B30C15 - Acquire Goat

<I think mountain goats might be a bit more intelligent than cattle, Ax,> I said. <And a bit more aggressive. These guys look like they mean business.>

<Look at the shoulders on that one staring at me,> Tobias said nervously. <He's like a line-backer or something.>

<Yes, acquiring one might be quite a challenge.> Ax observed. <Perhaps we should choose one that is asleep.>

<Good idea.> I lifted off and flew to a ledge outside a small cave. Tobias and Ax followed. I'd seen one large shape inside. Yup. A big mountain goat, asleep. Male? I couldn't tell. All of the goats had black horns and beards though I figured some had to be female.

Ax and I demorphed quietly a few feet away. The fake mountain hadn't looked like all that much when we were birds. As a human, though, the ground looked a long way down.

I swayed and grabbed some rock.

Then I began to crawl over toward the massive, shaggy white beast.

"What if he wakes up?" I said.

<This is your little picnic, you tell me,> Tobias sniped.

I sighed. "Tobias, look, get up off my back, okay? I know you're thinking Jake will blame you if this all goes bad. But we need to just get along, here, okay?"

Tobias laughed. <Okay. I'm done pouting. Unless we end up getting kicked cross-country by these big goats. Then I'll pout plenty.>

I stepped closer. Dumb to be scared of a goat. All the animals I'd been near. All the animals I'd been, and I was worried by a goat?

I placed my hand on its side. It looked at me.

"Please don't shove your horns into my kidneys," I said pleasantly.

It stirred. I wanted to pull back. But that would have been the wrong move.

My hand touched rough fur. I focused. I needed to begin acquiring this big boy right now.

The goat seemed about ready to spring up and butt me into the next dimension. But then it settled down as the acquiring trance took hold.

Ax clopped forward and when I withdrew my hand, he laid his own on the goat. Tobias was last.

<Come on, you guys,> he said when he'd hopped off the back of the sleeping goat. <Morph and let's get out of here before it wakes up.>