We'll be seeing you soon

Streaks of red splashed across the sky as Eve prepared for her first hunt since the eggs had hatched. Otis had brought them food the last three weeks, but now their owlets had grown their down and could keep themselves warm, she was ready to fly. She stood on the branch outside the hollow, listening for the tiny sounds that betrayed her prey, but was distracted by a clicking from her home. The owlets were hungry, climbing all over each other. She hooted softly, reassuring them that feeding time was near. A pang of doubt shot through her but she ruffled her feathers and shook her head. Of her five eggs, only these three had survived. They were strong now, their chirps loud, their wings growing. They would be fine.

Spreading her wings, Eve soared into the air. For a few minutes, all she did was fly, swooping and stretching her body. It had been so long since she’d been this free. Usually, she would stay low, but tonight she shot towards the sky, gliding across the treetops and marvelling at the beauty of the woodland at sunset. As she flew, her ears homed in on the unmistakeable squeaking and scrabbling of a distressed wood mouse. Perhaps it had spotted her in the sky? It didn’t matter. Eve dived, her talons outstretched to catch her prey.

She heard it before she saw it, the human. It had called out, possibly to others, trying to alert them quietly, but not quietly enough. Eve shot up, swerving around the silver hoop the human had brandished at her, and settled high in a birch, eyeing the intruders beadily, heart pounding beneath her feathers. There they were, ugly pink faces staring at her. Two full-grown humans, with an assortment of metal equipment and nets, greed in their eyes.

“That’s the mother,” the closest human said. Eve hissed at it, and it let out an unpleasant barking sound, “She’s a feisty one.”

“Come on, Keith, let’s go see how the boys are doing with the babies,” said the smaller one, gathering its peculiar instruments.

Eve didn’t take her eyes off the humans as they set off through the trees. The small human didn’t look back, but the other stopped and called back to her.

“We’ll be seeing you soon, ma’am. You and those precious chicks of yours.”

He bared his teeth at her, then disappeared. Eve stayed frozen, listening intently as the sound of the humans crashing through the woods grew fainter. It wouldn’t be safe to hunt here. She’d have to fly further.

Just as she spread her wings, a terrifying noise ripped through the air, almost making Eve fall out of the tree. The sound echoed through the woods again, and she leapt off the branch. It was the screech of a barn owl. A very familiar screech.

Otis.

Self-preservation, hunting, freedom, none of it mattered anymore; she had to get back to the hollow.

Eve didn’t know she could fly so fast. She glided through the fast-darkening sky silently, swooping between the treetops. At any other time, she would have been impressed with herself. But now, all she could think about was Otis and the owlets. They were in danger.

She stayed low; it was imperative she was not seen. As she flew closer, frightening, unfamiliar sounds filled the woods, disturbing the peace that usually accompanied dusk. Eve flew faster still as she thought of the humans she’d seen before. Travelling on foot, there was no way they could have reached the hollow before her. It wasn’t a comforting feeling. Dread washed through her; there were more humans in the woods.

The bangs and clanging by the hollow were unbearably loud, although not as awful as Otis’s continued screeching. Perching on a branch in a neighbouring tree, Eve peered through the leaves. It took all her willpower not to attack.

Otis was trapped in a net, hanging from a short thick branch of an oak. He screeched and flapped and pecked at the trap, but he was well and truly stuck. From her hiding spot, Eve could just about see into the hollow, where her owlets were flapping and chirping, clearly distressed. A long, metal apparatus had been leaned against the tree, and a human stood at the bottom, getting ready to climb up. They were after her babies.

Eve knew she had to be careful. Otis was fast, intelligent. He had avoided humans many times before. These humans were sly. Any moment, they could catch her. Any moment they could take her owlets away.

The human had begun its climb, moving slowly. It kept stopping and looking around. Eve wasn’t sure why, until one of the humans on the ground yelled, “The mother’s miles away, Greg. Get those babies and let’s get out of here.”

The Greg human kept climbing, and Eve braced herself. This would be dangerous. But it could save all their lives.

When it was near the top, its bulbous hand releasing the climbing apparatus to reach into the hollow, Eve took off. She waited until she was a few metres away before screeching as loud as she could. The Greg human turned its pink face towards her and she whipped round, crashing her wing into it as she turned. It let out a squeal and wobbled dangerously but regained its balance. It called to its companions for help then began descending clumsily, almost falling several times.

“Greg, what are doing? Get the friggin’ owlets!” yelled a human on the ground, waving its net wildly as Eve circled above their heads.

“Piss off, Kev!” the Greg human yelled back, “I’m being attacked. I’m not staying on a friggin’ ladder to be knocked off by a friggin’ owl!”

At that moment, Eve dived, plummeting towards the ground. She made sure to avoid the Kev human and instead headed for Otis, pulling her head back and positioning her talons. They closed on the net and Eve pulled, flapping her wings hard to try and free her mate. With her pulling it taut, Otis could nip at the net, and soon it began to fray. Eve had to let go before Otis could escape though; one of the humans was running towards her, brandishing a silver hoop. She felt the hoop brush against her feathers as she rocketed out of reach. The humans crowded around Otis, nets and hoops in the air, shouting and stamping to frighten Eve.

She wouldn’t be deterred. The Greg human had finally reached the bottom of the ladder, so she flew towards the hollow, hooting reassuringly to the owlets, and hovered below the branch. A brisk wind threatened to blow her off balance, but it also whipped around the ladder, which wobbled even more without a human to weigh it down. Eve began to grab at the ladder with her talons, pulling it away from the tree’s trunk. After a few attempts, the ladder teetered. Then, slowly at first then at top-speed, it crashed to the ground, the humans jumping out the way to not be crushed.

For a heart-stopping second, Eve thought the ladder had hit Otis in the net. But no, there he was! He had finally cut through the net and was flapping violently over the cowering humans. Eve zoomed down to him, talons ready. They flapped and pecked and clawed at the humans, screeching and hissing while they yelled. Every time a hand reached out to grab a net, Otis nipped the fingers and it retreated with a yelp.

“Sod this, let’s go!” shouted the Kev human, getting to its hands and knees and crawling away from the vicious attack. The other humans followed, occasionally stopping to cover their heads or wipe a bleeding cut, and soon they were scrabbling to their feet and running through the woods.

Eve and Otis flew up to the branch outside the hollow. They glanced inside and the owlets chittered hungrily, climbing all over each other. They still needed to hunt.

Before they took off, Eve and Otis sat side by side for a while, leaning against each other and appreciating the silence that followed the ordeal. They knew the humans would come back. Their home would not be safe for much longer. But for now, they would feed their babies and watch them grow.

They took off soundlessly into the darkness, listening for prey and intruders.

They wouldn’t go too far tonight.