The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 72

There was a small gasp at the shed doorway. Based on the sound of it, Tiberius inferred that the hairless feline who had come into his shed was a female. Though it wasn't the cat who had attacked him and his sister four months ago, this one carried a hint of the filthy murderer's scent. His feathers bristling, the red tailed hawk kept growling. His talons scraped along the floorboards of his shed, leaving long scratches. However, the cat obviously wasn't getting the message as she padded forward. Hearing the footsteps stop in front of him, the hawk grew very tense. Just then, he felt a small paw on his cheek as a soft voice whispered, "You poor thing."

"Ivory?" Tiberius murmured, recognizing the voice almost instantly. A moment later, his hood was gently pulled off. Standing before him was the small sphynx cat with bright blue eyes gazing up at him. He was very surprised that she was here. Never would he thought that he would ever see the little feline ever again. But yet his thoughts had been proven wrong and here she was in flesh and bone. Reminding himself that she was intruding in his home, the red tail turned his head away from her as he grumbled, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that my mate had attacked a family of hawks and killed, supposedly, all of them. However, I knew that there had to be at least one survivor. And it appears that I was right," Ivory meowed. Her voice was soft as silk and carried a hint of kindness and sympathy. Standing up on her tiny delicate paws, she suddenly wrapped them around Tiberius and gave him a hug. The hawk was taken aback by her action and was a little scared to move. He listened quietly as Ivory murmured, "And I have come to apologize for what my mate has done to you and your family. None of you deserved that." Surprised by her words, Tiberius relaxed his tense muscles and hugged her back. Forcing himself not to cry, he mumbled, "Thank you Ivory."

Smiling quietly, Ivory looked Tiberius in the eye as she pointed out, "You know, I have met you before when you and your friends stopped by the alley not long ago. But I never got your name." She flicked her tail for extra emphasis. Bowing his head to the hairless feline with blue eyes, the red tail replied back, "I'm Tiberius."