A Day on the Farm

“Get up sleepy head!” An eager and ready Darling was a mere inches away from the other paca’s little face. Some windy whistles were heard in the background of her rambles about farm chores for today. But Bapple wasn’t awake enough to even process what was being said, maybe she can just listen later…
A quick tug of their blanket, a few grunts, and Bapple decided to get up for real this time. Not without rolling off the couch and begging to rest some more. Darling just scoffed at the tired attempt, and they both giggled a bit.

It hadn’t been too long that they were sleeping, at least they think so… a small glance at the antique wall clock above the couch proved otherwise though. Apparently it was already half past nine, meaning Darling let them sleep in a bit more than usual.
Being a hard sleeper sure has come in handy for Bap’s peaceful sleeping, now that they think about it. There isn’t a guest room in Darling’s little farm house, so sleeping on the couch has been the only option. So far, the only thing to wake them up, has been a shattered cup one night, blamed on buttered-nubs of course.

It was a cold morning they realized, and Darling knew how hard it can be to be chipper with a frost that biting. Thankfully there were berry muffins baked a few hours prior, and sitting on the table in the kitchen. A few nibbles in, and Bapple was already feeling cozy again.
It was awful how cold it had gotten over the last few weeks of staying here. The farm was beautiful even when it was quiet, and so very cold, though they dared not to touch it. The autumn wind alone upset their little nubs in the past.

“Here,” Darling quickly handed the paca a few sets of gloves and some nubmuffs. A jacket was motioned to on the rack next to the door. “I gotta keep doin’ ma chores for the day, just meet me out there in a few!” A hard smack of the screen door, and she was gone for now. The house was so quiet!
Bapple decided to scarf down a few muffins, sip a bit of the coffee that had been brewed, then met Darling outside.

Turns out there was a lot to do, everything from moving equipment out from the cold, into the barn. To making sure the baa’s don’t wander off when the barn doors get opened. It sure was cold out, but the creatures on the farm didn’t exactly register that right away. A few moffs even followed Darling around until Bapple pointed it out to her, she quickly and sternly corralled them back inside.

Most importantly though, the large bales of hay needed to be rolled in closer to the barn. With so many out in the field, it would be hard, and cold, to go get some when they’d run out later in the season. Apparently, last year, Darling had to roll a bale into the barn during a quite chilling storm! Thankfully it was over exaggerated a little as always, not exactly as dangerous as she made it out to be at first.

“Oh c’mon, it was still hard work!” The two pacas laughed a bit as they pushed another bale closer to the barn. Just then, a loud crash was heard for the both of them, a bit far away though. Looking to each other, they couldn’t quite figure out what it could be. “We better check that out pronto, lil Bap!”
Racing over to the where the sound was, the two of them quickly realized it was the doors to the barn. Those baa bumped into the door enough to break the old lock! “Well shoot..” is about all Darling could say, she looked quite puzzled as to what to do now.

The lock itself was fairly rusted already though, she had mentioned needing to replace it this year probably.
“I’m gonna head into town to buy a new lock for this barn here, you’ve been corralin’ these babies back in all day, so you just do what you have been doin’ while i’m gone. It’ll only take a bit, promise!” Darling gave a little nod, and rushed over to the beat up truck she drives into town every now and then.

Bapple turned back to the mess that was wandering creatures in front of them. ‘This is going to be a real pain…’ they thought, though quickly realizing it’ll only get worse the more they sit there.
After a bit of gentle nudging and soft praises to get back into the barn, Bap wasn’t sure what to do though. Darling was mostly the one that helped, with Bapple acting as a safety net to make sure there were no stragglers. What did she do again that made the baas and moffs all listen to her....

Oh! That’s right! Darling had used a certain tone with them, mixed with a few little clicks and sounds that she’s taught them to mean to listen. Bapple quickly changes their tone, and a few baas actually turned their little heads in response. A bunch of awkward clicks later too, and they had the whole herd’s attention! This was great!
Now how do they get back into the barn…

A few baas quickly lost interest suddenly, and Bapple decided to just go again and try leading them before the rest got bored too. Only a few followed at first though, making Bapple have to take trips back and forth to keep these baas inside. They always liked company as well, following Bapple back outside even, so this task alone was definitely harder to accomplish.

Some few trips later, and the sweet sound of a truck pulling up was heard though. Tires on gravel was never a sound Bapple expected to be relieving!
Thankfully, Darling took over with corralling too, and applied the new lock on the door. After a few minutes, each moff and baa was inside, and keeping warm!

“You did quite a good job there Bap! Imma be honest and say I expected some baas all the way in the field once I got back. Those little guys are stubborn as can be!” She gave a satisfied grin, but quickly checked her watch and realized how late it had gotten. “Oh my, we’ll have to do some egg laying lessons tomorrow then! It’s getting mighty late..”

Bapple promptly nodded and got back to the few chores left for the day, before tiredly going inside with Darling. A hard day’s work deserves a nice meal though! The two happily spent the rest of the night singing and cooking together, then collapsing in their beds for the next day on the farm.