Chapter Text
Chicken was happy.
Chicken had food, a sunny spot close to the window during the day, and a warm spot close to the fire that Master made in the room when the sun was gone. Chicken was even cuddled sometimes by Master, and told that it was a good Chicken, keeping such a good watch. Because Chicken loved Master, it let nobody else enter the room. Not even Master’s brother was allowed to touch Master’s things, unless Master held Chicken close and scratched just the right spot on Chicken’s head.
This evening, Master had given Chicken extra food, and scratched the good spot before going to sleep, and all the good corn had made Chicken sleepy, so it only realised that someone new was in the room when Chicken was suddenly jolted from sleep as somebody tripped over it. In the little light that the coals of the fire gave out, Chicken saw a shadow lying in front of it. Just before Chicken could decide to attack or not, it saw something strange on the shadow.
Chicken was used to his Master’s kin having long feathers sprouting from their heads, but he’d never seen feathers that looked like that. They were so fluffy! And it reminded Chicken of a coxcomb, all standing up like that. So instead of using its sharp claws to scratch out the intruders’s eyes, Chicken picked tentatively at the fluffy feathers. Sadly, the intruder sat up, staring at Chicken.
"Hello."
Chicken was used to Master’s kin sometimes talking to it, but right now, it wanted to know how the intruder made his feathers stand up like that. Did he use mud? No, he smelled of soap and sweat, like the rest of Master’s kin. Maybe spit? Chicken tried to flutter onto the person’s shoulder, but he grabbed it, gently, before Chicken could reach the head feathers.
"Shh, don’t…"
Chicken heard Master groan in the bed. It was actually a little puzzled about how he could sleep through the intruder falling over it, making so much noise. The intruder froze, while Chicken still wriggled, trying to stretch its wings, the mystery of the head feathers unforgotten. Master groaned again, turning on the bed.
“Oh, for Mahal’s sake…” the intruder whispered, and climbed out of the window, Chicken still firmly under his arm. Chicken clucked quietly, thinking about how well Master had cared for it, but then Chicken remembered that his new Master had those really fluffy feathers and that he would be a good Master, too.
