Sheep Herder

Chapter Three

It was early morning before I returned to the shed. During that time I was deep in thought, thinking about how to take care of such odd creatures. Do they need enrichment, do they only eat grass and hay, how do I shear them? I need to do some proper research on anthropomorphic sheep, but right now I need to see if these sheep didn't kill over on me during the night.

With a loud creek I opened the large barn doors and entered the building. Long shadows filled the barn as the sun rose across the sky, painting the red walls with oranges and purples. The air was crisp, with the smell of hay filling my nostrils.

I walked up to the first stall and looked inside it. Empty. I sighed, they must be still all huddling together somewhere here. I imminently turned to the shed where I found them yesterday and headed towards it. I opened it aannd, nothing.

Scratching my head I walked to every stall. There are a total of five large stalls, each the size of my old flat, all lined up in a row and identical to each other. They were simple but also complex, definitely made for an anthro. Each had a corner filled with hay, covered with a simple brown sheet, most likely their bed, and a brown sack hanging off the door filled with fresh hay. The weird thing was that each had a functional toilet and a sink that was built into the back wall. I guess being more humanoid they needed more proper toiletries.

By the time I finished looking, all being empty, I noticed that there were no names on the red wooden doors. "I guess it's another thing I need to do," I thought, but first I still need to find them first. I turned around, trying to think where they must be hiding. A thought then crossed my mind, filling me with fear that they may have escaped. Then I saw the huge pile of hay at the back of the barn. I hurriedly walked over and breathed in a sigh of relief.

Being mostly covered by the hay all five of the sheep were huddling together sleeping. And I made sure they were asleep looking at their chests rising and falling.

I watched the cute scene for a good couple of minutes. In their blissful rest I began to feel more compassion for them. They may be in the same boat as I am, leaving their homes for this wacky experiment. Then my thoughts shift to what will happen in the end of all of this. Will they return to where they came from, will they go to another owner, would I keep them?

Suddenly the black sheep, Shaa, began to shift. I turned to her as her large brown eyes fluttered open. With a soft yawn our eyes met.

We both stood still, swimming in each other's eyes. I must have lost track of everything because when we both broke free the other four sheep had woken up and were also staring at me.

"Um, good morning," I said awkwardly. They don't respond.

"Okay... um, today I would like to get to know you better. You and I are going to be stuck here for a whole year, so..." I was really not a people person. Although, they aren't normal people aren't they.

They all remain silent, continuing to stare at me.

"Well, I guess I should start with myself first," I stated. I explained who I am and why I was here, or at least as simply as possible, didn't want to overload their brains. To my relief they seem to soften up a bit and not be so afraid. Then one of the white sheep stepped forward.

"Me and my sisters have never left the lab. We were deemed too in-sign-ifi-cant they kept saying."

Then the black sheep stepped forward. "That is until last week. An old man came to our home and brought us here. We were so terrified we hid until you arrived," she said flatly.

I looked over the five feeling sad. I was correct to assume they were runts. That made me think as to why my aunt chose these ones. Was the challenge to raise five runts?

"Alright, um..." I then heard five grumbling stomachs. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Last week," stated the black sheep.

"A whole week?! No wonder you look starved." I panicked. But before I looked around for food a question popped into my head. "Why haven't you eaten any hay?"

"Hay?" The upfront sheep asked, tilting her head.

"You know, that dry grass you were sleeping in."

"That's food?" She said surprised, all the sheep looked at the pile of hay.

"You don't know what hay is? What had they been feeding you at the lab?"

"Pellets," the black said bluntly.

I just looked at them unsure of what to think.

"Um, well you can eat it, you are sheep after all."

"What is sheep?" Asked the two at the back simultaneously.

Okay, I can see where this was going, but first, food.

"Alright," he said nervously as his eyes scanned over the five sheep, "I see you don't know much about yourself but why don't we have some food before I dive into this rabbit hole."

All five nodded, some more eager than others. They then all turned around and looked over the large pile of hay they were sleeping in and gave it an unknowing look. They slowly approached the pile and each grabbed a handful of the dry grass. They examined it for a bit before they took a nibble. Their eyes lit up, savoring the crunchy herbage. They then stuffed the rest of the grass before reaching out for more.

I smiled when I saw that they were finally eating. My stomach then growled, reminding me to eat also. With one final scan of my flock I turned around and headed out of the barn for my feed.

~

The rest of that day felt more like I was back at school than being at a farm. From teaching the girls what they are and why I was here to learning how to shear them from multiple online videos.

Near the end of the day I was mentally exhausted and was ready to hit the hay, but speaking of hay, before I collapsed I made sure each one of the girls knew where their stalls were.

I was able to make some crude signs with their names on them. They weren't the prettiest things in the world but they would suffice. It at least allows me to remember their names, although some collars weren't a bad idea.

But before I left the barn I noticed that the girls had eaten a lot, so much so that they had a noticeable lump on their stomachs. I was actually quite amazed by how much they ate. Although I was too tired to think much of it and left for my cabin.