Raven

The large, black, bird was perched on one of the few empty cafe tables, picking at crumbs left behind from a pastry. It was the coolest it had been in weeks, so there were lots of people outside enjoying the weather before it turned again. Taking a break from the sweet snack, the bird tipped its head and cleaned one of its wings.
“Ugh, gross. Shoo Nasty Bird.”
The loud woman that waved her hand at the creature nearly struck it. Letting out an indignant squawk, it puffed up its chest and extended its wings. The edges of the wings struck her arms a she shielded herself, the bird flying to resettle amongst the bushes nearby. It stared at her; nearly through her.
“Got us a table Jessie!” She waved over to another woman who had been standing at the cafe door. “Had to chase off a gross pigeon.”
“Ugh those things have so many diseases.”
As if understanding the word, and disgust, the bird hopped up on the short decorative fence to get closer. It watched as they knocked the napkins and crumbs that had been left behind onto the floor, instead of the garbage can only a few steps away. Sparrows swarmed their feet, but they seemed not to be bothered by the tiny pests.
“Anyway what were you saying? Something about the new neighbors, right?”
“Oh my God yes.” The first woman groaned dramatically. “They’re installing this terrible looking white fence. They think I don’t know that those posts are too thick and go three quarters of an inch over the property line. Well, I had surveyors come out last weekend and…”
The women went back and forth, gossiping loudly enough that everyone around them would hear. Everything from chipping paint that they had reported to the HOA, to a basketball hoop that was put in way too close to the street, they had measured. It was any wonder the people around them didn’t just pack up and leave, since they seemed so determined to ruin the afternoon for everyone. They didn’t seem to notice the glares.
“And that woman with the horrible MONSTER of a garden, the one that goes over the fences. She started digging up the old evergreen bushes the last owners put in the front too.”
“What? Ugh, the Cul-de-sac is going to look like some tacky rain forest. Great. It wasn’t bad enough when she planted that blue-grass seed that clashes with like everything. I still can’t believe that it was listed as an approved option. Who knows what all those stupid names are. Wait. Isn’t there a bylaw about only native species being in shared community visible spaces?”
“Oh yeah! Gosh you’re so smart Jessie. I’ll just take pictures. There’s like…Some website that will identify things with an image search. Perfect.”

When she puled into the driveway and got out of the car, she tossed the to-go cup into the gutter before slamming the door. She was tapping on her phone, not bothering to look up as she walked the few steps to her front door. She let out an audible “ugh” when she bumped into something.
“Samantha. Hi. I hear you’re having some issues with my garden.”
Make that some ONE.
“Why don’t we have a little chat, hmm?”
In a flutter of feathers, a large black bird landed on the railing up to her front steps, wings spread as if to block anyone from walking up them. The beast let out a victorious caw as the Gossip’s lips curled into a snarl.