Blackberry stepped up so that she was next to her child. The fight had been successful, especially for Huckleberry's first time! She was proud of her child, as she was proud of all of her children. If the strangest one, the smallest one, could do this, she was hopeful that the others would succeed as great as well.
An instinct that had never before been awoken in her, probably because of having a child so close, she reached forward to prune feathers on the back of Huckleberry's neck that were sticking up and stopped herself in time. She froze. Her beak, it was so sharp. Too sharp. She could hurt her child, perhaps kill him if she scratched too deep.
Instead, she shut her beak and gave him a small, affectionate nudge to his neck before stepped up to the bird's side. "No, Huckleberry. We will not kill this one. We have no need. It has done nothing wrong. We will not take his gem either." She looked down and saw its strong body, although young. It was a little torn and bruised, but it would heal. She narrowed her eyes. Did she dare? Would she? How would Huckleberry react? But he had fought well. With a little training, he could be a great fighter and a great member of the family.
"What is your name, young one?" Her voice was not gentle, not as it had been with Mulberry. This was a different child, older, more aware. And her child had just beaten it.
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"Lock the doors and close the blinds"
We're going for a ride.
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