Felix flew through the sky at full speed, his wing already healed after a few weeks of rest. A large shadow followed him, keeping up with his swift maneuvers. His breath was running short. Just then he saw a thin basalt cliff he could hide behind — hopefully losing his pursuer. He darted just beyond the dark grayish stone in the blink of an eye.
There he hid in a hole barely big enough to fit him, catching his breath. The crackling sound of wings flapping outside came closer as the shadow that had been following him mixed with the shadow of the cliffside and disappeared. Felix held his breath with some difficulty, only exhaling when he thought the threat had passed.
'We need to move. She's right on our tail.'
He peered out of the small hole and turned back the way he came, intending to get out as soon as he could. What he didn't expect, however, were three pairs of eyes staring directly at him — boring into him with a certain hunger that couldn't be satisfied. His heart skipped a beat.
Just as the scaled predators began moving in, Felix spun his body, dodging their sharp claws as he fell from the cliff. He quickly oriented himself midair, regaining some semblance of balance before shooting off. He made sure to stay close to the cliffs and fly through any opening smaller than his hunters.
After a few twists and turns, he no longer felt the pressure of the chase.
His red eyes glistened in the open sky. It was a mostly regular day for Felix ever since the incident with the centipede king. He sighed, finally having lost them. Slowing down, he rose high into the sky, gliding along and looking down on the land below.
The land was encircled by snowy mountains, their peaks almost reaching the solid white sky. The ground was filled with luscious forests, dense jungles, breathtaking cliffs, fields of flowers, and expanses of ash and sand. The view should have been beautiful.
But Felix only saw a prison.
The distant mountains were like walls — many a time he had tried to venture beyond them, but something always prevented him. The sky, if one could even call it that, was more like the seal on a jar, he thought, even though he couldn't exactly grasp the concept of a jar. Still, he felt oddly attached to this place.
He shook his head as he slowly approached his destination.
Near the edge of this prison sat a lone hill covered in vibrant blue flowers, and beneath that hill stood a golden tree. Well — it used to be golden. Now the tree had almost withered away, reduced to a hollow husk of what it once had been. He scanned his surroundings, making sure he wasn't followed, before descending and entering through the hollow trunk.
Although it looked small from above, it was once called the Great Tree — both for its hue and its size. The inside was quite spacious, even if slightly impractical to live in.
'Did you find him?'
A voice immediately appeared in his mind. Felix shook his head.
'The patrols are getting harder to evade. I even had one of her kids chase me.'
Monte rushed to his side, checking him for any injuries. 'Whoa, are you okay?'
Felix nodded. 'I managed to shake them off by the blade cliffs, but I don't know how much longer this can go on.' He paused. 'I'm afraid they'll find this place soon.'
Monte patted him on the back, making Felix puff out his feathers. 'Don't worry — if they come here, we'll just have to move to the next place.'
Felix took a deep breath. 'That's just the thing. There's no next place.'
Monte froze, nervously asking, 'Would you care to explain?'
'I went by the other hideouts. They're crawling with monsters.'
A vein almost popped on Monte's head. 'So you mean to tell me that you didn't even bother to check on your super-secret hideouts — the ones you won't even tell me about?'
Felix stayed silent for a moment. 'I didn't expect them to be discovered.'
Monte stomped his little feet. It was clearly supposed to make him look angry, but instead it just made him look cuter — like a girl pouting.
'When did you last visit them?'
Felix thought for a moment, then slowly said, 'Fifty years ago, give or take.'
Monte let out a deep breath. 'We'll figure something out,' he said, holding his head with his front feet.
The inside of the hollow tree was quiet. They both felt no need to converse further.
After a while of silence, Monte bolted to his hind legs.
'Do you hear it?'
Felix shook his head.
'They're here.'
They looked at each other, nodded, and rushed to get out of the tree while they still could. Felix flew toward the opening he had used to come in — but before he could reach it, it was already plugged by the jaws of a young basilisk. Monte squeezed his small body into a hole he had dug out previously, hoping to escape underground. As he crawled through the tunnel, it collapsed before him. Sunlight flooded the now-open hole, covered only by sharp claws reaching deep inside. Monte had no choice but to turn back.
The tunnel collapsed behind him.
Felix tried his hardest to find a solution — to find a way out — but it was too late. He hid in a dark corner and watched as the tree trunk was crushed and ripped in half. Two large basilisks stared down into the open tree, sticking their heads in and searching for their target. Another two basilisks, smaller in size, dug out the underground tunnel, revealing Monte — his paws covering his eyes from the sudden sunlight.
"Found ya."
The words simply appeared in Monte's mind. They weren't exactly spoken, but he could feel the meaning behind the two sets of eyes staring down at him.
They were caught, with nowhere to run.