Even if my initial objective seems unobtainable, I'm already in this mess now so the first step is to survive…, he thought, resolving to continue. He got up and faced the rooster, which ruffled its feathers as if in response to Calf's conviction to live through their encounter. It stood up to its full height, beating its wings to the sides before facing them down and in as if to support its chest. Alarmed at the changes, Calf paid close attention and braced for the coming attack. He hadn't seen this stance before and he couldn't be sure if the rooster would lunge, pelt him with water or flatten him with an air wall attack. The rooster breathed in and as it did, its ends glowed red as its left breast took on a silvery glow. It breathed in even more and the silver bubble traveled up its chest to the throat, gaining a yellowish tint to the light emanating from it. It brought its head to bear before opening its beak toward him. There was a flash of red before a stream of flame issued from the open mouth.

Though the flames had been unexpected, he sprang into action in time, managing to find cover before the flames found him. Unfortunately, his good fortune did not extend to his bow and the arrow pouch he'd dropped in retreat. The stream of flames engulfed them before pursuing him and setting fire to his cover. The temperatures around him increased rapidly and Calf was forced to retreat. He looked forlornly at his charred pouch before noticing something. Though only soot and ash remained of the pouch and older arrows, he was surprised to see the sight of his newer arrows albeit with burnt fletching. He grabbed the arrows and tied them into a neat bundle he placed behind the tree, marking the spot with a few rocks for later. He took his remaining belongings and headed further into the trees in an effort to weather the flames till the stream ran dry. In minutes his efforts had proven futile as stream after stream poured onto the forest pursuing him with nigh a pause between consecutive streams.

The rooster alternated its target zones, catching him in a pincer attack by setting the area higher up the slope ablaze before continuing to encroach on the area he was hiding in. If he kept on retreating, he'd eventually be trapped between the two raging fires ahead of- and behind him. Seeing no other option, he prepared to attack it head on, but he'd do so with a plan in mind. He cut six thin branches from the trees yet to be swallowed by the inferno, first securing two of the longest into a cross and tying it to the center part outside his heritage shield. He then attached branches of decreasing lengths horizontally and vertically along the shield before securing his prize leather over it. He made cuts at four points in the leather to allow the center lengths to slip through before folding the ends around the supporting lengths. Preparations done he left to slay the overgrown chicken.

Calf made haste towards the incoming flames and charted a path across the razed grass. He had to walk sideways a few times due to the obstruction his modified shield presented but he eventually made it out. He was hacking and coughing when he stepped into the flats again and though he spotted a few burns and scraps, they could be ignored for the time being. The rooster eyed him from its position, content to only watch till he'd covered half the distance between them. It took that fire-breathing stance and Calf tilted the shield on its pivot to get a better view, eyeing every movement while counting in tandem, committing the sequence of changes to memory.

The first change was the flare of the rooster's feather tips, which held a pulsating red glow for five seconds as the silver breast swelled to a crescendo. Once the silver ball hit it's limit it took the next second to travel to the rooster's throat. Its feathers ruffled and the silver ball held at the throat till the rooster directed its head at him and opened its mouth to loose the built-up blast of flames. Calf pivoted the huge shield back in place and braced. The impact was bearable, barely pushing him back a few steps before he got used to the constant push from the stream and started to push back, inching closer to the rooster. Steam rose from the top of the shield and after enduring for 10 seconds the stream of flames stopped. The rooster seemed content to stare at him again and Calf took the chance to inspect the inside of his shield, noting the shriveled appearance of the folded edges. He swung it on its pivot to take a look at the front and as he did, the rooster wound up for another bout of flames. He hurriedly swung it back to face the incoming flames, ready to cover the distance between them.

The streams continued to come in the expected intervals as Calf pushed on and he eventually got used to the rhythm. No longer needing the visual cues from the rooster, he kept the shield in front of him and couldn't help but notice the rising steam increasing in-tune to the reduction in size of his shield. Though he'd intended to kill two birds with one stone by tempering the shield in his progression towards the rooster, the rate at which the shield was shrinking was beyond expectations and he'd have to get to the rooster fast. If he delayed, the shield wouldn’t be large enough to shield him from the flames. The branch extensions supporting the wet hide shriveled and bent forward as it shrunk and Calf knew sooner or later, they'd crack and give, forcing him to rely on cover limited to dimensions just over those of his heritage shield.

On a positive note, the anklets that had only been a burden up till now finally worked in his favor. They had been weighting his feet down and he couldn't reach the maximum speeds he'd grown used to without them but now, that extra weight is what was helping him weather the barrage. They allowed him to take big steps towards the target, weighting the lifted foot towards the ground and allowing him to maintain a one-legged balance till his next step. The push from the flames increased the closer he got, and he was forced to switch to sliding his feet along the ground, hunching forward with the shield held at a tilt. The flames heated the air around him to the point he thought he was going to melt. A few more steps in, his breathing became labored and the heat from the sides forced him to adopt a different stance. He braced sideways and dug his left shoulder into the back of the shield, effectively increasing the distance between him and the occasional licks of flame that had assailed him from the sides of the shrinking shield.

The rooster breathed in for the next stream and Calf ran forward in that gap, closing to within 12 steps of the rooster's nest. The next barrage came with more force than he'd experienced before, and it forced him to back-peddle 6 steps. Right now, he wished he'd had the foresight to bring the long spear, for though its point had been bonded to the rooster making it useless in the attack, he could have used its properties to overcome the setbacks he'd faced. For the initial impacts he would've pivoted it and rested his back along its resistant axis, making use of the resistance to avoid being blown back. Once he was within a few steps of his target he would tilt it on its pivot and rest along the flexible axis during a barrage, using the rebound at the end to propel him towards the rooster for the kill.

Having no other option but to persevere till he was within range for the broadhead kill he soldiered on, coming within 7 steps by the next reprieve. He slackened his hold on the shield and transferred it completely to his left hand before using his right hand to retrieve the broadhead. The rooster sped up its rhythm, breathing so deep inside that Calf could feel the air around him being pulled towards it. It released the breath much faster than it had before, catching Calf unprepared. Caught mid-step and with a single arm handling the shield he was pushed back, some flame licking his shins, thighs and knees as the shield hand was forced back.

A pained scream tinged with primal anger issued from his mouth as he executed corrective actions, bringing his right hand to grab at the shield's handle and pulling it back down in front of him. He dug in deep and tilted forward counting down the duration of the stream. The stream stopped prematurely the next second, sending Calf falling face-first from the force of his bracing action. On his downward motion, he watched as a half-empty silver ball traveled down the rooster's throat to settle at its chest. He rolled forward into a lunge towards the rooster's chest, but it jumped back, completely avoiding his thrust. With a few more steps of distance between them established it breathed in again in preparation for the next attack. Though short in reality, in his ragged state that distance might as well have been a hundred steps. Worse still, the rooster seemed nonplussed by their exchanges so far, looking poised to finish him off. The hunter had become the prey.