Thanks for the reviews! n.n *iggles* Oh no, Xellina, you've uncovered my
horrible secret.. n.- *grins and runs from rabid PETA members* It's in
the interest of good storytelling, really it is! Oi vey on a stick, my
chapters get shorter and shorter.. o.o Hopefully y'all can forgive me, I
promise they'll start getting longer again soon. Really! =3 Special
thanks goes out to Cormak3032, my wonderful creative consultant and one-
girl cheerleader squad. n.- *DB lollies to Corrie*
Disclaimer: Bwaha! I DO own the horned owl! Well, I don't own an actual horned owl, but you know what I mean! n.n Unfortunately, I don't own anyone else in this story. Yet.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Oh gods, he was going to die.
Jareth's mouth had gone uncomfortably dry, but he didn't dare swallow. There was no way, absolutely no way he could out-fly a Great Horned Owl. He was surrounded by underbrush, with thick tangles of leaves and branches between him and freedom. All the other owl had to do was drop down onto him, and he wouldn't stand a chance.
The horned owl snapped it's beak and let out a sound very close to a growl as it leaned forward and assumed a threatening stance. It knew he was there, there was no doubt about that. In spite of not being able to see him, it knew. If he so much as twitched, it would know exactly where he was in the almost chokingly tight plants which hid him. Without warning, it folded it's wings and let itself drop from it's perch, intending to fall directly onto the intruder cowering below.
Jareth saw the owl rushing towards him and panicked. This was it. 'You're dead either way,' his mind screamed at him, 'Flee, damn you!'
He scrambled out of the way as fast as he could, no longer caring about noise as the other owl slammed into the foliage. Jareth exploded from the brush an instant later, sending water droplets flying everywhere, and caught a glimpse of his attacker's furious yellow eyes as it hissed angrily. One of it's legs was entangled in a branch, by some small miracle. It was only caught for an instant, but every split-second was critical. It was after him in a heartbeat, gaining on him just as quickly.
Jareth pumped his wings furiously, gaining height in a desperate attempt to leave his pursuer below. The other owl was above him in an instant, talons outstretched to snatch him mid-air. Jareth immediately folded his wings and let himself fall, although not fast enough to avoid losing a tailfeather to the great monster chasing him. He dropped into the trees, and the sound of twigs snapping above him told him that the other owl had done the same. Luckily for him, the horned owl's larger body didn't slip through the branches as easily as his smaller form did, and that slowed it down by a few seconds, buying Jareth precious time.
He felt like his wings would fall off as he made a beeline for the nearest group of houses, hoping against hope that his attacker would be daunted by the human settlement. The horned owl was right behind him again, and gaining quickly. Gods, he wanted to moan, why hadn't he just taken shelter inside Sarah's garage like he should have? He was tiring rapidly, and his lungs felt like they would burst. His pursuer showed no signs of being frightened off as they burst out of the trees and into someone's back yard. One of Sarah's neighbours, Jareth's tired mind registered.
He brightened as he spotted a possible means of escape and dove for it, hitting the kitty door and tumbling inside. There was a satisfying 'thunk' from the other side as the door swung back outwards, the wet rubber slapping the larger bird in the face. It gave a scream of protest and jumped back, tilting it's head to the side and eyeing the door. Horned owls were notoriously oppourtunistic and far more daring around humans than most other birds of prey, but even it wasn't daring enough to go inside a house full of people. It turned and retreated to a nearby swing, where it waited.
Inside, Jareth panted from where he lay sprawled on the floor, letting his tired wings hang loosely at his sides. He silently thanked whatever powers had decided to spare him as he marvelled at his good fortune. He was alive and, more importantly, relatively unscathed. Had he been injured, he wouldn't have lasted much longer in the wild. He let his eyes fall shut in relief as the adrenalin slowly loosened it's death grip on him and his wildly beating heart slowed back down to a normal pace.
"Snowy?" A voice came drifting into the hallway, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. "Where have you been all day, you silly kitty?" Jareth's head shot up. Oh, no...
Ms. Andrews came into the back hallway, expecting to find the family cat. She had just finished polishing the hardwood floors and she didn't want Snowy tracking mud all over the house. She wandered in, towel in hand, having every intention of cleaning off that cat's paws before he mucked up her floors.
What she found instead was a wet, bedraggled-looking owl, staring up at her with a wary sort of dread. There were bits of soggy leaves, mud, and heaven only knew what else clinging to it's damp feathers, and she scowled in annoyance as she noted that the muck was all over her floors as well. She turned her attention back to the dishevelled thing in her hallway.
"Oooh.." she huffed irritably, "Out, out!" Jareth scrambled to his feet and hissed at her as she closed in on him, towel held out in front of her to catch him with. He backed into the door and glanced around, searching frantically for escape. The next thing he knew, the towel was covering his body and obscuring his vision, and a pair of hands grabbed him firmly by the sides. He struggled in vain as he felt himself being lifted off of the floor. She wouldn't...
She did. The back door creaked open, and suddenly the towel was gone and Jareth was airborne. He spread his tired wings to steady his fall, saving himself from a very undignified faceplant on the back porch. "Go on, shoo!" she ordered before slamming the door.
The horned owl was waiting for him, he noted, hopping quickly in the other direction and diving off the far end of the porch as it closed in. Apparently his luck was still holding, because there was a small opening dug out under the edge of the porch, just barely big enough for him to squeeze through. The inside of the porch was hollow, and Jareth backed away from the entrance as the other bird snapped it's beak in frustration and peered in through the opening.
A low growl came from behind Jareth, and he turned to find a fluffy white cat crouched against one of the support beams. It glared at him balefully and hissed. Jareth hissed back. Today just wasn't his day.
The sound of footsteps on the porch above him distracted him, and Jareth turned his attention back to his assailant. The woman was back, judging by the mop that abruptly knocked the horned owl to the side. It gave a startled cry and immediately took off, it's quarry forgotten. The woman sighed and retreated back into the house, muttering about birds invading her yard and attacking her cat.
The cat let out another warning growl when it's visitor didn't appear to be going anywhere. Jareth turned and fixed it with a resentful stare. 'Impatient creature, aren't you?' he wanted to snap as he turned to go, 'Alright, I'm leaving.' He seemed to be thinking that a lot lately.
Disclaimer: Bwaha! I DO own the horned owl! Well, I don't own an actual horned owl, but you know what I mean! n.n Unfortunately, I don't own anyone else in this story. Yet.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Oh gods, he was going to die.
Jareth's mouth had gone uncomfortably dry, but he didn't dare swallow. There was no way, absolutely no way he could out-fly a Great Horned Owl. He was surrounded by underbrush, with thick tangles of leaves and branches between him and freedom. All the other owl had to do was drop down onto him, and he wouldn't stand a chance.
The horned owl snapped it's beak and let out a sound very close to a growl as it leaned forward and assumed a threatening stance. It knew he was there, there was no doubt about that. In spite of not being able to see him, it knew. If he so much as twitched, it would know exactly where he was in the almost chokingly tight plants which hid him. Without warning, it folded it's wings and let itself drop from it's perch, intending to fall directly onto the intruder cowering below.
Jareth saw the owl rushing towards him and panicked. This was it. 'You're dead either way,' his mind screamed at him, 'Flee, damn you!'
He scrambled out of the way as fast as he could, no longer caring about noise as the other owl slammed into the foliage. Jareth exploded from the brush an instant later, sending water droplets flying everywhere, and caught a glimpse of his attacker's furious yellow eyes as it hissed angrily. One of it's legs was entangled in a branch, by some small miracle. It was only caught for an instant, but every split-second was critical. It was after him in a heartbeat, gaining on him just as quickly.
Jareth pumped his wings furiously, gaining height in a desperate attempt to leave his pursuer below. The other owl was above him in an instant, talons outstretched to snatch him mid-air. Jareth immediately folded his wings and let himself fall, although not fast enough to avoid losing a tailfeather to the great monster chasing him. He dropped into the trees, and the sound of twigs snapping above him told him that the other owl had done the same. Luckily for him, the horned owl's larger body didn't slip through the branches as easily as his smaller form did, and that slowed it down by a few seconds, buying Jareth precious time.
He felt like his wings would fall off as he made a beeline for the nearest group of houses, hoping against hope that his attacker would be daunted by the human settlement. The horned owl was right behind him again, and gaining quickly. Gods, he wanted to moan, why hadn't he just taken shelter inside Sarah's garage like he should have? He was tiring rapidly, and his lungs felt like they would burst. His pursuer showed no signs of being frightened off as they burst out of the trees and into someone's back yard. One of Sarah's neighbours, Jareth's tired mind registered.
He brightened as he spotted a possible means of escape and dove for it, hitting the kitty door and tumbling inside. There was a satisfying 'thunk' from the other side as the door swung back outwards, the wet rubber slapping the larger bird in the face. It gave a scream of protest and jumped back, tilting it's head to the side and eyeing the door. Horned owls were notoriously oppourtunistic and far more daring around humans than most other birds of prey, but even it wasn't daring enough to go inside a house full of people. It turned and retreated to a nearby swing, where it waited.
Inside, Jareth panted from where he lay sprawled on the floor, letting his tired wings hang loosely at his sides. He silently thanked whatever powers had decided to spare him as he marvelled at his good fortune. He was alive and, more importantly, relatively unscathed. Had he been injured, he wouldn't have lasted much longer in the wild. He let his eyes fall shut in relief as the adrenalin slowly loosened it's death grip on him and his wildly beating heart slowed back down to a normal pace.
"Snowy?" A voice came drifting into the hallway, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. "Where have you been all day, you silly kitty?" Jareth's head shot up. Oh, no...
Ms. Andrews came into the back hallway, expecting to find the family cat. She had just finished polishing the hardwood floors and she didn't want Snowy tracking mud all over the house. She wandered in, towel in hand, having every intention of cleaning off that cat's paws before he mucked up her floors.
What she found instead was a wet, bedraggled-looking owl, staring up at her with a wary sort of dread. There were bits of soggy leaves, mud, and heaven only knew what else clinging to it's damp feathers, and she scowled in annoyance as she noted that the muck was all over her floors as well. She turned her attention back to the dishevelled thing in her hallway.
"Oooh.." she huffed irritably, "Out, out!" Jareth scrambled to his feet and hissed at her as she closed in on him, towel held out in front of her to catch him with. He backed into the door and glanced around, searching frantically for escape. The next thing he knew, the towel was covering his body and obscuring his vision, and a pair of hands grabbed him firmly by the sides. He struggled in vain as he felt himself being lifted off of the floor. She wouldn't...
She did. The back door creaked open, and suddenly the towel was gone and Jareth was airborne. He spread his tired wings to steady his fall, saving himself from a very undignified faceplant on the back porch. "Go on, shoo!" she ordered before slamming the door.
The horned owl was waiting for him, he noted, hopping quickly in the other direction and diving off the far end of the porch as it closed in. Apparently his luck was still holding, because there was a small opening dug out under the edge of the porch, just barely big enough for him to squeeze through. The inside of the porch was hollow, and Jareth backed away from the entrance as the other bird snapped it's beak in frustration and peered in through the opening.
A low growl came from behind Jareth, and he turned to find a fluffy white cat crouched against one of the support beams. It glared at him balefully and hissed. Jareth hissed back. Today just wasn't his day.
The sound of footsteps on the porch above him distracted him, and Jareth turned his attention back to his assailant. The woman was back, judging by the mop that abruptly knocked the horned owl to the side. It gave a startled cry and immediately took off, it's quarry forgotten. The woman sighed and retreated back into the house, muttering about birds invading her yard and attacking her cat.
The cat let out another warning growl when it's visitor didn't appear to be going anywhere. Jareth turned and fixed it with a resentful stare. 'Impatient creature, aren't you?' he wanted to snap as he turned to go, 'Alright, I'm leaving.' He seemed to be thinking that a lot lately.