a winter's hunger

The male chick, not quite yet finished with the sweet taste of Maude’s ear, rounded back for more. Though smaller than his parents, the black chick was still larger than the pale filly. So his pawed front limbs and taloned hind limbs reached out, seeking to grab out around the filly and loft her into the skies with him.

The mother griffin shrieked at first, terrified of the flames, and nearly dropped the tasty Kiada snack in her talons. However, the intelligent raptor quickly realized that there was no heat in these flames, and so her pale yellow beak snapped hungrily as she heavily landed. Paws sought to pin the the filly to the earth while her beak snapped at her shoulder and neck flesh.

The father griffin bristled and dropped the electrified filly to the ground, beak angrily snapping at the winged pest that attacked him. The female chick, now brimming with rage at Oizys’ attack on her father, turned on the gargoyle foal. Sharp claws and talons freed her from the tent’s canopy as her sharp, (young) predatory eyes landed on the grey filly. Mottled feathers stood on end, and she howled in anger as the electrical creatures stung her skin—though it only fueled the chick’s slashing claws at the filly.

The father griffin continued to be punished—this time by eagles made of fire. His great, burnished gold feathers of his right wing sizzled in flames as a terrifying screech ripped from his lion’s breast. He turned on Arakh, dark talons stretched out as he sought to plug this troublesome morsel off the ground. His raking, sharp paws just barely missed the similarly horned filly (Esinakh) behind the grey colt.

However, on his ascension into the skies, a thick and powerful band tightened around the father griffin’s leg. With a screech and slash of talons at the Elephant King, he sought to free himself from the goring tusks and angry navy eyes of Tembovu.

The female chick, not quite yet done, turned on the colt made of ash. She had seen her brother pick up a foal—and so she would do the same. Or she would try to. But as the ash enveloped the back half of her body, she found her talons could no longer move. She screeched, reaching out to slash with her paws before laboriously flapping her white-and-gold wings and taking to the skies. These foals were more trouble than they were worth.

The female chick was not alone, for she was soon followed by her family. They would find less… difficult prey.