A humongous egg. That's the first thing he saw. Next to it, there was another, but this one seemed broken. Looking beyond, Kigen spotted the new hatchling, and the mother cooing around it.
Turns out, the racket he'd heard was coming from this little one being hatched. The small thing was tutting loudly, and its parent's attention was completely drawn. Even Kigen took some time to watch this beautiful scene.
He was feeling fairly exhausted due to all the digging he'd had to do, so he was taking some time to relax as well. Turning around, he realized the other egg was still in view, and within reach.
Right beside it, there was a small feather that could conceal his hand.
With a cruel smile, Kigen decided to take something from the eagle.
Reaching out, Kigen's palm landed on the eagle. He felt small tendrils begin to come out from his hand. With minimal effort, the tendrils seemed to drill into the eggshell, and into the egg.
This is where things began to feel trippy. Kigen felt a weird power emanating from his tendrils, and seeping into the egg. After that, he felt another form of power surging into his body.
Last time, he had been too caught up in the mouse's flight that he didn't have much time to examine what he felt in detail. After that, he had fed on a steady diet of insects and bugs, not exactly that nutritious.
Kigen also wondered if he had better sensation of the tendrils in his hands than feet. The sensory feedback was much better, and he felt as though he had better control.
To test this, he willed for the tendrils to grow further within the egg, and they did. He felt rather than saw then growing, spreading further. As they did, he was getting a clear picture of the egg.
Shockingly, this egg did not seem to be fertilized. While its brother had already hatched, it still had not formed a hatchling, since Kigen couldn't feel one inside, which meant it never would.
This did not stop Kigen. As he continued absorbing the egg, he could feel much of his energy get restored. Another strange power was running through his body as he absorbed the energy.
He didn't quite understand what this power was, but he could feel it was feeling him with energy. Soon, the egg was sucked dry. Only the shell remained. Kigen did not intend to take the shell, fearing attracting the eagle prematurely.
Seeing the little one that'd been born moments ago, Kigen wondered how long it would take to consume it. Putting away this dark thought, he turned and eyed the parent. It was still cooing at the new one, letting out soft sounds occasionally.
Now that it was standing up, Kigen was blown away by how enormous the thing was. Was he punching above his weight trying to bring down something as fierce as this. Looking at the sheer size, he gulped.
Perhaps he made some movement, for suddenly, the eagle turned its attention towards him. The moment it did, it made a horrifying screech, startling even the newborn.
The next second, it lunged, beak first, at the offending plant-like pest. Kigen quickly let himself fall, furiously trying to stay away from the sharp and thick beak.
As the eagle pulled back, disappointed by the miss, something caught its eye. The egg it had been sitting on just easily rolled off at the slightest touch. That shouldn't be possible, right?
As it went to investigate, the eagle discovered, with growing horror, the egg was hollow. This stark realization also made it realize that the creepy green thing was responsible for this deed.
Turning around, the look Kigen saw on the eagle was one of pure rage. Even though the eagle couldn't make facial expressions, Kigen was sure it was fuming at him.
Suddenly, the massive claws sent their spear-like claws digging. Previously, the eagle had not been too keen to destroy its own floor. However, things were different. It had to get that invader, no matter what.
Seeing the fury in the thing, Kigen furiously backtracked until he was out of the nest completely. He then flapped his upper wings to get some distance within the foliage.
Screech!
The eagle was not having any of that. She had to attack no matter what. Pursuing with great speed, the sharp beak was primed to tear apart the invader.
Kigen suddenly fluttered his midwings, working in tandem with the upper wings. This greatly improved his maneuverability easily dodging the eagle. However, this was not his end game.
With a sudden turn, Kigen primed himself for a counter. After the attack, the eagle had left itself vulnerable. Now, midair, Kigen was in a perfect position for a strike.
Fluttering all his wings, Kigen shot forward with great speed. Lifting his arm, he primed himself for a punch. Kigen was a good marksman, and he'd been fighting since he was young, consequence of having multiple unrelated siblings.
Hence, this punch was fast and accurate. The eagle did not see it coming before it was too late.
Puchi! Just like that, it lost an eye.
Screech!
Writhing with pain, the eagle let out a heart-rending scream. Its massive wings beating about, doing great damage to the tree. In its anger, it had dived right into the tree's heavy foliage. While it was not trapped, and it could get out, its mobility was greatly decreased.
Angling himself for another strike, Kigen saw its opponent struggling to get a footing. Its wings were managing, with great difficulty, to free themselves, all the while leaving a trail of damage in their wake.
What a powerful beast, Kigen sighed as he watched all this. However, he did not feel pity. He had caught his opponent, time to go for the kill.
Whish!
Just like last time, Kigen moved once again, this time heading for the other eye. In its unbalanced state, it was still trying to free itself from the entanglement it had jumped into. Seeing its hated enemy coming at it, the eagle attempted to dodge and backtrack at the same time.
Unfortunately, it did not have the leverage or balance, and it could barely move.
Puchi!
The other eye was torn off just as it managed to free itself and let the wind carry it.
A miserable scream escaped its mouth as it soared on the air. Even in its sorry state, Kigen was shocked to see it fly about so effortlessly. With the massive wings, it was gaining speed, as though it intended to run away.
Nope! Not going to happen. Kigen said as he turned to flutter his wings further. With sudden acceleration, paired with his tiny body, he was withing striking distance momentarily.
Suddenly, Kigen landed on the eagle's back, ready to sink his tendrils into the poor fiend.
As though it was waiting for him, the eagle's head jerked, its beak primed and ready to tear him apart. Kigen was not expecting this, so he was caught off-guard.
Suddenly, a massive gash appeared on his left shoulder, almost ripping off his entire arm. Unbelievable pain whacked Kigen brain. Acting fast, his wings lifted him off the beast's body.
Thinking back, since they owned chickens, he remembered they used to joke that there's nowhere a chicken cannot reach in its entire body. He was not sure how true this was, but it if the same was true for the eagle, did that mean he couldn't land anywhere?
As he looked at the eagle, he ran the mysterious power through his body once more. He felt refreshed, and much of the pain subsided.
With a jerk, Kigen dashed forward. There was only one place he could think of that would be safe from the beak. However, if he missed, or miscalculated in any way, Kigen would be in terrible danger.
Swoosh!
Kigen had set his body perfectly. He dashed forward and suddenly wrapped his hands around the eagle's head, while his legs were wrapped around the neck. Reaching forward, he dipped his hand into the eagle's eyehole.
Screech! The massive eagle jerked left and right as with screamed with pain. However, its attacker was unmoved as his tendrils sunk deeper into the brain.
The massive wings beat about aimlessly as the line blurred between intelligence and instinct. However, the battle was won, all that was needed was willpower, and ability to hold on.
Several minutes passed before the beast came tumbling down. Exerting himself, Kigen managed to guide its fall until they landed beside the nest. He came down hard.
Much of the meat within the eagle had already been consumed, and Kigen was feeling extremely tired. He intended to relax for a while before deciding what to do next. He felt at peace, as though he had experienced catharsis.
The dark cloud hanging over him had cleared. Just as he was patting himself on the back, he noticed the squawking of the little ones that'd been born just minutes ago. They seemed to be mourning, crying out for their mama.
Perhaps he shouldn't have brought her so close to the nest, Kigen thought, as he regarded the two. However, just as he was doing this a massive shadow appeared on the horizon.
Turning around, Kigen saw the massive eagle eyeing him with hatred. It seemed to have come from fishing, since it had a huge fish in its mouth. Letting it fall, it let out a loud screech.