Warriors With Chickens: Book One: Into The Forest

Chapter 6

Sunquill hungrily pattered to the fresh kill pile, quite ready to eat after a full morning of battle training with Goldenstar.
He picked a large inviting locust for himself. One of his favorite parts of eating with the Flocks was that everyone shared. There was no need to run and find a safe place to eat, lest your meal be stolen by someone. Before Sunquill had even tucked in he saw Snowquill sprint over to him.
"Sunquill, you need to help me!" The fuzzy white cockerel chirped.
"What, why?" Sunquill replied horrified.
"Longquill is going to get me. We're playing a game and he's way too into it, he's going to kill me!" The apprentice peeped only heartbeats before being bowled over by a mass of grey feathers. Longquill and Snowquill wrestled for a few seconds before Snowquill had Longquill pinned beneath him, being considerably heavier than the scrawny grey apprentice.
"I thought you needed help." Peeped Sunquill with a prrt of laughter.
"So did I, I suppose somebody has been slacking in their training." Snowquill peeped, glancing at Longquill in mock disapproval.
"Oh, look who's here." Longquill peeped to Sunquill. The little grey cockerel gestured with his wing to the little red pullet strutting into the camp with a starling dangling in her beak.
The little hen glared as she dropped her prey onto the pile.
"You know, I'm a member of the flock now, we can be friends." Sunquill peeped invitingly.
"Oh, sure I'm just falling head over shanks to be friends with a pettyhen, great idea." The little pullet clucked with mock excitement, before strutting off.
"Is she always like this?" Sunquill inquired to the two cockerels.
"Yes." Longquill peeped immediately.
"No," Snowquill chirped, pecking Longquill. "She can be prickly sometimes, but you really annoy her I guess."
"Who are you going on about." Nightquill peeped as she arrived next to the cockerels along with Oakquill.
"Redquill," Longquill peeped annoyed.
"Ugh, tell me about it." Oakquill peeped exasperatedly. "Every evening she goes on about how mad she is that Goldenstar dared to even consider letting a "pettyhen" into the Flock."
"Oh, has anybody told Sunquill about the Gathering." Longuill peeped changing the subject.
"The what?" Sunquill inquired.
"Obviously not then." Longquill replied. "The gathering is when the birds from every flock together to speak about what is happening in each. That would include a new apprentice. You are almost definitely going."
"I hope I am too." Nightquill peeped, her feathers fluffing.
"So do I." Oakquill chirped, equally excited.
"I don't think I'm going." Snowquill peeped, pecking at one of his foot feathers. "I have a feeling that Tallcomb will pile on my chores for this evening."
"Have any of you been to a Gathering before?" Sunquill peeped tilting his head.
"Of course not." Longquill replied. "We're all about a moon and a half old, a gathering is once a moon, we were chicks at the time of the last Gathering."
"Some of is still look like chicks." Snowquill joked at Lonquill.
"Well at your huge size, everyone must look like a chick." The scrawny grey apprentice replied.
"True." Snowquill replied with mock thoughtfulness.
After they had finished eating the apprentices realized that the Gathering was subject to other's conversation.
The flock deputy Silverfeather was going to bird after bird asking them about their duties and recent performance.
Sunquill also overheard a conversation between Icebreeze and Flowerpetal.
"You know I could probably go to the Gathering tonight." The pretty brown hen clucked.
"Absolutely not. Your eggs are way too close to hatching, you can't just pile bedding over them anymore." The white rooster replied.
"I never said I'd leave them alone, Tallcomb is the father, he can sit on the things. Just think about a senior warrior, a cock at that, brooding a nest of eggs." The hen tutted.
"You can ask that, but chances are I know the answer." Icebreeze replied comically.
A few moments later Silverfeather strutted over to the group.
"There is a Gathering tonight. Goldenstar just told me to get you two," The deputy clucked to Sunquill and Longquill. "And you two," she clucked to the two pullets. "And have you seen Redquill?"
"In the apprentices den." Oakquill peeped.
"Redquill." Silverfeather called.
"Yes." Redquill peeped, strutting out of the apprentices den.
"You are going to the Gathering tonight." The silvery hen answered. "You all should rest up, we leave at sundown."