Author Topic: PodCastle Miniature 81: Crow Gifts  (Read 4344 times)

Ocicat

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on: March 02, 2015, 11:47:14 PM
PodCastle Miniature 81: Crow Gifts

by Angela Lee

Read by Danielle Daly

A PodCastle Original! One last little treat for Artemis Rising!

It is a simple matter to track a deer, to bring it down with a single shot to the neck. I follow it by the red droplets in the snow, then drag the carcass back to the clearing of the crow gifts. Each bit of offal in its turn: black heart, worm-like entrails, pink spongy lungs. I save the liver for myself, and a haunch. The rest I cut apart, leave in a starburst – and by now I am surrounded by crows, a circle of beady-eyed children in cloaks of iridescent black feathers. As I back away, the crows descend, cawing loud enough to wake the dead.

The crows give me gifts in turn. At first they pelted me with rocks that shone ruby and emerald when broken open. I am richer than any king I could name, here in my empty forest, far from any human city. I began it by sharing my kills, inadvertently at first; I give blood and flesh, and they give me what humans want.


Rated R. What do you call a group of crows, again?

Listen to this week’s PodCastle!
« Last Edit: March 21, 2015, 07:20:19 PM by Ocicat »



danooli

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Reply #1 on: March 03, 2015, 12:56:57 PM
I was thrilled to be able to narrate this and have it be a part of Artemis Rising! I loved how dark this was when I first read it during the flash contest, and it has not diminished over time.

I also find it pretty amusing that the day this story came out, I also read this: http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/6775972



Devoted135

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Reply #2 on: March 05, 2015, 11:27:30 PM
I've always thought the designation 'a murder of crows' is perfectly on point. Really liked this story in the flash contest, and was equally intrigued and creeped out by it here. I recognized it instantly even after all this time, so kudos to the author on writing such a distinctive piece!



bounceswoosh

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Reply #3 on: March 06, 2015, 03:35:00 AM
Where have I heard this story before?



Fenrix

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Reply #4 on: March 06, 2015, 04:14:47 AM

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


Unblinking

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Reply #5 on: March 06, 2015, 02:27:54 PM
As in the flash contest, I thought it had a lot of interesting imagery, but fell a bit flat for me.  It seemed like she didn't know what pregnancy was, but I wasn't entirely sure from the text one way or the other.



Ocicat

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Reply #6 on: March 06, 2015, 07:30:16 PM
After the contest, Angela said she was hoping to re-work it from 500 to something like 750 words.  Did that happen for this version?



DKT

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Reply #7 on: March 06, 2015, 09:33:51 PM
It did not. Angela decided in the end she liked the 500 word version, and well, that's the one we'd bought, so we were very happy to feature it here :)


Moritz

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Reply #8 on: March 20, 2015, 12:55:29 PM
Where have I heard this story before?

When I first heard this one I also thought "wait, I know this - are they re-casting something?", but then I remembered. I think it works better in audio then in text.