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[a_civil_service]

[[OOC: Yuri's fairy tale is The Seven Ravens.]]

[He finds himself standing in a clearing, near a well, with no clear idea of how he came to be there. He must have ventured out of the city to train in secret with his firepower, as he usually does, but now there's an aged, earthen jug in his hands, and he doesn't remember picking it up

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[witheasygrace]

[Keith is walking his beat faithfully, coming along a path near the park. The city seems strange to him today, stranger than usual. The path seems less well-kept than usual, the trees darker and taller. There are usually more birds in this area-- Keith usually notices them most of all, he enjoys watching them fly. It makes his heart feel light.
But today there is only one, very large, black bird. A raven. They don't usually go after smaller birds, but the smaller birds might be afraid regardless.
Keith realizes he's been standing still for a while, watching the raven-- and that the raven is watching him.]

Hello, Mister Raven. You're a big, handsome bird.

[a_civil_service]

[Of course he recognizes Keith at once, in his policeman's uniform. Yet he doesn't talk right away, because--the whole situation is awkward and absurd, and he has no idea what he's supposed to say. When Keith speaks first he's not surprised, as he's heard Keith talk to birds before. He takes it as an opening, fluttering up and over to Keith--fortunately, flying comes easy to him in this form. He didn't have to learn how.]

Hello, Keith. It's Yuri. [His voice is altered in this form, more of a croak, but still understandable.]

[witheasygrace]

[Surprised to say the least, Keith takes a step back. He opens his mouth, but at first, he can't think of what to say. His gut was right after all! Things are definitely stranger than usual.
Having recovered after a brief pause, he goes down on one knee before the bird. Well, Yuri.

Yuri, is it really-- I guess it is you!
How did this happen?

[a_civil_service]

[The bird glows blue, briefly, not because of anything Keith has said or done, but it does distress him to be in this state, not knowing if it's permanent. It makes it more difficult for him to suppress his emotions. However, Keith's reaction and almost childlike acceptance of the facts does calm him, so the blue does quickly fade.] Yes, it's me.

I went outside the city, and I found myself in a strange place. An odd feeling came over me. [How can he tell what happened when he doesn't understand it himself? It had felt like being in a dream, surreal and inevitable.] It's hard to explain, but I believe I've been--cursed.

[witheasygrace]

[Concern and surprise register on Keith's face. He runs a hand through his hair.]

It's been a strange day, but this is really the strangest thing-- cursed? Yuri, what can we do? I want to help, but I'm not sure how to "un-curse" someone...

[a_civil_service]

I know no more than you do. Where I'm from, there are no such thing as curses, so I have absolutely no idea of what to do. I didn't even think such a thing could be possible. [He finds it disorienting to talk to Keith when the man is so far above him, so he flies up and perches on his shoulder.]

That's better. I hope you don't mind.

[witheasygrace]

[Keith is-- no, he isn't startled, though it crosses his mind that he should be. Most people would probably be startled by having a large bird flap up and settle on their shoulder, but to Keith it feels-- not "expected, but "normal", as if it were something that happened regularly. Funny.

Standing, he smiles, and without thinking about it, reaches up to run a finger down the underside of the raven's bill and over the feathers on its breast.]

No, I don't mind at all, Yuri. It'll probably be easier to talk this way.

I don't know very much about curses either-- but when I get lost, or make a mistake, I usually go back to where I started from and try again. Maybe we should go back to the place where this happened. Does that makes sense?

[a_civil_service]

[Yuri is startled when Keith touches him that way, his feathers puffing up. He hops briefly in place. He's not used to physical closeness as it is, and it's very different in this form, with feathers all over his body.]

Ah--

All right. Yes, well, it seems easier. That was my thought. [He feels he should change the subject, focusing on the more important matter at hand.]

That makes perfect sense, actually. [It's as good an idea as any.] However, I'm not sure how to get back there. It was a very strange place, as I said. I know it was outside the city, but I'm not sure if I could find it again.

[witheasygrace]

[Keith doesn't seem phased by the hopping, he simply nods, taking in what Yuri has said.]

All right, well since you agree, I think we should try! Even if we don't find it right away, maybe the walk will give us more time to think about it.

[Keith sets of, glancing over to smile encouragingly at Yuri.]
I'm sure you don't like being a bird very much, but at least you're a raven. They're really smart, and-- [On second thought, maybe he shouldn't repeat the part about being "handsome".] great birds.

[After they've come a little way outside the city walls, Keith stops to look around.]
Does anything here look familiar, Yuri?

[a_civil_service]

[Keith doesn't seem to see anything odd about it, and Yuri supposes there isn't anything odd. He is a bird at the moment.]

There are worse birds to be, that's certain, though I would rather be human again. A raven can hardly be a lawyer. [He would smile, if he could.] But thank you, Keith. [He's glad, though, that the man doesn't try petting him again as he rides on his shoulder.]

[When Keith asks him the question about the area, Yuri isn't sure, at first, but at last he has to answer:] Not particularly, no. [Yet he has noticed something odd, something that definitely was not there before, rising in the distance.] Is that a mountain?

[witheasygrace]

Well, I like birds, but I'd like it better if you were human again too, Yuri.

[Keith turns his head for a moment to look around and--] It is!
It's looks so white, I wonder what makes it look like that?

[a_civil_service]

Yes, it's not that I have anything against birds in general.

[Yuri narrows his raven eyes.] It appears to be made of some bright, smooth material, but I can't tell from here. [It doesn't look like an ordinary mountain, to say the least.]

[witheasygrace]

[And so they set off, the man and the bird. They walked for a long while, and there wasn't much to see on the way, so they talked as they went. For his part, Keith thought it was kind of great to have a brilliant, handsome, talking bird on his shoulder, but he didn't say anything about that, because he knew Yuri was sensitive about being a bird.
When they arrived at the mountain, Keith was glad that the sun wasn't high, because even in this light, the mountain was dazzling. They came close, and he put out a hand and touched the surface of what should have been the rock.]

It's glass, Yuri. All around!
What should we do?

[a_civil_service]

Yes, so it is. [That was certainly unexpected. Whoever had heard of a glass mountain? Actually, it reminds him of a story he heard once, but so long ago, he can't quite remember it-- Ah, that's right, his memories have also been taken from him, so that could be the reason he can't recall.] Give me a few moments to investigate.

[Yuri flaps his wings and flies forward to examine the mountain. It is completely smooth and bright, except--] There's a hole here. [It's down near the base of the mountain, the only thing that stands out on face of the seamless glass.]

[witheasygrace]

[While waiting for Yuri, Keith has been "assessing the situation", which was stressed to him in training, but also feels like the natural thing to do. When Yuri returns with his announcement, Keith reassesses before replying. This take a few moments.]

If it's some kind of keyhole, there must be a key-- but why would a mountain have a key in the first place?
I think I should look around, maybe I'll find or notice something!

[Keith does just that. But all he comes up with is a small assortment of objects: A broken comb, what looks like a thick, twisted piece of golden wire, and a smallish, whitish stick. It is in fact a bone. But Keith doesn't know this. He seems disappointed in his findings, but shows them to Yuri anyhow.]

I didn't notice anything else about the mountain, Yuri, but I did find these things in the grass. I don't know if they're going to be very useful, but I'm trying to get in the habit of collecting evidence, so I picked them up.

[a_civil_service]

[While Keith investigates, Yuri does the same, until Keith has finished his task.

Yuri examines the gathered "evidence", pecking at them briefly, for lack of hands.]

It seems you've been rather thorough. [Yuri approves.]

As we have no other options, we might as well try inserting them in the lock, if that is a lock. As you say, I don't know why a mountain would have a key, but maybe there's a door here that we cannot see.

I didn't notice anything else, either.