Dream Creature

As I stared at the creature before me, I realized that I had seen it before. I didn’t know exactly what you would call it, but it appeared to be a spider-like bird. It was the size of a raven and its multiple eyes were that of a spider’s, black and beady. When I looked closer, I saw with some intrigue that the eyes, as spider-like as they were, had a few distinct characteristics of an animal. The eight eyes had a film of bright water over them and were watchful and understanding even though they were pitch black. I gasped at the reaction it stirred within me, but the creature made no indication that it wished to move away. All over its small body were sleek black feathers that ended in clawed bird feet. Dark brownish-black spidery hairs sprouted from its stick legs, causing me to shiver slightly. Lastly, instead of tail feathers, multiple fingerlike growths, resembling the rubbery body of a tarantula, spread like a fan on the tail of the creature. A few feathers the color of the spider hairs peppered the eerie tail, which vibrated slightly as it ruffled its feathers lightly.