This story was written to go with the picture above, by Jazzumi, featuring Sentri and Walkie.
“So, game night!” Walkie bounced happily on the couch between his two much, much larger avian friends. Sentri and Ahab had invited the little budgie over for the evening, and while the two of them could sit comfortably on the sofa, Walkie was barely much larger than the crumbs that had been lost deep between the cushions.
“Oh, I dunno,” Ahab said casually. “I think Sentri had an idea.”
“Yeah,” the purple eagle said, rising from the couch and going over to a cabinet. The bird pulled a box out of it and walked toward the kitchen table. He showed the box to the others on the way: “I thought we could play chess.”
“Chess?” Walkie frowned. “But there are three of us and that’s a two-player game.”
“Don’t worry,” Ahab said with a smirk, wrapping his enormous hand around Walkie and carrying him toward the table. “It’ll work with the way we play it. Got everything set up?”
“Yep,” Sentri said. “We’re just missing the last piece.”
“Perfect,” the blue eagle replied. “I’ll be black, you can be white, and you—” he lifted Walkie up and dangled him by his fingertips “—will go right here.” Ahab placed the budgie in the center of the board.
Walkie yelped, staring up the imposing pieces on both sides of him. He tried to scramble off the board, but was quickly pinned down by a huge, feathered finger. “Uh-uh-uh,” Sentri tutted. “White moves first. Wait your turn.” He scooted a pawn forward.
Ahab responded by moving his knight over his row of pawns and placing it a few squares away from Walkie. “Check. Look out, little bird.”
“Check? What do you mean? Are you trying to capture me?”
The two larger birds chuckled and grinned at each other.
“And what happens if you do?” Walkie asked, carefully moving out of the knight’s line of attack.
“Well, it’s simple,” Sentri said, pushing a bishop in range of the budgie. “Whoever captures you gets to eat you. Check.”