So, this is the thanks I get?

“You did what?!” Cyclone and Songy’s parents squawked in unison.

“I totally saved Songy’s tail feathers from some slimey ol’ Sneasel! She would have been dead meat if not for me!”

Songy, huddled between their parents, just remained silent, her head facing down.

“I told you countless times, always use your speed to escape danger!” father Taillow said.

“And I told you, that ice rat came from nowhere! What, you want Songy to be dead right now?”

Songy whimpered and buried her head under her wing. Their mother began preening her.

The father just sighed. His reckless daughter was right, in a way. “Look. I am glad that you were able to fight that creature off. But please, never endanger yourself again. Be more aware of your surroundings and this never would have happened in the first place.”

“Bull! We can’t predict everything!”

“This is why you need to learn to be more cautious, always be on the lookout!” To prove a point, father Taillow harshly pecked Cyclone on the top of her head.

“So, this is the thanks I get?”

“Please, keep your voices down” mother Taillow interrupted. She continued gently preening Songy. Cyclone scoffed. How could her sister, her best training partner, turn into this sad sack? How could her own parents not recognize how heroic and awesome she was?

Well, she would just have to get better, faster, and stronger.

From then on, nearly every day, Cyclone would try and urge Songy to come out and speed train with her. “Um, not today. I’ll just... stick close to the nest. Train around here.”

“You’ll never get stronger staying at home all day! Come on, Tweety and Singy are too slow and boring, don’t be like them!”

Their morning conversations always ended with Songy remaining silent and Cyclone huffing in exasperation, and then taking off. Their parents had given up trying to scold her or get her to listen to their advice. If she wanted to be a daredevil and end up as a Sneasel snack, so be it. There was only so much they could do to ensure her survival.

Cyclone spent her days trying to perfect her moves, sometimes using a dead branch or even a low hanging cloud for target practice. Once, she saw a Caterpie crawling along the forest floor. Cyclone gained altitude and then dive-bombed into the poor bug, its guts exploding upon impact. Wasting a potential meal was never a wise thing, but the spectacle was worth it. She hated how her other family members were missing out on all this fun. The rare times Cyclone encountered a Sneasel, she found that the boomerang slam, U-Turn, always did the trick in making them back off. They were almost too easy to defend against.

----

Part two of "Fight and Flight"

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