(no subject)
Posting it here instead of Aviarchy because it's not working for some people.
Far in the west, hidden by two steep and treacherous mountain ranges, lies a fertile and prosperous valley. Thousands of years ago, an enormous glacier carved its way doggedly through the valley, eventually melting into many lakes and ponds, dropping the boulders and soil it carried into odd places. As the world warmed from its long and icy sleep, a river formed from the melting snow at the mountaintops and followed the glacial path through the valley. With time, two forests came into being: One on the northwest side of the valley, and one on the southeast side. Following the influx of food, two clans of eagles came to live in either forest. Each believed that they had arrived first, and thus they had the rights to the entire valley’s hunting. Over the seasons, their rivalry grew into a blood feud-the eagles warred over the tiniest stretch of marmot tunnels, even killing each other over resources they couldn’t use.
__________________
Winter was the worst time for the eagles. Food was scarcer than usual, and even though there would often be wolf kills to steal, eagles from opposing clans would clash over the most inedible scraps. The scraps were just an excuse to fight. The loser often became dinner instead.
It was over one cracked and empty elk skull that Srikkur and Tsiir met. Srikkur, from the northwest clan, had been throwing the old deer skull loudly against some rocks in an idle sort of way. Tsiir heard the clacking and cracking, and had come to investigate. Instead of foxes or martens scraping meat off of bones, she found a rival eagle. She wasted no time in reacting, and tucked in her wings, brought her wicked talons forward, and raked Srikkur’s neck with her talons.
Srikkur shrieked angrily, and took to the sky uninjured but ruffled. Tsiir followed in hot pursuit. She put on a burst of speed to close the gap between herself and her quarry, the wind whistling over her coverts. Her talons twitched eagerly as she fell through the air once again towards the enemy eagle.
But Srikkur was prepared. At the last possible second, he titled his wings sharply and flipped himself onto his back in midair. His talons closed around Tsiir’s, grasping them with strength enough to snap an elk’s neck. Tsiir responded by digging her own talons into Srikkur’s, and folded her wings back. Each eagle stabbed at the other’s head with their hooked beaks while they plummeted to the ground together.
It was as the treetops approached that Srikkur released his hold on Tsiir and beat his wings in a panic. He shrieked again as the female eagle tightened her grip on his talons stubbornly. “Let go!” Srikkur pecked savagely at Tsiir’s feet and legs as the first brittle branches gave way under their combined weight. “You’re insane. Let go!” In desperation, he ripped at Tsiir’s leg, tearing the flesh and drawing blood. Tsiir screamed and released Srikkur, but not in time to avoid the bough below her. She landed squarely on her breast, bounced, scrabbled uselessly at the bark, and continued her descent to the snow-covered ground below.
Srikkur panted, hanging upside down by one foot above the very bough Tsiir had landed on, wings dangling above his head. He spun gently like a feathered Christmas ornament, and sighed with exhaustion and relief that he’d only lost a few feathers in the scuffle. He tilted his head, trying to see if he could spot Tsiir’s body from his upside-down perch.
Krakk.
Srikkur flailed as he suddenly descended several inches. He looked up at the branch he had been grasping. It couldn’t support his weight and had snapped in the middle. Uh oh, I’d better find a better place to--
With another loud crash, Srikkur fell out of the tree, landing with a powdery plop next to the unconscious-dead?-Tsiir. Regarding her prone body wearily, Srikkur shook himself, checked to make sure he hadn’t lost any vital body parts, and took flight towards his own end of the forest, thinking maybe hunting on his own side of the river was best-those other eagles are crazy.
__________________
It was about ten minutes later that Tsiir awoke with a terrible headache and bleary eyes. She rose to her feet shakily, wings limp, and shook her head vigorously. She blinked to get rid of the dark shapes in her vision. They wouldn’t go away, so she rubbed her face on her bruised chest, then in the snow and on her wings until she could focus better-and found the dark shapes were moving slowly towards her, and the dark shapes were a murder of carrion crows eyeing her eagerly.
The leader, a big leucistic fellow, clacked his beak at his flock. “Kraaakk! Lookee, everyone! Big hawk who think she king of air- she end up sleeping on ground!” The white crow laughed raucously, a cue the others took slowly. Tsiir glared around her-surrounded. The crows landed in a circle around her, advancing while she was unconscious.
The leucistic crow waddled forward confidently, staring at Tsiir with one eye. “How feel you, big hawk? Tired? Why not sleep more? Me and friends, we watch over you, make sure no wolves come in night and eat you up!” The crow laughed again, starting another raucous round of cawing laughter among his followers. Tsiir glared at him, straightening herself up slowly. The crows shuffled uncertainly as one entity, backing up a couple steps each. The white crow turned to glare at his followers and raised his hackles angrily, wings spread imposingly. “Hrakka, you shit-heels! She almost dead, don’t run a-“
The crow never finished his sentence. Tsiir threw herself through the air and clenched the crow’s neck in her jaws, shaking his body like a ragdoll. The leucistic crow’s head came off very easily under Tsiir’s vicious worrying. The crows cawed and fluttered alarmedly, taking to the low branches and staring with disbelief at their beheaded leader.
Tsiir placed a talon on the crow’s comparatively small body and glared among the trees. “Look at me, you worthless rats of the sky! Any crow who dares stay in this neck of the woods will have an eagle to answer to! There is another forest, across the river-stay on that side, or my clan will hunt each and every one of you-fledglings and eggs included!-into the ground!”
The crows glanced at each other uncertainly, some doing a little preparatory wing-preening. Tsiir shrieked as only an eagle could and launched herself at the nearest group of crows. With a cacophony of panicked caws, the crows bolted toward the river. Tsiir shook her tailfeathers, satisfied.
Far in the west, hidden by two steep and treacherous mountain ranges, lies a fertile and prosperous valley. Thousands of years ago, an enormous glacier carved its way doggedly through the valley, eventually melting into many lakes and ponds, dropping the boulders and soil it carried into odd places. As the world warmed from its long and icy sleep, a river formed from the melting snow at the mountaintops and followed the glacial path through the valley. With time, two forests came into being: One on the northwest side of the valley, and one on the southeast side. Following the influx of food, two clans of eagles came to live in either forest. Each believed that they had arrived first, and thus they had the rights to the entire valley’s hunting. Over the seasons, their rivalry grew into a blood feud-the eagles warred over the tiniest stretch of marmot tunnels, even killing each other over resources they couldn’t use.
__________________
Winter was the worst time for the eagles. Food was scarcer than usual, and even though there would often be wolf kills to steal, eagles from opposing clans would clash over the most inedible scraps. The scraps were just an excuse to fight. The loser often became dinner instead.
It was over one cracked and empty elk skull that Srikkur and Tsiir met. Srikkur, from the northwest clan, had been throwing the old deer skull loudly against some rocks in an idle sort of way. Tsiir heard the clacking and cracking, and had come to investigate. Instead of foxes or martens scraping meat off of bones, she found a rival eagle. She wasted no time in reacting, and tucked in her wings, brought her wicked talons forward, and raked Srikkur’s neck with her talons.
Srikkur shrieked angrily, and took to the sky uninjured but ruffled. Tsiir followed in hot pursuit. She put on a burst of speed to close the gap between herself and her quarry, the wind whistling over her coverts. Her talons twitched eagerly as she fell through the air once again towards the enemy eagle.
But Srikkur was prepared. At the last possible second, he titled his wings sharply and flipped himself onto his back in midair. His talons closed around Tsiir’s, grasping them with strength enough to snap an elk’s neck. Tsiir responded by digging her own talons into Srikkur’s, and folded her wings back. Each eagle stabbed at the other’s head with their hooked beaks while they plummeted to the ground together.
It was as the treetops approached that Srikkur released his hold on Tsiir and beat his wings in a panic. He shrieked again as the female eagle tightened her grip on his talons stubbornly. “Let go!” Srikkur pecked savagely at Tsiir’s feet and legs as the first brittle branches gave way under their combined weight. “You’re insane. Let go!” In desperation, he ripped at Tsiir’s leg, tearing the flesh and drawing blood. Tsiir screamed and released Srikkur, but not in time to avoid the bough below her. She landed squarely on her breast, bounced, scrabbled uselessly at the bark, and continued her descent to the snow-covered ground below.
Srikkur panted, hanging upside down by one foot above the very bough Tsiir had landed on, wings dangling above his head. He spun gently like a feathered Christmas ornament, and sighed with exhaustion and relief that he’d only lost a few feathers in the scuffle. He tilted his head, trying to see if he could spot Tsiir’s body from his upside-down perch.
Krakk.
Srikkur flailed as he suddenly descended several inches. He looked up at the branch he had been grasping. It couldn’t support his weight and had snapped in the middle. Uh oh, I’d better find a better place to--
With another loud crash, Srikkur fell out of the tree, landing with a powdery plop next to the unconscious-dead?-Tsiir. Regarding her prone body wearily, Srikkur shook himself, checked to make sure he hadn’t lost any vital body parts, and took flight towards his own end of the forest, thinking maybe hunting on his own side of the river was best-those other eagles are crazy.
__________________
It was about ten minutes later that Tsiir awoke with a terrible headache and bleary eyes. She rose to her feet shakily, wings limp, and shook her head vigorously. She blinked to get rid of the dark shapes in her vision. They wouldn’t go away, so she rubbed her face on her bruised chest, then in the snow and on her wings until she could focus better-and found the dark shapes were moving slowly towards her, and the dark shapes were a murder of carrion crows eyeing her eagerly.
The leader, a big leucistic fellow, clacked his beak at his flock. “Kraaakk! Lookee, everyone! Big hawk who think she king of air- she end up sleeping on ground!” The white crow laughed raucously, a cue the others took slowly. Tsiir glared around her-surrounded. The crows landed in a circle around her, advancing while she was unconscious.
The leucistic crow waddled forward confidently, staring at Tsiir with one eye. “How feel you, big hawk? Tired? Why not sleep more? Me and friends, we watch over you, make sure no wolves come in night and eat you up!” The crow laughed again, starting another raucous round of cawing laughter among his followers. Tsiir glared at him, straightening herself up slowly. The crows shuffled uncertainly as one entity, backing up a couple steps each. The white crow turned to glare at his followers and raised his hackles angrily, wings spread imposingly. “Hrakka, you shit-heels! She almost dead, don’t run a-“
The crow never finished his sentence. Tsiir threw herself through the air and clenched the crow’s neck in her jaws, shaking his body like a ragdoll. The leucistic crow’s head came off very easily under Tsiir’s vicious worrying. The crows cawed and fluttered alarmedly, taking to the low branches and staring with disbelief at their beheaded leader.
Tsiir placed a talon on the crow’s comparatively small body and glared among the trees. “Look at me, you worthless rats of the sky! Any crow who dares stay in this neck of the woods will have an eagle to answer to! There is another forest, across the river-stay on that side, or my clan will hunt each and every one of you-fledglings and eggs included!-into the ground!”
The crows glanced at each other uncertainly, some doing a little preparatory wing-preening. Tsiir shrieked as only an eagle could and launched herself at the nearest group of crows. With a cacophony of panicked caws, the crows bolted toward the river. Tsiir shook her tailfeathers, satisfied.