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 Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:50 pm
So. It was Anlach again already. Spring had definitely sprung, and so had a lot of the stags in the herd when they caught scent of Anlach on the air. At this time of year, it was a good idea for good little hinds everywhere to stay close to the center of the herd where they could be quietly corralled. Out of affection for Brychan-----and there had been that close call between Brychan and that rogue stag the Anlach before----Telyn had stayed by the Home Oak for a little while. This, inevitably, did not last long. It took a grand total of fifteen minutes before the gray hind became bored and started to wander. There simply wasn’t a whole lot to do there while Brychan was off collecting more hinds and Telyn was an easily bored creature. Currently, she was wandering the edges of the herd, occasionally nibbling on a tasty plant.
Six children. It was difficult to think about that, but that’s how many she’d had so far. Damn Brychan’s virility. Aylin, Ciera, Liadan, Leigh, Islwyn, and, of course, Tempest. Of all of them, she felt closest to her eldest daughter, Tempest. In fact, in an odd way, it had been her eldest daughter who brought her out here; Tempest showed quite a bit of interest in stags, but none had stepped forward to claim her. Telyn, being the loving mother she was, had taken it upon herself to look over any available stag and make sure they were properly qualified to approach her Tempest. She wasn’t worried about Islwyn as much; it wasn’t like he ran the risk of being claimed by an unworthy stag.
As for herself… well, she wasn’t sure if she would have any more children. Sure, she loved them all and it was surely worth all the pain of pregnancy, but… six. SIX. She had more children than she had years in her life! With a sigh, the hind shook her head and continued her idle grazing.
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:25 pm
"Mother?" Brogan carefully aproached Dorcheira, "Will father be able to sire this year?"
"No, dear one." Not this year, she thought, not ever.
"Will uncle Thorn?" the doe was inquiring about her blood father, who had acted as surrogate the Anlatch before.
"Never again," Dorcheira growled, "Now go on and... train." She smiled as her daughter bounded off. The daughter who wanted to be an outrider, the daughter she had given everything for.
She had been able to spirit her away to her 'father', Bryce. He was a great influence on her. Brogan's good mannerism sure didn't come from her! And Brogan hadn't been the least bit afraid of him. If only everyone could she him through the eyes of innocence.
Was it possible that he could find redemption? Could he live again? And what of her 'sister' Raven? The fox had been with her for so long.... but now forbidden to come anywhere near the herd. "Why do you do this to me, Herne? What have I done to make you hate me so?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:59 pm
Telyn didn’t mean to eavesdrop. It was simply that… well… eager children could be rather loud without trying and it wasn’t like the gray hind could turn off her ears. At hearing the voices of other females, she flicked her ears back a little, vaguely interested in spite of herself. Ha. She was clearly still feminine enough to listen in on conversations not meant for others.
“… That’s a good girl, you’ve got there,” she said, finally looking over at the other hind with her wide blue eyes. “You should be thanking Herne for that.” Her own daughters, all five of them, were good girls. Mostly. Ciera still seemed rather uninterested in everything except for stories, but Tempest… she was very proud of Tempest.
Naturally, since Telyn didn’t recognize Dorcheira from Brychan’s descriptions----and, yes, the black stag had on occasion shared stories of his duties with his favorite hind----she believed that this stranger was complaining about her daughter’s training and impetuous nature.
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Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:01 pm
"Yes, and only that," It took Dorcheira a moment to realize she had answered someone. Which meant someone had spoken to her. She turned her head, "Oh. Um.... hello." Here came the usual social akwardness, "I'm afraid I didn't see you there."
But hey! Someone who actually seemed to like Brogan, she smiled, "Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. She's a little.... unique. Sweet little deer at heart; just wants to be considered useful." How better to be useful than becoming an outrider? Never mind the little details like, oh, she didn't have any antlers or the fact she was a girl. Such innocence. He was heart-breaking to think the world would soon crush it....
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Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:42 pm
Telyn’s temper cooled slightly when she heard that this other hind was apparently perfectly ok with having a slightly… ah… eccentric daughter. Hm. She didn’t recall ever meeting this hind before, but that wasn’t too unusual. The only hinds she really knew were the ones in Brychan’s harem and, even then, the only ones she really felt close to were Rhomae and Aithne. “She’s not entirely unique, you know. There are… others with a certain healthy amount of spirit. I can think of at least three without even trying.”
Ha. Now that she thought about it, most of them were in Brychan’s harem. “I’m Telyn,” she introduced herself after a brief pause once she figured out that the other hind wasn’t about to introduce herself without some sort of urging. It wasn’t really Telyn’s nature to be overly social, but she felt like talking to someone, anyone, even if it wasn’t one of her close friends. “Is she your only daughter?”
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:38 pm
"And I'm Dorcheira," she smiled. So this hind knew of other 'spirited' females. Hm, maybe it was a good idea to talk with the other hinds more often. She briefly wondered if Telyn was also a mother, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Yes, she's my only daughter. Only child actually. It's comforting to know that there are other females like her; I was begining to think I was doing something wrong," Dorcheira shook her head, "I like her just the way she is," she smiled wryly, "Though I suppose I'm a little prejudice--- there were complications when she was born, I swore to Herne I'd be happy with whatever sort of soul He should give her if only she lived. But I want her to be happy..... and she's so angry she was born a girl." She sighed, "I'm really not sure what I should do.
"Do you have any fawns or calves? I don't suppose you've had a similar problem?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:43 pm
“Six. I have six children, five girls, and one boy.” Telyn lifted her head just a bit higher at her declaration, clearly pleased with her offspring. And with her figure too, now that she thought about it. It wasn’t easy to regain it after something like that (indeed, there was still a bit more… Telyn than there used to be, but she felt she worked with it). Dorcheira. That name was familiar… Ah well. If it was important, she would remember soon enough.
“All of my kids are happy enough, really. Although, in my boy’s case, that could very well be because he’s too… dim to be unhappy. I do know of one calf with a terminal angry problem. Chirin. He’s mad at everything for existing. Just being in his general vicinity is enough to earn you eternal enmity.” Alright, so that was exaggerating a bit, but Telyn still didn’t like the boy since he had attacked Islwyn when they were both just calves. “As for the angry at being born a girl…” she grinned slightly, a mere curve of her lips. “I was that fawn. Still am, in some ways.” Funny to think about that, now that she was the Lord’s favorite and mother to six of his kids. Sure, she still didn’t exactly like being female and being left behind… but, she found ways to enjoy herself anyway. There were always ways, if one was intelligent enough.
Waitaminute… Dorcheira. Brychan had been rather upset not too long ago about a hind trying to do something to the herd, trying to bring someone else into it. “You wanted to bring a Fallen into the herd. And a fox.” Now most of the warmth had left Telyn’s voice, leaving ice.
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:11 pm
Wow. Did the temperature change? "The fox.... she was already here. As for the Fallen, he was found outside the limits of the herd's territory. Waiting for me. If you knew the two of them, you'd understand." Dorcheira looked longingly past Telyn and into the forests, "Bryce, the Fallen, was someone who stood up to Sgorr. That's how he died. Raven, the fox--- she's been here almost as long as I have."
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:48 pm
Telyn snorted and tossed her head a little bit, clearly displeased with the idea of being in the same general vicinity as a fox or a Fallen. “Clearly, he didn’t stand up to Sgorr. If he had, he’d be truly dead. As I understand it, the Fallen are those who faithfully followed Sgorr. Or, if they disagreed with him, they didn't say 'No' loudly enough. Theirs isn't the same sin as Sgorr's, but just as bad in its own petty way, a sort of mindless following of monotony and 'oh dearie me, I don't agree, but everyone else seems to think this is good, so I'll go along with it."
“And as for your fox being around for a long time… well, my a** has been an a** for a very long time, but I don’t listen to anything it says. Brychan made the right decision in sending the fox away. Better for the fox, anyway… as I said before, I have six children. I don’t react well to any threat towards them.” Or even perceived threats, when you got right down to it. Brychan had been downright merciful compared to what Telyn could cook up when she was mad.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:11 pm
Dorcheira cocked an eyebrow. This hind was comparing her rear to Raven? And Bryce! How dare she say that about Bryce!
"Begging your pardon," she said defensively, "But it's really not a good idea to judge someone you've never met. Ask any speaker, and they can tell you lera are as much individuals as herla. Not all foxes are coniving, blood-lusting bastards. I should know, I've met both extremes.
"As for Bryce, the Fallen rise for different reasons. Some are evil, some are cowardly, and some come back because of the wounds of betrayal. Bryce was killed by Sgorr when he pleaded against 'The Cleansing'. He's a speaker, so you can understand the contraversy. Compassion was considered a weakness. Bryce made one kill in all his overly-long existance, he took the life of a male fox. He isn't at all like you think. And not all Fallen came from Sgorr's time. Have you heard the legend of Wrath? It's no mere legend."
Dorcheira sighed. She didn't have the energy to fight, "Before I had Brogan, I went wherever I pleased. I saw many things while I was looking for her...."
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:28 pm
Once again, Telyn snorted. “Doesn’t matter what they act like. They’re all dangerous, no matter how nice they may seem. In times of desperation, any creature can be dangerous, even deadly. Especially for younglings. The thing about foxes is that none of them seem dangerous… such small creatures, so easily killed; it’s hard to see them as a threat until they’re backed into a corner. Then they’re very dangerous indeed.” And, as said before, they could easily kill a young fawn or calf. Telyn couldn’t stand the idea of that sort of loose siege weapon running around her herd.
And the Fallen were just as bad. For the third time in as many seconds, Telyn snorted. “The Fallen have risen because parts of their souls are missing. Without a complete soul, they cannot come back to life or transfer completely towards death. This is what I know.” That is, that’s what she had been taught from birth. “Your… Fallen worked with Sgorr once and only rose his voice once Sgorr threatened lera? What about herla? I personally think poorly of someone who thinks of lera first and THEN herla.”
“Oh, you traveled?” now that had Telyn’s attention… “How did you leave the herd? Actually, scratch that; why did you come back? Brychan tells me that you don’t like it here anyway. Your stag is outside the herd, if such a word can be attached to something that probably doesn’t even have the… stag-parts, your fox is outside… why do you even stay here at all?”
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:56 am
"You are inclined to think whatever you want about foxes, just as I am."
Huh, Dorcheira had never heard of that theory. Ah, yes. The other herla. "Sgorr was still 'Gathering' at that point. And Bryce was a new recrute, no known harm had come to the herla yet. Not that I doubt Sgorr was murdering behind the scenes."
Dorcheira was caught off gaurd by that question, why did she stay here? "I suppose I came back because my cousin lives here. He looked after me when we were younglings, he was a little older than I--- I guess that made him feel responsible for me. Now I return the favor. Then there's his apprentice, Thorn, a peice of work if there ever was one. Don't ask me why I care about him. He grew on me, like fungus or something." she furrowed her brow, somehow, that didn't seem like a full answer, but for the life of her, she couldn't think of any other reason she stayed.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:21 pm
In Telyn’s mind---which was probably pretty far from the truth in some ways----Sgorr had always been a murdering b*****d who ate the brains of small fawns. She figured that this Fallen of Dorcheira’s was simply idiotic then; how could someone NOT notice missing deer? Surely someone would have commented on it. Admittedly, Telyn didn’t always hear about missing deer, but that was because she didn’t really listen.
Dorcheira’s words silenced Telyn for a few moments as she thought things through. “Well… I only started getting friends recently myself. If I knew that I couldn’t see any of them ever again or Brychan, I would go to them, even if it meant leaving a cousin or two behind.” Admittedly, it couldn’t be fun going rogue, Telyn knew, but she had faith that a sufficiently clever deer could figure it out with ease. “Call me a hedonist if you like; I would have bolted in the night a while back if it wasn’t for Brychan, Aithne, and Rhomae.” And her children of course, but they would be part of the bolt.
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:23 am
Dorcheira smiled wryly, "There are worse things to be than a hedonist. But like you said; you named three individuals that you are willing to sacrifice a rogue's freedom for.
"My situation is..... complicated. Not to say that your's isn't," she added. She didn't know Telyn well enough to disregard her problems as mere annoyances, "I suppose it has to do with debts. Like I mentioned, I owe Brych (my cousin, not your Brychan). If you can keep a secret, and you must never tell a stag, Brych is-" Dorcheira bit her tongue, "different." Telyn was apparently one of Brychan's harem. If the Lord of the Herd got wind that Brych was a homosexual, what would he do? Strip him of his Outrider position? And Brych wanted to be a Captian. "I have to protect him. And now, I have my daughter to look after."
Her eyes got a faraway look for a moment. "Actually, the older and stronger Brogan gets, the weaker Bryce becomes. It's like, even though Thorn was her sire; Bryce gave her something more. Something powerful.
"And it means.... that Bryce could very well be dying. Permenantly. His soul is too tired to be reincarnated, I'd not see him again untill I joined him in death," the black and white hind's ears pinned back, "I should be happy for him; he'll finally be able to rest. But- But I want him to come back, to be with me." Dorcheira looked ashamed, "I suppose that makes me a terribly selfish person."
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 1:45 pm
“There are lots of different stags and hinds in this herd, Dorcheira,” Telyn said offhandedly, the implications of the other hind’s words going right over her head. “I don’t see how your staying here will help you keep a secret any better than not being here. Not that I’m encouraging you to leave or anything. I’m just annoyingly curious about everything, you see. Anyway, Brychan doesn’t care about personal secrets, so long as they don’t threaten the herd, like your fox or your Fallen.”
The idea of a Fallen’s death failed to move anything other than curiosity in Telyn. And why would it move anything else? As Dorcheira had mentioned, Telyn had never met the Fallen and probably never would. Why weep for those she didn’t know? “He won’t die. That’s the Fallen’s curse, to always walk the earth. More likely, your Fallen is simply sad because you’re not with him. Broken hearts can kill, even if those hearts aren’t beating. I guess.” That made far more sense to Telyn’s practical mind than the idea of ‘something special and powerful’. Although, in all honesty, she thought it was more likely that Dorcheira’s mind was playing tricks on her, or even that the Fallen was fooling her. “And everyone is selfish. It’s a very… herla thing to be selfish, really. Last Anlach, when I had given birth to four fawns and another hind in Brychan’s harem had stillbirthed, I… well, I was happy, in a weird way. I couldn’t have possibly have fed all four by myself, so Siani’s stillbirth helped me.” It was a tough admission, but it was true. Not that she hadn’t felt for her harem-sister, of course, but, Telyn was very practical in some ways.
Thinking about her children invariably brought her mind back to Islwyn, her first son, her first child, born just a few minutes before his sister. The boy seemed to have no direction in life and had no interest in Anlach so far. That was worrying in some ways. Still, he seemed to love being an Outrider.
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