Creekside Village--story by me

[earlybird10842]

Prologue---
For months, fires raged over the county, forcing many to evacuate. After the people, the wildlife left the area as it became too smoky for thier liking. But one family left behind a coop of twenty chickens, including two roosters. After their food and water ran out, in about three weeks, the chickens escaped, and headed for the riverside hills, the nearest unburnt area. For the first year in Creekside village, as the chickens called it, it was a fight for survival, but slowly, the chickens began to adjust, and then to thrive.

Four years later...

Trillium hurried after her mother and four siblings down toward the creek. The day was warm, even for April, and sunny. The sun shimmered on the water, the deep, blue water, of the nameless creek that was the heart of life for the village named for it. There were unwritten, untold, unspoken rules surrounding the creek. Nobody had crossed the creek since the origanal twenty chickens, with a rooster heading up the line and a rooster at the end, had forded it. The creek ran in a loop that circled around the top of the mountain almost compleatly, there was only one small gap between the spring from which it ran, and the spot it ran the rest of the way down the hill at the end of its circle.[I know this is confusing, may post a visual later. The creek marked the barrier of life for the chickens. Nobody crossed the creek. It was not said, nor enforced, but the rule, the custom, the unbreakable tradition was there, and not one chicken, pullet or rooster, cockrel or hen, was planning on breaking that rule. To Trillium, the thought of crossing never came to mind as she stood, drinking the cool water, at the age of two weeks.

 

[iluvorpingtons]

Yay, I love chicken stories!!!

 

[earlybird10842]

Chapter Two: The spot on the creek Trillium and her siblings were drinking from was a spot where the banks of the creek werelow and wide, and the creek widened out into a rock-bottomed pond. The water here was still and clear, and everyone came here to drink. One of the two origanal roosters and an origanal hen stood side by side drinking from the pool, a little upstream from Trillium. IN the meadow behind the creek, a group of cocks foraged in the tall grasses, looking for grasshoppers. There were chickens from every generation there-- two from the origanal twenty, and thier children, grandchildren, great-grandchiclden (Trilium's Mother) and finally, thier great-great-grandchildren, one of whom was Trillium herself.

 

[earlybird10842]

Chapter three
Drinks over, Trillium and her mother and siblings headed back toward thier home, a hollow made by the rootts of an old tree, the size of a very large shoebox. Trillium's siblings skipped about the path that had been worn by preivious generations of chicken feet. Trillium had a sister, Sunflower, and three brothers. Logepole and Hemlock were noisy and mischivious, but Cedar--Cedar was something else. He was not a typical young cock at all. He was thoughtful and smart and mysterious. When Trillium noticed him looking thoughtfully back at the creek, she asked "What are you thinking of?" Cedar jumped. He seemed guilty. "nothing. Nothing." Trillium frowned. His answer had told her that he was most certainly thinking of something, and he did not want her to know. Trillium was suddenly powerfully curious. Ceder was ususlly all too willing to share his ideas. Trillium was deternined to get to the bottom of this small mystery.

 

[earlybird10842]

While Trillium was pondering her brother's silence, across the village, one of the origanal roosters pondered a wheightier problem. The county was full of people now. It had been practically abandoned for the first year after those tragic fires, but had slowly filled up as ashes tuned to dirt, dirt to plant life. BUt now--what would happen if people discovered the village? It was a hard hike up, and there was no trail, but still...Would the people try to capture the chickens? Would they leave then alone? Would they fence off the village and turn it into a zoo? there were plenty of places to hide, but could his flock hide quickly enough when facing danger? Four years of living in a compleatly preadator-free area may have hurt his flock's instincts. The chickens didnt have to be spotted--but The old Barred rock rooster wondered if they would be, if the time came. And what if the other animals, who had been driven off by the smaoke from the fire...would they return, predators included? Had they, perhaps, already returned? The old rooster shivered.

 

[earlybird10842]

Cedar couldn't sleep. NOthing was troubling him, yet He lay awake as if he had slept all day. He slipped between his sleeping siblings and mother toward th e entrance of the nest. A walk might help, he thought. He slipped out into the quiet night. It had been a hot day, but the night was cool and relaxing. Cedar listened to the rush of the creek. He began to walk toward it, but was distractedd by a flashing light in the forest. Afire? someone had lit a fire? Small bonfires were common enough when sombody wanted to stay up late at night , but it must have ben pas midnight, and it was too cold to stay up. Cedar began to walk in the direction of the light. It was a bonfire, and two chickens sat beside it. OOne was one of the Origanal Roosters, Spark, and theother, the same origanal hen he had gotten a drink with earlier that day. Spark was talking quietly. Overwhelmed by curiosity, Cedar tiptoed through the brush toward the fire,wehn suddenly "Ce-dar!" Cedar spun around, looking for the source of the whisper. Trillium stood, wings on her hips. Cedar tried not to lookk guilty, although he felt like he had done little wrong. "trill? What are you doing here?" Trillium glared at him. "I saw you walk out and I followed tomake sure you wouldn't get into trouble by trying to eavesdrop on the origanals, or anything like that." She shook Her head. "Cocks never seem to know when thier curiosity should not be pursued. This is one one of those times, Cedar. I know you enjoy playing spies, but that's only okay When you are spying oon Logepole and Hemlock, and NOT a private conversation between two of the origanals" NOw it was Cedar's turn to glare. "I'm not "Playing spies", Trilly. I was just seeing who else was up at this hour, who else couldn't sleep. And I had no intention of eavesdropping!" Trillium frowned. "I'm not about to beleive tha, but come on back to the nest." She turend and boed back through the forest, back onto the pat, and Cedar reluctantly followed.

 

[earlybird10842]

Trillium was wondering whether Cedar's secret and nightime wanderings had anything to do with the uncertanties the flock faced. There were rumors that preadators were moving back int the area--they had moved out during the fire and never had came back yet. The songbirds had moved back already, the hawks were said to be next. And then there was a chance that people would discover the village. That wouldn't be as bad as preadators, but it was twice as uncertain what might happen.

 

[chickencrazy429]

I like it!!! More story?

 

[earlybird10842]

Okay. Not sure how the plot's gonna be yet, the story may waver out a bit.

 

[chickencrazy429]

Okay! That's alright.