Sheep Herder

Chapter Five

During lunch I did more research on anthropomorphic sheep, something I should have done yesterday. 

Despite being sheep they were quite different from their un-anthropomorphic counterparts. For one, their wool grew faster than normal sheep, about 3 to 4 times faster. Something to do with how there aren't a lot of them that had been made. Second, they can absorb much more nutrients and mature more like humans. Other than that they kept many things top secret from the public eye. If I  wanted to know more I needed to talk to the lawyer. 

At this time I was tired. Being a city boy I was not much built for manual labor, although the last couple of days didn't help my fatigue. I decided to relax on the couch and turn on the television for the rest of the day. 

~

The sun dipped over the roling hills before I turned off the TV. With groggy stretch I heaved myself off the couch and decided to go check on my herd. Upon arrival I became intrigued at what I saw. 

Before me was my sheep, scattered across the barn looking bored. Shaa was laying on top of the hay pile looking sleepy, Laa had her legs up the barn wall, her back laying on the floor, Baa and Faa looked like they were playing an unsophisticated game of patty cake and finally Daa was making something with pebbles. But the one thing they had in common, they were all eating. 

"Oh, hello Master. It's good to see you," said Daa. I felt a little uneasy when she called me "master" but I pushed that feeling down as I addressed my herd.

"Just check on you guys before closing up for tonight." They didn't respond as I did one more look around. Seeing their bored faces made me feel sorry for them. They had nothing to do all day. Normally this wouldn't be a problem if they were normal sheep, but being anthropomorphic they needed more stimuli to keep them happy.

An idea then crept into my mind and I perked up. "Okay girls see you tomorrow!" I said excitedly while the girls just waved at me unenthusiastically. I closed the barn doors and locked it, smiling all the way back to my wooden hut.

~

The red barn door opened up, allowing the morning sun to fill the building. 

"Good morning girls," I said with a big smile on my face. 

Shaa was the first of the sheep to pop her head out the stables, crossing her arms on the wooden door and laying her head down on them. Soon the rest followed suit as they all looked curious at me. 

Holding a large backpack I stride in and place my bag in the center of the building. "I got a surprise for you all." Looking at each other puzzledly, they exited their stall and cautiously approached me. 

I unzipped my bag, I took out some boxes and a couple of smaller bags. "Yesterday I saw how bored you were so I got you girls some toys." I said, putting them onto the floor and presenting it to them. Before me was a couple of boardgames, a tube of Pogs and a large bag of colorful marbles.

The girls looked over to the pile of toys in awe. Before I said another word the girls rushed over and grabbed whatever they could get their hands on. Baa and Faa took the board game Candyland, Laa took the bag of marbles, Shaa took the tube of Pogs, and finally Daa took the Junior Monopoly. 

"Well, have fun," I said, stepping back. But before I could get close to the exit Baa, Faa, Laa, Shaa, and Daa came rushing up to me holding up their respective games to my face.

"Can you teach me," they said in unison. 

"I…" I started as I looked into their doey eyes. I sighed in defeat. "Okay." The girls cheered before pulling me to the back of the barn.

~

For the rest of the day I played with the girls, commonly playing a multitude of games at once. It was a hectic time as I read many rule books and internet searches on how to play the various games. But also throughout our time playing I grew to learn some things about the girls. Despite their identicalness, excluding Daa, they each had their own unique personalities.

Baa and Faa were the two that were most alike. They both acted very bubbly, and a little airheaded. They weren't dumb, just a little aloof. They were also inseparable, always being by each other's side. Kinda like they were conjoined twins.

Laa was the most sheep out of the girls, and what I mean sheep I mean sheepish. She spoke the least and preferred to be a wallflower. But when she opened up she loved to cuddle (despite its cuteness I still felt uncomfortable touching such a lilith body).

Shaa I had confirmed that she was the bravest of the bunch. Never showing hesitation to either ask me a question or enforcing the rules of the games. Despite acting like the leader, the other girls didn't always follow what she said. It was more like she appointed herself as the leader of this herd.

And Daa, was an interesting one. She always expressed no emotion but felt the most affectionate. She was also the one who asked me the most questions, asking from reasonable ones to awkward ones. She also always wanted to be by my side, no matter what.

But the most interesting thing I noticed was that they always ate. Always grabbing hay throughout the day, never taking a break. I was surprised how much a small creature could eat. By the time I was allowed to leave they had a small lump protruding from their stomachs. 

When I entered my house I was exhausted but surprisingly happy. For the first time in my life I felt my life was good. My childhood wasn't the best, (why my Aunt gave her stuff to her nephews instead of her siblings) and my short time as an adult sucked. I smiled for the rest of the night.