Ventura Highway in the Sunshine

Jonah touched down in the middle of the southbound lane, tallons clicking against the asphalt as he paced slightly east then west, dismayed by the flock of crows feasting on the tender, dew-kissed fawn. His breath quickened to a soft huff as he struggled to figure how to squeeze in among their sharp, eager beaks and join them in ripping strands of moist pink flesh. A bold male scuttled up and pecked once at Jonah's creamy underbelly, leaving a streak of the deer's blood on the fluffy down and startling Jonah who grabbed a wingful of air and pumped against it, lifting himself high enough to kick the crow away. His tallon plunged through the silky black feathers, through the brittle shell of the crow's skull and caught in the squishy gel of his brain. Jonah began to kick frantically trying to shake the crow loose, but came away with bits of bone and syrupy blood coating his craggy skin and collecting granules of sand from the road as he backed away, sending the feasting flock into the air while the shattered crow spilled onto the road and scavenger flies set to work on the leaking blood. Jonah stepped forward, gently shaking the sticky grit from his claw and sunk his beak into the fawn's cooling belly and tore a satisfying chunk of delicate meat away.