Title: Ornithophobia
Fandom: The Mentalist
Rating: PG-13
Length: 100 words
Content notes: Spoilers for 6x08.
Author notes: A drabble. Written for the Z challenge on fan_flashworks.
Summary: From A to Z.



It all started when he was five. The kindergarten teacher had taken them to the park; he was feeding pigeons – smiling happily at the funny birds gathering all around him – when another kid came running and scared the pigeons into flight.

He fell to the floor, bruising his knees – frightened of those creatures flapping furiously everywhere – crying for help until the teacher came to his rescue.

Later on, a pigeon was his first victim – he was practicing with his sling – and he stared curiously as blood trickled to the ground.

Pigeons also proved to be his undoing in the end.