Stomping feet and someone running was heard all through the night. Twigs cracked in the creature’s wake, and leaves rustled everywhere it went. An unsuspecting mouse was nibbling on a berry when a large foot was inches away from stepping on it. He chittered noisily.
“Hey, watch where you’re going, you giant gorilla!” He squeaked. The monster looked down at the mouse. He screamed. The creature was no gorilla, it was even scarier. It had nowhere near as much hair as one; the only traces of hair was on its head, and it was short and yellow. It had dark green leather on its chest, and on its legs were blue leather all the way down to its feet. Its feet. The mouse shuddered violently. Its feet were gigantic, almost the size of a young chicken. Covering it was something like a black backpack.
“AHHH! YOU’RE TALKING!!” The monster yelled. Its voice was loud and deep. The mouse had no time to react before it kicked him straight in the ribs and knocked him out cold. The giant ran from the scene, and kept on running, never looking back once.

In a large red barn, with a plain white roof, there was a family of chickens, all running about doing their job. There was a group of chicks waddling after a hen with dark red feathers, almost brown. There was a rusty orange-feathered rooster tending to a glowing golden crop, and beside him was a black panther with startling green eyes. There was a couple looking at a statue of a gray-white feathered rooster, cleaning it and maintaining its glossiness. And in the midst of it all, there was a note with scratchy handwriting on a desk that read,

On another adventure, don’t worry about me! Tell Maple I’ll be back soon! – Nugget

The orange rooster looked up suddenly and walked over to the note. He sighed heavily, although there was a smile on his face.
“Torch! He’s gone again!” He called. His voice was lighthearted and friendly.
The panther, Torch, yelled back, “Go out and get him! He can take over the Goldenberries while I map the Starlit Cavern for the Council!” He tended the Goldenberries without looking up.
The chicken ripped the note up, and looked around. I should probably tell Maple first. She’s been worried sick! He eventually locked eyes with the red-brown feathered hen and immediately rushed towards her.
“Do you know where Nugget is?” She asked right when she saw him. “I need to know, Ant! Is he alright? He is safe, right?”
Ant waved his wings around for silence. “Don’t worry so much, Maple! I’m sure he’s alright. He wrote a note saying he left for another adventure. Knowing Nugget, he’ll be in and ou–woah, woah!” He yelled mid sentence as three chicks bowled into Ant, knocking him over.
“Uncle Ant, Uncle Ant!” They chirped, jumping wildly around him as he dusted himself off. “Tell us a story! We’re bored without Daddy here!”
“Maybe later, Redwood, I have to go find your dad right now. Maple, how do you put up with those three?” Ant turned back to Maple, who was dragging Redwood back to the nest.
“Well, as long as I can make sure to keep them in control until they tire out, they’re not such a mess. Either way, I still love them.” She waved Redwood back inside as she picked up the other two chicks. Orange was, of course, had orangish feathers growing in; she was the oldest and bossiest of the group. The youngest, Mahogany, had feathers like his mother’s, and he was small and quiet compared to the others. Redwood always made sure to take care of him; he was wild and energetic, but he was also quite caring underneath the craziness.
Suddenly snow-white feathers flew into the clearing. Chickens cleared the way immediately, jumping out of the way. Well, Nugget’s here. Makes my job easier. He dashed forward to help his brother.

Torch just couldn’t farm the Goldenberries in peace, couldn’t he? First Nugget was gone on another adventure, and when Torch needed to map the Starlit Cavern for the Council of Adventurers, he couldn’t, since the Goldenberries needed tending to. And he couldn’t even do that!
At least Nugget is here now, so I can go. That was quite the entrance! Torch came up behind Ant to see Nugget.
“Quite the dramatic entrance, Nugget. You okay?” Nugget looked bedraggled; Torch helped him get back on his feet.
“I’m okay, thanks. It’s just been a rough one…I found a mouse unconscious, and I tried to bring it back here, but I found Comet instead, and she fixed him up. He told us that he saw a…a giant of some sort, and we found it, and it saw us and chased after us, and…it was just horrifying.” Nugget almost collapsed; Ant and Torch supported him to the barn, Maple trailing behind them, checking all over Nugget. Torch let her take his place.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? I’ll get you something to eat.” She scurried away, shoving bewildered-looking chickens out of the way.
Comet suddenly arrived beside Torch, beaming at him. “Did you miss me?” She asked, purring.
Torch returned her smile. “Of course I did! Is that mouse okay? Where is he?”
Her smile faltered. “He’s recovering. We don’t know if he’ll be okay or not. Hopefully!” She tried to keep her smile, but Torch could see fear underneath her other emotions.
“This thing needs to be stopped, doesn’t it?” Torch asked.
Comet nodded vigorously while Ant and Nugget both added, “Yes, of course!”
“Well,” Torch meowed, with determination blazing in his eyes, “What say we go stop it?”

Rowan the human felt something stirring inside him, humming, saying to him, “They’re here, they’re coming,” and he could not just wait around until the talking animals came. He was going to fight back, and take back what was rightfully his. Soon it will all be mine.