The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 51

Striker didn't even wait for the turkey vulture to move out of the way completely. Barging past her with an angry hiss, he lunged towards Tiberius. The hawk's first instinct told him to dodge. With a second to spare, he jumped to the right. The owl's talons struck the ground where he had been standing earlier. Not even stopping, the great horned owl continued being on the offense as he swung wildly at the hawk. Dodging again, the red tail lashed out and caught his opponent in the wing. Ducking, he got another blow in on the owl's leg. Striker let out a hiss of pain while Tiberius backed off.

His chest heaving, Striker glanced down at the cuts on his right wing and left leg. Seeing the blood, he merely huffed in annoyance. "Had enough yet? We can stop this ya know," Tiberius pointed out. A wicked smile came over the owl's face as he slowly twisted his neck almost all the way around and sneered, "I'm just getting started." Without warning, he rushed forward with his talons outstretched. The hawk couldn't get away in time as they tore into his right side. The blow had been more powerful than the two he had given out. Blood rushing out of the wound, Tiberius frantically backed up as Striker continued his assault. The owl was using both talons and beak now. He mostly missed. When he did make connection, he only got some feathers. Either way, it only made the great horned owl angrier as he began to strike with hatred glistening in his eyes.

Nearly escaping a blow meant for his head, Tiberius glanced over his shoulder to see that he was nearing the edge of the clearing. Knowing he'll lose if he stepped out of bounds, the hawk made a bold move and rushed past Striker. Pain flared up in his shoulder as the owl's talons dug in. Luckily for the red tail, he had managed to land a blow of his own to his opponent's left wing, leaving a long slash that would be a scar in future years. Yowling in agony, Striker struck out randomly in a desperate attempt to get another hit but missed all of his shots. Hissing, the owl took to the air and quickly dive bombed towards Tiberius. Talons digging into the hawk's back, he forcefully threw him aside. Tumbling over the grass, Tiberius came to a sudden halt when he knocked his head against a rock. Vision blurred, the red tail was completely unprepared for Striker's next attack. The next thing he knew, there was a terrible pain in his stomach.

"Sleet, you watching this?!" Striker cackled evilly. His talons were soaked in blood while Tiberius writhed on the ground behind him. The Council and the crowd watched in sheer terror. Rosa was practically crying into Pietro's shoulder when she saw how badly her big brother was injured. Pacing back and forth with a wild and savage glow in his amber eyes, Striker went on with his rant, "How does it make you feel, standing up there while watching one of your friends die in front of you?! Feeling any guilt?!" The owl was growing hysterical now as he laughed his head off. Turning around to face Tiberius, he hissed, "Now... let's finish this..."

Tiberius already had a plan in mind as Striker grabbed him by the throat. In one fluid motion, the owl slammed the hawk's head against the rock he had struck earlier. Letting out a cry that was cut short, the red tail fell still, not even moving a muscle...