The V-shaped formation cut across the sky, flying toward the far end of the coastline.
The giant bird at its head held his wings level, gliding on the rising air currents. The ocean and white surf below were reflected in his golden eyes as he replayed that brief clash and the strange reactions of those two-legged beasts.
Ordering a retreat was the right decision.
The unknown meant risk. Those yellow strips with their overpowering aroma had to be some unprecedented kind of bait. The cunning of two-legged beasts had long been etched into the blood memories passed down through the generations.
"Back to base! Boys, shake those tail feathers and keep up!" (No more bird sounds in the dialogue after this; they're wasting your word count, gentlemen.)
The leader's long cry carried through the wind.
The flock behind him immediately adjusted its formation and followed close. Their injured companion flew steadily between two escorts. Never abandon a brother-that was the first iron rule he had established.
The cliffside nests soon came into view.
The gray-black rock face was riddled with holes worn by the sea wind, with hundreds of white figures perched upon it. Atop the cliff, shallow pits had been scraped into the rock and lined with a little dry grass and a few feathers. The skuas were accustomed to nests like these.
Crude, but effective. With an open field of view, easy to defend and hard to attack, it was a perfect fortress.
The leader folded his wings and landed gracefully on a jutting rock at the highest point. That was his personal throne.
"Kowo! Report the results!"
A skua whose head feathers were grayer and whiter than those of the others landed beside him.
"Boss, we successfully seized three bags of white powder. Based on the smell,