Ugh, he had to point it out too. Her ears dipped backwards briefly in dislike, an even as the wings began to slowly retreat to their folds along her sides the black raven turned and moved, inching her way towards more solid ground that weren't so full of... dead things. She was not a picky individual. Dirt and dust and water was nothing to the forest spirit, she was used to the pelting rain and the freezing blizzards, well traversed in the secrets of crossing bogs and navigating narrow ravines on steady wings. She had seen and shed more blood in her short lifetime than she liked to think about, all in order to secure food and water for another day, to save her life and her honor from those that would try to claim either, or both.

But death frightened her. It was much too personal, too close to the memory of what she had lost to make her comfortable. Skuggi didn't know how the boy could stand there so calm and at ease when the rotting flesh and pale bones of countless lives could be hidden just beneath their feet. If only she had been able to fly away. This was decidedly not a hospitable place to live, and she more than understood now how this would be a suitable hiding place for maddened outcasts.

His voice rang out into the suffocating, damp heat of the day, answering her questions one at a time. Introducing himself, even. What a gentleman. The mare tried to pronounce his name in her mind, attempts to form the tongue around the flowing syllables a precarious process that she quickly gave up on. "Carn, then" she aptly re-named him and relaxed a little - no one in their right minds would introduce themselves before attempting an attack. "I'm certainly not a hero, you know. There's nothing glorious about my scars at all, they're only reminders of poor skills and bad luck. If I had been any good at what I did, I wouldn't have had them."

The shade snorted and shook the head, sending the thick mane flying amidst a swarm of pestering insects that had swooped in now that she was no longer in motion. "I'm just a shadow, in name and form." Which was a truth however he might twist and turn it. It was her name, her profession, the skills she used to gather the information she could for the leader of those who had taken her in, given her home when none other had. In that she guessed that she also was a follower, a warrior who had defended their land against attacks...

"I guess I can be just about whatever you want" she murmured, not aware that she had spoken out loud until the words fell from the tongue. Flicking the tail in annoyance over herself, she returned her attention to the buy and cocked the head to the side in a birdlike manner, wariness slowly giving in to a form of wry humor as he seemed eager to play guessing games. He must be younger; it was always hard to tell with the wingless, their movements were always so much faster on the ground without the bulky wings to hinder them, but his enthusiasm made the raven feel old and boring - gods, were he going to drag out all the things she disliked in herself?

"You... look like an entertainer. A dancer, perhaps, or a storyteller. How about you keep me company while I search my way out of this godforsaken swamp? Tell me a story, to shorten the road. Unless you're busy, of course."

Either way was fine with her, as long as they didn't remain standing much longer. It felt like she was slowly being eaten alive, and with thirst burning in the throat and the sun passing along the sky she was eager to leave this place.