Seventh Floor Snippets
Chapter 6: You’ve Goat to be Kidding me
Link:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17666999/chapters/62465074
————
A smile rested on his face as he looked to the wooden fence ahead, and you had to giggle. He raised an eyebrow. “I honestly thought you were just humoring me coming out here,” you explained, “but you seem like you’re enjoying yourself already. Do we need to plan a getaway to a ranch or something?”
“I appreciate the function of animals being put to use,” he said. “And if such a use includes bringing joy to you, I would say it is a function well served. However, since you would present the option, the idea of a ranch of one sort or another is intriguing… would you enjoy such a place?”
You shrugged. “I would have fun if you would.” Then you froze in your tracks, and turned a suspicious eye to him. “Wait. Are you talking about visiting a ranch… or are you asking if I would enjoy having a ranch?”
“Which would you prefer to discuss?”
You raised your eyebrows at him and prepared a remark on how not everything had to be over the top, when a noise tickled your ear.
A bleat.
You gasped and turned in the direction of the sound. There, staring at you from between the fence posts, was a baby goat. The smallest baby goat you had ever seen.
“Ohhh, Demi, look at this guy!” you said, making a mental note to return to the subject later, so as to prevent the sudden acquisition of a large ranch. “So little! And he’s so friendly, look at that tail go!” The closer you came, the faster the tuft of white swung. “Think there’s a gate to this pen?”
You looked up and down the edges of the enclosure, spotting one of the far end, a long ways from both you and the baby goat. “Aw… well, we should get walking—?!”
Demiurge had swept you up in an arm, swung his legs over the fence, and set you back down, all while watching the little white goat.
“Or, uh, or that, that works too,” you said, “but I can walk to the gate next time, it’s ok.”
He kept watching the goat.
“...Demi?”
“There is something… different about this creature,” he murmured, squatting down and holding a hand out to it. It trotted over, pushing his palm over its head to rub between it’s ears. Demi did so.
“He does seem to like you,” you agreed, kneeling down as well. Another goat meandered over and you scratched it’s head in a similar manner. It left quickly after realizing you had no treats to offer. Demiurge’s goat had propped its front hooves on his thigh, and was prodding it’s nose against his torso before bleating again and dropping down for more head pets. “Really like you.”
“He feels… familiar.”
“Familiar?”
Demiurge’s brow was furrowed. “Yes. There was a skill, one that I knew to be held by…” He paused. “It is more than likely nothing.”
————
Is it nothing, Demi? Is it?? Orrr is it a cameo of Shepard from HalfPrince’s fic Lamb of Great Disaster??
I’ve had a great time reading this fic, and since the summary includes an open invitation to write Shepard, I wanted to give a go at characterizing the little rascal! I’m really happy I did; I got a few giggles out of writing this, and I hope you do too!!
Check out the fic that inspired this chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24702070/chapters/59702719
