The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 22

"Alright, stay in this room. I'll be right back," Alfred informed the two hawks as he opened the door to the carrier. Leaving it open, he walked away to a different area of the apartment. Suspicious, Thunder motioned for Rain to stay while he went to check the coast. Sticking his head out, the young hawk sniffed the air warily. Boldly taking a step out of the carrier, he glanced left and right. Getting the sense that there was no danger nearby, he allowed Rain to come out. The two siblings looked around at their surroundings.

They were in a room of an apartment. The walls were painted gray and had pictures big and small hanging from them. Some were pictures of people, others were of birds of prey. There were a few of both. There was a couch, a TV, coffee table, three shelves, a lamp and a rocking chair. One shelf, the smallest one next to the rocking chair, had very large books on it. The tallest one had a variety of objects on it while the middle one had more books and a camera. A fan spun in circles from the ceiling while light streamed in from the large window in the room. It looked out at the bustling city outside.

Just then, the two hawks turned around when they heard footsteps. Alfred had returned like he had said. He carried a small silver tray, which smelled like it had food on it. Hungry, Thunder and Rain followed him over to the couch where he had sat down. Peering down at the tray, Thunder saw six pieces of meat. His stomach growling hungrily, he reached his head out to snatch one when Alfred stopped him. Picking up a pair of tweezers, the old man grabbed a piece and held it out to the young hawk. Hunger rising inside of him, Thunder bit down on it just as the tweezers released their hold of the meat. Swallowing it whole, the young hawk had to wait his turn as Alfred fed his sister next. In the end, both hawks got three pieces of meat each.

Enjoying the taste of the meat, Thunder didn't notice a hand reaching out towards him until it touched him...