Flight School: Prey

Fly or Die

Twinkle

Twinkle

Little—star.

Have you ever

Left a scar.

Up above the world you

Fly;

Like a sparrow drop and

Die—

___________________________

The snowy owl could feel the weight in his legs and the burning gaze of the sun on his back.

There was an immense loathing for days like these—when he was forced to stay awake on an ugly morning searching for useless prey when he already had one.

A silly game, he had always thought.

I don't need any of them.

But V had her hold over every single one of the Hearts; and it was no surprise that she did have Slayne in the palm of her hand as well.

And so he played the game.

He had to.

The Nocturne's pupils were reduced to slits—eyes sensitive to the rays of sunlight that burst through gaps in the canopy of trees above.

Slayne cursed silently.

He leaned against the trunk of a tree, closing his eyes for a moment as he sent his Avian to scout ahead. And in the brief solitude of darkness that Slayne found, he seemed to hear the voice of his prey;

A song—

The one he always loved to hear.

It lasted for an instance; fleeting. Almost like his kiss—

His eyes snapped open, darting in the direction of the slight wind he had picked up. The back of a barn owl was visible to the Winged, darting between branches that hung low and trees that rose high, blocking out the sky.

Mauri.

He wasn't a friend, per se. An acquaintance was more likely. Slayne noted from the owl's careless flight that he wasn't in his best condition either—knocking senselessly into avoidable branches and making unnecessary noise in flight was not how an owl flew silently to catch its prey.

The snowy owl informed its Winged that there was a clearing up ahead; and suggested they meet up with Mauri and his barn owl to form a temporary alliance.

So that they could alternate between watch duty and rest.

Why did the games have to start by dawn? The owl sighed, breaking into a sprint to catch up with Mauri's Avian, ensuring that it stayed within his sight—

There was a shriek in the distance and Slayne could feel the fear settling in the depths of his heart, nestling; manifesting from within.

It wasn't a good sign to hear the vulture barely an hour after the start of the game, and the Nocturne couldn't seem to shake off the strangely unsettling forest that seemed to be laughing at him. He didn't stop to think about Vaughn, or why this particular game didn't appear to be in his favour at all.