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It was a warm summer's day, a gentle breeze brushing through the grass and trees and providing relief from the sun's rays shining down upon the earth insistently. Birds were chirping, their lively tunes the finishing touch to a serene and peaceful environment.
That is, until our heroes arrived to the scene, their purposeful strides chasing off the wildlife and their voices drowning out the rustling of the leaves.
"-let's take a break here."
"We've barely begun this quest," Dob protests, but his eyes are tracking the sandwich in Egbert’s hand closely, "I mean, we've only been walking for like 10 minutes since accepting-" the rest of the words were indecipherable through his chewing as he settled down onto the grass, stretching out comfortably.
The others follow suit, all of them either too enchanted by the nature surrounding them (Merilwen) or too excited about the prospect of food (everyone else) to care much about their quest at the moment.
"It’s fiiine. The dragon will still be there when we arrive," Prudence dismisses confidently, "I mean, the town probably won't be... but they're paying us to defeat the dragon, not to protect the people and their property. Loophole!"
That matter settled - dubiously, but settled nonetheless - they enjoy a quiet afternoon together.
Wait, no. That was some other group.
Of course they didn't.
They had barely begun to dig into their lunches when they were disturbed by a familiar sound; the clucking of a chicken.
Merilwen turned to glare holes into Corazón, her hair swiveling around with the motion. One of her braids hit her cheek with the momentum, wholly undermining the dramatic flair of it all. "Don't even think about it."
Corazón seemed unconcerned about both Merilwen's ire and the increasingly loud clucking, looking up from his food just long enough to raise his brows.
"What? It's not like I go out of my way to assault chickens. It was pestering me! Besides, it wasn't even really a chicken, remember?"
"So... you kicked a man across the room for annoying you?" Dob asked.
"Huh. Yeah. That's... not really any better, is it?"
A burst of flame shot out over Egbert’s cheese sandwich - marking him the proud inventor of grilled cheese - as he joined the conversation with a, “wait, you did what?”
Prudence got involved now as well. "No, no, that's way better, I approve."
Dob took one look at her wide grin and sparking hands and scooted over to Merilwen, then past her when she muttered "Now you think about the dangers of being within range."
"Point is,” Corazón interjected, “I'm not kicking chickens for the hell of it."
"Good." Merilwen said, tense posture dropping. That would've been the end of it, but - "You better not."
Corazón put down his food, slow but deliberate.
"Oooh," Prudence said, tail sweeping from side to side as she looked on in delight at the sudden tension.
Eyes locked onto Merilwen the entire time, Corazón stood up and walked over to the foliage, following the noise of the chicken. "No one tells Corazón de Le- de Ballena what to do."
"Except his dad," Egbert snickered, single-handedly destroying any chance of Corazón backing down.
His leg pulled back and -- his foot found its target.
The chicken hopped around in affront, and a smug grin curled the edges of Corazón’s lips.
Merilwen stood up. The wind picked up, blowing her hair back as if she commended the forces of nature to make it so. Her downturned lips accentuated the scar on her cheek, a stark reminder that for all her usual cheer, she had shed blood on battlefields - her own and that of enemies alike.
But before she could make a move - and before Corazón could even utter the words 'oh shit I fucked up' - a strange sound caught all their attention. Clucking, loud and chaotic as a flock of chickens descended upon Corazón, their beady eyes aimed at him and him alone.
"I've heard of this," Dob said in hushed excitement, "in the legendary folktale of Zelda."
His grin froze on his face when he got over his awe for long enough to realize the implications of his statement. "Corazón, look out!"
But it was too late. In mere seconds, Corazón was no longer visible, buried under dozens of angry, vengeful chickens. "What- guys! Help! Ow- no, bad chickens- ow, ouch!"
Without looking, Dob put his hand on Egbert's arm - previously lifting slowly as Egbert considered the bom in his hand, eyes already sparkling at the idea of lobbing it into chaos - and pushed it back down. Between the chickens and Merilwen, Dob wasn't sure who's wrath he wanted to avoid more.
"Woah! Those are some badass chickens." Prudence commented as she circled the fray - perhaps trying to find a strategic entry point to help, perhaps just enjoying the spectacle.
"Guys! This is seriously hurting me!"
The real panic in his voice stirred Merilwen into movement. "I'm mad at him too, believe me, I am-" She said, making eye contact with one of the chickens, "but- he's learned his lesson. He's sorry. Right, Corazón?"
"Right! I am, I'm sorry! I will never kick an animal again! Unless they're being really annoy- ow! No, okay, I won't! I promise!"
One of the chickens - the one Corazón kicked, going by its slight awkward hopping as it approached Merilwen - seized her up. She had not yet started the ritual to talk with animals, but it seemed to understand her nonetheless.
"I'll make sure he won't do it again." She promised.
And just like that, the attack ceased. The chickens dispersed to reveal a disheveled Corazón who looked like he wasn't entirely certain about what the hell just happened.
Without needing to be asked, Dob strummed his lute in preparation of his healing spell.
"Thank you. " Corazón groaned. Then, as Dob's lute glowed blue, "wait, why are you healing the chicken first?!"
"You started it, and I'm kind of scared of the chickens... and of Merilwen right now."
"Yeah that's... that's fair." Corazón admitted, glancing down at his reddened arms with a wince.
Fortunately for him, it didn’t take long for Dob to work his magic, the gentle hum of a song flowing through him until the pain ebbed away.
The chickens didn’t stay around to witness it, their wings fluttering in the wind as Corazón’s injuries faded into nothingness.
And so our 'heroes' continue on their journey, heading off into the horizon, their voices - "why can't we ever have a normal picnic?!"- quieting with every step until the last wisps are carried off by the wind.