Stryx Advent Scraps: Advent 12

The forest was eerily quiet, with a herd of deer grazing in a clearing at sunset. It was a serene, peaceful environment; a small stream interrupting the silence with its flowing babble. From the bushes and shrubs under the tall, flowering trees, a pair of cyan eyes stared out, watching the deer and planning an attack. Upon the back of this beast, his feline rider, observed the same scene. She felt a slight sadness, as she loved all animals and didn’t wish to see any harmed, but Stryx have to eat and some of their favorite food is most certainly venison.

Looking down at her mount, she could see the royal Corva’s crest twitch with anticipation, eager to begin the hunt. She smiled, then looked back into the clearing, waiting and watching to see when their move would be timed best. It was a rather large and healthy herd of deer, with at least a dozen grazing upon the rich grass.

“Easy Gula, we don’t want to scare them off,” she whispered, patting his neck lightly. The Corva’s response was a slight shrug of his wings, as if warning her to stay still so she wouldn’t fall off the moment he darted out. Smiling again, she lowered her body again and kept a steady eye forward, ears twitching as she listened for any warning signals.

Suddenly, the heads of the deer all shot up, and a few of the more jumpy ones darted into the forest. Kida’s brows furrowed, knowing they hadn’t made any significant noise behind the brush. Gula let out a slight growl of irritation at the sight of his prey running away.

A flutter of wings and cries of deer interrupted the peace of the forest as a brown Tyto swooped down onto one of the larger does, pinning it to the grass. Gula immediately lunged out from between the trees, letting out very angry, guttural caws while Kida clung to his back and struggled to keep an eye on what was going on. He approached the Tyto, but was still careful to keep his distance to avoid any injury to himself.

“Whoa, hey, no fighting!” She yelled, smacking Gula’s neck lightly as she attempted to get him back under control. The Tyto turned to the Corva and let out a piercing shriek, stretching out their wings and fluffing up feathers to appear larger. They remained on top of the doe, ensuring the Corva couldn’t snatch it away and run.

Clambering up the back of her mount, Kida forced his head down in submission, wanting to defuse the situation between the two Stryx. “Not here, Gula,” she grumbled. “Let it go, we’ll track the herd down and get two does instead.” Looking up at the Tyto, she tilted her head a bit, wondering why in the world there was a green bow around the Tyto’s sun-bleached neck. Their orange eyes focused onto the rider that calmed the Corva, passing on a bit of silent gratitude. They then clutched the deer tightly in their talons and took to the skies, taking their meal with them.

“Yet another odd encounter,” Kida mumbled, rubbing the now kicked-up dirt from her eyes. Gula responded with a very dissatisfied croak, trotting them back into the coverage of the forest to continue their hunt. It had taken a few hours, but Gula tracked the scent of the herd and followed the trail, expertly taking down a stag and a smaller doe in another clearing. Despite the hunt having a rocky start, they managed to get more food in the end, and so departed the forest with their catch.