The Raptor and I

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

AN: Happy Chinese New Year! It is the Year of the Rabbit!
Thank you all, for the reviews.

I wonder how long has it been since Sorin and the pack went to hunt? I have been staring at the same pile of dead leaves for what feels like a lifetime. The chicks were not making things any easier, especially with their high pitched chirping and nervous movement around me. They were treating me like I was some kind of time bomb that was going to go Kaboom any second.
Why am I hearing a growl? Oh wait, that's my stomach... Crap.
"I'm hungry." I whined, sitting up from the nest of leaves that Sorin had kindly deposited me. As if he had heard my thoughts, or maybe more likely, he heard my stomach, Sorin and the rest of the pack returned with their kill. The chicks all squealed in joy as the adults stated to feed them.
I watched, half amazed and half disgusted as the adults, regurgitated whatever meat for their children. All the chicks were fed but I noticed that the smallest of the bunch was struggling to get the food. Poor little guy. Sorin came towards me cooing, he stood next to me and opened his mouth.
"Whatcha up to?" I asked, looking at his weird posture, when I noticed that it was exactly the same posture that the other adults took before they regurgitated.
"NO! NO!..Sorin No! Oh crud." I shouted, when Sorin offered me his dinner. After he was done, he sat next to me, tilting his head towards the 'dinner' he had presented.
"Geez. What I going to do with you Sorin." I sighed. I was no way going to eat his vomit, I mean who knows what kind of germs and bacteria is in there. It being on the ground was not helping it at all. My appetite just killed itself. Now what was I going to do with this 'meal'?
Suddenly I got an idea, I stood up and Sorin's tail shot out to wrap around my right ankle, he probably thought that I was going to run away.
"I'm not going to escape Sorin." I told him and he seemed to have understood me as the pressure around my ankle but his tail remained where it was. I smiled at him and went forward to where all the chicks were lazing after eating their fill, I spotted the little guy from before and went to pick him up. He was shocked and struggled, calling for help. All the adults, even Sorin were watching me. The chick only stopped struggling when I placed him in front of the regurgitated mess that Sorin had given me. Sorin was growling but I ignored him.
"Here you go Kiddo, eat up. You did not get to eat much just now didn't you." I said. The chick scuttled away but I grabbed hold of him and held him there. He was looking in Sorin's direction in fear. Oh yea, raptors are pack animals, the chick was most likely looking at Sorin for acknowledgement.
"It's alright, eat up. It ain't exactly my cup of tea." I encouraged the kid, gently swatting Sorin since he was still eyeing the kid like he was a piece of meat. All I got in return was an angry huff from Sorin before he turned away from me.

I left my human back at the nest, not that I really wanted to but the pack, I and even her had to eat. Today's hunt took pretty long since it was our first time actually hunting but we managed to take down a duck-billed. We all ate our fill before making our way back to the nest to feed the chicks and my human.
I sincerely prayed that she was still there, I was in no mood to play hide and seek with her on the island. As we neared the nest, I heard my human whine that she was hungry so I gladly stepped out of the vegetation. She was watching as the other adults fed the chicks but when I was going to regurgitate my food for her, she asked me what was I doing. Did she not know? Okay, I will admit that I had no idea what humans had to eat.
After regurgitating, I motioned to my human for her to enjoy but to my horror, she stared at it for a while before standing up. When she took a step forward, my tail shot out to stop her from running away again but she told me that she was not and I believed her, so I slightly released my hold.
I could see that I was not the only one interested in my human as the whole pack watched as she approached the chicks and picked up Marron. Marron was the youngest of all the chick and the smallest. The humans took his parents away one day and they never returned, leaving him orphaned. The pack did take care of him but he was often disregarded in contrast to the other chicks.
As my human placed young Marron in front of the food meant for her, I understood what she meant to do, so I growled. The food is meant for her, not for the chick! Marron though young, understood pack behavior well enough to back away, well he tried but my human held him in place.
I know that it was not nice to give baby Marron the evil eye but the food was meant for my human, not him. My human did not think the same way as me and gently hit me in warning, saying that the meat was not her cup of tea, now that had me thinking. Humans did not eat meat?
"That was interesting.... But what is she going to eat?" My mother, Alina said.
"Maybe she eats those icky green things!" Lucas offered.
"It's called grass, you overgrown dumbo." Lynn answered.
"It's icky, so it does not need a name." Lucas shot back, with a glare.
"Does that mean that we can call you overgrown dumbo because you are one?" Lynn glared back. I sighed and rolled my eyes. When are the two of them ever going to grow up?
"She got you there, little bro." Lexus laughed.
"I agree. Hey little brother, what is your human doing?" Tama asked, making me turn my attention back to my human that had disappeared from my side and was now at the entrance of the nest, intently jumping, trying to reach something in the trees. I stood up and walked over to where she was.

After the little guy dug into the food with gusto, I was left to wonder what I could eat. Sorin seemed to have given up his glaring at the little chick and was looking at his family. I could feel my hunger coming back to me twice as bad as before. Suddenly, I remembered that the open enclosures had fruit trees. I could pick the fruits and eat them.
With that thought, I went to scan the trees within the nesting area, praying for a fruit tree. After a short scan, I managed to find an apple tree with an abundance of ripe, red apples.
"Yes!" I cheered before jumping up to grab one. Unfortunately, I missed them by just a tad bit. Unwilling to give up, I continued to jump up and down, well until I felt a presence beside me. I turned and stared into the scaly chest of Sorin.
"What's up buddy?" I asked, turning back to the task at hand, getting the bloody apples. Sorin tilted his head and looked from me to the apples and back to me again. Apparently, he got the gist of what I was trying to do and went to kick the tree. Three of the sweet fruits, dropped onto the ground.
"Ooo...now why didn't I think of that?" I said before bending down to pick up my dinner. They were a little dirty but a little cleaning did the trick and they were suitable for consumption.
"Thanks Sorin." I smiled before making my way back to where the little guy was lazing after eating his fill. I sat in the soft bed of leaves and picked up the little guy and placed him on my lap where it would definitely be more comfortable than the hard ground. Do not ask me why but I felt a connection with this little guy. Maybe because he like me was an orphan. How did I know that he was an orphan? Well, I did study a bit about pack behavior so I see the signs.
Sorin came over to seat behind, I did not mind but I did mind when he went to push the little guy off my lap.
"Hey!" I warned, bopping him on the head, "Don't be such a jerk to little Marron." Do not ask me why I named him Marron; I just felt that it was just right for him. Anyway, after bopping Sorin, I lifted little Marron back onto my lap and patted him back to sleep, all the while munching on my juicy apples. Sorin just snorted and shook his head before lying down, tail going round my ankle...again. Glad to know that I was trusted.
By the time I finished eating, the pack were all settling down for the night. I, myself was feeling tired so after shifting Marron a little, so that he was on my stomach and I was on my back. I closed my eyes and entered dreamland.

I saw red balls hanging from the tree and it seemed that my human wanted them, so I went forward and kicked the tree. Three of them came down and my human picked them up. She then made her way back to our, yes our nest and sat in it. Now all I had to do was lie behind her and all would be perfect but no, she had to place Marron onto her lap.
So, I went over, lied down, nudged Marron off her lap and was rewarded with another hit to the head. I could hear the rest of the pack snickering, especially my three brothers. I will plan my revenge another time. I gave an angry huff but did not do anything as she placed Marron back onto her lap.
I was starting to wonder if my human really could understand raptor when she named Marron, Marron. I watched as she ate the red ball with relish, well at least she managed to eat something. Let me store the fact that my human ate red balls from trees for future reference.
The sun was setting and the pack were all preparing for bed, my human was no exception as she shifted so that she was lying down and Marron was on her stomach. Well, I was going to ignore the little runt, snuggle up to my human and sleep. I did just that and welcomed the sweet darkness.

{ Author's Notes }

Keep in mind that I do not own this book and that I have fixed any spelling errors/sentences that don't seem right throughout the entire books