Leon opened his eyes and for the first time in a long time he wondered if he had made the right choice.

Sunlight struck like a viper, and the next few seconds were spent in bleary blinking sight. He silently gave a blessing that this was not a hangover day, and began to prop himself up to get a better view of the surroundings.

His hand contacted the floor and was met with a brittle snap and he looked down at the complete lack of bed and significant overpopulation of sticks in his vicinity.

He looked around, brain sleep heavy but just aware enough to register several things. First, this was a nest. Second, this was a big nest, and last but by no means least…

Those were some big eggs.

A harsh, tin-whistle shriek rang out across the sky, and the last dregs of sleep were pulled away just in time for Leon to feel panic.

He scrambled to the edge of the ridiculously large nest, eyes darting to the sky, and the sight of the floor 30 feet below had his stomach dropping to the floor.

The sound of beating wings made itself known as a shadow began to cruise over the canopy of trees below.

Leon scrambled around to the edge of the stone eddy in which the nest resided, spotting a bushel of foliage along the side. He hesitated, but another booming screech was enough to have him over the edge.

He scrambled through branches, no concern for physical safety, and thanked himself for not sleeping naked as the clothes he wore took most of the blows.

He managed to make it maybe another couple of feet down before the foliage abruptly cut off, the trunk of the tree Leon stood upon swaying dangerously under his weight. He was painfully aware of the lack of cover above him.

Down below, closer but still dizzyingly far, a more distant patch of foliage, along with a sizeable lake which shone in the stark morning light. In it, he caught a blur of reflection, and felt a gust of wind from above.

He looked up and blanched.

That’s a big bird.

He had time to get one last look at the behemoth plunging down towards him before his grip failed.

He fell.