Okay... this here, this is the first story I ever published.
And it's bad. It's cringingly bad. Literally the only reason I keep it around is as a progress marker of how far I've come from where I used to be.
So, I would just like to apologize now, in advance, for the horrors of Younger-Me trying to write a story for the first time. That is all.
Steve the Cucco was having a perfectly normal day. He'd woken up the village of Kakariko by being obnoxiously loud, as usual. He'd eaten his breakfast of seeds, as usual. He'd instigated the usual escape of the Cucco pen by the usual time, and was up in his usual spot on top of a house. Everything was as it should be.
Until Bob the Cucco, one of Steve's subordinates, went tearing past Steve's house perch at a breakneck speed, chased by a small fleshy two-legger wearing a green tunic and a long floppy hat. Steve gawked in amazement. What foolish two-legger would dare to mess with Steve's gang? They were the ultimate authority in Kakariko; everyone knew not to mess with the Cuccos. They went where they pleased and did what they wanted.
But apparently, this green-hatted one did not know of Steve's Cucco gang. As if to confirm Steve's suspicions, the two-legger came sprinting back past the house perch holding Bob above his head like a trophy. Steve's beak dropped wide open at this. How dare this impudent green one treat his subordinates like that!
Steve had half a mind to teach the two-legger a lesson, but decided to wait a little and see what happened. All things considered, he hadn't liked Bob that much anyways.
There was a sudden ruckus over on the far side of the town, and Steve, curiosity piqued, leaned forward to see what it was. All of a sudden Dave the Cucco came hurdling around the corner of the street, flapping his wings frantically in an attempt to evade the green-hatted two-legger who was chasing him. Steve was flabbergasted. It apparently wasn't enough for the green one to capture Bob; he had to imprison Dave as well?
Steve watched as the green-hatted one cornered and picked up Dave, held him like a trophy, and trotted off. This, Steve knew, was unforgivable. Unlike Bob, he rather liked Dave. Now it was personal. Steve ruffled his feathers, hopped off his house perch, and stalked through the village furiously. The villagers gave him a wide berth when they saw him coming. But Steve himself was caught off guard when Jim the Cucco ran straight into him from behind.
"Boss!" Jim gasped. "You gotta help me! This crazy two-legger's been tryin' to-"
Whatever Jim was trying to say was abruptly cut off as a pair of hands lifted him into the air, and the green-hatted one ran off with Jim held triumphantly above it's head. Steve was left in shock.
First Bob, then Dave, and now Jim... that meant he was the only Cucco left. Well, he wasn't about to go down without a fight. He was Steve the Cucco, leader of the Cucco gang, and nobody messed with the Cucco gang and lived to tell about it. He was going to give that two-legger a piece of his mind!
Steve ran furiously through the village searching for the green-hatted offender. He found the two-legger easily, as it seemed that the young one had been searching as well. There was a standoff similar to that of an Old West movie as Steve and the two-legger faced each other.
Steve let out his most famous and feared battle cry as he raced towards the green-hatted one as fast as his Cucco legs could carry him. To it's credit, the two-legger didn't even flinch as it watched Steve approach with wide, blue eyes. Steve came closer and closer, his vision narrowing as he set his sights on the two-legger who had dared to intrude upon his territory. He leaped into the air, clawed feet extended ready to slash, only to find himself being plucked from midair by the green-hatted one's hands and held above the long, floppy hat. Steve struggled furiously as the two-legger ran with him, but the grip on his feathers was too strong for Steve to break.
Steve slowly stopped struggling, going into complete shock. His entire gang, captured. He, the leader, in the same situation as his subordinates had been in. The mighty Cucco gang had fallen. They had fallen to a two-legg-
Steve's thought train was abruptly cut as he was bodily flung over a fence... and landed in the exact Cucco pen that he had escaped from earlier that morning. To his surprise, Bob, Dave, and Jim were all there as well, in similar states of disbelief. Steve turned his head slowly to see the green-hatted one interacting with the two-legger who was permitted to care for his gang. His eyes narrowed. It seemed that the caretaker was in league with the green-hatted two-legger, and there was evidently some sort of deal between the two. Steve vowed his revenge on the caretaker later.
The green-hatted one turned and saw Steve looking at it, but strangely did not avert it's gaze like so many others of it's kind. Instead, the two-legger held Steve's gaze with a determination that Steve had never seen before. After a few moments of eye contact, Steve nodded to the green-hatted one and looked away.
You have proven yourself to be a worthy opponent, Steve thought. We will meet again, you and I. And when we do, I promise the results will not be the same.
The next day, Steve instigated the usual escape from the Cucco pen without any trouble at all. But the green-hatted one was not there. Steve sat on his usual perch and looked out past the village, wondering about the strange two-legger and where he had gone to. He found himself looking forward to the day when the green-hatted one would return. There was a rematch to be had.