A/N* Bonus Chapter!
Aubrey cracked her knuckles, hanging her jean jacket on a fencepost before taking the staff from Bucky's hand. She circled around the goats, moving them into a group. One of the males baahed and her but she hissed and he tilted his head before joining the rest of the herd. Bucky leaned against the corral, a brow raised as he smirked.
"I'm gonna do it" she snarked, guiding the herd towards the direction of the pen.
"Oh yeah...of course you will" his voice dripped with sarcasm as he pulled open the gate. The moment it opened, the goats seemed to know where they were supposed to go. The herd surged left, away from the corral. Aubrey's eyes widened but she knew she had to get them in there or she'd never hear the end of it. One look at Bucky's smirking face put her back to work. Her hand shot out and the Nano's slithered in a mass out of the pores in her hand, they formed another, longer staff. It clipped the front of a goat's face and they turned back towards the corral, using both staffs, Aubrey guided them towards the pen.
"Not fair. You should only use one arm." Bucky pushed off of the fence, the smug look on his face wiped off at the sight of her nearing the corral.
"You just don't wanna lose" they came to the entrance and the first few went in, shoulders slumping in defeat. But as the last, large male came to the gate, he turned, snorting and slashing the air with his horns. Aubrey's eyes widened as the goat bolted towards her, horns pointed at her stomach. She dodged out of the way, attempting to grab the horns but failing. The goat turned, pawing the ground as she changed her stance, prepared this time to grab him. Just as the angry animal took a step forward, a mass of white and gray fur slammed into its side, snarling. Aubrey's eyes widened and she immediately jumped into action, worried Glacier would hurt the goat. She called his name but the protective dog had his jaw on the goat's throat. It baahed, gasping for breath as she wrapped her arms around the Husky's middle and pulled, hard.
The heavy dog hesitated before abruptly letting go, throwing Aubrey off balance. A noise made its way out of her mouth as she tipped backward, mind running through what the goat would do when it saw her down...and what Glacier would do. But she didn't tip back far, instead, Aubrey felt herself land on a mass of muscle. An arm wrapped around her waist as Glacier wiggled back and forth, growling. Bucky's breath puffed onto her neck as he helped her get her bearings. His arm left her waist feeling oddly cold as he took hold of Glacier's collar, a worried look in his eyes as she set the dog on the ground. Glacier lunged at the goat again but Bucky's arm kept him in place. Leaning forward to catch her breath, Aubrey shook her head in disbelief. Bucky's concerned gaze was on her as he growled.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah...I think so." She did a check, finding several scratches on her legs but nothing serious. The goat had gotten to his feet and was panting heavily, a scared gleam in his eye. Slowly, she crouched and crawled towards it, noting the small puncture wounds on its neck. He let her come close and she assessed the wounds before guiding the tired goat into the pen where the rest of the herd watched fearfully. Turning back to Bucky and Glacier, she frowned, why had he gone into such a frenzy? Glacier now stood in one place, panting heavily, his eyes trained on the goats and a low growl reverberating in his throat. Cautiously, Aubrey skirted around Bucky to crouch in front of Glacier. His mismatched eyes trained on her face and his posture relaxed.
"Hi bud-" she gave him a small smile "-Are you gonna calm down for me?"
He whimpered, staring at the ground as his tail drooped. Tentatively, she reached and scratched his ears, whispering "that's my boy". Bucky's hand let go of Glacier's collar and he stepped back, rolling his shoulders before heading towards the goat corral to check the herd. Glacier padded forward, resting his chin on her knee, whining. Aubrey cupped his head in her hands, stroking his soft head.
"I understand what you were trying to do, but I had it under control, mister Glacier. Next time just stand by, alrighty?"
He woofed softly, licking her cheek in apology. "Yes, I love you too" she tapped him on the nose before standing and turning to where Bucky stood inside the goat pen.
"Is he alright?" she pushed onto the fenceline, jumping into the corral. Bucky knelt by the male and fingered the wounds.
"He'll live, I'll just put some ointment on the bite marks. Thankfully your dog didn't bite deep."
She nodded, "Good...that's good. 'M so-" but he cut her off, straightening and giving her a harsh look
"You have nothing to be sorry about Brie. It was the dog's fault for jumping on him and mine for not intervening earlier. Are you sure you're okay?" His eyes traced her form, stopping at the scratches on his legs.
"I'm fine...really Bucky" she added after a moment. "It's just a couple scratches, we've both had worse."
He looked unsure but nodded, letting her go out the gate first. The sun had started to set and he followed her to the horse paddock. They crowded around the gate, nickering for dinner. The lean-to by the pen opened easily and the smell of hay wafted out. Bucky hovered by the entrance as she lugged out a bale of hay. Bucky tried to take it from her but she shrugged him off.
"You only have one arm for Pete's sake. Don't be weird." pushing past him, she threw the bale over the fence before moving it into the hay feeder. Winslow nudged her shoulder, Mesa nibbling on her jacket. Fern shoved his head into the hay, chomping loudly. Wind and June hung back, timider than the rest of the herd. Aubrey snickered, gently moving Mesa's head from her shirt to the hay
"My shirt isn't food silly boy, this is yummier." Backing away to let them eat, she leaned back against the round railing. Bucky rested forward on his elbow, comfortably leaning against her arm. A bug buzzed around her ear and she startled, slapping it away.
"I hate bugs-" she growled, waving away another one, resisting the urge to smash the insects."-I was thinking we could ride the horses to the market tomorrow. Take the goats milk to trade and introduce ourselves...unless you don't want to come" she added, noting the frown on his face
"I do want to come, I just don't think that you're going to get anything outta those goats. They hate us"
"They'll give us some milk...or I'll feed 'em to Glacier" she growled before chuckling with Bucky.
"You're scary enough to scare the milk outta them-" he grinned, bumping her shoulder "- now how bout some more of that stew you made last night?"
"I think I can do that" she slid over the railing, freezing at the sound of crashing coming from her hut. "Uh oh"
"That Dog. I swear Brie if you weren't here…He's uncontrollable!"
"He's just excited Bucky, it's a new home with new things. Give him some time to settle down and he'll be golden"
"You hope" he mumbled under his breath.
"He will...I think" she finished, pulling open the door to her hut and groaning. Bucky looked over her shoulder and muttered a curse under his breath before growling
"I'm going to strangle that dog"
Aubrey stayed quiet, taking in the mess...right at this moment...she wouldn't stop him.