More than a few curious glances caught the duo as they pelted along - past the City Vaults, past the Grand Library, and out across one of the two bridges spanning the city’s central waterway.

The Market District emerged ahead, populated with a myriad of stalls and displays - yet Aven showed no intent of slowing down, towing Nenna along as they wove past merchants, citizens, and guards, out towards-

"Woah, there!"

A set of armored paws swept Nenna off her feet as she ran past, swinging her into the waiting arms of a much larger male hare. Nenna squinted her eyes in protest as a gauntleted paw ruffled her ears. "Daaad!"

Clad in the shimmering metal and supple leather of the Novusgrad City Watch, Nenna’s paternal figure loomed over Aven like some chiseled obelisk of muscle and steel. Weathered yet kindly eyes glimmered forth from behind tufts of silvered fur, regarding his little daughter with bemused curiosity.

"And where do you two think you're off to in such a hurry?" A moment’s reflection, and the guard’s gaze turned suspiciously upon Aven. "Where are you going? Celebration's the other way, down in the courtyard."

For a moment, Aven found himself lost for an explanation, before Nenna reached up and poked her father on his nose impudently. "Silly Dad. We're flirting."

A sharp look from the guard drew a frantic barrage of head-shaking and paw-chopping from the young fox. Somehow, something about the lad’s panicked response, coupled with Nenna’s own muffled giggle, set the towering hare at ease. With a relaxed grin, he set his daughter back down on the cobblestones.

“Well, if you are heading deeper into the city, just keep your wits about you. Me and the boys just finished driving out another gaggle of loose wildlife. You know how those critters are, always looking to loot the city for a tasty meal or some shiny trinket." The guard rubbed his forehead ruefully. "I swear, if Horus dozes off at his post again…"

Noticing the two children fidgeting with scarcely concealed impatience, Nenna’s father cleared his throat. “Alright, you young ‘uns stay out of trouble.”

Aven nodded dutifully in what he hoped was his best impression of the goodest boy who ever lived. Nenna even threw in a lopsided salute, drawing a raised eyebrow from her father, who merely shook his head with a faint smile as he returned to his patrol.

With another tug on her paw, Aven pulled his cohort past the Market, into the city’s sprawling residential district. After a short distance, he glanced about furtively, and ducked aside into a convenient alleyway, away from the main road.

Nenna followed, her own inquisitive nature superseding any immediate reservations. Even so, she could not hold back an honest query. “Really though, where are we going? I thought we were gonna stop somewhere in the Market.”

Aven continued until they emerged behind the long line of brickwork houses, then cut sideways, continuing away from the business districts. “None of them have what we need. If we’re gonna really surprise Hopps, we’ll need something no one has ever used before.”

"Such as?”

Aven squinted out towards some unseen destination with a glint of tenacious determination. “We’re gonna nick a Quackatrice egg.”

Nenna nearly pulled up short. “Wait, from outside the city?”

“Yeah!” Aven geastured theatrically. “Imagine if we showed up with one of those huge things, all painted up, right as the party’s winding down for the night. Hopps won’t even know what to think!”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just find one of the remaining Emerald Eggs?”

"Maybe, but where’s the fun in that?”

“...You just wanna have an adventure, don’t you?”

“Yup.”

Nenna giggled. “Alright. Lead on, brave hero sir.”

And lead on he did, until they approached the end of the long line of houses. Here, Aven pulled into an alleyway once more, poking his head out over the main road and taking stock of the scene ahead.

Even now, the rear perimeter of the city remained incomplete, protected merely by a long, winding fence of thick palisades, which stood jutting out over a deep, improvised ditch. A single, hefty wooden bridge marked the only viable exit. Resting against the bridge supports, a portly deer guard stood watch, his folded arms and drooping eyelids denoting a weary boredom.

Aven scowled upon this latest obstacle. “We need to distract him.”

Nenna peeked over his shoulder at the near-slumbering deer. "How? Throw a rock or something?"

"Nah, that's wouldn't work." The fox reflected for a moment. "Your Pa said some wildlife got into the city recently. What if we made that guard think there was still a loose animal nearby?"

Nenna looked skeptical. "And how would we manage that?"

Aven, however, was warming to his own scheme, and would not be deterred. "We just need to make it sound like there's a creature causing a ruckus. We could hide deeper in the alley and warble like a fowltrice, or…" and his eyes lit up deviously. "Or quack like a Quackatrice!"

The hare gave him a deadpan look. "Really?"

"Yeah!" The fox nudged his cohort. "You're always good with voices in the class songs. C'mon, you try!"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Quack."

"…You just said the word 'quack.'"

"Yeah?"

The fox threw his arms out in exasperation. "That's not how this works!"

"Well, let's see you try!"

"Quack!"

"Pfft, that's rubbish."

"Better than yours!"

Nenna’s brow furrowed as she focused for a moment, recalling memories from her own studies. "It's a high-pitched noise, you'd have to seal the back of your nose and try to vocalize from the top of your throat."

Aven cocked his head, a paw against his neck. "Quack?"

"No, like this. Quack!"

"Quack quack?"

"QUACK!"

"Oi there!"

Both children froze at the guard's sudden shout. Aven’s ears perked – he could hear heavy armored footfalls approaching from around the bend. Without another moment's hesitation, he grabbed Nenna’s paw and pulled her towards the alley's back exit. "Now's our chance! C'mon, c'mon!"

Swiftly, the pair slunk out behind the buildings and made a beeline for the briefly unguarded bridge. Without chancing a backwards glance, Aven towed his compatriot over the wooden structure, their light, padded feet making virtually no noise as they raced through the opening.

A moment later, and they were tumbling down into the meadows, the tall budding stalks masking their forms as they went low against the ground. Then, and only then, did Aven afford a look over his shoulder. The portly guard was only just now returning from around the bend, shaking his head and muttering something unintelligible through his lips.

Aven grinned. They had snuck through undetected! He nudged his cohort with an elbow and tilted his chin towards the nearby hills. Nenna nodded, and together the pair made their way towards the cover of the rolling terrain. Quietly, carefully, they crept onwards, until at last they breached the nearest crest. With solid earth now shielding them from any prying eyes, the pair relaxed for a moment, taking in the landscape before them.

Beyond the city perimeter, down unto the shore of the distant sea, lay a vast, tumbling carpet of glistening grasslands. Across the way, slicing through the fields like some cerulean ribbon, the rushing waters of the local stream danced forth from their spring-water source. Towering oaks and humbly bent willows dotted the landscape, some reclining along the banks of the waterway, while others stood proud alongside the industrious windmills of the nearby farmlands.

Even now, as the violet hues of nightfall encroached upwards from the horizon, a scattering of wildlife could be seen foraging amidst the rolling meadows. A small cluster of free-roaming fowltrice chortled along, pecking at the earth and each other in good spirits as they gabbered in their strange, beastly song. Farther afield, a pair of quillbacks trundled near the stream, curious snouts probing dampened bark and leaves in search of insects. Even a lone thwacker, its long ears jutting up through the grasses, could be spotted hopping about, no doubt seeking foodstuffs for a recently established burrow.

Yet most predominantly present were the Quackatrice. They roamed throughout the fields in loosely scattered pairs and groups, imposing beaks and glowering eyes scouring for an evening repast amidst the waving fields. What they lacked in wingspan, they more than made up for in muscle and mass - each bulbous feathered body standing easily as tall as either child.

Nenna shrank back against the ground slightly, ears low against her head. “You sure about this, Aven? They look hungry.”

“It’ll be fine,” Aven reassured. “I’m pretty sure they don’t eat meat.” The fox shielded his eyes against the setting sun, peering out over the prospective targets. “Now we just need to find one that’s alone… Woah.”

An obsidian shadow emerged from behind a distant hill. For a moment, neither child could identify it for certain. The nearby fauna rapidly distanced themselves from this newcomer, a few agitated squawks marking concern as the local creatures spread elsewhere in search of food.

Only after the creature turned and started waddling in parallel did the children recognize it - a Quackatrice, but like none either child had seen nor heard of before. Tall and lean, solitary and somber, clad entirely in stark black feathers that barely glimmered against the twilight.

Aven’s grip tightened upon a nearby stick, his entire body tensing slightly. “Look at that boy.”

“She’s a lady.”

Aven squinted towards his newfound prey. “The most fiercest boy to ever stalk Novusgrad.”

“A lady.” Nenna pointed. “Look at the neck, and the way the wings sit on the back. She’s a proper lady bird.”

“She must make the best eggs.”

Nenna gnawed her lip briefly, eyes following the Quackatrice as it waddled through the meadow. “I dunno. She looks big.”

“There’s two of us. We have twice the chance to win!”

Nenna frowned. “That’s not how that works.”

“It makes perfect sense!”

“It makes no sense.”

Aven gestured with his stick. “Look, we don’t need to fight it or anything. We just need to follow it to its nest, then shoo it away long enough to grab an egg.”

Nenna looked back towards the lone Quackatrice. By now, most of the other creatures in the area had given it a remarkably wide berth, leaving a relatively clear line approach.

“Alright. I’m not very good at the whole sneaking thing though.”

“Pfft, don’t worry.” Aven braced his stick like a quarterstaff, a defiant glimmer in his eyes. “I’ll protect you! Besides, we can always just run if things get nasty.”

Together, the pair set out into the meadows, with Aven leading the way, his amber ears bobbing above the grass as he tracked their prospective prey. Nenna cast a few uncertain glances around the fields as they progressed, wary of any lingering critters in close proximity. Fortunately, the local fauna remained largely dispersed, leaving a clear path towards the lone obsidian Quackatrice.

As they drew closer, Aven slowed their pace, watching their quarry carefully. Thus far, the creature seemed oblivious or otherwise uncaring, continuing its nonchalant exploration. The stalking duo kept what they considered a stealthy distance, bodies partly obscured amidst the grass.

All was going well. Surely, success would descend upon them swiftly!

In that moment, the hare stubbed her paw against a protruding stone, and went down with a muffled yelp.

The Quackatrice immediately turned and stared directly at the pair.

They both froze instantly, wide eyes locked with the focused glare of the wild creature. Aven scarcely dared to even breathe. Perhaps the bird would lose interest, and move along? Yes, of course! Why should such a creature have any real interest in a pair of strange and venturesome children? Perhaps it would even turn and flee in terror at the prospect of two mysterious figures hunting it through the night!

The Quackatrice quacked.

“This is bad.”

“This is very bad.”

“We should leave.”

The pair attempted to wiggle backwards, away from the piercing gaze, trying to avoid any provocative moves.

For its part, the Quackatrice squinted briefly at them - and charged!

Aven had barely a moment to gasp and leap up before it was upon them! With no time for flight, some hidden instinct triggered, and he flailed out desperately with his stick. The thin wood batted harmlessly against the dense black feathers, the creature’s heavy beak swatting the fox aside like a mere tumbleweed. He went head-over-heels into the ground, temporarily stunned by the jarring impact.

Nenna shrank back as the Quackatrice loomed over her, its smouldering ruby eyes drilling down into her frail little form. With the creature’s immediate presence affording no chance of escape, the hare felt a moment’s petrifying fear seize her, before she broke down with an uncontrollable sob.

The Quackatrice cocked its head for a moment, gazing down at the crying hare. Then, in a single, sudden movement, it grabbed the hare’s apron in its beak and scampered off with the child bobbing in its grasp!

Nenna’s shock lasted all of two seconds before it gave way to panicked scream. “Aveeen! Save meeeeeee!”

The Quackatrice, still with Nenna hanging from its beak, crested a nearby hill and immediately disappeared into the terrain beyond.