Between Ike and Loup, the two of them managed to finish the whole roast chicken in one night. Ike laid on his back under the stars, a hand on his stomach, gazing up at the sky. He let out a satisfied sigh. Beside him, Loup laid stretched out on her belly. She sighed as well, just as satisfied as Ike.

Ike glanced at her, then grinned. Yet again, the urge to scratch her behind the ears welled up, but he suppressed it. Not yet.

It was a gorgeous night. A cool breeze blew, just cool enough to stave off the heat of the day. Bright stars glimmered in a clear sky. Overhead, the moon glowed bright, half-full. He spread out his arms and watched the night roll by.

Since this space was the giant chicken’s territory, he didn’t have to worry too much about animal invaders tonight. All the chicken’s prey would stay away. Based on the careless way the chicken tore its way down to the waterhole and back, he doubted it had many predators. Until I came around, anyways. As for other chickens, he hadn’t seen any yet.

He could only base his expectations of the giant chickens on the way he’d seen ordinary chickens behave, but there were already some obvious variations between the two. A rooster, or a few roosters, would usually manage a whole flock of hens, for one, and the hens generally lived close together, for two. Given that he hadn’t heard a cock-a-doodle-doo all day, he could only assume that the giant chickens’ roosters either ranged further, or were solitary birds. Likewise, not a single other hen had dropped by today, nor had he seen any other chicken marks. Thus, the hens, also, either ranged further or were solitary. As for chicks, there were none nearby, and the nest was empty.

All that to say, this clearing he laid in was likely the safest spot in the whole forest tonight.

He drew out the skill orb, peering through it at the sky. The star pattern made the pinpricks in the heavens shatter. He let out a sigh, wistful. Another skill…

But I don’t want to doom myself to never advancing. That’s the risk I run, if that skill is indeed imperfect. He palmed the orb and put it into his pocket. I’ll keep it around. See if I can sell it. Could also get someone to check if it’s imperfect or not for me, too. If I ever find people, anyways.

He pressed his lips together, then shook his head.

Still, I learned something valuable: these giant chickens are old enough to have developed skill orbs.

This one was in the chicken’s leg. Maybe that’s why it was imperfect. All the other skills so far were located centrally in the monster’s body. He shrugged. At least he knew the chickens had skills, now. Not that I know what they are. Orin’s book hadn’t indicated anything as to what they might be. Delicious was a great note, but not as far as skills were concerned.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I wonder if the giant chickens outside of the Abyss even lived long enough to develop skills. With so many hunters around, they’d struggle to survive. They’re probably all small and young up there. Ike snorted, picturing a small, young giant chicken. A fluffy chick up to his knee, bopping around and loosing deafening TWEETs at the world.

After all, chicks are already pretty loud… Ike drifted off to sleep, snoozing under the stars.

He woke up to dawn’s first light and the distant crow of a rooster. His ears perked up. If it was ever in doubt, that confirmed it: there were more giant chickens.

Ike licked his lips. He glanced at Loup. “Wanna do some more hunting today, girl?”

Loup stood. She wagged her tail a few times and waited for him to take the lead.

Hefting his pack, spear, and sword, Ike set off into the forest.

He headed back to the first watering hole and filled all his waterskins. If all went well, he’d be leaving it behind today. He needed enough water to survive until he found the next brook or river. Given how lush the forest was, it shouldn’t be hard, but nonetheless, he didn’t want to take the risk.

He checked the rim of the clear pool at the bottom of the waterfall for tracks again today. Many of the tracks had been refreshed, but no more chicken tracks marked the edge. Ike made a face. Too bad.

He hadn’t truly expected anything. If no other chickens had showed up yesterday around the territory of the chicken he’d hunted, it didn’t come as a surprise that no other chickens used the waterhole. It wasn’t impossible that other chickens shared the waterhole, but clearly it wasn’t the case here.

Ike looked at Loup. “What do you think? Smell any fresh chickens?”

Loup lifted her nose to the air and snuffled around a bit, then looked at Ike.

Not here. Makes sense. He led the way from the water into the forest, with Loup at his side. She occasionally lowered her head to sniff the ground or trotted off, but always returned quickly. Ike kept his head up, searching for chicken marks.

Abruptly, Loup’s head popped up. She dashed off into the forest. Ike stared after her, then gave chase.

Loup’s low body blocked the path ahead. She half-crouched, her head low, her haunches high. Ike crouched beside her. He followed her gaze through the undergrowth.

A dun body paced through the forest. Leathery claws crushed the bushes and vines. Black eyes glanced warily left and right. Its head bobbed forward, stopped while the body caught up, and bobbed forward again.

Ike licked his lips. He tightened his grip on the spear and glanced at Loup. “Go ahead, girl.” Let’s figure out how this girl hunts.

Loup glanced at him, then slunk forward. She vanished into the woods.

Ike waited, tense. It wouldn’t matter much if he and Loup botched this hunt. They were both full, and would keep for a few days. But he’d rather not.

He thought for a moment, then picked his way through the forest, circling around to the front of the chicken. He didn’t know how wolves hunted, but he could hazard a guess. Dogs chased cats from behind. If wolves worked the same, she’d run at it from the rear. And if that’s the case, then I’ll get ahead of that.

From the other side of the forest, two silver eyes appeared out of the shade. Ike edged forward, prepared for anything. Here goes.

Loup launched into the air.