Yeah...I DID warn you guys updates were gonna be slow so- I still feel bad but at least I can say I didn't make promises dgdf

We finaly get to see Shaun's POV here. As you can guess this Shaun acts a liiittle different due to having another past away from Mossy Bottom, but don't worry! He's still the same ol' troublemaker but kind sheep past the attire.

From here onward each chapter is gonna be titled after a song bc I'm original and want to put my playlist of this AU somewhere. This chapter's song is 'What is this feeling?' from the Wicked musical. By simply searching the lyrics and reading the last bits of this chapter you'll know why I chose it lol(the parts where people 'pick a side' of the conflict would what Bitzer would like the rest of the farm to do, pick his side, but actually no one does everyone loves Shaun dfds) .

Things are gonna get better, I just picture these two not having the best impressions of each other at first if they met now instead of in their childhood.

Oh! and if you're interested in reading some behind the scenes of this fic or deleted scenes check out the stories in my instagram soniana252, which I'll be posting sometime this week :

((Edit: Added some scenes at the end bc this chapter was too short))

oOo

It was possible for a place to feel familiar without ever having stepped a hoof in it. Shaun discovered that the moment he saw the field and reconfirmed it later while entering the barn.

The strip of his bag clutched under his hoof, doing his best to not let his mouth hang open in awe, Shaun's eyes explored the big room in well-known curiosity. From the ceiling to the loft, to the floor covered in colorful sheets and pillows, to the sheep preparing their hay-made beds for the night...Indeed, 'homely' and 'familiar' were the only words that could describe the place.

Shaun wished he could say that was a good thing.

The exploration got interrupted by a door slamming behind him suddenly, followed by growling and angry steps growing distant. The sheepdog was one to hold grudges it seemed, though opposite to Shaun's initial shock, this barely got few of the flock to look up before continuing with what they were doing. The scolding had already happened after all, it was late and everyone was too tired to bother to keep sharing the post-'we got in trouble' atmosphere. Shaun gladly took it as a sign that he should pay the incident no mind either.

A hoof softly rested on his shoulder then, making Shaun turn his head to see the ewe with curlers of the group giving him a soft smile, as if to reassure him. Shaun waved her worry off with a smile of his own, forcing himself to ignore how that comforting gesture was missed as soon as it left.

Unnaware of that, the ewe gestured to the barn to tell him to get comfy. By pointing here and there with explicative bleats, a speech probably given countless times to other newcomers already, the tour of the place got done in seconds and without a blink Shaun found himself choosing the mattress near the wall, away from the gathered ones in the center.

The young sheep stared at his bag when he took it off. This was when he was supposed to unpack, but was it worth the bother? He didn't know how long he'll stay there to begin with.

After a moment of thought, Shaun ended dropping the bag behind the nightstand near his chosen bed, hidden until the day it had to leave its place again. The crumbs of some veggies on the floor caught Shaun's gaze when he stood to dust off his hoofs.

This time he couldn't bite back his grimace. Maybe he got a little carried away back there, but it wasn't like he could help it. As tempting as it was to just graze in the field(real grass, all the green, fit-for-consumption grass he wanted just for him) for hours, the travel to the farm had already met the quota of for how long Shaun could stay still. Staying still and with nothing to keep him from sinking in his own thoughts was bad, more so after having to leave everything behind in such a rush.

Today of all days was when Shaun needed a distraction the most.

Flirting just seemed not sucessful, the veggies just were there as a plan B and the other sheep seemed interested in following along with the idea. It had been a long time since Shaun had the chance to eat vegetables straight from a garden too, it was too tempting!

But the sheepdog got scolded, and so the guy who had kindly received him there ended doing the same with his sheep, to Shaun mostly for being the one who started it obviously. Reaction which was...quite the opposite the sheep in black expected from the dog that seemed so happy playing frisbee with him that evening.

But sort of earned, Shaun couldn't deny that despite how much he wanted. As the sheepdog had said, there were rules to follow there, Shaun had no option but to accept things weren't going to be like before.

It sucked, but it was how things always turned out for him, for better or for worse.

For now all the new sheep could do was try to not start off on the wrong foot with anyone there. That meant the sheepdog, with whom maybe a simple apology would do the trick. He seemed like a nice guy after all, a bit too strict perhaps, but still nice.

A bleat coming from behind him suddenly broke Shaun out of his train of thoughts. He turned his head to catch the cross-eyed sheep of the group peeking his head from the backroom, the toothbrush in his hoof being waved energetically in the air as he bleated— Night routine time!

When Shaun followed the other sheep he got welcomed with a toothbrush for him to choose. They had of those to spare for cases like this of course. He chose the red one.

The flock of sheep all seemed nice as they started their respective before-bed routines, cracking a joke here and there and having casual conversations about how the day went. Despite wanting to chuckle at some jokes, add his own or even smile at the constant curious stare of the lamb directed at him, Shaun kept his distance through all of it.

Didn't feel nice, but it was for the best. For his own sake.

oOo

Shaun's first morning in Mossy Bottom farm started in the less calm way possible: With the loud sound of a whistle waking him up from a deep slumber.

The sleepy sheep groaned, instantly turning around to keep sleeping. 'It was too early!' he thought, but the flock preparing around him and the whistle breaking through his dream a second time made obvious this wasn't something he could ignore.

By the moment he finally got up he was running late to the morning routine, but Shaun didn't hurry that much. He put on his jacket, his glasses and left as soon as he finished fixing his hair, walking out in-two instead of four like the other sheep. His yawn got stopped midway when he heard a growl beside him.

It was no other than the sheepdog — Bitzer, Shaun could read on the plate beside the doghouse—, who aggressively scribbling something in his checklist like that, didn't look that happy that morning either. Curious, Shaun got close to peek his eyes over the dog's shoulder. He saw the scribbling was to add a jacket and sunglasses to the new sheep doodle and Shaun couldn't hold back a chuckle. Okay, doing that was just cute.

The sheepdog didn't seem to agree with that statement however, as he instantly hugged the checklist to hide it. With an offended huff he walked away, leaving Shaun's grin to fell. The sheep in black gave a huff of his own. He wanted to try to give them a better start, but if the guy made the apology hard to come by then Bitzer could sure forget about it.

—

Bitzer was struggling to lift a big and heavy hay-square, already feeling his back about to collapse in another disaster he would soon have to clean up alone, when suddenly a pair of hoofs came to his rescue.

What sheep had pitied him enough to help was something the dog didn't ask himself until the hay was left in place. The twins or even Shirley if she felt charitable were the first options that came to his mind, since they were the muscle of the flock, so to see it was a young sheep dressed in black the one dusting off his hands after the task was done definitely was a surprise. Bitzer had to blink for a moment at that strength coming from someone that small. He shook his head then crossed his arms, failing to bite back a soft growl as he frowned. As thankful as he was for the help, he still wanted an apology for yesterday.

It actually arrived, to his surprise. Shaun chuckled shortly, first bleating to try to explain himself but ending shrugging at not really having a proper excuse. After a short moment of thought, the sheep extended a hoof with another bleat and a grin— So with all that said, were they good?

Bitzer stared at the extended hoof, wondering if he really was willing to forget about yesterday just like that. A few seconds passes before he sighed and shook it. The grip was firmer than yesterday's, the sheepdog noticed, Shaun just looked less distracted in general. A good thing in other context, but not in this if it meant trouble. Before the sheep could smile, Bitzer raised a finger and whuffed — He accepted the apology, but Shaun had to promise pranks like yesterday weren't going to happen often.

The sheep didn't have it in himself to nod, hum, neither say anything to acknowledge the last request. Shaun was a sheep of word, so why promise staying still when he knew well he wouldn't keep it?

—

With the apology-with-no-promises done, their relationship seemed to shift to a better path the rest of the day. That being until said topic returned that evening, when Shaun ignored the warning signs and entered the bull place guided by mere curiosity. Long story short: The disaster that followed such simple action ended in both dog and sheep— and flock, as they were always willing to lend a hoof in these emergencies— exhausted after having to fix all the broken fences before the farmer arrived.

Now they were all lying in the grass under the orange evening sky, Shaun and Bitzer beside each other andthe flock not far away from them in the same conditions all resting on top of each other's wool, Shaun could feel Bitzer's glare coming from beside him. It was hard to ignore, one had to give him that.

In an attempt to try save himself from receiving the scold of his life, Shaun sat in the grass and this time did bleat a promise he knew he could keep: that he would fix any mess created by his own hooves. Lightening up the tense air was important to make a perfect escape too, so wrapped up his promised by snapping his fingers and pointing at the dog at his side with a wink— How did that sound?

Bitzer looked at Shaun with an arched a brow, seeming to need a few seconds to process the words. He was unable to hold back his scoff— As if that was the point!

The unexpected reaction earned a frown from Shaun. He crossed his arms and decided his gaze was going to stay anywhere else but in the dog. His tone came out more serious when he bleated again— There was no need to be difficult either.

This seemed to hit a nerve as Bitzer also sat up suddenly, a paw landing in his chest in an offended manner. He whoffed back harshly — He was the difficult one?!

Both frowned, sharing a mutual glare for a long moment before huffing and looking away. They already disagreed in a lot of things since they met, but at that moment there was one thought that was present on both minds:

'If he wanted difficult, he would have difficult.'

oOo

Adventure and fun, those two important factors were what life had always been about for Shaun.

The endless fun shenanigans, the interesting people or the mere need to survive giving him his beloved dose of adrenaline...those were things Shaun thought would all become old memories once he got sent to a place like this. Small, quiet and with all the basic needs already served in a silver tray. Boring, Shaun had thought at first.

It shock him to see he had been wrong about all that.

Mossy Bottom was a nice farm for starters, way nicer than what the young sheep had pictured in his head when he found out where the old lady was taking him to — Shaun couldn't blame her for thinking it was where an animal like him belonged, as much as he disliked the idea back then —. Few pink-with-curly-tails exceptions aside, the animals there were friendly and the only human around was oblivious enough to their activities that he wasn't a problem.

And that combined just gave a big room for all kind of adventures to happen.

Yeah, grazing and relaxing on the grass for hours was nice now that he could do so, but it was short the time Shaun could go on without being led by his curiosity into something fun. Peeking to see the pigsty led to a mud war with the pigs, seeing the pizza guy led to the flock wanting to order a menu so big even Shirley couldn't finish it and noticing the farmer went away at certain hours led to invading the couch of the house. Something new just always happened in that farm, and one could always be sure the sheep would want to be part of it.

The flock were a silly but overall fun bunch to be with in all aspects. That was another surprise for Shaun, to notice they shared his view of life and seemed to look up at him as their guide towards new ways of having fun. Between conversations that raised naturally and friendly gestures here and there, Shaun found himself hitting it off with the other sheep way faster than what he would've wanted to.

That was bad, he knew deep down. But now that he was having such a good time, now that he needed that, it was something Shaun preferred to leave his future-self to deal with. He already had enough problems with Bitzer in the present anyways.

Where there was fun there was always someone to ruin it. Here in the farm? It was Bitzer.

That darned whistle always sounded whenever they were at the peak of fun, checklist filled with 'bad behaviour notes' in his paw and a glare in his fuzzy face that showed he wasn't there to make any friends. And he was oh-so upset for what? The rest abandoning routine for a bit? The shortsighted farmer seeing them?

The promise to get along had fallen within a matter of weeks, of many rules that were made a big deal of getting in the way of their adventures just to be in-line with a checklist. Now Bitzer practically growled whenever he saw him, and Shaun's attempts to explain with his relaxed attitude that things were just fine while being scolded had quickly showed worthless as the sheep found himself rolling his eyes more and more in those situations.

But that was what was meant to happen, Shaun guessed. He was a free sheep not willing to let a few rules stop him, the flock ones who could let them aside to have fun and Bitzer a strict sheepdog who was way too fond of them. Things just went the way they had to.

So, so far some things were good, others bad, at this point Shaun knew well sooner or later he would adapt to all of them. And hopefully, with time and enough adventures to distract him, the thoughts of his previous life that now burnt whenever touched would one day feel like just a nice, distant memory.

oOo

Bitzer was an organized dog. He always carried his checklist around with him, always made sure schedule was followed on time from start to end, always tried to keep everything and everyone as under control as possible until his body could no more.

And despite all that, he couldn't say he had the best sleeping habits.

It happened once in a while, nights where he slept too little due to problems with the animals forcing him to change his schedule, or days where having too many cups of tea or coffee to keep himself awake ended working way better than expected. Bitzer's eye bags had an origin and the dog recognized that was a small part of it.

The other reasons? Too many and too old to waste time to tell them, some of which Bitzer didn't want to remember in the first place.

The most recent was one the sheepdog didn't have easy to forget anyways. First name Shaun, middle 'I-like-to-disobey-every-rule-possible-just-for-the-sake-of-it' and last sheep. Speaking of which, there he was again, out of the barn when everyone should be sleeping. Same hour, same spot, same to-be-had conversation Bitzer knew wasn't going to get anywhere. A scenario that had been repeating a few nights in a row since the sheep in black arrived.

A troublemaker animal wasn't news for the sheepdog of the farm, it was an everyday thing. Since before Bitzer received his whistle the ones around him had always caused problems in the name of having fun and in the future that led to him never letting go of his uniform, to make his number one priority to keep them in check 27/7. He had always carried the weight of his job alone after all, extreme measures just had to be taken when it was one against a whole farm.

Bitzer was shocked then, to watch how a single sheep in just a few weeks managed to drive him crazy quicker than all of his family combined.

The constant broken rules or crazy shenanigans were bad, how Shaun acting like it was fine was like an enhancer for the already-disobedient attitude of the flock was worse, but it was the fact that he never listened that got on the sheepdog's nerves. Either when scolding or when Bitzer tried to explain 'fixing' things after the mayhem happened didn't make things better, Shaun unlike the rest of the animals just didn't pay attention.

A perfect example would be at that moment. Bitzer would walk over to where Shaun was sitting in the grass, try to again scold him for this precisely being the reason Shaun couldn't wake up on time some days, and the guy would just roll his eyes and walk past him without even trying to understand why he was being scolded in the first place!

Wash, rinse, repeat. At this point Bitzer didn't know how else to deal with him.

As expected that short routine of them was followed step by step, except this time Shaun had decided to say something back for a change. Standing up, the sheep gestured at the dog then crossed his arms, bleating a claim of something Bitzer didn't expect to be noticed — Why was Bitzer always awake but he shouldn't?

The sheepdog blinked. It still was a mystery to him why Shaun had his sunglasses on at this time of the night, ready to hide his eyes behind them the moment Bitzer called for him. A really silly, if not dumb, thing that Bitzer tiredness had always overpowered the need to ask. Right now however, Bitzer could feel the gaze set on him behind those dark lenses, expectant for an answer to a question previously thought ignored.

Realizing the guy had actually heard him all this time took Bitzer off guard, but he couldn't let that slip. Ignoring how deep down he knew this came as hyphocritical from him, Bitzer frowned and whuffed again while pointing at the barn — There was no time to argue now! It was late and if Shaun didn't go back to sleep they would have problems in the morning again.

Shaun squinted his eyes, making Bitzer sweat at feeling at any moment they would see through that excuse. Only when his paw threatened to reach for the whistle hanging around his neck did the sheep finally roll his eyes and put his hooves in his pockets to walk back to the barn. Shaun still didn't lose the chance to have the last word when he passed by his side — The same went for him.

Silence, a growl. Bitzer took a deep breath to calm himself then returned to his doghouse, nightcap back on and soft breeze brushing his fur as he lied on his stomach. His gaze tiredly landed in the distance without really looking at what was there. He didn't know what obsession Shaun had with doing this every few nights, always in the same spot and hour, but he had no time to wonder about it. As much as he hated to admit it Shaun was right this time around, he also needed to sleep.

Bitzer just wished it was as easy for him. It wasn't, not with his job, not with how shaken up he ended after something dangerous happened in the less common but worst cases in the farm. But not much could be done about it, so he was used to it. He got used to a lot of things through his life as a sheepdog.

The same would happen with Shaun probably. As tiring and a pain in the neck as he was, Bitzer would get used to him, and whatever crazy things happened with that sheep there he would also get used to it. It was his job to.