Jack (Part Two)

Mom pulled back, a low and pleased rumble settling deep in her throat. He stared at Mom in awe. She was beautiful. She was large compared to him, but next to the trees surrounding them, she was fairly small. Deep purple scales covered her body, from the tip of her nose down to the end of her long tail. She lay curled up, her newborn tucked between all four legs, snuggled warmly against her belly which radiated heat. Her eyes were like slits, a light violet color, and the corners of her lips curved upwards in a loving smile. The newborn quickly looked down at himself, hoping to see a miniature version of Mom. He was disappointed. Instead of the beautiful dark purple, he saw an almost harsh maroon. Otherwise, he looked exactly the same, but this disappointment still made tears well up in his eyes.

A huff of air hit his face, and he looked up in surprise to see Mom frowning at him in concern. She’d noticed the tears. She brushed her nose against his head again, letting him know that, whatever was wrong, it would be okay. She was here. And the newborn knew that, as long as Mom was around, everything would be okay.

Only the next day, the newborn learned the uglier side of life. Mom had let him venture out from her protective grasp, and he was pouncing around, testing out his wings. Already they were beginning to strengthen, and he knew that it wouldn’t be long before Mom could start teaching him how to fly. He was excited for this adventure. The idea of exploring what was beyond the roof of the trees high above him thrilled him. Jumping off the ground and vaulting himself from patch of grass to patch of grass was electrifying already! However, in his excitement, the newborn didn’t quite realize how far from Mom he was getting. The familiar chirp of her voice called his attention to this fact and he looked up, alarmed at the frantic tone in the trill. Before he could make a further move a large, sharp claw grabbed him around the midriff, lifting him off the ground and flying up quickly through the trees.

Letting out a surprised and terrified shriek, the newborn looked up to see what kind of creature had stolen him away from Mom. It had a scrawny body, but its wingspan was wider than Mom was tall. Its face was ugly and pointed, sharp teeth peeking through its mouth. It squawked, looking down to the newborn with a yellow gleam of hunger in its eyes. The newborn let another terrified chirp pass through his lips and looked back to see Mom steadily rising up over the tops of the trees. But the bird creature was much faster than Mom could ever be, and it wasn’t long before the newborn lost sight of her completely.

I've decided it's entirely too difficult to split up something like this. I hope that doesn't show too much in how I've decided to split the story. Part three will be posted tomorrow!