Girl of Prey CH. 1 “Silent Companions”

  It was a quiet morning, fog still thick upon the earth, and birds still asleep in their nests. A creature stirs within it’s own nest, built within the decrepit remains of a forgotten cabin. With a yawn and a stretch, she began her morning routine; comb through her ebony lock with her talons, then do the same with the great dark wings sprouting from between her shoulders, completing the ritual by simply brushing away stray debris from the soft down on her skin.

  With her grooming done, she sets out for breakfast, as now is when the smaller game start to roam. She weaves silently through the Appalachian forestry, watching and keeping alert for a quick meal. It soon becomes apparent though, that the fog has obscured all prey from view, for now. Huffing in annoyance, she swoops gracefully into the branches of an old Fagus Grandifolia. She is hidden from sight but with a clear view of the surrounding tree line and the cliff side upon which the tree stands. She decides to enjoy the sunrise, and hunt at a more reasonable hour, later.
  The young Harpy had just settled down for a nap in the morning light when she heard it. Soft footsteps crunching through dew laden leaves on the woods floor, and a light humming in accompanance. She rose silently and tensed, her plumage bristling in turn. She knew humans walked on two legs, like her, but there shouldn’t be any in the woods nearby for miles. Fear of being seen and curiosity of this human kept her from flying away, instead, she stilled and watched quietly.
  A few moments later, a girl in her late teens emerged from the tree line, still humming and looking content. She did not spot the creature hidden in the branches of the nearby tree. The girl stopped and looked around while removing strange lengths of cord from her ears; her humming stopped, but her smiled remained. 
  The human’s smile seemed to brighten when her eyes focused on a smooth patch of stone at the very edge of the cliff, seeming to have chosen her destination. It was at this point that the harpy in the trees noticed the satchel hanging freely from the girl’s shoulder. As the girl settled directly beneath the creature’s perch, she drew from it a bundle of papers and pencils.  She then settled on the very edge of the ledge, legs swinging freely in the air. Then she promptly began sketching the sunrise over the mountains.
  Curiosity now in full gear and breakfast forgotten, the being above simply stared, now given the opportunity to fully study this girl from another world. Straight, sandy blonde hair to her shoulders. Tanned skin with freckles spattered lightly over her shoulders and what little of her arms was showing. The creature tried leaning for a better view, but that jostled the branch, causing the human to stop her scribbling and listen tensely. Hearing nothing, she shrugged and continued on as if nothing had occurred. 
  A quiet huff of relief left the being’s lips as she settled back down to watch the girl draw in silence. It was almost a companionable moment, and the steady sound of the pencil on paper began to lull the harpy into a sleepy, relaxed state. A few moments later however, a horrible tone filled the air, a shrill cacophony of what seemed to be people screaming to a melody. The harpy lets out a surprised squawk, while the girl only jumped slightly, not hearing the sound above her over the volume of the angry screaming. She pulled a small device from a pouch in her second- skin, and tapped the front of it gently. The sounds stopped mercifully, and the harpy relaxed visibly, although still quite miffed. The human girl then brought the noise box to her ear and began to speak into it. Curious once more, the creature cranes her neck to hear better.
  “Hey babe!” The device made some muffled sounds, almost like another voice. It sounded upset. “I’m drawing a sketch for my sunrise painting, like I said. What? Did you not think I’d get up early enough for this?” More muffled and now angry sounds. “I left a note for you, you looked really tired so I let you sleep, you worked hard yesterday.” The muffled sounds were full on mad now. “Uh, no. I’m by myself out here, I told you I’m” She was cut off by shouting. She responded in turn, “You know what, fine! I’m on my way back and there better be some pie left!”
  The girl tapped the device again and the air was silent once more, she huffed and slumped down in frustration. “Jerk.” She muttered. She lifted her head for a moment, just breathing in the mountain air and enjoying the last few moments of the sunrise, before packing away her supplies in her satchel and standing slowly. It was obvious she had let her legs go numb, from the way she stumbled for her foothold. She stretched as the harpy looked on curiously, and watched as a single pencil fell from one of the satchel pockets. 
  What happened next happened in slow motion, the girl attempted to catch the pencil before it was lost to gravity, and in turn her balance was thrown off.
  She fell.
  Alarm gripped the hidden creature tight as she watched the events unfold, her content state shattered. She didn’t think, she only reacted. And the last thing the human saw before she blacked out in fear was a dark shadow launching over the cliff after her.