Max and Jamie kept approaching the chickens at a sedate pace. Their first order of business was finding out how the creatures reacted to them. Maybe – though doubtful given the territorial marker – the chicken would just ignore them. That would allow them to reconsider their actions. They had communicated that they didn’t want to just attack beings that weren’t hostile towards them. At least not until they gained a better understanding of their situation.

Jamie had asked whether this was really happening with her last question, but the response ‘Yes’ was in hindsight a bit indeterminate.

Max had his pitchfork readied while Jamie had just made fists and seemed anxious. She had on her way down experimented a bit with her Mood Modulation ability and found out that being anxious, her current state, gave her a boost of one Agility. She’d experimented a bit in that state and explained how it felt to Max.

“I’d say it’s a bit like having stretched for a week and maybe doing some coordination exercises. My regular steps feel more secure, and it feels like my body is just working smoother overall. I feel like I’m a bit faster, but that could just be my perception.”

That had been an interesting discovery and asked for some speculation and discussion later. Now though, they had to see about the chickens.

When they were roughly two hundred meters away from the closest chicken it immediately began bawking and clucking. A few more steps had it turning its gaze on them, spread their wings, posturing, and showing that maybe they had picked the wrong target.

Because now it didn’t look quite like a chicken anymore. Upon closer inspection its size exceeded a normal chicken by a good chunk. Maybe half again, though it was tough for Max to tell at this distance. It might have just been a trick of the eye.

“Let’s go a bit further,” Jamie whispered into Max’s ear from behind.

“You’re one to talk, hiding behind me. I really don’t want to. It’s clearly aggressive.”

“Ohhha, now you’re afraid. Maybe your spear isn’t large enough to handle a chick of caliber.”

“It’s not a spear! Also gross, Jamie.”

“You thought that, not me. Either way. That’s literally the point. We want it to attack us. Just one at once, remember.”

The strode further, while slightly intimidated by the landbound bird, they had made up their mind. As the got closer to the hundred-meter mark the bird became visibly irate. Its closer neighbors seemed to pick up on the disturbance as well. Three more chickens began postering and clucking with their heads turned towards the humans.

“What I would give for a stone or bow and arrow right about now,” Max sighed as he took another hesitant step. Placing one foot ahead of the other until the chickens would change their attitude.

“As if you’d hit anything at this distance,” Jamie taunted.

“I’ll have you know, that I actually shot a bow once,” Max grinned.

“What ever you say sunny,” she cuckled. “But maybe focus on the angry chickens ahead of us.”

Their increasing proximity seemed to have been enough for the chickens as they began a mad dash towards the pair, beating their wings and dashing with their tiny feet. Two of the four birds managed to take off for several wing beats. Not enough to be an airborne threat, but enough to catch up to the closest assailant.

“Should we…” Jamie began asking from behind.

“Slowly retreat. Yes. Let’s see if they are actually smart or just some sort of AI,” Max interrupted already taking measured steps backwards.

This seemingly encouraged the creature ahead of the pack. It released a bloodcurdling croak that made Max’s whole-body twitch. He’d gotten off lightly though. Jamie kept twitching, breathing heavily.

“Holy shit,” she managed to gasp.

Max was just about to drag her away from the clucking and cawing avians when she stopped him, seemingly only slightly agitated.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“NOO, we stay. Reacting like this gets me another point in Agility. I feel good. Like really good.”

Silently Max thought that this must be the most stupid ability he had ever heard of. Yet he accepted Jamie’s input and kept retreating slowly away from a now even faster charging chicken.

Their plan was working. Somewhat. One of the opponents was now significantly far ahead of the pack. Which was better than having the whole pack in a group, but still worse than just getting one of the creatures to follow them.

He stopped, trying to project calm and showing firm resolve. Max angled his pitchfork towards the chicken, ready to thrust the pointed metal ends at his opponent.

Mentally he counted down to the creatures arrival, to keep his attention up, his body coiled as a spring. When he’d counted down from ten, he could already feel both his mind and body slowly relaxing. He pushed trying to keep his attention as high as possible. His alertness dwindled still.

Shouldn’t matter where we fight, he thought and dashed in. As he began his charge he felt the mental toggle, what he assumed sprint to be, to become ready. Charging with the fork raised ahead of him he approached the chicken.

“Wait!!” Jamie yelled.

He barely heard her in the rush of his boots impacting the ground, wind cursing fast past his ears and caressing his hair. He was fast. Just as quickly reality caught up with him. The rooster ahead of him, taking flight once more, occupied almost his entire field of vision.

Max thrust his pitchfork forward, leaning all his weight into the strike. Sprint was interrupted. He fell forward, and only as he lost any semblance of balance did he hit something.

He’d let go of the pitchfork at almost the same time. Landing on the ground in a pushup position. His barely trained body struggled to feather the fall, but it did. His hands didn’t crack, no doubt the moss had helped here as well. As quickly as he could react, he pushed himself up and jumped on his feet.

His eyes took a second to find his opponents, specifically the chicken with a pitchfork impaled in its chest. His eyes took a moment to pick it out. Still dazed from the fall.

It was retreating. He was separated from it by two more of the creatures closing in on his position. He readied himself to keep them off with his hands while circling them. At that moment something else crashed into the chickens.

Rolling over one of the creatures tumbled away clucking in a pained manner. His mind took a moment to realized that it was Jamie who had thrown herself into the frenzy. Moving swiftly as she drove the chicken further down the soft slope.

“Stupid chickens,” he heard her yell before he fully focused on his own engagement. He trusted her enough to handle herself against a chicken. More so than him, given his recent mess-up.

For whatever reason the next opponent thought it best to make itself small as it charged him. Three steps away from him he readied his foot to smash down on the approaching opponent. Then it veered up, with a beak that looked sharper than it had before and glowed with a soft orange hue. As though it expected him to smash down on it with his raised foot.

He stepped back and kicked with his left foot, throwing all his might into the kick.

The moment of impact not only hurt him through the thick boots but also the chicken which tried to regain its sense of balance in the air. Dazed as it was, he readied another kick, this time with his stronger right foot. Using his weight, he brought it down from up top.

A bone cracked as the impact struck the monster from above. He hoped it was the chickens.

Another crunch followed as it impacted the ground.

It didn’t move. He hoped that would be enough for now. Sadly, there was no other external indication that it was dead, besides the lack of movement. Throwing one last glance over his shoulder he dashed towards the last chicken that had charged towards them. He needed to intercept it, before it could reach Jamie. She was faring alright against one opponent, but she didn’t look overly successful, caught in a stalemate of just holding the chicken tight in her embrace.

“Should have done kickboxing or MMA,” Jamie yelled from further down the incline as she saw him approach. A bit too close to the remaining seven chickens. “Fuck this my foot hurts.”

That was enough indication, that she wasn’t overly worried. If she could throw quips like that, she was fine. At least that’s what she thought. Her grappling had brought her dangerously close to the other monsters, that were watching them now.

“Jamie, you’re getting really close to the rest of the chicken,” he warned. Though she had already stopped visibly moving position a short moment ago. His eyes landed on the approaching chicken; he would not make it before it got to Jamie with his current pace.

But as soon as he had started running the switch in his mind returned. It felt like the lever might be a little shorter than it had before. Or as though he wouldn’t be able to push a button as hard.

He didn’t care. He’d not have his friend harmed on day one.

The mental toggle twitched and he was off faster. And just like his friend previously, made a daring leap at the avian, tackling it and using his momentum to fall into a roll. He barely managed to hold on to the dazed foe. In the end he prevailed by catching the creature flat between him and the ground.

With both dazed it took a moment to reorient himself and catch his breath. A few more for the black stars to vanish from his vision. Barely able to keep straight he heaved himself up readying his fist to attack the chicken once more.

In a sudden blur of light, Jamie’s boot slammed down on the monster causing it to release one last squawk. Then it stopped moving like its companions. But as he saw her kneeling over the dead body the smile on her face his worry abated.

“Hey, we make a good team,” Max smiled.

“Hey, you should worry about staying armed when you have a pitchfork,” she laughed as she pointed to the rest of the chickens, where one laid impaled, with the farming tool standing straight up. “But I do agree.”