"Please mom, don't eat them," Kigen pleaded with his mother as he set down the nest. He couldn't think of any place else where the baby would be safe from the big bad world.
Unfortunately, his safe place was also a very dangerous place. He was literally living on an apex predator, and he was an extension of this predator. He could only plead his case with the mother tree.
Once he had set the nest down, he waited anxiously to see if the mother had reacted. After several minutes, there was no reaction from mother, which was good news. Thinking fast, Kigen few to his stalk and jacked in, forming a fiddlehead.
In the mind palace, mother was still the same. Seated on her throne, she did not seem conscious. When he arrived, Kigen approached the mother tree and begged, "please let the baby eagles live."
Once he was done, he grabbed the mother's apparition, where he fell asleep altogether.
After several hours, Kigen finally came too once more. As he unfolded from the branch, he felt himself lighter and freer in the air. He could even muster some wind with his wings.
He knew he was growing up fast, and every day he would find himself with new abilities, but this felt different. His body was somehow more buoyant in the air. Kigen couldn't quite place a finger on it, but whatever it was, it made him better at flying.
As he was fluttering about in the air, something caught his eyes. He had flown about all over mother's body from time to time, which was why he could tell, something was different. There seemed to be a small new bud on one of mother's branches.
Drawing closer, Kigen could tell, this was more than just another branch or twig growing. Excitedly, Kigen's mind started running wild, thinking up various possibilities. Of course, the predominant one was that of a small sibling. If this was the case, then how fantastic would that be.
Once he had checked out the stalk, he flew over to where the nest was. Surprisingly, the nest, and the eagle, were all still there, intact. The bird was still squawking, but this time, it seemed less spirited.
Kigen poked at it a few times, trying to get some fun into its life. Unfortunately, the bird did not have that much energy, which was worrying to Kigen.
After much excitement, Kigen set about once more, scanning the forest from his perch on the mother tree. Staring about, he felt like a king, ready to go for another hunt.
He needed it. He could feel a particular drain on his energy levels, and he needed some sustenance. Moreover, he was also responsible for the little bird, and he had to feed it some grub.
He could see some birds chattering about, and other kinds of animals. He knew that he could easily grab one of those, and he intended to, but only as fuel for the journey he intended to make.
The previous day, when he had been fighting with the eagle, he discovered that there was a large water body nearby. Maybe a river, a stream, or even a lake. The eagle had fish in its mouth, which meant there was a place for fish to swim in, and eagles to hunt.
This was what he wanted to investigate. However, he knew that it would be extremely terrifying, so he was a little hesitant. However, Kigen was never one to be held down by fear, so he spread his wings and let himself go.
As he did, the little front wings caught him midair, and he started soaring the skies, building up speed. The next moment, his hind wings started fluttering about, sending him through the sky like a bullet.
Fwoop!
To the unsuspecting hummingbird, Kigen came out of nowhere. He was on it before it could even react. Grabbing onto it with his front hands, he dug his feet into the bird's body, beginning his breakfast.
Once he had consumed some, he flew with the bird's remain to where his resident baby eagle was. Kigen hoped the little thing wouldn't consider him food, so he started tearing bits of pieces off the bird to feed the baby bird.
Once the hummingbird was fully consumed, the baby bird did not seem content. Kigen flew off and went to find another food source. Minutes later, he came back with another small bird, and the feeding continued.
After the little bird had had its fill, Kigen threw the rest to the mother tree. Nothing made it to the ground. Out of guilt, Kigen went and captured another bird, and tossed it over to the mother tree.
By then, it was already midday. Kigen did not want to be out when darkness fell, so he took off flying, in search of the water body. He just wanted to explore, nothing more.
Keeping just above the treetops, Kigen flew rapidly, but still maintaining some safety. His battle with the eagles told him that he was not completely all powerful, and he had to watch out for the various predators out there.
After flying for quite some time, he heard a loud noise, as though the was a waterfall nearby. He knew he was close to a river, so he flew towards the sound.
Minutes later, a breathtaking view greeted his eyes. What a picturesque landscape. There was a massive river leading up to a cliff where it transformed into a waterfall. Flying off the edge of the cliff, Kigen realized that it was a long way off, and if he didn't have wings ...
Flying up, Kigen could still see the mother tree even from this distance, but it was quite far away. He didn't want to risk flying down the waterfall, just yet. He didn't want to lose his way and not get home.
Hence, he started flying along the river, just to see what was. He made sure to keep close to the tree line, leveraging on his green color to camouflage him in the thick forest.
Kigen was fascinated by how much the river was teeming with life, despite the rapid current that led to the waterfall. There were quite a number of animals hanging around, catching a drink.
He could also make out a few shadows in the water, but due to the rapid current, there were not that many animals swimming.
Once, he saw several fish trying to swim against the current, even hopping in the rapids. Seeing this, Kigen was very tempted. He sat down to watch the fish as they did their thing.
Frolicking in the river, little did these fish know that a predator was stalking them. From his vantage point on some tree, Kigen watched as they happily swam about, making sure to observe as they made their approach towards what he considered their jumping point.
After several hours of this, Kigen saw that he had gotten his timing right. One fish was swimming towards the ramp happily. Seeing this, Kigen jumped off his perch and dove towards the river.
Moving at blitzing speed, Kigen quickly approached the ramp, just as the unsuspecting fish took the jump. The fish was roughly the size of a massive gate, definitely bigger and much heavier than him. However, Kigen was sure he could carry it, so he made his approach.
Success! Kigen shouted mentally as he grabbed the fish midair. Using his hand and feet tendrils, Kigen fastened himself around the fish, which was very slippery. Once his tendrils had sunk, he happily started absorbing as he flapped his wings, ascending and flying away from the river.
The poor fish died without even knowing what happened. Kigen thoroughly enjoyed the fish. It seemed to dissolve faster, and left a pleasant feeling as it was consumed. Little by little, the big fish was rapidly shrinking.
Just as Kigen was enjoying his meal, a powerful screech was heard, and a large shadow fell over him. Turning his head, he saw a huge crane-like bird coming at him.
The fish was quite bulky, and it had slowed him a tard. He couldn't make any maneuvers in the air. Moreover, the bird did not seem to want hit the bird, but to eat it. Its very huge mouth was already wide open.
Was must have been the natural predator of the fish, Kigen thought. However, he did not wait any longer. Making a quick decision, he let go of the fish and flapped his mid wings, zooming rapidly away from the target.
As he watched, the big bird caught the fish with its mouth and swallowed it up in a single mouthful. Angry that his quarry had been taken, Kigen shot at the bird, which was adjusting itself in the air.
Since he wouldn't let an eagle bully him in the air, how could he let this thing get away with it? He needed to educate it on its place in the food chain.
As it flapped its massive wings, a small green creature suddenly latched itself on the underside of its beak. He then reached forward and sunk his hands into the bird's eyes, blinding it while also grabbing hold.
His tendrils, both from his hands and feet, sunk into the bird, which tried desperately to remove the little thing from its body. Despite the massive wings moving forward to try and ply the creature out of its body, the crane came crashing down helplessly in the river.
Suddenly, the little fish swam around the bird that had fallen in the river. Only then did Kigen notice the sharp teeth and determined look on the fish as they chowed down on the helpless bird.
Horrified, Kigen quickly got off the bird and took to the air, afraid he would be next. A fish came soaring from the water, shooting at him.
"You brought this on yourself," Kigen remarked as he also shot forward, moving to grab the fish in the air. Just as he was thinking he would go home with nothing, something volunteered. How nice of it.