The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 83

"Who said that?" the female stranger asked, sounding a little fearful. Wondering how in the world she had not seen the shed in the corner of the rooftop when it was usually the first thing anyone saw, Tiberius kept his cool as he called out in a calm and smooth voice, "Over here. In this dark and foreboding shed." He wished he could come up with some better words to describe his home of nine years but there really wasn't a positive way to describe it unless one wanted to say that creepy was a cheerful word these days. He just prayed that the stranger would still come over.

And come over she did. Tiberius could hear her footsteps, small and sometimes hesitant, coming closer towards the shed door. He could tell that the female stranger had stopped right outside, no doubt peering through the latticed wire that made up the door and only way in and out of the shed for those bigger than the fattest rat. Gulping, she called out softly, "Uh... hello?" Smiling quietly since his plan was working beautifully so far, Tiberius replied, saying something truthful first, "I can see for miles. If you let me out, I'll find your friend."

"Wow, really?!" the stranger exclaimed excitedly, "Aw, you're so sweet." Tiberius practically froze in place when he heard that. No one had ever called him sweet other than his owner Alfred or Dr. Laura Green. To hear it from a complete stranger was just so... queer yet comforting. Remembering his mission though, the old hawk shook himself to clear his mind of memories from the past as he murmured, "You're sweet too."

"Oh! Thanks stranger..." the female outside mumbled. Worried that his plan might fail, Tiberius did his best not to sound suspicious as he sniffed the air and remarked, "But not too sweet. There's also a salty, gamey thing going on."

"Yeah that's me! Come on, let's get you out of that shed," the stranger replied back. The next thing Tiberius heard was the shed door opening and bones cracking underneath whoever had come inside. The hawk was honestly impressed by how gullible the stranger was. He also noted to himself that, since she had been able to open the door and by the sound of the bones cracking under her feet, he would need to use his eyes if he was going to catch her. When he had sniffed the air earlier, he was able to tell that she was a small dog. Not like the chihuahua he had eaten two years ago but somewhat near the same size. Moving his feet slightly on the branch, he encouraged the dog onwards, "Yeah, that's it. Just step over the pile of bones."

"Pile of bones, okay. Will do!" the female dog yipped as another bone snapped under her paw. Gulping slightly, she mumbled, "I sure hope Max is safe..." Tiberius felt a little guilty inside. He was hungry, yes. But hearing this little dog talk about whoever this Max person was made him think about how his life was so vastly different from that of many others due to him not having any friends. It also made him a little jealous. Casting his thoughts aside, the old red tailed hawk leaned forward and noted, "You're a very thoughtful food." Realizing what he had just said, he mentally kicked himself as he quickly corrected his error, "Food?! I didn't say that, I said friend." Laughing quietly to himself, he went on, "I meant food. Fr... friend. You know what I meant." He feared that he had just caused his meal to turn back and leave.

Fortunately, the small female dog hadn't done that. In fact, it seemed that she hadn't heard a single word that Tiberius had said as she piped up, "I'm sure lucky I found you, uh..." Not knowing his name, she just left the statement hang in the air. Relieved that the stranger in his shed hadn't left and his plan was still on course, the red tailed hawk lowered his head down to where he believed was the female dog's level. He introduced himself, "Tiberius. And yes this is a very good thing for you, this whole... meeting me thing." Smiling quietly, he bowed his head and murmured, "Take off my hood."

Then he patiently waited.