That morning, the fresh air enveloped Thorns Root village. The sound of goats bleating softly as Tian led his four goats towards the pasture with great enthusiasm. He felt proud of having so many goats, and every step he took was filled with hope for a bright future.
Upon arriving at the pasture, Tian immediately untied his goats. "Finally, you can be free! Enjoy this fresh grass," he said with a smile. The goats immediately ran around, bleating and began to eat the grass greedily. Tian watched them carefully, his heart whispering, "I can't wait for you to grow in number."
"That's right, since there are so many of you, I have to give you names. Since you are the first goat I bought, your name is 'Hajime'. Since you have the fattest body, your name is Bobby. And you, Emi, and you, Eli," Tian said excitedly, his eyes sparkling as he called his goats.
After some time, Tian decided to go home. He returned to his house, where his father, David, was sitting in front of the house, having just come home from work. Tian's footsteps could be heard clearly, tap-tap-tap, as he approached the house with his goats behind him.
"Oh yeah, Tian, you haven't made a pen for your goats, right? Especially now that your goats have increased, it's not good to leave that many goats outside. I'm afraid there will be wild monsters that come looking for prey at night, like the green wolf or the Ironfang Wolf," David asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. His mother was seen putting food on the table, the delicious aroma of cooking wafting through the air.
"Yes, Dad. Then, I have to look for wood in the forest," Tian said, a little hesitant.
"You don't need to go to the forest, son. Tomorrow you come to dad's workplace. Help dad bring the planks to be used to build your goat pen. Dad will also help you make it," his father said in a soft but firm voice.
"Really, Dad? Thank you, Dad!" Tian said, his face beaming.
~~
The next day, Tian got ready early in the morning, waiting for his father in front of the house. The sound of a gentle breeze brushing the surrounding trees, creating a calm melody on the bright morning.
"Ready, Tian?" David's voice was heard from inside the house.
"Yes, Dad! Let's go!" Tian replied enthusiastically, his cheerful voice filling the air.
They then walked towards the woodshop, the sound of their footsteps rhythmically on the rocky path.
In the woodshop, the sound of saws and hammers could be heard faintly from a distance. It seemed that someone had already started their work.
"Hey, Garlan! You got to work so fast!" David greeted, seeing his friend who was sawing wood.
"Oh, David! No, I just wanted to move my hands. By the way, what's wrong with Tian coming here with you?" Garlan asked, his eyes glancing at Tian who was choosing planks.
"Tian, you take the planks over there first," David said, pointing to the neatly arranged pile of wood.
"Yes, Dad," Tian replied, rushing towards the pile of wood.
"Tian just bought another goat yesterday, so now he needs a pen," David replied proudly.
"Okay, Garlan. I want to help Tian build the pen first," David said as he approached Tian, who had started lifting the board.
"Yes, yes, do it," Garlan said, continuing his work with a smile, even though his hands were still busy with the saw.
When they arrived home, Tian and David began working together to build the pen. The sound of the hammer tapping on the wood was clearly audible, tok-tok-tok, filling the air with enthusiasm.
"Tian, hold this board tightly. Dad will nail the bottom," David's voice sounded serious, his eyes focused on his work.
"Ready, Dad!" Tian answered with full focus, his hands holding the wooden board tightly.
The sound of nails being hammered into the wood was heard repeatedly, tok-tok-tok. The two of them continued to work enthusiastically, carefully assembling the frame of the pen, making sure each part was properly installed.
"Come on, Tian! We have to hurry so your goats can move to their new pen soon," David said with a smile, seeing how enthusiastic Tian was.
"Yes, Dad! I can't wait to see them live here!" Tian answered, his face beaming with hope.
Occasionally his mother also came with drinks for them, after a while of working, they finally finished assembling the cage frame. Tian looked at the results of their hard work with pride. "We did it, Dad! This will be a comfortable home for Hajime, Bobby, Emi, and Eli!"
A few days later ~ ~ ~
"Oh yeah, it seems like I haven't practiced sword fighting for a long time because I was busy taking care of the goats. Ark might chase me if I laze around," Tian muttered as he stretched his body.
Suddenly, he remembered something. "Mom! Have you seen my wooden sword?" he shouted in a voice loud enough to be heard all the way to the back of the house.
His mother, who was in the vegetable garden, answered without stopping her work. "A wooden sword? Didn't you keep it in the warehouse?"
"Oh, yes! Thank you, Mom!" Tian immediately ran to the warehouse next to the house. When he opened the door, the smell of wood and old things immediately greeted him. Quickly, he looked for his wooden sword among the pile of things.
"Ah! Found it!" he exclaimed happily, but when he saw the condition of his wooden sword, his expression changed to disappointment.
"Gosh... I've only left it for a few weeks, but it's already started to be eaten by termites. The wood is also not very good," he complained while tapping the wooden sword on the floor to clean off the remaining sawdust.
As he was about to leave, his eyes fell on something in the corner of the warehouse. A long box, half buried among the pile of things.
"Huh? What's that?" he muttered curiously. He walked over and pushed aside some of the objects on top of it.
Tian was daydreaming for a moment when he saw the box, when he was about to touch the box, Tian was suddenly shocked "Tian..!! Your goats are starting to get hungry! Aren't you going to the pasture?!" Shouted his mother who was taking care of her vegetable garden from behind the house. "Yes, ma'am!! I'll be right there! Tian immediately left the warehouse without looking at the contents of the box.
~To the Meadow
Once he arrived at the meadow, Tian let his goats start grazing leisurely.
"You guys just eat and play here, I'm going to the forest for a bit," he said while patting the head of one of his goats.
"Embeeeee~" his goats replied, as if they understood Tian's words.
That morning, Tian walked through the dense forest, looking for a piece of wood strong enough to be made into a wooden sword. He walked slowly between the towering trees, his eyes combing each sturdy tree trunk.
He walked in a slightly different direction than usual. After walking to the right side of the southern forest for 20 minutes, suddenly...
"Shutt!!"
A small shadow shot out of the bushes, attacking Tian at incredible speed. A pair of red eyes glowed behind golden brown fur, and on its forehead, a sharp horn was ready to stab.
"What—?!"
Tian immediately jumped to the side, avoiding the sudden attack that.
"THUD!!"
Without thinking, he flipped his axe and hit the horned rabbit's body with the handle. The rabbit was thrown to the ground, making a loud sound.
"Rabbit?!" Fuuu..you're so scary!"
However, just as Tian took a deep breath, the sound of friction in the bushes began to be heard from all directions.
"Rustle... rustle... rustle..."
From behind the bushes, dozens of other horned rabbits appeared, their eyes burning with ferocity.
"Wait... this..." Tian realized something bad. "Could it be that I'm in their nest!!"