Starscream sighed softly as he flew through the mountains, the wind skimming over his feathers. The grey and red raven was tired after a long day of traveling, and wanted nothing more than to settle down in his nest and go to sleep. He finally spotted the cavern that made up his home and flew inside. Most birds hated nesting inside caves, but Starscream found it nice and cozy, safe from both predators and the elements.
Landing inside the cave entrance, the raven walked through the tunnel into the cavern at the back. He sighed again, dropping the large bag he had been carrying. That bag had been the whole reason he had made his trip from his nest in the Kaon Mountains to Iacon Forest, a five days journey away. Starscream stretched out his back, and then opened the tie at the mouth of the bag. The cloth fell back to reveal bunches of downy feathers, silk ribbons, silver and gold threads, and various gemstones. Even though the raven was dead tired, he picked up a ribbon and began to thread it into the branches that made up his nest.
Several hours later, every item that had been in the bag was now carefully placed into the nest. Starscream smiled proudly as he looked at his work, the previously bare branches and leafs now shining with riches. Nudging a ruby into a more secure position with his beak, the raven gave a final nod of approval. He then got into the nest and settled down, being careful not to disturb a single piece of any of the treasures. He was asleep within seconds.
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"Savage? Savage, are you home?" Starscream asked, looking around the tree branches. "There's something I want to show you."
"What do you want Starscream?" a voice said, irritation evident. "I told you I don't want to see you."
"Please? I have a gift for you," the raven wheedled.
A sigh could be heard from the thick foliage. "You're not going to go away until I come down, are you?"
"Nope," Starscream said with a grin.
With another sigh, a black and silver eagle swooped out from hiding and landed beside Starscream. The eagle looked both annoyed and resigned as he looked at the raven.
"So? What's the gift?" the eagle asked.
"It's too big to carry, so you'll have to come to my cave," Starscream said.
"You must be joking," Savage said. "You know I have no interest in you whatsoever, but you get me a gift and make me go to your nest to get it?"
"Pretty much, yes."
Sighing again, the eagle shook his head slowly. "Fine, let's just get this over with."
Smiling happily, Starscream took off from the branch and started flying back to his cave. Savage was right behind him, muttering under his breath the whole way. The eagle was not happy with having to follow the raven to his nest. He had told Starscream time and again that he had no desire to become his mate, but the raven simply would not give up. Savage didn't know whether to be flattered or angry.
Arriving at the cave, the pair walked through the tunnel, not saying a word to each other. Starscream was feeling incredibly nervous, hoping the eagle would like his gift. Savage had told him flat out that he did not like the raven, but Starscream simply could not accept that as an answer. He felt too strongly for the silver and black eagle, and would not- could not- stop trying to win him over. As long as Savage did not take another for a mate, then Starscream would keep trying.
The pair entered the nest area and Savage's beak dropped. He stared at the nest, shining even in the dim light. Each gem sparkled and gleamed, catching the eagle's eye with every glint. Instinct kicking in, he walked over and inspected the nest, nudging at the branches with his beak.
"Do you like it?" Stascream asked nervously. "I worked hard on it."
Hearing the raven's voice broke the spell over Savage. He blinked and shook his head, stepping back. "I can't be bought, Savage," he said. "I'm not going to share a nest with you just because you put gold in it."
"I know that," Starscream said. "You're not that kind of bird."
"Then why did you make it?"
"Because I thought you might like it."
Savage huffed at the raven, ruffling his feathers. "You are incorrigible."
Starscream just smirked and walked over to the eagle. He reached over and began to run his beak through Savage's feathers, smoothing them down and straightening them out. Savage preened for a moment, unable to help it, then shook himself and bopped the raven with his wing.
"Stop that!" he snapped. "I didn't say you could groom me!"
"I'm sorry," Starscream apologized, though not very sincerely. "But I like grooming you."
Savage huffed again, walking around the raven to leave the cave. "I'm going back to my own nest if you don't mind."
Leaving the cave, the eagle spread his wings and took off, heading back to his tree. He ignored the raven following behind him, settling down to his nest to sleep for the night. He said not a word to Starscream who settled on a branch below him. He knew there was no point in saying anything to the raven, since he knew the raven wasn't going to leave any time soon. So Savage simply fluffed out his feathers, closed his eyes, and went right to sleep.
The next morning, Savage woke to find a small rabbit lying on the side of his nest. A quick look around showed that Starscream was nowhere in sight. Ruffling his feathers, he looked at the rabbit and nudged it with his beak. He knew the raven would never try to harm him by given him a sick rabbit, but he preferred to hunt for himself. Although, it was heading into winter and most of the eagle's prey was starting to go into hibernation. It was going to get harder and harder to find a meal. He might as well eat the rabbit right in front of him than let it go to waste.
After quickly eating the rabbit, Savage took off from his tree and starting looking for Starscream. Not because he wanted to see him; but because the raven had given him a meal and the eagle didn't want to be in debt to him. Even though Starscream would call it a gift and not a favor, Savage wouldn't feel right until he helped the raven with his own hunt. It was because of the principle involved, not because he wanted to spend time with the raven. Definitely not because he wanted to spend time with that arrogant, obnoxious, egotistical, thoughtful, caring…
Savage sighed softly, shaking his head. What was it about Starscream that got under his feathers? No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts always came back to the raven.
"Get off of me! Get off!"
The sudden shout startled the eagle from his thoughts. He looked around, sharp eyes picking out the forms of three birds struggling on the ground. One was a large grey owl with evil looking red eyes; the other was a blue falcon; and the third… was Starscream!
"Hold still!" the owl snapped, attempting to climb on top of the raven.
"Slag no! I said get off!" Starscream yelled, fighting hard to get out from under the larger bird.
"Hold him down!" the owl ordered.
"Affirmative," the falcon replied, pinning one of Starscream's wings.
Seeing the raven near helpless under the two strange birds made Savage see red. Letting out a cry of anger, he tucked back his wings and dove down at the trio. Once he was close, he brought his talons forward and raked them across the owl's back. The owl let out a screech of pain and reeled back, knocking into the falcon. The two birds fell over each other, giving Starscream a chance to get on his feet and into the air.
Savage clawed at the owl one more time to insure that it wouldn't follow, then took off after Starscream. The raven was flying as fast as he could towards his cave, too frightened to slow down or glance back. The eagle could barely keep him in sight. If he hadn't known where Starscream was headed, he would have lost him.
Starscream didn't even pause as he flew into his cave, going straight to the back room and hunkering down in the nest. He was trembling heavily, wings pressed close to his body and feathers puffed out.
"Starscream?" Savage said ultra-quiet, going over to the nest very slowly. He didn't want to upset the raven and have one or the other of them getting injured.
"Go away! Leave me alone!" Starscream screeched, wings flaring out to make himself look bigger.
"It's ok, Starscream. It's just me," Savage said. He made himself look as small as possible to seem less threatening. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Stay away!" the raven yelled, snapped at Savage with his beak. He was too scared to realize that he was out of danger.
Instead of backing away, Savage went closer, staying low to the ground. "It's me, Starscream. It's Savage. No one's going to hurt you."
When Starscream didn't react, Savage slowly reached out and ran his beak through the feathers on the raven's chest. He crooned softly, trying to reassure the other bird. Slowly, Starscream began to relax and press into the touch; his feathers settling down and his breathing slowing.
"You're going to be alright," Savage said quietly. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."
"Savage?" Starscream whispered.
"It's ok, Starscream. It's ok."
Savage continued to groom the raven, moving from his chest to his back. He combed out all the dirt, leafs, and any evidence of what had happened. Starscream glanced over at the eagle, stretching out his back to give him more room. Pausing for a moment, Savage smiled at the raven, blushing a bit when he reached back to run his beak over the eagle's cheek.
"Starscream…" Savage murmured softly.
"Savage," the raven replied.
Abandoning his grooming, Savage moved up to run his beak along the raven's. His eyes closed as Starscream responded in kind. The pair rubbed their beaks together, Savage climbing into the nest to press against the raven. Starscream crooned softly as he put a wing around the eagle, holding him close. The two stayed like that until they fell asleep.
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"Starscream! Starscream, hurry up or you'll miss it!" Savage shouted excitedly. The eagle was standing over the nest, watching five large eggs rock back and forth.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Starscream shouted back as he rushed into the cave, voice slightly muffled from the mouthful of dead mice he was holding.
Starscream dropped the mice at the side of the nest, and joined Savage in watching the eggs. The raven was trembling in both excitement and nervousness. The eagle was just as anxious, barely able to believe he was about to become a parent.
Two months after the attack from the two strange birds, Savage had agreed to become Starscream's mate. The raven had been overjoyed, singing like a songbird for a week. Savage hadn't once regretted his decision, finding Starsceam to be a caring and attentive mate. The eagle's every need had been filled and more, especially when they discovered Savage was going to lay eggs.
"Look! I think that one's about to hatch!" Starscream cried.
Savage smiled as he watched a crack in one of the eggs widen, a tiny beak pushing through the opening. The baby bird squawked and chirped as it pecked at the shell, forcing its way out of the egg. Savage crooned softly as he gently rubbed the chick with his beak, the chick peeping cutely. Starscream grinned as two other eggs started to break.
Ten minutes later, all five of the eggs had hatched; four males and one female peeping up at their parents. Starscream rubbed their beaks together lovingly before getting to work cleaning the chicks. Getting the goop off of the chicks revealed the female and two of the males were ravens like Starscream; while the other males were eagles like Savage.
"We need to name them," Savage said.
"Yes, we do," Starscream agreed.
Looking over the chicks, he noticed that one of the little ravens was huddling away from the others, peeping fearfully. Starscream nuzzled the chick, grooming his purple and black feathers. The little raven peeped, bumping its beak against his father.
"How about Skywarp for this little guy?" Starscream suggested.
"I like it," Savage said with a smile. "And I think Slipstream is perfect for our little girl."
Starscream nodded, looking at the other three chicks. Two of them had started tussling with each other, the third chirping at them. One of the chick, the other raven, had blue feathers while the baby eagle he was trying to peak was grey. The chick peeping at his brothers had a mix of yellow and orange. With a triumphant chirp, the blue raven pinned his brother to the nest. Savage shook his head and nudged them apart before either of them could get hurt.
"This little guy seems like a Thundercracker to me," he said, nuzzling the little raven.
"Sounds good to me. Our other little fighter seems like a Ramjet."
"And for this little guy?" Savage asked, glancing at the orange eagle.
"Hm, how about Sunstorm?" Starscream asked.
"I like it."
The two were distracted from their discussion when the chicks started peeping and chirping at them. The eagle smiled, knowing what they wanted. He picked up one of the dead mice and tore it into strips before feeding the chicks. Next to him, Starscream did the same thing, making sure none of the little ones started fighting over the food.
"We have beautiful chicks," the raven whispered to his mate.
"Yeah, we sure do," Savage replied, tearing up a second mouse.
Starscream smiled, watching the chicks eat their fill and start nodding off. His smile grew as Savage got into the nest to keep the chicks warm.
'I must be the luckiest bird in the world,' he thought to himself as he and his family happily drifted off to sleep.