This life could have a Western Scrub Jay maybe. Pretty blue birds, have the playfulness common to corvids, shockingly smart but humans tend to underestimate them, children help raise siblings. They defend their nests.
Last life, I really hate resorting to ravens. Everyone already knows they're cool. Still! Aspects rarely focused on: Young ravens are exceedingly social, mischievous, playful etc but this mostly fades back. They roost in huge conglomerations. Also they pair up, and if a pair gets a chance to hold a territory they do so and become almost solitary - sometimes a couple has one or two friends, otherwise they're hostile to all other ravens and devoted to each other and their nests, which they defend fiercely.
Even young ravens have a violent kind of sense of justice - sort of - well, they'll kill a hapless other raven they perceive as getting advantages the others don't. They also recognize humans who've done them good or wrong and treat them accordingly, treating ones they don't like with great hatred. You can say that about scrub jays too, it's just... less pronounced.
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This life could have a Western Scrub Jay maybe. Pretty blue birds, have the playfulness common to corvids, shockingly smart but humans tend to underestimate them, children help raise siblings. They defend their nests.
Last life, I really hate resorting to ravens. Everyone already knows they're cool. Still! Aspects rarely focused on: Young ravens are exceedingly social, mischievous, playful etc but this mostly fades back. They roost in huge conglomerations. Also they pair up, and if a pair gets a chance to hold a territory they do so and become almost solitary - sometimes a couple has one or two friends, otherwise they're hostile to all other ravens and devoted to each other and their nests, which they defend fiercely.
Even young ravens have a violent kind of sense of justice - sort of - well, they'll kill a hapless other raven they perceive as getting advantages the others don't. They also recognize humans who've done them good or wrong and treat them accordingly, treating ones they don't like with great hatred. You can say that about scrub jays too, it's just... less pronounced.