Birds and Rats 3- Bug

The mountainous highlands were peaceful. The land was fairly clear and very much open, with sparse cover from shrubs and the odd persistent tree that was able to grow at such a high altitude. The only creatures that could survive this high up were small and nimble, able to clamber onto the common piles of rocks, keep their footing on the uneven terrain, and make strong leaps across terrifying chasms. So of course, it was perfect for the utahraptor pack. No carnivores could follow them up here. The towering rocks and chasms that had made it so hard for them to reach the high up mountains now protected them from approaching threats. There was plenty of food from the swift legged creatures the pack would chase, and they had even managed to find a den in a crevice on the side of the mountain. Everything was perfect. So of course, Inkblotch showed up again.

Egret huffed in the bed of dried grass he had meticulously formed into a nest, flopping against Trico at his side and pushing the other raptor onto the stone. Trico signed, a sign of his good nature in the fact he did not push back. Hoarfrost was draped over Egret, her nearly pure white feathers blending into Egret to the point she just looked like a lump on his back. Stirring, she sleepily chirped, before the action caused her to fall off Egret with a yelp. Angrily, the juvenile turned and bit onto Egret, little teeth ripping out a chunk of feathers.

“Hey!” Egret hissed, waking up and lashing his limbs around in a panic. Hoarfrost quickly scattered back, spitting out the clump of feathers with an angry hiss of her own. Trico rolled his eyes. Idiots. 

Scenting the fresh, thin, mountain air, Trico frowned as an usual scent hit his nose. However, thanks to said thin mountain air, he was unable to get a good whiff of it. Cautiously stepping out of the den, he had only made it a few feet before a familiar voice rang out. “Hello there.” Freezing, Trico turned to see Inkblotch sitting on a small outlook above their den with no sign of how long she had been there. “It's time for you to fulfill your end of the deal.” 

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Trico, Egret, and Hoarfrost all sat uncomfortably in the wet grass, while Inkblotch stood on a rock in front of them. Daybreak was nowhere to be seen, which Trico couldn't help but be glad about. The less of the flyers, the better.

“So this is about the deal, then?” Egret's voice broke Trico out of his musing. “It's been two weeks since we made it up here- did it take you that long to find us again?” 

Inkblotch made a shrugging motion, something especially strange with wings attached to the shoulders. “We wanted to let you settle in first. After all, you would be no use to us half dead like you were when you arrived.” Her voice had a smug tone to it, causing Hoarfrost to look away awkwardly. The juvenile remembered what it felt like to fall into the abyss, only saved when the two flyers grabbed her and hauled her back up. She shivered.

“Well, now we’re ready.” Hoarfrost spoke, doing her best to put on a brave face. “What do you need?” Her tail trembled a bit, but she quickly grabbed it in her claws and held on to stop its motion. 

Egret cut in, taking the sharp eyes of the flier off of Hoarfrost. “Yeah- just what do you need our help with that you can't take care of?” His tone came off slightly mocking, clearly trying to get a reaction from Inkblotch. 

However, the Tropeognathus barely blinked at the thinly veiled insult. “Come.” She said, spreading her wings and beating them a few times to take off into the air. “I will show you.”

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The Tropeognathus nesting place was further into the rocky area, in an area where large spirals of rocks rose into the air. On top of those nests rested numerous flying species, with even a few birds here and there. Hoarfrost even spotted Daybreak flying by, long strands clamped in her beak. The raptor attempted to wave, but the Tropeognathus was already gone.

Inkblotch led them to the back, where a patch of more sandy soil laid. There were strange holes packed into the soil, as if something small had been digging. Many small things. “We have an infestation.” Inkblotch landed on the ground, wings brushing sand all over the dismayed pack. “Some kind of bugs- termites, we think. They’re in our nesting soil- we use it to build our nests. But with the bugs in it, it's not safe anymore.”

“So what would you like us to do about that?” Trico raised an eyebrow. “We aren’t amazing at digging, and we don’t eat bugs much.”

Inkblotch clacked her beak again. “You don’t need to dig too deep, and you don’t need to completely get rid of them. You just need to rip up as much of their nest as possible, and then the coming rain can fully push them out.” She turned her beak to the sky, bringing to attention the slowly gathering clouds. “I would advise hurrying. The storm will be here soon, and you don’t want to be caught in it.” With one last flap of her wings the Tropeognathus took off, soon vanishing into the flock of many wings. 

Frustrated, Trico looked at the soil. Curiously, he stuck a long claw into the soil, quickly digging into the soft ground. It was fairly easy to move, and it wasn't long before he struck deep enough that the termites started emerging.

Hoarfrost darted forward, closing her jaws around them before swallowing. “Huh. They don’t… taste bad.” She quickly began digging in a different spot, scooping any unfortunate enough to leave the ground near her into her mouth.

Egret groaned- he really did not want to join them in the digging. However, one quick look at the sky and the storm clouds made him change his mind fairly quickly. “This better be the last time those damn birds bother us.” he grumbled, joining Trico in digging in the soil and snatching up the occasional termite. They didn’t have much flavor, thankfully, and were so little he barely noticed them.

Eventually, a yell of triumph from Hoarfrost had Trico and Egret look over. “I found a nest!” She gasped, before sticking her whole head in. Trico hurried over, quickly scraping at the entrance in order to let him and Egret see inside. Indeed, it was some kind of nursery. Small white eggs and larva were everywhere, scattered across the floor. A huge termite sat in the middle of the room, attempting to wiggle away but weighed down by its own abdomen. “The queen.” Trico pointed, and Egret wasted no time in grabbing it and throwing it back. If anything, the queen tasted worse than her children. However, the satisfaction of ending the reason they were doing this in the first place made it all the more sweet.

The three continued to scrape out the nest room as much as they could, before emerging from the hollow tired and dirty. They had made a huge pit in the soil, and multiple smaller ones across the soil. Inkblotch nodded at them as they sulked away, but other than that gave no indication of thanks. Egret hissed quietly to himself as they made the long walk back to their den. Damn birds. They better not bother them again, or next time Egret may just place bugs in their nests.