Mariah scrubbed a sand stained shirt, with tedious hands, up and down a washboard. Gritty water soaked the fabric as she worked out the greasy sweat and grim that so dubiously coated most of her clothing. The biting wind threatened to tear down the laundry she had hanging out on a line already, the wet clothes smacking against the air. Despite having put her hair up earlier that morning, strands had still found a way into her eyes, the girl letting out a huff to blow the hair out of her face. With fingers cramping and hands pruned she sat back, lifting the shirt she had been working out of the water to examine. No amount of scrubbing would ever lift the orange that stained everything in the desert, it was as good as it was going to get. Standing from the wooden stool she walked over to the clothes line, unpinning a clip from where it clung to the waistband of her skirt. Prying it open with her mouth she used her nimble fingers to clasp the shirt by the shoulders to the line.
Stifling a squeal of surprised Mariah nearly jumped out of her skin as there was a loud screech from behind her. Putting a hand to her heart she let out an audible sigh, turning to glare at the raven who had perched itself on the post of one of the clothes line. "Dingy old bird." She muttered, glaring at it with sinister eyes. The bird's head tilted, beady black eyes gazing back at her, it's beak opening as it cawed towards her. Mariah rolled her eyes, picking up the bucket of water, intent on using it sparingly to do her dishes. There was a flutter of feathers, announcing the bird had taken to the air, obviously done taunting her. Mariah gasped as the large black bird dove at her, carrying a piece of clothing in its beak. "Hey! Come back with that!" She gasped, running after without hesitation.
Sprinting past the other tribe members she dodged around them, arms pumping back and forth as her legs stretched in a free run. About a half mile outside the outskirts of her village her gait faltered as she stumbled into a walk, gulping air into her burning lungs. Curse her short legs and lack of endurance, picking up a rock to throw half heartedly at the bird. The stone was no where near its mark, but it made her feel slightly better to see the raven flap its wings so it went higher. Groaning in frustration she followed more slowly, making sure to keep her eyes on the cunning animal as it rode air thermals peacefully out of reach. The sun was beating down on her back and even though her feet were tough the sand was burning at her skin. "Oh c'mon, i'm sorry for calling you dingy and old." Mariah tried apologizing to the bird, to no avail.
Furrowing her brows she trudged on, shielding her eyes as she looked forward. At first she thought the tiny movement on the horizon was a mirage but she quickly shook the thought out of her head. The Raven Tribe was immune to mirages, they're knowing eyes saw everything was what they were. Suddenly the bird started a descent, screeching loudly as it dropped her shirt. The fabric floated rather gracefully down onto its target, tangling the animal as the bird climbed high into the sky, seeming to all but disappear. Mariah groaned in frustration, jogging to take possession of her belonging, muttering under her breath.