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One thing Varian always found himself missing when he was away were the little things on his father's farm. No matter how much he feigned annoyance at the work, it was a sense of home, security, because if he was doing a mundane task there, it meant everything was OK. So once his long trek across the seven kingdoms had finally come to an end, of course he took full advantage of being back.
Hugo, ever the curious, definitely had his interest peaked at the whole ordeal and what came with it. Varian only mentioned his excitement to getting back on the farm a million times in the almost year he's known him, naturally inclining him to see what the life was about first hand. Not that Varian was complaining, it was a nice change in pace having someone else to drag along side him in the more simple aspects of his life.
Plus, Hugo's city boy attitude was nothing short of amusing to watch try to get a handle on the work.
The pair stood together in the field, eyeing a fenced off area. Despite the amount of years Varian had put into attempting to avoid this one specific chore, he always wound up giving it 'One last try'. Apparently at all good things did come to an end eventually, natural laws of the universe and what not.
"Sorry, these are the things you used to be scared of?" Hugo snorted, folding his arms behind his back and observing the chickens seemingly mindlessly frolicking around in the enclosed area. Varian glanced over to him slyly.
"You ever fed chickens before? They're brutal."
"Oh yeah, they look real menacing. Had no idea you were so fearless."
He smirked before shoving the bag of chicken feed into Hugo's arms, causing him to let out an oomf.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Varian tittered, shoving his hands into his overall pockets. Hugo simply shrugged, a smirk threatening to surface.
"Watch and learn goggles, I'm sorta an animal whisperer, ask 'Liv." Hugo grinned smugly before stepping over the propped up wire mesh fence.
Once he reached the other side, he scuffed his foot against the crumbled dirt ground, accidentally alerting every chicken of his presence at the same time. All of their heads snapped up, staring at him with the same intensity as a mob of hangry piranhas. One particularly brave hen marched her way up towards him, her emotionless eyes somehow conveying a look of pissed off. Hugo simply looked down at her curiously while Varian grimaced.
"Hugh, hurry up and give her the food, she's being docile." He hissed.
Hugo glanced over to him, shooting him an unbelieving look before turning his attention back to the chicken.
"Awe, is this little lady usually sadder than a wet hen? Pun intended."
"It's madder."
"You're madder."
Varian rolled his eyes, walking over to lean against the chicken coop as he observed. Hugo payed him no mind, reaching his hand into the bag.
"Alright, whose hungry?" He asked the chickens with a grin, pulling his hand out of the bag with a fistful of feed. Without warning, the hen suddenly clucked loudly before quickly charging towards him, wings fluttering aggressively. The sudden motion made him stumble backward a bit with a surprised yelp, almost causing him to lose his footing in the process. Varian's eyebrows raised in slight amusement before he quickly pushed himself away from the coop and hopped over the fence.
"Mary Beth Anne, knock it off!" He shouted, skidding to a halt. He made an attempt to shoo her away from Hugo and the bag. This only seemed to aggravate her and the other chickens more, causing them all to rapidly advance towards them.
"What the hell, do these things have rabies??" Hugo asked exasperatedly, raising his voice over the sound of flapping wings and bawking while also trying to shield his face with his free hand. Varian shot him a deeply bothered look.
"Birds can't- Just toss the feed!"
Hugo wasted no time complying, quickly throwing the handful of food as far as he could manage within the chaos. The momentary distraction was enough for Varian to usher him back over the fence.
They both stood silent for a few moments, Hugo readjusting his glasses.
"You didn't get completely mauled, there may be hope for you yet." Varian grinned, nudging him with his elbow.
"Hah, yeah. I'm actually never doing that again, thanks for the traumatic experience." Hugo huffed, handing the bag back to Varian, causing him to titter.