Chapter 120: The Mountain Goat Trail
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"You're back!! Daddies!"
Vladstin was distracted by the goat that he had not noticed Sangfroid and Leron had returned, freshly bathed with new clothes and looking refreshed on the inside themselves. Yet also a little bashful.
"What took you two lovebirds so long?" The vampire brush off the dust from his knees and stood up, putting his hand on his hips with a meaningful grin. Pretending like he doesn't know the answer to his own question already.
Sangfroid gave him a very evident scowl, yet said nothing. Leron was looking at his own feet like there was suddenly something interesting on them.
"Oh, alright then. Be that way, keeping your little secret. I have a little secret of my own just now..." Vladstin said in a singsong voice.
This caused Sangfroid to be alarmed because he thought it was about the snake bite, but Vladstin continued:
"Don't worry, I will say it since any of us could notice it sooner or later anyway. I saw a mountain goat just now."
"A goat..." Sangfroid blinked, then relaxed. Then, he became apprehensive again. "Which direction?"
"Right over there." Vladstin pointed. "Strange that we only saw one just now when we are in the mountain of a Hermit deeply associated with goats ourselves."
"It must mean something....." Leron rubbed his chin. "We have to follow its trail and see how leads."
And so, their travel continues, this time bearing heavy anxiousness in their hearts after the events that have just transpired. They watch their steps the same way one would when walking on thin ice.
The mountain goat's oath stretched on all the way to the third-highest peak of the Libitinius Mountains. Thanks to Sangfroid's rain earlier, they can see its hoofprints and follow where that light-footed mysterious rascal could have gone. They also keep track of whether there were any strange garlic flower vines anywhere, and all the plants in general.
As they kept going, they soon saw a peaceful meadow that stood out in the otherwise dense forest. They are far away from the forest fire now, but traveling on foot meant they could only travel so far as to get exhausted. Even Ofelia is getting nauseous from her water bucket seat, puffing up her cheeks and trying not to retch.
The hike is really steep, making anyone's foot ache from the pressure and constant fight with gravity. They aren't like mountain goats that could just hop their way up with great litheness at all.
Well maybe except for Vladstin, but the vampire was noticeably being careful because of the siren on his back.
"Should we rest in here for a bit?" Leron gestured to the meadow. "It looks..... quite safe."
"We can't easily trust the mountain after what happened, Your Highness." Sangfroid said, scanning the area as always.
"But Ofelia does not look well. Only for a while. This place is flat and not steep like the others, and we can always rely on you and Vladstin's superior senses."
"I hear a bird taking a dump on a squirrel." Vladstin said.
The humans did not bother replying to that.
Sangfroid got over his paranoia eventually, seeing that there isn't any threat, and the sun is almost setting now. They'll look for the goat or more mountain goats tomorrow.
"Is the direction we're going to not that far off the trail to the Hermit's house, Ofelia?" Sangfroid asked.
Ofelia checked her seashell, and nodded. "Yes. Actually, we going to the Hermit's house right now. Ofelia wasn't able to say because she feels something weird in the back of her throat like when she eats a bad bug or rocks."
"Poor thing." Leron patted her head. "She must not be used to traveling without swimming for a long time. Let us conjure a small pool for her here so she can stretch her tail a little."
They set her done once the pool is conjured, and decided to talk for now while preparing meals.
"The mountain goat you saw, what does it look like?" Sangfroid ask while he was kindling the fire.
"It was brown, just like any other goats really. It reminded me a bit of something." Vladstin said while he was chopping up the fish. "It looked similar to THAT goat."
Leron took the chopped pieces from him as he was the one who will truly cook the soup. "What goat are we talking about?"
Sangfroid narrowed his eyes. "You mean....."
"Yes. His goat." Vladstin grinned, giving a glance at Leron.
This made Leron even more confused. He sat by Sangfroid's side to stir the pot over the fire he lit up. "Both of you know this goat, but since when?"
"I don't really know what the goat looks like myself, Your Highness. I have only heard of it from... From someone." Sangfroid had a distant look on his face. "One of Vladstin's victims."
Leron now understands. "Oh. I.... I see."
"That 'victim' is how we first met." Vladstin said, squatting over beside Leron too. He had a mischievous look on his face as he purposefully hooked an arm around Leron's shoulder "Hey, you wanna hear the story of how we met, bunny?"
"There is no need to, I can tell him." Sangfroid shoved the hand away.
"Harsh now, aren't you? But alright, I do like listening to you telling stories. You do have some skill in them." Vladstin said. "I also want to see your perspective during that night."
Vladstin was already aware of Sangfroid's perspective because of his dream where he can hear Sangfroid's thoughts, but he's saying this for something else. What he meant was that he would like to hear from Sangfroid's mouth exactly what he thinks about him. Right in front of his beloved Leron, which will be fun.
"There was a village, Prince Leron. " Sangfroid started. "The Noble Huntsmen were called upon the village....."
Meanwhile, Ofelia was waiting to try fish soup for the first time, just humming to herself. She hummed the Butterfly poem that Vladstin presented since she doesn't know the words. It feels much more comfortable being in the water now than in the bucket.
Then, she heard something rattling in a nearby shrub. She prick up her ears and listen, swimming farther from the trio to see what it was.....
She waited and the leaves stay deadly still. Nothing.
Then....
"Meeeeeeehhh!"
A small creature, just as big as her torso. It was a baby goat, bleating and jumping with its funny legs.
"Oh. Hello." She had never seen such a creature before, but it reminded her of goat friend.
Goat friend is very kind. She remembered that goat friend always give her and her mom gifts, and talk with other friends. She was too young before to remember their names, so she refer to them as Purple Friend and Yellow Friend.
Purple Friend is always sighing, like he has a lot of problems that he carries in this world. Yellow Friend comforts him, though he does yell at Yellow Fiend when Yellow Friend gets too close and touch his robes. His robes have strange symbols on them, and whenever Yellow Friend touches those symbols, his hands turn red.
Even so, she likes to believe that Purple Friend and Yellow Friend are close and love each other very much.
Purple Friend and Yellow Friend now have names. Purple Friend is Sangfroid, Yellow Friend is Vladstin. And there's a new friend, Blue Friend, Leron.
Could this baby goat also be a new friend for Ofelia? It looks too small to be a daddy, so she would call it friend.
The little goat suddenly talked to her in her own language. "Greetings, siren."
"Whoah! Little goat friend could talk!"
"All goats can. My father was the first one to be gifted with speech by the Hermit. His name is Ari." The goat explained. "And I am Eis. I came to warn you and your family, siren."
"What warning?" Ofelia asked.
"The Hermit wants one of your friends to die, and he had finally made a decision due to the choices they have made in this mountain. One of them passed the test, the other must not lose his life for the future of the world will suffer great consequences, and so the one that was left will surely die."
"Goat friend is Hermit, right? Goat friend..... Wants to kill one of friends?" Ofelia felt like crying. "No, Ofelia won't allow it!"
The baby goat bleated from being displeased with her. "Don't be too loud, siren. Your friends must not know that I'm here. Only you can. I will bestow upon you a secret. On the next meadow that you will pass from the trail, there is a hibiscus flower laying on the ground. When your friend dies, take the hibiscus flower, and wait for the next full moon."
"Feed the essence to him. This will bring your dead friend to life."
Ofelia suddenly remembered about her daddies saying they need Daddy Vladstin to 'come back to life' and be human, so she called out. "Wait, little goat friend Eis! If my Daddy Vladstin drank the essence will he come back to life? Is he the one the Hermit will kill?"
Eis hesitated for a bit, because he already feel like was saying too much, and his father Ari is a strict one. He will surely be punished once he's caught.
But what's done is done. Either way, he will be punished for straying away from his father's sight.
"No. The hibiscus will not undo a vampire lord's curse. He is not the friend who will die."
Ofelia turned back to her three father figures, and felt a pain in her chest. "Then....."
It would either be Leron or Sangfroid, who just earlier seem so happy with each other and grew closer.
Losing one would make the other distraught beyond compare.
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"You're back!! Daddies!"
Vladstin was distracted by the goat that he had not noticed Sangfroid and Leron had returned, freshly bathed with new clothes and looking refreshed on the inside themselves. Yet also a little bashful.
"What took you two lovebirds so long?" The vampire brush off the dust from his knees and stood up, putting his hand on his hips with a meaningful grin. Pretending like he doesn't know the answer to his own question already.
Sangfroid gave him a very evident scowl, yet said nothing. Leron was looking at his own feet like there was suddenly something interesting on them.
"Oh, alright then. Be that way, keeping your little secret. I have a little secret of my own just now..." Vladstin said in a singsong voice.
This caused Sangfroid to be alarmed because he thought it was about the snake bite, but Vladstin continued:
"Don't worry, I will say it since any of us could notice it sooner or later anyway. I saw a mountain goat just now."
"A goat..." Sangfroid blinked, then relaxed. Then, he became apprehensive again. "Which direction?"
"Right over there." Vladstin pointed. "Strange that we only saw one just now when we are in the mountain of a Hermit deeply associated with goats ourselves."
"It must mean something....." Leron rubbed his chin. "We have to follow its trail and see how leads."
And so, their travel continues, this time bearing heavy anxiousness in their hearts after the events that have just transpired. They watch their steps the same way one would when walking on thin ice.
The mountain goat's oath stretched on all the way to the third-highest peak of the Libitinius Mountains. Thanks to Sangfroid's rain earlier, they can see its hoofprints and follow where that light-footed mysterious rascal could have gone. They also keep track of whether there were any strange garlic flower vines anywhere, and all the plants in general.
As they kept going, they soon saw a peaceful meadow that stood out in the otherwise dense forest. They are far away from the forest fire now, but traveling on foot meant they could only travel so far as to get exhausted. Even Ofelia is getting nauseous from her water bucket seat, puffing up her cheeks and trying not to retch.
The hike is really steep, making anyone's foot ache from the pressure and constant fight with gravity. They aren't like mountain goats that could just hop their way up with great litheness at all.
Well maybe except for Vladstin, but the vampire was noticeably being careful because of the siren on his back.
"Should we rest in here for a bit?" Leron gestured to the meadow. "It looks..... quite safe."
"We can't easily trust the mountain after what happened, Your Highness." Sangfroid said, scanning the area as always.
"But Ofelia does not look well. Only for a while. This place is flat and not steep like the others, and we can always rely on you and Vladstin's superior senses."
"I hear a bird taking a dump on a squirrel." Vladstin said.
The humans did not bother replying to that.
Sangfroid got over his paranoia eventually, seeing that there isn't any threat, and the sun is almost setting now. They'll look for the goat or more mountain goats tomorrow.
"Is the direction we're going to not that far off the trail to the Hermit's house, Ofelia?" Sangfroid asked.
Ofelia checked her seashell, and nodded. "Yes. Actually, we going to the Hermit's house right now. Ofelia wasn't able to say because she feels something weird in the back of her throat like when she eats a bad bug or rocks."
"Poor thing." Leron patted her head. "She must not be used to traveling without swimming for a long time. Let us conjure a small pool for her here so she can stretch her tail a little."
They set her done once the pool is conjured, and decided to talk for now while preparing meals.
"The mountain goat you saw, what does it look like?" Sangfroid ask while he was kindling the fire.
"It was brown, just like any other goats really. It reminded me a bit of something." Vladstin said while he was chopping up the fish. "It looked similar to THAT goat."
Leron took the chopped pieces from him as he was the one who will truly cook the soup. "What goat are we talking about?"
Sangfroid narrowed his eyes. "You mean....."
"Yes. His goat." Vladstin grinned, giving a glance at Leron.
This made Leron even more confused. He sat by Sangfroid's side to stir the pot over the fire he lit up. "Both of you know this goat, but since when?"
"I don't really know what the goat looks like myself, Your Highness. I have only heard of it from... From someone." Sangfroid had a distant look on his face. "One of Vladstin's victims."
Leron now understands. "Oh. I.... I see."
"That 'victim' is how we first met." Vladstin said, squatting over beside Leron too. He had a mischievous look on his face as he purposefully hooked an arm around Leron's shoulder "Hey, you wanna hear the story of how we met, bunny?"
"There is no need to, I can tell him." Sangfroid shoved the hand away.
"Harsh now, aren't you? But alright, I do like listening to you telling stories. You do have some skill in them." Vladstin said. "I also want to see your perspective during that night."
Vladstin was already aware of Sangfroid's perspective because of his dream where he can hear Sangfroid's thoughts, but he's saying this for something else. What he meant was that he would like to hear from Sangfroid's mouth exactly what he thinks about him. Right in front of his beloved Leron, which will be fun.
"There was a village, Prince Leron. " Sangfroid started. "The Noble Huntsmen were called upon the village....."
Meanwhile, Ofelia was waiting to try fish soup for the first time, just humming to herself. She hummed the Butterfly poem that Vladstin presented since she doesn't know the words. It feels much more comfortable being in the water now than in the bucket.
Then, she heard something rattling in a nearby shrub. She prick up her ears and listen, swimming farther from the trio to see what it was.....
She waited and the leaves stay deadly still. Nothing.
Then....
"Meeeeeeehhh!"
A small creature, just as big as her torso. It was a baby goat, bleating and jumping with its funny legs.
"Oh. Hello." She had never seen such a creature before, but it reminded her of goat friend.
Goat friend is very kind. She remembered that goat friend always give her and her mom gifts, and talk with other friends. She was too young before to remember their names, so she refer to them as Purple Friend and Yellow Friend.
Purple Friend is always sighing, like he has a lot of problems that he carries in this world. Yellow Friend comforts him, though he does yell at Yellow Fiend when Yellow Friend gets too close and touch his robes. His robes have strange symbols on them, and whenever Yellow Friend touches those symbols, his hands turn red.
Even so, she likes to believe that Purple Friend and Yellow Friend are close and love each other very much.
Purple Friend and Yellow Friend now have names. Purple Friend is Sangfroid, Yellow Friend is Vladstin. And there's a new friend, Blue Friend, Leron.
Could this baby goat also be a new friend for Ofelia? It looks too small to be a daddy, so she would call it friend.
The little goat suddenly talked to her in her own language. "Greetings, siren."
"Whoah! Little goat friend could talk!"
"All goats can. My father was the first one to be gifted with speech by the Hermit. His name is Ari." The goat explained. "And I am Eis. I came to warn you and your family, siren."
"What warning?" Ofelia asked.
"The Hermit wants one of your friends to die, and he had finally made a decision due to the choices they have made in this mountain. One of them passed the test, the other must not lose his life for the future of the world will suffer great consequences, and so the one that was left will surely die."
"Goat friend is Hermit, right? Goat friend..... Wants to kill one of friends?" Ofelia felt like crying. "No, Ofelia won't allow it!"
The baby goat bleated from being displeased with her. "Don't be too loud, siren. Your friends must not know that I'm here. Only you can. I will bestow upon you a secret. On the next meadow that you will pass from the trail, there is a hibiscus flower laying on the ground. When your friend dies, take the hibiscus flower, and wait for the next full moon."
"Feed the essence to him. This will bring your dead friend to life."
Ofelia suddenly remembered about her daddies saying they need Daddy Vladstin to 'come back to life' and be human, so she called out. "Wait, little goat friend Eis! If my Daddy Vladstin drank the essence will he come back to life? Is he the one the Hermit will kill?"
Eis hesitated for a bit, because he already feel like was saying too much, and his father Ari is a strict one. He will surely be punished once he's caught.
But what's done is done. Either way, he will be punished for straying away from his father's sight.
"No. The hibiscus will not undo a vampire lord's curse. He is not the friend who will die."
Ofelia turned back to her three father figures, and felt a pain in her chest. "Then....."
It would either be Leron or Sangfroid, who just earlier seem so happy with each other and grew closer.
Losing one would make the other distraught beyond compare.
"You're back!! Daddies!"Vladstin was distracted by the goat that he had not noticed Sangfroid and Leron had returned, freshly bathed with new clothes and looking refreshed on the inside themselves. Yet also a little bashful."What took you two lovebirds so long?" The vampire brush off the dust from his knees and stood up, putting his hand on his hips with a meaningful grin. Pretending like he doesn't know the answer to his own question already.Sangfroid gave him a very evident scowl, yet said nothing. Leron was looking at his own feet like there was suddenly something interesting on them."Oh, alright then. Be that way, keeping your little secret. I have a little secret of my own just now..." Vladstin said in a singsong voice.This caused Sangfroid to be alarmed because he thought it was about the snake bite, but Vladstin continued:"Don't worry, I will say it since any of us could notice it sooner or later anyway. I saw a mountain goat just now.""A goat..." Sangfroid blinked, then relaxed. Then, he became apprehensive again. "Which direction?""Right over there." Vladstin pointed. "Strange that we only saw one just now when we are in the mountain of a Hermit deeply associated with goats ourselves.""It must mean something....." Leron rubbed his chin. "We have to follow its trail and see how leads."And so, their travel continues, this time bearing heavy anxiousness in their hearts after the events that have just transpired. They watch their steps the same way one would when walking on thin ice.The mountain goat's oath stretched on all the way to the third-highest peak of the Libitinius Mountains. Thanks to Sangfroid's rain earlier, they can see its hoofprints and follow where that light-footed mysterious rascal could have gone. They also keep track of whether there were any strange garlic flower vines anywhere, and all the plants in general.As they kept going, they soon saw a peaceful meadow that stood out in the otherwise dense forest. They are far away from the forest fire now, but traveling on foot meant they could only travel so far as to get exhausted. Even Ofelia is getting nauseous from her water bucket seat, puffing up her cheeks and trying not to retch.The hike is really steep, making anyone's foot ache from the pressure and constant fight with gravity. They aren't like mountain goats that could just hop their way up with great litheness at all.Well maybe except for Vladstin, but the vampire was noticeably being careful because of the siren on his back."Should we rest in here for a bit?" Leron gestured to the meadow. "It looks..... quite safe.""We can't easily trust the mountain after what happened, Your Highness." Sangfroid said, scanning the area as always."But Ofelia does not look well. Only for a while. This place is flat and not steep like the others, and we can always rely on you and Vladstin's superior senses.""I hear a bird taking a dump on a squirrel." Vladstin said.The humans did not bother replying to that.Sangfroid got over his paranoia eventually, seeing that there isn't any threat, and the sun is almost setting now. They'll look for the goat or more mountain goats tomorrow."Is the direction we're going to not that far off the trail to the Hermit's house, Ofelia?" Sangfroid asked.Ofelia checked her seashell, and nodded. "Yes. Actually, we going to the Hermit's house right now. Ofelia wasn't able to say because she feels something weird in the back of her throat like when she eats a bad bug or rocks.""Poor thing." Leron patted her head. "She must not be used to traveling without swimming for a long time. Let us conjure a small pool for her here so she can stretch her tail a little."They set her done once the pool is conjured, and decided to talk for now while preparing meals."The mountain goat you saw, what does it look like?" Sangfroid ask while he was kindling the fire."It was brown, just like any other goats really. It reminded me a bit of something." Vladstin said while he was chopping up the fish. "It looked similar to THAT goat."Leron took the chopped pieces from him as he was the one who will truly cook the soup. "What goat are we talking about?"Sangfroid narrowed his eyes. "You mean.....""Yes. His goat." Vladstin grinned, giving a glance at Leron.This made Leron even more confused. He sat by Sangfroid's side to stir the pot over the fire he lit up. "Both of you know this goat, but since when?""I don't really know what the goat looks like myself, Your Highness. I have only heard of it from... From someone." Sangfroid had a distant look on his face. "One of Vladstin's victims."Leron now understands. "Oh. I.... I see.""That 'victim' is how we first met." Vladstin said, squatting over beside Leron too. He had a mischievous look on his face as he purposefully hooked an arm around Leron's shoulder "Hey, you wanna hear the story of how we met, bunny?""There is no need to, I can tell him." Sangfroid shoved the hand away."Harsh now, aren't you? But alright, I do like listening to you telling stories. You do have some skill in them." Vladstin said. "I also want to see your perspective during that night."Vladstin was already aware of Sangfroid's perspective because of his dream where he can hear Sangfroid's thoughts, but he's saying this for something else. What he meant was that he would like to hear from Sangfroid's mouth exactly what he thinks about him. Right in front of his beloved Leron, which will be fun."There was a village, Prince Leron. " Sangfroid started. "The Noble Huntsmen were called upon the village....."Meanwhile, Ofelia was waiting to try fish soup for the first time, just humming to herself. She hummed the Butterfly poem that Vladstin presented since she doesn't know the words. It feels much more comfortable being in the water now than in the bucket.Then, she heard something rattling in a nearby shrub. She prick up her ears and listen, swimming farther from the trio to see what it was.....She waited and the leaves stay deadly still. Nothing.Then...."Meeeeeeehhh!"A small creature, just as big as her torso. It was a baby goat, bleating and jumping with its funny legs."Oh. Hello." She had never seen such a creature before, but it reminded her of goat friend.Goat friend is very kind. She remembered that goat friend always give her and her mom gifts, and talk with other friends. She was too young before to remember their names, so she refer to them as Purple Friend and Yellow Friend.Purple Friend is always sighing, like he has a lot of problems that he carries in this world. Yellow Friend comforts him, though he does yell at Yellow Fiend when Yellow Friend gets too close and touch his robes. His robes have strange symbols on them, and whenever Yellow Friend touches those symbols, his hands turn red.Even so, she likes to believe that Purple Friend and Yellow Friend are close and love each other very much.Purple Friend and Yellow Friend now have names. Purple Friend is Sangfroid, Yellow Friend is Vladstin. And there's a new friend, Blue Friend, Leron.Could this baby goat also be a new friend for Ofelia? It looks too small to be a daddy, so she would call it friend.The little goat suddenly talked to her in her own language. "Greetings, siren.""Whoah! Little goat friend could talk!""All goats can. My father was the first one to be gifted with speech by the Hermit. His name is Ari." The goat explained. "And I am Eis. I came to warn you and your family, siren.""What warning?" Ofelia asked."The Hermit wants one of your friends to die, and he had finally made a decision due to the choices they have made in this mountain. One of them passed the test, the other must not lose his life for the future of the world will suffer great consequences, and so the one that was left will surely die.""Goat friend is Hermit, right? Goat friend..... Wants to kill one of friends?" Ofelia felt like crying. "No, Ofelia won't allow it!"The baby goat bleated from being displeased with her. "Don't be too loud, siren. Your friends must not know that I'm here. Only you can. I will bestow upon you a secret. On the next meadow that you will pass from the trail, there is a hibiscus flower laying on the ground. When your friend dies, take the hibiscus flower, and wait for the next full moon.""Feed the essence to him. This will bring your dead friend to life."Ofelia suddenly remembered about her daddies saying they need Daddy Vladstin to 'come back to life' and be human, so she called out. "Wait, little goat friend Eis! If my Daddy Vladstin drank the essence will he come back to life? Is he the one the Hermit will kill?"Eis hesitated for a bit, because he already feel like was saying too much, and his father Ari is a strict one. He will surely be punished once he's caught.But what's done is done. Either way, he will be punished for straying away from his father's sight."No. The hibiscus will not undo a vampire lord's curse. He is not the friend who will die."Ofelia turned back to her three father figures, and felt a pain in her chest. "Then....."It would either be Leron or Sangfroid, who just earlier seem so happy with each other and grew closer.Losing one would make the other distraught beyond compare.
