Lead Us Not Into Temptation
Note: Of course the Vladikofs aren't complete vegetarians in their diet regimen. They also enjoy the occasional "rat kabob" but Misha and Junior wish for more. They're looking for bigger prey and decide to try and snatch some beefalo from the nearby fields to satisfy their desires.
"sniff, sniff Bacon. I smell bacon ! Where's the bacon, I smell bacon ! BACON, BACON, BACON, BACON…It's BACON !"—Beggin' Bits dog
Chapter 1—The Brothers Vladikof
It was a typical summer day in the jungle of Nool and the weather was a bit hotter than usual. Fortunately, an afternoon rain had come through to cool the climate down quite a bit. As soon as the rain settled down, the vultures had decided to have a barbeque of vermin. It was a special treat, and considering that the Vladikofs were celebrating their birthdays and there was plenty of celebration amongst all of the vulture clan. Thankfully the jungle was full of party animals so no one really objected, except maybe Rubella. She thought it would be better to simply endure the racket in hopes that the cacophony would die down later in the day.
"Ah, rat kabobs. I adore rat kabobs. Much better than the voles and moles we usually eat on celebrations.", Misha said, grinning as he wolfed down another kabob as if it were just a snack. Vlad Junior rolled his eyes. His brother could be such a glutton at times, but he absolutely loved trying new things and experimenting with new flavors. Then, something came to the violet-eyed youngster, something he had never even considered before.
"There are beefalo in the fields…Why is it none of us ever travel there and pick off a few of the weaker ones or put an elderly one out of its misery ?", Misha questioned. Hearing this, Junior wondered the same thing himself. Why had they been restricted to a diet of vegetables, fruits (mostly coconuts and berries) fish and vermin ? Neither of the vultures knew the answer, but thinking of the beefalo and how much meat they had to offer made the brothers salivate.
"Do you think our sisters and mum and dad will know if we leave the party early ?", Misha asked his brother, who was by far, the more pragmatic of the two male sons Vladikof.
"Hopefully not. You know, as well as I do, that we're excellent when it comes to the art of being sneaky. But first, let me see if I can follow that scent of the beefalo. I want to know where we are going before we disembark.", Junior replied.
"Always prepared, aren't you ?", Misha responded as he watched his brother shut his eyes and breathe in deeply. He allowed his other senses to be shut off and let his nose truly do the work for him.
"They're to the north. Come. Let's leave before they suspect anything.", Junior said in a whisper. Misha, trying to keep his salivating to a minimum, followed his brother away from the rowdy party and an annoyed Rubella. Without being seen, they quickly took to the skies and started scouring the ground below for big, fat, juicy beefalo. All the while, the party continued dazzle the jungle at night and only irritate and vex the poor Sour Kangaroo more. Before she could turn around though, her little joey, Rudy, was out among the crowds, having a blast with his friends. At that point, despite being upset, she decided to join in with the party even though she loathed dancing.
Chapter 2—Where One Leads, the Other Follows
From the skies, Junior caught sight of a herd of beefalo in the fields, grazing and standing about leisurely. They didn't move very quickly unless frightened. By that time they were nearly impossible to catch, unless there was a little one, a newborn that could barely even walk alongside them.
Misha still had troubles keeping himself from drooling and having his beak fall agape much like a slack-jawed yokel. Junior had to fly beside him, holding his brother's beak shut.
"We've found the mother load. Now comes the challenge of the hunt.", Junior said.
"Thank goodness, I am starving…", Misha thought, licking the outside of his beak greedily. He knew it would be a bit preemptive to swoop in now on the herd and scare them away. There was one little calf near his mother and he couldn't walk too well yet. There were others that were newborns as well, and they would be the easier kills. Junior pointed to a bush in the distance and pointed to himself and Misha. Misha, understanding the non-verbal signals, followed his brother to the mammoth bush and the two waited until the herd lay down and the calves began wandering away from their parents to play in the field together, never knowing that they were being watched by carnivores at heart.
Chapter 3—Busted
For hours the brothers Vladikof waited behind the colossal bush until Vlad Junior saw an opening to tackle one of the clumsy calves that had tripped and fallen over a small stone. The poor little thing started crying in pain from having had hurt his little hoof. Sensing that he had a prime opportunity set before him, Junior gave Misha the high sign (a wink) and started charging after the innocent young calf. Before Junior caught it, he found himself in the air again and Misha was beside him. Neither one of them were flapping their wings.
"You have a lot of explaining to do.", Taelia said, a bit angrily as she scowled at him and shook her head.
"Wh-What is all of this ? We were just going to have dinner ! Is that so wrong ?", Misha fired back, even more upset than Taelia was.
"We don't eat beefalo, or haven't you noticed ?", she responded. Before Misha could ask why, they had been brought back home by their sisters Taelia and Inga. Sveta greeted them first before mama Roxanne and papa Vladimir could. She tsked them, shaming them with her finger.
"You weren't listening to our parents' lecture a few days back, were you ?", she questioned, curiously. The brothers groaned and looked away from each other, realizing they'd have to endure one of their father's hideously boring talks again.
Chapter 4—…But We Still Love You
Even Rubella had been glad that the brothers were safe. She knew just how volatile beefalo could be if provoked. If they thought you were against them or after their babies, they'd trample you underfoot quicker than you could say "OW MY SACROILIAC !". Needless to say, as gleeful as she was that the party was over and that the euro-trance music wasn't blaring in her sensitive ears, she was relieved that the brothers were unharmed.
"It's been years since vultures like us have eaten beefalo. They're far too big for us. Granted yes, the elders will die and we clean up, but that happens only centuries down the road. We don't often live that long, unless we are very lucky.", Vlad said.
"What you did was very thoughtless and we were worried.", Inga spoke up, blushing slightly. She walked up to her brothers and kissed them for the fiftieth time in the evening.
"Inga's right. You should've let us know where you were going. Besides, there are other places here that we could've seen as a family.", Roxanne said, as she huddled them all together and hugged them all at once. The two brothers would be grounded for a day to think of what they had done and that meant complete boredom for the two of them. But, the punishment wasn't that harsh. They had learned that their father's words had been true. Sometimes it was better to simply be grateful for the blessings that were bestowed upon them.
Epilogue
The brothers had learned something valuable in the mistake they had made. Sometimes it is good to try something new, but it is better to live by the rules than not. They were just pleased that they hadn't provoked the beefalo and sent off a mad stampede that could've caused unheard of damage. That would've maligned the Vladikof name for years down the road and Vladamir couldn't handle another shock to his system like that. That is why he had been a bit iron-taloned with them and they understood. They had recognized their faults and were vindicated. This was all that mattered. They were still loved and valued within their community and knew not to make the same mistake again. That was what life was about, actually. Mistakes would be made down the road, but this was all a part of being infallible.
Junior and Misha never had a lust for meat bigger than they could chew ever again and were happy to stick with the fruit, vegetable and fish diet the vulture clan had been eating since Vladamir's repentance. Sure, the two young males had plenty to learn in the future but at the present moment, they were loving life in Nool in the mountains. They mingled with other jungle creatures and were pleasantly happy that they could coexist with them. They even commingled with the beings known as the Who, who lived up on Mount Nool. To this day, neither of them truly met eye to eye but listened to each other's voices. Both are peaceful in their existence even though the monsoons come and go with the changing seasons. So long as both are aware there is a higher power out there looking out for them and keeping them in check just to see how they are getting along, their lives are marvelous. These worlds, no matter how small, or how complex, are all beautiful in their unique ways, and the beings that inhabit them are blessed simply to know that the one constant that holds them together is strong enough to change one thing so that there is harmony that unites them as one.
The End