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✘ Dalgony ✘

✘ Apostle ✘

✘ Male ✘


Back arched, hind legs ready to launch, ears perked, Apostle felt the evening breeze whistle through his mane as he focused more intently on his target. Running his frost covered tongue against the tip of his talon-like beak, he silently unhinged his front claws from the branch to enable a fast pounce and locked his gaze onto his next meal. He won't miss this time.

Making his way back into his den, his head drooped down to the sound of his stomach rumbling once again. The sound echoed through the hollow trees surrounding him. It was a sound he didn't take notice of anymore, as he has grown used to it; day by day followed with nothing apart from unsuccessful and hopeless hunts. What did he do wrong? He had the position right, his body movement, his speed. Yet every single time they managed to fly away just in time for him to bite the dust. Apostle dragged himself down the path he alone created unknowingly. His instincts guiding him forward, he took a look around to see nothing but trees. Trees, wood and grass. Every single day he was greeted with the same view of the same scenery. Although it would be tiring for some, Apostle appreciated the forest that was now his home. The mist that floated in the air in the mornings never managed to let him down by not being there. The vines above his den created a perfect hiding spot, which in return helped him disappear from the loud nothingness of the forest. As he continued to make his way throughout the trees, walking around one of the biggest logs he already found himself next to the river waterfall that made him realise that he was closer to home than he thought. Picking up his pace he trotted towards the water and looked down. The gentle stream stole small leaves and twigs from the banks and carried them only to be swallowed by the minor waterfalls. Looking on, the moon's reflection made a perfect white circle, and it's glow made the whole river shimmer, and even though the sky was empty, the water held a thousands stars that the night couldn't provide.

After taking a drink, he jumped over it and carried on walking. Not long after he found himself next to his den - which in fact was a huge hollow log. Its tangled roots and hanging vines provided him enough protection for it to be safe from any bigger animals. He slowly climbed inside and collapsed on the floor, exhausted and starving. How long was he going to go like this before he gets a proper meal? Turning over on to his other side he noticed a small gap in the bark through which he could see a tall tree. It was without leaves, just like any other tree in this forest, however on one of it's branches sat a small bird. An owl? Can't be, it's too small. However just as he was getting into a better position to see it more clearly, the log creaked under him and the creature flew away. Apostle banged his head on the log's side in disappointment and in minutes, his rumbling stomach lulled him to sleep.

Screeching from outside brought Apostle back to the living. Still half-asleep he covered his ears with his paws and tried to ignore it but the ringing of the calls were driving him crazy. Sitting up he focused his ears on what was going on outside, but with no luck; the sounds were something he hadn't heard before. Although it was new and strange, he could already say he hated whatever made it. Crawling out from underneath the choking vines and dense roots, he noticed it was still very early as the sky was only a lighter shade than that of midnight. Looking up, he noticed a bird circling in the sky. It seemed oddly similar to the bird he saw last night... Unless that was a dream. He shook himself and stretched his legs. He took a step outside and walked towards the black circle that flew from cloud to cloud. In return, the bird decided to fly away, so to not lose his possible meal he ran after it. However although he was faster than a stupid bird, it was getting away. His heart was starting to beat out of his chest, and his rough breathing began to wear him out - but he didn't stop; he couldn't stop. His paws carried him further after the bird. And although he felt the immense pain of every step, his exhausted muscles and the beating rhythm that danced in his head on and on, his limbs didn't listen. He started to lose feeling and senses, all he could concentrate on was the small cloud that was emitted from his mouth with every exhale. The ground around him flattened out, the trees were gone, he was surrounded by pitch black. Out of nowhere his legs stopped working and his body collapsed on him. He rolled over a few times from the impact and then laid there motionless. Unable to move, his eyes were running wild circles and his head was flooding him with millions of questions, worries and unanswerable thoughts. He could see nothing but blackness, nothingness. Then he remembered.

The bird.
As soon as the word entered his muddled mind, crows began to emerge from the shadows. It was hard to distinguish them from the black surroundings but they were there alright. Everywhere, crows and ravens filled every inch of what he could see. Everything told him to move, to get out of there but once again his limbs didn't obey. They were coming right at him and he was unable to do ANYTHING. Was he seriously going to get demolished by what he thought was supposed to be
his prey? Is this some sort of payback? For all the failed attempts at hunting birds? What was he thinking, that's just plain stupid. As if reading his mind, the swarm sped up and were heading right at him and the screeching and calling got louder with every second. His sight was getting blurry and it looked as if some were splitting into even more birds. Feathers filled his vision as he tried to look beyond the wings for anything at all. He felt like the area he was in was tightening around him, as he began running out of breath. They were so close he could feel the wind from their wings on his face yet he was unable to do anything as his body continued to ignore his mind's commands. Laying there, all he could do was hope.

Knowing this was his end, he closed his eyes and thought to himself,
I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so selfish. Giving up completely, his paw allowed him to move it up to his eye to cover his face. Apostle's life flashed before him, and to no one's surprise it was just him. Him and the forest - all alone. In fact that 'life flash' was nothing more than one image. One image could represent his life as nothing he ever did differed from it. What he saw in his head then was him, on a tree branch, staring at a small innocent bird on the floor, pecking at the grass. Seems recent doesn't it? Yet that's how most of his life has been. Even though he was an omnivore, and had a supply of forest food he chose to feed on live animals, mostly birds. Why? To satisfy his cravings. Cravings he created himself by choosing to kill and not spare. He squinted his eyes beneath his paw, laid his ears flat and apologised to himself over and over. He waited. And waited. The screeching hushed down and became a bird song. It turned from
unbearable to beautiful. Apostle gently lifted his left paw from his eye only to witness the same birds, now flying slower and more gracefully. As if time itself shrank and was having mercy on him. He lifted his head and watched on as the birds slowly batted their wings. It wasn't frightening anymore, it was graceful. The movement of the feathers, the wind rushing through each wing, from bird to bird. Beaks each as pointed as their claws, powerful legs with incredibly razor-sharp talons. Small machines of destruction, yet they were beautiful in their own way.

But they were still heading in his direction and still very close. Although he calmed down, he could still feel the shiver down his spine as he imagined the birds tear him apart. Something told him to stand still though, so for once he obeyed someone that wasn't him. As he stared on at the birds, time released them and they rushed on with incredible speed just like they were before. Apostle watched on with fear, but instead of launching at him they were attacking something behind him. Within seconds he heard a deafening rumbling roar from right behind him. Jumping away, what he witnessed was indescribable. A bear, triple the size of him was being attacked by a swarm of birds. Were they... protecting him? Black birds were being thrown all around the place, the bear's huge paws were no match for the birds but they fought nevertheless. With one swipe a hoard of birds went flying to the ground, with what he could only image was the sound of thousand broken bones.

They wouldn't make it and he knew it. Without a moment's hesitation he leaped towards the enormous creature. The bear spotted him mid-air and growled. Apostle glared at the bear and continued to hold eye contact until he reached him. As soon as they were only millimeters away from each other and about to clash, everything went black. Once again, Apostle couldn't feel anything. Everything was numb, senseless and seemed pointless. But just as quickly as everything disappeared, he woke up. He jerked his head up right into the top of the log. The impact sent him back down in pain. He rubbed his head with his paw and looked around. Turns out he was back in his log, safe and sound - it was all just a dream? It seemed way too realistic for it to only be a mind trick. He shook the thought away and crawled out of the end of the log. A sense of deja vu gripped onto the back of his throat when he heard a raven's croak.
No way, please not again, he thought to himself. He looked up onto the tree that was just above his head. In response to what he saw, his tail brushed beneath him in fear.

Apostle had no idea how to react or what to expect. Instead he stood there silently, looking up at the bird. Sensing his fear, the bird flew down and landed right before him. It jerked his head to the side and gaped at him with its huge eyeball. It eyed Apostle whole and after a moment of judging it made up its mind and hopped over to the Viscet, waddled up his front leg and sat on his shoulder. Mesmerized, he had no idea what to do. They both sat there awkwardly for a good couple seconds, staring in opposite directions, acting as if that didn't just happen. The raven seemed to get bored of it and nipped on his ear. Apostle moved his head away instantly with a growl in protest. The bird tried to not lose balance on his side with the movement. He jumped over to the Viscet's beak and sat at the tip of it. After a while of holding eye contact, the feathered creature pecked on his beak with his own.
Does he think I'm one of his? Can't be, birds like this are smarter than that, he thought. His stomach rumbled again, interrupting his train of thought. He instinctively looked down forgetting the bird on his beak. It cawed and mid-fall saved itself by opening it's wings. After landing safely it took off straight away and cawed at the Viscet to follow him. Apostle was tempted to have the bird as a snack. He could launch any minute now and have him for sure. Something held him back though, so he didn't - instead he followed the black bird. They walked on in silence for a couple minutes before they reached something he didn't expect to see.

A bunch of crows were breaking apart a bear. There were 3 groups each consisting of a handful of crows and ravens each feeding on a part of a body.
A bear?.. He watched them as they ripped pieces of flesh away from bones and chewed onto the meat. They cawed at each other if any got too close. Apostle started to notice how similar they and him were. He wasn't able to think much of it though as the bird leading him called for him to not stop. He continued to walk down the forest behind the flying blackness before him. The sky was showing signs of an existing sun. Looking up, the rays began to shine through the everlasting clouds. Bringing his attention back with a screech Apostle looked down at him again and saw a drooping tree with hanging branches covering what looked as an entrance to something. The raven instantly flew through it so he followed without hesitation. Breaking through the leaves he had to look away in order to not go blind from the sun. The trees were covered with leaves that were the brightest green and the grass was as live as ever. The forest breeze carried the green life in a rhythm that suited his heart beat. Taking in the scenery he tried to find the bird. From a caw he realised he was beside him, standing on a branch of berries.

Apostle threw himself at the bush without any control. His week-long hunger was finally going to stop.
Why was I so stubborn on eating meat? This tastes amazing! He closed his eyes as he chewed on the branches. The flavours dancing in his mouth, the sweet juice against his taste buds felt like heaven. His ears jerked every time it hit the spot - which was often. His tail started wagging as he switched from branch to branch. After satisfying his starving needs, he opened his eyes and looked at the bird that was enjoying a meal with him. Slowing down but still eating, Apostle nodded at the bird in thanks and he replied with a caw, resulting in berries falling from his jaw. The Viscet giggled with his mouth full and passed him another branch that was nearby. The raven hopped onto it and straight onto his head. It bent over and looked down into the Viscet's eye for a while. He then settled down on his head and fell asleep. Apostle continued to nom on blueberries and raspberries until he got sick of them. After that he gently lay down beneath the cover of the pomegranate thorns to not disturb the bird that now inhibited on his head. Closing his eyes, they both let the sunlight's rays keep them warm and the tender rustle of the grass lull them to sleep.
Everything is beautiful in it's very own way
We're sometimes just too selfish to notice*
► Loves meat, however he refrains from eating it unless it's already dead. Although the bird does sometimes find him nibbling on his wing occasionally. Apostle loves to playfully mess with it, tugging at it's feathers, stepping on the tail etc.
► Prefers to be in closed spaces to feel secure. He loves his log den as it's cramped, damp and small. Open spaces make him paranoid and afraid of literally nothing so small spaces is his thing. Especially loves feeling all 4 sides against him, to know that it's just him and nothing else
► Apostle loves to climb trees and lay there, watching the sky, or the tree tops. Especially watch birds fly by. It's not the same story with coming back down though.
► He's grown to love cranberries. So sour and sweet at the same time, makes him cringe with delight. He'd do anything just for a bush, including leaving meat out of his diet. Thanks to his crow friend he started loving all the berries, fruits and vegetation that he finds around the forest
► And lastly he loves his bird companion. He used to be lonely most of the time, unable to make any friends due to not being able to stop himself from eating them. But now, he has someone he can trust, count on and depend. He loves his crow friend and wouldn't give him up for anything

► Being all alone. Even though he spent most of his time being independent and lonely, he truly hates it. Having no one by his side really puts him down and honestly, makes him angry. He knew it was his fault that he couldn't have any friends, yet he couldn't control himself. His worst fear is ending up alone again if anything was to happen to his friend.
► Squirrels. Apostle hates them so much. He doesn't exactly have a reason but every time he spots one he just feels pure hatred towards them.
► Open spaces are scary according to him. Linking back to the previous point on crowded spaces, he's terrified of being left alone in big areas. Apostle is afraid of what could be stalking him, watching him, or be there with without him knowing so. There's just so much possibilities that he doesn't like, he prefers to just have himself with him.

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