Hey guys! Who's ready for a Tiberius story?
Now, I got this idea after reading JCaesar's "The Origin of Tiberius", about Tiberius in a pet store and his life with his old owner and why the hawk lives in a shed. Go check it out if haven't already!
I decided to go more into the past, to explain why Tiberius would end up in a pet store, his life when he was born and then taken away… Which means… Well, I wouldn't spoil it!
Also, I know I still have to finish "Doggie Love" and I will finish it! I promise!
It was a cool spring day in the forests of the Northwestern North America, Canada, basically, the wind blew softly through the tall trees and the animals of the forest were at peace, doing what they usually do on such a nice day. Also in these vast forests were many beautiful birds of prey, hawks, eagles, and falcons, either hunting for food for their families or nursing their young. However, for one certain couple of red-tailed hawks, today would be a very special day…
"It should have hatched by now Adam…" The female of the pair said as she stared at the single egg in the nest, perched on a thick branch of the tree the couple resided on.
"Give it time Grace, he or she will come out." The male known as Adam comforted his mate.
Hours went by and the egg still didn't move the slightest bit and the couple were starting to get worried. Maybe the little hawk gave up on life and decided to not try to break free, instead to perish in its own prison. Then as the pair were finally going to give up and start to fly away to get some food, the egg started moving.
"Honey, look!" Grace shouted as she grabbed Adam's wing.
As if by a miracle, the egg started moving more and more and soon enough the shell started to break and crack. The hawk couple focused in on the egg, ready to welcome their little hawk into the world. It took some time, but finally a piece of the shell fell off and the first glimpse of the little featherless hawk could be seen, its father and mother holding onto each other, silently encouraging their child to press on.
And eventually the little hawk broke enough of the shell that Grace could extend her wings froward to help out her child. As Grace took the little hawk, he was shaking from the cool wing blowing through, the newborn having no feathers to help him keep warm of course. Grace cradled her newborn in her wings, protecting him from the cool air and gently rocked him. This made the little hawk feel warmer and he relaxed in his mother's embrace, eventually closing his eyes and falling asleep.
"It's a boy Adam." Grace told his mate as she still cradled her little hawk. "He's perfect."
"Indeed he is, what should we name him?" Adam wondered.
"I would like to name him after my father, Tiberius." Grace suggested.
"Tiberius…" Adam put his wing on his beak. "I like that name."
"Welcome to the world, Tiberius." Grace smiled as she looked down at her sleeping child, while Adam watched as well from behind his mate.
A few weeks passed and Tiberius grew more and more, his feathers starting to appear as well as his body becoming bigger and bigger, but he was still a little hawk compared to his mother and father. And he still couldn't talk yet, only chirps were heard from his beak to his parents' ears, but that made no difference to Adam and Grace, they loved Tiberius, making sure he was safe from other predatory birds.
One day, Adam felt that Tiberius was safe enough to stay in the nest for some time while he and Grace went out to hunt for some food. However Grace wasn't so keen on the idea of leaving her son alone and without protection. She didn't want to lose her one and only son to something.
"Honey, are you sure he'll be fine, he's still so little and weak." Grace said.
"He'll be fine, he has to learn to fend for himself eventually and besides it has been such a peaceful day so far, what could go wrong?" Adam tried to convince his mate to take a break from being a mother.
"Okay, I guess you're right, let me just say bye to him, just in case." Grace told Adam, walking to Tiberius, who was watching the beautiful landscape from the nest, admiring the endless forest of North America, when his mother picked him up and held him in her wings.
"Okay, my son, me and your father are going out for a little, stay here and don't come out of the nest, okay?" Grace told the chick, to which he understood and nodded his head. "Good boy, mommy loves you." Grace smiled and kissed her son's forehead.
Grace sighed as she really didn't want to let go of her precious little boy, but she did, putting him down gently in the nest and then joining her mate, to which both of them flew off to hunt for some food. Tiberius saw his parents fly off and waved his tiny wing at them.
As his parents were out of view, Tiberius really didn't know what to do, since there was hardly anything to keep him occupied in the nest. Eventually he felt sleepy, still being very young of course, so he laid down and and wrapped himself as best he could to keep himself warm before falling asleep. Little Tiberius was so lost in the dreamworld that anything that came into the nest would not even wake the little hawk, not even voices of humans…
Walking through the forests were some hunters, illegally there in the national park, hunting for sport and they stumbled on Tiberius's tree. The hunters seeing the nest and smiling, one of them climbed the tree and as he reached the branch Tiberius was on and sleeping in, he smiled at the prize.
"What do you see up there!?" One of the hunters below called out to his friend.
"It's a little red-tailed hawk!" The hunter who was on the tree called down. "Looks like he's sleeping, but just in case…" And the hunter took out a gun and shoot Tiberius. "Got you!"
The gun was not one that fired bullets, but tranquilizer darts. As it hit Tiberius, he felt the sting, but since he was very tired and the tranquilizer was working quickly on subduing the little hawk, he still slept like nothing happened. As the hunter was sure Tiberius was sound asleep and would not wake, he picked up the hawk, to take him and sell him for money.
These hunters were also poachers, they shot the big, strong adults for a challenge, but decided on also stealing weak, little baby birds to sell on the market for some extra bit of money. And these hunters/poachers now have Tiberius.
The tranquilizer was so effective, Tiberius didn't wake from the sound of the hunters' loud, heavy footsteps, the sound of a car engine starting and the car bumping over the rough roads, he even didn't wake up from the sound of the jet-powered plane he was on, roaring its engines as the plane took off from the airport and headed across North America, to one of the airports around New York City.
As Tiberius was in a small cage in the cargo hold of the plane, he finally woke up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. However, the sun wasn't coming into his eyes, the peaceful sound of the North American forests wasn't heard, and he certainly didn't hear his mother's sweet voice. Tiberius panicked as he discovered he was in a whole different surrounding, the little hawk started to hyperventilate as he tried to make sense of where he was.
In his fear, something, however, finally came out of Tiberius, his voice and it would be one a parent would be most happy to hear…
"Mommy… Daddy…" Little Tiberius said in fright. "Where are you?"
No adult red-tailed hawk came of course, Tiberius was alone, well except for all the other captured little birds of prey, but they were all occupied, either still asleep from the tranquilizers or in their own misery when they finally woke up and had the same reaction as Tiberius.
The little red-tailed hawk just sat in his misery as the plane continued on its journey to New York, the hours going by until the plane finally began to descend in a downward direction. Tiberius noticed the change in the flight path and became scared as the plane touched down on the ground, giving a huge bump to the hawk in the cargo hold as he fell over from the impact when the plane's wheels rolled on the runway.
The plane went slower and slower until it came to a complete stop and the cargo hold door opened up, pouring in the light of the day into the dark cargo hold. Tiberius shielded his eyes from the bright light as he could make out a few humans starting to unload the cargo. Eventually one of them picked up the cage little Tiberius was in and the little hawk started protesting, but to no avail.
"Where are you taking me!?" Tiberius demanded, but it only came out as little screeches, to which the human didn't hear since he was wearing earmuffs in order to block out the constant sound of the busy airport.
The human put Tiberius' cage alongside other cages in the back of a truck, bound for the city. Tiberius couldn't do anything as the cages were all loaded in the truck and a human closed the door, locking the door and once again leaving Tiberius in the dark. All the little hawk could do was cry and wrap his wings around himself, wishing for his parents to find him and take him back home.
The truck, meanwhile, drove to the city, crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge, into Manhattan, where, of course, one of the world's busiest cities was bursting with activity. After all, eight million people lived and worked there, and it is called the city that never sleeps. The truck had to endure the traffic of the city, going through many red lights until it came to its destination, a pet store.
The driver unlocked the door and Tiberius, once again, was exposed to the light of the day. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw what was outside and boy did it surprise him. He saw massive skyscrapers tower over the land, cement sidewalks with crowds of people walking on them, and the street filled with cars and trucks. It was so noisy and dirty compared to the tranquil, quiet of the forest and this difference only made the little hawk lose more hope that his parents would find him, if only he knew they were thousands of miles away.
The pet store workers started bringing in the new animals, putting them in empty spaces in the store, Tiberius' cage being put down as the hawk looked around. He saw many other kinds of animals in cages and wondered if they shared the same fate as him. However, he couldn't worry about the others too much, he was just so confused and lonely, he just sat down in the cage and cried.
As night fell, the city was still very much alive, the noises still going loud and the lights of buildings were all on, there was so much light that it was like daytime. However, in the pet store, the lights were all off, but Tiberius still had a hard time sleeping as the city, well, didn't sleep and the fact that his whole life was turned upside down.
All he could do while trying to make himself as comfortable as he could and try to get some sleep was to think about his parents. Despite all the things he recently went through, he remembered his mother's last words to him…
"Good boy, mommy loves you."
"I love you too mom, I'm sorry…" Little Tiberius cried out softly as the tears endlessly came out.
And so that is the story of how Tiberius the Red-tailed hawk started his life, from hatching in the Canadian forest, to his life in a pet store in New York City.
Well I admit I could have done this a bit better… But… Let me know what you guys think!
Should I rewrite this or not? Can I do better? Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
Oh and to continue on with what Tiberius' early life was like, again, you should read JCaesar's story!