He lounged comfortably on a lower branch of a sprawling, ancient pin oak tree at the edge of the field. His left foot dangled but was still concealed by the drooping limbs of the tree. Propped carefully against the thick bole leaned his crook. Draped from his belt hung a hand crossbow, a quiver of quarrels on his opposite hip.
His clear blue eyes swept back and forth along the open pasture. He knew and recognized each sheep, the rams and the ewes, and understood their habits and behaviors. A slight smile turned up the corners of his mouth as he watched the youngest ram, barely a year old, challenge he oldest ram in the herd. He pulled his right knee tight against his chest and settled in to watch.
“Krevitz,” called a sing-songy voice from somewhere in the distance.
An uttered curse slipped from his lips as the older ram knocked the younger one senseless.
“Where are you, Krevitz?” the female voice persisted.
He wondered how much trouble he would get in, if he simply ignored his elder sister. At last, with a sigh and a shake of his head, he put both hands firmly on the branch and rolled down. He landed graceful and silent, crouched directly behind her.
She looked this way and that, her left hand drifting to take hold of his shepherd’s crook. With a growl and a sharp word, she called him again.
“I’m right here,” he scolded in her ear.
She nearly jumped out of her skin. With an indignant shriek, she spun and swatted at him.
“What?” he grumbled, knowing full well why she sought him.
Another blow, this one a closed fist against his shoulder. “You know good and well that father expects your chores done before he returns. Don’t you understand? If we’re not all there, father will be cross.”
He shrugged as he snatched his crook from her grasp. “When isn’t father cross? Especially with me. In fact, that seems to be the only time he acknowledges my presence.”
She placed a gentle hand on his arms. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how sad mother is when he treats you like that.”
With a shake of his head, he let the subject drop. It wasn’t worth it for him to argue with her over such trivial matters. He noted his older brother enter the clearing from the opposite side as he fully turned his back and kept pace alongside her.
The World of Terra 