Blitz trudged through the forest, muttering obscenities under his breath. Ten minutes in and he was already ready to give up. Every time he managed to track down a bird, or a squirrel, or anything small enough for him to catch, he'd stupidly step on a twig or they'd see his colorless coat through the bushes and run.
What was he even doing out here? He didn't need to prove anything to Eva. If he was good at stealing from the butcher, than what was wrong with sticking to his talents? In fact, Blitz was pretty sure that she was only making a huge deal about it because she was jealous. Yeah, she's probably just mad because she'd get swatted with that broom if she ever tried it.
"Kesesese~" Blitz chuckled smugly. "I'm so awesome, I can totally read her like a book!"
He flinched at a crackling boom that echoed through the trees. Thunder? No, it may have been a little cloudy out, but it wasn't stormy in the slightest. He flicked an ear in the direction of the noise. Common sense was telling him to turn tail right now and head back to the (relative) safety of the suburbs, but then again, Blitz had never been one to listen to common sense. Curiosity drew him in like a moth to a flame.
And curiosity was about to throw him for the biggest loop of his life.
The albino cautiously approached what appeared to be a large bird, larger than him, sprawled out facedown on the ground. Its body was adorned with golden-brown feathers that had become dislodged in places and stained with what he could only assume was blood. A tentative paw reached forward and gently prodded the bird's side. A sharp screech sounded, and Blitz jumped back in surprise. A head sporting a broad, curved beak, lifted weakly. The eagle opened its eyes slowly, adjusting its vision to focus in on Blitz, who was standing a safe distance away, watching with confusion and concern.
"Please…" she whispered, "come closer…" a wing, that wasn't twisted in an unnatural position, was raised slightly in a come hither motion. Blitz figured that in as bad a shape as she was in, the eagle was unlikely to, and probably couldn't, attack, so he decided the trust the bird of prey.
"What happened to you?" Blitz asked.
"Hunter," the eagle coughed out. "Shot me down."
He frowned, tensing a bit. "Hunter, huh…" he muttered in a bitter tone, and sent the eagle a sympathetic glance. "Look, I wish I could help you, but I'm no vet."
"No, no… it's too late for me, but… there is something you can do…"
He perked his ears up. What was the harm in hearing out here request?
"Up there… in that tree… is my nest." He followed her gaze to a tangled mess of brambles in the uppermost branches of a tall evergreen. "There is a lone egg in that nest… that I fear I can't care for any longer…"
Uh-oh. Blitz wasn't sure he liked the direction this was heading.
"Please… raise my chick in my place."
"Whoa there lady. I'm a cat, and a male one at that! I don't even know how to go about raising kittens, must less chicks! "
The eagle let out a few more violent coughs before she tried to speak again. "I don't know what else to do…please… please promise me that you'll take care of my baby and keep it safe… until it's old enough to fly away."
Blitz was torn. He really, really, didn't want to be saddled with this burden. One of the reasons he enjoyed being alone was that he didn't have anyone to worry about but himself. Still, he wasn't heartless. He couldn't just turn his back on this poor creature who was desperately calling out to him with her last breaths, even though her request was unfavorable. And it would be unfair to the unborn chick to not give it a chance at life.
With a defeated sigh, he answered, "I promise."
A smile that seemed to use all her strength broke out across the eagle's face. "Oh thank you… thank you… I hope your kindness… is one day repaid…" She turned her head back to where her nest sat. "Goodbye my little one…I'm sorry… I couldn't stay…" Her voice fell faint and her body went limp.
"Miss?" Blitz inquired. "Miss Eagle?" No response. She was gone. The tomcat bowed his head in silent reflection for the poor soul, and then focused on his new dilemma.
How on Earth was he gonna get up there?
You know, from the ground, it hadn't seemed that high up.
He wouldn't be making that misjudgment again.
Blitz pushed himself away from the tree trunk in order to land on the branch where the eagle's nest was located. Thankfully it was a nice, sturdy branch that easily supported his weight, but that didn't make the view any better. Chanting a mantra in his head to convince himself that he was only as high as the branches of the tree house, and not several stories above the ground, Blitz edged his way toward the end of the branch where the nest sat.
Feeling straw and twigs beneath his paws, Blitz let out a sigh of relief and looked down into the nest. It was fairly large, enough to fit two adult eagles (Blitz idly wondered where her mate was, but figured he may have been killed by hunters too). In the center, along with shed feathers, bits of cloth, and other odds and ends, was a single white egg adorned with brown speckles. He put a paw a top it, wondering how he was expected to transport this thing. He couldn't carry it in his mouth, as it was nearly half the size of his head.
Getting and idea, Blitz dug around in the nest, pulling out the clumps of inorganic matter wedged between the branches. Success! He excavated a scrap of cloth large enough the ferry the egg in, and rolled his cargo atop it. Blitz gathered the corners of the cloth in his mouth, making sure that there were no gaps the egg could slip out of, and worked his way back down the tree.
He let out a sigh of relief when his feet finally reached solid ground and collapsed in the grass. The cloth fell open when he set it down and the egg wobbled in place. It almost looked… happy, like it was thanking Blitz for promising to care for it. He shook his head, wiping away that foolish notion. There was no way the underdeveloped chick within had any conception of the outside world.
Blitz batted it back a forth a little, wondering what to do next. He'd safely transported it from the nest to the ground (He was boss like that), but now he had nowhere to keep it. Blitz himself had no permanent residence, choosing to sleep wherever he happened to be when drowsiness began to take over. Heracles's home was the most stable of the locations he frequented, but there were so many cats there that there was no way he could ensure the egg's safety. Besides, he'd never live it down if they found out he was caring for an unhatched bird.
Blitz pouted. The only other safe place he could think of would be the tree house. As far as he could tell, no one ever went there when there wasn't a meeting going on, but there could be complications. For one, there was no guarantee that Merlin or Oliver wouldn't stumble upon it, or even their owner. Or he'd forget about a meeting and not move the egg beforehand. Still, it was really his only option, so he'd have to take the risk. Gathering up his bundle again, the albino retraced his steps and prayed that no one would be around.
Thankfully for Blitz, the tree house was vacant when he made his way back. Along the way, he'd gathered up a few more rags in order to create a makeshift nest. He pushed them all together into a pile and set the egg in the center. The albino stood back, admiring his work.
Now what?
He really didn't know the first thing about caring for birds. They lived in nests; he'd gotten that part down. The mothers kept the eggs warm by…
Oh no.
Blitz grimaced. Did he really have to sit on the egg? That didn't sound appealing at all. He prodded at it and the egg fell limply onto its side. Groaning, Blitz positioned himself over the egg and lowered his body onto it, hating the feeling of the hard shell against his stomach. He couldn't even lie flat with that thing underneath him and the edges were uncovered. Blitz moved around, testing several positions, but never finding one that worked. He rolled over on his side with the egg between his fore paws and glared at it.
"You're more trouble than you're worth."
The egg remained silent.
Frustrated, Blitz tugged at one of the rags and threw it over his charge so he wouldn't have to look at it. An idea struck him, and Blitz tossed a few more layers over the eagle egg before sitting down on it again. He could barely feel the oval-shaped object anymore, and it was definitely being kept warm. Blitz smiled at his own genius and settled into a more comfortable position. He yawned, stretched, and eventually dozed off.
A/N: Why an eagle? Because I quite frankly have no idea what kind of bird Gilbird is. I usually see him described as a baby chicken, but chickens can't fly (long distances at least), and flight is a very important point in the story this is based on. In Lucky and Zorba it's a seagull, but that didn't really fit, so since there's an eagle on Prussia's flag, I made him an eagle :D
