The goat continued to run. Small rocks tumbled down the mountain creating tiny avalanches that each had the potential to grow into something worse as the goat ran along. The goat didn’t care though, it knew the wind eagle was coming for it, and it was determined to escape with its life. Many predators had hunted it in the past, but none had successfully captured it. There had been a few close calls, but the goat was quick and it knew the terrain. It knew what it was doing.
Sira was a skilled predator, however, and she too knew what she was doing. Each time the goat jumped or swerved, Sira swerved with it. The wind whipped over her feathers, and Sira let out a triumphant screech as her talons outstretched. She could practically feel the goat in her grasp, and she knew she was going to be successful. Just before she would have snatched it up, however, the goat suddenly dropped out of site, and Sira swooped past catching nothing but empty air. Confusion filled her for a moment before she fully realized what had happened, and when she circled back around she saw the goat running back down the side of the mountain towards the trees. The animal had dropped down into a small crevice just before Sira would have caught it, and if it made it to the tree line there was no way Sira would be able to catch it. Especially with Syna getting ready to trade places with Leth for the night.
Frustrated and hungry, Sira beat her wings as hard as she could in an attempt to catch up with the fleeing goat. She didn’t have time to gain altitude and dive again, the goat would be gone long before she could manage that. Her only hope was to catch up to it before it reached the trees. Sira’s muscles strained hard as she attempted to catch up to the goat, and she knew she was going to be sore the next morning. But she was hungry, and wind reach was hungry, and she didn’t have a choice. She had to catch the goat, she couldn’t come back empty handed.
They were both nearing the trees. Sira could make out the individual leaves on each branch, she could see a line of ants climbing up one trunk to harvest the green foliage high above and bring the tiny pieces back to their hill. She could see the sun’s last light dancing beneath the canopy, and she could see the sky goat closing in. She knew before it ever disappeared between the trunks that she wouldn’t make it in time, but the wind eagle kept beating her wings in hopes of some pure luck chance that maybe the goat would trip or sprain something and she could catch it. There was always hope, but just having hope wasn’t always enough, and that hoped was dashed just as quickly when the goat was gone. Sira came to a stop, landing on the ground, her feather’s ruffled in anger, and stared at the trees. She had her bow, she could attempt to pursue on foot, but the light wouldn’t last long and Sira still needed to make it back to the city in time to feed her baby.
Finally Sira gave up and turned away from the forest, opening her wings wide and in a few beats she was back in the air slowly gaining altitude. There were few warm currents for her to ride up during the winter, so it took quite a bit of energy to get back to gliding heights, and by the time she returned home empty handed she was exhausted and hungry. Sira shifted as soon as she hit the ground in her aerie and slumped to the floor, her bow clattering to the ground beside her. Sira rarely failed at hunting, but this failure hit her particularly hard. She could already hear Natalie crying in another part of her home, and between breaths she heard Aidara whispering calming words attempting to soothe the infant child. Sira was late coming home, but was glad Addy had finished her own duties early enough to pick up the baby. Letting out a tired sigh, Sira climbed to her feet and went out to see her family and feed the poor child.
”I’m sorry darling,” Sira whispered as she took the baby, the cries ceasing the moment she latched on,”I won’t be late again.”
Sira was tired, she was hungry, and so was Natalie. Aidara was the same, and probably Sai too, and all of Wind Reach. It was one of the hardest winters Sira could remember, and food was scarce. Coming back empty handed was the worst feeling of all, but Sira was determined that she would keep going out every day until she came back with food for her family. She didn’t care how tired she was, how hungry she was, she wasn’t going to give up hope. The sky goat was proof that all the food hadn’t disappeared for the winter, and Sira was going to find it.
