Shun and Dumdum hit the town.
If you could call it that.
A few old geezers scattered around. One mending a fence. Two arguing about a goat. Another one asleep under a tree, mouth wide open, snoring loud enough to scare birds.
That was it. That was the whole damn town.
Shun looked around.
Dumdum looked around. One eye watched an old lady sweep her porch. The other stared at a cloud shaped like nothing.
Both of them looked bored out of their minds.
They spent the whole afternoon doing absolutely—nothing.
Sat by the ocean for a while. Shun threw rocks.
Dumdum tried catching one in his mouth.
Missed.
Walked through the fields after… Tall grass up to their knees.
"This town is boring as fuck," he muttered.
So they did what bored idiots do.
Made their own fun.
First—kicking rocks.
First they kicked rocks to see who could kick one farther.
Shun went first and his rock sailed into a bush.
Dumdum stepped up and kicked his straight into Shun's shin.
"FUUUUUUUUUUH!"
Shun hopped around cursing while Dumdum smiled like he just won a trophy.
Then they raced from the big tree to the broken cart.
Shun sprinted and Dumdum galloped and Dumdum won every time.
"Is this dumb horse actually beating me right now?"
Yes. Yes he was.
Then they found a hill and rolled down it for no reason.
Then they laid in the grass and stared at nothing.
After a few hours, the sun started sinking. Orange and pink smeared across the sky.
Shun looked at Dumdum.
They decided to head to the old woman's house.
Why?
Bored as fuck. Nothing else to do.
Shun grabbed Dumdum's mane and swung himself up. Dumdum's legs tensed, then—
BAM.
He took off.
Dumdum ran as fast as he could.
They made it back to the chief's house.
The old lady sat on the porch, peeling something with a small knife.
She looked up as they approached.
"Oh. You made it back."
Shun tilted his head. "Made it back?"
The old lady didn't answer. Just stood up, brushed her hands on her apron, and walked over to Dumdum. She fed him something from her pocket—some kind of root vegetable—and Dumdum's one good eye went wide with joy.
She turned to Shun.
"Follow me for a bit."
Shun glanced at Dumdum. Dumdum was too busy eating to care.
So Shun followed.
She led him past the house, down a short path, and stopped in front of a small building.
Smoke curled from a chimney.
Her smithy.
Shun's eyes lit up the second he stepped inside.
Tools everywhere. Hammers, tongs, files hanging on the walls.
Ingots stacked in corners.
Jars filled with strange powders and crushed monster parts lining the shelves.
A forge sat in the middle, still warm, coals glowing faint orange.
Without thinking, Shun grabbed a blacksmith hammer off the bench. He was already reaching for a chunk of metal when—
The old lady giggled.
"Are you that eager to craft something?"
Shun froze. Looked at the hammer in his hand... Looked at her…
"Err... my bad."
He dropped the hammer. It clanked against the floor.
The old lady just smiled and walked past him. Ran her fingers along the edge of her anvil. Worn smooth from years of use.
"Do you believe in fate?" she asked, not looking at him.
Shun blinked. "Fate?"
"Yes." She stared at the anvil "I believe fate brought you to this town."
Shun stared at her.
Then stared at the wall.
Then stared at the floor.
Heh, he thought. And I believe that stupid horse brought me here by running in a straight line. Who the fuck does that.
"You said you haven't properly learned blacksmithing, right?" the old lady asked.
Shun nodded. "Yea."
BLAG.
She dropped a thick book on the anvil.
Dust puffed up.
Pages thick as her finger, bound in leather so old it looked ready to fall apart.