The Shift

A fanfiction by SilverWings

Chapter 2-

Chapter 2

Tealfeather had seen One-Eye act like this before. She turned around and saw Bloodfeather standing behind her.

"Hello Grandfather," she said dryly.

Bloodfeather hesitated, as if he was considering punishing her. "Nice catch," he said in the end.

"What do you want?" Tealfeather asked coldly.

"What makes you think I would need anything... from you," the Alpha Raptor hissed.

"Oh please, it's not as if you ever chat with me. The only times I see you is clan meetings and when you ask me for help."

Bloodfeather growled at her and walked away.

Tealfeather sighed. She knew she was treading dangerous water, but there was something strange about her grandfather that just wanted to make her bite him whenever she saw him. The sun began to set as she walked toward the river. Best case scenario, she would catch a fish for dinner. Worst case scenario, she would tire herself out. She crept slowly along the riverbed, looking for fish. An odd nagging was tugging at the edge of her mind. It meant she had to lay an egg. The weird nagging had scared her when she was younger, but now it was more of an annoyance. She laid the egg by the riverbed and left it there - as far as she cared, the Titanoboas could have it. Teal saw something wiggling in a shallow pool of water near the river. Score! There was a Sabertooth Salmon flopping around in the small puddle. Tealfeather killed it with a quick bite and carried it back toward camp.

"Psst, Bronze."

"Teal?"

"I caught a salmon."

"Um... cool?"

"Let's eat it."

"But we have to put it on the pile."

"No we don't! Besides, I annoyed Grandfather today. He'll give me the most maggot infested, rotten piece of meat he can find."

"Not my problem."

"Oh come on."

"No, I'm eating with Grandfather tonight. He told me to. I don't want to get in any trouble."

"Fine."

"Thank you."

Tealfeather strolled into the forest, looking for a spot to eat her kill. She sighed. Why was her brother so obsessed with following the rules? Surely it was unhealthy to be so disciplined. She ate half of the salmon and left the rest for the pile. As much as she loved breaking rules, she wasn't hungry, and she couldn't exactly come home with nothing - she smelled of blood. The sun was setting now, and the rest of the raptor were heading to the pile for dinner. Teal dropped off the salmon, muttered something about not being hungry, and made her way back to her nest. It wouldn't be Teal's for much longer. Her mind shied away from the prospect of her pairing. She lay down in the sheltered pile of moss, leaves and twigs and curled in a ball, her feathered tail resting on her nose. When Yellowfeather came in a few minutes later, she was asleep.