[Gift] The 11th Hour | Pinecone

The forest canopy swayed beneath a cold evening wind while Spice crouched on a thick pine branch, her striped tail dangling lazily below her. Tiny wings folded against her back shimmered dark purple beneath the fading light. Pine sap clung to her claws as she gathered ammunition beside her, a heap of rather heavy pinecones. Far below, Abaddon moved through the trees.

The massive black creature glided silently between trunks, feathered tail curling behind them like a living shadow. Their hooked beak tilted upward once, orange eyes narrowing immediately. They already knew Spice was nearby. Unfortunately. Spice grinned with one visible fang and hurled the first pinecone.

Thunk.

The pinecone bounced directly off Abaddon’s forehead, they stopped walking. Silence spread through the woods, an almost eerie lack of sound that would send any other creature fleeing for safety but not the little menace in the trees. Spice covered her mouth, snickering loudly anyway. “Oops.” Abaddon stared upward without moving. “You have exactly five seconds to stop.”

“Or what?” Spice chirped. Another pinecone struck Abaddon across the shoulder. Thunk. A third followed immediately after, bouncing off one wing. Abaddon exhaled slowly through their nose. “You are testing my patience.” Spice launched two more pinecones in quick succession as a retort. One missed entirely, but the other smacked against Abaddon’s beak hard, the bigger dragon's eyes narrowed dangerously. Before they finally spread their enormous wings. Wind exploded through the branches as Abaddon launched upward toward the canopy with a grace that was almost mesmerizing. Spice squealed with laughter, that now seemed perhaps a tad strained and darted across the treetop before Abaddon could reach her. She leaped from one branch to another with reckless speed, claws scraping bark while her wings snapped open to keep balance.

“You’re too slow!” she shouted. Abaddon pursued her through the pines, weaving around trunks with heavy wingbeats that shook loose needles everywhere they passed. Despite their larger size, they flew with frightening precision. Spice glanced back just in time to see Abaddon nearly on top of her. She yelped and dropped suddenly through the branches. Abaddon folded their wings and dove after her. Spice twisted sharply around a tree trunk, snatched another pinecone mid-flight, and threw it blindly behind her.

Crack.

The pinecone burst against Abaddon’s cheek. “Oh, that was a good one,” Spice cackled. Abaddon’s voice became dangerously calm. “When I catch you...” They didn’t finish their sentence but the threat was clear. Spice zipped upward again, spiraling through the branches like an irritating insect. Abaddon followed relentlessly, claws extended now, clearly done with warnings. The chase tore through half the forest. Pine needles rained from broken branches while startled birds exploded from the trees ahead of them. Spice finally landed atop the tallest pine near the cliffside, panting hard. Her ears twitched as Abaddon rose slowly from below, glaring at her with cold orange eyes. For one brief moment, both creatures were still., then Spice smirked. She lifted the largest pinecone yet. Abaddon pointed one claw upward immediately. “Don’t.”

Spice threw it directly at their face. The pinecone struck with a loud smack. Abaddon lunged. Spice shrieked, a noise that sounded both scared and gleeful, before springing backward off the tree, and dove away into the darkening sky before Abaddon could grab her. Her cackling faded into the distance. Abaddon hovered alone above the swaying pines, covered in sap, needles, and pinecone dust.

“…Brat,” they muttered.