Sleepy Fox Hollow we are just happy to serve you

Set January 4th, early morning.  Thread prompt: Finds an injured baby animal

She'd nearly stepped upon the thing, not seeing it among the bare-branched trees. It blended with the drab colors of winter. A weak little sound drew her attention, though, and Maegi now gazed down at a juvenile red-tailed hawk, one of its wings folded beneath it. 

Irreparable. Broken. And she held up her clubbed paw, the mirror of the raptor's disability, and felt her throat burn with sorrow. 

She had been incredibly fortunate throughout her life to survive. This bird would likely not receive the same treatment. Maegi was surprised that a predator hadn't picked it off already; her own traitorous stomach gave a gurgle in the presence of such an easy meal. 

She reached out to pull a fallen evergreen bough closer, shielding the hawk from the chill. It gave a tremulous squawk and pecked in her direction, missing her cheek by a significant distance. 

Weak. Dying. Wouldn't the ultimate kindness be to send the bird into the next life? She frowned, sitting with a sigh. She sat vigil, waiting (for what?). Agonizing.