STABLE BOY ; Trash of the Count's Family

10. ANIMAL CARETAKING

Riding in the young master's carriage was stressful. The cats stared at him and Cale looked bored and South didn't know what to do. His clothes were so unbefitting of the nice and polished carriage that he couldn't calm down.

"Can you read?" Cale asked, seemingly considering something.

"N- No, young master," South admitted. "But I do understand numbers, signs, and maps."

Cale hummed.

"I suppose that's enough."

Enough for what?? But South was a bit too afraid to know, so he didn't ask.

The cats were staring at him flabbergasted, very surprised to hear that a young man working in the county didn't know how to read. They mumbled about that very much when South left the carriage.

Yeah... it's definitely weird.

But even in his past life, he never formally learned how to read and write. His power was a threat— not to his enemies, but his allies. So they got a hold of him, controlled how much he knew to prevent any chances of him defying them— and just like that, he lived to the end as a disposable pawn.

Perhaps that was for the best. South was always meant to be used.

(He didn't know how to live otherwise, anyways.)

-

"There you go, I got the stone out. Does that feel better?"

South giggled when Pengallope huffed satisfied at him, blowing up his hair. Ponychael brought his snout over to nudge impatiently, because he wanted his hooves cleaned too.

"Okay, I'll do you next."

The rough terrain on the way had been quite rough on them. Now that they could be settled comfortably in the stable of this inn, though, they were able to relax.

The knights were helping the butler and coachman disassemble the carriage for the next few days they'll spend here.

"Hey! Thomare, no," he stopped a horse before it ate his sleeve, "doing that at home is fine, but these are my nice clothes. I don't have a lot of them, and I need to wear them in the capital!"

Thomare angrily let go. South looked at him crossly.

"Why do you like chewing holes in my shirts so much? I give you so much snacks all the time but you decide to eat my shirt instead," South grabbed the horse's head between his hands and squeezed around the ears, "do you think shirts grow on trees?"

Thomare whinnied in protest.

Outside, there are whispers.

"He keeps talking to the horses even though he can't understand them. Why is he so weird, noona?"

"Shh, Hong. Don't get involved, the horses like him."

South heard them, but he pretended not to. He wasn't about to be judged by some werecats about his tendency to talk with animals.

-

South sighed, the day's work finally done.

He fell asleep in the stables and the coachman just put a blanket over him. He had a room, but he preferred to sleep with the horses. The servant's quarters of the county was fine since he was used to it by now, but out here at an inn he just couldn't relax.

"I just can't get it out..."

"This is such a mess."

"Sorry, noona."

"Shhh, you'll wake him up."

Whoever that was, South did wake up because of their talking. It didn't seem like much time had passed since he decided to sleep, so he didn't feel rested, but he also didn't feel particularly capable of sleeping again, at least not willingly.

South looked around for the voices and— ah, there they are.

The two from the cat tribe, the sister in human form and the brother still in cat form— it looks like the boy was caught in a spiderweb and some thistles, all of it now stuck to their fur unpleasantly.

They stared.

And stared back.

On squeaked, scrambling to her feet as if suddenly remembering she was in human form— she scooped up her brother and spun around to immediately smack facefirst into a pillar.

She fell back with a sharp whimper, her brother dropping into her lap as she whined at the new bump on her head.

"Uhm," South began.

They both jumped.

"Calm down."

-

And that was how South ended up patching up two kittens in the stables. The horses watched in amusement as South rubbed some ointment on On's forehead, then carefully brushed away the things tangled in Hong's fur.

"Why are you so good at this?"

"I'm not," South insisted, very slowly working through Hong's right foot, making the fur all sleek and shiny, "you're both so much smaller than the horses, I'm nervous I'll hurt you. Try not to distract me, okay?"

On squinted at him skeptically after that.

"How long have you known?" she interrogated.

"Well... how long do you think?"

She seemed annoyed by that question, cheeks puffed up as she turned away. She then turned back into her fog cat form and stared at him as he carefully brushed Hong's fur.

South inspected On's forehead again, "well, you're not bleeding or swelling, so you should be fine."

"I'm not in pain," she insisted, "bumping into that pole just startled me, that's it."

South massaged it a little, earning a whine as she squeezed her eyes closed. "Yes, I know, you're a big strong girl."

He brushed her fur after he was done with Hong's.

"I think Hans is better," On insisted, when he was done. "But it does feel nice."

"Hans gives us baths and snacks!" Hong added.

"Of course," South relented. He knew firsthand how sweet Hans could be around anyone younger than him. "If you two feel better already, you should go back to the Young Master's room. He might be worried if you two take too long to come back."

"Okay!"

"Bye bye, South-oppa!"