Dishonest Hearts

Intro As she breathed deeply she smelt the sweet leather that was under her feet. It would have been tainted to anyone else by the slight smell of meat except that she liked it; it was why she came here so willingly. The man behind her whispered to her and she knew where she had to go, it wouldn’t take her long, she was very fast. She flexed her strong legs and as her talons bit into the toughened leather she pushed upwards with an incredible force considering her size. She spread her compact wings and flexed her swooping tail behind her. As she launched into the air she felt the cold wind rustle her spotted underbelly, it was wonderful. She flapped three times and was in the clouds, soaring majestically above everything with only one objective. She knew she was to fly south, she was the fifth generation of a perfect bloodline, and she was bred to perform just as she was right now. As she scanned the rugged mountain terrain below her she felt sad that she would be leaving it for so long. She loved to hunt here; the snow was deep and provided her prey with a false sense of safety. She had been known to dive up to three feet deep in the snow to catch something tasty. Her master was smiling as she circled back around before starting her journey. He was as solitary as she was, though lately there had been many others here in their home. She counted roughly fifty alone in the clearing watching silently as he sent her away. They stood there with large round eyes that would have been comical if not for the implications of them being here. He had sent so many out already yet more seemed to arrive all the time. The people of this land had left long ago, only her master had stayed to hunt by her side. He was not as quick as she was but he was quite efficient at finishing off what she started. As she thought about her wonderful master she looked ahead of her and was disappointed at what she saw. Her eyes were very good and she could see a large body of water in the distant south. It was rushing up against a large, flat land that held little imagination. There was a gathering of dwellings all set closely together seeming to circle a massive monstrosity of human design. She never understood their need to create such elaborate homes, but here was a perfect example of their need to conquer all, including nature. Her master had spoken often of the city to the south, and of the one in the middle. She was glad that she didn’t have to travel as far as the land in the distance; it was lacking completely in wild life and she doubted if even her skills would keep her alive for long there. She refocused on the task at hand; she was after many hours of travel; approaching her destination. A large stone wall was reaching out of the hillside. As the mountains had turned swiftly to hills everything had changed colour as well. The stark grey and white had become a far more vibrant green and yellow. Here the frozen waterway she had often looked to for larger prey had become a babbling brook brimming with all types of fish. She could see them moving just below the surface of the water, how she longed to hunt! While scanning the new terrain she was dismayed to see so many clumps of humans. Unlike her kind they seemed to prefer sharing their hunting ground and territory. In this area alone she could see two distinct groupings that must contain hundreds in each. The way they moved was very different from each other yet they all looked the same to her. She wanted nothing more than to return to the sweet leather encompassing her master’s well muscled arm. She didn’t need to remind herself of her duty. He had sent her and promised that tomorrow she would no longer be alone, and he had fed her well enough to last as long as needed without hunger. As she lowered herself on to the wall she watched carelessly as a man ran towards a large stone building that rose from the hillside like it was inherent. She saw the few hundred dwellings set within the limits of the walls and was bored already; she couldn’t wait for her master to arrive and send her home.