How Darrell Came To Be

Darrell Needs A Coop.

[Yes, that's a hen..]

{But!—}

[He is a female biologically, you absolute moron.] Mind spat, glaring at his host. How Soul even thought the bird was a male was beyond him. It was absurd in Mind's opinion, but oh well. [And just what do you plan on doing with him? We don't have anywhere to store the chicken. We don't have a water dish, a solid place for a dirt bath, a coop—]

{THAT'S IT!} Soul interjected, {We'll build him a coop! A lovely chicken coop for him. It'll be in the best place in the yard with chicken fencing and dirt and shade and—} Soul rambled gleefully, looking over at the chicken they had placed in a decently sized cage for the time being. It was like a dog kennel.

[And bird pellets, bedding, scratch, grit, exercise, a heater for the coop during winter..You sure you want to keep the chicken, Soul?] inquired Mind as he gazed at the scarlet colored avian. Darrell simply blinked at Mind, making a small cluck noise as he walked around with what space he had in the kennel.

Soul thought for a bit. That sounded like a lot to care for a single chicken...Darrell would also probably get lonely without other chooks around. He needed friends! This was gonna be a tough project to navigate...

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Soul hummed as he sanded some wood. He'd managed to get Heart and Mind to agree on helping him with a little chicken area for Darrell. Mind was measuring and cutting wood to size while Heart stained the wood a red oak hue that Soul picked out. Soul could tell there was still a bit of tension between Heart and Mind, given they were arguing prior to this now semi-peaceful work session, with the exception of Darrell who was very discontented about having to remain in the cage for the time being.

{How many more pieces of wood do we have to go before we can actually build the coop?} Soul inquired, glancing over at Darrell as he continued sanding his piece of wood. [Five. Where are you placing the coop?] {Somewhere in the yard.} (But where is that somewhere, Soul?)

Heart brought up a good question. He didn't really plan this whole thing out too well..Maybe a corner of the yard would do. It had some shade, and they could make a patch of dirt for Darrell to roll around and bathe in whenever. Speaking of, Darrell probably wanted to do that.

{Let's take a break. Darrell's probably getting restless in that little cage.} Soul announced, setting down his sandpaper and walking over to Darrell's cage. He gently took the chicken out, and walked out to their front yard. He examined the area before going over to the top left of the yard where he planned on setting up the chicken area.

He set down Darrell, and watched as Darrell looked around the area. The chook began digging in the dirt before rolling around in it, coating his feathers with a layer of dirt. He also rested under the shade a tree provided, cooing contently as the light breeze blew past his fluffy feathers.

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[Damn it- just hand me the screw driver!] Mind barked, holding a screw in place. As much as they could summon anything in the headspace within limitations to amount like weapons, food, objects, etc, they can't summon complete structures whether it be big or small. They have to build a whole coop and chicken area themselves.

{I can't find it!} Soul shouted in reply. His hand was feeling around the tool box for the gadget. It felt like it suddenly disappeared! Which, could happen if one of them wanted to fuck with the others, but even with how divided they were, they'd never do anything to purposely prevent an animal from leading a comfortable life.

Perhaps it was misplaced? {HEART!} Shouted Soul. (YEAH?) Heart hollered back, peeking his head out the door. {Did you take the screw driver?} (Why would I take the screw driver?)

Heart checks out. He doesn't have a need for a screw driver, and even if he did there was no way in hell Soul would let him or Mind alone with one. They'd probably start a petty fight and go at each others necks with the tool.

Soul looked over at Darrell, and smiled a bit as he thought of something. He walked over, and gently pet the chicken. {You wouldn't happen to know where the screw driver went, do ya buddy?} Soul spoke in a similar way you'd talk to a baby. He gently ran a hand through the birds feathers, enjoying the texture until he noticed a silver gleam from underneath the chicken.

He gently lifted up the chicken, and lo and behold there was the screw driver! Perhaps he shouldn't have let Darrell relax on the shelves outside, given that's where they kept most of their tools anyway. Soul handed over the screw driver to Mind, who proceeded to secure the hinges and lock on the coop.

[The coop's done.] {I'll set up the chicken wire.} Soul stated, placing Darrell back in the cage temporarily. He grabbed the roll of chicken wire, about 46 meters (around 150 ft), and began planning where the steel mesh would go. He had Heart hold down some fence posts while he made sure they were secure in the ground before wrapping chicken wire around them.

Heart and Mind moved the chicken coop to where Soul wanted it, and the trio got to work on placing the essentials. Food, water, nesting material, a heater, and a small patch of dirt for Darrell to roll around in. The dirt patch already had a head start from earlier that week when Darrell was exploring the area that would now become his new home.