CHAPTER TWELVE: LANDEN'S FRUSTRATION
"What's new Landen?" asked Arman Orol, a sleek and handsome eagle. Landen Helang was a tall and foreboding-looking eagle.
"Not much. A few new hatchlings born now that it's April. Hatched today."
"That seems an odd reason to call a flock meeting all of a sudden. We have hatchling born all the time."
"It's Margalo Adler," said Akbar Enguli, a vulture and of the leaders of the flock. He hardly ever preened his feathers, and they stuck out at odd angles. One of his talons was bent, a scar of a fight with another bird, whom he'd killed.
"Her? Ha! she's just a teenager!" Arman laughed.
"She may be just a teenager, but she's a thorn in my talons. Her rebellious spirit might catch on. Challenging me over and over. There's talk that she's also opposed to the tradition of patriarchal selection. Wants to pick her own mate," Landen said.
"She'll age out of it," Akbar said. "Surely, you can't feel threatened by a silly teenaged girl."
"I do. Not just her, but what it could spark. We've been making things comfier for ourselves, at the expense of the flock. The older ones are accustomed to being told what to do by us leaders, but not her. If her rebellious spirit spreads, it will infect the younger generation. If they don't want to cooperate with us anymore, we'll face a mutiny on our talons. And that will be the end of our way of life," Landen replied.
"Give her gather duty for a week straight. That'll humble her," Akbar suggested.
"Maybe two weeks," Arman recommended.
"It won't matter how much we assign to her. It will only make her all the more stubborn."
"Then expel her form the flock," Akbar said.
"The youngest we've ever expelled has been a sixteen-year-old. Margalo's only thirteen. It will look bad."
"So, you're just going to let her rebellion to kindle from a few sparks until it grows to an inferno?" Arman asked in exasperation.
"No, what I'm going to do is publicly shame her at tonight's meeting. Make it clear that we don't like what's she's doing. Hopefully her parents will break her spirit for us. And nobody will want to hang around her. Isolation will break the spirit of even the toughest rebel."
"Excellent plan!" cried Akbar.
"Let's see how proud that girl is after tonight!" Arman cackled.