The morning after the giant's half-hearted attempt at taming—or rather, its attempt to lick the living daylights out of Jasper—he had a very, very serious realization: maybe he wasn't cut out for this whole "beast tamer" business.
Or maybe he was just cursed.
Jasper could get behind the idea of being cursed. It made a lot more sense than his current predicament. After all, he had somehow managed to tame an entire dragon, but only because his goat had secretly been the true mastermind of the operation. And as for that giant—well, that was more about survival instincts than actual taming. The giant had pretty much just treated him like a chew toy.
And now, after barely escaping the giant's slobber, Prunella was insisting that they move on to yet another beast.
"You ready for this?" Prunella asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her excitement was palpable.
Jasper, on the other hand, was too tired to care. He had spent the night trying to scrub dragon slobber off his clothes and being kept awake by the occasional roaring of the dragon in the cage. Sleep had been hard to come by.
"I think I'm ready to retire," Jasper muttered, looking over at Hoofenstein, who was, of course, happily munching on some hay like he didn't have a care in the world. Jasper would be jealous of his laid-back nature, if he didn't already have enough problems.
"Are you really this pessimistic now?" Prunella asked, clearly getting frustrated.
"Do you not hear the words coming out of my mouth?" Jasper snapped. "Pessimistic? I'm realistic, Prunella. I'm a man who is tired. Tired of being the victim of every beast we come across."
Prunella raised an eyebrow. "That's one way to put it. But today's beast is different."
Jasper groaned, rubbing his eyes. "What is it now? A giant sheep?"
"Well, yes. It is a giant sheep," Prunella said with a grin, utterly unfazed by his sarcastic tone.
Jasper's eyes widened. "Wait, are you serious? A giant sheep? Is that... is that a thing? I thought we were supposed to be getting stronger beasts."
"Oh, trust me," Prunella said, her grin growing wider, "this sheep is definitely strong. You've never met a sheep like this."
Jasper was already regretting this decision, but he didn't have much of a choice. Prunella was already marching ahead, clearly in a hurry to get to whatever giant sheep this was.
"Alright, alright, let's get it over with," Jasper mumbled, following her through the dense brush.
The forest around them was eerily quiet again. Jasper tried to push down his unease, but it wasn't working. He had learned the hard way that silence in a forest wasn't a good sign.
Prunella came to an abrupt halt, and Jasper almost crashed into her. "There," she said, pointing to a large clearing ahead.
Jasper peeked over her shoulder and saw a large, fluffy creature standing in the middle of the clearing. It was a sheep, no doubt about it, but it was far bigger than any sheep he had ever seen before.
It had thick, white wool, and its legs were sturdy and muscular. Its eyes were a dull, almost unblinking shade of yellow, and its horns curled up like a ram's.
"Uh... Prunella?" Jasper said, feeling a cold sweat form on his brow. "I don't think this is just a sheep. I think this is... a monster."
"Oh, it's definitely a monster," Prunella agreed, unfazed. "But a tameable one. It's been terrorizing the local villagers for weeks now."
Jasper took a deep breath. "So we're here to stop it?"
"Nope," Prunella said, shaking her head. "We're here to tame it. Get ready. It's going to be a ride."
"A ride?" Jasper repeated, eyes wide. "You want me to ride the giant sheep?"
"Exactly!" Prunella said, her grin practically glowing. "Tame it and ride it like a true beast tamer!"
Jasper blinked. "You've lost your mind."
"Come on, let's go," she said, already advancing toward the sheep. "It's easy! Just watch me."
Before Jasper could protest further, Prunella was already striding confidently into the clearing. The sheep turned its head to look at her, its large, unblinking eyes focused entirely on her movements.
Jasper's heart was pounding in his chest. The sheep was massive, and for the first time, he wasn't sure what part of the situation was supposed to be funny.
"Prunella!" he shouted, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she marched straight up to the sheep, her voice taking on a commanding tone. "Alright, big guy. You've caused enough trouble. Time to come with us."
The sheep snorted, and Jasper watched in horror as it reared up on its hind legs, towering over Prunella like a living mountain of fluff and muscle.
"Prunella, what the heck do you think you're doing?!" Jasper yelled.
Prunella wasn't phased. "Just trust me! You've got this, too. Come on! You're a beast tamer now!"
Before he could react, the giant sheep lunged forward, hooves pounding the ground, and Prunella dodged out of the way just in time, rolling to the side with a surprising amount of grace.
The sheep spun around, clearly frustrated, and looked directly at Jasper.
"Oh great," he muttered, taking a cautious step back. "So it's my turn, huh?"
It was.
The sheep charged him with a speed that shouldn't have been possible for something that large. Jasper scrambled to the side, nearly falling as he tried to avoid the massive creature's hoof.
"I'm going to die, aren't I?" he yelled, scrambling backward.
Prunella's voice rang out from behind him, "Just grab its horns!"
Jasper spun around, looking at the sheep's enormous curling horns. "Grab its horns?! Are you insane?!"
But before he could process what was happening, the sheep made another charge, and somehow—out of sheer panic—Jasper jumped forward and grabbed hold of one of its horns.
The sheep gave a surprised bleat, stumbling slightly before it stopped, seemingly confused.
For a moment, everything was still.
"I did it?" Jasper said, blinking in disbelief.
Prunella's voice was full of amusement. "Well, sort of. Now just... hold on tight. It doesn't know you're in charge yet."
Jasper didn't know whether to be proud or terrified. But at this point, he had little choice but to hold on as the sheep began to stomp its hooves and buck like a wild horse.
"Well," Jasper grunted, trying to keep his grip. "At least this is better than being eaten."
Prunella smirked from the sidelines. "See? Told you it'd be fun."
Jasper had no idea how long he was going to last before being thrown off, but he had learned one thing for certain: his life had officially become a series of ridiculous events he never signed up for.
And with every ridiculous event, it seemed he was just one step closer to becoming the most famous—and probably most traumatized—beast tamer in history.
But for now, all he could do was hold on for dear life.