With Great Power [Solo/Training]

It was a sunny day, and Altair was relaxing in the field with his flock.  The sheep were keeping calm, and grazing peacefully, and there were no troubles to be had at all.  It had been like this for almost two weeks, and to be honest, Altair liked it this way.  No fights, no conflicts of any kind, it was nice.  But then again…  Altair looked down at himself.  He had been enjoying a nice life so far, and it was starting to show.  Altair poked fat that had started to build up around his stomach.  He then got up, and went to pick up his rod.  It was heavy.  Had he gotten complacent?  Altair looked around at his flock.  Maybe today he would lead them to a greener pasture.  Then, he could start some strength and endurance training to pass the time.

Altair led the flock into Yambala Forest, and to a nice patch of lush, green grass.  The sheep were delighted, and began to graze with earnest.  Altair did a quick check of the perimeter, and then counted the sheep.  ”Seventy-eight, seventy-nine…  Where’s eighty?”  This was troubling.  A sheep appeared to have gotten lost from the rest of the flock.  And he had an idea which one it was.  A sheep that he had taken to calling Daisy was a bit of a troublemaker.  It was constantly getting lost and separated from the group.  He had told himself that if it had happened again, he would have to do something about it, and the time had come.

~259/500~

Altair searched for Daisy, leaving the rest of the flock behind, knowing that they wouldn’t go anywhere without his voice to command them. Funny thing about sheep, they are perfectly complacent sitting in one spot for hours, with no other stimulus. He searched high and low for the sheep, never faring far enough from the flock to lose sight of them. And then he spotted her. She was stuck on a rock in the middle of the stream. How she had gotten there, Altair might never know, but he had to do something about it. Altair waded across the stream and grabbed Daisy. Happy to see him, she bleated, and allowed herself to be carried to shore. But once there, she immediately tried to run off again. That was it. Altair grabbed the sheep and brought it to his knee. He had never had to do this to a sheep before, and no shepherd actually liked to do it, but it worked better than any other method shepherds had ever tried since the beginning of time. With a blow from his rod, Altair broke the legs of the sheep, eliciting bleats of pain. He then picked the sheep up, and put her around his shoulders. She was heavy, easily one hundred pounds, and Altair would have to carry her everywhere. Altair left the stream, and headed back to his flock, and recounted them. When he was certain they were all accounted for, he began to lead them back to their normal pasture.

For a full two months, Altair held Daisy on his shoulders and did everything with her. From going to the market, to tending the sheep, he even had to feed and bathe her. But this process brought them incredibly close together, making it so that when Daisy healed, she never wanted to leave his side anyways. This was the technique he had been taught by his father. Sheep are very forgiving, and will forget pain in favor of time spent with the shepherd. When the sheep’s legs heal, they will never separate from the flock again, for that is where the shepherd is. It’s a truly beautiful experience, both for the shepherd and the sheep. When the two months were up, Altair noticed that he had become a lot stronger, and more toned as well. ”Huh, I guess carrying all that extra weight does something for you.” he concluded. His rod was no longer heavy in his hand, and he could more easily lift heavier weights than he would have dared try before. It was really a win-win experience for him and Daisy; one they would never forget.

~699/500~