Alarm!
Danger!
Teres rolled down from her branch, spread her wings while still half-asleep, crashed into someone who let our a screech of rage, then managed to fly up. Opening her eyes made barely any difference - black shadows of her flock were barely invisible in the darkness of the moonless night. Someone flew right into her, she snapped and clawed at them, pushing them away, but was immediately forced up when somebody else dashed upwards and collided with her. Screeches and screams of pain, fear and overwhelming confusion clouded her mind, leading to her wildly twisting and turning, scratching everyone who got top close. Sharp pain ripped through her wing and she blindly kicked the attacker away.
Out! Out! Out!
The noises were deafening. Nobody could see a thing, but the repetitive calls of alarm were enough to drive the flock so crazy that everyone was ready - and willing to - fight everyone that came into contact with them.
Teres propelled herself upwards only to fly head-first into someone. She barely managed to duck before a clawed hand sliced the air where Teres' head had just been. She didn't think, just swooshed away and up, away and up.
A familiar scream right into her ear made her frantically beating wings stop for a moment, and the next instant Aorra crashed into her. Teres could hear his terrified voice, and she grabbed his hand so as not to get separated. The entire world around them seemed to be screaming in utmost terror, their hearts beating along with the rhythm.
Ascend! Ascend! Ascend!
With Aorra now by her side, Teres completely forgot about anything other than holding onto him and speeding away from the ground, as fast as she could. The flock began to change course, a mass of wings and feathers and terrified screams.
And over those screams there came the sounds so loud that the night appeared to burst.
BAM! - and the flock once again collided into itself, clawing and biting to get away from certain death.
BAM! - and Aorra began to drag Teres downwards before they got choked to death. She could barely make out the madness in his eyes as he bit into someone so hard that the putrid scent of blood penetrated the air, followed by a screech of agony. Rocha.
BAM! - and suddenly the force of the flock was too much for Teres to bear, and she cried out when Aorra was ripped away from her.
Fly! She had to fly! Fly! Fly up and out!
There was no thinking, no trying to understand the situation. She forced her wings to carry her, go with the flock, her claws slashing in every direction. Every now and again someone would scratch her or bite into her flesh, and her screams blended into the cacophony of the horrified flock.
Teres wasn't even registering the sounds now. She saw something painfully white drop from the middle of the crowd, then begged her wings to carry her just a little bit higher. She was too low. Too close to the ground. She needed to fly up. She needed to-
Something painfully cold crashed into her at such a speed that for a moment her body froze in complete shock. When she began trashing around, her heart pounding so hard that she felt it in the tip of her tongue, she was already plummeting to the ground. Her wings got tangled in a mass of ropes and threads, her claws and teeth useless against the constricting vines.
The horrible sensation of a fall is something that nobody deserves to feel. Especially nobody gifted with flight.
Teres let out a screech of absolute, blinding terror as her tiny body dropped down, lower and lower, towards certain death. From within the flock there came a familiar scream - Aorra - but no sooner had she heard it than her body collided with the ground.
The pain was so strong that for a second she forgot how to breathe. The arm on which she'd landed exploded in an overwhelming pain that seemed to reach her brain.
Out. Out. Out.
Teres bit into the constricting material, pulling and yanking against it with all her might. Her hip throbbed with agony with every single movement, and her left arm refused to cooperate, but her wings and legs appeared to be intact. She writhed on the ground as the threads bit into her skin and feathers, drawing blood, yet she didn't notice that.
The material almost broke her teeth, and yet she refused to give up. She needed to fly up, she needed to fly towards her flock. She had never been so scared in her entire life, that, despite not being that long, had been filled with plenty of horrors. But never - this. Never this maddening inability to fly away, to fly up into the sky, away from all threats.
Teres yanked on the threads again only to freeze when a new sound came.
Steps. Thundering steps that shook the ground. Immediately her body went rigid, her breaths stopping somewhere in her chest. She didn't even need to think, she knew that this thing - whatever it was - had caught her in its web, and now it was looking for her.
From her place within the bushes and the grass she could just make out something, a white spot in complete darkness. The white spot was slightly moving, and for the first time in her entire life Teres thought that Arror's amazing wings made him such an easy target once the sun had set... He, too, now lay limp, save for an occasional twitch of a wing, but she knew that it was no good for him. His feathers betrayed him.
The ground shook as two massive, gigantic creatures walked out of the unpenetrable blackness of the forest. Teres didn't even breathe, patiently waiting it out with her arm and her hip pulsating in raw pain.
One of the figures let out an unsettling sound that resembled thunder and picked Arror up. She watched as he began to cry and struggle against his restraints, but the gargantuan ignored him and carried him away. The other beast began to look through the undergrowth, and Teres remained as still as she could. One wrong movement, one uncareful breath, and she would be spotted. She could hear her flock call out to her far, far away, she could hear Arror's screams of sheer horror.
She didn't move.
The giant walked up to her bush.
Lay still. You're not there. You're dead. He doesn't want you.
Every muscle in her tiny body was tense with maddening dread, and still Teres remained limp. If only she relied on her mind solely, she definitely would've already cried out in terror, but something from deep within her feathers stole her voice and turned her muscles to stone. She couldn't twitch, not even if she tried to.
But not even her instinct could protect her from the giant hand that gently picked her up from the ground.
Teres screamed out and began to trash around, desperately trying to break out, but a booming voice from above made her stop for a moment. The next moment was already too late, since the monster began to carry her away. Teres wiggled around as much as its hold allowed, staring up at the giant. It was... Weird. It wasn't an animal nor a bird. It almost looked like an enlarged someone from her flock, except with no wings and feathers and elegant claws.
Teres struggled some more, doing her best to bite or scratch the monstrosity, but her claws got entangled in the net and she ended up completely immobilised. Her wounded arm ached so much that she even chirped out on pain when she moved it carelessly.
The monster let out some sound that resembled a coo and set Teres down on a wooden platform. She paused and looked up at it. If it wanted to eat her, it would have to remove the bindings. Her wings twitched in anticipation of the flight as she allowed her limbs to relax. She needed to wait it out.
The monster was surprisingly gentle for its size, working its thick, fat fingers with unexpected precision and accuracy. It freed her good hand, then, without taking the net off, moved to her injured arm. Teres hissed in agony, and the beast cooed once again. Was that sound supposed to be comforting?
Once the monster finished freeing Teres without actually taking the bindings off, it reached up and grabbed a big container with thick bars. Fearing the worst, Teres began to struggle once again and had just figured out how to drag the net off without getting entangled in it all over again, when the monstrosity put her inside the container and took the net off.
As fast as a snake, Teres jumped up and dashed towards the beckoning sky, but the creature skillfully slammed the barred door shut. Teres banged against the metal and fell on the bottom of the container in a heap of flesh and feathers, then got up and screeched at the gargantuan abomination in front of her. The container was tiny, barely big enough to let her spread her wings! Surely it wasn't planning on keeping her there? What good would she be inside this artificial cave?
The monster cooed at her again and then picked the container up. Teres swayed and fell on her knees and hand, pressing her injured arm to her chest and wincing in pain from her hip. From behind the bars she could just make out the monster carrying her away, off to some horrible place.
A screech of fear reached her ears, and Teres perked up. Arror! And-and there were others! She crawled towards the bars and held onto them, doing her best to look out.
She was carried into a much bigger container with disgustingly accurate holes that allowed her to look at the night sky. Multiple tiny containers were stacked next to the walls, and in a few of them there sat her flockmates. They chirped and yipped when they saw Teres being carried in, and she trilled in response. She was alright. Mainly.
The monster set her down on top of the other containers, cooing as if trying to soothe her. More of the creatures came and went, but from her spot Teres could see one of them pour water in a long tube, then add something in and approach her with the tube. She sneered and lowered herself to the floor of the container.
The gentle monster let out a very familiar-sounding sigh and took the tube from its friend, then crouched down so as to look in her eyes. Teres flapped her wings and snapped at him, and the monster reached out to attach the tube between the bars. She froze, and just when its massive fingers got between the bars to secure the tube, she dashed forwards and sunk her teeth in the flesh.
The creature flinched and let out an angry snap, then rather roughly shoved Teres back. She growled viciously, but the monster had already finished attaching the tube to the bars and stood up. Scarlet blood was dripping from its fingers, and she shivered a little upon tasting it on her lips. She had never bitten anyone to deliberately cause them harm... Most of the time it was only during playing or to scare off unwanted males, but never this strong. Despite their sharp claws and teeth, none of her flock were used to hurting anyone. Even during the panic they didn't want to cause pain.
The creature looked at her and tutted, growling something in an angry voice. Teres bared her bloodied teeth, but wasn't so quick to attack this time.
Arror let out a chirp, and she looked at him between the bars. He looked mortified as another creature approached him and attached a similar tube to his container. Water was dripping from these things, and although Teres was thirsty, both she and Arror - along with all the others - didn't dare drink it. Did the monsters think they were stupid? They'd seen the beasts add something to the water. It was contaminated.
More creatures walked in, carrying more containers with others from the flock. Some of them were injured, but Teres trilled loudly to get their attention - and they answered in unison. Looking around in horror, she realised just how many of her flock had been captured.
It went on for a very long time, giants walking in and out, attaching tubes for everyone to drink. However, nobody dared, although dripping water had been taunting Teres for a while. The pain in her arm was almost unbearable, so she didn't move it as much, just laying curled up on the floor of the container and covering herself with her wings.
Loud shuffling made her growl and glare at the gentle giant in front of her container. It sighed and held up something that resembled a bowl of ice, water splashing around inside it. Then it added the same thing into the water and stirred it until white powder dissolved.
Teres tilted her head when the beast held up its wounded finger and pressed it against the bars, hissing in pain. Then it took a sip of the water.
Now she was intrigued. Cautiously, she watched as the creature let out a breath, then tapped its injured finger against the bars, yet this time without showing any emotions or reaction to the pain.
Oh? Was it because of the water?
Teres blinked and hesitantly inched towards the tube, keeping an eye on the beast. It gave a smile and a coo, moving back so as to be a little less intimidating. One of her flockmates chirped questioningly. Was she sure that she wanted to do it?
Teres sniffed the water drop on the tube. It didn't smell off. The monster had drunk the very same thing, she was sure about it. And if it took its pain away, well... She had to give it a go.
She carefully wrapped her lips around the tube and took a sip. Water rushed down her throat, she even felt it cascade in her stomach. Thirstily, she gulped down more of it, before forcing herself to move backwards. If the water was contaminated, she shouldn't drink so much...
Teres sat down and glared at the monster, who soon stood up and left. Was it to dispose of the poison it had drunk? Maybe she was supposed to get it out of her body as well? But it was her only source of water, and she was well aware of the others watching her. So she sat still, listening to her stomach.
But as time went by, nothing happened. She didn't feel dizzy or lightheaded, her stomach didn't rumble. If anything, the pain in her arm and hip subsided a lot. Maybe the powder was meant to take the agony away.
Teres moved towards the tube and took a few more sips, and the shuffling told her that the others were drinking as well, following her lead. They would sometimes chirp and chatter to one another, but most kept quiet. She, too, didn't make a sound as she lay down by the tube and covered herself with her wings.
Despite the pain, her arm was functional. Good. She rested her chin on her good elbow and looked outside.
The giants seemed to have calmed down. Their movements weren't as quick now, and they were grunting among themselves. The meaning of their sounds remained a mystery for Teres, but she could tell that they sounded pleased. She observed them move around, ready to hide in her container if one approached her, but nobody did. Just like the females of her flock, they took great interest on Arror, who looked weak and frightened in his tiny container, unable even to snap at them or to fly away.
The gentle monster could be seen once or twice. It sometimes glanced at Teres, smiled, but didn't come near her. It seemed like all the beasts decided to leave them alone for the most part.
The sky had already turned brighter when the abductors began to secure the small containers to the walls with thick straps. Teres had moved back when her container was slightly shifted, and when she allowed herself to crawl forward, the thick strap had already crossed the bars, dividing her view in two. She hesitantly touched the strap, wincing at the completely unnatural texture. However, she was grateful for support when the huge container they were all in flinched and began to move. Some of them let out squeaks of surprise, lost footing and tumbled down on the floor of their personal boxes.
Teres felt dizzy, which had nothing to do with the water, and moved to the dark corner of her container. Once there, she turned so as to see the sky through the bars and began to sing a song of chirps, trills and yips. Her lonely cry was soon joined by the others, their bright eyes locked on the pitiful pieces of the sky they could see as they were being taken further and further away. Soon enough, everyone was singing along.
To the monsters, it might've sounded like mourning, saying farewell to their home and sky and trees. But Teres knew it was different. It was an oath, a promise to return home, engraved so deep inside her bones that she had no doubt it had come from the countless generations that had lived before her.
Her wings twitched, as had once twitched the wings of her parents, their parents and all those who lived before. The dark feathers, passed through generations, shuffled against one another in the tiny box.
And the song, the song of freedom echoed through the air even when all of the singers fell silent.