The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 58

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important here," Tiberius snarled, swooping down from the birch tree he was in. Both hawks looked up in fright and shock. Rosa was more horrified than her lover as she squeaked, "Tiberius?! What are you doing here?!" Meanwhile, the immature hawk beside her growled, his talons digging into the earth beneath them. "Buzz off pal, she's mine!" he hissed bravely, despite being way smaller than the red tail standing in front of him. Tiberius easily towered over him. Lowering his head so he was eye level with the small teenaged bird, the hawk retorted, "No, she does not belong to you. She's my sister."

"Tiberius, what are you doing? This is my friend Rufus!" Rosa explained, putting herself between her big brother and the small hawk. Turning his gaze towards his little sister, Tiberius muttered, "Friend, really? Cuz by the looks of it you two are more than friends." His feathers were standing on end now and there was a growl behind every word he spoke. Gesturing to Rufus with one of his sharp talons, he added, "Rosa, you realize that he's not even two years old yet, right?!"

"How do you know my age?" Rufus asked, oblivious to how his tail would change color when he reached adulthood.

"So?! Tiberius, I love him and he loves me. Can't you just live with that?" Rosa exclaimed, getting a little defensive at this point. She only recieved an angry huff from her older brother. "Come on, you were supposed to head home twenty minutes ago," Tiberius growled. Turning away, he started to walk away when he heard Rufus whisper to Rosa, trying to be quiet, "I thought you said your brother was a walking dictionary." He wasn't quiet enough though.

Almost over his limit now, Tiberius whirled around. Before Rosa could stop him, the red tail towered over Rufus threateningly and hissed, "I'm sorry, you wanted to see something a little more extravagant than what you see before you?! How bout this ya worthless piece of trash?! If I ever catch you with my sister ever again, I'm gonna take these talons of mine and rip those pretty little eyes of yours out of their sockets and shove them down your throat! That way, you can sit back and watch the show as I disembowel your miserable being and leave your filthy corpse for the mangy crows around these parts to dine on! Get the message?!" While he had been talking, he had pinned Rufus on his back while his foot was clasped around the younger bird's throat. Releasing his hold, he was about to walk away again when Rufus grumbled, "You don't have the guts for something like that domestic." Tiberius stopped in his tracks.

"Rufus, why must you be so stubborn..." Rosa mumbled, shaking her head quietly.

"Ya know what, how bout we just do it right now?!" Tiberius muttered. His talons outstretched, he whipped around, ready to shred Rufus to pieces. However, Rosa stood in the way. The two siblings locked eyes and stood their ground. "Go home, please," the hawk's little sister whispered quietly, almost begging her big brother. A deep scowl etched on his face, Tiberius murmured, "I thought you knew better." Without another word, he took off, not even bothering to see if his sister was following.