The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 120

Completely deaf at this point to Ozone's complaints and Nitro's pleas, Tiberius breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw the area where he had left the rest of the search party come into view. He hoped that at least one of the two cats he was carrying had some information on the crazy rabbit's plans. The old hawk also hoped that the search party hadn't given up waiting for his return and just left without warning. He didn't feel like going off on another search for them. He wasn't sure if he even had the strength to keep flying for much longer. Luckily, Tiberius could tell they hadn't left when he heard Chloe yowling angrily.

About him.

Nervous, Tiberius spotted a rooftop that overlooked the rest of the search party. Landing after he tossed Ozone and Nitro on it, he quietly went over to the edge and peered down. He barely noticed that the two felines had come over as he silently watched the scene below. Chloe was glaring at Gidget while her tail lashed side to side. The Pomeranian's fur bristled while her back was turned towards the feline. Huddled together, Mel and Buddy trembled with Sweetpea on the pug's head. Pops stood by and watched sadly. None were aware of the hawk's presence. And he planned to keep it that way for the time being while he listened.

"Why are we just sitting around here doing nothing?! We all know that mangy bird isn't coming back! It probably went home! We should too!" Chloe ranted, not caring if anyone was listening or not. She paced back and forth while her tail became a fuzzy whip. Everyone stayed away from it. In fact, they stayed away from the angry tabby cat in general. All but Gidget had their eyes trained on the feline as she went on with her lecture, "Max is dead meat anyways."

"Chloe, do everyone a favor and shut up," Mel suddenly piped up, a bit of courage coursing through his veins. It didn't last long and diminished really quick when Chloe spun around and screeched in his face, "You're the one who said it abandoned us! And that's exactly what it did!"

"Enough! Chloe, you leave the others out of this right now!" Gidget barked, running over and shoving the cat away from Mel. Buddy, meanwhile, had pulled the pug out of harm's way as fast as possible. Her narrowed green eyes fixed on the fluffy white Pomeranian, Chloe made weird angry cat noises. Not impressed or frightened by them, Gidget continued, "Besides, Tiberius didn't abandon us. He's coming back." Thinking for a moment, she snapped, "And he's not an it! He's a he!" Looking like he was lost in thought for a moment, Mel asked, "How do you know that?" This earned him several looks.

"I take it that's the idiot of the group?" Ozone murmured quietly. Nodding his head, Tiberius mumbled, "Yeah..."

"He, she, it. Who cares?! The bird's not coming back!" Chloe hissed. Baring her teeth, Gidget retorted, "He is comng back! I know he is!"

"And how do you know that? How do you know that you can trust it?!"

"Because that's what friends do! And he's my best friend!"

"It's a savage wild animal with predatory instincts. It could kill us all in under a minute!"

"You don't know that!"

"Neither do you yet you're putting a whole lot of trust into that bird! You should never trust those things! They have no feelings whatsoever and they only know how to kill and maim and torture!"

Closing his eyes when he heard those words come out of Chloe's mouth, Tiberius backed away from the edge of the rooftop. He didn't want to hear anymore of it. Feeling his heart ache inside his broad chest, the old hawk couldn't tell if that was the poison working its way there or his feelings had been brutally beaten up. It was most likely both. Hearing quiet footsteps behind him, he opened his eyes to find Ozone and Nitro looking at him. "You alright man?" Nitro asked softly, worry in his voice. Sitting down, Ozone mumbled, "Do you want to talk it out or-"

"Just shut up right now... please," Tiberius grumbled, spreading his wings and taking to the air before grabbing the two cats with his talons and swooping down towards the search party.