Abæus opened his eyes as the world inside of him quickly faded away, the echoes of the celestial yang beast manual faded to the recesses of his mind. He noticed that Umber had left him here cultivating as the sun had long set and the moon was rising in the horizon accompanied by a refreshing breeze. The day had passed far quicker than Abæus had expected, and he still didn't have any answers to the questions building up in his mind. This world was far too strange, he was in the form of a chicken, but the energy boiling inside him told him that he was far from ordinary.
The farm was a lot quieter at night as the scaled horses slept huddle together, giving off a warm glow in the middle of the field not too far below the hill that Abæus stayed nestled on the hearth of charred grass nestled beneath his bottom. He found this world as beautiful as the moon rose higher in the sky. It began to give off an azure glow the lit the night softly. The clouds rolled across the sky, chasing after one another in an elegant dance that enraptured Abæus. The night kept passing by, but he found himself restless and full of energy. The cool breeze had slowly turned into a chill the nipped at his feathers, but the warmth of his body shrugged it off, only leaving a pleasant sensation behind as he walked down the hill back towards the tree roosts. The farm was spread across a large plot stretching from the river to the east and a forest to the west. The hill overlooked the land was situated almost directly between the two, and the older man’s and girl's house was a bit north past the coops.
Abæus had just made it to the bottom of the hill. The long grass was swaying wildly under the midnight air as a chill crept up his back. There was something nearby, and it gave him a dark feeling. His feathers tighten against his body quickly like a hard shell of crimson armor radiating a scorching heat under the compression. The air around him had turned slightly pungent as he heard a soft hiss carried across the wind. The heat from his body began scorching the pungent air as it came near. Something was coming, and it wasn't friendly. He felt tense as the hissing seemed to be coming from everywhere. It slipped out from in between the tall grass stalks as he twisted with the sound, trying to see what was lurking in the shadows.
"You're new here. I can smell the fear seeping off of you. It smells delicious," a hiss echoed out across the air. It was taunting Abæus as the chill spread across his back as he dashed forward, attempting to flee from the creature stalking him. A solid black line cut off his path as it coiled upon itself; deep green eyes appeared beneath tight slits of scales as it peered at Abæus. A snake, but it was nothing like any snake he had seen in his previous life. The soft moonlight cast across its emerald scales as it swayed back and forth, slowly raising its head.
"My father killed that old Rooster, and now I am going to kill you," it hissed.
Abæus watched as the snake lunged at him, its fangs glistening under the moonlight. He could make out droplets falling from its sharp fangs as he pulled backward, his talons digging into the soft ground. The snake would kill him if he didn't fight back, but he still wasn't used to his new body.
"Where I come from, snakes are just lowly pests, and it seems like there is no difference. I think I'll cook you into a stew after I tear your head off," Abæus responded, spreading his wings widely to catch the wind as he landed back down. He watched the snake coiling its muscular body up, preparing for another strike. It reminded him of the videos he used to watch late at night. Snakes would attack quickly, but they had a soft spot where the neck meets with their head. He inched slowly towards the snake as its emerald eyes locked on his every movement. His feathers were pulled in tight radiating heat with every beat of his heart. The air between them sizzled as Abæus slowly made his way before he swung his left-wing out towards the snake, luring it to lung at him. Its teeth sunk into the feathers on edge, and he could hear scraping metal as he pulled his wing back in, pulling the snake with it.
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"I’ve got you to know you slippery f*ck” Abæus screeched as beak slammed at the back of the snake’s neck. The force from his beak crushed the snake's scales as they caved in, sending blood gushing out from beneath. The snake began coiling madly before striking out with its tail at Abæus. The tail smashed into his body, sending him crashing to the ground as he felt his wing snap under the pressure of the attack.
“You are going to die today, little rooster, and then I am going to kill the other one by one. I will feed on your corpse and grow much stronger after absorbing your core. I will consume all of you and everything on this farm,” It hissed. Abæus struggled to get up off the ground as the snake lunged across the floor to strike him. He managed to roll away by pushing off with his right-wing before standing up to face the creature. Its emerald eyes were stained red from the blood seeping over its neck.
They stood apart, eyeing each other as the wind blew through the grass stalk, pressing them almost flat to the ground. They lunged at each other, an emerald snake and a crimson chicken under the bright moonlight. Abæus shoved his right-wing out to meet the snake mouth. A sharp burning sensation began to spread through his wing; as his blood began burning, he pushed the snake over and began pecking madly like falling leaves in a storm at the snake's neck. It would let go as its body coiled wildly on the ground putting all its effort into poisoning Abæus. He felt himself getting weaker unable to keep pecking at the snake attached to his wing that had gone almost limp. The snake's emerald eyes gazed at him mockingly as the world began to darken around him. The moon seemed to be dimming with every second that passed.
He could feel himself slipping away as he thought to himself, “I am going to die just like an ordinary chicken” his head raised high towards the moon as the last of his sight faded to darkness. He was drifting in the endless dark when he saw it again, the seven pools of energy that formed in his body along the path of energy that flowed through him.
“Celestial Yang Beast Manual: First Skill Starfire Talons,” a voice screeched out loudly, tearing away the darkness and bring Abæus back into the light as his eyes filled with a burning flame as he screeched towards the heavens.
“Starfire talons first form blazing slash,” he said as flames sprouted out from his legs, setting the ground ablaze as he swept his right talons at the snake's body; an odor of burnt flesh filled the night air as he felt the snakes body squelching beneath his talons as they seared deeply into its flesh. It hissed as its mouth finally let go of his wing before Abæus picked up his left leg bring it down on the snake’s neck. A deafening sizzle sounded out as he pressed his talons through its neck, splitting body and head apart. Abæus talon s felt a solid object had been pushed into the blood-soaked ground. It was a round emerald marble that gave off a sinister sheen under the light of the moon.
“You should eat that and go rest,” Umbers voices echoed out behind a surprised Abæus.
Their eyes met as Umber nodded approvingly towards Abæus for the first time.
“I am surprised you survived hehehe feathers.” Melvins voice crept out from behind Umber as he moved into view, his eyes locking onto Abæus broken wing. “Tch you are that injured from fighting a 1st level worm, make sure to eat its gall bladder, or you might die being the idiot you are,” he said before walking past Abæus.
“Thank you,” Abæus replied before digging out the snake gall bladder and downing it as he made his way back to rest in his small coop for the night.