Striker does chores at his farm until they exhaust him and things happen.
Hit the Hay
One day, at Striker's farm, Striker was in the barn, cleaning up Bombproof's bedding area and manure until it was all clean.
When finished, he went into the house to wash his hands before doing another task. Once his hands were washed and dried, he went back outside to check on the potatoes he and Kore planted and see if they were ripe enough to pick up. He touched one to see if it was good enough to pull out. Seeing that it was, he grabbed a nearby bucket and plucked out potatoes one at a time.
As soon as he picked out the potatoes, he brought the bucket into the house in the kitchen.
"Thank you, dear," said Kore.
"No problem, Kore," Striker replied and washed his hands again.
Just as he was about to leave the house, a four-year-old Seth asked, "Where are you going, Daddy?"
"I'm going to get more food for Bombproof, but I will be back shortly," Striker assured him as he ruffled his son's hair. "Take care of your mama."
"I will."
Striker winked at his son before closing the door behind him.
"Ready, Bombproof?"
His hellhorse nodded and Striker started hitching him to a wooden carriage. Then they were on their way.
…
When they got home from the store to buy horse feed, Striker unhooked the carriage from Bombproof and put the bags of horse food into a wooden chest and locked it, so no one could steal the horse feed.
Suddenly, Striker let out a loud yawn and stretched.
Bombproof took notice of this and grabbed a blanket for him to sleep in. He also created a bedding area for his owner to get comfortable in. When finished, he gestured to the bedding area and Striker followed it.
"Thanks, Bombproof," said Striker as he started to lie down on the soft surface and yawn. As his eyes began to close, he felt a warm blanket on top of him as his horse tucked him in and started to lie down next to him.
Once his owner fell asleep, he gently nuzzled him with his snout.
…
A few hours later, while Striker was still napping, his wife called, "Striker!"
"Daddy!" Seth called.
The two checked the barn to find Striker peacefully sleeping next to his horse and heard him snoring.
Bombproof woke up, realizing he and his owner had company and he nudged his owner to awaken him.
Striker's droopy eyes opened to see blurry visions of his wife and child until they became clear.
Seth went over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
The boy turned to his mother. "Mommy, Daddy's awake!"
"Oh, Striker, Seth and I were looking for you," Kore said worriedly, "Were you napping?"
"Oh, yes, I was," answered Striker as he let out a small yawn.
"Aww, you must be sleepy, Daddy," said Seth.
"Yes, I was and I had a busy day."
"I was making supper before we looked for you."
"Oh, and what's for supper?" Striker asked as he started to get up.
"Pork chops with barbecue," Kore replied, "And the potatoes you've picked earlier. They're still cooking in the oven, so you'll have just enough time to take a bath."
Strike was now standing up. "Alright." Then the three imps headed to the house.
…
Striker was in the tub, washing his hair and body from the hay he was sleeping on earlier. He had his jacket in the bathroom sink, so it could be hand washed.
As soon as he finished his bath, he unplugged the water to let the water drain and grabbed onto a towel to dry himself off.
He got dressed in his and Kore's bedroom into nice clothes. Then, he headed back into the bathroom to blow dry his hair.
"Striker, supper!" Kore called.
"Coming, Kore!" Striker called, turning off the blow dryer and hooked it into its place. Then he made his way into the kitchen and sat down with a plate of two barbecued pork chops and potatoes and a fork and knife sitting next to it.
He started to push the potato down with his fork and the potato came apart. He placed butter onto his potato and started cutting his pork chops. Finally, he began to eat his dinner and drink milk to wash it down.
Kore took Seth's plate and Seth watched as his mother cut up the pork chops and pressed down on the potato and filled it with butter. When finished, she brought it back to her son, who happily ate his supper.
Striker smiled fondly at the sight as he ate and his tail entwined with his wife's. Husband and wife smiled at each other, while young Seth didn't understand what was going on between his parents, but he continued eating his meal.
Striker's tail rattled happily and he and Kore began to kiss.
Finished with his meal, Seth left the kitchen, unable to handle kissing.
His parents stopped to realize their son was gone.
Seth sat on the couch, unable to take the image off his mind.
"Seth, are you alright?" Kore asked.
"Yes, Mommy," Seth answered.
"Your father and I kissed to show that we love each other."
"You'll understand that someday, buckaroo," Striker said, ruffling his son's hair.
Kore kissed Seth on the cheek, making him blush a bit.
"See?"
"You kissed me on the cheek earlier to wake me up," Striker recalled.
"Oh, right," Seth remembered.
The three imps hugged each other.
