The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 30

The wind rushing past him, Tiberius had his wings folded against his flanks and his eyes focused on the sidewalk below. That same sidewalk was coming closer with each passing second. One would think that the hawk was crazy or something and planning on crashing head first into the pavement to end his life. Of course he wasn't going to do that. The thought wasn't even on his mind. At the last moment, the young red tail opened his wings and pulled up. Spinning in the air, he headed for Central Park.

Landing on the branch of an oak tree and digging his talons into the bark to keep himself from falling off, Tiberius took in a deep breath. He was greeted by many different scents. He could pick up flowers, grass, tree sap and people. But there was one scent that caught his attention more than any other. And that would be squirrel. His mouth watered as he thought about it while his stomach growled. Suddenly hungry, the young hawk followed his nose as he went from tree to tree. Perched in a red maple, he finally found what he had been tracking.

Plump and covered in a pelt of thick fur, a lone gray squirrel scurried here and there and everywhere in a small clearing. Its beady little eyes lit up with delight as it found its prize, a big ol' acorn at the base of a nearby oak tree. Picking it up in its tiny paws, the squirrel first tapped it on one of the tree's roots to check if it was a bad nut. Discovering it wasn't, the squirrel took a bite out of the acorn. Not one of the brightest creatures on the planet, the rodent had no idea of the danger nearby until it was too late. Eyes narrowing to slits and his talons scraping along the branch he was perch on, Tiberius couldn't hold back any longer. Letting out a screech, he swooped down with his talons outstretched. Frightened, the squirrel only managed to cry out before it was attacked. Its life ended within seconds after it got a sharp blow to the head from the hawk's beak.

Pleased with his catch, Tiberius tossed the squirrel up into the air. Going down the hawk's throat head first, the dead rodent was swallowed whole. Sighing happily at the taste, the young hawk went to clean his feathers when he heard a twig snap. Looking around though, he couldn't find where it had come from. But he got the sense he was being watched. Before he could investigate farther, Rosa landed beside him. "Nice catch..." she panted, still recovering from the race they had held earlier. Her brother smiled at the praise. Rolling her dark brown eyes, she went on, "Come on, let's get back to Alfred before he begins wondering where we are." Not needing an ingraved invitation, Tiberius followed his sister back to the apartment building where their owner, no doubt, was waiting for their return.