, and it often felt its viewpoint was distinct, but something had changed.
The tingling in the wings had grown throughout the duration of the journey. There was something missing. In its time with the man it had walked for days, indeed the Journeyman had surprised it with his endurance, it had tried to rationalise some motivation. There was never any hope of reaching the Mount, the only possible outcome was before him now, but still he had persisted. A sense of release began to settle on the bird, it realised the true freedom it possessed. He could reach the Mount. It seemed ridiculous that it eventually depended on his durability, but it had accepted his immortality many years ago. Now, finally it had begun to understand the man’s laughter. The freedom wasn’t the Mount. It had been hopping for several days now which made its sudden leap even more exhilarating. Kaliel soared upwards to the night and wheeled its ecstatic way onwards.
