Summer 35, 519
The Empyreal Desemene
9th Bell
A cool breeze flew in from the sea beyond the beach, ruffling Anja's curls and cooling the sweat pooling on his brow and neck. The day was hot, but the proximity to the beach made the weather only slightly uncomfortable instead of intolerable. Anja's coat had been draped on a fencepost leaving his arms bare and revealing the black spiral of a tattoo on his left arm. The distant sound of waves beating against the shore helped to ease Anja's nerves a bit. A good thing, considering the fact that Anja was facing a slight sense of unease at the task he had chosen for himself. He had chosen to care for the animals of the Demesne, and that meant all the animals. Even the ones that he had been struggling with. Hopefully, with some work, that would soon be in the past. With Battle and Sayeth sitting at attention on either side of Anja, the Drykas watched the herd of goats casually nibbling at the emerging weeds near the edge of the beach.
Anja liked the idea of letting the goats wander. In Endrykas, no animal was kept tethered and the thought of any creature being confined made Anja itch. But on the other side of things, the Drykas wasn't entirely sure he could trust the goats not to get themselves into trouble. Zibri, the fuzzy cattle of Endrykas, were allowed to wander but carefully watched. As a boy, in the days before he had left the Sea of Grass, Anja had been expected to watch the cattle as well. There were many large predators who would happily snatch a wandering Zibri for a snack, and Zibri, though large and strong, were no Striders. But now, Anja simply didn't have time to keep watch over the animals each and every day. He had his own work for the Homestead, as did many of the other residents of the new home. As Anja pondered the question, a dim memory had risen from the corners of his mind. An uncle, or perhaps a granduncle, letting out piercing whistles and commands in Pavi and a group of dogs moving as one unit to keep the cattle from wandering. Anja wasn't sure it was possible to do with goats. But as he looked down at his two dogs, born and bred to guard and herd, Anja thought it was worth a shot.
"Alright, go ahead," Anja told the pair. "I know you're curious. Go say hello." Anja gestured towards the group of goats, giving the grass sign for 'go'. Battle and Sayeth glanced at Anja in disbelief. Until now, the Drykas had not let the pair approach the goats. Battle moved first, tail flashing in a rapid wag as she trotted towards the strange animals. Sayeth followed several ticks behind her, eyes scanning the area warily before he stalked up towards them. The leader of the goats, a big male with large sweeping horns, turned to face the pair and scraped his hoof. Battle stopped abruptly, and glanced behind her at Anja.
"You need to be in charge of this herd," Anja told the dog patiently. "You can't let him push you around." Battle turned her head back to the goat and stepped up towards him, confidence in her step. The two of them sniffed noses and Anja held his breath. Then, abruptly, the billy bleated something and returned his attention to the weeds at his feet. Battle wagged her tail and went forward to greet each of the goats one by one.
(Words 590, Total 590)
The Empyreal Desemene
9th Bell
A cool breeze flew in from the sea beyond the beach, ruffling Anja's curls and cooling the sweat pooling on his brow and neck. The day was hot, but the proximity to the beach made the weather only slightly uncomfortable instead of intolerable. Anja's coat had been draped on a fencepost leaving his arms bare and revealing the black spiral of a tattoo on his left arm. The distant sound of waves beating against the shore helped to ease Anja's nerves a bit. A good thing, considering the fact that Anja was facing a slight sense of unease at the task he had chosen for himself. He had chosen to care for the animals of the Demesne, and that meant all the animals. Even the ones that he had been struggling with. Hopefully, with some work, that would soon be in the past. With Battle and Sayeth sitting at attention on either side of Anja, the Drykas watched the herd of goats casually nibbling at the emerging weeds near the edge of the beach.
Anja liked the idea of letting the goats wander. In Endrykas, no animal was kept tethered and the thought of any creature being confined made Anja itch. But on the other side of things, the Drykas wasn't entirely sure he could trust the goats not to get themselves into trouble. Zibri, the fuzzy cattle of Endrykas, were allowed to wander but carefully watched. As a boy, in the days before he had left the Sea of Grass, Anja had been expected to watch the cattle as well. There were many large predators who would happily snatch a wandering Zibri for a snack, and Zibri, though large and strong, were no Striders. But now, Anja simply didn't have time to keep watch over the animals each and every day. He had his own work for the Homestead, as did many of the other residents of the new home. As Anja pondered the question, a dim memory had risen from the corners of his mind. An uncle, or perhaps a granduncle, letting out piercing whistles and commands in Pavi and a group of dogs moving as one unit to keep the cattle from wandering. Anja wasn't sure it was possible to do with goats. But as he looked down at his two dogs, born and bred to guard and herd, Anja thought it was worth a shot.
"Alright, go ahead," Anja told the pair. "I know you're curious. Go say hello." Anja gestured towards the group of goats, giving the grass sign for 'go'. Battle and Sayeth glanced at Anja in disbelief. Until now, the Drykas had not let the pair approach the goats. Battle moved first, tail flashing in a rapid wag as she trotted towards the strange animals. Sayeth followed several ticks behind her, eyes scanning the area warily before he stalked up towards them. The leader of the goats, a big male with large sweeping horns, turned to face the pair and scraped his hoof. Battle stopped abruptly, and glanced behind her at Anja.
"You need to be in charge of this herd," Anja told the dog patiently. "You can't let him push you around." Battle turned her head back to the goat and stepped up towards him, confidence in her step. The two of them sniffed noses and Anja held his breath. Then, abruptly, the billy bleated something and returned his attention to the weeds at his feet. Battle wagged her tail and went forward to greet each of the goats one by one.
(Words 590, Total 590)