Book 2 Ch 2: Growing Boys

Michael was crouched low as he looked at the small wooden building a few feet ahead of them. He’d already cast muffle on himself, but was still finding his footfalls to be louder and heavier than those of Marcus who was crouched down just a little further ahead.

“We get in and get out. I don’t want to hurt anyone, and we don’t take any more than we need,” whispered Michael. He wasn’t happy that it had come to this, but they needed the protein, they couldn’t survive on roots and forage forever. The last thing they’d had was a couple of squirrels, and that was a week ago.

“Alright, alright,” replied Marcus, lightly shaking his head.

They both moved closer to the chicken coop, and Marcus silently leapt over the small fence that was keeping them away from it. Michael followed, climbing it carefully behind him to minimize noise. They could hear the soft clucking within.

Marcus moved to the front of the coop and gently opened the door, climbing carefully inside with Michael close behind him.

Once inside, the chickens, realizing that they weren’t their usual caretakers, began to cluck and loudly panic, a few of them even pecking at them when they got close enough. Michael grabbed one of the nearest ones and quickly snapped its neck.

Marcus did the same to two more.

“Two would’ve been enough,” whispered Michael.

“We’re growing boys, we need to be more than ‘enough’ full.”

“Fine, let’s get going.”

Marcus sighed as they walked out. “You know, this isn’t exactly the kind of henhouse I was hoping to sneak into once we deserted.”

Michael chuckled. “Maybe not the one you’d hoped for, but definitely the one you deserve.”

Marcus shook his head and climbed back over the fence.

Michael could hear some stirring in the farmhouse nearby, and placed a single silver coin visibly on the top of the coop door. He then climbed back over the fence with the fat hen tucked under his arm and followed Marcus quickly back into the small patch of trees they’d come out from. Svict was more hilly than Stent, but also much less forested making it harder for them to hide. They’d been lucky that the academy had prepared them for having to forage in Svict almost as much as in Tusinia.

Once they were a good distance away Marcus looked at Michael. “You left a coin or something didn’t you?”

“Yep,” he replied.

“You know we’re probably going to need all the coin we can get.”

“And they may have needed all of their chickens.”

“And leaving a couple of Stent coppers is also a great way to lead any pursuers to us.”

“I didn’t leave them coppers.”

“Oh, just one copper?”

“Nope. A silver.”

Marcus groaned. “You’re killing me.”

“Trying, but so far you keep walking and talking.”

They reached the small camp that they’d marked Davi’s chestplate to be able to locate. Ollie was juggling a half dozen balls of light, Davi was chatting with Francesca and Pyotr was watching over Lance who was staring straight ahead, acknowledging nothing. He had tried to fight them and escape at first, but without his Heir titles he couldn’t beat all of them. Once he’d realized it was over, that there was no salvaging his plan, he’d shut down. Michael felt some guilt about it, but if they let him go then he’d be hung for treason. He still had so much life left in him, Michael was hoping he could convince him to live the rest of it.

“Ah, the big game hunters return with their prey,” said Ollie dismissing the light he’d been juggling and standing himself up. He moved over to a large flat stone he’d placed in the center of their little makeshift camp. “You guys start gutting and plucking and I’ll heat the ‘stove’.” They hadn’t lit any fires so that they wouldn’t draw any attention, but luckily Ollie was able to create heat on surfaces in the same way he could cool down drinks.

Michael sat down and looked at the chicken in front of him, glancing over at Marcus who seemed equally at a loss.

“You have no idea how to prepare a chicken, do you?” asked Davi, approaching them.

“I mean… I can gut it, but do you literally just tear the feathers out? I’m happy to do it if you just explain it.” Michael wasn’t really ashamed of his ignorance in this area. If it hadn’t come up in the more than sixty years of life he’d lived before coming to this world, he really couldn’t be blamed for not knowing it.

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“I’ll take care of it, I’m too hungry to wait.” He held out a hand and Michael handed him the chicken by its feet. Davi sat and quickly started to prep the chicken, plucking it with confidence.

“I will take one of the other ones,” said Francesca approaching Marcus. “I haven’t prepared one since I lived with my Nonna, but I’ll do a better job than you.” She was a forceful woman, but since they’d been travelling together she’d gone out of her way to help them as much as possible. She needed to, since taking her with them had dramatically increased the danger all of them were in, and it was already extreme.

Marcus handed the chicken off, happy to be free of the responsibility and went over to lay flat on his pack. Michael went to his own pack and grabbed his hand mirror. He took a few moments to look at himself and watched as the golden letters of the divine began to coalesce and form his titles and deeds.

Titles:

Michael Mann

The Restored

The Wound Man

Godseeker

Champion of Seras

Deeds:

Bridge Holder

Revenge Denier