cowdude and snek 5ever

There was a snake on his territory. Granted, it wasn’t so much his territory as it was the cattle’s, but they seemed fine with sharing. More than happy to, in fact, because Coyote would protect them from predators and help keep them safe and all he asked for in return was a place to call home. He didn’t know whether they understood the mutual relationship they had with him or if they just didn’t mind his presence, but he had decided to stop pondering subjects such as that long ago. It weighed too heavily in his mind - in his heart - to think about. He knew he didn’t belong in the village with the others of his kind. It wasn’t that the other Faunids shunned him or anything of the sort - quite the opposite, in fact. They had always been welcoming towards him on the rare occasions he entered the village, even when he received odd stares from Fauns not quite sure what to make of him. No, the issue had nothing to do with anyone else. It was internal, a sense of alienation when he found himself surrounded by those he should feel most comfortable with. He didn’t know how to describe it, didn’t know what was wrong with him, didn’t know why, didn’t know...

There was a snake on his territory. Nothing new, certainly. On any given day he would find countless reptiles exploring the grasslands, hunting and sunbathing and whatever else reptiles did in their free time. But this one was different from the normal rattlesnakes he encountered that were too wary to come near the herd. This one was slithering far too close to a newborn calf for Coyote’s liking, massive body weaving through the dry grass as it moved towards its target. He immediately bolted to put himself between predator and prey, reaching around his flank to unsheathe his knife. He never enjoyed killing, especially not reptiles, but he had to protect his herd. It was his duty to them, his sole purpose in life. Protect them or die trying.

But then the rattlesnake lifted its head out of the grass to look Coyote in the eye, and he froze in shock, eyes wide and knife on the verge of slipping out of his teeth.

There was a snake. On his territory. Wearing what could only be described as some sort of tiny hat. (Where did it get the hat? Why did it have a hat? Coyote had endless questions that he doubted would ever be answered.)

A forked tongue flicked out at him as though to mock him for his incredulity. “What kind of self-respecting Faunid has never seen a snake with a hat before?” it seemed to say, internally laughing at Coyote’s stupidity. Rude.

Before Coyote could retort something aloud that would likely even have the cows worried for his sanity, the snake launched itself at him with far more velocity than any rattlesnake should ever possess. He flinched violently at the sudden movement, throwing his head back in an attempt to shake the predator off. But the snake didn’t budge as it perched itself woven between his antlers, head resting against Coyote’s forehead as though to absorb as much of his body heat as possible. He wasn’t sure what had happened or why, but the reptile certainly wasn’t much of a threat, so he slid his knife back into its sheath. The creature tangled in his rack flicked out its tongue again, in a gesture Coyote could only interpret to mean contentment. 

There was a snake on his territory. A snake that had apparently declared Coyote its new home, happily nestled on his head and completely betraying a rattlesnake’s natural instincts. And Coyote loved it. He loved his new buddy more than he had ever loved any other creature before in his life. By complete accident, he had found his new best friend.