Epilogue

Much had happened in the two weeks following that day. After discussing the matter at length, the goats had agreed to change their name to the Sora Sora Herd. Elder Rōjin assured everyone that they could continue to think of themselves as the Sawa Sawa herd if they wished, and that during this transitional period, the herd would go by both names. Despite this, Remi was making an effort to use the new name as much as she could.

Apparently, the wolves’ decision to officially call themselves the Sora Sora Pack had also come after a discussion, and even a vote, a concept that many wolves were still somewhat bemused by. Traditionally, pack leaders made decisions and the rest of the pack was expected to either accept these decisions or leave. Democracy was an unfamiliar concept to them, but at Lala’s insistence they were giving it a try.

When Remi mentioned this to Mii, the healer had speculated that perhaps Lala’s brand of democracy was nothing more than the pack doing what she wanted them to while thinking it was their own idea. Remi wasn’t so sure about that, though. It was almost as if their association with the herd had made the wolves a little more goatlike. It wasn’t just the introduction of group decision-making; it was the way the wolves thought about things like justice, right and wrong, and their place in the world. At least, that was the impression Remi got from talking to Lolo about it, with whom she found herself spending more and more time lately.

She wondered what effect the wolves might be having on the herd, and whether they would know it was happening, or whether they would simply wake up one day to find themselves just a little more wolflike than they had been before. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. After all, it wasn’t as if any goats would suddenly develop a hunger for meat, and the wolves had many positive qualities to recommend them if you overlooked their diet.

Things were changing fast. It seemed like only yesterday that hardly any goats would have dared be in the same meadow as a wolf, but now such gatherings were starting to become a regular occurrence. Every wolf had met at least one goat, and all but the most stubborn goats had spoken to at least one wolf. They were starting to think of one another as people, rather than just predator and prey. Getting to this point hadn’t been easy. Remi and Bima had each spent many hours talking to their fellow mother goats, trying to convince them that friendship with the wolves was in everyone’s best interests. Especially their children’s, who would hopefully grow up into a world where their lives would never be threatened by wolf attacks.

At one point, Remi had told them about her recent arrangement with Lolo. The two of them had started taking turns looking after each other’s children when the other needed a break from the near-constant stress of motherhood. One day Lolo would look after Yū, and another day Remi would look after Lolo’s pups. When they heard this, the other goats had been aghast at the thought of Remi leaving Yū alone with a wolf, but as Remi had told them, “No mother with even the slightest bit of empathy would harm a child she was entrusted to take care of. And believe me, most of those wolves have no less empathy than you or I do.” After all, who better to keep her child safe than a wolf? It wasn’t unheard of for foxes, cats or even large birds to occasionally attack a young goat who had strayed from the herd. None of those animals would dare to attack a goat if there was a wolf nearby.

Of course, these past couple of weeks, the herd had rarely been without at least one wolf nearby. Mei and Gabu had decided to stay in the forest, away from the rest of the herd, since some of the other goats weren’t comfortable with Gabu spending the night in the meadow, and Gabu preferred not to stay at Baku Baku Valley. Still, they spent most days with either the herd or the pack, introducing one another to everyone they knew. Naturally, Mei was still taking Grandma’s death hard, but whenever they were with Gabu, and especially when they were introducing Gabu to the people they had grown up with, Mei smiled as if they were the happiest goat in the world.

Mei acted differently now, Remi had noticed. They weren’t the young adult they had been when she had last known them. They were more mature, more considerate of how their words and actions affected other people, and more confident in themself. Grandma must have been so proud of them. Remi knew that Mei had complex feelings towards the herd in general after the way they had all reacted to his relationship with Gabu. A few days after the two of them arrived, she had taken him aside and apologised for her part in this. Mei had told her he forgave her, and Remi believed he really meant it.

Today, everyone was gathered together in the meadow of Sawa Sawa Mountain, one of the few open spaces large enough to accommodate an entire goat herd and an entire wolf pack all at once. The wolves mostly kept to themselves, but a few of them stood alongside and chatted with the goats as they waited for the meeting to commence.

Gabu and Mei stood at the back of the gathering, so close together that their sides were touching. From time to time, Mei would look to Gabu, or Gabu would look to Mei, and they would smile wordlessly at each other. Remi found it utterly adorable to watch.

Yū laughed with delight as she, Aiju and Lolo’s pups chased and played with one another between the adults’ hooves and paws. Lolo had assured them that the pups were still too young to be a danger to their daughters, and while Bima still kept a close watch over Aiju to make sure she remained safe, Remi trusted Lolo’s judgement. She gave the children only minimal supervision as they played, the same as she would if Yū were playing with other goats. The adult wolves might have posed more of a threat to her daughter’s safety, but Remi had by now met and spoken with each of them individually, and they all seemed like decent people who wouldn’t do anything so heinous as harming a child on an occasion like this.

At last, Elder Rōjin addressed the crowd. “Welcome, everyone, to the first official meeting of the Sora Sora Alliance. Elder Mari—Grandma, as I’m sure she will always be known to us—dedicated the final months of her life to reconciling the countless generations of animosity that have existed between our peoples. It was her dream that, for the betterment of all of us, we could learn to overcome our differences and coexist in harmony with one another. As Grandma taught us, we may come from opposite sides of the river, but we all live under the same sky.

“Our journey towards mutual understanding and cooperation began exactly four months ago today, with an agreement that each party agreed to for their own selfish reasons. The Baku Baku wolf pack, as it was then known, received the services of our excellent healer Mii, and the Sawa Sawa herd received a guarantee of safety for our mothers and children. Both sides benefited from the agreement, but neither acted with the interests of the other solely in mind.

“From today, we vow to approach the help we provide to one another differently. We of the Sora Sora Alliance pledge to offer what assistance we can when one of our number is in need of help. Wolves will help goats, goats will help wolves, wolves will help wolves, and goats will help goats. We will help because it is the right thing to do, not for any reward, and regardless of anyone’s species. From this, all of us will benefit.”

Lala, standing beside Elder Rōjin, said, “We 0f the Sora Sora Alliance pledge never to wield our claws, fangs or horns against another member of the alliance out of hunger or malice. We shall exist peacefully with one another, and shall not employ violence or coercion against any wolf or goat. The leader of the Sora Sora Pack shall henceforth be chosen by group consensus, rather than by a contest of strength.”

“You know we wouldn’t follow anyone but you, Lala,” a wolf Remi couldn’t remember the name of called out from the crowd. Although not every wolf seemed to agree with that sentiment, enough of them did that Remi was quite certain Lala’s position was safe.

Lala ignored that remark and continued, “No one shall be ostracised for whom they chose to associate with. I would like to formally extend my apologies to Gabu and Mei for how they were treated by us in the past.”

“Goodness me,” Remi heard Bima say from nearby.

She was just about to tell Bima to be quiet when another goat said, “Is that a deer?” and a wave of murmurs began to spread through the assembled goats and wolves. Lala and Elder Rōjin turned around just as Remi saw what had caused the commotion.

Behind the two leaders, a young stag was making his way apprehensively towards them from the direction of the forest. His body was tensed as if about to run, in case the wolves decided it was time for a snack. When he was close enough for his voice to reach them, he cleared his throat and said, “We have heard that the wolves are forming an alliance with the goat herd. Is this true?”

“That’s right,” Elder Rōjin said gently, taking a few steps towards the stag. “We have agreed to look out for one another’s best interests.”

“And they won’t attack you?” the stag said.

“We have sworn not to,” Lala said.

“My herd wishes to join this alliance,” he said, staring defiantly at Lala as if expecting her to refuse.

In fact, Lala appeared uncertain. She looked questioningly at Elder Rōjin, who looked at the stag thoughtfully. “I suppose, in the spirit of the alliance…” the Elder began uncertainly. “But the practicalities… I’m not sure quite what to say.”

Remi saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw Mei making his way through the crowd, Gabu following at his side. “I think you should be allowed to join,” Mei said to the stag. “This forest is your home as much as it is ours.”

Gabu nodded in agreement. “We can’t promise not to eat you, since we need to eat, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all be friends with one another.”

Mii stepped forward out of the crowd. “If you join our alliance, we can help to heal members of your herd if they get sick, and you can teach us anything you might know about herbal remedies that we don’t.”

“And we can guarantee you protection from any other wolf packs that might invade our territory,” Lala said.

“But you won’t promise not to eat us?” the stag said, looking more than a little disappointed. “Why do you guarantee the goats safety but not us?”

“As Gabu said, we need to eat,” Lala said. “We and the goats have a special understanding. If that was the only reason you wanted to join—”

“No, he’s right,” Mei interrupted. Everyone turned to look at them in surprise, Gabu included. “Grandma believed that all of us matter just as much as everyone else, and a lot of clever people I’ve spoken to agree. If we want the Sora Sora Alliance to really mean something, then it isn’t fair for goats to get special treatment. There can’t be a rule against eating goats but not against eating any other animals who want to join.”

The herd all stared at Mei in disbelief. Remi couldn’t quite believe it either. Was Mei really saying what she thought they were saying?

Lala too looked at him askance. “I understand your desire for equal treatment, but if we let any animal join the alliance and promise not to eat them, you can be sure that every animal in the forest will have joined before the day is out. Besides, we have already promised not to hunt goats. Would Grandma really have wanted you to make us go back on that promise?”

“I don’t know.” Mei lowered their head. “She isn’t here for me to ask. But no one’s forcing you to eat goats. There just can’t be a rule that says you’re not allowed to. When Grandma visited us in the Emerald Forest last year, she came with us to hear a lesson a dear friend of ours was giving about philosophy. It was about an idea called contractualism that says we can decide if a rule is right by considering if anyone affected by that rule could object to it, so long as their objections are reasonable. If you have enough rules that no one has a problem with, and which take everyone’s needs into consideration, you can build a society that everyone’s happy to live in.”

“I remember her mentioning that,” Elder Rōjin said. “She seemed quite fond of the idea.”

“Right,” Mei said. “And that’s kind of like what we’re doing now. We can’t enforce a rule that says wolves aren’t allowed to hunt other members of the alliance, because if enough animals join then the wolves won’t have anything to eat. We also can’t enforce a rule against eating just goats, since then the other animals will be hunted more often, and that isn’t fair to them.”

“Oh,” Gabu said. “I didn’t understand that when Takkan explained it, but I think I get it now.”

“Are you sure about this, Mei?” Elder Rōjin said.

“No, I’m not sure,” Mei said. “I’m worried that I’m undoing the most incredible thing my grandmother ever did. But I’m sure that she wouldn’t want us to treat other animals unfairly. That’s not the kind of person she was.”

“If I have no power to punish wolves for eating goats,” Lala said, “I’m not sure how this alliance can function. How can goats associate freely with wolves without a guarantee of safety?”

“There’s never a guarantee of safety,” Boro said from the crowd. “Some wolves will make mistakes, and there’s always a risk of that. We all just have to do our best.”

“Besides,” Mii said, “weren’t we just saying what a good idea it would be for the deer to join, even without a guarantee?”

“What if the wolves agreed to only hunt at night?” Gabu said. “That’s what I do back in the Emerald Forest, so everyone knows that in the daytime I’m safe to be around. Could anyone object to that?”

“Nocturnal animals, perhaps,” Elder Rōjin said, “but it’s better than any idea I can think of.”

“We could agree to that,” Lala said. She turned back to the stag, who Remi in all the excitement had almost forgotten was there. The wolf smiled, her lips carefully covering her teeth. “So, what do you say?”

“This whole thing isn’t quite what I had expected,” the stag said. “To be honest, we had all thought that the goats had somehow tricked you. But that isn’t right, is it? You all actually care about this.”

Lala nodded her head solemnly. “It took some of us a while, but yes, we do.”

“I’m not sure what my herd will say about this, but I’ll ask them.” With that, the stag began walking hurriedly back towards the forest, keeping an eye on the nearest wolves in case they changed their minds about eating him.

“Hmm,” Elder Rōjin said, “I wonder if our new name might soon become ambiguous.”

“This is starting to become something bigger, isn’t it?” Gabu said.

“Yeah, I think it might be,” Mei said, still watching the stag walk across the meadow.

Gabu smiled to himself. “And to think that it all started just because a goat and a wolf happened to become friends.”

“The ripples you two leave behind extend further than you could possibly imagine,” Lala said. “Everyone who hears your story is pulled into it, is changed by it, becomes a part of it.” She laughed self-deprecatingly. “They all get the ridiculous notion that the world can be a better place if we just act like better people. And the thing about an idea like that is if enough people believe it, it becomes true.”

“You really think that idea is ridiculous?” Boro said.

“Of course it is,” Lala said. “I’m just glad all of us are foolish enough to believe it anyway.”

“You know,” Mii said, “another word that used to mean foolish is ‘nice.’”

“Well, that just goes to show, doesn’t it?” Lala said. “Gabu and Mei, you make the world a nicer place.”

“Thanks,” Mei said. “I think.”

“I don’t know about any of that,” Gabu said, smiling warmly. “I’m just so happy all of us can be friends now. This is a dream come true.”

“Yes, it is,” Mei said, looking out towards Kira Kira Hill. “Thanks, Grandma.”

Not long after that day, it soon came time for Gabu and Mei to return to the Emerald Forest. Mii, Tapu, Boro, and even Zack and Beach all promised to visit them there someday soon. It was with a heavy heart that Mei took one last look at the meadow they had called home. Grandma had died there, and they would always associate it with that. But also, Grandma had lived there. This was where so many wonderful things had happened.

Speaking of places where wonderful things had happened, Gabu and Mei decided as they were leaving to pay a visit to the old barn where they had first met. They looked at it, grinned mischievously at one another, and then said in unison, “We met one stormy night!” They also took a detour to pass by the hill where they’d gone on that first picnic, laughing together about how badly it had gone. Finally, they returned to that spot on the river—calm today, as it was most days—where they had made the decision to leave everything else behind and be together, no matter what the consequences.

“You know, I don’t regret any of it,” Gabu said. “Even all the bad stuff, and all the things that could have gone much worse than they did. It was all worth it.”

“Yeah,” Mei said.

As the two of them made their way back towards the life they had made for themselves, the ripples they left in their wake spread far and wide. The love they felt for one another resonated in the hearts and minds of all who cared about them, and truly made the world a better place.