Jessica origin stories

1. Jessica is 12 days old.

Jessica is like all fledglings, sleeping and mostly helpless, when suddenly she opens her eyes for the first time and starts to really excite herself by swinging her neck to and fro, and having her body exaggerate the momentum. Whee! Whee!

JESSICA: squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Her brother and sister also open their eyes for the first time although they can’t really focus. Jessica really goes for it, and whips/hops herself right out of the nest:

JESSICA: squeeee….

MOTHER: Jessica!

Mother lands in a heartbeat and then lunges for Jessica, allowing herself to fall forward into the air with Jessica in her beak. Jessica laughs and coughs:

JESSICA: squeeheeheeheehechhechhech

Her mother plops her in the nest again. There’s a moment of silence and tranquility as the crisis has been averted...

and the three little ones actually look sentient for a moment, looking at each other and Mother, and then…

the three revert back to the unconscious babies that they are, only now they're pretending a bit, and start up their insanely loud and annoying food cries.

Mother sighs.

2.

Jessica was a day away from leaving the nest. Everyone knew it, and everyone knew that the other two were at least 10 days away from being able to leave.

It was mid morning.

Father flew in suddenly and landed. He had a sense of purpose, but Jessica also felt him as calm and serene, almost.

FATHER: Jessica?

Father bid her to fly behind him.

SLOW MOTION

(Because in real life, this would happen instantly. We slow it down.)

A NARRATOR: Ravens can feel connected moments. Time slows down for them when they understand each other and feel each other properly.

And we see the color tone of the frame between Jessica and Father change. It’s clearer, maybe a touch warmer.

And they’re off.

Flying in this warmer, lighter tone is… well, let's let Jessica tell us.

JESSICA: It’s easier to fly right now. It’s SO EASY!

She caws/sings in delight: LIFE!!! LIFE!!!

FATHER: Hey!

But he says it laughing, and in fact, he laughs as long as he has laughed in quite a while.

And they keep flying easily. It probably has to be a montage, and opportunity for beauty in the animation, because Father takes Jessica father than she’s ever flown before, to a part of the forest that she’s not thought to dream about exploring.

And they finally land.

Father looks at Jessica, and they enjoy another…

…another slow motion moment of connection.

Father hops a branch up.

FATHER: Do you understand that I would not do this with your brother and sister? And even so, there’s no guarantee you won’t be killed?

JESSICA: (stubbornly) I am so tired with the both of you trying to scare me.

FATHER: Yes, you think it’s irrational, what we have tried to do?

JESSICA: Well, maybe irrational only for me. Not for brother and sister.

Father paused, nodded.

FATHER: It’s a good answer, I admit. You learn, you adapt to things very quickly. You will not weaken yourself with an inability to feed yourself whenever you need to. You have learned the methods for using help, using tools that we know, and you try odd things for fun.

He paused.

FATHER: But. (In response to and “topping” a disdainful look from Jessica)... But. I understand I must work with your personality as it is. In other words, you are Jessica, and because you are both bright, exceptional Jessica and… you don’t know shit. Therefore I need to show you things.

Jessica is quiet.

FATHER (looking calm and resolute): You need to consent to this.

Jessica become frightened, a bit, and looks at Father to get him to stop it. Father does not shift one bit from the rightness of what he has said.

FATHER: Do it. Say it out loud. Here, I’ll suggest something: I agree to this teaching. (waiting, a pause)

Jessica, I’m not showing you something that is imaginary. You will see it for yourself anyway. You might as well first learn it when it’s only practice.

Jessica shivers.

JESSICA: I agree to this teaching.

Father nods.

FATHER: Get underneath this leaf and don't move.

Jessica does so, fidgets a little, but stops under a sudden glare from Father.

FATHER: I’m going to do a quick trip to watch what there is to be watched. I'll be back soon with a surprise. You stay here under this leaf, it is big and good for cover.

And off Father goes.

Jessica tries to shake off the distasteful mood her father has suddenly evoked, fails, sighs, but stays underneath the leaf.

Father swoops up to the top of a neighboring tree, lands there for a safety scan. We see him carefully scan all 4 directions, it’s a treetop view, we enjoy angles from Father's point of view...

and suddenly Father swoops back down again, to the back side of the tree we started from. He silently stalks Jessica...

...and POUNCES!

Father grabs Jessica’s legs and belly with his claws. And his claws are IN Jessica. Jessica is caught.

She screams and struggles as Father takes off with Jessica as his prey. Father is impressively strong, Jessica is pretty much fully grown, but somehow Father manages.

We see some of Jessica’s point of view, upside down, struggling for cohesion and a still point to get her bearings, feeling pain, and then suddenly her viewpoint uncontrollably and unmistakably shakes back and forth even more violently.

Because Father is shaking her.

FATHER (shouting while flying): This is the last experience many raven adolescents ever have.

He squeezes, she cries...

F: If this is you, this is what you can expect. Pain, except much more than this, disorientation, probably your head has been torn apart and partially crushed, maybe you are awake maybe you are not. Struggling now for your life, sure, but perhaps you weren’t struggling every day, when it might have mattered? Or, perhaps, it’s just bad luck. Or maybe you were just hungry and a little weakened and not able to pay attention quite as well?

Father swoops down close to the ground and drops Jessica incredibly roughly. Jessica has the equivalent of a multiple flips stock car crash, just battering her on every inch of her body as she bites it, hard and brutally.

Father is standing close by, of course.

F: And by now you are so damaged, if you’re lucky, and if your killer is smart, there’s one final bang and you feel and see and taste and dance and fly no more, forever.

F (cont.): But not all ravens who are being converted into food are so lucky. Let’s be honest, there’s something fun in winning. And this falcon, or owl, or hawk, has just beaten you. He or she has won. You have lost. And some of our enemies like to feel this feeling as long as they can.

F(cont): So if you are alive, you might suffer for them so they can feel good. With nothing for you to look forward but a slightly delayed painful death.

Father makes to fly away.

F:(turns back to Jessica, and bowing) I'm deeply sorry. If you follow where I go, you can take your time in joining me.

And off he flies.

Jessica finally drags herself to her feet.

And she hops. She wants to stop, actually, but she can’t. She shivers…

and hops. Another shiver hop, another... an attempt to stop, which fails...

Finally she gives up trying to calm herself and flies off to join Father.