N.B. These chapters don't contain much editing except from some pretty embarrassing parts I told Crazy about but he probably doesn't remember. They're also pretty much through my own experience so Delta and my other characters feature quite a lot at first before the action starts.
CHAPTER ONE
Somewhere, it was sunny, and chickens' lives glowed also with freedom and friendship. They weren't restricted to tiny coops, but instead had huge acres of unspoilt forest that they could call their own. Groups of chickens collected together in such places, forming alliances to help them through the tough years, to grow in strength and power.
Such groups were known as clans, and one such clan in the heart of the country was WingClan. The name wasn't very creative, but it portrayed nothing of the activity happening insides. The chickens had formed their own hierarchy and were friendly and fiercely loyal towards one another, always respecting ones in a rank above their own.
The leader was a hen named Moonstar.
She wasn't particularly talkative, but always liked to check up on the farings of her clan members and trying to make things better for them.
It was this environment that Delta found herself projected into one day. She was a hen who had been alone much of her life and wandered from place to place. An interesting shade of green she was, with iridescent golden speckles on her neck that nobody could explain.
She crashed through a hole behind a waterfall in the rock face, and landed with a thud in a huge pile of assorted berries and fruits.
Splat! Juice splattered all over her feathers.
A pair of eyes stared down at her accusingly. They belonged to a handsome young rooster with a glint in his eyes.
Delta picked fruit peel off her face in an effort to look more presentable.
"Good morning. I come in peace."
The rooster cocked an eye. "Do you know of us?"
"Us? There are more of you?"
As if on cue, an even younger, serious-eyed hen looked over the rooster's shoulder at Delta, and at her feet stood three fluffy young rabbits poking each other in the face and skeaking angrily.
"Oh, what darlings!" Delta commented.
The hen laughed. "Don't mind the kits. They tend to go hormonal on us somethings. I'm Red, and this is my friend BrightFlight."
Delta extended her wing. "Pleased to meet you. Delta." BrightFlight accepted the wing.
"Do you all live around here?"
"Oh yes," Red answered. "ALL of us." She swept a wing around the clearing and Delta could see as many as seven other faces staring back at her, "My word."
A young hen smiled openly. She was small and white, with black lacing. "I'm IcePaw. I'm glad you found us, we needed some new blood. I was hoping someone would get Tysontoe here away from me before I have to forcefully throttle him..."
Another young rooster lunged at IcePaw and they swatted each other, laughing.
Red said, "I'm also a Paw - that means I am an apprentice. Young chickens like us who have grown out of chickhood are assigned a mentor who will train us to become warriors. Can you fight?"
Delta laughed. " I could kick your butt any day!" she winked.
:Oh yeah? You wanna bet?" Red challenged back.
BrightFlight had already started to retreat, as if to give them space, and the others moved to form a ring around Delta and Red. Delta's heart sank - she wasn't serious! IcePaw shot her a thumbs up and an older, wise-looking hen raised her eyetufts. "Play nice, Red, we wouldn't want to scare off a newcomer."
"Yes, Moonstar," Red said quite seriously.
This is the part that's made up. Although some of you would know that already.
BrightFlightlifted his wing. "Get ready! FIGHT!"
For a few seconds, Delta just stared at Red in shock, as if not wanting to hurt her. Then she thought, I'll play nice too, and lunged at Red's feet. Red was already lifting off though, and Delta skidded through the dirt only to have the other hen land on her back and pin her down firmly.
It won't be that easy! she though, rolling under Red's feet easily as she was small, thrusting her wings out, propelling Red into the air. She lifted off too, it was time to show off her flying skills. Delta loved flying. She shot up and slammed her head into Red's belly, winding her before twisting out of reach.
The other chickens cheered them both on from the sidelines. A motherly hen's eyes opened wide as she called "DELTA! Careful!"
Delta was unprepared for Red's comeback. She had suddenly climbed and was coming at Delta on an angle. The two hens collided in midair, the momentum sending them both crashing into a large oak tree.
When Delta came around, BrightFlight was standing over her and Red inside a room of some sort, while the motherly hen mixed something sweet-smelling inside a tree hollow.
"Welcome to the med den," he said cheerfully. "You did good out there! StarryNight here is just helping me make something to get your strength back up."
Red opened her eyes too. "That was a great fight. What a find!"
"You'll be okay with us in case we get invaded," BrightFlight explained. "We need good fighters to help defend our territory."
"You split the land up?" Delta asked.
"Oh yes, we're not the only clan out here, naturally!"
"Although we haven't had much trouble from the others as of yet."
Delta hadn't been expecting such a warm welcome. She liked the feeling of having friends. It would mean there was always someone there when you woke up in the morning, maybe even someone to believe in her still even after everything went wrong.
