As he moved deeper into the jungle, Talon became aware of other scents, aside from the
ocean and the rest of the Outside-smells. He slowed, then came to a full stop in a small
clearing. He sniffed.
There were other creatures here…creatures like him.
He looked around, although he didn't expect to see anything. The scents were too faint
to be very close. But there were others like him here! There had been none of his kind at
the lab -- only humans. His only contact with any other living things had been after being
darted and drugged. Then, when he was half asleep and barely able to move, humans
would come into the cage with him. Mostly the white-coated ones, but sometimes the
nice ones. These never did anything that hurt. Of these humans, who came to the lab on
'visiting days', there were two that came at least once a week. One was a woman, the
other was a tall man. *They* weren't like the ones in the white coats. These two came
to the lab together, just to watch him, and always brought him food…the kind of food
that they ate, not what was usually given to him. He could tell that the labworkers didn't
like this, but they never stopped either of them from giving him the tantalizing things in
the brightly-colored wrappers.
Talon shook himself. He'd hated being alone in that cage. He didn't want to think about
the lab anymore; besides, his previous line of thought was making him hungry. His
stomach was rumbling, so he would have to find some food before he began his search
for the other raptors. But what was there to eat in this place? He was used to having his
food delivered to him, either as raw meat or (even better) living prey that he could catch.
He'd always enjoyed that.
He inhaled again, looking for familiar food-smells. There were none. But there were
plenty of other scents that belonged to creatures he couldn't identify. Something out
there had to be edible. All he had to do was find it…
ocean and the rest of the Outside-smells. He slowed, then came to a full stop in a small
clearing. He sniffed.
There were other creatures here…creatures like him.
He looked around, although he didn't expect to see anything. The scents were too faint
to be very close. But there were others like him here! There had been none of his kind at
the lab -- only humans. His only contact with any other living things had been after being
darted and drugged. Then, when he was half asleep and barely able to move, humans
would come into the cage with him. Mostly the white-coated ones, but sometimes the
nice ones. These never did anything that hurt. Of these humans, who came to the lab on
'visiting days', there were two that came at least once a week. One was a woman, the
other was a tall man. *They* weren't like the ones in the white coats. These two came
to the lab together, just to watch him, and always brought him food…the kind of food
that they ate, not what was usually given to him. He could tell that the labworkers didn't
like this, but they never stopped either of them from giving him the tantalizing things in
the brightly-colored wrappers.
Talon shook himself. He'd hated being alone in that cage. He didn't want to think about
the lab anymore; besides, his previous line of thought was making him hungry. His
stomach was rumbling, so he would have to find some food before he began his search
for the other raptors. But what was there to eat in this place? He was used to having his
food delivered to him, either as raw meat or (even better) living prey that he could catch.
He'd always enjoyed that.
He inhaled again, looking for familiar food-smells. There were none. But there were
plenty of other scents that belonged to creatures he couldn't identify. Something out
there had to be edible. All he had to do was find it…