Chapter Text
Living in a pond in the middle of a lush, secluded forest was not as peaceful as you'd think it would be. Especially if you were a frog.
Nearly everything will eat you if you get them the chance, her mother and father always warned her, even the ones without sharp teeth. Their mouth just has to be big enough.
Thankfully, that limited Tsuyu's predator pool significantly. She was strangely large for a frog, swiftly outgrowing her parents and siblings.
Only she and her brother and sister survived this year's brood. They liked to joke that Tsu absorbed her siblings' spirits.
Tsu didn't think those jokes were in good taste, but all the other frogs in the pond didn't seem to mind, so she kept quiet.
Sentiment and sympathy were not things that frogs knew to express, Tsuyu learned early on, before she had even grown her legs. All that mattered to them was not getting eaten. While they were scrambling away from every large mouthed fish, Tsuyu was able to relax, knowing that there were very few fish big enough to even attempt to eat her. She was completely safe in the water.
The same could not be said about above water, however. The other frogs often told stories of giant birds with hooked beaks and sharp talons that would snatch you straight from the air if you weren't always scanning the sky every time you hopped onto land.
These tales, which were meant to instill terror in their hearts, only fueled Tsuyu's curiosity. How could such creatures fly, if they were as big as she was told? How could any birds fly, for that matter? Tsuyu was determined to figure it out.
Every day, after eating her fill of mosquito larvae, minnows, dragonflies, and whatever other unlucky critters she found, Tsuyu would swim to the patch of lily pads and just barely peek her eyes out of the water. She would sit that way for hours, watching for any hint of feathers she could find.
Tsuyu did not have to wait long. Dozens of little birds would flit around, scooping insects out of the air and chirping at each other as they passed by.
We're not so different, Tsuyu thought, we both move swiftly to catch insects.
The thing that shocked her the most was the way the small birds interacted with each other. They danced and played, and when they got tired of that, they'd perch in the cool shadows of tree branches and fix each other's feathers.
Tsuyu could never do that with the other frogs. Everyone knew that big frogs eat small frogs, they'd never let her that close.
Besides, frogs don't even have feathers.
She didn't see many other types of birds. Sometimes the occasional slightly larger red or blue ones hung around, but never in groups like the little, swift birds. They were Tsuyu's favorite anyway.
Tsuyu had just about chalked up the stories of giant, sharp beaked birds to just that—stories.
Then she saw one.
It was huge. Tsuyu could hardly believe her eyes. It circled the sky, its wings carrying it in a slow but sure descent. When it was low enough, it flapped its wings once to slow itself down, and swung its legs forward. It opened its wicked talons and grabbed the tree branch tightly, coming to a graceful stop a little too close to the pond for the other frogs' comfort. Tsuyu heard splashes behind her as they dove back below the surface.
Tsuyu refused to hide. She hadn't waited this long to see it to just run away now. She had to get a closer look.
Against all good judgement, she left the safety of the pond, and for the first time in her life, she hopped onto land.