The Finest Hen
A Short Play
Based on a tooltip
-Cast-
SUNCALLER: A silver-laced rooster, and lord over all the roosters on the island, having personally defeated every one of them
IVESCE: A young female Skydancer, who is gathering plants (and doing a fair bit of daydreaming)
GALLOWAY: A male Ridgeback, leader of the fishing party
CHRONO: A male Wildclaw, part of the fishing party
Several dragons, members of the fishing party
Several of Suncaller's servant roosters and hens
SCENE 1
((It is mid-afternoon, deep in the forest. The grass is trampled down, as if by hundreds of prey animals. Enter Suncaller and some of his servants, in the middle of a tale of his sparring prowess.
Suncaller should be a small dragon, ideally a Fae. Other breeds will do as well, if a Fae with sufficient emoting ability cannot be found; Spirals have the right personality, but will need to make an effort to walk like a rooster.
Consider using real chickens as Suncaller's entourage for added humor.))
SUNCALLER: ...the basilisk screeched from the bushes- there was his mistake! Keeping my eyes closed, so as not to be turned to stone by his terrible gaze...
((The chickens all watch him talk with rapt attention.))
SUNCALLER: I SPRANG into the undergrowth, claws out, where I had heard him crow! And he fought like the fierce beast he was, but I struck him again and again...
((Suncaller stops walking and emphasizes his story by flapping his wings and striking at the air.))
SUNCALLER: Until he was VANQUISHED! ((The chickens all startle at the sudden change in volume.)) And I stood on the foul, reptilian body, and proclaimed my might to all the land! ((Suncaller strikes a heroic pose, and pauses.))
SUNCALLER: Such a shame it is, that there are no worthy monsters left in the world... all have fallen to my claws. From the beginning of the world, where the sun rises from the infinite water, to the end, where it sinks into endless depths no rooster can ever cross... there is nothing that could challenge me.
((Suncaller sighs tragically, as he and his entourage exit on the the side of the stage.))
SCENE 2
((Ivesce, Galloway, Chrono, and the fishing party stand in a clearing. The ocean can be seen through the trees in the background.))
IVESCE: What a long flight. What on this island is worth the hassle?
GALLOWAY: This isolation brings good fishing. Where few dragons watch the water, rare sea creatures make their homes, and multiply.
IVESCE: Sounds like a lot of damp feathers to me. Come fetch me when you're finished; I'll see what grows so far from the mainland.
GALLOWAY: If you like. You'll be safe anywhere on the island. There is nothing bigger than a cat. Step on no porcupines, and you'll be all right.
IVESCE: I might look for a pet. A bird, perhaps?
((Ivesce exits.))
SCENE 3
((Suncaller stands on a hill, accompanied by a rooster servant. Ivesce sits at the bottom, idly picking flowers with her back turned.))
SUNCALLER: By the sun's claws! What fair bird is this that graces my fields? Her feathers are bright and colorful as my flowers, her wings are as vast as my trees. She has four legs instead of two, which is admittedly unusual, but surely signifies her being two times as special as a normal chicken. And most importantly, I see no rooster by her side. Truly, this is the finest hen in all the world! I must have her!
((Suncaller takes a leaf and uses his talons to write a message. He hands it to the servant.))
SUNCALLER: Go, with my message of love. Leave it in the grass where she will find it. It bids her meet me, her admirer, under the oak tree when the sun is beginning its fall into the sea.
((The rooster takes the note and exits.))
SUNCALLER: At last, a new challenge, a lady from the sea to conquer.
SCENE 4
((Ivesce waits excitedly under an enormous oak tree with the note in her talon. On the other side of the tree, Suncaller enters.))
IVESCE: Who could this mysterious drake be? A solitary hunter, living alone by his wits on the island? A dragon of the sea, who was captivated by my beauty when I set foot on shore?
SUNCALLER: There she is, awaiting my glorious presence. She is as beautiful as the sunlight through the trees, although she is taller than I expected.
((Chrono enters and approaches Ivesce.))
CHRONO: Good dusk, Ivesce. We are ready to fly home with our catch.
SUNCALLER: A challenger!?
((Suncaller charges at Chrono.))
SUNCALLER: Though you are a giant with spurs like broken branches, I will not stand down! I am a slayer of foxes, of melprins, of the basilisk itself! I am lord over all the world, from shore to farthest shore, and where I walk, great roosters hide their faces! I CHALLENGE YOU, FOR THE LOVE OF THE LADY OF THE SEA! I CHALLENGE YOU!
CHRONO: Ooh, a snack!
((Chrono leans down and bites Suncaller's head off.))
CHRONO: Mmph... Must be the lack of predators here. They don't know enough to run away.
IVESCE: I guess. Anyway, I can't go yet... I'm supposed to meet a secret admirer here, any minute now. He sent me this note.
CHRONO: Someone sent you a note, eh? I wonder who it could have been.
((Ivesce smiles, and takes Chrono's hand. As the two dragons gaze into each others' eyes, the curtain closes.))
