Much to a dragon's interest, one human family had decided to build a tiny house for chickens outside their own residence. Viliant climbed up the narrow ramp and stuck his head inside. The plump, sleeping birds made his mouth water. A sticky trail of drool started to slip from one side of his jowls.

Shifting his weight to get ready to attack, a creak sounded under his feet.

A few of the chickens' eyes flashed open at the sound. Viliant had not bothered to shield himself in shadow magic for his helpless prey, so he found himself blinking back at the hens. They clucked and cawed and ran around haphazardly in the coop, waking up all the others.

Now, he called on his element. Viliant swung a shadowy claw through the wall of the coop. His claw rematerialized and slashed the chickens into ribbons. Blood splashed over the feathers of both the living and dead ones. The remaining chickens became even more terrified.

A fat hen rammed Viliant square in the nose against all expectations. What? What're you doing? You're supposed to run away from me!

More chickens joined the assault. Whether they were too stupid to realize that they charged straight at the maw of their hunter or they were strategically coordinating an assault to get out the door, it worked for them.

Out of surprise, his hind claws slipped on the board that was too narrow for him. Viliant fell outside the coop's doorway and rolled to the ground with his wings flopping uselessly. Some of the hens bounced on his belly as they scattered. The wind was knocked out of him, and he coughed out a couple of feathers for good measure.

"Ack!" Sprawled on his back, Viliant was left to wonder how such an embarrassing defeat could happen to him. Did I just get tackled by chickens? He had vanquished terrifying monsters such as the leo medusa in the coliseum, yet the elusive chicken had bested him.

Back then, Viliant had fought his hardest; a single mistake could have ended his life. These days, he had the luxury of failure. It did not matter if he underestimated the chickens because he was still laying here, blinking up at the stars.

A grin curled into his tail as he flipped over. The panicked clucks of the fleeing chickens made a thrill enter his quickening heart. "Unacceptable. I'm the hunter. You're all going to die!" Viliant made his declaration with a roar into the night.

The black dragon chased down the scurrying chickens and killed them one by one. Their wings and heads were torn off by his jaws. The plump breasts split apart between his claws. His green eyes sparkled out of sheer enjoyment until they closed momentarily to summon his element. Viliant intercepted his prey from the shadows, pouncing the short distance to the next chicken. He gashed its body open and kept doing this, ripping apart their bodies so that it was hard to tell that the piles of bloodied feathers were once chickens.

Viliant stood at the center of his handiwork, scales spattered in red and his breaths panting hard. "That was fun." He marveled at it all before he took a bite from the nearest chunk of flesh. Savoring it, he thought, Tastes good too.

Though he had killed more than the two young dragons could eat, Viliant had no regrets. He had fun slaughtering them all. The only way this night could be better was if the carnage around him had been humans.

The bloody meat sated both his hunger and thirst for the time being. While he ate, he dreamed of having revenge on the species that he despised. A voice startled him from his fantasies.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"My god! The chickens!" a mortified human voice cried.

Heart lurching, he reflexively cast his cloaking spell. Viliant disappeared to the shadows and slowly crept away from the spot where the humans rushed with torch and pitchfork in hand.

"This was no fox, was it Pa?" a second voice asked. "Looks more like the work of a demon to me."

"No, son, a fox doesn't roar like that…."

As much as Viliant longed to kill humans, ravaging their chicken coop was enough for now. He gathered as many intact birds as he could fit in his maw, only dragging the ones which lay out of sight from the humans. Viliant crept away with his bounty dangling from their feet and wings. The dragon scampered off to rejoin his friend. Fia would be overjoyed to have a bite of his fresh kill, cooked to perfection by her flames.

Thinking of roast chicken did little to take Viliant's mind off his disastrous hunt. Tonight, he had been too loud and messy. Using his magic from the beginning would have helped him kill four or five chickens stealthily, taking only what they needed. Well, it's a good thing the humans already proclaimed us dead. Won't be looking for me and Fia anymore, or so he thought.

***

When Viliant returned to Fia's hiding spot, he only admitted to one thing going wrong. Sorry. I wasn't able to find the proper ingredients for my herb recipe.

Though this disappointed her out of concern for her injury, Fia masked those emotions. It would do no good to burden Viliant with something that could not be helped. Thanks for trying!

In better news, I got food.

After cooking their dinner, Fia descended on the chickens with Viliant. The dragons devoured their meal as if they had not eaten in days—four to be precise. The chickens would not keep them full for as long as the goat, so the older dragon told her the logistics while they ate.

Two days from now, we should stop at the next village we come across. This will also give us another chance to find more medicine for you.

Is it dangerous for you to go into so many towns? Fia asked

Nah. I have some even better news! Viliant rehearsed the conversation that he overheard from the drunken humans. After relaying all the important information, he finished with a funny detail. You turned into a fierce, blood red dragon in the humans' stories!

I am fierce! Fia said, rearing onto her hind legs.

With a soft laugh in his throat, Viliant said, I know, Pinkie.

Her good claw raked playfully through the air until she needed to land back down gingerly. Though she had never thought anything of Viliant calling her Pinkie before, she had to wonder why the humans saw the need to change her color. Is something wrong with my scales?

Not at all. They're just pink.

Well, my mom is pink too. She says I'm a cutie pie, and I'll grow up to be beautiful just like her!

The brittle chicken bones splintered and shattered like wood chips under their teeth. Fia became lost in memories of home, trying to keep tears slipping from her eyes. She stopped eating and stared down at the leftovers of her chicken.

Her friend stayed quiet for a long time. Though Viliant knew what it was like to miss his parents, he had stopped hoping for them long ago. Don't worry. You're going to make it home in time to warn them. His confidence behind those words were soothing. Then, he said more playfully, If you don't finish your chicken soon, I will.

Fia started gobbling her food down once more, not wanting to sacrifice another bite of her food to him. You need to hunt more if you wanna eat more. This chicken is mine!

The couple of chickens could sustain them an additional two days before Viliant had to go into town again and leave Fia all alone.