Chapter 4/A Shearing Good Time
Aura sighs in disappointment as her spell fizzles out before opening her eyes to the surrounding darkness. She was so close, too! At least she knows the poor woman is still alive and that the potion didn't do anything too drastic. What it did do is still a mystery, though.
Standing up and walking out of her workshop, Aura winces as she hears Ignatius' frustrated yowl from a few doors down. His magic must not have been able to find Marianne's location either before the connection got blocked.
"No luck?" Aura questions, poking her head into Ignatius' workshop.
"None at all. I've never used a tracking potion before but I'm quite sure it's not supposed to do that," Ignatius comments, motioning to his shattered bowl. "It took a long time just for the magic to start tracking her and then it just shattered."
Aura furrows her brow in concern and runs a hand through her long blue-silver hair. Those affected by spells usually had the lingering essence of the caster on them, which in turn usually made it difficult to locate the person with magic, sometimes not even being able to pinpoint the person's location any closer than a hundred-mile radius. However, potions usually transfer smaller imprints of its maker's essence, which usually makes it less difficult to find the one affected. Usually, anyway. But now it seems that something is blocking them off completely from finding any trace of Marianne.
"I can't be sure but if I had to guess, I think she may be too close to another magic worker for our magic to work," Aura murmurs.
"What do you mean?" Ignatius asks.
"You can't use magic to track magic. Hence why tracking another magic worker doesn't work since their magic is a part of them. It also applies the same way if another magic worker is closely nearby someone you're tracking because their magical essence is too close," Aura explains.
"If that's the case, then how come the magic was working before? It may have been slow going but it was tracking Marianne," Ignatius mentions.
"Maybe the magic worker only just recently came into the same area," Aura suggests.
It's the only thing she could think of. If only it hadn't taken the Flint family so long to find one of Marianne's possessions for them to use in tracking her. They might have been able to find her before the connection got blocked if they had just had more time.
It also would have been nicer if they had produced an object that had a more recent exposure to her and not something from two years ago since she can't be sure if the faint essence surrounding the object had been the cause of their magic's slow response or something else but she won't rule it out.
"At any rate, we'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way and start searching for her where she was last seen. There's no telling if the nearby magic worker is good or bad, or if Marianne wandered near to them or if they were drawn to Marianne because of your potion, and it'd be best to find her as soon as possible before things take a turn for the worse," Aura continues. "Go pack a bag with anything we might need and I'll call the airport."
"I hate flying!" Ignatius moans.
Bog pauses in mid-movement at the sight greeting him as he walks into his personal living room, his grey t-shirt bunched awkwardly on his crossed arms and his unbuckled jeans hanging dangerously on his narrow hips. He blinks for a moment at the two llamas watching cartoons before completing his dressing and moving to Marianne's side.
"How are you feeling?" Bog asks.
"Better than yesterday thanks to that medicine you gave me last night," Marianne answers, flicking one ear toward him but keeping her eyes focused on the tv.
"I'm quite sure that was on the weather last night," Bog comments.
He nearly groans when the transformed woman picks up the remote control with her mouth and manipulates it to change the channel before putting it back on cartoons. Just what he needs, Prim being taught how to work the television to play whenever he wants it. He's definitely going to have to start unplugging it now.
Pulling out the small flashlight from his pocket, Bog ignores Marianne's protest and checks her eyes again, frowning at their still dilated appearance.
"You can stop doing that," Marianne growls.
"As I told you last night, a concussion is not something to take lightly and I'm absolutely sure that you have a concussion. The fact that you are presently a llama only complicates things," Bog argues. "Now, how's the headache, and do you remember anything more?"
"Headache is still there. It got bad enough to wake me up about an hour ago but it's mellowed again," Marianne admits. "And no, I don't remember any more personal information other than my first name and the fact that I'm really a human."
"I'll make you another tonic then. At least it'll help with the headache and maybe speed along your recovery," Bog comments.
Bog heads to the shared kitchen after checking the treated wounds and pours himself a cup of coffee from the percolator, the strong taste outing Thang as its maker. He places two extra sugar cubes into the liquid before heading to his workshop connected to his room. The smell of the herbs soothe him as he grinds the needed mixture and he lets his mind drift back to last night's discovery.
Getting over his shock of a talking llama had been a bit easier when she explained what happened, or more like what she could remember. Getting over his embarrassment about being around an unknown woman covered in nothing more than a loincloth after already exposing her to everything he had was a bit harder.
It didn't take long to check the rest of her for injuries as she told him what hurt and the spots Thang had missed during his initial check and she cooed her thankfulness when he gave her a tonic to soothe her pain. With a promise to help her in the morning, she had made herself at home in his llama-proofed living room with Prim as he made his way to his room.
Foolishly, he had hoped that her hex would be easy to break, and before he went to sleep, he tried an incantation that is supposed to cancel out hexes and spells. It obviously didn't work but he won't stop trying. He promised and a druid always keeps their promises, even a pitiful one like him.
"Get your skinny butt out here and get something to eat, BK! I'm not taking the fall when your mother complains about your eating habits again!" Stuff hollers.
He resists the temptation to yell back. It's a restraint he hasn't exercised in a while but he succeeds in keeping himself calm as he adds the last ingredient to the tonic. He blocks out his housemates' murmurs as he recites the healing incantation to strengthen the liquid and smiles as the faint glow surrounding the tonic turns from yellow to green to violet before disappearing.
Perfect. And the old man thought he couldn't do it without help.
"FUCK!" Bog yells as the tonic explodes in his hand.
"BK! Are you alright? What happ...chikusho! Sorry, BK, I didn't realize you were in there! I thought you were still asleep," Stuff explains through the closed door.
"It's fine, Stuff, it wasn't you," Bog sighs, opening the door slightly.
"What happened?" Stuff questions.
"Marianne needs another tonic and I tried to make it stronger. Almost succeeded, too," Bog scoffs in self-degradation. "Maybe the old man is right."
"He's not right and even your mother says so. You just need to keep trying," Stuff argues.
"Just gimme a few more minutes to make another tonic and then I'll come eat breakfast," Bog comments.
"I'll keep the guys quiet so you can try the magic again. Try again!" Stuff orders sternly at sensing his protest. "You told Marianne that you would help her but you can't help her if you can't use your own magic. Your dad won't be back for another week and a half, why make Marianne wait until then when you can do it yourself."
"And if I can't do it?" Bog counters.
"At least you'll have tried," Stuff argues.
"Thang is a llama mama and you act as if you're us guys' mama. Your kids won't stand a chance between both of your motherings," Bog teases.
"Funny, BK. Uh, about that, though," Stuff starts worriedly. "You know how with Marianne being in the barn for the past few days and all.."
"I'll tell her that you and Thang would prefer if she didn't mention anything to anyone once others are able to understand her," Bog assures.
"I'd tell her myself but it's kinda...uncomfortable to have a one-sided conversation when you know the other person is probably trying to say something but you can't understand. Reminds me too much of trying to talk to my classmates when I was a kid," Stuff mutters.
"Don't worry about it, Moon Bunny," Bog teases, chuckling at the resulting glare.
"Go fix your tonic before I kill you," Stuff growls, moving to leave the room before pausing at the door. "By the way, are we still shearing today? You did say that we were going to when you got back from your parents but the guys were wondering if you changed your mind with Marianne's dilemma."
"We're doing it today," Bog confirms. "We can't wait any longer."
"What about Marianne? She is a llama at the moment and one that's got a very thick coat," Stuff points out.
Bog's heart drops at the implication. Oh boy. How does one tell a human woman that is currently a roughly two-hundred-and-ninety-pound llama that she needs to basically become the llama equivalent of getting naked?
Something tells him that he's not going to have a good day.
It's funny how the day changes with the arrival of the farm's owner. The past two days that Marianne was here had been rather dull as the only things she had seen done were feeding the animals and keeping the barn and animals clean. Even Thang's nigh-constant chatter wasn't that much.
Waking up this morning was almost as if a switch had been flipped. She followed Prim to the llama, alpaca, and sheep barn for breakfast when Thang called them and she marveled as the man seemed not to require air as he talked and talked and talked some more as she ate.
He had already told her a lot of things as he was tending to her when he thought she was just a llama. Things like the story of how BK helping find a lost female llama had resulted in him saving her newborn, which in turn caused Primrose's owner to give Prim to BK once he was weaned, starting Dark Forest Farm as a result. He had also told her about all the residents of the farm, human and animal, as well as how many barns were actually within the forest surrounding the main house and their many occupants.
But now that he knew that she is really a human, the information coming from the excited man's mouth seemed to be neverending. It didn't help her returning headache but she tolerated it.
Returning to the living room after she finished eating breakfast brought another change when she realized that she could manipulate the remote control to turn the television on. Not that she could remember what she liked to watch but cartoons were always a good choice. Plus, she had the feeling that watching tv was not something she got to do a lot of before and she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.
She experienced those types of feelings several other times as well. Like when BK walked into the room while still in the process of dressing. It had seemed somewhat familiar but at the same time not familiar at all. But unlike the tv, the feelings that came up were not nice ones and she couldn't look at the man without being angry.
At least it gives her hope that her memory loss is only temporary. If she can remember feelings, then that means the memories are still there. Right?
"If I can remember feeling a certain way about something despite not remembering the actual event, then does that mean my memories will come back?" Marianne asks as BK finishes trimming a ewe's hooves and turns the sheep loose.
"I'm not sure. Hey, Brutus, on the subject of regaining memories, does remembering feelings about events that you can't remember mean the memories will come back?" BK questions.
"Usually. It depends on what has caused the memories to be blocked," Brutus answers slowly, finishing the ewe he's working with before looking at Marianne. "I'm sorry I can't give you more of a hope. Concussions have just too many variables to give a definite answer, especially since we don't know if it is the concussion that's responsible. All I can say for sure is that time will tell."
Marianne murmurs her gratitude for the answer, happy as BK relays her message to Brutus. It's nice to have someone able to understand her. Something that felt lacking for more than just the past three days. Maybe she was used to being ignored or forgotten about? It would explain why she wasn't all that bothered by no one being able to hear what she was saying.
Once Stuff, Gus, and Beaks finish with the ewes they're working with, Marianne opens the gate next to her laying form before standing and herding the finished group of sheep into the next pen with the others as Mugs gathers the bags of wool to take back to his work area. Another thing she's grateful for is that BK gave her a job to do when she complained about wanting to do something besides watching them work.
"This is the last of the sheep, BK. Do you want me to get the alpacas ready?" Thang asks as he herds the rams and wethers into the pen.
"We'll break for lunch after we're done with these guys but go ahead and put the alpacas into the waiting pens so they'll be ready when we are," BK answers after securing the biggest ram.
"It's not even eleven yet," Thang informs, pointing to the large clock on the wall.
"What? Can't be," BK mutters. "It always takes us to noon to finish the sheep."
"I think we're going faster this year thanks to the extra help," Thug comments, pausing a moment to blow a stray piece of hair out of her face. "Any chance ya'll stick around once BK gets ya back to normal, Mari-llama?"
Marianne chuckles at the nickname, the sound coming out as a continuing hum. Meeting Mugs' sister had been an interesting experience when she arrived shortly after breakfast with her husband. The woman had taken the news of the llama situation in stride as if something like this was an everyday occurrence. And like Thang, Thug had no problem talking to her as if they were having a conversation, despite not being able to hear her answers.
"I don't even know what I used to do. It might be something completely different than anything here," Marianne points out.
"If it turns out you can file paperwork, you're hired," BK comments after relaying her answer to Thug. "Not one of this useless lot can do any paperwork."
"That's the pot calling the kettle black, Bog," Gus teases.
"I know how to dot my i's and cross my t's," BK defends lightly.
"And you have a mother who's in charge of all legal and financial matters," Thang adds. "Now, back to about what's next. Get the alpacas ready or tell Nicholas to get lunch ready early?"
"A bit too early for lunch but we should take a break before starting with the alpacas. How about we break for now and then break again to eat when it's noon?" BK suggests, receiving sounds of agreement.
Marianne releases the freshly-shorn sheep into a different pen from the females once they're done and she giggles as one of the young rams takes one last try at butting BK before running away with a frantic bleat when the man approaches him instead. She follows Mugs to his work area when he offers to show her what he does to the collected wool before returning to the shearing pen when the break is over to watch in fascination as those of the farm do their work.
The hours pass swiftly and soon enough Prim is getting his own hair cut by BK as the others finish the rest of the male llamas.
"Whew! Boy, am I glad that is over!" Thug calls happily, stretching her back after releasing the tied llama gelding into the next pen. "That's like what, sixty more sheared than last year? How many are ya keeping from the spring sale, BK?"
"Haven't decided yet," BK murmurs, prodding Prim to lift his leg. "I got to get rid of Nochas, though, since I have too many sired by him. I've had an offer to trade him for another herdsire and they're coming to view him sometime in the next few days."
"Aw, shucks. I'm gonna miss Nochas. He's such an easygoing llama," Thug laments. "Is Billy-Billy still going to be here when I come back in September?"
"BK is never gonna get rid of that ram," Mugs laughs, as he grabs the filled bags. "I swear if he tried, Griselda would steal Billy-Billy and put him up at her place."
"The old man would hate that," BK snickers.
"Billy-Billy is that big one you have a collar on, right?" Marianne questions.
"Yeah, that's Billy-Billy. He's the first lamb born at Dark Forest Farm. When my grandmother's brother found out about me starting a fiber farm, he said that he wouldn't let me get inferior livestock and sent a ram and several females from his flock in Shropshire for me to start my own flock of Forest Clun. He didn't think llamas and alpaca were as good as sheep," BK answers.
"Of course, the next year, BK sent him a knitted sweater from alpaca yarn," Thang laughs.
"And without even telling him it's alpaca fleece and not sheep wool, like his great-uncle assumed it was, the little goblin," Brutus chuckles with a wink toward his boss.
"You say that like he was upset at finding out and didn't demand that I send alpaca yarn to him every year," BK chuckles before unclipping Prim's halter. "Okay, Prim, all done. Nice and beautiful for another few months."
"A few months?" Marianne repeats.
"Usually, they only need to be sheared once a year, unless the heat is too much in the summer, but their nails need trimmed about every two to six months, depending on how they naturally wear down," BK answers.
"So what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Marianne asks.
"Uh, well, nothing, really," BK starts slowly. "Mugs will be busy cleaning and sorting the shorn fiber and the rest of us usually just relax since shearing day tires us out. You know, not to be insulting, but I'm surprised at how well you handled seeing us shear the animals. It's not really something everyone is comfortable with seeing since it can appear to be a bit cruel."
"Thang explained this morning while he was feeding everyone," Marianne comments idly, watching as they start clearing the shearing pen.
"Thang explained?" BK repeats.
"Yeah, he told me what you were all going to be doing and how it benefits the animals and that you do the best you can to keep the animals from being harmed or too stressed, despite how rough it actually appears," Marianne explains.
"Just what else did Thang tell you?" BK questions, shifting uncomfortably.
"The farm, how it came to be, and minor life stories about everyone who works here, Kaleb," Marianne answers.
"Bog! Or BK, if you'd rather! Never Kaleb!" BK growls.
Everyone laughs at the outburst and Stuff lightly smacks Thang's shoulder with a reprimanding look that is too full of humor to be effective. The mirth doesn't stop the cleanup, though Marianne cocks her head slightly as BK fiddles with the equipment he used to shear the llamas instead of packing it away like the others are doing.
"So, Thang told you about the shearing," BK mutters after a moment. "Did he explain why it needed to be done? That not doing so would actually harm them?"
"He did say that it got too hot here for the sheep, alpacas, and llamas and that if they didn't get sheared, they would get very sick and possibly die," Marianne responds before narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "What's with the questions? I know I'm having trouble remember anything from before I became a llama but I'm not stupid."
"I wasn't trying to imply that you were!" BK assures hastily, holding his hands up. "Um, well, Marianne, you see, it's like this...it's just...well...uh...how do I explain this? Like Thang told you, llamas have to be sheared for their own good. They'll get sick if they're not. To not shear a llama is being cruel to the llama and shearing them doesn't harm them one bit when a person does it properly, as you have just seen us do. None of our llamas were harmed and they're perfectly fine. In fact..."
"He's trying to remind you that you are presently a llama!" Beaks interrupts from the other side of the barn. "A llama that's in need of a haircut!"
"Kuso," Stuff mutters.
It's hard for her to know at the moment if she had an anger problem before being turned into a llama but at least she doesn't have to worry about wondering why she is angry. Whether she really needed to spit at BK or not was a different matter.