Chapter Two: Copper
Summary: A poem exploring the maternal instincts of a griffin.
I see them on the horizon
A speck of brown
In the sky
Flying forwards
Flying towards us
A flock of mindless fury
Onward they come
In their hunger they are
Blind to all else around them
Their batlike wings
Scrape the sky
Their manes and tails
Flow in the wind
Hurrocks
Filthy creatures…
Come not near my chick!
I screech a warning
But closer they come
How dare they defy me!
I warn them once again
I call out to my mate
Our cliff top nest is to be raided
But… he is out at sea seeking fish
Filthy hurrocks shall not touch my chick
A stallion leads the charge
He directs the attack with a scream
I spring into the air, away from my nest
They must not touch my chick
I screech a challenge to the stallion
He screams in reply
The flock charges
Claws extend
His silver claws rack at my shoulders
My catlike paws tear at his wings
He will die by my claws
They all will
They must not touch my chick!
The rest of the flock begin their attack
But bat wings are faster than feathered
They tear at my body
And my blood falls to the sea
The stallion falls into the water
Screaming, joining his kin
I am so tired –
Yet still they come
I must keep them from my chick
Oh, where are you my mate?
There are few of them remaining
Yet they have pushed me back
I snap a neck in my jaws
But, oh, I'm so tired
The filthy creature falls
To the rocks, at the base of the cliff
I am so, so tired
I must keep them from my chick
I must face the last hurrock
And the air around us fills with a screech
My mate, you are here
I call back to him in relief
You are here, we shall win
I have not the strength to keep flying
But our chick is safe
I fall to the waves, content