As Kigen had been making his way back, he had that the forest was teeming with life. It was full of all manner of animals, from the smallest to the greatest he had could of.
There were all sorts of mammals, birds, reptiles, and even some tree frogs. Once, he had almost been caught by a chameleon's tongue, but it turned out the chameleon was after the bee he had been stalking.
The most memorable sight had been when he walked through a certain tree. Unlike other trees, this one had something placed somewhere around the crown of the tree.
When he drew closer, he found that it was a bird's nest. He had seen several nests along the way, belonging to all manner of birds. However, something drew him to this particular nest.
Upon close inspection, he realized there was something perched in the nest. He had felt something pulling him away back then, but he had decided to draw closer.
That was when he saw it. A golden eagle was comfortably sitting in its nest, probably laying eggs.
Kigen had been both spooked and horrified by this. He did not expect to see his fated enemy so soon, and while he was still in a vulnerable state. Hence, at the time, he had made sure to keep away from sight, just in case the eagle decided to have a light snack.
He had not been able to tell whether this particular eagle was the one that had harassed him, but he did not care. After the incident, eagles had become his hated enemy, especially golden eagles.
Now that he was back in top shape, he felt that he had to take action. In his mind, he thought that since an eagle had caused trouble to him, he should not allow the eagle to continue living close to him.
If he had his way, he would eradicate each and every eagle he came across. Normally, Kigen was not that vindictive or vengeful. However, he felt he had been pushed to the limit. All these situations made him feel as though his back was against the wall, so he had to push back.
Hunting that eagle and destroying that nest was his way of pushing back. As a bonus, he would get to consume an eagle.
With this thought in mind, he readied himself. As his hind wings started beating, he felt a sudden burst of acceleration. After the injuries he had endured, Kigen had noticed that not just his body had grown sturdier than before, even his wings were performing much better, especially the hind wings.
After the previous experience though, Kigen was more cautious than before. He did not fly too high above the tree line. Since he was green, the green on the treetops provided a great camouflage.
He could vaguely remember the direction, but he was not exactly clear on the distance. Hence, he just started flying in that general direction, hoping to find the nest. As he did, he couldn't help thinking of his human days where he'd been a hunter by profession.
Back then, just before setting out on a hunt, he would mentally prepare himself for the upcoming fight. He would always give his prey the proper respect. This was what he was doing now.
He knew the eagle would not go down easily. Given that he'd be near a nest, there could be more than one eagle in the vicinity.
There was also the possibility that there were baby eagles in the nest, or possibly eggs. If that was the case, the eagles were bound to be extra vicious. However, this did not deter Kigen, for he had a plan.
He could still remember how he had taken down the small mouse that had been following him, and he wondered if the same strategy would work on bigger and more ferocious animals.
Finally, he spotted the eagle's nest. It did not take him long to find it, which meant the nest was quite close to the mother tree. This further reinforced his belief that it must have been the home of the eagle that attacked him.
Once he did, he quickly concealed himself under some tree leaves and started observing his target.
From his vantage point, he could tell the eagles' nest was located in the highest point of the tree, which happened to be a couple of feet taller than the surrounding trees. It did not stand out as the mother tree did, but it was still imposing.
On the nest, there was an eagle laying still, probably on some eggs. Kigen couldn't tell yet. The creature was a magnificent sight. Last time, he had not gotten a chance to observe it properly, since he had been on the run. Now, he was taking it all in.
Firstly, given his small stature, the eagle looked massive. It seemed bigger than a barn, and this was just the section he could see. Just it's head, from the neck up, looked as tall as his whole torso, and possibly thicker too. The protruding beak looked longer than his arm.
As he observed, the eagle was looking around. It's fierce gaze and crooked beak made it look insufferably arrogant. At some point, Kigen was shocked when the eagle looked directly at him, but only briefly.
Could it have spotted him? He wondered, taking effort to conceal himself further.
However, Kigen was undeterred. If he was going to have any hope of ruling the skies, then he had to take on these massive beasts and show them who was boss.
Once he was finished with his observations, he decided to go forward with his plan.
As an experienced hunter, he was not going to attack the eagle directly. His plan involved making his way to eagle's nest without being seen and then attacking from under the nest. This meant that he had to make his approach under the cover of trees, remaining as inconspicuous as possible.
Wings fluttering away, he slowly made his approach. The various branches and twigs did not pose any threat to him, and he easily glided, bobbed and weaved, all the while maintaining a steady pace that was neither too fast nor too slow.
Along the way, he spotted a couple of rodents, possibly squirrels, and some other smaller birds. However, he walked past them, heading to his true goal. As he drew nearer, he discovered these animals were lessening. He guessed no one wanted to live next to an apex predator.
Finally, he was right beneath the nest, carefully observing it. He knew that despite it seeming peaceful, a dangerous predator resided in there. He had to be careful, for any mistake could mean terrible danger.
Looking at the nest itself, he realized how massive it was too. Moreover, despite it being made mostly of grass, and twigs, and both small and big branches, it was a very sturdy construction. Infiltrating it would not be as simple as he thought.
Kigen moved closer until he was directly under the nest. He was now increasingly cautious, moving very slowly and making sure to not make a sound. He was no longer flying, since he feared the wings would attract the eagle's attention.
Fortunately, he had gotten quite good at climbing, and part of his body appeared to be wooden. Moving slowly, Kigen felt his way around the underside of the nest, trying to spot a weakness.
As he quickly discovered, the nest really was as sturdy as it seemed. This was a testament to the strength of these massive eagles. Especially coming from the ground up, it seemed to be made especially to prevent this kind of intruder.
However, Kigen was undaunted. Neither the eagle nor the nest beneath it would deter him from his vengeance. He needed to reclaim his confidence in the skies.
With much effort, Kigen managed to pry through the many twigs. However, the eagle above was getting anxious. Sometime ago, it had started to move about frantically.
Kigen was extremely worried that he had been discovered. His heart palpitated with tension as he anticipated all the manner of punishment the eagle would unleash on him, should he get caught.
As he continued to dig, he realized just how thick the nest floor was. He felt a sense of DeJa'Vu as he remembered his experience with the mouse, diving underground. Remembering how defenseless he'd been, he wondered if he should proceed.
Unfortunately, by now he was too committed at this point, he couldn't pull back even if he wanted to. Therefore, he did not stop, he couldn't stop.
Finally, his right hand breached the surface, and he could finally see what was happening up above. Curious, he pulled out his hand to see what was directly above him.