Author's Note: I am the Falmouth Falcons' Seeker. My prompt is: my team name, i.e. Falcons. My word count is 950-1200
Word count: 959
The Falcon's Next Meal
The sun rose over the rolling green lawns as the sky turned from dark blue to pink and orange in a graduated succession of brilliant colors. It was a cool and crisp morning, and a dewy dampness hung in the air from the rain the night before.
Up high in the sky a lone falcon glided through the air, its beady eyes scanning the ground for anything moving and edible. Wings extended, he found an air current and rode it, flying in circles around the large castle. He enjoyed the sharpness of the morning and the wind slicing through his feathers. The air current beneath his body kept him buoyant and airborne as he spiraled higher and higher into the air, until the castle looked like but a miniature copy of the real thing. He dove down and swooped up at the last minute as his wings thumped against the grass, his heart pounding fast, and a faint glimmer of amusement coursed through him before he pulled up and headed for the castle.
The falcon landed on one of the highest stone parapets and gripped the roof tiles with his clawed feet. Side stepping, he found a section of the castle roof that had been warmed by the rising sun. He closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the gentle heat radiating down from the sky.
Noise from below caught the falcon's attention, and he opened his eyes and hopped down from the top of the roof. He took care in making his way down the steep roof. Peeking over the edge, he watched groups of humans move through an open courtyard between the castle buildings. Their varied noises drifted up to the falcon, and he sat and watched them curiously until they all passed by and disappeared. The courtyard emptied, and the falcon pushed off the roof and drifted down to perch on a stone bench. His eyes swept over the ground, hoping for a scurrying mouse or other small, edible treat.
Finding nothing in particular, he took flight and rose upwards again, circling the stone towers. He leaned his body from one side to the other as he wove in and out between the pointed roofs. Catching another air current, he ascended high above the school and caught sight of tiny dots moving away from the castle. He tilted his head to the side and dove down, wanting to get a closer look at the curious creatures.
To his disappointment, they were more humans walking through the grounds to a small stone structure near the dense forest. Following them, the falcon kept pace with a group of three in the back. The one in the middle had a mess of brown hair that reminded the falcon of a nest. Something on the back of the bushy-haired human in the middle caught the falcon's attention. He swooped down to get a better look.
A strange looking beetle rode on the bouncing mane. The falcon had lived in the area his entire life, hunting near the castle and in the forest, and he had never seen a beetle such as the one that clung to the human. With curling antennae and odd markings on the beetle's face, it glistened brightly in the sun that had risen nearly halfway to its apex.
The falcon kept its eyes trained on the beetle, aware of the hollowness in his stomach. He was hungry, and the last good meal he'd had was the previous day. The beetle, despite its odd appearance, looked like the perfect meal for him. Clicking his beak together, he pulled his wings in close to his body and swooped down.
Two things happened in quick succession. The brown-haired human screamed and threw her arms up. This caused the beetle to take flight and flutter away, but the falcon still had his prey in sight. He drifted over the stone structure, eyes trained on the insect, waiting for it to settle down.
The beetle came to rest on a tree branch a little ways into the forest, and the falcon made his second attempt at a meal that morning. He dive-bombed the tree branch, beak open and eyes intent upon his breakfast. However, the beetle seemed to be too keenly aware of the hunting falcon, and it moved further into the forest. The falcon followed the tiny creature from branch to branch, watching as the beetle grew more and more flustered. Its wings fluttered as it landed on the ground. Up in the tree, the falcon waited patiently, wanting the beetle to calm down before he made another attempt.
His ears picked up scurrying in the forest, but he ignored it, still intent on his shiny prey. The beetle quieted, and the falcon did a nose-dive off the tree branch. His approach was as silent and as swift as death. This was it, the falcon thought. He had his breakfast in sight, and he opened his beak.
But, unlike what he had thought, breakfast was not what the falcon had. The beetle disappeared and in its place stood a human. The falcon, unable to stop his dive, crashed head-first into the human's back. The human screamed, and the falcon was assaulted by another set of swinging arms. He screeched and pushed off the ground, returning to the safety of the branches. From the tree, he watched as the human moved away, her fingers arranging her curled hair and noises of displeasure following her.
The falcon, having lost his meal, turned and scanned the forest. His ears picked up the scurrying he had heard earlier. Turning, he took off after the sound, his frustration at being unable to catch the beetle forgotten in his endless hunt for his next meal.