[ORP] Beautiful Trap

[DaerilS]

Heavy hooves stamped against the ground as a large but sleek body moved quickly over a hillside and trotted fluidly to a stop at the base. A bright and luscious harvest moon hung over head, inviting all that gazed upon it while the stars that were printed as a silk background to it glittered and sparkled like rim stones. Everything seemed to be a washout deep blue hue in the darkness of the night, even the grass which was turning brown at this time of the year looked almost navy under the glow of the white orb above. The forest in the short distance swayed with a nightly wind, and the animal shook itself as the chilling breeze whipped past him. Even the earth under his mighty cloven hooves was cool to the touch and the first signs of winter were starting to absorb the landscape farther each day. The golden-tan ears of the deer flickered forward then back, listening for predators that he knew would be stirring this time of the night and now more then ever he needed to stay alert and weary to their actions. But everything was tranquil this evening; not even the chirp of the cricket seemed to disturb the silence which puzzled the young deer.

Valebrook unlocked his knees and slowly lowered himself to a comfortable laying position, though he was ready to spring up if it was called for and he reached over to nibble here and there on the grass around him. His eyes were half lidded and his ears back in a relaxed placement on his head, though they would turn every now and then to listen to the surrounding area. Deep auburn eyes glanced toward the forest as though he weren’t really seeing it as his mind wandered on topic after random topic until a flash of white caught his eye and he focused. Something had moved that he was sure of, but now that he was paying attention nothing seemed to appear before him again. Thos eyes narrowed, unsure of what he saw and so he simply put his nose to the air and listened intently for a few minutes but when he neither heard nor scented anything he relaxed again, blaming such paranoid actions on a wild imagination.

There it was again. A wisp of white flashed past his eyes, darting behind a few trees in the dark forest and like a wraith it vanished again. This time Valebrook stood and tossed his head upward, showing off his antlers as a threat in case it was a predator but then still as his eyes focused on the white apparition and his breath caught in his throat. ‘A…a hind?’ he thought to himself while his jaw partially dropped and his ears perked up. And what a beauty the creature was; pure white with long flowing feathery wisps of fur at her ankles while floating bangs crossed over her left eye, though it was completely visible through the transparent form. In fact, it seemed no eyes were to be literally seen in the doe, but instead a light glowed vibrantly through the sockets. Around her neck hung a pinkish human necklace with elegant beads and another human article was wrapped around her left ankle and a golden loop earring hung from her left ear. Every bit of her body was absolutely seen through, Valebrook could even see the trees beyond her through her abdomen, but despite her phantom appearance her gorgeous appearance captivated the young buck. Slowly the deer took a step forward and his expression changed from shock to adoration and soon he was within fifteen feet of the brilliant creature. The wraith looked at him with a whimsical stare before she trotted into the forest, leading him forward and without question the buck followed after giving a heart filled “Wait for me!”

The female looked back at him for just a second before darting into the trees, nor did she answer. Every duty and every thought escaped Valebrook; the only thing that he was focused on or could even see was the hind’s beauty. Sense had escaped him and like Helen of Troy, this female would be his downfall. How long he chased after her he didn’t know, nor did he calculate how far, all he knew was that his heart would go the distance to even get a simple conversation out of her, and for even just that much he was praying. Finally she paused and stood just a ways ahead of him with a sweet grin on her face and waited patiently for him to greet her up and personal. Valebrook with an excited expression slowed his pace and trotted toward her until a loud snap and a crunching thud echoed through the woods and a searing agonizing pain shot up through his left front leg. He looked down, seeing the metal human trap clutched tightly around his lower ankle and hot red blood seeping from a deep wound that was created from the snap. With a painful cry and pleading eyes he looked to the female for help, but what he received in return was something devastating. A devious smirk crossed her maw and a prideful and accomplished stance she took on.

“I’ll see you soon my little friend in the next life,”she said in an elegant but ruthless tone then turned and disappeared into the night. The young buck had come to his senses and realized how he had been tricked so foolishly and now he feared he would die because of his own mistake. What a shame it was. ‘Damn this…how could I have been so stupid…now I’m going to die, aren’t I? And what if my abandoning the herd caused any other deaths?’ The panic and realization of what he had just done was starting to sink in. Not only had he done this to himself, but now could have killed others from his herd with his absence. His beating heart was bounding roughly in his chest and he tugged harshly at the metal trap to try and free his leg, but only cause himself more pain in doing so. In an attempt at freedom and help he released a loud roar into the night air, hoping someone would hear his call and come to his aid.  

[DaerilS]

In the meantime, before any savior had come to the buck's aid, the deer had been harshly trying to set himself free, even if it meant inflicting damage to himself. Instead of dying here, he was prepared for the worst. His his free front leg he'd rise up on his back and slam down on the trap and eventually managed to break the chain that clamped it to the ground and loosen the grip the steel teeth had on his hoof, however it refused to move any farther. He tossed his head and forced himself to keep as quiet as was possible under the throbbing pain. 'How could you have gotten yourself into this mess, Vale? You're a member of the corps after all...I w-' his thought was cut off when he heard the sudden voice and recognized the tone, having heard it time and time again as a calf listening to the tales of old. "Valebrook, corps buck, sir," he answered in a mimicked hushed voice. His ears were forward and he looked desperately through the darkness to try and see the old story teller and once he pinpointed the source of his scent stared exactly where Lailoken was standing. He gave a silent prayer and blessed Rannoch's name as well, though felt extremely immature and incapable at the fact that at this age he was foolishly falling for something like this. At any other time he would have scented the human stench around the area and headed back, but the alluring female had captivated every bit of sense that made up his brain.

 

[DaerilS]

"I...I don't know. He looked around for a moment, searching for something along the forest floor. "Perhaps a fallen branch can help to pry it off," he suggested looking back to the elder with large eyes. Still his heart was aching at his foolishness and the fact that his leg was throbbing only intensified his shame. Certainly if he were to get himself out of this mess, even with Lailoken’s help after this he’d be out of commission for a while, and especially then he’d need to be careful, it was still his duty to protect his herd. "Forgive me..." he uttere quietly and with his ears slicked back looked down to the ground and kept his eye there as if it were interesting. "I became distracted...and because of that this happened. A hind was in the woods, needless to say I followed after her."

 

[DaerilS]

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Valebrook didn't understand the urgency and harshness of his tone but knowing the old story tell her the young buck was sure all of this tied together somehow in some tale or ryhem of old. ''I'm positive. Her eyes were glowing...she even wore human ornaments here and there," he answered, hoping the elder would believe his story. He could see something was working behind Lailoken's eyes and could even sense the unnerved danger creeping up. "Why...what's the danger?" he asked, though he had already learned the hind was bad knews, after all she left him to die and the haunting words she left with him made Valebrook shutter for an instant.

 

[DaerilS]

((Please forgive me for my recent absence, I've had a lot of school work to do. And nice post for Envy Tamiko_kitten))

Valebrook's eyes widened while his ears perked forward in shock, unbelieving that he had met one of the fabled Fallen. As a young calf he had believed the stories that the old stag had told him with every fiber of his heart, but as time progressed the old fables became more like stories in his eyes instead of truth. "So...I...she...the herd," he said as the information and dire fear started to sink in. If the Fallen had truly come down from their mountain peak the entire herd was in complete danger, and it seemed already they were acting out their devious plots.

He looked down to the trap around his ankle as Lailoken shoved the stick between the two metal bars. Suddenly Valebrook lifted his free hoof and pressed down harshly on the fallen stick and was thankful it didn't split in the process. Slowly, but with hast in his mind he pried the trap open, able to do so by applying his weight onto the one hoof and slowly he squeezed his injured leg between the bars before he released his pressure and the trap snapped upward. Freedom he had been granted, but not without a price, but he looked to the old story teller with grateful eyes. "I thank you for your help, Lailoken, I can never repay you enough," he spoke gently but the pain didn't cease once the trap had been eliminated from his problems.

 

[DaerilS]

Beneath Valebrooks fur his cheeks flushed at the compliment of the story. However, Valebrook hardly wanted Lailoken to do any such thing. His escape from this stroy was simply a testamony to survival, anyone would have done the same if placed in this position. Besides, if Lailoken hadn't shown it was shure that Valebrook wouldn't have seen the mornings light lifting through the branches of the tall pines. Not only that, this was not something to idolize, after all he had been tricked, fooled into this position, and even if he was the victom here, he was still partially to blaim, after all he had become easily distracted. The buck tossed his antlers in an atempt to warm himself, in the cool summer air. Normally this weather would have been perfect, but with the loss of blood he was begining to feel chilled. Little did he know that they were being watched by another of the Fallen.

Slowly, yet with an air of hast, he followed after the old story teller with a limp in his gate. Eagerly he followed, hoping to find Fell Lore as soon as they possibly could, but he knew that even if a herb could be found to stop infection, predators still were going to be an issue, not just for him, but for the herd as well. He trusted Tergen and the Outrider, but still he felt guilty.