"Hunger Pains"

Chapter One

Quackity surveyed the mess on the cabin lawn with a stern pout.

It had been a bird, at some point. Feathers were strewn over a decently sized patch of grass, more feathers than most would think a single bird had. It was mostly fluffy, grey down, the undercoat that kept a bird warm in the colder months. Among the down were the stiffer covert feathers. Iridescent black that shimmered with green and purple, mottled with white dots. A starling. At the very least, it hadn't been part of Philza's murder of crows. He scanned the destruction for a few more moments, and, oh yeah, there was the head, lying near the edge of the carnage. Birds never had the most expressive of faces, yet the starling seemed to have been predictably surprised in its last moments. It's white eyes frozen open and the thin yellow beak agape.

"A cat or fox probably." The Elytrian muttered to himself. In the forest, this was common, it was the way of life for the local fauna after all. The event of death was just a normal Tuesday for a woodland animal. Quackity didn't seem to mind the sight, but his fellow servermates would. Jack Manifold certainly wouldn't want what was essentially a mini murder scene on his lawn. Then again, Manifold was always grumpy about something.

Quackity gave a short sigh, and fetched a broom leaning beside the cabin's front door, along with a rag from his pocket. It wasn't the best means of disposal, but it would have to do. Yet as he crouched down to sweep the mess into the rag, he noticed something among the heap of feathers he hadn't when looking down upon it standing.

Small, slender bones were littered among the feathers, bones that had been gnawed clean. Narry a scrap of viscera remained. Whatever had been this starling's end, it had certainly been very hungry, taking time to make sure not a morsel of its prize was wasted.

"Well, someone had an appetite, did they?" Quackity said to himself as he did his best to sweep the feathers, bones and all into his outstretched hand covered by the rag. Once the majority of the mess was in the rag, he walked around the cabin into the strip of forest witch the cabin was next to.

"Here's the leftovers if ya want it!" He playfully said to the forest as he shook out the contents of the rag, a whirlwind of starling feathers drifting to the ground.

"Clean up after yaself next time!"

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