A massive strike of pain traversed through his entire body as he met directly against the nest. The flight wasn't first class, and its landing revealed that.
The nest itself wasn't small compared to the mother bird and her kids' size. But for Naevius, he could compare that nest to the same size as his bedroom, and it was a large one. Right now, he didn't have the time to calculate how many queen-sized beds could fit inside the nest, but if he had to guess, it would be way more than ten.
Naevius stopped rolling when he hit the walls of the bird's house. His attempts to get up were quickly stopped by the Mother bird, who slammed her claws against his back, pinning him to the ground. Sorrowfully, this situation wasn't too far from the wolves, but it was indeed worse.
Their bites and grips weren't stronger than the wolves, but the boy… oh, he was high up in the air.
Truly, he had never understood why people were scared of heights; most of them never truly had to go so high up to be scared. Now he did.
Fortunately for him, being pinned down against the ground could only give him a good vision of the ground. So, there wasn't much to be scared of, right? It would be true if he weren't being eaten alive (once more)
Dragging Naevius through the nest, the mother verified that Naevius was weak and close enough so her children could eat easily.
"G-Get the FUCK OUT OF ME" As the screams left his mouth, the little birds stepped back in fear, and fear that the mother noticed. Naevius felt the grip against his back growing stronger, feeling his forehead hitting the ground once again.
Slowly, they got closer; Naevius' heart beat fastly out of rhythm
Then a weak bite came, followed by dozens of similar ones, like a rain of tiny needles that struck his body in different parts.
Knowledge of torture wasn't something they knew, but for Naevius, that moment was indeed one. Each bird made tiny wounds, slowly chewing his flesh and eventually biting Naevius again.
Their slow chewing was enough to pressure his healing abilities to kick in, shaping an unpleasant moment of unstopable pain.
First, he was drowning in the ocean, then eaten alive by wolves, AND NOW BY BIRDS?
How the fuck was he so unlucky? It could've been anyone else, but no, IT HAD TO BE HIM.
Although he had his wave of bad luck, sometimes it was the exact opposite, as if God itself came to him and said, "My child, you shall now receive a reward for everything I put you through."
At that moment, he actually came and said that to Naevius. Of course, in a metaphorical way.
The entire nest heard an excruciating scream coming from the skies. Filled with rage and worry, the bird Mother released just a little of the strength she had put against Naevius' back.
Enough that he could slip below its claws, destroying his clothes and ripping his flesh apart, but he was free.
Naevius ran towards the closest bird he could see. Wrapping his arms around the bird's neck and holding its jaw with his right hand.
Silence took over the nest; the children were scared, however the mother was terrified.
Entwined with her fingers lay a choice no parent would ever want to make. Between her children or the being she loved the most, one she had to save, and one she needed to leave behind.
Then their eyes met.
Naevius could've seen desperation followed by tears slowly forming in the corners of her eyes, as her breathing slowly became more ragged.
On the other side, she was staring at an animal trying to survive, one that had already set an objective in mind and would do anything to get at it.
Naevius's mind muffled the crying sounds of the little bird siblings; his sight became blurred as millions of thoughts crossed his mind.
His hand fell.
That intense look, the intense gaze of helplessness and desperation. Was that how a mother should've reacted to her son's life being threatened? If that's so, why hasn't he ever seen that look on his own mother's face?
The mother leaped, Naevius closed his eyes. He knew his mother hated him, and yet… for some reason, that hurt more than any other wound he had received before. Expecting a blow that would kill him, Naevius just stood there, waiting.
Instead, nothing came… nothing towards Naevius. Rather, hearing two wings hitting against the wind, followed by a sorrowful call for help.
Letting the little bird go, he heard the chirping sound of its siblings running to their brother's embrace.
How funny, he felt envy.
Envy from the family that seconds earlier was eating him alive.
How much of a pathetic human being he had to be for that?
His eyelids expanded, revealing a clear blue sky above him. Checking his surroundings, he saw that the birds hid away from him. Getting up, he walked towards the edge of the nest, studying below.
"Oh, fuck me." A trembling, scared voice left his lips. "How… oh fuck… oh fuck."
Before Naevius had deliberately drowned himself to escape his old house, and that was only because he had a chance of surviving. A small one, but he had.
But now? Falling from god knows how many meters, this nest was up in the sky. That chance was way smaller than before. Sadly for him, there wasn't much time for a choice right now.
He had made his choice before, and that choice was "Mercy". Giving the mother mercy, he didn't know what she would give him back, and that problem was far bigger now that the sound of her wings coming back grew louder.
"Please, just one more miracle…"
And with his eyes closed, Naevius jumped straight down.
First came the crack of either a branch of his own back.
Followed by the sound of his head hitting against something. That was the last thing he heard.