Sweet Tooth (Twd x Male Oc)

Chapter 108: Season 9 ~ First Day on the Job

It was strange to wake up in a different room than normal. It was still early. Jasper was awake before Carl, still with a few hours until he needed to start work.

He watched in silence as the greyish night sky slowly began to glow until the sunlight shone across the HIlltop's wall and travelled the room towards his and Carl's bed. They'd left the balcony door open during the night and the cool, spring air gave him goosebumps. He could hear chickens clucking outside and horses snorting occasionally, but other than that, Hilltop was so quiet, until finally, when the sun crossed into his eyes and other people's voices could be heard floating around the house and outside, Oliver got up, crossed the room, hugging himself, and shut the balcony doors.

Carl groaned, awoken by the sound of the latch.

Jasper left him to rest a little longer, needing the bathroom. He grabbed his glasses and put on his ankle brace, some jeans, and a hoodie, then went to the upstairs bathroom — "Someone's in here!"

He tried downstairs — "Gonna be a while! Try upstairs."

He went back to their room and waited, sitting on the bed.

Carl's hat had gotten a little smushed in the night so Jasper smoothed it out and placed it on the bedside.

A free bathroom was eventually found a little while later. By which time, Carl had volunteered to join a hunting crew for the day, and left to get ready. Carol had already said goodbye to the others, so before starting work, Jasper helped her carry her things out to her horse and mule.

After a big hug, she told him, "I'll get myself settled at the Kingdom, then come back and visit you in a few weeks. It'll go by in no time. Send a letter to Alexandria telling them you got here safe on the next produce shipment heading down there. Alright?"

"We will."

Carol lingered.

Jasper smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'm good."

"I just... can't believe this is happening. Moving out. Growing up. The time has gone so fast."

She hugged him again.

"Be good, alright? And listen to Maggie. And look after yourselves. Remember your calcium pills and your inhalers. And, for God's sake, try to stay out of trouble."

"Okay," Jasper said over her shoulder.

Just then, Carl, on his way to the gates with the hunting crew with a bow and arrows over his shoulder, stopped briefly to say goodbye, too. After their hug, Carol climbed up onto her horse and took the reins in one hand and the mule's rope in the other.

"Take care, boys."

"Bye, Carol."

"Bye. Thank you."

They stood in the driveway waving while Carol rode out and away from Hilltop, and then they went to work — Jasper to the stables and Carl with his hunting crew.

After the rain yesterday, the Hilltop smelled of petrichor. It made Jasper think of bottled water from a friend, long hugs, and demolished barn walls.

He joined Marco and Oscar in mucking out all the stables, feeding and watering the horses, and taking a couple of them to get shod at Earl's blacksmithery. Roan had shoes fitted for the first time, too — Earl was gentle enough that the horse barely noticed the sizzling steel being nailed into his hooves.

Around midday, everything was done, and Maggie arrived to watch Jasper train the piebald mare — she seemed particularly restless today and spooked when she saw Jasper's prosthetic hook, so he took it off. He usually did this in training anyway since horses didn't take nicely to getting accidentally whacked by hard foreign objects — especially untrained horses, like this one. Jasper took the mare into the round pen and performed a join-up exercise with her and she took to it almost immediately, trying to turn to him before he even wanted her to, so he'd have to drive her out and make her keep running circles around him instead.