Meteorites: Chapter 1

“I’ve heard several blacksmiths say they’re quite difficult to craft into useable weapons, but functional or not, they’re always beautiful.” A middle aged man sitting across from Remsdale shrugged and took a drink from his flagon of mead. Next to him, a Dracostryx perched on a nest like chair, head tilted so she could watch him, pupils wide, though that was probably just excitement, Remsdale thought to himself. As if to confirm this, she sighed, her feathers rippling along her body. “I’d like to see such a weapon.” She said wistfully before shaking herself and dipping her head to drink from her own bowl of water. Remsdale lapped at his own, careful not to splash- he was a Vayron not a common dog after all. “Right,” He said after swallowing, a touch of impatience tainting his words, “I get that, but I asked if they can be found out here in your mountains. That’s what I heard before coming here, but-” Juniper chirped to interrupt him, a warning about his tone. She cleared her throat after sending him a pointed glare, “Forgive him, he’s just a teeny bit testy.” She laughed lightly, “What he means” she put emphasis on the word, “Is we didn’t realize winter set in so early here and we’re not exactly equipped for a long excursion in these conditions.” 

The man had indeed noticed Remsdale’s tone and had begun to withdraw from the conversation, but the Dracostryx’s interruption saved the situation. “Hmph.” He said simply, taking another drink as if to spite Remsdale- which, in all honesty, was exactly what he was doing. He took the time to belch, though turned his head instead of exhaling in the Vayron’s direction (that was just a tad bit too rude, considering). “Honestly, meteorites fall pretty randomly across the lands, madam…” “Juniper.” She supplied so he could continue. “Juniper. I mean we have our fair share of ‘em drop outta the sky, but I couldn’t rightly say they’re common here.” She nodded and Remsdale sighed, returning his attention to his bowl of water. Another dead end, he thought, briefly considering ordering a bowl of mead to drown his frustration in. “Well, thank you anyway.” Juniper chirped. The man nodded and stood from the table, obviously done conversing with them. Remsdale couldn’t say he would miss the fellow, and Juniper waited til he was safely ensconced at the bar again before she turned to the Vayron across from her. 

“Well, it’s not… exactly what you were hoping for but at least they do fall here.” She said brightly. Remsdale looked across at her flatly before lowering his head to finish his bowl. “Yeah, thanks. So does that mean you’re gonna leave now too? I think I need a bowl of something stronger than water.” It was supposed to be a dismissal, Juniper being a stranger that had somehow gravitated to him and then… stuck. But if he was ever going to make a polite break, it was now. He looked up to find her slouched into her nest, apparently not happy to be told to hit the road. Sighing, he sat up straighter, “What.” He said flatly. 

“Um… well.” She said sheepishly. Great, she thought to herself, now what? Should she be honest about why she was trying to stick to him or should she lie? Lie. She decided half a second after asking herself such a stupid question. “I’m… uhhh..” She paused, trying to think of a simple lie on the fly, “Oh. I’m also looking for meteorites.” Inwardly she sighed, it was believable at least. “And, well the blizzards aren’t exactly the best flying weather.” Yes, this was so much easier than she thought it would be, much smoother than anything her favorite book characters ever said when they had to lie on the fly. “And I’m not-” Don’t overshare! “What I mean is we can work as a team. Almost like magic, the story came together for her as she talked, her confidence growing. And if he asked about her speech pattern changing, she could just say she was shy. Not like he’d even know! Awesome, brain is ahead of my mouth and navigating through this story. She cheered even as she continued in a reasonable tone to Remsdale, “You help me, I help you, we split what we find. And if we only find one, you can take it.” It was the way deals were made in her homeland, always always negotiate for the chance of only one prize.

Remsdale considered her. It wasn’t like having a Dracostryx around would be detrimental. He could fight off a wolf solo, maybe two, but not a pack and not something like a bear. He was bound to wander into a dead end, maybe fragile ice, and her ability to hop-fly would be easier than trying to walk out of a dangerous, even precarious, situation. There were a few other reasons as he let the silence drag out between them, watching as Juniper wilted the longer he refrained from answering. Part of him wanted to see if he waited long enough if she would leave. A smaller, more insistent, voice inside him told him that could be a bad idea- if she could kill a bear she could definitely kill him. “Hmm. I guess you could be useful to have around. How are you with fighting bears?” Juniper brightened immediately and considered, “Depends on how big?” She said nervously. They laughed and ordered two bowls of mead to carry them through preparations and planning for the next day. 

“Oh, look!” Juniper called, extending her wing so her foremost primary feather almost pointed across a small gap to where a large misshapen stone protruded from the snow. It was a dark metallic grey, very different from the stones and boulders that also peeked from beneath their blankets of snow. Remsdale turned to look and grinned. They’d found four so far, all of them less than half the size of the prize across from them. They found their way along a narrow arch of ice toward the meteorite’s ledge. Remsdale reached it first, having used his greater weight to ensure the path was safe for them both. Just as he cautiously reared up to reach the space rock, a large mountain ram jumped onto the ledge next to the stone. His sudden appearance sent snow and small stones tumbling over the edge, the meteorite wobbled perceptively. “NO!” Remsdale shouted, even as Juniper screeched in warning. Of course, silence probably would have served them better, their vantage point putting them under the ram’s line of sight and all. But their combined raucous caused the ram to freak, braying in surprised fear as he whirled almost in place before kicking off to disappear back over the ridge where he’d come from. They watched in horror as the rest of the snow that had circled and covered the meteorite fell away, then their prize, and a bit of the cliff edge with it all. Remsdale made a swipe for it with a paw in an attempt to knock it back toward Juniper. And missed. He barked as he jerked back before he could overbalance and go tumbling down with it all. Juniper also reached out with taloned feet and distal tail with a bit more luck. She at least touched the meteorite and a pebble before they bounced off her appendages and out of sight in the swirling snow. 

Remsdale let loose a string of profanity and stomped his foot on the ice. It gave a small crackle, causing a micro heart attack in Remsdale’s chest and recalling him to his location. Juniper tilted her head and shuffled her wings. “I’m going to see if I can find it. Maybe it’s just out of sight.” She dropped before he could reply, wings already opening to make sure she could brake if she needed to. Apparently she could because she closed her wings to drop lower, and she was gone even as she opened them again. Obviously this was going to be a careful descent, which was smart, Remsdale thought to himself as he turned to make his way back along the ledge and down the mountain. He’d rendezvous with her at some point.