Fetch Me a Feather: Peafowl Ambush

Published Jan 22, 2022, 2:12:04 AM UTC | Last updated Jan 22, 2022, 2:12:04 AM | Total Chapters 1

Story Summary

A collection of Fetch Me a Feather quests featuring various Stryx!

Please note that this submission does contain chapters featuring relatively mild aggression and violence, but no gore.

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Chapter 1: Peafowl Ambush

Sol was bright and cheery on this day, as an anthro cat walked along its streets, four Stryx in tow. Adder walked with purpose down a large path, laden with brilliant architecture on either side. The talons of the draconic birds behind him clicked against the brick as they walked. His mount followed him closely, fiercely protective of the humanoid she called her friend. Nila was a dusty soil casua whose feathers appeared to stick out at odd angles around her neck. On her head, on either side of her casque, were two horns of feathers. She flicked these almost as if they were ears - perhaps it was some evolutionary vestigial trait which allowed them to do so.


She was followed by a nervous looking orange and white hawk. He kept his head low and feather tufts down, his cat-like tail twitching behind him. Dusty’s eyes flitted upwards, first towards Adder, then towards Nila. None of the Stryx he was traveling with were known friends, but the Tack Maker would not have sent them out on this mission without reason - nor would she trust just anyone. Or at least he hoped she wouldn’t. While the casua and cat were hardly a threat, the Stryx that followed could tear all three of the smaller beasts to shreds.


Amitola, a soil harpia whose body was covered in streamers of rainbow colour, all leading up to his wings, which were a brilliant flash of orange. He appeared disinterested, even as the group passed some of Sol’s most beautiful spots. Dusty and Nila, though they hadn’t voiced it, both were wondering what it would take to impress or rattle him. He seemed eerily calm and nonchalant, even when standing next to the massive gryph beside him.


Illweran was nothing short of massive, even for a gryph. His body, too, was a deep and lovely shade of brown. Orange bars of colour ran down his wings and tail feathers, but beyond that he was incredibly plain. Against Amitola’s bright rainbow streaks or Dusty’s vibrant feathers, he was hardly impressive in the ways of patterns. Maybe that was what made his face appear soft and lacking confidence, or maybe it was all an act. Nila certainly thought so as she glanced over her shoulder to his bald pink face.


As the group was pondering all of this, Adder stopped in his tracks. Nila very nearly stepped on the cat’s tail and, for a tense moment, she thought she had as a yowl cried out in the brilliant daylight. While their humanoid companion had been spared, Dusty’s tail hadn’t been so lucky. Illweran quickly removed his talons, apologizing to the hawk profusely. Amitola shoved past the two as the hawk nursed his fluffy tail and the gryph continued to sputter. “Why did we stop?” he asked, demanding an answer from Adder. While they were now standing in front of an intricately sculpted gate, it appeared otherwise as just another home or shop in Sol.


“We’re here,” Nila answered before Adder had a chance to respond. Flyers like her companions did not have keen noses. She did not either, but the sense was incredibly sensitive in comparison. Breathing in, she picked up the scents of pollen and earth from beyond the wall. She’d never visited these parts of Sol prior to this excursion, but she knew well enough what a garden smelled like.


Adder nodded. “We are. Beyond this entry are Diaus’ Gardens. We need to go in all at once or the birds kept here might escape. Illweran, Dusty, did you hear me?” His voice wasn’t cruel or demanding, but it was commanding. He was more accepting than some of the intelligence of Stryxkind, but he still required obedience of any draconic birds he worked with. Dusty’s blue eyes and Illweran’s brown ones locked onto the cat’s gaze.


“What?” Dusty asked, clearly nervous about Adder’s reaction. To Amitola, it was strange how the hawk cowered. To Nila, it was understandable.


“We need to enter quickly and as a group. The gardens function as an aviary,” the harpia quickly answered, once again speaking before the humanoid had been able to do so. “Are you both ready?” He gave the pink-headed gryph a long look.


“Yes, sir,” Illweran said with a bob of his head. He’d only so briefly been part of the war, but his training had stuck with him. He straightened up some. “We are ready. Dusty?”


“We are,” the hawk agreed. Amitola looked satisfied. His gaze shifted to Adder, who was now mounted up on Nila’s shoulders. The casua could carry him easily, the sphynx cat being so light. 


Nila looked to the gryph, then to her companions. When she felt ready, she dipped her head to her rider. “Alright. Let’s go. Come on!” She moved to press her chest and neck against the gate. It flung open against her weight, as it was meant for the humanoids to easily open it, even though it appeared remarkably heavy. She tumbled forwards, nearly launching Adder off her shoulders and into the bush which her head and neck crushed. A cacophony of chattering birds erupted.


Dusty quickly scrambled forwards, using the extra dexterity his wing fingers offered to help righten Nila. Illweran jumped into action and spread his wings in an effort to keep several flustered peafowl from running straight out the door. While he scared the birds away, Amitola quickly closed the door. It snapped shut with a loud click, and the harpia - despite his unshakable appearance - took a few seconds to simply lean against the door and rest.


When Nila was steady on her feet and Adder was inspected to ensure he hadn’t been injured, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the cat’s insistance that he was fine, Dusty was not willing to take him on good faith. Still, once the hawk knew they were okay, he moved to settle himself beside Illweran. The gryph might have been huge, but he seemed kind enough.


“Alright!” Adder said, drawing the Stryx to attention. “The Take Maker asked us here to gather peacock feathers. There’s a net above us that keeps the aviary birds from flying, so be careful you three if you decide to become airborne. Amitola, Illweran, you’re going to have to be especially cautious. I think just extending your wings all the way up could get your primaries caught.” He looked directly at the gryph, who nodded in understanding.


“How are we going to do this?” Nila asked now. It was all she could do to resist the urge to shake herself and free the particulates of leaves and bark from her brown feathers - not that she looked any less disheveled anyways.


“The reason why I asked all of you out here is that your various sizes should make it much easier to catch these peafowl. They’re notoriously difficult to round up. Illweran? Amitola? You two are going to stay here near the entrance. I want you both to spread your wings and try to prevent the birds from escaping. Dusty is going to ambush them and chase as many as he can to you. Nila and I will be waiting with nets in order to get a few of them. Once that’s done, we’re going to try to collect as many loose feathers as we can.”


“It should be right about time for them to molt,” Nila explained further. “So we don’t have to pluck any feathers today… but we do need to hold them still.”


It wasn’t long before everyone was in position. The gardens felt like a seemingly endless expanse of flowers and water features, with all manner of tropical birds flitting about between the trees. What they were here for, of course, was the ground birds. Thanks to the scare earlier, they had clustered together in a nook between a waterfall feature and a gnarled tree. The tree stretched well beyond the confines of the net, but it was still firmly secure.


It was Dusty’s job to flush the birds out of their hiding place. He stayed hidden by some of the flowering bushes. Although his feathers were bright, they were concealed just well enough to count. Up ahead to either were Nila and Amitola. They, too, were concealed (well, Nila and Adder were, but Amitola simply sat in the open) and ready to burst forth and herd the flock into Illweran’s open wings. From his location, Dusty could only just see Adder’s ears, watching them closely for the signal to strike. Everyone had to be on the same page for this to go smoothly.


Those pink and tan ears flicked and the chase was on! Dusty sprung into action, using his powerful hind legs to launch himself directly into the middle of the flock. It perhaps wasn’t the smoothest of movements, but it set into motion what they’d come here to do. The birds went frantically scattering in all directions. Feathers of blue, green, white, and orange went flying. Only a few of the fowl ran in the direction of the ambush in wait, but they only needed a few. Besides, it was evident the birds were beginning to molt. Dusty was shocked by how many free feathers tumbled through the air.


Nevertheless, there wasn’t time to collect them now. Nila was the first to respond, jumping out with Adder on her shoulders to startle the birds into running in the correct direction. Her legs were stronger than any flier’s, and so she was far more nimble than the others. It was no wonder why she had been chosen to help net the colourful avians. Still, she couldn’t have done it without the direction of the cat she called her friend. He was steering her as much as she was adjusting whenever one of the birds veered off course. The thrill of the hunt caught in her chest, even if she had no intentions of harming these animals.


Even so, Amitola’s assistance was greatly relieving. The harpia felt he didn’t have so much to do, aside from chase down any fowl that turned towards him. As it was, the birds seemed to respect him. It was no wonder! His size dwarfed them and his feathers, though perhaps not quite as impressive as the male peafowl, shimmered as he moved. It was almost confusing, especially to Dusty who was - for the time - staying in his rear position. He nearly tripped over his own talons. Still, the larger Stryx was making great use of his size. One particularly daring - or perhaps blinded from fear - peacock dashed right for Amitola. The harpia extended a wing, knocking the bird to the ground. It seemed unscathed, but fled quickly in the desired direction in its dazed state.


Illweran at first glance appeared to be the most useless of the group. His shoulders slumped while he waited for the chase to come to him, but when it did there was no way he intended on being useless. He’d do the best damned job he could, even if it felt like a supporting role. The garden was large and dense with foliage, concealing the band of Stryx - led by one wrinkly, hairless cat - from his view. The noise, however, carried easily to his ears. The peafowl were howling in terror, making the massive gryph anxious to end this ‘hunt’. The birds didn’t deserve this.


They came up quickly. The casua, hawk, and harpia had squeezed three birds between them, with Nila and Adder now taking up the position Dusty had originally been in. Amitola was using his beak to snap at the birds, much to Illweran’s horror. He jumped forwards and once again spread his wings wide - just as he had earlier. He didn’t care that his primaries dragged against the ground as he crouched. He was only hoping to end this quickly with no thought to his own safety. His heart went out to the terrified birds.


It was a perfectly executed plan. Now that Dusty and Amitola were working on either side, and Illweran’s wings blocked any clear method of escape, Nila - with Adder now wielding a net - closed in. It wasn’t the best method of capturing a peacock, but it worked as he threw it over one of the birds. The other two managed to avoid the snare. While Nila, Dusty, and Adder worked together to ensure the fowl they’d caught was properly secured, Amitola had other plans. One of the escapees ran right towards him, having nowhere else to go. This time, however, all bets were off.


The hulking draconic bird lifted a dark foot and grabbed it by the tail. He, like the others, had no intent on killing any creature in the garden. It was said that Diaus’ wrath would rain down upon anyone who intentionally spilled blood within his gardens. No, Amitola would not kill the bird, but he wasn’t being gentle either.


Illweran was horrified. He barreled into the rainbow-streaked Stryx. There was a squawk of indignance, another terrified scream from the peafowl, and then all was still again. Amitola glared daggers at his companion, taking a stab at the gryph’s head with his beak. His anger flared and he kicked upwards as hard as he could into the plain bird’s gut. The Stryx stumbled back, the wind knocked out of him, and gave an alarmed expression to his attacker. Amitola didn’t care whether or not the gryph was fighting back. He was too enraged - too amped up on adrenaline - to think clearly. He rushed forwards and attempted to kick his talons out.


“STOP!”


Dead silence. Amitola turned, looking shocked. It wasn’t Adder. It wasn’t Nila. It wasn’t even Illweran, who perhaps had the most reason to shout out. It was Dusty. In the claws of his wing fingers, he held a collection of feathers. They glittered, almost appearing like an iridescent bouquet. The little hawk looked angry but also scared. “You need to stop! This isn’t a fight!”


Amitola stood down. He was too stunned by the tone of the small Stryx to do anything else. The gryph he’d nearly attacked looked relieved. Nila and Adder rejoined them. Nila’s winged arms were clutching a variety of feathers as well. “We’ve got enough,” she stated firmly. “What’s gotten into you?”


“I apologize. I got a bit carried away,” the harpia admitted. He lowered his head in submission, then bobbed it in acknowledgement towards Illweran.


“You did get some feathers, though,” the soil-coloured gryph pointed out. “You didn’t need to grab its tail like that, but you got some feathers.”


“So did you,” Adder stated. Nila smirked as the gryph looked at them with surprise. When he glanced down, he realized that a few feathers - within the chaos of the fight - had managed to get caught on his own. He shook himself, sending the feathers flying. Dusty quickly collected them. Hiccups and all, no one could consider it a failed mission. The Tack Maker would be pleased with their bountiful amount of feathers.


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2504 Words

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