The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 62

Two weeks had passed since the two siblings had had their argument and aggressive fight. Things have died down since but there was still some tension. Tiberius had forgiven Rosa. However, he knew that she would sneak off to see Rufus whenever they headed out to Central Park. It made his skin crawl with worry for her. He had even turned to the rest of the Council for advice. None of them were exactly helpful though. Most of them even told the red tail that there was a chance that Rosa would leave to run off with Rufus. Only Sleet attempted to make Tiberius feel better as she advised to remind his sister how much she meant to him. But with her constantly gone, that was next to impossible.

Exhausted from a long and hot day at the park, Tiberius was looking forward to go to sleep. After watching his owner head down for the night, the hawk stretched his sore back and settled down for a good night's sleep. Closing his light brown eyes, the red tail sighed softly and was about to drift off into the world of dreams when something poked him in the shoulder. He chose to ignore it but it happened another three times, growing harder than the one before. When the last one was more of a shove, Tiberius huffed. Exasperated, he opened his eyes and turned his head to find a guilty looking Rosa.

"Sorry but... I need a favor..." Rosa mumbled quietly. Sadness glistened in her dark brown eyes and she was perched on the branch with her head hanging low and her shoulders hunched. For the past week, she had been acting strange. Her appetite had grown a little and, though not as bad as when she was a teenager, she had constant mood swings. She also appeared to be molting her feathers faster than what Tiberius was and gained a habit of collecting twigs and branches. But today, she was acting more strange than usual. Really, she appeared to be depressed. According to Juno and Panama, Rosa had been flying around Central Park like she was looking for something. Seeing how timid she was acting right now, Tiberius muttered, "Are you going to tell me what the favor is or not?!"

Shrinking back slightly at the harshness behind his words, Rosa looked into Tiberius's eyes as she whispered, "Could you help me find Rufus? I couldn't find him anywhere."

"Maybe he's with a new lady friend cuz I heard rumors that he jumps from one girl to the next like the egotistical rat he is," Tiberius murmured. That earned him a whack on the back of the head.

"Tiberius, I'm being serious!"

"And I'm dead tired."

"Please, I need to tell him something."

"What?"

"I... I can't tell you..."

"Oh, because I'm your brother and best friend while he's your true love?!"

"It's not like that..."

"Then tell me!"

"I can't-"

"Why?!"

"You'll be mad at me..."

"Look, if you tell me, I won't get mad and I'll help you find the idiot."

"Rufus."

"Yeah, that's what I said."

Taking a deep breath, Rosa averted her gaze from Tiberius as she mumbled quietly, "Tiberius, I'm... I'm pregnant..."

Tiberius's whole world fell apart upon hearing those words coming out of Rosa's mouth. Falling into a daze, he felt himself losing his grip on the branch they were perched on.