The Hittanian Liver Bird- World Craft Club Flashfic Prompt: That’s not a cryptid! Write about unusual animal behaviors that have resulted in expansive mythologies.
Chellena looked out of her cabin window across the plain to see the neighbor's shuttle landing in the distance. She shook her head. She'd moved halfway across the galaxy to get away from other people.
She grabbed her morning tea and walked out to the front porch, where she was confronted by a monster, staring her down with bright red eyes.
The creature stood about three feet tall, sported a hooked beak, strong legs ending in razor-like talons, lanky arms with long, clawed fingers and a brilliant crest of red, white and black feathers. The Hittanian liver bird.
People said that it took down prey thirty times its size. People said it could hypnotize the unwary by flashing its brilliant crest. People said that would eat only the liver, and leave the rest of the body to rot.
People said all of that and more, but none of it was true. The claws and beak were for digging up grubs, the crest was a mating display and the "liver" name came from the creature's purple-red scales and the slight iron scent it always seemed to carry.
Chellena sat in the lone wooden chair on her front porch, and the liver bird leapt up and nestled into her lap, where it almost fit comfortably. She patted its head, which was answered with a happy chittering.
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No, the Hittanian liver bird wasn't dangerous. But it did keep the neighbors away.
The Dive- World Craft Club Flashfic Prompt: Rites of Passage - write about a rite of passage, it can be one that is an organized event or just something people typically do as they grow up.
Far outside the comfortable, clear bubble that contained the city of Tra-Kirakna, Kepki looked over the gray, stony cliff edge, watching the sapphire blue water churning below. His antennae twitched in trepidation even as his friends cheered him on. Most of them had taken the dive last summer, and he was the last one left to take the dive this year.
Looking at his cheering peers, he caught Rekka's gaze. Something about her glistening black eyes and the bright orange sheen of her shell gave Kepki the courage to take the leap. He fell through the air, pointing straight down and impacting the water with passable grace.
He continued down, stroking against the water when his momentum faded away. He reached the sea bed and looked around for his prize. Finding the perfect shell, he grabbed it and swam for the surface and the shore.
He broke the surface and strode proudly over to his friends, who had clambered down the hill from the cliff top to the beach. They met him with cheers and slapped him on the back as he held his prize up high.
Like the others, he would weave the shell into a necklace as a keepsake. Many males gave their necklaces to their sweethearts. Maybe one day he would give his necklace to Rekka, but he'd displayed enough bravery for today.