That Darn Goat: Chapter 1

The humans had left them, eager to return to town where they would decide how to proceed. For their own part, Remsdale and Juniper were done with the cave- let the humans try to roust the Tyrians on their own. They had two meteorites a piece, the loss of the fifth and largest one not forgotten. But neither of them had found it on their way down from the peaks where it had been dislodged. 

“I don’t know. Do you think we should just leave it at two a piece and try somewhere else?” Juniper asked eventually. “Hm. It’s tempting. We’ve had…. Such bad luck here. Maybe it would be better to at least search somewhere flat?” Remsdale responded as he consulted the sky above them. Too much daylight to see if any shooting stars were breaching the atmosphere, no blazing fire in the sky to mark something large enough to penetrate about to crash land. With a sigh he returned his gaze to the meadow around them in disgust.

“I hate mountain goats. I didn’t before today, but that one has sealed them in my bad graces.” Remsdale said with a growl, looking out at all of them grazing, thoroughly ignoring himself and Juniper. She nodded with a resigned sigh, “Though they do look like they’d still taste good.” Remsdale jumped a little, looking over at her. “You know what… you’re absolutely right.” He jumped to his feet, tail up and ears forward. She jumped to attention too, though she continued to watch Remsdale. He twitched and began to growl, “I don’t believe it!” “What?!” She chirped, swiveling her head to look out at the sheep. 

It didn’t take her long to see what exactly had caught Remsdale’s eye. It was that same mountain ram from the ledge! “Is that- it can’t be- Juniper I think it’s been the same ram on the ledge and in the cave!” She turned again, pupils contracting and dilating to bring him more in focus. She gasped as she recognized the horns as the same as they’d seen on the ledge. “I can’t tell if it’s the same from the cave.” She said even as she realized what he’d said earlier about ‘the one’ putting the entire species on his bad list. “I didn’t get a good look at it before it bolted. And I was a little distracted.” She added as a playful reminder. “I landed on it, and I’m telling you it is.” He insisted “Okay, well, what do you want to do about it?” She asked. 

Remsdale turned to her, his lips pulled back from his teeth in a sadistic and bloodthirsty grin. “I’m going. To eat. It.” He said, turning the simple sentence into three. Juniper glanced between him and the ram, and thought over everything they’d experienced. Then her stomach rumbled and the decision was made. “Hmmm. Yes. I think revenge could be just the flavor we need.” 

She took to the sky even as Remsdale took off in a low loping ramble around the herd so he could be upwind of the ram. Despite their combined hunting expertise, the ram was wily and very obviously experienced dodging aerial and terrestrial predators. It was no wonder his horns were so large, this was obviously a mature ram. Part of Juniper’s brain pondered if it would be beneficial to the herd to take down such a prime male, possibly the mentor to all the younger rams on how to survive and win females. But she was hungry and even though he was the target Remsdale had chosen, after three failed attempts, Juniper decided she needed something easier. Let Remsdale wear himself out pointlessly. After abandoning the chase, she quickly picked off an injured sheep that couldn’t evade her well enough. Coming in to land in a clear space, she quickly went to work on the carcass with her sharp beak and strong talons, chunks of warm fresh meat traveling down her gullet to fill her crop. She finished her meal and looked up, realizing that Remsdale hadn’t joined her with his own prey. 

He was currently stretched out on his belly, panting and glaring daggers and promises of death at his intended target, who was munching some grass while staring dully at Remsdale in return. “Have you still not caught it?” Juniper called, a note of incredulity in her voice. Remsdale threw her a poisonous glare and snorted before turning back to the ram. It placidly relieved itself, eyes locked on the would-be predator. Remsdale snarled and jumped to his feet. Instead of pursuing the ram like Juniper thought he would, he turned his wrath on a young ewe, too inexperienced to dodge his attack. The kill was messier than it strictly needed to be, but Juniper understood his frustration. When he finally joined her, his white and green coat was pink and red. He’d eaten where his prey had fallen, leaving the corpse amid it’s fellows to be picked clean by whatever scavengers roamed this area. He pointedly began to clean himself up, almost like a cat with the way he groomed his paws and forelegs. “Not a word.” He growled after a moment when Juniper moved to say something. She smiled and settled back on her feet, letting the sunlight warm her as Remsdale moved to go roll in the snow to clean the rest of the gore from his coat.