Night Fury's Wrath

Chapter 39: Equilibrium [Part 2]

"You stare!"

I was too ashamed to meet Nibbler's gaze. My staring problem has only gotten worse as of late, and Nibbler wasn't having it. At first, she seemed to understand, but that didn't last once I started staring more and more. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I never stared at anyone so much before.

"Talk, little brofer!"

I winced at her sharp tone. "I don't know," I mumbled helplessly. "I-I swear." If I knew, then I'd obviously do something to stop it. I never stared at anything wrong, so I wasn't a 'pervert.' I couldn't stop myself from looking at her, so it wasn't intentional either. For something so basic as staring, it was surprisingly hard to figure out my subconscious motivations.

"It not be 'cuz I pretty," she huffed. "You stare too mush... and not in bad pleeces." She lifted my head with a paw, forcing me to look into her troubled, agitated eyes. She wanted to understand why I kept staring at her; she wanted me to prove her suspicions that I was a liar wrong, but I didn't know why I did it!

"I don't know," I repeated plaintively. "I... I don't know..." Her narrowed eyes bored into me, searching for any sign of deceit. I stared back at her with a disheartened look. I had no hidden motives or suspicions; I never had those things when it came to Nibbler. 

She seemed to finally understand that, her gaze softening a little. "You tell when know?"

I nodded morosely. "I promise."

The next night, I woke up early and, after gently laying Nibbler on the ground, set out to find food. I ignored Nana Moon's greeting as I passed their burrow, busily sniffing for a suitable meal for Nibbler... and me, probably. Hopefully, it would smooth things over after our brief argument last night. I caught a promising scent amidst the forest floor, which I only now realized was mostly free of snow. I nosed aside a crumbling leaf to expose a hoofprint but ignored it and moved on.

"Whatcha doing?" Nana Moon warbled, walking along behind me.

"Hunting," I answered shortly.

"Really? You passed a perfectly good trail right there."

"Not big enough."

"What?" She chuckled. "How big of prey are you looking for?" I didn't answer, passing over a set of smaller prey tracks without a second thought. "How hungry are you, anyway?"

"You're probing for information," I stated bluntly. I knew my grandmother well. When she persistently asked seemingly casual questions, she wanted something. "Did Aurora weed you out again?" It was silent for a long moment, giving me all I needed. "I don't have any interesting stuff for you to know. I sleep and play games with Nibbler. If you want something interesting, you might as well find Aurora again."

"Fine," she grumbled. 

"And take Shadow with you," I added. She was always with her mother, so I knew she lurked around here somewhere.

"How does everyone know?!" My aunt complained, dropping from above. "It's not fair!"

"Okay, maybe we need more practice," Nana Moon admitted begrudgingly.

I flicked an ear dismissively and continued on without another word. Large land prey was unsurprisingly difficult to find on this small speck of land. Mom caught me when I tried to fly out to sea for bigger fish and turned me back to land. She seemed to be in a sour mood, likely from her argument with Aurora, so I didn't complain out loud.

With the sea no longer an option, I reluctantly backtracked and followed the biggest of the few trails I found, only to happen upon Aurora and Myrkr, who had already killed it. I left them to it without being seen, already in a bad mood thanks in part to my terrible luck. I followed the second largest trail, only to once again find it dead. This time, Dad had caught the prey.