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 Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:54 am
 A wandering hind was in near constant danger these days, and Eavan was completely aware of that. As a fawn, she might have had a chance that she'd just get off with a leg or two ripped off, maybe her heart gnawed out through her ribs while she was still conscious, but as a hind? A rogue hind, at that? She was just waiting to come across a buck that would decide she belonged to him and who would roughhouse her into his herd.
Then again, she was also completely aware that such a thing was to become her fate very shortly, and thus she resigned herself to it. But that didn't mean she had to give herself over this exact day, not if she could stay concealed.
Eavan glanced this way and that, brown eyes bright and ever alert, and quirked her ears to listen for the faintest sounds. All she caught were the birds tweeting softly in the air, or a squirrel jumping from tree to tree. Alone at last, she thought with a relieved sigh, though even as she crept toward the nearby meadow she kept herself in the shadows of the trees. One learned quickly just what camouflage would properly aid oneself, and the vast boughs above her cast down such darkness that it was barely a problem for her. But she could only remain there for so long. Her stomach grumbled angrily, and she knew that if there was any predator stalking her scent nearby he would have already become aware of her just by that sound. Better now than never.
With her hungry and nearly emaciated stomach propelling her forward, Eavan took soft and gentle steps into the meadow, staring all around her. Don't you dare. Not today, you hungry oafs. She froze in her position out on the meadow, faintly aware of a twig breaking, but when nothing else came she merely shook her head and bowed down to eat, the long and graceful line of her neck at its loveliest.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:19 pm
Helaku was beginning to feel his age. He was of course used to the various pains associated with being a rogue male, but during the last winter he had felt an ache in his broken antler that told him clearly his time was getting shorter. He was growing old and with each step closer he was a greater target to wolf and weather. Not that he seemed bothered by it. The end would come eventually; not that he was ready to go just yet. Oh yes, he still had quite a few seasons left if he had any say in the matter.
The large stag moved gracefully beneath the tree towards the meadows; seemingly unperturbed by the sounds surrounding him that spoke of danger to most of his kind. He had spent too much time on his own to be so easily spooked. His ears twitched as he moved, following the birdsong and the odd scrambling rodent in the brush. The one antler that was left rose nobly above his head and it was clear by his physique that in his prime he would have been a powerful male capable of holding his own against all comers.
Helaku stopped calmly at the edge of the meadow; blinked slowly and sniffed the air with a regal lift of his head. He showed no sign of interest in Eaven, other than a polite dip of his head towards her, as he then ambled forward in search of his favorite patch of clover. He soon found it three deer lengths away from the hind and settled in for a good feed.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:51 am
 "Run. Run. Run. RUN!" was all Dust's mind was telling him. He should've never decided to go for that walk. At least not alone. Whenever he was with Leonardo it wasn't easy for the wolves to get them for they jumped, changed directions and split all the time. It was a rather confusing sight and the beige stag knew it worked every single time but now... now he was all alone against a pack of blood-thirsty wolves. They were after him. They had been after him for a while now and he was starting to get tired but he had no choice but to keep going wherever his eyes took him. He was far from his brother, he was sure. There was no one to help him now. He was the only one who could help himself and that was the problem. He wasn't used to that. He always depended on Leonardo ever since they were both little foals. Thehabit stayed as he grew up and he didn't even realize this up until that day and that exact moment when he had to gather all the strength he had and run for it.
A couple of the wolves were getting closer. He could hear them and the noises they made. Fearful, dark, loud and venomous. He swore he could hear the saliva falling from their big smiling mouths on the ground. He turned right, head turning back swiftly. They were still after him. They seemed less. Maybe some of them had gotten tired and quit. He wasn't about to quit, though. With hooves hitting the ground as hard and as fast as possible he saw the meadow and knew that right on the other side of it there was a river. He was a good jumper, a great one, actually, and he was sure he could easily get from one side of the river to the other. He also knew the wolves couldn't and that was his only advantage, his only chance.
As he was running through the bushes, finally getting out in the open meadow he noticed two figures. Herla! "Run! Get out of my way! Hurry!" he shouted, regretting his decision. He had now put two other lives in danger because of his own...
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:34 pm
Dammit. Eavan quickly lifted her head when she heard a few branches begin to part, heart immediately pounding and lifting a leg to prepare to scatter, but paused moments later. It was a stag. A stag, of all things. I couldn't run into a group of hinds, could I? She stayed frigid and still, lifting her chin pridefully and staring at the stag to take in his every move. If a single look toward her was threatening, she'd fly out of the area as quickly as she could and see if he could catch up.
When he still seemed unaware of him, however, Eavan furrowed her brow and took the moment of hesitation to look over him. He was an old one, that was for sure. His coat was almost completely gray, though whether that was from a degree of aging or his normal shade she couldn't quite tell. What was most curious, however, was the scar down his eye that she saw when he looked toward her as well as the severed horn. What sort of fight must this stag have gotten into? When he merely nodded to her, a slow and gentle movement that belayed either his age or his interest in her, Eavan merely touched her hoof back to the grass and blinked. Apparently she was safe...from this one, at least. In fact, she sensed no negativity from him at all. He merely floated toward the clover and dipped his head, preparing to eat.
She had no desire to make conversation with him, but when she was this hungry she wouldn't bother to leave. Thus, an awkward silence it would be. Eavan looked around one more time, ears keen, before she began her meal once again, becoming very consumed in the delicious flavors against her tongue. Then again, everything tasted delicious when one was as starved as she was.
And then suddenly the bushes split and Eavan stumbled back a few steps in panic, staring at the stag stampeding toward her with huge eyes. This was it! She was a goner and any freedom she ever had was lost! But just as she winced to prepare to face her fate, he cried out a warning, and she gaped at him for only a moment before she heard the telltale growling on the air: wolves. No! She looked quickly at the older stag, worried for his sake or if his muscles would even allow him to outrun the creatures, but gray fur exploded from the bushes in that instant and she cried out in shock as she wheeled around and sprinted after the stag.
Staying with him was unsafe, but separating meant they'd more than likely all come after her. She had nothing to keep the wolves at bay and she knew it. In a moment of indecision as they flew toward a fork in the path, she pondered...and then shook her head. "I'm sorry!" she cried out to the stag and immediately veered to follow him closer. He was tiring, and she knew it as it took very little time for her to be running directly beside him. "How do we escape?!" And upon all that is wild and holy, let that poor older stag escape with his life as well!
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:43 pm
Given enough time Helaku perhaps would have addressed the hind, but he was in no firm need of companionship and was also content to allow her the time to relax and get used to his presence there. So he continued to eat the clover, moving about slowly to get the best bits he could find. With the spring weather he felt almost young again and he was quite enjoying himself… until of course the sound of hunting wolves drifting to him on the wind. His head lifted, ears swiveling forward and body instantly tensing as the younger stag burst from the trees.
He took in the scene in an instant, head swinging sideways to compensate for his bad eye. When the hind took off he was glad, she would need all the head start that she could get. Rather than flee immediately, the older stag threw his head back and gave a loud powerful bellow of warning to the wolves in hopes of stopping their path for a second and only then did he turn, gracefully taking flight after the other two.
The younger stag was tired and Helaku caught up with them quickly with his long, easy strides. Despite his older appearance he was clearly sprightly and still strong for all the grey in his pelt. He too knew of the river and figured that was the direction the stag was heading. It was a good enough direction; the water would at least buy them some time. “Dig deep!” He called to the failing stag.
“We will soon reach the river.” He moved up alongside the hind, willing her not to panic. “Then you must jump; run swiftly and don’t look back.” The wolves had spread out behind them, closing in to snap at their heels. Perhaps they were silently deciding which deer to go for first; the oldest, the fatigued one or the female.
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 3:58 am
Dust continued running. He couldn't feel his legs anymore. It felt like they were fading. He had been running for so long. As he reached the edge of the meadow he gave a quick look back, purple eyes scanning the area for seconds. A female and an old stag is what he saw. The female getting closer to him, running. He could see the fear in her eyes. The old male growling at the wolves right before heading towards the younger herla.
"There's a river nearby" he said, cutting every single word short so, he could take a breath. "We can lose those bloodthirsty mutts there..." he didn't even look back to the female. He was concentrated on the path he was taking. Both of them were following him now and he could see the old stag nearing. It was such a relief to know that the older one had a shot at escaping those beasts but Dust still felt really guilty for getting other herla into this mess. He heard the old stag speak of the river and he knew that maybe that was their only hope. Ever since he was a foal he knew to always listen to and obey the elders for they were wiser and much more experienced than him.
Bush after bush. Tree after tree. The young stag jumped around all the obstacles and turned his head for a split second every now and then to see how the other two were doing and whether the wolves were nearing them... which they were. Poisonous eyes staring right inside of his. It was almost as if he was being hypnotized. He snapped out of it soon enough not to hit the next tree, though and turned his head to face the road which was soon to take them to the river.
”Hold on. We’re almost there!” he shouted, this time not turning back. He forced his legs to go faster and faster and when he reached the edge he shut his eyes and flew. It seemed as it the flight lasted for one very long moment for the stag was scared that he might fall in the water and it wasn’t any warm yet. Blackness was hiding behind his eyelids and it was endless and infinite. A dark hallow. And quiet… he could no longer hear the howls, roars or the sound of hooves hitting the dusty ground. He landed. His eyes opened and there was no longer darkness. Only burning bright light. It was a soothing white light that made him feel okay. He was okay. He was alive. He turned back taking deep breaths and waiting for the other two to pass the river.
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:03 pm
Everything was about to go wrong. She could just feel it, somewhere deep inside herself. Her heart pounded in terror as she ran, hoofs beating against the ground, but she refused to look behind her. If she did, she just knew she'd fly off course and she'd be down in an instant. The older stag suddenly appeared beside her and she gasped in surprise, looking at him for only a moment before she stared straight ahead of her again. He's alive! Thank heavens! His voice was low but firm, soothing but energizing, and in an instant she knew what she had to do.
With her eyes rolling slightly in panic, Eavan dove deep inside her head and shut down her more intelligent mind, focusing on her fight vs. flight syndrome. Wolves. They were right there, right behind her, jowls chomping at her feet. Stags. The one on her left, he was old but stronger than her and the younger put together, she could feel it. But the one on the right, he was struggling. He was fading. He would be the first to go if this illusive river was farther away than she suspected.
Run. Run. Run run run runrunrun- There! Eavan's eyes grew to their widest when she saw the light of the sun peek through the trees overhead and sparkle against the surface of the wide river. Heavens, had she ever seen anything that wide? At any other moment, she would have been aware of her own difficulties, of the fact that she had far shorter legs than the stags on either side of her and that she'd never been that good of a jumper in her life before as it was. But now? Now, when her mind was shut off and she was but prey fleeing from her death? She saw the river and pounded toward it, panting in anticipation.
The tired stag flew first, and she took off only a second after him, powerful legs thrusting her forward. Time slowed. There was the bank, so close, she was gonna make it, she was gonna-
"Agh!" Eavan cried out as her back legs clipped the edge of the bank and sent her flying forward into a faceplant. She skidded across the ground, face and body scraping against the rocks and branches laying here and there across the soil, and winced at the pain. Dammit! She kept her eyes tightly closed, protecting them as best as she could, and when she came to a stop she merely lay there, side pumping in panicked breaths.
But the wolves were silent. She lifted her neck, already feeling the adrenaline beginning to wear off, and stared back at the wolves snarling at them angrily from the other side before they took off again. Whether it was to search out other prey or to find a way to ford the river she had no idea. She merely plopped her head gently on the ground again and experimentally moved her legs, one by one. Each responded with no crippling pain and she made a soft sigh of relief, closing her eyes in gratefulness. Thank you. With a soft grunt of pain from her aching muscles and the light surface wounds she had, Eavan rolled over and pushed herself to her hooves, where she staggered for only a moment before she looked at the two stag, still panting.
Strange, wasn't it, how she suddenly felt a vague kinship to them. She pawed uneasily at the ground at the unfamiliarity of the feelings and waited to see what their response to the situation was.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:13 pm
The panic coursing through the two other deer was infectious and Helaku had a hard time keeping his own emotions in check, but he managed it with a great force of will. It was no good for a rogue to give in to his terror. That was like a death sentence and it was lesson he had learnt long ago, the moment when his eyesight had been taken from him. It was all well and good for deer with a herd to flee on mass in whatever direction their panic addled mind took them, but for a lone deer, it was a different story altogether.
He kept abreast of the hind, conserving his strength and keeping a close eye on both to see if they were about to falter. If the other stag had fallen he wouldn’t have been surprised, but he was glad to see the male kept moving, darting through the trees to keep the wolves off his heels.
A wolf got in closer than Helaku would have liked and snapped at his legs, causing Helaku to suddenly swerve around a tree and away from the others. He jumped a small ditch and zig zagged between tree trunks until the wolf fell back and the stag picked up his pace, powerful muscles moving fluidly as the glint of silver appeared in distance. He reached the water in time to see stag and then the hind leap for safety and then it was his turn.In one swift motion his muscles bunches and his back legs kicked off, sending him sailing over the river to land lightly upon the other side. Helaku shook his head and snorted, immediately turning to face the opposite bank where the wolves were slowly slinking into the shadows. They wouldn’t give up so easily. That he knew. Not to mention if they were hungry enough, they could always try swim.
He took a moment to get his breath back and then trotted over to the other two, giving them a good look over to see the extent of their fatigue. “Come.” Helaku said firmly. “We must keep moving.” While he gave them a chance to rally themselves he took a drink from the river, lapping up the cool water gratefully. Once he was satisfied, the older stag nodded at his companions and simply began to walk off at a brisk pace. Whether they followed him or not that was their prerogative, but he did not intend to stick around with the pack still so close.
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