The Stories

 Here I shall post stories I have written of my characters, be it to win them or just for fun.

The Way Home

Aurican's Story

The air was dense around the large winged body that padded the grassland as fog clung heavily, making the fur humid and horns glisten with dew. Aurican, the large male and proud leader of his family had been separated in a struggle for power with another much older male, and now he carried on, wounded and with his pride crushed.

"Who needs them?" he growled, his tail flicking as he spoke to no one in particular. The power hungry male was already wondering how he would take his revenge, his claws shifting on the humid earth.

A small chirp and shuffling in nearby bushes made him stop, perking up his ears and sniffing, but finding that the fog made the air too dense to identify smells.

"Who's there?" he demanded to know after a while, the shuffling of the bush growing faster. Not a moment had passed after he had said this that a small, spotted female avaydian crawled from under the bush, her eyes dull with sadness and her body frail and weakened. Aurican's eyes grew wide as he saw the small creature forcing her way towards him, like if she thought that if she could get to him, everything would be alright.

"Moma. Moma!" Aurican called, his paws clambering as he jumped from branch to branch.

"Aurican please be careful!" his mother called, as the other females laughed.

"He's just a high spirited one, Reeka. You should be proud. He will make a fine protector one day."

Reeka looked back at the female and snorted. "I will be happy if he just lives to grow his horns..."

Aurican shook his head as the memory of his cubhood took over and he regained posture, his lip curling up in a snarl. He looked down again and realized the small cub had made it to his paws and was shivering, clinging weakly to one of them, a small chirp escaping with every breath she took.

"I don't have time for this... Get off me," he growled, but the cub didn't move.

Sighing and rolling his eyes, Aurican took a step back and pushed the cub away a little. "Go look for your mother, a male has no business dealing with cubs."

The cub opened her jaws and a weak trill escaped her throat, almost as if she was begging for help. Aurican's ears perked up and he muttered under his breath. "Fine... I will hunt for you this once, but after that, no more... I mean it."

"Ouch! Watch where you aim those!" Kirana chirped, massaging her head with her paw.

"You're just jealous cause your horns haven't kicked in yet," he trilled in a cocky voice, his tail held high as he paraded around the other cubs, bouncing around.

Aurican was the only male cub of the season, and he felt superior to the females, being the strongest, the biggest, and the first one to sprout horns.

"Aurican!"

Aurican looked back and saw his mother, giving him a disapproving glare in the distance. "What'd I do now?" he complained running over to her.

"You were being mean to the others and bullying again," she stated, shaking her head at him.

"It's not my fault they can't play right!"

"And this gives you the right to push them around. Yes you are bigger, but doesn't this mean you should be helping them instead of hurting them?"

Aurican looked up at Reeka and snorted. "I never get to do anything my way," he growled.

"I just want you to be safe. You are almost fifty my young one, and when you are-"

"I don't care about my age! You don't say these things to the others!"

Reeka sighed as Aurican ran off. "I only hope you are ready to leave when the time comes, my little one..."

Aurican lay asleep when suddenly a small tumble of fur and feathers crashed into him, waking him up.

"Huh? What?"

A fit of giggles told him he had been the victim of one of Bella's sneak attacks once more. The small spotted cub had grown stronger under his care. He hadn't been able to leave her alone after feeding her that foggy night, and he had told her that once she was strong enough to fend for herself she will have to leave and find her family again. The small cub seemed to have no rush in leaving him alone however, and so, the days had turned to weeks, the weeks had turned to months, and the months had turned to years.

"Bella.."

The little cub scampered out of the cave, her tail high as she rushed out, fluffing her wings lightly.

"I am so not meant to take care of this annoyance... Bella, come here!" he growled, following after her.

"What?" she called back, batting at a fallen leaf with her paws.

"It's time we moved on," he chirped, sitting down next to her.

"Moved on where?"

"With our lives. You can obviously not stay here and I have to find a family," he trilled sternly, regretting it a little afterwards when her eyes blinked back sadness.

"Why do you want me to leave? I thought we were a family..." she chirped, her wings drooping.

Aurican remained quiet and got up. "I will help you find a new family, one that will properly care for you. Let's go..."

"Why do I have to leave? I thought we were family..." Aurican chirped, his wings drooping.

"Oh Aurican, you know we are... but you have reached a time when you must go out and start a family of your own."

"But I like it here... all my friends are here," he told his mother, stepping forward, trying to reason with her.

"I suggest you leave while you are still being asked," a deep voice came from behind, and as Aurican turned around he saw Dom, the male of the family, looking down at him, his face a scowl.

"But but... I don't wanna leave," he pleaded, facing him instead.

At this, Dom snarled and lowered his head, his horns facing forward.

"Aurican please... listen to Dom. Everything will be alright. You will know you have found your family and you will be home again, I promise," Reeka trilled, her voice panicked.

Days passed as Aurican and Bella searched for a new family for her, but the little spotted female still remained with him, seeming happy about this. Aurican's stomach growled and he looked up. "There's a storm coming... I can feel it in my feathers," he chirped, scowling.

"We can look for cover after we eat something then," Bella responded, noticing the male was hungry.

"No... storm is close. I don't know this territory too well, we should look for shelter now..."

Aurican sat alone in a small cave, trying not to get wet as he lay alone and hungry, not knowing what to do after a week without his family, rain pouring hard outside.

"Why does this happen to me? Why did they throw me out? I know moma had said that I would have to leave someday, but I wasn't a threat to Dom... I was fine with him being the leader..." he muttered to himself sadly, curling up his tail around his body.

"I'll show him! I'll be the strongest leader ever! And then I will take down his territory! He'll see," he snarled, his lips curled in a snarl as he looked out to the stormy sky, thunder bellowing.

Aurican opened his eyes and noticed that the thunder had been real. There was a storm stronger than most he had seen outside, and he shivered at the thought of the water. "Good thing we found this fallen tree... makes for a perfect den, huh Bella? Bella?" he asked, looking around and noticing he was alone. "Oh no..."

"Bella! Bella!" he trilled, calling as loud as he could, not daring to take flight to the sky with the strong winds.

After hours of looking, the storm finally had cleared up and he took flight, only to spot a small muddy body some ways away from the cave, a rabbit next to it. "Bella!"

Aurican rushed down to the motionless body and sat down next to it, passing his tongue over her to wash some of the mud off the spotted fur. "Bella? Are you alright?"

A small chirp answered him, and he sighed with relief, soon overtaken by rage. "What were you thinking? Going out on a storm like this! In fact, where you even thinking at all?" he growled, looking down at her sternly as she got up slowly.

"I... I wanted to show you that I could take care of myself... that maybe if I did, if I could hunt and feed myself... then maybe... I could stay with you," she shivered, partly from cold, but most out of fear and sadness.

Aurican perked up his ears. He sighed and he shook his head, then cuffed the little cub on her head. "You did good with that rabbit, but no use eating him here. It's to muddy and uncomfortable from the storm," he chirped.

Bella took the rabbit in her jaws and looked up at him. "Where should we go then?" she muffled.

"Home."

~

 Just the Beginning

Blossom's Story

Rays of sunlight lit the porch where a small white goety lay, her back sunning as she breathed comfortably in the serene wind. A brown collar encompassed her neck, showing her position as pet of the household.

"Floral?" a voice came from nearby, and she opened her eyes to see her mother standing over her, giving her a curious look.

The small goety blinked and stood up, her hooves clattering a little on the wooden porch. "What is it, mother?" she asked, her ears swiveling lightly.

The golden brown goety with back hooves and black mane looked at her daughter as she sat down next to her. "I have noticed you have been laying in rest most of the time lately. Is there a reason you do not wish to play with your brother and sister?"

Floral flattened her ears lightly and looked to the side, avoiding her mother's gaze. They keep calling me names and bullying me... that's what... she thought angrily, but remained quiet.

"Well?" her mother asked, prodding her with a paw in a gentle way.

"I guess I have just taken to liking the sunlight," she answered, beaming up at the older goety. "I'll try to not do it as much," she promised, noticing the look on her mother's face.

Her mother blinked warmly down at her and licked her between her still growing horns, tangling her mane.

"Mo-om. I just fixed it this morning!" she complained, making her mother give a small bleat of amusement.

"Cally!" came a voice from inside, accompanied by other words. The older goety got up and went inside as she heard her name being called by the human, leaving the small white female alone.

A shuffle in the bushes made her jump and look behind only to see a black goety and a golden brown one prancing around, jumping and play fighting with each other. Floral sighed and flattened her ears, trying to blend into the background before her brother and sister saw her.

Golden eyes flashes towards her as she moved, and the black goety bleated and rammed her with her growing horns, laughter in his throat as he saw her flail and fall, slamming against the porch bench. "Too slow! Like always!" she bleated happily, prancing and circling Floral.

"I am sorry..." Floral responded, looking at her hooves.

"Even her hooves are stupid. They grew in front instead of behind," the golden one added, joining in on his sister's fun.

The siblings were barely three months old, and they all lived at home with their mother and three humans. A male, a female and a child. The black and brown one prided themselves in looking like their mother, and believed that this was the look all goetis should have, making their third sibling strange and different, something they had come to hate due to the extra attention she sometimes got from the humans.

"Mom said that that was perfectly normal!" Floral retorted, immediately regretting having raised her voice at them. Their eyes gleamed as they could tell that she was starting to get annoyed. Why won't they just leave me alone...

* * * * *

Floral nipped at the leaves on a nearby bush, her tail swishing lightly at the tangy taste as she tried to get to the flowers.

"You are doing it wrong," she heard behind her, and she turned around and saw a flaming orange goety with a frizzy looking mane and long horns. A male goety was standing behind her, giving her a curious look. She bleated in shock and took a couple of steps back, her ears flattened in fear.

Being a house pet, she had never seen another goety in her life, and this one was particularly scary looking with a blind eye and a scar that ran across it. Her first instinct was to run away, but her front hoof had been hurt bad by her brother during their last bullying session, and she had a limp.

The wild goety sniffed at her and gave her a curious look. "You smell different from my herd... what herd do you come from that you wear those things around your necks? Or is that just a quirk of yours?" he asked, his ears perked up.

Floral's fear dissipated a little from her curiosity. "Herd?" she asked him. "You mean your humans?"

The goety snorted at this and stomped his front hoof, the right one, as she noticed that his left one was a paw. "If by humans you mean those noisy creatures that seem to be very abundant in this place, then no. I am just crossing by with my herd. A group of goeties. You must live with more goeties surely!" he said, surprise in his last statement as he realized that this white youngster did not know what he spoke of.

"I live with my momma and my brother and sister..." she answered, shifting her hooves slightly as she moved a little more back.

"Really? You are quite the small group then. My name is Grand, and my herd is currently trying to find a place to settle. We were thinking of moving on, but if there is a place we could find around here, then it would be highly appreciated if you could help," Grand said, his face brightening and making him look much less scary than he had a second earlier.

"I do not know. I live with my humans," Floral answered. Does this mean that he lives away from humans? How does he survive? And how come his hooves are one on his right front and the other on his left back? He's weird... And different...

* * * * *

"And he had huge horns! They were so cool!" Floral said enthusiastically, her tail wagging like a dog's.

Cally looked down at her daughter, her face a mix of amused and worry. "Well, he sounds like a wild one alright."

"And he sounds so weird. His hooves are even stupider than yours!" her brother retorted, his face screwed up in a sneer.

"Tod!" Cally reprimanded, whacking the small goennec with her paw. "I have told you before that making fun of your sister's hoof placement is not nice. Besides, it is perfectly normal for her hooves to be in the front. She just happens to be the only one in this house who has them."

"But they are green, and her fur color is weird. Even her markings are weird."

"That is enough out of you Mina," Cally snarled, starting to get angry at her little one's usual picking on Floral. The last picking on her had left Floral with a small limp which she could only hope would leave her soon or otherwise she wouldn't find a home as fast. Her humans would make sure of that.

"Yes momma..." Mina replied, looking down at her paws. "Let's go play Tod!" Mina said, jumping on her brother and tumbling outside with him.

Cally looked back as she saw her children go out the door and turned her gaze back to Floral, who was looking down at her paws. "Don't let them bother you..." she said, walking up to her and licking her head lightly.

"Yes momma..." Floral sighed, getting up and limping under the couch, not in the mood to be outside much today.

* * * * *

Almost a month had passed since Floral's hoof injury, but her limp had not left. She didn't mind, as ever since then her mother had made sure that her siblings didn't bother her as much, but she still tried to keep away from them, her days spent in daydreaming of running in pastures full of sweet flowers in full bloom.

As usual, she found herself limping around her house's backyard, her ears flattened as she tried to get to the bush she loved. Movement from behind made her jump and turn around, only to see the flaming orange pelt of the wild goennec she had met before.

"Grand!" she yelped, her ears flattening.

"Madam," he bleated in good humor, doing a mock bow. "I see you have a limp there. Same one as the last time or did you create a new injury for yourself?"

"Hey!" Floral answered, frowning at him stomping her good hoof in sign of attack, but she thought it over and sat down, her ears still flattened.

"What was that? I thought you were going to attack me," Grand said, prancing around her with his tail high in a taunting gait.

Floral shrugged and looked away, her concentration turning towards the bush. "Weren't you going to be leaving this place soon?" she asked him, her voice monotone.

Grand stopped prancing at this and turned his gaze at her, his ears perked up at the change in her personality. Despite her being scared of him the first time, she had seemed curious and more alert. This time it seemed almost as though she didn't care. "Well, some young ones were born, so we must wait a while while they can travel before moving on," he explained, sitting down next to her.

"Ah..."

Grand blinked both his eyes and he poked her with his paw. "What happened to you? You seemed a lot feistier last time. Scared out of your horns, but feistier."

"I have learned that if I do not care they leave me alone..." she answered simply, glaring at both his good eye and his bad.

"Who leaves you alone?" he asked her, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Why are you blind in one eye?" Floral asked, changing the subject.

"Ah, this? I was badly scarred in a fight against an enemy fox who thought it would be fun to mess with one of the elders of my herd. I taught him who the boss was however," he bleated with contempt, a grin crossing his face.

"A fox?"

"Nasty creature, and sneaky too. Unlike us they only eat meat, but they have nowhere near our agility," he answered, wagging his tail.

"And why is your pelt orange?"

Grand blinked at her question curiously. "The same reason yours is white. I was born this way. I do remember my first mate, her pelt was as silver as the moon at night, and she had markings of gold covering her back. We come in all colors little one, you should know that. Aren't your siblings any different than you?"

"My siblings are similar to my mother... I am the only one that is pale with stupid green markings and pink dots that look-"

"As beautiful as flowers that have yet to bloom," Grand finished for her, interrupting her line of thought. "And don't let anyone else tell you anything about it. Maybe they do not seem like much, but you know that turn the spring, they will have a surprise for you," he finished, giving her a warm smile.

Floral looked away, her ears still flattened. "You sound like my mother."

"Smart female then..." he laughed, getting up. "You seemed hungry, come on, I'll help you get the flowers you were after," he said, poking her gently with his large horns to make her stand. As she stood, he realized that her limp was in the same hoof as before. "Was that a scar from battle as well?" he asked her, walking besides her.

Floral looked down at her limping hoof and shrugged. Grand looked to the front and remained quiet, knowing the little one might open up with time, and his curiosity had spiked for the solitary goennec, having noticed that the ones with collars were never so far from humans or others with the same mark of enslavement.

* * * * *

A bleat below made Floral's ears perk up. She was inside laying on the human child's lap when Grand's call sounded. She wagged her tail happily and flopped off his lap, wandering outside and seeing Grand with a second goennec. Another male, this one much younger looking than Grand. He had navy blue pelt with lines of white crisscrossing across his back and legs.

A week and a half had passed since Grand had taken to visiting Floral every other day. They normally talked about his life outside of the human city, before they had had to migrate. According to him, normally a female having a little one did not stop them from keeping up the migration, but the last female had lost her litter to a bear, which according to Grand, was the worst creature a goennec would ever encounter. The description alone was enough to make the fur on Floral's mane stand on end. The white female however had been starting to like his visits more on more each time. She felt more at peace around him, and she could be more herself than she could at home with her ever criticizing siblings.

"Who is this?" Floral asked curiously, sniffing him over.

The blue one backed away a little and gave Grand an uncertain look. Grand rolled his eyes a little and looked at Floral. "This is Din. He was curious as to what it was I got myself into every other day. He is a good lad. However, he is painfully shy... Not something good for a wild goennec," he answered, quirking his eyebrow.

"I would rather call it cautious. How do you know she will not attack me?" he asked nervously, shifting his hooves.

"Why would you think she would attack you?" Grand retorted, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

At second glance, Floral saw his horns were much smaller than Grand's, and all of his legs ended in hooves. He had no paws in him. She tilted her head curiously at this but said nothing. "Are you one of Grand's friends?" she asked, him, sitting down in front of him.

Din looked up at her, still looking like he wanted to bolt. "Um.... we live in the same herd. He has been teaching me how to properly sniff out prey, as we tend to live in areas that are not as abundant in grass as this place, and a bit of meat is always desired."

"The desert!" Floral answered happily, remembering one of Grand's stories.

"That is correct. Din here is one of the younger males of the group. He is barely 6 months old. He is a fine student however. He has improvised more tactics for prey hunting than I ever did at his age."

Din shifted uncomfortably again, looking at his hooves. "It hasn't really been that big of a deal. He likes to exaggerate."

Floral blinked warmly at him, somehow understanding how uncomfortable he felt of being spoken of. "I am sure he isn't. Grand isn't the type to say things he doesn't mean," she told him, making Grand nod in approval.

Din lifted his eyes slightly and gave a small smile. "Thanks..."

"In any case, Din and I are headed towards the creek nearby. The little ones are growing and we may be moving out soon enough. The rats of this place have an unpleasant taste, and the humans make it worse to hunt. They scare off more of my friends than I care to count," Grand commented, his ears flattening slightly.

"How do you find your meat?" Din asked Floral curiously, twitching his ear.

"My meat? My humans feed me some pellets. I have never really tasted a rat," Floral answered, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Cannot blame you with the taste of the ones around here," Din answered, wrinkling his own nose in turn. "Are you coming with us?" he asked, getting up as Grand had started to pad away.

"Sure!" Floral answered, jumping after them.

Her limp had slowly been leaving her, and Grand had noticed that the limp seemed less evident when she was happiest. He had concluded it was probably a mental limp by now, caused by fear of her siblings.

"Will you be living nearby when you move?" Floral asked Grand, prancing next to him in her kiddish gait.

Grand shook his head as he kept on walking. "No, we won't. I am hoping to put as much space between us and this place as possible."

Floral opened her mouth to ask him why when a voice bleated out her name angrily, and they all turned to look back. Cally, Floral's mother, was rushing towards them, her face a mix of anger and fear.

"Uh oh..." Floral muttered.

"Who is that?" Grand asked, staring at the rushing goennec with apprehension.

"My mother..." she responded... her voice worried.

* * * * *

"And what happened after that?" the small goety asked, their voices united as curiosity picked up.

"Yah! You always leave us hanging at the good parts!" a red one with a white mane asked, his little horns barely starting to show.

"Yeah! Tell us Blossom!" another bleated, clambering over the red to get a better view of the white goennec telling the story.

"Come come, it is past your bedtime," a pretty silver said, pushing them away towards the burrow that the females with kits slept in.

"Awwww...." the goetys complained, but knowing that the silver had a bit of a temper, they followed after her, bleating their farewells to Blossom.

"You didn't get to my heroic rescue," a navy blue goennec with large horns joked, sitting besides her.

Blossom snorted at him, pressing her small green horns against his flank. "I am supposing that by heroic you mean clumsy and somewhat effective at best," she answered, her eyes shining back at him.

"I think I preferred you as quiet little domestic Floral," he spat back, poking her with his hoof.

"Oh shut up Din..." she bleated, settling down where she had been sitting to sleep for the night.

"Does where you planning on ending that story anyways? At the end of your life as a pet?" he asked her. "When Grand took you in and introduced you as Blossom? A fitting name for a jewel like yourself," he said kindly in a friendly voice.

"No... I think it would have ended at... 'And so... her adventure began...'"

~

Separated 

Dew's Story

Darkness engulfed the surroundings of the spotted doe, even though it was broad daylight. How did this happen? was the thought echoing in her mind over and over. A thick cloud of dust covered all around her, causing her to cough uncontrollably as she tried to get up. Normally bright black horns were now dull with the dust that had made her fall to the bottom of the deep crack on the ground.

She wanted to look up, see the sun that had turned black on them all of a sudden, turning day into night in a matter of seconds. The herd had needless to say fallen to a panic, unable to explain what was happening. The Prime tried to calm them, but to no avail, as his strong words had not stopped the stampede that had occurred after, causing her as well as the others to run away in fear.

Now feeling lost and confused, the brown and gray doe looked around wildly, her mane bristling in discomfort. Suddenly, a noise made her brain snap back; her thoughts come back to reality. It was a groan, a male voice, one that her muddled mind could somehow recognize. "Who's there?" she called, looking around. Another groan met her ears, and she swiveled these in the direction of the voice.

"Dew?"

"Sam?" she called back, heading towards the voice. Sure enough, a buff, gray stag with proud navy horns was lying close by, his legs still a bit shaky from the fall. "How did you end up here?" she asked him, her voice incredulous. Sam was by no means smart, in fact, she considered him the dumbest goennec in the herd, but his survival instincts were very high tuned, explaining why he had survived as long as he had.

"The sun... when it died... I just went crazy. The whole herd went crazy. I don't know how this happened..." He turned his face up towards Dew as he got up, his legs still wobbly.

Dew rolled her eyes. Trust a male to be entirely useless in an actual crisis she thought, her face a frown. "Just get up and stop you complaining. We have to find the others," she said, staring at him, her face straight.

* * * * *

Some time later, the two goennecs where out of the crevice, their fur covered in dirt, and their minds clearer as the sun had already appeared again. Dew looked up again, her eyes sparkling with happiness as for a second, she felt as though if life was back to normal. She felt like jumping in the air and kicking her hooves in delight, but she refused to lower her soldier stance to the stance of a helpless kid. Her tail gave an aloof wave, and she looked around, then noticed her fur was covered in clumps of dirt. Her mouth gaped open and she gave a shrill scream.

As the female screamed, Sam turned around, his eyes wild, a vein throbbing at his neck as he eyed her. "What is it?" he asked, fear in his voice.

"My fur! My beautiful fur! It is tarnished! Filled with mud! I cannot live like this! I demand you take me to the nearest stream available so I can give my coat a proper cleaning!" she shrieked, her fur on end in disgust at how her beauty was being diminished by the dirt she had gathered from the fall.

"But you said-" Sam started, but was quickly interrupted by the glare on the bright blue eyes of the angry doe.

"Now, Sam!"

* * * * *

By whim of the angry female, Sam led the way to the nearest spring, his head low and his ears flat to try and ignore the constant nagging of the female. This is the reason why I admire stags that mate permanently. It takes a braver soul than I to want to resist torture... While this crossed the poor stag's mind, he remained quiet, as he was not one to disrespect a female's wishes, no matter what the situation.

The sun had begun to set by the time they arrived at the stream, but Dew gave a happy squeal regardless of this and she raced towards the water, then splashed in, her body rolling against the rocks from the bottom and water, eager to get rid of all the encrusted dirt that she had acquired. As she rolled, she heard a small bleating sound, a frightened one, which sounded much like a distressed kid.

Dew ignored the sound, continuing her bath, as she believed that her being clean was the most important thing now, and in her doing so, she missed the look of interest that had crossed Sam's face, making his ears perk up.

Getting up, her coat dripping wet but almost entirely clean, Dew shook herself happily, knowing that she would have to finish her bath manually, as there were always some clumps of dirt that remained, no matter how hard or how long you kept at it on the stream. She turned a beaming face towards Sam, the frightened bleat already gone from her mind, when she realized that Sam's coat was just as dirty as hers had been a few seconds earlier. Her face changed to one of disgust and she snorted in his direction. "What is the meaning of this? Do you seriously expect me to keep traveling around with a stag that looks as savage and unkempt as you? Go in and take care of that filth," she ordered, her tail waving towards the stream.

Sam turned his eyes her way, the look on his face suggesting he would rather stay as far from the water as possible. As he opened his mouth to complain, the frightened bleat rang again, and Sam took his opportunity to distract Dew from his dirty coat. "Did you hear that?" he asked, his eyes turning to some bushes the sound kept coming from.

The spotted doe turned around, and sure enough, the bush gave a small ruffle as whoever was inside tried to hide deeper in them. Dew frowned, and she stepped closer, but was surprised by Sam's immediate action of getting between her and the bush. She smirked, glad to see that Sam wasn't as useless as she had first thought. She stood behind the defense posed male, and called out. "Who goes there?"

The bushes ruffled a bit more violently, and some clatter of hooves on dirt could he heard as it seemed that whatever was inside the bush had decided to run out the other end. Their visitor was no match for Sam however, as the stag was already one step ahead of it and following after. By the time that Dew had caught up, her gray companion had already captured the intruder, and as she looked down, she saw a tiny kid, not even two years of age, clamped under the male's massive paws.

At first glance, the female kid was pure white with green tips on her mane, her horns and hooves a slightly brighter tone. However, under the immediate scrutinizing glare of the pompous doe, she could tell that this kid kept her fur under good condition, and she noticed some unusual markings on her hind paws. Green swirls that ended in small pink flowers. Her face also had markings similar to these, making Dew a bit wary.

The stag however had changed his attitude entirely upon realizing that his prisoner was a kid. In fact, the over protective scowl he had worn just a second ago had now transformed into a beaming smile as he removed the paw off the little one. "Well what do you know, a kid! So sorry young lady. With all that has happened, I thought you may have been something dangerous," Sam said happily, his tail wagging.

Despite the stag having removed his paw, the kid remained on the ground, almost seeming afraid to get up as she shifted her eyes from Sam to Dew. Dew snorted and gave a slight kick with her front hoof at the kid's flank. "Get up runt! Least you could do is to properly introduce yourself after spying on us!" she shrilled, her blue eyes on the purple eyes of the white doe.

The white kid grunted a little and got up promptly, her legs shaking slightly. Sam gave Dew a doubtful look as the newcomer tried to hide the obvious discomfort she was feeling. "Oh come now, Dew. Was that really necessary? She's just a kid. She probably just got lost from her heard when the sun disappeared, just like us," he stated, his eyes full of sympathy.

Dew turned towards Sam, an incredulous look now on her face. How can he point out the obvious and not realize the danger?! She took a deep breath to control herself, then stomped her right hoof solidly on the ground. "Exactly! Her herd! She is an enemy, and should be treated as such." This said, she turned from Sam, not leaving room for the stag to object, and turned to the kid, who was staring at her with big eyes. "Now... Tell us, who are you and what do you want?" she demanded, her face cold and lacking any maternal instinct towards this kid.

"B-blossom. I am Blossom. My herd went crazy when the sun dissapeared, and I got separated... I have been trying to find them... but-" she was interrupted by the snort of the older doe, and she frowned, angry at how she was dismissing what she was trying to explain. Blossom stomped her hoof solidly on the ground, imitating the spotted one, and she stared at her back, her semblance quite different from the scared kid they had just met. "I am trying to explain something! Something you asked! So just be quiet and let me finish before you start rolling your eyes at me! My herd is a nomad herd, so you have nothing to fear from us, as we do not like staying in one place too long... The longer I stay here talking to you guys, the farther away my herd will go, and the harder it will be for me to reach them!" she growled, her hackles raised.

Dew blinked at the female, for once in her life at a loss for words. What was she supposed to answer to this kid that had so bluntly challenged her authority yet at the same time given her the information she had requested. She could hear Sam chortling with laughter, and she felt her ears start to get warm with embarrassment. She turned to him and then shrugged, not sure of what to do with Blossom. Sam shook his head and walked towards her, his face bright with the dopey smile he usually had that some females found charming. "Tell you what, Blossom, since we took so much time from you, let us make it up to you. We will help you get on track to find your herd before we head back to ours," he said, making the kid's face brighten up and her tail wag immediately.

"Really?" she asked, her voice disbelieving with joy.

"You have got to be kidding! I will not have this! If we go any further we will never find our own herd," Dew said in a flat out refusing voice.

"Well you were the one that wanted to deviate to take a bath," Sam replied matter of fact voice. She opened her mouth to rage at him, but by now, she knew it was a lost fight.

* * * * *

The sun was up in the sky by the time they were moving again, as Dew had complained about how she could not get up so early after all of the stress of the day before, and the group needed to stop to graze, as hunting would probably not be possible, or so Sam thought. The stag and kid had hit it off quite nicely. He had his normal charismatic charm with her, being slow due to her obvious difference in stamina and keeping her chatting so that she wouldn't notice the passing of time.

Dew noticed the day passing by however, and with the passing of time came her hunger. The spotted goey was beginning to get cranky, and she kept nagging at Sam, who kept telling her it was probably just a little longer. Finally, Dew settled that she did not care for waiting a little longer, and she sat down abruptly as they kept walking. Sam felt the thump on the ground, and looked back, noticing his traveling companion was sitting on the ground. "Are you alright?" he asked her, heading back towards her.

"No I am not! I am hungry! I want a rabbit! We have not stopped to hunt all day!"

Sam blinked at her, not really angry, as he knew that they had been traveling all day, something that they were not used to in the least bit. He turned to look at Blossom, and was surprised to see that the white kid was not looking tired in the least bit. Well... she did say her herd was a nomad herd... Turning back to Dew, he nodded. "It's just a lit-"

"No it is not!" she interrupted, her face outraged. "You have been saying that all day! For all we know we are never going to find this kid's herd, meaning that she has sentenced us to death! You go along if you want, but I am not going anywhere until I eat a nice fat rabbit," she finished, her voice leaving no room for argument.

Sam sighed in exasperation, and he saw the crestfallen look on Blossom's face when Dew referred to her as their death. "Fine. I shall go hunt for us three. You two stay here, and stay together. I shall be back with some meat, and then we get moving again," he said, knowing he was a much better hunter than Dew, and not wanting to test the kid's hunting skills when time was so essential.

Dew's face brightened up, and she got up, then pointed at a nearby tree that had some bushes growing nearby. "We shall wait for you there. The more out of cover we are, the better. We don't have the security of a herd," she stated, then looked at Blossom, who nodded in agreement.

Sam smiled down at the female, knowing she was right, then nodded a farewell before running off, leaving the females to turn in the opposite direction, heading for cover.

* * * * *

Clouds had begun to fill the sky, and the smell of rain was heavy on the air, almost pressing their lungs. Blossom kept popping her head out of the bushes, and asking Dew if she knew when Sam would be back every few minutes. After a while, Dew snapped.

"I don't know! Now why don't you sit still and wait!" she growled, her belly churning slightly.

Blossom turned her head, to look at the bushes one more time, but stayed where she was, despite her hooves and paws twitching with the need to go look once more. "He's taken a really long time... The sun is almost down. If rain falls he may have a hard time finding us," she said in a worried voice.

"And why is that..." Dew asked in a mock curious voice, rolling her eyes.

"Because rain washes scents away... not only that, but he looked like he was not very fond of water."

Dew snorted at the last bit, but was slightly impressed by the fact that this young doe already had knowledge of a soldier. She mentioned nothing about it however, not wanting to admit that she had some sort of respect for this stranger. "He'll be fine... If there is one thing that Sam is good at is keeping his promises."

Blossom brightened up, her tail wagging. "Do you think we will catch up to my herd soon? I think the scent was getting stronger," she said, changing the subject as most kids did.

Dew shrugged, flicking her tail unhappily. "We better. We are getting further away from our herd because of you."

As these words, Blossom's ears and tail drooped. "I am sorry... I just really want to get back to my herd. Din gets hopelessly worried about me..." she apologized, knowing that Dew was right.

Dew snorted, but could tell that the kid was honestly sorry, so she didn't press on, knowing what it was like to feel lost, as she felt the same way, and she didn't know what she would have done had Sam not fallen into the crevice with her. As these thoughts crossed her mind, a close thunder boomed, and rain poured out of the sky, so sudden that is seemed the boom had been its way of announcing its arrival. Dew looked up, getting up as she did so, her coat drenched with the rain. She shook her mane, trying to get rid of some of the water, but new it would be in vain. "Let's go, I refuse for my fur to get spoiled on the mud this rain will bring..." she told Blossom, directing the kid towards the nearby tree, noticing with worry that the sun had already set and that there would be no stars to guide the way for Sam's return.

* * * * *

Morning came and left, with no sign of Sam yet. At this point, Dew was almost hysterical, and Blossom, noticing, kept asking her questions about her own herd, giving her pleasant memories of her home, trying to divert her from the current situation. "What about your Prime? What's he like?" she asked, her head tilting curiously.

Dew shook her head, her tail giving a violent swish. "He is a once strong goennec who is overdue in retiring. He is old, senile, and the herd really needs a new set of horn on top," she said, her nose wrinkled at the thought of the smelly elder.

"I am sure that he can't be that bad if the herd still follows him," Blossom offered in hopes of lightening the mood.

Dew snorted and glared at Blossom. "Are you kidding me? Why do you think I am on this fix? I am stuck in the middle of nowhere waiting for a useless stag taking care of a lost kid that is not even from my herd just because the Prime could not control the herd when the sun disappeared," she wailed, going from left to right, her ears flat against her head as she spoke.

Blossom's ear twitched at her words. She realized she didn't like this doe one bit, but she was the only company she had, and she was certain that Sam wouldn't like for anything to happen to her. "Why do you dislike your coat being dirty?" she asked, changing the subject yet again, and this time making Dew stop on her tracks.

The spotted doe looked at the kid, a vain look on her face. "No doe wants to look like a dirty peasant," she responded aloofly, her head held high.

"Oh really? I just thought you didn't like others to notice how the spots on your fur look exactly like mud," Blossom responded curtly, her tail giving an angry flick, her mane bristling.

Dew's face changed from smug, to hurt, to outraged in a matter of seconds, her ears burning with embarrassment. "How dare you?!" she yelled, her tail up in the air.

Blossom sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to get into an argument with the proud doe. "Nevermind..." she responded in a dismissive tone as she curled up into a ball and closed her eyes, ignoring Dew's ramblings.

* * * * *

The day was starting to get late, the sun already starting to set on an orange hued sky. Dew and Blossom were by this point famished. They had grazed, but their bodies craved the protein that meat gave them, and neither dared go out, in case Sam came back. More importantly, both were terrified of heading out because he hadn't come back. What could possibly make that over-sized stag be this late? was the only thought on Dew's head, her black hooves digging deep into the earth in worry.

"He's not coming back... is he? I'm not going back to my herd... Nothing..."

The voice of the young doe snapped Dew's mind back to reality, and she flattened her ears. This was the first time Blossom had spoken since calling her gorgeous markings mud. She hadn't forgiven her yet, so she merely snorted and turned to look in the way Sam had headed out.

"I guess Grand was right... You never know what you had until you don't have it anymore."

Dew's eyes grew wide at this and she turned to look at the floral coated kid. She hadn't realized how depressed the purple eyes on her companion looked, or how her head seemed to hang in a dulled state of mind. The grief of losing her herd was taking a toll on the small one, and Dew had no words to console her. Suddenly, the smell of blood filled her nostrils. Rabbit blood. Her ears perked up and she saw a figure in the distance. Sam was coming back, two juicy rabbits in his mouth, making Dew's stomach growl. She felt like jumping in joy and running towards the stag, but something held her back. When Sam had left, he was dirty from the fall still, but now, blood soaked his pelt, and his eyes had a war shine on them she had never seen before.

Almost afraid, Dew tapped the other female. "Looks like the food arrived," she stated, poking her slightly with her tail.

Her words had immediate effect, as the goey looked up and bleated with joy as Sam approached them. The stag dropped the rabbits in front of them, then turned around without a word. Dew's ears twitched curiously as Blossom dived onto the top rabbit hungrily. "You know, with as long as you took, the least you could have done was make yourself look decent," as she said this, she noticed a blue bandanna wrapped on Sam's left foreleg. She tilted her head, then reached for it with her hoof. "What's that?"

Sam got the foreleg out of her reach and turned a glare her way. "Don't touch it! You know, some of us have more things to do in life than look pretty!" he snapped, his eyes shinning with rage.

Dew cringed, as she was not used to this kind of outburst from his part, not in all the years she had known him. "I'm sorry..." she said, then she turned to her own rabbit quietly.

As Blossom finished the last bit of hers, she turned to Sam expectantly, her tail wagging. "Are we going to go back to searching?" she asked, her ears perked up with happiness.

Sam looked down at the little goey, and Dew could see despair on the stag's eyes. "No... We are going back to our herd."

"But you promised-"

"Never mind that! We have to get as far away from here as possible. Finish your rabbits and get some rest. We leave at dawn..."

Blossom's ears dropped and she went to the base of the tree, shrinking herself into it as she seemed to want to disappear. Dew flicked her ear as Sam went in the opposite direction as she gulped the last of her own rabbit and she went close to the edge of the tree as well and lay next to Blossom, covering her from the night air. Now words were needed between the two females. Blossom was now a part of their herd. The blood covering Sam was goennec blood, but there was more than just his own, and the scent was very similar to the scent on Blossom. Something horrible must have happened that day that Sam went missing, but the male refused to talk about it. The bandanna around his foreleg suggested humans had been involved, but how, Dew did not know. As she closed her eyes, there was one thin that she did know. She would strive her best to not let Blossom know feel the need to know what she had in such a cruel fashion again, as for once in her life she realized that maybe, just maybe, some things aside of herself were worth a bit of sacrifice.

~

 The Need to Fly

Timber's Story

Timber set his sight on the sky as he walked over a very steep cliff on the mountains he lived with. His mother, a brown and white akiren, flew close by, keeping an eye on him and his nest mates. Timber had three nest mates. A bright black male, a pure white female, and a sister that looked opposite to him in his brown and black markings. Their names were Coal, Crystal and Tribune.

Where are we going this time? And how come mom doesn't let us fly? I am big enough already! This were his regular thoughts. Young Timber was a conceited one, there was no denying that. He believed to be a gift to this kind. He continually bothered his brother on not having his stunning markings, and his sisters on how his wings were so much bigger than theirs.

Don't be so mean... his mother would say. He didn't get it. He was still too young of course, but his arrogance was still rather obnoxious for his small size. His mother was proud of his growth, and his eagerness to learn, which proved he would do fine on his own, but his tendency to get into fights still troubled her.

"We are almost there," his mother told them, as the cliff broadened and they fell on a very open forest area, perfect for their mother's size.

The Mountain Forest Akiren were smaller in size than other akiren, due to their need to move through trees. However, the trees were spacious enough for them to still grow to a rather large size.

"Now wait here." At this, she went to search ahead of them, and left the nest mates alone sitting near a large oak.

"Where do you think she is going?" Crystal asked, blinking her big brown eyes curiously.

"Maybe to bring us some nice tasting venison," Coal answered, licking his muzzle with his tongue.

"Is food all you think of?" Timber asked, his lip curling up in a sneer.

"No..." Coal answered, shifting his front claws uncomfortably.

"Leave him alone!" Tribune said, snarling at her brother.

Timber rolled his eyes and flopped lazily on the ground, waiting to see what his mother would say once she came back.

Some time later, their mother came back, and she called them with her usual trilling roar.

"It's momma!" Crystal said exitedly, running over to were their mother's call was coming from, followed by the others.

"Kids, I want you to meet, the akiren," their mother said once they had rushed to her, standing to the side and revealing a whole herd of akiren basking in the sun and flying in a clearing nearby a roaring waterfall.

"Ooooh!!! Look at them all!!" Tribune gasped, her eyes wide with awe at the group that had gathered.

"This is the yearly gathering my sweets. Today you meet the rest of your kind. Timber... do behave yourself," the large female said, starting back towards the assembled group, eyes turning toward the youngsters as they walked around.

A young female caught Timber's eye. She was a light brown with a darker brown dapple on her coat. Timber ignored his mother and raised his head, padding over to the pretty female's side. "Hello there," he said, sitting down loftily next to her. Coal followed after, his head low as he looked at the female bashfully.

"Hello," she answered back kindly, her yellow eyes sparkling at the sight of the newcomers. "Is this your first gathering as well?" she asked, noticing they were close to her age.

"Yep. Didn't even know there was such a large sum of us in the mountain," he said, looking around as he saw large males with dark horns flying around and envying them.

"Neither did I. My name is Petal by the way. What is yours?" she asked, blinking his way.

"I am Timber," he answered.

A small squeak came out of Coal but he didn't form a word, his face screwing up as he ran back to his mother's side in embarrassment.

"What's his deal?" Petal asked, tilting her head curiously.

Timber shrugged. "He gets like that all the time," he answered in a dismissive tone, then turned back to the female. "So who are you here with?" he asked, looking around her and noticing she was alone.

"Oh, I came here with my mother and my sister. Over there, the two dark brown females talking to that white and brown dappled male," she answered, pointing at a female talking to male with particularly dark horns. "I think she knew him from before. He was very interested in us when we arrived," she finished.

"Oh..." Timber responded, not entirely interested in the male. He suddenly saw his mother signaling for him and he grumbled in annoyance. He nodded in farewell towards the pretty female and walked towards his mother. He noticed she was talking to a large black male, who's brown eyes brimmed with excitement to see him.

Suddenly, Timber felt the need to impress this male. He lifted his head high and expanded his hings once in a quick flap before sitting down next to the shy looking Coal.

"So these are them?" he asked her, looking at all four of the nest mates. "They show promise, Elaria. Especially this one," he said, pointing at Timber. "Tell me, youngster, what is your name?"

"I am Timber," he said proudly, happy to have captured the attention of the large male, his chest puffing up with a mix of pride and self satisfaction.

"Well, the gatherings lasts for a whole month, young Timber. How would you like it if I taught you how to fly?" the black one said, his eyes shining.

Timber's eyes grew wide. "I would love to!" he said, excitement clear in his voice.

"What about us?" Crystal asked, padding forward.

The male looked at the small female and he sighed, then gave her a kind stare. "I suppose you could tag along. However, your mother told me how this one seems to favor flying. And I can see his wings are already twice as strong as yours," he commented.

Crystal looked crestfallen and shuffled behind their mother.

"Oh come now Eland... surely you could take the others as well," she told the male, her voice slightly annoyed.

"It is not the place of the male to raise the young Elaria... I am merely interested in having this one become my apprentice. There is much I could teach him, and I would probably not be able to stand so many youngsters," he replied back simply. Eland then turned back to Timber and winked at him before standing up to leave. "You let me know what you want to do youngster," he said, bowing at the little one before turning around and padding away.

Timber kept his eyes on the male, his mind full of thoughts, and his eyes gleaming at the idea of finally being able to prove himself.

"I don't like him momma, who was he?" Tribune asked, her nose wrinkled.

Elaria sighed but remained quiet, then turned around herself and padded toward a group of females talking in the distance, followed by Crystal and Tribune.

Timber remained behind, sitting and still glancing at were the male stood proudly, talking to the same white he had seen earlier. "Aren't you coming?" he heard a voice ask, then he noticed Coal still waiting for him, looking like he was about to start following their mother himself.

Timber looked from his family to the male and back again. Suddenly, his face broke into a sneer as he glanced back at his brother. "Why would I? I have just been offered the world, and I plan on taking it all. You can go back and play hunt the rabbit with the girls. Me? I am going to go and make myself known."

~

 The Way of the City

Chuõi's Story

You hear the stories. Stories passed down from parent to parent. About how we are born with the right to be wild. The right to be free. Yet the bell on my collar say otherwise. The cage I was kept in made me a prisoner.

Not anymore. It has been three days since I ran from home. Three long days without the delectable bowl of mixed nuts that the humans fed me. I thought I would be happy, but somehow... I am not. I thought leaving the ever rampart dog that kept attempting against my life whenever I was left out to roam a bit would make me feel at peace, but the amount of wild dogs out here is just as bad. They seem to have something against me. Something against my kind. Why? What did marpials ever do to them? I'm hungry... so hungry... I need food. I feel like I am about to faint from hunger. Those bits of discarded trash I have been living on won't sustain me for long. I would even go back, if it wasn't for the fact that I can't remember the way.

"Hey you... kid? You okay?"

What the? A voice? Who is that? I turn around only to see a marpial standing on top of a trashcan, looking down at me. It is a female, a very rough looking brown and white female. Shame bursts through me... why? So what if I am a male and am so much smaller than this female? I am young... it is understandable...

"Yo kid? Are you mute?"

This female is starting to look a bit ticked off... What is it with the creatures out here that the act so ferocious towards me?

"Looks like it, walabi."

I look up at the second voice that I hear and see a much smaller female coming out from behind the trashcan, and I am shocked to see her. She has wild red fur and a look of dominance I had never seen in any female in my life.

"I am not mute... I am alright..." Not a second passes after a lie through my teeth that my belly gives the most wretched growling noise, and all I can do is shrink back and hope that they cannot hear it. The twinkle of amusement on the red's eyes let me know that she heard it loud and clear.

"Is that so, walabi? You look like you haven't eaten properly in days. And what is up with yer little collar, walabi? Did you get thrown out? Looks like a shame, a pretty coated brown and cream like you," she snickered, the mockery in her voice so obvious I felt angered.

"What's it to you, female?"

I knew I had made a mistake as soon as I had opened my mouth. The two females snarled, and the brown one came down from the trashcan.

"Maybe we should teach him his place... What say you, Chu?"

Was the big one asking for permission from the small one? How come? She could easily trample the red one. However, the red one had a glint in her eyes, one of knowledge and wit that was definitely not at the grasp of the brown. I knew that I would have to grovel, to be forgiven, and at this point, I was desperate.

"I-I'm sorry! I am just hungry, and alone! I ran away from my house not to long ago... and I haven't been able to get a decent bite to eat. All I have had is attacks made by the dogs in town... they seem to hate me for some-"

I am immediately interrupted by the laughter that escapes both of the females, toppling the red one over.

"You hear him, walabi? Poor kid's been attacked by the mean dogs!"

"It's not my fault! They are a lot bigger than me!" I retort, my ears growing hot with shame, my paws flexing with anger.

As the laughter dies out, I see the red one wiping tears from her eyes, a large grin still on her face. "My apologies, walabi. I am afraid that the dogs have a liking to marpial meat ever since we started stealing the warehouse's food supply. They had a specially delicious shipment of bananas in there that were to die for. We taught them good, didn't we, Marny?"

"We sure did, Chu. Only someone as crazy as you-"

All of us suddenly perk up our ears. Something was wrong. A smell, the smell of dog was getting close.

"This isn't the place to talk, walabi. Let's go. I'll explain once we get to the den."

* * * * *

Den was the right word for the place. It was underground to begin with, and it was dark and dry. I saw many piles of delectable looking fruit, some of which the residents shared with me. This was something I was not used to. So many marpials in one place. Males and females alike living together, and they all seemed to respond to the wild red one. The one they called Chuối. It was... strange, to say the least. Having such tough looking marpials just doing this small female's bidding.

They had explained the situation to me too. I didn't get it though. Something about the guard dogs at the warehouse gathering a posee to deal with the rowdy marpials that had been stealing from their humans of late. As Chuối spoke, I could only blink at her in bewilderment.

"But if you stole from them, then that makes you the bad guys..." I knew I was speaking out of place, but it was the only way it made sense. How could they be expected to gain any sympathy if they were acting like sniveling thieves?

And angry look crossed Chu, and she caught some hazelnuts she had been tossing in the air in her paw with dexterity. "What would you understand, housepet? Some of us have been in the brick of starvation because our humans decided we were too dangerous to keep around, and we were kicked out, walabi. You decided to run away. If you are starving, it is all because you decided to run. We have to make it out here however we can. Those dogs wouldn't have a second thought of eating us, or our young," she explained, her black eyes glinting as though kindles on coal.

Her words struck me worse than when my human reprimanded me for chewing on their sitting place when I was still teething. "I had no choice! I was caged! How dare you just suppose you know me with just a glance?"

"The same way you suppose you know us, walabi."

My eyes grew wide. She was right. I just judged them. I didn't give them a reason to explain themselves, after they had been so kind as to share some mangoes with me. I sunk my head in shame, the bell around my collar twinkling lightly. "I am sorry..."

Chu shrugged lightly, almost dismissing the ordeal. She gave me an up and down look, almost seizing me up. "We are gonna have to do something about that collar, walabi. You won't get far with that thing around your neck warning every dog in the area."

"Does that mean-"

"Welcome to the group kid. We ain't got much, but we offer survival."

* * * * *

As time passed, I realized that joining Chu's den was probably the best thing that had ever happened to me. They were so different to regular marpials. They stole from the humans, and fought the dogs just as fiercely as though if they were dogs themselves. They were organized and precise, and in time, I learned the different tricks of the trade. Survival... that was her number one rule. 'Don't play the hero.' she used to say. She said that there was no point in sacrificing ourselves for a couple of fruits or to try and put the dogs in their place.

There was talk though. Talk from the other animals about how the humans from the warehouse were on to us... and the dogs kept sneering whenever we fought, saying how it would all be over soon. I was scared, we were all scared, but Chu kept us strong. She kept her head high, and we looked up to her. We had to, she was our leader, and a great one at that.

"Oy Tenn, come here, walabi."

I heard my name being called, and I felt my blood boil, hoping for another raid. I headed quickly towards the fiery red female and stopped before her, noticing Marny sitting next to Chu as well. "Yes Chu?"

"I have you both here because it so happens that our last raid was a bust. We barely managed to get enough food for the group, so we are going to need to do another visit. This time, we are taking some more to the warehouse. We need more to carry as much as we possibly can, walabi."

"But... aren't we risking directing attention to ourselves? We have been hitting the warehouse a lot more than usual lately, Chu."

Marny had just voiced my exact thoughts. However, I saw where Chu was going with this. There were more of us... most abandoned, and Chu refused to leave any behind.

"More mouths to feed make us need more food, Marny. Let's just be grateful there aren't babies, walabi. That would sure be a problem," she responded, tossing her hazelnuts in the air and catching them as she normally did.

"But Chu-"

"It's either we raid and we separate and starve," I pointed out, knowing that she was right to be worried, but also knowing that the risk that Chu was taking was for the good of the den.

Marny remained quiet and looked away, her ears flattened.

Our numbers were to great to ignore. We had even had to move to an abandoned house at the outskirts of town, close to the warehouses for easier access, and for more room.

"We will have to take teams of three each and leave a fourth group here to guard the den. Are we clear, walabi?"

"Clear." Marny and I responded in unison, and excitement curled up my spine at the thought that I was finally going to be left in charge of a group.

* * * * *

The raid had been a success. We had triumphed and gotten enough food to last us for at least a week. I'm not going to lie to you... some of us... were starting to get cocky... Some of us were starting to get careless, something Chu reminded us to not do over and over, but we wouldn't listen. We didn't pay attention, thinking she was being too overprotective of us, and we would just shake it off in the 'That's a female for you' voice... Some even started to wonder if Chu was still appropriately guiding us, not pleased with her nagging.

Some of us wondered what would happen... if a riot would break out... and sure enough, it did. One of the males tried to put Chu 'back in her place' as a female, but got the retaliation of a lifetime. There was no doubt why this small female was so looked up to. I guess you could say that after this... we calmed down a bit... but some of the males were starting to get aggressive, and there were rumors that one had even attacked a human child. This displeased Chu quite a bit.

And then... it happened... Chu was out on a patrol, the food stock was starting to grow thin, and she was getting worried, so she wanted to find other places other than the warehouse to raid. None of us knew this would happen... None of us knew what the humans had planned. Oh Chu... if only we had listened.

Humans burst into our den, they had cages, and they tore us apart. A few managed to get away in the panic... others, like myself, were captured and taken here... to this horrible place where we now lie... Some of us... the wilder and more untamed ones were taken to a room... never to be seen again.

"They have fallen to the eternal sleep... and now it is only a matter of time before the same befalls us."

I sighed, finishing my story to the pretty female that I had just met in this place, one that seemed to be the mascot of one of the humans. She had been fascinated by our arrival, and asked incessant questions, her innocence clear.

"What about Chu? Did she abandon you guys? Was she the reason you are here? What happened to her?" she asked, a small frown on her face.

I shook my head, when suddenly, a dash of red crossed the floor at the corner of my eye, and a toothy grin crossed my face. "Oh, I think that Chu is just fine... in fact... who knows? Maybe we all will be."

~

 Doe

Doe's Story

A quiet wind blew through the herd in the early hours of the morning, a wind almost as quiet as the herd. It was the first morning of Siv, the first morning of the mating season that happened once a year for the goennecs. There was an eerie silence however that would have confounded many a traveling goennec. There was no happy chatter, no gossiping ewes, no flirting does passing by a random pair of talking stags to attract their attention her way. The herd seemed heavily divided in fact. Stags having pleasant conversations and comparing hunting tactics in one side of the plains, the lush green side, while the does stayed to the corner closer to the mountains, rocky and harsh, and kept mostly quiet, one or two kids play fighting among themselves, making ruckus that was ignored by all except for the prime, who looked down at the young males with pride.

In the center of this somewhat large band of does stood a spotted young ewe with a bobtail, something strange but accepted within the ranks of the herd, and merely gave her an exotic look that some other does seemed to envy, as she always attracted males to treat her with kindness, or at least with as much kindness as a speck of dirt in the scenery could expect from the ones with purpose. Unlike the others, this doe had a happy look in her face, and her tail wagged with expectancy. She couldn't wait for the harems to begin forming, as more kids nomally meant there would be some sort of relaxed atmosphere among the does as they had their hands too full caring for their young to notice anything else. In fact, if a doe gave a particularly healthy looking kid, she may even be treated with a rabbit from the stag that had fathered it, a real honor among the ranks of the herd.

As a loud bleat sounded, the does looked up in unison, knowing a message from the Prime would be delivered about the start of Siv soon, but none went towards him. It was not their place. It would never be their place to find out about things from the mouth of the Prime himself, as the Prime had no need to convey his message to creatures whose only use was to give birth to the next generation that would ensure the species survival. The words of the Prime carried far enough for them to get the gist of the conversation however, and they could already hear the boasts and the importance in the stag's voices. This was cut short however by a sudden uproar, an uproar directed towards an individual at the edge of the group, a doe.

"What are you doing here?!" one of the stags called with anger, his lips curled back in a snarl.

The doe looked wild eyed with fright, and she quickly got on her belly in a gesture of groveling. "I am sorry. I wanted to find out what was going on," she tried to explain, and as she did so, a couple of the does cringed, the spotted bob among them. Males roared with outrage, their anger in plain view, making the doe tremble further. The glare on the Prime's eyes was not helping this either.

Looking to his side, the Prime saw the Prince glaring down at the doe as well, his hackles raised in anger. "Ernaero... go down there and see that this doe those not commit the same mistake again," he said in a cool voice, then stepped back and retired, not needing to sully himself with the taking care of an unruly and insignificant pebble. As the Prime retired, the Prince went towards the doe, hatred clear in his eyes as he gathered some soldiers from around him and encompassed the female, blocking her entirely from view from the rest of the herd.

* * * * *

The assembled does looked in horror at the beaten, barely living body of the doe that had spoken out of place. A group of strong soldiers surrounded her, scowls in their faces, and the Prince walked around her, his face smug as he lifted his head high, ignoring the trembles of the hunched and frightened doe. He looked pleased with himself, accomplished, whenever he set eyes on the bleeding pulp that had replaced the curious doe. "Tell me... what are you?" he asked in a commanding voice, his eyes locked on the female.

"Doe..." was all she commented, her ears flat on her black and brown head, her eyes blank as she looked back at his.

"And tell me... what is your position in this herd?" he continued, his voice growing louder for all of the others to hear.

That is so horrible... was the only thought that crossed the spotted doe's mind, her bobtail almost between her legs in fright and empathy for this poor creature. She took a step forward, wanting to help the doe that was being humiliated, but was quickly blocked by another female, who simply shook her head grimly, as if to say that she should just let it go. Why are they acting this way? Why are they doing nothing? The young doe couldn't understand why the others were doing nothing about it. In her five years of life, there had been no incidents with does in the herd, as the does had learned to remain quiet, learned that they were to never speak to a male unless spoken to and it was required for them to speak. The young, curious doe that had ventured into the Siv meeting had already learned the consequences of attempting to stick your nose were it did not belong. She was lucky that the Siv had begun and that the Prime had been in a good mood. Otherwise, she may have been killed.

As the does looked on, the beaten up female remained quiet, looking down to the ground, her answer obvious as she focused on the soil at her front hoof and paw. The Prince smiled, obviously happy that the doe had understood. He turned to look at the others, an obnoxiously complacent look on his face. "Let this be a warning... a message... to all of you. Does are meant to be does and nothing more. Any of you try to get smart, try to reach our level, and worse will happen to you." He turned to look at the hurt female and smirked. "You may go join the others now," he said, then turned around and gave no glance back as the doe staggered back to the others.

* * * * *

The Siv had continued without incident. The bobtailed doe wagged her tail, happy to see the others already expecting, sometimes communicating with the body language the does had adapted to be able to express themselves among the other does, congratulating the ones who had been deemed worthy as they left with the stag, and comforting the ones that, like herself, had yet to see an interested male. Most of the other does found her behavior perplexing. No other doe tended to keep such high spirits after their first Siv, as they realized that the treatment towards them really didn't get any better. However, the bobtailed doe had always been the dreamer, and the others let her be, knowing she would learn soon enough.

At almost the end of Siv, an unlikely stranger went through the group of does. None other than the Prince, his horns high in the air as he carried himself with air of great importance, surrounded by two escort soldiers who glared at the others menacingly, walked towards the young bobtailed one, and a small air of unease took over the females, wondering what could possibly be wrong. The doe waited until the Prince was in front of her and she bowed down, her nose touching the dirt as was required of does when a stag spoke to them, an exception being the beaten down doe, as it was obvious that she was too hurt to do the actual pose of submission.

The Prince looked down at the female, and he cleared his throat, letting her know she was to listen intently. "Doe, the Prime has requested you for his harem. He deems you worthy of bearing his child, consider yourself lucky. You are to come back with us, and we will escort you back to his harem." This said, the Prince turned around, then flicked his tail at the other two soldiers with him. "Brandor, Cherns, make sure she comes with you," he said, heading out from the mass of staring does, his message already delivered, meaning he no longer had to stay among them.

The two soldiers got ready to force the female, but were surprised to see her getting up almost immediately, her tail wagging with happiness. She followed after the Prince, and the two soldiers followed, not sparing second glances at the surrounding ewes that were staring with a mixture of jealousy and surprise at the happy doe.

* * * * *

Siv had come and gone, and the herd had survived a hard winter. A couple of kids had fallen to bears, but the Prime showed little concern, as the ones who had fallen were two does and one ram who showed little promise of being a good addition to his soldiers in a future. The spotted doe had been expecting the Prime's kid, something that no one expected, as the Prime tended to choose older does that were certified to always give the healthiest of kids. The doe was strong, and showed a gorgeous shine on her coat, unusual among the does of the herd, as most of them tended to have even stopped properly grooming, so it wasn't that much of a surprise once the initial shock was over.

A couple of the does had already had their kids born, gorgeous kids that were eternally curious despite being too shy to leave their mother's side still. Now, it had been the bobtailed doe's turn, as she had been feeling pains, and she had retired herself a little from the mass of does, as was custom, to give birth to her young. However, there was something horribly wrong, something that all doe's feared within the heard. The time had passed for the kid to open its eyes, and when it did so, the young mother realized with horror that they were milky white and distant, unable to perceive the light and its surroundings. It's ears were torn and disfigured, flopped as if with no strength to raise themselves, but not with the perfect curve of the floppy eared variety.

Desperate, the doe tried to cover the small body with her own, hoping that no one would notice, that she would be able to shield the little one and that it would survive, but this was the same reaction all of the does with affected had, a reaction so strong that all in the herd could smell the fear as strongly as if it was a tangible mist. Rumors started to spread, even among the body language of the does. Empathy crossed all of their faces as they saw a pair of soldiers and the Prince heading towards the doe, and they heard the screams and cries of pain, begging for them to let it go, to spare it's life while the helpless creature dangled from the jaws of the Prince.

Ignoring her cries, the Prince turned around and headed towards the Prime, his face showing utter repulsion as he placed the blind helpless creature who seemed to be sniffing for its mother's milk in front of the stag who had fathered it. The soldiers were behind, forcing the female to where the Prime was, so that the kid was between them both. As the doe tried to rush towards the kid, the two stags reared and slammed themselves against her back, pinning her painfully to the ground. The doe wrestled, not caring anymore for the rules of the herd, not caring anymore that speaking was forbidden, not caring that it was the Prime, and the Prime's word was law, as it was that very Prime who was about to do the unspeakable to her child. "Please... please, just let him go. I will go with him, I will take him as far away as possible. You will never have to- Please no!" she screamed, but to no avail, as the Prime reared and landed his hooves on the skull of the infant, ceasing his pityful yips of hunger once and for all.

The Prime looked up, disgust clear in his eyes. "You think I owe you pity? You think I owed this thing you gave me pity? Why would I stop, why would I consider? The second that this creature was spawned you were no longer a part of this herd. I am not about to let my bloodline continue with this mongrel. Now leave. Take your worthless body out of my sight and make use of yourself by feeding a bear or a mountain lion," he snarled, then turned around, leaving the mourning doe to be kicked out of the herd brutally, beaten and ridiculed by the rams that had escorted her to see her child's death.

Once she had been left alone, she looked to the sky, despair clear in them. The words of the Prime echoed in her mind over and over, searing her brain. She stayed for a couple of hours, looking as though if she was waiting for death to take her. A spring rain started falling, almost as though if the sky itself were mourning with her, shedding the tears a goennec could not. Staggering up, she looked back to the place she had just been kicked from, and a scowl showed in her face, a cold and distant look that had never cursed the beautiful features of the young doe. I will not die. I refuse to bow to your rule anymore. I will live... I will live the life that you never let me had. Like dirt can grow the trees and grass that we eat, a doe can grow to be just as good as any ram. I am Doe, and I will live Doe thought, and with this, she turned around, her eyes focused on the task at hand, finding a new herd, and surviving.