"COOKODOODLEDEEE!!!!"
Lori grabbed the rooster by its neck and threw it into the air, causing it to flap around and land on The Boy, waking him up.
"COOKODOODLE—"
The four boys had chicken for breakfast.
"If I knew this thing would be so delicious, I would've killed it ages ago!" The Boy grinned.
"I can't believe you... with your bare hands. It's sick. I thought you said you wouldn't do gross stuff like that anymore?" Andel said.
"I—I thought it was cool."
"...Thanks, Soren. I didn't mean to do it in the first place, I was drowsy. I think I was dreaming?"
"Yeah, you slept reaaaaal good last night after getting the bricks beaten outta you."
"How'd you get so beat up anyway?" Lori asked. "You look like a... a bitch. Or something. Ha."
The Boy's face was awfully bruised and his lip was split. It looked like he'd been jumped in an alleyway. Which is, in fact, what happened.
"It doesn't matter, since I beat them."
"Who were they?"
"Some pigs that follow around that boy you work for."
"Hey! You know I don't work for Ronnie! The boss just likes him for his money. As if I would work for him. Ronnie's such an idiot, I swear a rock would beat him in a spelling competition."
"I think a rock would beat you in a spelling competition, too, though...?" The Boy thought to himself.
"He's still holding a grudge? He's such a bitch," Andel laughed.
"You should beat him up in the ring, heh... I bet everyone would pay to see that," Soren said.
"Euuuuugh, Soren, you're so dumb. They can't fight in the ring. Ronnie's like, about to turn seventeen. That old—"
"I'm gonna do it..." The Boy said. "I mean, I can just say I'm seventeen. It's believable, isn't it?"
"It's completely unbelievable!" the three others thought.
"No, you guys are right. I'm too famous. Everyone'll know I'm lying, but why's it matter? I'm the king of the ring, anyway!"
"You're gonna get your ass beat..." Lori sighed. "But I'll come watch!"
"I'll go tell everyone, then! What date?" Soren asked.
"Eh? Date? Whenever he wants, I don't care," he said, shooing off Soren.
"What's he mean he's gonna go tell everyone, anyway?" The Boy wondered.
It wasn't long before he forgot about the whole thing, though. Actually, it was only a few seconds.
"Holy shit, the roof's falling!" Lori shouted, pointing to the stable. "The horses! Save the horses!"
The roof had fallen. Maybe it was a bad omen, or some sort of sign.
"Look, now the roof makes an awesome slide! Or a ramp, if you go the other way..." The Boy shouted from the top. "What if we added wood and made it go all the way into the river?"
"The river's all the way down the hill, you idiot! There's no way we could make a slide that long!"
"Andel being the bummer like always," Lori groaned. "We can just slide down in a sled, so when we get to the grass, we keep going. See? I'm smarter than you two think."
The three boys extended the 'slide' and created a sled out of the extra materials that had broken from the roof. The newly created 'slide' took nearly six hours to build.
"Who gets to go first?"
"I don't want to," Andel backed away.
"SLUUUG.... FROOOG.... SNAKE!!!" Lori shouted, sending out frog. "Ha! You sent out slug, I win!"
The Boy pushed Lori off the roof and grabbed the sled. He jumped onto the 'slide' head-first.
"...Why am I not sliding down?"
"Huh. I think the slide might need to be wet?" Andel suggested. "Lori, are you okay?"
"I... I think I broke something..." he said from the ground below.
"Where's Soren when we need water?" The Boy complained. "That's all he's good for, anyway."
"...Asshole." The three of them laughed.
They grabbed buckets and quickly ran down to the river. With grit teeth, they dragged the buckets back up the steep hill and then carried them into the barn.
"Well, how're we gonna get them up on the roof?" Lori asked.
"We'll just throw them up to you. You just have to catch them really carefully so the water doesn't spill," The Boy said.
"For some reason, I feel like this isn't gonna work..." Andel thought.
It didn't work.
"Why'd you let it all spill!?" The Boy shouted angrily.
"How the hell's that my fault? You threw them all at the same time! And they didn't even reach me!"
"...Tch, just get down already."
The three went back to the river and filled their buckets once more.
"I bet a wizard could do this in a second," Andel said.
"Well obviously! A wizard could just make the buckets float. Or, actually, couldn't he just make the slide wet? He wouldn't even need buckets."
"Hey!" Lori interrupted. "A knight could do this easy, too!"
"No one even said anything about knights, man..." Andel said. "Wait, why don't we just walk up the slide?"
They finally managed to get the buckets to the top.
"Alright, get ready! One, two, three!"
Andel and Lori poured the water as The Boy jumped onto the slide.
"...Why am I still not sliding?"
"Huh."
The three gave up and sat on the roof instead, choosing to enjoy the spring weather.
"I wonder when that farmer who owns this place is gonna find out. You think he'll kill us?" Andel asked.
"He's so old, he'd die trying and we wouldn't even have to fight back," The Boy laughed.
"What're we gonna do about the horses, though?"
The three looked to the ground where the four horses were walking around aimlessly.
"I guess they're free?" Lori said. "Soren's all attached to them, he might actually cry when he sees this, haha."
"You and Lori should really stop being so mean to him. He left the orphanage to follow you around, it's not his fault he's small, and weak, and not too smart, and—forget it. He's trying his best."
"Hey! I never asked him to follow me. He's the idiot who left his cushy life behind to be my water boy. And he sucks at it, too, ha..." The Boy said.
"That's so uncalled for," Andel tried to hold back his laughter. "Stop laughing. Lori, I hear you too!"
The three of them were very mean. I suppose anything that would happen to them, then, would be long coming. Oh? What's this?
"I—I threw away my life for him... and this is the thanks I get...? Fuck, I hate them! I hate this stupid town. Why'd you have to go and die and leave me here, mom? I hate you too!"
Soren had already returned, carrying a basket of fresh meat he'd risked his life to steal for the gang.