Sequoia Coast cheerio

/fans self

I feel like I'm in the presence of bird celebrity.

The delicate whisper of wings alerted Kovacs to company. Plenty of seagulls made their home on the shore, but they announced themselves as airborne elephants might - loudly, and without grace. There was nothing remotely ninja about a gull.

Without moving his head at first, Kovas turned his burnished gaze skywards - lo and behold, above his head sailed the black mascot of pestilence and death. It seemed to be hovering, almost hungrily - as if anticipating a misstep to bring the titan to his knees and split his gut open for the bird to peck at. Kovas shot the nearby tree-line a guarded look and paused to inhale deeply through his nose. If the bird was a harbinger of something, it wasn't lurking there.

"I haven't got any food," he growled into the air, tipping his head back to squint at the flapping shadow.