Chapter 10

In the first few weeks following the new hunting arrangement, there were only two goats killed by wolves, and both of them had been in the company of other goats at the time. While the tragedy of those deaths could not be overstated, there was no doubt that many more deaths would have befallen the Sawa Sawa goat herd if not for the new arrangement. Individual goats were now completely immune from wolf attacks. Pairs and trios of goats were less safe, but since the wolves had learned by now that following the scent of a random goat in the forest was unlikely to result in a viable hunt, they were still far safer than they had been before.

It took the herd a while to come to terms with the new reality, that wandering alone through the forest and the surrounding hills was now safer than remaining with the herd. It went against everything their parents and grandparents had taught them, and the instinctive fear of isolation was difficult to overcome. In time, however, the goats began to grow more comfortable with their new freedom. The near-constant fear that every goat had experienced all of their lives was now lifted, and the herd was happier than ever before.

If that state of affairs could have lasted indefinitely, Grandma would have considered her duty as Elder fulfilled. But alas, the goats weren’t the only ones who were learning to adapt to the new reality.

When the first wolves came to scout the meadow one cloudy night, most of the herd was either asleep or inattentive. No goat saw them until it was too late. Before anyone knew what was going on, a vast ring of wolves had surrounded the meadow and was quickly closing in.

By this point, the bleats of alarm had awoken the entire herd. Everyone fled panicking into the forest in different directions, trying desperately to get away from the wolves or make sure loved ones were safe, or do both at the same time. Since the new rule didn’t apply once an attack had begun, the wolves were free to chase down as many fleeing goats as they pleased.

They killed nine goats that night, more than had been killed at once in as long as anyone could remember. Grandma was certain that if Lala had wanted to, she could have killed almost every goat in the herd. Of course, the wolves would never do that, since that would deprive them of more goats to eat in the future, but it was hard to take the attack as anything other than a display of strength. By taking so many goats at once, Lala had made it quite clear that even with the new hunting rule, the Baku Baku wolf pack was still a force to be reckoned with.

It took Grandma much of the following day to reassemble the herd and determine how many had died in the attack. Many of the surviving goats were unsure whether the meadow they had previously called home was safe for them to return to, either in the immediate future or longer-term. Overnight, the herd’s sense of safety and freedom from worry had been completely shattered.

Soon after midday, Boro arrived with an explanation. “I’m so sorry!” he said. “Lala didn’t tell us she was planning that attack until just before it happened. I couldn’t get away to warn you before we all had to leave. She says that this is the way we’re going to hunt goats now, all of us hunting the herd all at once. Since there are so many more goats than wolves, she says we’re not breaking any rules.”

“You’re not to blame for this,” Grandma said as soothingly as she could manage under the circumstances. “I should have expected that the leader of the Baku Baku wolf pack would do something like this. She knows that you’ve been telling us what you can about the pack’s activities, so it makes sense that she wouldn’t tell you about her plan until it was too late. If you had found a way to tell us about it anyway, it’s possible she would no longer have tolerated your association with us. Please don’t put yourself at risk.” Grandma looked around at the now mostly deserted meadow. Her heart sank. “There will be more attacks like this?”

“Yes,” Boro said. “Not every night, and they won’t kill so many as they did last night, but it will happen often enough to make up for the goats we’re not allowed to hunt anymore. I’m sorry.”

“I see,” Grandma said. “Thank you for telling me.”

She had no idea what to do now. Guaranteeing the safety of individual goats and making small groups of goats safer had seemed like the perfect way of improving the herd’s quality of life, even if it resulted in a slight increase in attacks on larger groups of goats. But she hadn’t expected anything like this. Now the goats of Sawa Sawa Mountain no longer felt safe in their own home, or in any other place where the herd often gathered.

The purpose of a herd was to flock together for safety and a sense of community; if that was no longer possible, then the Sawa Sawa goat herd might cease to exist. Instead, there would just be a forest full of goats with no community to tie them together. Perhaps, Grandma thought, it would be better if things returned to the way they had been before, and she should tell Lala to revoke the new rule. Giving up on what she had thought had been a victory would be frustrating, but she would do it in a heartbeat if it was in the best interest of the herd.

Grandma wondered if she had succeeded in making the herd indispensable to the wolves to such an extent that she could make additional demands of them. If she told Lala that if these mass attacks continued, she would stop sending Mii to heal them and stop preventing the Gara Gara wolf pack from attacking, how would Lala respond? It would risk undoing everything she had worked to achieve: not just the restrictions on hunting, but also the beginnings of friendly cooperation with the wolves, which were in a way just as valuable.

When Boro had left, Grandma gathered together what was left of the herd. There was a general sense that something needed to be said, and it wouldn’t be proper for her to delay any longer.

“The tragedy that befell us last night cannot be allowed to happen again,” she told the herd. “The Baku Baku wolf pack has decided that hunting us in our own home is their best option, now that we have forbidden them from hunting us while we are isolated.

“But the wolves have forgotten, and perhaps many of us have forgotten too, that together is when we are strongest. There is a reason why wolves ordinarily prefer to hunt single goats, and why we have horns. A single goat cannot hope to defend themself against even a single wolf, but here in our own home, we number far more than them.

“This is not the last time the wolves will attack us here, but it is the last time they will catch us unprepared. We will set up patrols, like the wolves themselves do, to alert the herd before an attack begins. When the attack starts, we will not isolate ourselves. Instead, every one of us who is able to fight will surround those who cannot. Each of us will not face the wolves alone, but with the support and protection of those either side of us. If the wolves dare to attack us when we are together, they will remember why we have horns.

“Mii, you are to refuse to treat any injury that a wolf sustains while attacking a goat. If Lala objects to this, tell her to speak to me directly. Tapu, please take charge of organising the patrols and reminding us how to defend ourselves against an attacking wolf. We will practise tonight.”

When the herd had dispersed, fearful at the prospect of facing the wolves head-on but relieved that someone had a plan, Ugui fluttered down to meet Grandma.

“I would normally have to report something like this to Lala,” the warbler said, “although I could pretend I was out foraging and missed it.”

“Please tell her, Ugui,” Grandma said. “Make sure she also hears the part about Mii not treating wolves who cause themselves to be injured while attacking us. She won’t be able to confront Mii about that until it after it happens without revealing to us that someone is passing information to her. It may make her think twice about sending more wolves to attack us here.”

“So that’s why you said that in front of everyone. All right, I’ll tell her right away.”

Meanwhile, Tapu was getting into the spirit of things. “Attention, I want every able-bodied goat to gather around me!” he shouted.

“Are you sure he’s the right person to be leading this?” Mii whispered.

“Hurry up!”

“He has confidence,” Grandma replied, “and that will inspire the herd to be bold. That’s what we need right now more than anything else.”

“You!” Tapu shouted at a luckless goat who had been one of the few to have taken him seriously. “Grandma put me in charge. Go and gather everyone together so we can get started.”

In the end, Tapu gave the herd a very informative lesson on his ideas for driving off an attacking wolf using hoof and horn, and many of the watching goats left feeling marginally more confident than they had been before.

Shortly after that episode had concluded, Grandma received a visit from Rōjin. “Many of us are quite concerned by the idea of being caught up in another attack,” the elderly goat said. “I’m not convinced that this plan of yours to fight back against the wolves is going to work, Mari.”

Truth be told, Grandma wasn’t sure either, but it was better than any alternative plan she could think of. “I understand,” she said. “Anyone who wishes to spend the night on their own is welcome to do so.”

“You know as well as I do that for many of us, being alone at night isn’t a safe option.”

“Indeed,” Grandma said. “When the wolves come, the choice we must make is whether to all fight together or all flee together. Neither option is appealing, I know, but I’m certain that defending ourselves is our best chance under the circumstances.”

“Your point is well made,” Rōjin said. “Even so, many of us are not willing to take that risk, or do not have the strength to fight. A group of us has decided to depart immediately for Moko Moko Mountain, where we will spend the night.”

“If the wolves find you there, you’ll have no chance to escape, nor to defend yourselves,” Grandma said.

“We will take care to hide our tracks. I’m sorry about this, Mari.”

“There’s no need to apologise. I wish you luck.”

Grandma didn’t expect the wolves to attack again that night. Even so, when nighttime came, it reassured her to think that everyone in the herd was on alert. Their numbers were reduced slightly by those who had gone with Rōjin to Moko Moko Mountain, but most of those goats wouldn’t have been able to put up much of a fight anyway. Still, the more goats remained with the herd, the better their chances of successfully defending themselves when the time inevitably came.

Tapu had done an excellent job of getting everyone organised. He had assigned patrol duties to the goats with the best eyesight, who were currently walking around the edge of the meadow in shifts to make sure no wolves were creeping through the trees.

The plan for tonight was to test the herd’s ability to group together and defend itself against an attack. As such, when the bleat of alarm came from the edge of the meadow, everyone was mostly certain that it was a test rather than a real wolf attack. For the first few precious moments, however, there was the slightest hint of doubt about that. No one wanted to assume it was a test, just in case they were wrong. That uncertainty may have contributed to how quickly the herd gathered together into a close-knit group. Grandma and Tapu stood apart from it to watch how the herd behaved.

There was a large amount of confusion at the edge of the group. It looked to Grandma like there were fewer goats who wanted to be on the outside than were required to be for reasons of simple geometry. A few brave goats were pushing to join the outer ring at the same time as many more fearful goats were pushing to get away from it. There was also a number of children of a certain age who wanted to help defend the herd or to see what was going on, but whose parents were frantically trying to keep them safe in the middle of the group.

“No!” Tapu cried. “You’re not doing it like we practised. If this was a real wolf attack, half of you would be easy targets.”

“I know this is scary,” Grandma said, “but you and your loved ones will be safest if everyone works together. Please, everyone calm down and do what Tapu tells you.”

The herd finally settled and waited for further instruction.

“Everyone who’s on the outside right now, turn to face outward,” Tapu said. “That goes for everyone on the far side from me too; the wolves will attack from all directions at once. Good. Now, anyone who wants to be on the outside but isn’t already, come forward. The rest of you, spread out to make room for them.”

A few more people came forward. Not as many as Grandma would have liked, but at least the goats who were previously panicking were now less exposed.

“Okay,” Tapu said, “those of you I picked out earlier, we’re going to pretend to be wolves, and the rest of you are going to stop us from killing anyone.”

Six goats exited the group, including Mii. She had picked up some acting tips from Gabu and Mei’s theatre group and had insisted on being included. Indeed, Mii made a very convincing snarling sound as she and the others circled menacingly around the herd.

Now that they were faced with an actual threat—albeit one that wasn’t actually very threatening—the goats on the outside of the group began taking their duty as defenders more seriously. Even those who had been reluctant to form part of the outer ring didn’t back away when the faux-wolves lunged at them. A few bold goats made threatening gestures with their horns back at the attackers.

All in all, they would be lucky if they succeeded in defending against a real wolf attack, but it was not a bad start.

In the morning, Rōjin and his group returned from Moko Moko Mountain. Rōjin left again that evening, but this time some of his group decided (correctly, in Grandma’s opinion) that staying at Sawa Sawa Mountain was safer than isolating themselves. The evening after that, Rōjin too stayed with the herd.

The second real attack came a few days later, on the night before Mii was due to go on her first healing visit since before the first attack. The herd had continued to practise each night, and their preparations to defend themselves were now significantly faster and more organised. When the bleat of alarm came, louder and more urgent than when they had been practising, everyone knew instinctively that this time was different.

The herd barely had a chance to gather together, with Grandma on the outside of the group alongside Tapu and Mii, before the wolves surrounded them on all sides, snarling and poised to attack. In the darkness, their eyes seemed to glow yellow. Grandma wondered how many of them Mii recognised, or had helped to treat over the past few weeks.

Although the wolves weren’t attacking, fear and doubt began to overtake the herd’s confidence under the glare of those bright yellow eyes. Goats shifted uneasily in the middle of the group, but the outer ring remained solid.

“Well, isn’t this a pleasant welcome?” the leader of the Baku Baku wolf pack said as she stepped out of the shadows, smiling sweetly at Grandma. Boro was at her side, looking very apologetic.

Grandma stepped forward, out of the group. Tapu hissed, “Grandma, no!” but she ignored him and walked to stand a respectful distance in front of Lala and Boro.

“I dearly wish we could say the same,” Grandma said.

“Oh, this?” Lala said, gesturing with a paw at the snarling wolves surrounding the herd. “You can’t blame us for that, can you? We’re bloodthirsty wolves, after all, and we’re following all of your rules.”

“You took many more lives than you needed to that night,” Grandma said. “That was unkind of you.”

Lala gave a short bark of a laugh. “I don’t recall kindness being part of any agreement. But if you want us to go about this more civilly…” Lala stepped past Grandma and cast her gaze over the herd. “Your Elder says I should be kind to you,” she said to them, “so here’s my offer. We only want three goats tonight, so if anyone wants to volunteer, all you have to do is step forward.”

Grandma watched, hoping no one would be foolish enough to do so.

“No?” Lala said. “How about you, your Elderliness?”

“One of our stipulations, you will recall, was that no one will be asked to sacrifice ourselves to you willingly,” Grandma said.

“Fine, we can do this the hard way,” Lala said. “But first, so that we don’t inadvertently break any of our agreements, why don’t we have all mothers and children step to the side? I promise they won’t be harmed.”

Again, no one moved. “Please could all mothers, children and their immediate family members move calmly to the centre of the group?” Grandma said. Slowly, goats in the middle of the group started to move. Everyone was getting particularly agitated now.

Suddenly, a goat broke free from the group and started running in the direction of the forest. Grandma didn’t see who it was. Lala and the other wolves watched them go but didn’t move. After seeing that the fleeing goat had been allowed to leave unharmed, another goat, whom Grandma recognised as Yori, tentatively stepped away from the group.

“Stay together!” Tapu called, but Yori ignored him. She carefully walked between the pair of wolves closest to her, glancing from one to the other to make sure they weren’t going to attack, and then ran into the trees. A third goat, Nobu, did the same despite Tapu’s repeated insistence that everyone stay with the herd.

Lala turned to Boro. “None of those were mothers or children, were they?”

Boro hesitated for several seconds, and then shook his head.

“Good,” Lala said calmly. “Kill those three. After that, we’re done here.”

Immediately, the wolves who had been surrounding the herd ran in the directions the three goats had fled in. Lala herself turned and walked away without another word. Boro gave one last apologetic look to Grandma before following after Lala.

Grandma and the rest of the Sawa Sawa goat herd, now three members fewer than they had been just a moment ago, were left in the quiet, empty meadow.