Morning sunlight bathed the cobblestone streets of Silverhaven in a warm, golden hue. The lively city was already awake, smithies rang with steel, vendors called out their wares, and the scent of fresh bread mingled with horse droppings in the breeze.
Lio stepped out of his house, his new short sword strapped to his side like a badge of pride. He gave a quick glance back at the door where Lia and Lana had waved him off moments ago with sticky jam-covered hands and sleepy grins.
LIO: "Alright. Time to be a real adventurer…"
He puffed out his chest and strode down the street with determined steps, only to nearly trip over a stray cat. With a blush, he muttered an apology to the feline and scurried along toward the Adventurer's Guild.
From the opposite direction, Selena and Sarah exited the inn together, but not before arguing over who was prettier in their adventuring outfits.
SELENA: "It's not about how short the skirt is, Sarah. It's about technique."
SARAH: "And I say Red appreciates confidence, not a walking lecture note with legs."
SELENA: "He set me free from slavery. That's deeper than whatever pity brought you to our group."
SARAH: "He saved me from slavers. That's literal heroism!"
The argument trailed on until they reached the guild, huffing and ignoring each other while pushing through the doors side by side.
The guild hall was unusually quiet today. No goblin rumors. No shouting matches between adventurers. Just a sleepy receptionist scribbling something behind the counter.
Lio met up with them at the quest board. A quick scan revealed the crushing truth.
LIO: "…There's nothing. No rookie quests."
SELENA: "Not even slimes? Ugh."
SARAH: "We're reduced to… odd jobs."
Resigned to their fate, the trio grabbed what was available: helping an old lady move boxes, carrying lumber to the eastern gate, and clearing rocks from a dried-up irrigation channel. Each task chipped away at their pride more than their stamina.
By the time the sun hung overhead, the three sat on a log just beyond the east gate, sweaty and dusty.
That's when the smell hit them.
The savory, spiced aroma of roasted meat drifted through the air like a siren's call. Their heads turned simultaneously like synchronized clockwork.
Just beyond a cluster of trees, they spotted a familiar dark cloak fluttering in the breeze.
SELENA: "Red?!"
They rushed through the trees and found him crouched near a small campfire. A massive roasted bird, crispy, golden-brown, and steaming sat on a makeshift spit. It wasn't a chicken. It was bigger. Sleeker. The feathers still visible on its wings were tinted green and yellow. It was a Kokoroko, a wild, flightless bird known to roam the plains outside Silverhaven.
Red tore a chunk of the juicy thigh and bit in, eyes closed.
LIO: "…You cooked a Kokoroko?!"
Red didn't respond. He simply chewed, swallowed, and glanced at them with his usual unreadable expression.
RED: "Tastes like victory."
Lio's eyes widened as he fell to his knees.
LIO: "Heaven has feathers…"
SARAH: "You didn't leave any for us?"
SELENA: "Don't beg. It's embarrassing."
SARAH: "You're drooling too!"
Red looked at them, slowly took another bite, then held up a single wing.
RED: "I brought extra."
He pointed to a satchel nearby. Inside were neatly wrapped portions of grilled Kokoroko meat, still warm and sizzling.
Lio scrambled for it like a man possessed. Selena and Sarah followed, trying to maintain dignity but failing the moment the flavor touched their tongues.
For a moment, the odd jobs, the missing rookie quests, and their rivalry all melted away.
LIO: "This… this is… divine! I didn't know meat could sing."
RED: "It can't."
LIO: "Shut up, I'm having a moment."
Sarah and Selena nodded in agreement, momentarily united by roasted bird bliss.
As the breeze carried away the last of the smoky scent, Red leaned back on the grass, the embers of the fire crackling beside him, and watched the sky.
RED: "More than meat… this is what peace tastes like."
The day after their first taste of roasted Kokoroko, the trio sat around the same guild table, eyes still glazed with longing.
LIO: "It haunts me. The taste. The aroma. The crunch of crispy skin…"
SELENA: "I've had dreams about it. It winked at me. A chicken winked at me."
SARAH: "We need to hunt one ourselves."
The three stared at each other. The decision was mutual. They slammed their fists on the table in unison.
ALL: "We're hunting Kokoroko!"
Scene: Outside Silverhaven – Plains
LIO: "Alright, we move slowly. Kokorokos are easily startled."
He tiptoed through the grass, his eyes darting, short sword drawn like a samurai about to duel a wild poultry.
SARAH: "I see one! Over there! Big, yellow feathers!"
A majestic Kokoroko pecked at the ground a few meters ahead, completely unaware.
SELENA: "Let's surround it and pounce on three."
They split into positions.
LIO: "One…"
SARAH: "Two…"
SELENA: "THREE!"
They leapt.
The Kokoroko blinked. Then screamed.
"BWAAAAAAHHHH!!"
It darted forward with lightning speed, flapping its tiny useless wings and kicking up dirt.
Lio dove, missed, and faceplanted straight into a pile of warm, mushy Kokoroko poop.
LIO: "BLEUURGGHHHHHH—MY EYES!! IT'S IN MY EYES!!!"
Sarah tried to throw a net but tangled herself and rolled down a hill like a wrapped-up sausage.
Selena pounced with a knife, only for the Kokoroko to jump six feet sideways, causing her to land in the very same poop Lio had just created a splash zone in.
SELENA: "IT'S IN MY MOUTH—OH GOD, IT'S IN MY MOUTH!!"
The Kokoroko paused on a rock, turned to look at them smugly… and defecated again before strutting away proudly like a royal peacock.
Lio sat up, poop in his hair, sobbing.
LIO: "I just… wanted… crispy skin…"
Sarah emerged from the bushes covered in burrs.
SARAH: "I was this close! This close!"
SELENA: "I'm going to vomit. No, I'm already vomiting."
She vomited. Into more poop.
Later That Day – Guild Tavern
Red sat in his usual seat, sipping coffee. He didn't even look up when the trio limped in, muddy, stinking, and thoroughly traumatized.
He calmly sipped his coffee.
RED: "You went Kokoroko hunting."
The trio groaned in unison and collapsed at the table.
LIO: "It pooped on my soul…"
RED: "Kokoroko are cunning beasts."
SELENA: "That wasn't a beast. That was a demon in feathers."
SARAH: "We're never eating meat again."
Red calmly opened a paper bag. The scent of fresh Kokoroko jerky wafted out.
RED: "I saved some."
The three immediately sprang forward like zombies from the dead.
ALL: "GIMME!!"
Red smirked, just barely.