The crow, which she appropriately named Ocean-Eyes, didn't come back for a few days. Life went on. The cycle of stealing continued. She spent most of her time between stealing and surviving thinking about this mystery bird. It captivated her thoughts, hidden somewhere in her mind, where ever she went.

Quinn didn't know what compelled her to take a walk. Maybe it was the busy city life, or the fact she wanted time to think about Ocean-Eyes. The cyan depths of the eyes. How lightly they were tinted. How the light shined on the tips of its majestic feathers, tipping them blue with a hint of violet. How each feather was aligned in a perfect but messy order.
How its stance affected how it flew. The midnight feather that was tucked into her matted hair.

She almost bumped into a old Gertrude with a floral dress and frilly ends. It looked like she belonged in the 1980s. She wanted to say, 'The 1980s called. They want their dress back.' But she stopped herself. The granny blinked her squinty
eyes at her. Ew, she smelled like tuna fish she fed to her 500 cats.

Lucan annoyed the snot out of her. 'Hey Quinn.' 'Hey Quinn' 'Hey Quinn' The flurry of taunting statements haunted her dreams along with the bird. So she blew up on her older brother. They both hurled insults at each other. But Lucan had the audacity to insult her beloved, dear bird. He snatched the feather with grubby paws and held it over her head. She snarled like a madman. Her eye twitched on her pale face. So he stuffed the feather back in her palm, and scurried out of the house like a grouse being chased by a starving cat. She spared a glance at the feather. It was crumpled, and the small down that made the feather was matted. Like her life. How her mother threw away her and her brother like the garbage lining the alleys of NYC. She was unaware of of the tears that clung to her cheekbones. But when she wheeled, the tears flung everywhere,mind you, the crow was there again. She smiled despite her sadness. Again, she didn't know what compelled her, but she held out a shaking forearm to the majestic decadent of what seemed royalty. To her delight,
the bird dug its talons into her skinny arm and climbed to her shoulder. She slowly grinned. She hooked a finger underneath its beak and scratched its neck. It vibrated with pride.

She was scarcely aware Lucan wasn't come back.