Heart of the Rainforest

Chapter 7 - Hunt

"Come on, it's okay." Tiki prompted. She was holding out Akila on her talon, trying to get her to step onto Equo's arm. The bird had practically been glued to her since she had returned.

"I don't know how you're brave enough to do that." Adder observed from behind Equo. "That is a very large beak."

"Yeah." Tiki stroked Akila's head. "It's not fun to get bitten, trust me."

"Why would she bite you?" Mamba tipped her head at the bird. "Isn't she practically your best friend?"

Tiki laughed. "No, that's not how birds work. They'll bite just because they feel like it, or they like your scale and want it to play with, or they're hungry, or they're teething. Lots of reasons. I was a bite test subject for a long time."

"That's alarming." Equo wrinkled her snout, but didn't pull her arm away.

"She doesn't usually bite dragons she's just met. She only really does that if she doesn't like them, and I would know if she didn't like you." She explained.

"Like me," Lionfish snorted from the other side of the room. Tiki felt bad for him - Akila hated him for some reason, and he was very lucky she wasn't the type to actively seek out and bite the dragons she didn't like.

Akila lifted one of her feet towards Equo and hesitated. It took a moment for her to make up her mind and step onto Equo.

"Woah," Her arm dipped as Akila put her weight on it. "Heavier than I thought she'd be."

"Yeah, she's a big bird." Tiki said affectionately. "She's healthy, though."

"I can't tell if you're brave or stupid." Adder teased Equo.

"Both." She said proudly, not taking her eyes off the bird on her arm.

Tiki laughed, rewarding Akila with a chunk of apple. She turned back to her desk, where she was in the middle of making a new toy for the macaw, with brightly-dyed cubes of wood half-woven together with tree fibers. 

Moments later, she heard an alarmed yelp from Equo that was drowned out by loud flapping of feathered wings, and Akila landed on Tiki's shoulder.

"That didn't last long," Adder observed, sliding up beside Tiki. When Akila made a curious movement towards him, he flinched away, stepping warily away. Mamba laughed.

"I'm hungry." Lionfish stood up, stretching out his wings so the green light shone through the membrane, displaying the curling lines that flowed outwards on the underside of his wings.

"There's a big pile of fruit right there." She swept a wing at a cluster of several fruit on the floor. Lionfish poked it with his tail and snorted.

"Fruit is gross." He wrinkled his snout at a mango that had rolled to his talons.

"Fine." Tiki stood up and swept towards the door. She didn't particularly like hunting, but she would do it for her friends in a heartbeat. As soon as she stepped out into the air, Akila opened her wings, and when Tiki offered, she eagerly stepped onto her talons.

Tiki launched herself and Akila into the air, soaring alongside one another, diving into the rainforest.

She caught a few monkeys and lizards, plus as many fish from one of the rivers (which was three) as she could before she was chased away by piranhas. She made her way back to the village, tossing half of a banana to Akila as she flew next to her.

Tiki touched down on the platform outside her treehouse and ducked through the flower curtain and saw with a stab of panic a hissing RainWing standing inside, cornering her friends against one wall, baring his teeth menacingly.