The point about the swan attacking your friend reminded me that IRL, swans can be quite aggressive and nasty, even though we associate them with grace and beauty. And ravens are said to be intelligent, and their cousins', crows, are trainable. The other thing to keep in mind, is sometimes "death" isn't a bad thing at all metaphorically (especially in dreams)..sometimes it speaks to a new beginning/starting over. glad i was helpful!