Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my characters.

Thanks for all the reviews! If you haven't seen the series, Orestes is Brutus' son, not King Boreal's. If you don't like that, blaim whoever made the show. Don't hurt me.

Chapter 3

Trap

Brutus woke up and stretched out his magestic wings. He looked down at the owl below. His eyes widened. Blood covered the branch his son was on! Immediatly, he moved down to investigate. He stared at the blood then at the wound. It was still bleeding.

"Orestes!" Brutus shouted, waking the rest of his troop. Orestes gained consiousness and the instant he did, he felt a sharp pain on his leg. He looked.

The sight of his own blood was too much. After a cry of surprise, he fainted. Atlas, Brutus' second-in-command, flew down and observed the wound carefully.

"General Brutus...it's very likely that this wound was inflicted just hours ago. It was done purposly, and almost surgical. A few feathers has been removed." he explained after a moment.

"Who did such a thing?" Brutus questioned.

"Unknown sir. But the culprit must have been small and knew where to strike. Why the bleeding won't stop is a mystery." Atlas answered.

"Search the perimeter and question all suspects. Report here at dusk." Brutus ordered the owls. Without hesitation, the owls flew off in various directions.

---

Right on time, the birds returned to their leader. Brutus and the newly awakened Orestes watched as each owl landed.

"Liutenant Atlas. Report." Brutus commanded.

"General Brutus. We have questioned various different victims. Each had the same kind of incision, which bleeds non-stop. We have reason to believe that it came from the same creature."

"Any information on when they all recieved it?"

"At night sir. A couple of hours before dawn."

"Excellent. Tonight, we'll set a trap for our unwanted visitors." Brutus explained. Orestes looked at him.

"But Father...how will we know they'll be here?" he asked. Brutus turned to him.

"Don't underestimate the old saying: The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime."

---

Tachetee was the first to wake up. She rustled her wings and looked at Hazel. She nosed and nudged her friend. But she didn't respond!

Fearing the worst, Tachetee took a deep breath.

"HAZEL!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Hazel woke, startled. She looked around, expecting to see some predator trying to eat them Why else will Tachetee yell?

"Huh? What?" she muttered in confusion when she didn't see any teeth or claws coming at her. Tachetee sighed, trying to calm herself down.

"Don't scare me like that Hazel." she told her companion. Hazel tilted her head.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"You wouldn't wake up and I thought you were...well...you know..."

"Dead?"

Tachetee nodded.

"It was cold and you were always so sensitive to that. I thought it..."

Hazel smiled and hugged her worried pal.

"Aw...Tachetee, there's no way I'm going to leave you. It'll take more than cold to take me out."

"I should've known. You're too stubborn to actually die peacefully."

"That death is for old bats. If I die, it's going to be violent and awesome."

Tachetee laughed. "We're going to end with a bang!"

"Si!"

Tachetee and Hazel washed up.

"So what's the schedule for tonight?" Hazel asked as she helped Tachetee wash behind the ears.

"Well...first we feed. Then we'll continue our search for the local bats...and if we're lucky, we'll bump into your future mate."

Hazel jerked back as Tachetee laughed till her sides hurt. Hazel blushed angrily.

"Goth is not my future mate!" she denied.

Tachetee calmed down to giggles. "Yeah..."

Hazel paused, then smiled. "But you have to admit, he is fiiiiiinnnnnneeee."

"True that, girl. That's right." Tachetee agreed. After having finishing their laughs, they got back to business.

"Are we going back to those birds?" Hazel asked as they finished their preening. Tachetee nodded.

"Of course we are."

After warming up a bit, they flew out of their roost. They went directly to where they last found the birds.

"You think they're still there?" Hazel asked.

"Hopefully. If not, we can always track them down." Tachetee answered. Hazel flew under her friend and flipped over, flying belly up.

"You think they're worth the effort?" she continued to question. Tachetee smiled.

"Si. They taste good and apparently, they're deep sleepers. They're the perfect targets."

Hazel shrugged. "Whatever you say." She righted herself as they arrived. The birds were sleeping in exactly the same spot as last night. So, Hazel and Tachetee had no problem whatsoever in finding the bird they fed on recently.

They looked around. The other birds seemed unaware of their presence and continued to doze. Hazel, as always, was the first to feed off the still bleeding wound.

But the young bird jerked it's foot away and let out a tiny whine. Hazel and Tachetee jumped back and away down the branch, ready to take off at the slightest movement. The bird was still.

"Did it wake?" Hazel asked.

"I don't think so. I think it was just a subconsious reflex. See, it's still sleeping. Try again."

Hazel nodded and tried to feed.

---

Orestes could feel something lapping up the blood from his wound. He hated the fact that there was a blood thirsty thing drinking HIS blood. But he had to stay still. He had to convince the parasites that he was still asleep.

He was bait for the trap. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing, but Brutus wasn't giving him much of a choice.

His father, supposedly sleeping just above the bats, opened his eyes and looked down balefully at Hazel and Tachetee.

---

The two Bloodwings didn't notice that the bird above them was wide awake and watching. Hazel was busy feeding and Tachetee was patiently waiting her turn.

So they were surprised when the bird above them spread it's wings and shouted:

"Attack!"