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 Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 2:28 pm
Woo! First day of patrols! Well… first day of patrols alone. Technically, Islwyn had been on patrols before, but normally under the watchful---and cautionary---eye of his father. Oh, and normally accompanied by a small group of knock-kneed corps like himself, still wide-eyed at the idea of being an Outrider. Actually, Islwyn was always wide-eyed at the world in general. This… caused problems, since it meant he had the attention span of your average duck. Unlike your average duck, he would then wander over and poke whatever had caught his attention. His nose was currently decorated by three small claw marks, since the last thing he had poked turned out to be a young mink of some sort that wasn’t very impressed with Islwyn’s claims of being the son of the Lord.
Clearly, the creature simply didn’t know better. Islwyn sneezed slightly and rubbed his nose against his leg, comforting himself with these words. The black buck’s large blue eyes looked at the world in wonder, trying to figure out what he would encounter next. Would it be another deer? Or some strange animal he had never encountered before? What if it was a wolf?
Wolves fascinated him, in a sort of morbid fascination. He knew they were bad because they ate deer. He knew that, if he saw or smelt one, he had to run away and get an adult. But… he didn’t know what a wolf was. His mother told him they were like large foxes, but she had never explained what a fox looked like. This caused some fairly interesting images in Islwyn’s overactive imagination.
Not that it looked like he would encounter anything at all at the edges of the herd here. Normally, there’d be at least one or two hinds around the edge, but everyone was close in now. Anlach had affected them all. Islwyn’s tail wagged as he leaned forward, trying to figure out what this plant was. It looked funny… and its leaves weren’t turning brown yet.
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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 2:48 pm
With dark rimmed ears alert and striped eyes always scouting, the hind moved further into the open meadow. Her poor eyesight couldn't make out any familiar forms of deer. She only prayed she was going in the right direction. Fellina grew all the more anxious the further she walked. Was that the sound of foot falls, or her imagination? Brown tail wriggled behind her as if to shake off the tension. The female bowed her head lower, one ear spread near the ground to locate the sounds. Not too far, and in front of her too. Quick to stand upright again and keep herself moving, the deer practically skipped on, not knowing her path would lead her to the young scout.
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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 3:52 pm
Islwyn’s ears swiveled slightly as he heard the crunching of dead leaves and twigs. A more experienced scout would have been on his guard or at least prepared for some sort of fight. Islwyn, however, was more prepared to poke whatever was out there with his nose. He tilted his head to one side and his tail wiggled again slightly before he ventured into the deep undergrowth, distracted from the plant that he had been so ardently investigating before. His steps picked up more speed until he practically galloped as he wove between the trees.
That is, until the poor hind came into his line of vision. The young buck slammed on the breaks, but discovered what he had already discovered several weeks ago, that mud is far slicker than plain old dirt. The mud under his hooves caused him to slip and fall, careening into a not-so-elegant heap in front of Fellina.
Well, this was probably an excellent way to make a bad impression… “Umm… hi!” Islwyn decided to play it cool and pretend that this had been his plan the entire time. “You’re out far from the herd.” Once again, he tilted his head to one side, forgetting all about the mud.
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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:28 pm
Was she getting closer? Fellina slowed in her prancing into a hesitant skip, then to a stop. She most definately could here another, the faint click of hooves in the distance. Amber eyes squinted against the bright sunlight as she caught sight of something. A dark form, bounding forward in a blurring motion.
The female gasped soundly when the other slid and stumbled before her. Ther threat of crashing into a tangle of limbs and fur wasn't tempting, and she found herself stepping back an inch. Whene the young male finally came to a stop on the ground, her fears changed. Was he alright? Ears pricked forward as she trotted next to the other deer, mouth agape in shock. "Well...hi. Are you okay?!" He sounded as if nothing had happened! Ears fell back as he noted the obvious. "Oh, the herd? I'm not part of any herd." A sad truth, but for now she was more concerned with another thought. Would she be batted away from this territory? How far had she trespassed?
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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 9:16 pm
“Me? Hurt? No, no. I’m fine. Just… slipped in the mud… it could happen to anybody!” well, except maybe his father, Islwyn made the exception. His father, as far as he was concerned, could do nothing wrong. He shook himself slightly, trying to dislodge a little bit of the mud. The procedure worked pretty well. The only problem was that it splattered everywhere. “Umm… sorry… I hope I didn’t get any on you…” he apologized lamely, suddenly realizing the flaw in his brilliant scheme.
For a moment, Fellina’s words had no recognizable impact on Islwyn, as he continued to chatter about things within the herd. “I mean, it’s really none of my business what you’re doing out here. Mother taught me that if a hind is on her own, then she probably wants to be alone. I only wonder because Fa… err… the Lord has mentioned wolf sightings of that ghost wolf and what?” his large blue eyes blinked several times as the hind’s words finally triggered some neuron in his brain. Not part of the herd? Well, that wasn’t good. Everyone should have a herd.
“Not part of a herd?” he repeated, still blinking as if this would enable the words to make sense. That was so… weird! Deer lived in herds. That was something he had learned at a young age, even if he hadn’t commonly come into contact with other deer due to his mother’s somewhat antisocial nature. “Well, that’s not good! Why don’t you have a herd?”
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 7:47 am
"Well, I guess that's true." Anyone could slip in the mud, but that alone was dangerous when it came to survival. Fellina flinched and ducked her head as the mud flew. Some, yes, splattering her pelt from neck to knees. Sigh. "No problem." She didn't bother shaking it off, as it'd only result in the same issue as before.
The hind turned amber eyes to the other deer, ears lifted as she listened to his...rapid form of speaking. Lords, and ghosts, and wolves? What was this male talking about? She only mentioned a herd and he went into a whole biography. Fellina nodded sheepishly as the male repeated her words. Nope, no herd she was a part of. " I'm a rogue, deary. Haven't you ever heard or seen of them?" Thank goodness she was female with a chance of entering a herd. If male, she'd be denied any chances and left to fend for herself. Not the best option, considering she wasn't blessed with antlers.
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:26 pm
A… rogue? Islwyn blinked his perpetually wide blue eyes and tried to figure out what the word meant. He vaguely remembered his father mentioning a rogue that had wandered into the herd and tried to take Telyn away. In Islwyn’s mind, that automatically meant that rogues had to be big, nasty, and rather stupid. They had to be stupid to try and taken Islwyn’s mother away. She could get nasty when riled.
“I’ve heard of rogues,” he said slowly, loathe to explain what exactly he had heard about them. “But I’ve never seen one before. They usually stay farther away.” Well, this female certainly didn’t fit into Islwyn’s mental view of a rogue deer. She wasn’t big, nasty, or stupid as far as he could tell. Plus, she was female. Islwyn automatically expected rogues to be male.
Completely oblivious to any tender ground, he went on and asked the question, all innocence. “Why are you a rogue?”
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:39 pm
Soft ears rotated back and forth, both noticing the other deer's reaction and their surroundings. Judging by the male's actions and words, he was still young at life. As if his sprouting horns weren't evidence enough to that. Not a baby, but still in that curious and adventerous stage that could spell trouble. "Never seen wolves or rogues before? You must be well sheltered." He slender neck nodded to his statement. "That's usually how it works, rogues keep their distance."
Fellina blinked and hesitated, before trotting about the other in a circle. "What does that matter?" Her tone was giggly, and her tail kept wagging behind her. "It's high time though that I started being with more deer. Gets lonely after awhile being in the thickets by yourself." And besides that, her survival would depend on it. More eyes meant more safety.
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 3:04 pm
Fellina’s words hit a slight nerve with Islwyn. Like most sheltered young males, Islwyn liked to pretend that he wasn’t sheltered at all. For a moment, he was conflicted between arguing with Fellina or simply telling the truth. Chances are, she would find out the truth sooner or later, and then he would be even more embarrassed. Best just keep his mouth shut, since she had already figured it out. “I’m not a baby,” he protested, since his mouth had decided to ignore his brain’s frantic pathways. “Wolves just stay far away from the herd… usually…” he reflected on the stories of the ghostly white wolf. His mother, for a reason he couldn’t quite comprehend, had been following those rumors quite closely.
As Fellina circled him, Islwyn swiveled around to keep an eye on her. Hind or not, she was still a rogue. But, she wanted to join the herd? That’s what it sounded like. This was all way over Islwyn’s head. He was fairly sure he was supposed to chase away rogues, but what if one wanted to join?
“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” he agreed easily. “Umm… if you want to join, I think you have to talk to the Lord.” Yes. That sounded about right! Father would take care of everything. “Do you want a quick tour of the herd lands before you decide?” Oh! That sounded like a good thing to Islwyn. Anyone who wanted to join a herd would want to see everything first, right? No one wanted to move into a place that was completely new or overrun with wolves.
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:30 pm
Had Fellina known her words were taken so, she'd apologize. But she wasn't a mindreader, and as far as she could tell, she had mentioned an honest truth. She gave a faint smile. "I never said baby though, did I?" Which reminded her. By that time, her circling had ended, and she faced the boy once again. "I'm sorry, I never did catch your name. I'm Fellina." She dipped her head in greeting, amber eyes still wary though.
Ears fell limp to that next word. "L..lord?" Sounded like a fearsome deer to encounter. Guess it'd have to be done to enter any herd. Still, she was tired of being a rogue with nothing better to do than be a nervous wreck. So long as there wouldn't be any unnessecary quarrels in the meeting. Or as that other rogue had phrased it, more hinds to a herd. Sigh. "A tour sounds wonderful." It'd give her time to brace herself for whatever may come. Everything was still an option so far...right?
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 8:50 pm
Oh. Well, she had a point. She never did say ‘baby’, even though Islwyn felt it was implied. In his mind, ‘sheltered’ and ‘baby’ were pretty much synonymous. Oh, right! Names! “Nice to meet you, Fellina,” he said automatically, just as he had been taught to do so. “I’m Islwyn.”
He smiled, trying to be reassuring as he saw how anxious she was at the idea of meeting the Lord. “Oh, don’t worry about meeting him. He’s really nice. Most of the time. Except when he yells at me because I saw something interesting… you’d think that he would be more interested in his surroundings.” Not that Islwyn could really blame him. Being a Lord involved a lot of work, most likely. And Islwyn really did admire his father quite a bit. “Actually, he just became the Lord recently. He made the old Lord a Captain.”
Islwyn decided not to mention that the Lord was his father. For one thing, Brychan had been very clear, telling him that, while Islwyn was on duty, Brychan was his superior, not his father. Also, he was worried that revealing this little tidbit would frighten poor Fellina more. Giving himself one last shake to dislodge any clinging bits of mud, Islwyn started down the path, choosing his steps with more care. “Come on. I’ll show you the field first. It’s a great place.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:02 pm
"Islwyn." Well, that wouldn't be hard to forget. The female nodded to the other as she absorbed the information. A deep breath was needed to keep her legs from buckling, her nerves already getting nervous. And she hadn't even meet any of the herd yet! Silly, shy female.
Fellina raised a brow but nodded all the same. "I'll take your word for it then." A recent Lord? Was that considered a good thing or not? She didn't know, never being in a herd before. But this young one from his herd didn't seem upset by the subject, either way. And if she knew of the blood relation, she'd be surprised by the formalities placed over them. That would take adjusting to as well. With mud still clung to her, the hind trotted along the speckled male. "Alright then. Let's visit the field." Smile.
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:29 pm
Islwyn took up a brisk pace, happily making his way to one of his favorite childhood grounds. His absolute favorite was the grove where he had been born, but the field was a close second. He and his friends had played many games of Tag, Chase, and similar games in that field. Oddly enough, most of them involved wildly running after one another for no apparent reason. And the discoveries! It was there that Islwyn had first learned the dangers of geese and other large waterfowl. To this day, he still hesitated before approaching those fearsome birds!
The field that he brought Fellina to wasn’t the one he remembered, however. The grass was dead from Fall’s touch and would only die more as winter tightened its grip on the land. The flowers from spring were long-gone and wouldn’t return for several months. Even the happy brook was starting to freeze over. Still, Islwyn presented this place as if it was the most amazing place in the world.
“This is where I grew up,” he explained, looking at all the dead and dying plants fondly. Not in the creepy sort of way… but in that oddly annoying overly optimistic way that always saw every single glass as half-full. “I guess it’s abandoned for now… but, Mother tells me that it’ll be green again soon enough.” And, of course, he believed here. “Don’t go too near the water. There are nasty birds there. They make loud noises and bite at things that get too close.”
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Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:58 pm
Fellina was quick to follow, though at a roguish distance. Even with the young one, or maybe especially because of it, she was still ununsed to others company. Small hooves hushed after the other deer, taking in the sights of the present field. Everything was touched over by the change of season. The female genderly tilted down, sniffing at the dry grounds. "You grew up here? How long ago was that?"
She nodded at the mention of greens, and her eyes lit up with eager joy. Winter was always so harsh, perhaps in a herd it'd pass much easier. Attention was turned to the soft trickling of the stream, ears up like windblown leaves. "Nasty birds?" She'd be sure to keep that in mind. No need to run around like a fool being chased by feathers, eh? xD;
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 10:37 pm
How long ago? Now it was time for Islwyn to look vaguely embarrassed because it truly hadn’t been many weeks ago that he was playing in the mud with other calves in a crazy and complex game of tag. Oh, and Tempest had been there too, of course. “Well, I’m still growing up,” he said helpfully, trying to dodge answering the question completely. “I’m not a full-fledged Outrider yet… heh. Father says that I have to shape up before he promotes me.” Well, Islwyn had been trying. Sort of… it was just that the world was so huge and amazing! How could someone expect him to stay in one place without exploring everything? One of these days, he would have to venture a little outside of the Outrider rings, just to see a little…
“Very nasty birds. They’re huge! Like giant fluffy cloud of doom! They have long necks, sharp beaks, and they swim in water! Under the water! And they can fly!” It was amazing how simple things---like geese---could get Islwyn all excited and hyperactive. “Look! They’re flying now!” he pointed upwards with his nose. Far, far above the two deer, a flock of geese flew on their regular migration patterns, trying to get away before winter truly came to the world.
“Let’s see… what else can I show you?” Islwyn asked, mostly to himself. “There’s also the Home Oak. It’s pretty much the center of the herd. You’ll have to go there to meet the Lord.”
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