An oasis.
Clear spring water welled up between the rocks, gathering into a shallow stream whose surface reflected the interwoven branches of ancient trees overhead.
Big Red folded his wings and extended his sharp talons, precisely snatching several beasts drinking beside the stream.
His beak snapped shut and opened again, splitting skin and tearing flesh.
A rinse in the stream stripped away the innards, and he laid the meat out neatly.
His movements were so practiced that he looked less like an ancient Ferocious Bird and more like an old hand with thirty years in a meat market.
Shi Hou crouched beside the stream to wash his hands. His gaze swept over the prepared meat, and he nodded slightly.
"Not bad, Big Red. You've got this skill too?!"
Big Red shook out his feathers and opened his beak wide, spitting out a large black pot with a clang. Dark light shimmered over its body, its black surface translucent and densely covered in ancient runes, with faint lightning and firelight weaving among them. It was not made of iron, but had been polished from the enormous egg of some ancient Ferocious Bird.
Shi Hou slowly rose to his feet. As he stared at the pot, his expression changed.
"Huh?! You've got a pot too?"
Big Red cautiously glanced at the Black-Skinned Chef. Seeing that he finally no longer looked at him as an ingredient, he puffed out his chest and shook his feathers, looking rather pleased with himself.
"It's nowhere near as magnificent as your pot, big brother. This little black pot of mine is hardly worth mentioning."
"Hmm?! You've got a good eye. Since we're fellow pot owners, the frog feet are yours later."
"Thank you, big brother!" Big Red shouted excitedly.
Furball sat on a tree root and spread