Thief of Time - Ornithology

Lobsang pulled himself aboard and the stick rose. As it drew level with the lower branches around the clearing, it brought Lu-Tze to eye level with a raven. It shifted uneasily and turned its head this way and that, trying to fix both eyes on him.

'Are you going to caw or croak, I wonder,' said Lu-Tze, apparently to himself.

'Croak,' said the raven.

'So you're not the raven we saw on the other side of the mountain, then.'

'Me? Gosh, no,' said the raven. 'That's croaking territory over there.'

'Just checking.'

The broom rose higher, and set off above the trees in a Hubwards direction.
The raven ruffled its feathers and blinked.

'Damn!' it said. It shuffled around the tree to where the Death of Rats was sitting.

SQUEAK?

'Look, if you want me to do this undercover work you've got to get me a book on ornithology, okay?' said Quoth. 'Let's go, or I'll never keep up.'

***

The Thief of Time - p211-212