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gripped the young
eaglet. The animal was so close that he could feel the vibration from its
movement. Suddenly, there was a crashing sound. A small avalanche of Loose
stones and dirt cascaded from above, down onto the eaglet. Next came a cry from
the animal above as it too came tumbling down into the gully.
A human; Canana
realised, as the creature crashed to a stop quite close by. He had never seen
such a beast like this before, but his mother had described them often enough
for him to recognise one. He recalled what his mother had told him about these
animals. Even huddled up in the warm nest, with his mother and sister for
company, the stories he had heard about these creatures had put fear into him.
They kill for fun
and destroy for sport. They are cruel and wasteful animals his mother had told
him. She also said, that should he ever encounter one, if he could kill it he
should, after all, they had killed his father. Canana, had already made a
resolve to fight to the death, should the human come near him.
As the human lay
prone before him, he studied it in greater detail. In size, it was larger than
him. Its head lay covered in a mat of fur, stretching quite a long way down its
torso. It was feathered in a mixture of strange skins; some of them obviously
not it's own. This fact sent a fearful trembling through the eaglet. What kind
of animal was it? he wondered, that masked its own odour with that of dead
animals.
Then Canana
perceived something else. There was the unmistakable smell of fresh blood
coming from the creature. Once more his hunger rose, like an irrepressible wave
over him. There was nothing he could do. He had already discovered, that any
sort of movement sent spasms of pain washing through him.
As he watched, he
noticed that there was now movement coming from the creature. First its talons
moved, opening and closing, then touching and probing parts of its body. Next,
the talon went to the ground and grasped a large rock. In slow jerky movements,
he watched as the creature turned its head towards him. Stretching his next as
far as possible, he decided he would bite it, if it came closer.
Then his eyes locked
on to the bright green eyes of the animal. He tried to form a defiant cry, but
his vocal cords could not omit the sounds he wanted. Then the humans' eyes
registered Canana. The look of surprise on the creature was immediately
replaced by one of panic. Opening its mouth the human screamed directly at
him.
Canana jerked his
head back at the sudden emission of noise, and felt a sharp flash of pain caused
by the involuntary movement. Somehow he realised the scream was not a warning;
but one of fear. This knowledge gave him some courage, although he knew he was
too weak to defend himself, and was at the mercy of this creature. And he was
under no illusion as to what this animal was capable off. It had killed his
father, and he knew these animals would also kill him on sight. He thought of
his mother and sibling, and only hoped that he would inflict some pain on this
creature, before it killed him.
As he prepared for
his defence, he wondered why the human had not attacked. It was then he saw
that the creature was still once more. The rise and fall of its chest indicated
that it was alive, so why had it not attacked?
For the first time
that fateful day, a glimmer of hope came to Canana. “It’s weak,” Canana
realised. “It’s to weak to attack me.” He decided to wait and hope his
strength would return before that of the humans; then he would be the attacker.
Lowering his head to rest, he knew there was nothing left to do but wait.
It was very
nearly dusk, when Manana came round. Although the pain from her fall seemed to
have cleared, it took her a few moments to orientate herself. When she did, it
was with images of her last waking moment flooding her brain.
“My God,” she
thought, “the eagle. How come it never attacked me?” Her previous panic
returned. Without looking round, she jumping to her feet and moved well away
from the spot where she had fallen. Her sudden movement, after such a long
spell of inactivity, sent a wave of vertigo through her. Putting out her arms,
she leant against the gully wall, until the dizzy spell passed. When it had,
she looked down to where she had lain.
The eagle was still
there. It lay with its neck outstretched, as she had last seen it. Her first
thought was that it was dead. Then she saw some movement of the birds'
eyelids. Manana shuddered involuntary, as she recalled her recent look into
those dark pits.
With the full return
of her senses, it dawned on her, that maybe things were not as she had first
suspected. Taking her time, she studied the situation more carefully. |
