Once we drew deeper into the forest I halted and Tony nearly collided into my haunch. I turned around and made my gaze rest on Poultice since I didn't want to look at Tony. "We should split up from here and go after smaller prey."
"Good idea," rumbled Tony as he dipped his head. He turned and he stretched out one wing. I growled a bit before I turned to Poultice.
"What's with you and Tony," asked Poultice as he tilted his head in confusion.
I sighed, not really wanting to tell Poultice about our history. It wasn't his fault that my father and I didn't get along. "Er it's nothing. It's just history," I replied dismissively as I lashed my tail. "Now show me what you can do."
He nodded and darted off, bucking a bit in excitement. Now that was the Poultice I remember, He was having fun and enjoying himself. It wasn't fair that he kept having the weight of the world on his shoulders. He shouldn't be fighting to stay alive every second of every day but that was what was happening because he was special.
I sighed and spread my wings. I thought I would try to catch something from the sky. That way they couldn't see me plummeting down on them and I might be able to catch something larger than a mouse like a rabbit.
I took to the sky and flapped my wings until I was just above the tree tops. I spotted a tree I could use for my marker so I wouldn't get lost. I then took in a breath and tried to forget everything. I felt so much better when I was in the sky. I wanted to feel free and being in the air made me feel like nothing could hold me back.
I surged forward, my wings slicing through the air. I flicked my ears and tried to hear any sound coming from the forest. I heard a patter of paws against the ground and I sniffed the air. I angled my ears toward the bottom of the forest. I lowered down and waited until I was sure of where the rabbit was. I thrust my wings against my side and dove down.
I spread my wings right before I touched the ground. I then flapped my wings and tried to keep them as quiet as possible. I didn't want the rabbit hearing me and I knew that rabbits had extraordinary hearing. I took in a breath and saw the rabbit nibbling on clover. My eyes narrowed and I extended my strangely long claws.
I towered right over the rabbit and sunk my hind claws into it's flank. It thrashed around but I killed it quickly, snapping it's neck in one easy motion. I then landed and set the rabbit down.
"Nicely done," murmured Tony as he strode forward with two voles in his jaws.
"Thanks," I muttered as I eyed the voles. "You didn't do too bad yourself."
Tony smiled a bit and dropped the voles. "I can go out for more." His eyes lit in grief and something else, was it regret. "That little Poultice needs to eat a lot! He is a growing pup."
I nodded in agreement. Poultice was growing and he needed the very best food either of us could find. "I can," I offered as I flapped my wings, ready to fly. "If you hunt again I'm afraid you might fall over."
Tony's eyes lit in amusement. "Very funny," he rasped as he took the rabbit and vole and tucked them into a pile. "Fine. I'll be here for when Poultice comes back."
I swiveled to face him. "Don't you dare do anything to him," I snarled as my teeth showed. "Or I will kill you."
Tony rolled his eyes before he laid down, his chest heaving from the act of the hunt. "Don't worry. If I can't hunt what makes you think I could harm the little mite. He's too fast."
He did have a point so I took off to the sky again, ready for another hunt.