Feral

Chapter 13

Adrian was drawing more and more attention the longer he ran. First they had tried doing a few sprints, where even Darius hopped in to see how Adrian would fare against him.

The mere thought made Adrian's flanks shiver before he shook himself. Racing with Darius had been exhilarating, had shown Adrian that while Darius was slower, the larger Raptor had more stamina than he.

If it came down to it, Adrian would be defeated in the long run, running himself to exhaustion and being forced to wait until Darius caught up to him.

It had been one of Adrian's favorite tactics to use on prey animals that could potentially injure him. Spook them into a stampede and then chase them down. The slowest, weakest one of the herd would struggle to keep up with the healthy and would fall pack.

Then, it was only a matter of time before exhaustion made the animal trip and fall, potentially break a leg. If not, the creature would be too tired to keep running, allowing Adrian to finally catch up for his long awaited meal.

A yip besides him drew Adrian from his thoughts, huffing at the wolf that ran alongside him. Both of them knew that Adrian wasn't running at his full speed, more a gentle trot instead of a volatile sprint.

But, this slower gait allowed Adrian to keep running, burning minimal energy as he traveled great distances. Well, normally, as now he was just running in big circles, following the gravel filled tracks.

Still, he was glad for the opportunity to stretch his muscles, to let his animal run free, if only for a moment. It wasn't the same as spending all of his time in the wild.

But then again, knowing that even if this running was nothing more than a waste of energy, there was still the certainty that Adrian would be fed by the end of the day.

Thrice a day, even.

That had also been something his animal had needed to get used to. Adrian was used to only feed when he was hungry, if he managed to catch something.

Being given the luxury of being fed no matter the success of the hunt was unheard of. The first few meals, his animal had gorged itself on whatever it could get.

A force of habit, as in in the wild a missed opportunity meant going to bed on an empty stomach. It had happened more times than Adrian had wished, especially so during his younger years.

However, once the success rate of his hunts went up and he was capable of downing larger prey, his need to hunt continuously had decreased.

Snorting, Adrian slowed down his gait until he came to a stop. Feathers ruffling, he stretched his body before yawning, having grown tired of the continuous motion and lack of change in his environment.

Plus, there was no reward in the form of a well-earned meal at the end of his hunt. There was no desire to keep up the pace.

He could still run, if pressed. He just didn't want to anymore. So he turned towards where a small crowd was gathered, shaking himself as Darius waited patiently.

"Had enough?" The man gently inquired, grinning when Adrian shook himself once more, lifting his leg to scratch through the feathers around his throat.

"Grew bored. And hungry." Adrian added when his stomach audibly gurgled, drawing a chuckle from Darius while the surrounding teens wisely took a few steps back.

Darius waved the group to the side before starting to lead Adrian to the dining halls. "Think you could've run longer if you weren't bored or hungry?"

Adrian tilted his head, membrane flitting over his eye before he gave a sharp nod. Turning his head towards the deep amber sky and the soon to be setting sun, he huffed.