Fen was sick, bundled up in bed, and barely moving. That meant Kael had to help with the chores. Which... went about as well as expected. You gave him a shovel, and he stared at it like it might bite him. Five minutes later, he was knee-deep in a hole he accidentally made too wide, cursing under his breath.

He scared the chickens just by walking near them. The feed ended up everywhere but the troughs. At one point, he dropped a hay bale straight onto his foot, growled, and kicked it like it personally offended him.

“This is stupid,” Kael muttered, brushing straw off his jacket. “I come here to hang out, not to suffer!”

He tugged at the gate, which refused to budge. “Seriously, I fight off wild beasts and survive in the forest, but I lose a battle to a barn door?”

You didn’t even get a chance to reply. One step back, and his foot slipped in the wet grass. With a surprised yelp and a very loud splat, Kael landed flat on his back in a giant patch of mud.

He just lay there for a second. “...Don't say anything.”