Clashing Ideals

[CosmicChaos21]

Me starting yet another new playthrough? More likely than you think!

This one is inspired by Nightfire's deer challenge (though I'm not following it perfectly, for example the females can only have max 2 strength rule is being thrown into the void because nothing can stop me >:)

I researched deer body language and behavior for this and I really hope it shows- Anyways onto the actual playthrough!

 

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“And that’s how not to keep your footing, thanks for the demonstration” Pollen, a pink deer with more stiff fur, spoke with snark though her eyes flicked towards the other deer’s stomach for a moment before returning to her face. “You’re very welcome” Solar, the fluffy bright red deer with orange tips of fur around her neck who had just tripped, said not intending to let this embarrass her as she stood to her hooves once more with Hunter giving her a concerned glance. “Watch your step more carefully, your fawn can’t handle that type of stress” Hunter, a fluffy brown deer with darker brown markings, said in response to the other deer’s actions which Solar returned with a confident grin. “Relax Hunter, considering they’re my fawn they’re tough enough to handle a tumble I’m sure” Solar spoke without a hint of doubt as the only male approached her. “The fawn has a higher chance of being stillborn or dying during the birth if you fall like that, not to mention it could be bad for you too” Zephyr, a lean and small yellowish deer, spoke as he felt concern over the health of his mate and future fawn after seeing the larger deer fall.

“I’m fine, you worry too much” Solar waved off the herd’s concerns as she redirected the conversation to get the focus off her tumble “How are you two holding up?” Solar asked as she looked between Pollen and Hunter who both perked up at being talked to. “I feel fine” Hunter’s answer was simple and short unlike the other deer’s response. “Oh, well I’m a bit tired from the walking- oh and kinda hungry now that I think about it” Pollen spoke again before anyone had a chance to respond “but the fawn feels same as usual” she spoke as she realized that was the easier answer. 

“Surely there’s some food around here” Zephyr spoke as he raised his head and smelled the air for any trace of berries only to be disappointed by the lack of berry scent. “The wind isn’t blowing this way so if there are any we probably won’t find them anytime soon” Zephyr noted as he realized the breeze was blowing away from them. “We’ll find food eventually if we keep moving” Hunter said with a step towards more tall grass which Zephyr responded with by going to the front of the herd and walking again.

The rest of the does followed after him with Pollen keeping her nose alert for any signs of berries as talking about it had made the hunger more intense. The herd was oddly quiet as they continued their trek across the island in search of a meal to ensure they didn’t get distracted and miss a chance to eat. Pollen sent an apologetic glance to Hunter after being so distracted that she ran into the other doe but Hunter only looked at Pollen for a moment before continuing to walk. Solar was barely biting down the urge to talk and fill the silence but she knew that they were supposed to be focusing on finding food so she grumbled internally.

 

 

Solar’s ears perked up as a scent hit her nose. “Berries!” The word got Pollen’s attention instantly as she sniffed the air again and came to the same conclusion “Sweet delicious berries!” Pollen immediately started racing towards the scent before pausing in her tracks and walking back to the herd “Let’s go!” she didn’t run off because she didn’t feel like tempting fate by wandering off by herself. “A stable source of food that’s not just grass would be good for the fawns” Zephyr stated before walking towards the scent causing the does to follow though it was obvious Pollen and Solar wanted to get there faster from their speeding up then slowing down. Hunter rolled her eyes at the other does excitable natures over something as simple as a few berries but she bit her tongue.

As soon as the berries were in sight Pollen zipped in front of the herd and ate one of the berries first with a swish of her tail as the sweet taste hit her tongue. Solar was second to run up and eat one of the berries with a smile as she realized that these were far better than the grass the herd had been surviving on. Hunter and Zephyr walked side by side as they approached the berry bush and each took a berry for themselves. Zephyr’s tail gently swished as he appreciated the taste of the berry while Hunter didn’t show any outward signs of happiness as she ate her berry. Hunter’s eyes flicked over at Pollen as she tried to eat another berry.

“Don’t” The single word caused Pollen to stop and she looked over at Hunter only to notice she was giving one of her stern stares that made Pollen agitated. “What?” Pollen asked as she wondered what it was this time. “One berry is enough for one day, you’ll leave the fawns without any if you eat all of them” Pollen’s ears dropped down putting Hunter on edge before the other doe rolled her eyes and stepped back from the bush. “Whatever” Pollen said as her ears raised back to their normal position while walking over to Solar, who was watching the interaction with a feeling of discomfort.

“Why don’t you three rest and I’ll keep watch for the night?” Zephyr tried to diffuse the tension that hung in the air with a suggestion. Hunter hesitated but ultimately gave her answer “Be careful” before carefully laying down in the grass. “Sounds good to me” Solar said as she laid down as well with Pollen silently laying down next to her. “Sleep well” Zephyr said before walking over to a scouting spot, though the tall grass meant he couldn’t do much other than listen and keep his nose sharp for any odd scents.

 

 

The herd’s peaceful sleep was ruined by the fact that the fawns wanted to be born that night meaning that it was filled with extreme stress for Zephyr who was hoping the birth would be a little spaced out at least. Soon enough four fawns were born into the herd filling it with new life.

“I can’t believe I had twins” Hunter’s voice bordered on exhaustion despite the fawns doing nothing more than sleeping at the moment. “You’re naming this one” Zephyr was surprised at being put on the spot as Hunter vaguely gestured toward the doe with a stripe pattern on her ears. “Oh, uh-” He stumbled to find his words as he racked his mind for a good name. “What about Hawk?” He eventually managed to get out as Hunter hummed in thought leaving Zephyr waiting for her approval. “That works” Hunter gave a definitive nod that made the leading male deflate with relief and Hunter’s mouth tried to twitch into a smile. “What about the other one?” Zephyr asked making Hunter hum again as she considered the question before an idea came to her “Orion” Zephyr was a bit confused by the name but decided it sounded nice so he didn;t voice his thoughts and instead turned towards the other does.

“What are you naming your fawn Solar?” He first asked making the red deer’s ear flick in acknowledgement before giving an answer “Apollo” which left Zephyr confused again but he supposed that all of them had come from different herds so maybe the naming conventions were different from his. “I’m naming my fawn Grain” While a little confused he wasn’t as baffled by Pollen’s choice so he gave her a nod to show he was listening, making her beam as the fawn rested against her side.

“Lots of males” Solar expressed her concern as she looked over the fawns of the herd. “So?” Zephyr said not seeing the problem as he kept his ears perked for a single sign of danger. “Aren’t you sad you’ll have to kick them out when they’re older?” Pollen asked with sadness settling in her heart at the mere thought of never seeing her fawn again after he grows but Zephyr shook his head “It’s just a part of life” he responded simply. Hunter looked at Orion after hearing her mate’s reply, she knew it was inevitable though so she shoved the thought out of her mind and focused on the fact that she had lots of time with her fawn before he’d have to leave.

Zephyr didn’t say anything as the does rested their heads to sleep as he wasn’t about to ask any of them to take over watching duty when they’d just given birth, though he was tired he doubted he was as tired as them so he focused on staying alert.
 

 

The sound of steps put Zephyr on high alert and he walked towards the noise to investigate in case it was a threat so he could alert the herd. He felt his heartrate increase as he got a look at the source of the noise, a larger male who seemed to be looking around. Zephyr tried to carefully back away but his hoof kicked a bundle of grass too hard causing a rustling noise that swerved the other male’s attention toward him before the two locked eyes.

Afraid but not wanting to look weak Zephyr dropped his ears down while lowering his head and stared at the larger male but instead of the hostile response he was expecting he was taken off guard when the larger male stumbled and took several steps back with a distressed snort. “I don’t wanna fight!” The larger male’s voice was filled with stress as he looked to the side to try and show he wasn’t a threat making Zephyr pause. “Are you just trying to lower my guard for a chance to strike?” Zephyr asked making the other male aggressively shake his head to get the point across. “I just smelled some berries and came to look but if they’re yours I won’t touch them” The other male continued making Zephyr slowly raise his head and have a less hostile stance.

“I guess I can understand why you’re on edge though” The other male’s words caught Zephyr’s attention “I mean I can smell other deer and you probably have fawns at this point” Zephyr was shocked by the way the other male figured that out with such ease. “I’m not trying anything” The other male spoke in an attempt to placate the smaller male as he realized how bad that might’ve sounded. Zephyr stared at the other male, who was avoiding eye contact like a disease, for long enough to cause extreme unease before letting out a sigh.

“What’s your name?” The other male was caught off guard by Zephyr’s question and wondered if it was a weird trick but decided it would be better to answer. “I’m Ruby” The larger male said as his ears remained alert for any signs of aggression in the smaller male. “Zephyr” Zephyr simply answered as he felt it would be unfair to not give a name back after asking. The two were silent for a bit as neither knew what to say as this wasn’t exactly how the meeting of two males usually went.

“You should go” Zephyr said catching Ruby off guard but he didn’t hesitate “Yeah probably, uh bye” Ruby responded as he turned tail and fled into the tall grasses to avoid even a chance of the other male changing his mind while Zephyr watched with a mildly confused expression. For so long he was sure he was practically the only male deer who didn’t have an interest in fighting any other male he came across but now he wondered if there were more males who thought the same way he did.

He shook off his thoughts as he realized he had left his herd without a watch for far too long and felt unease enter his heart at the thought of something dangerous getting to his herd because he had run off to confront another male. He turned and ran back to the herd, only feeling better after seeing that they were all sound asleep without a sign of injury of distress.
 

 

The four fawns were being watched over by Hunter and disliked it and Orion was making that fact loudly known as he complained again “I don’t see why we have to be so close, can’t we play over there?” Orion said as he gestured towards the small clearing which wasn’t that far from the herd. “No, because you could get snatched by that bird” Hunter said as she directed her gaze towards the huge bird that was near enough to make her unnerved with its bright blue plumage and sharp talons. “But we’re fast! We can outrun it” Hawk insisted, agreeing with her brother on this idea as she was tired of having to constantly watch for the older deer’s legs when playing. “I said no” Hunter directed a sharp stare towards her two fawns as she felt a sharp burst of irritation at their continued insistence. Orion and Hawk scowled and sat in pouty silence while the other two fawns just looked at each other in a questioning manner.

Orion had an idea but waited until his mom had looked away before staring at Apollo to get his attention. The other fawn tilted his head at Orion in a questioning manner leading to Orion looking towards the tall grass and nodding toward it making Apollo pause before understanding what he was asking. Apollo looked towards Hunter before looking at Orion. “We’ll wait” Orion whispered but Hunter’s ear swiveled toward him. “Wait for what exactly?’ Orion froze slightly before quickly regaining his composure as he looked at his mom “Wait for the big bird to leave so we can play again” Orion was relieved to see that his mom seemed to buy that as she sighed “It’ll get bored eventually” she said as she turned her gaze towards the large bird again.

“I’ll go get Zephyr to watch over you, remember-” Hunter was interrupted by Hawk “Stay in the grass, don’t move, don’t talk or make any noise, and run if something dangerous find you we know” the fawn said as she easily recited the rules her mom had drilled into her at this point. Hunter felt mild agitation at being interrupted but couldn’t complain when Hawk had obviously listened so she nodded towards the grass and it was only when all the fawns had settled that she turned around to go fetch Zephyr.

Apollo waited until he was sure Hunter was out of earshot to speak “How are we gonna sneak off it Zephyr’s watching us?” Apollo asked as he glanced towards Orion whose tail swished. “Simple, we don’t wait for him” Orion said as he stood to his hooves making Hawk quickly follow suit at the idea of exploring. “I’m leading us” Apollo decided to agree as he felt he should watch over everyone, none of the fawns disagreed as Apollo got to his hooves as well. “I’m curious” Grain said as he stood as well before looking towards Apollo. Noticing the other fawns eyes on his Apollo turned and walked towards the tall grass with the other fawns following behind him, some with more enthusiasm than others.
 

 

“The grass tastes the same” Hawk said with disappointment after chowing down on some grass after the small group stopped for a quick rest in a tiny clearing. “We haven’t walked that far” Apollo said in response with a baffled expression at the other fawn’s words “So? It could’ve been super yummy” Hawk felt the urge to defend her actions as Grain snickered, which he quickly stopped after seeing her ears drop down.

Orion meanwhile was poking his head into all the tall grass to see if there was anything hidden between the bundles. The only discovery the fawns made so far was Grain finding a decently large stick which he insisted on carrying around after finding it much to the other fawn’s confusion. Orion winced he pulled his head back after his enthusiastic shoving led him to accidentally slamming his head into a rock. Hawk cackled as soon as she realized what had happened “Guess you did find something” she said between snickers making Orion scowl at his sister’s teasing. “Yeah yeah, well at least I did find something” Orion defended himself but that just caused Hawk to laugh harder so he turned his attention towards the grass again and continued his quest.

“Why are you carrying around that stick exactly?” Apollo asked as she settled next to Grain who looked up from the stick “A reminder” Grain said only serving to further baffle the other fawn. “Of what?” Apollo asked making Grain look confused himself “Of the adventure” Grain said as if it was the most obvious thing and Apollo let out an ‘Oh’ in response as it sunk in. “Where are you gonna put it?” Apollo asked making Grain look at the sky as he considered his response “In the grass, a bird might take it” the other fawn responded as he idly prodded at the stick with his hoof.

All the fawns froze as a shriek echoed from above. Apollo was the first to look up and felt his fur stand on end as he realized what it was “BIRD!” he let out a loud snort that made the other fawns tails stand straight up as they saw the threat themselves. All the fawns scattered into the grass except for one “ORION!” Hawk yelled as she saw her brother look at the bird while still standing in the clearing with a determined expression. The bird folded in its wings and dived towards Orion at break-neck speeds before opening its wings and spreading open its taloned feet while Orion stood with his tiny horns aimed toward it.

A blur of red appeared and tackled the bird mere moments before it could grab Orion and all the fawns stared in shock as the red blur stood to reveal a large red deer with patches on pink fur on his face. The bird shrieked as its wounds bled and it tried to get up but the large deer stood on his back legs and stomped the bird again and again until the bird stopped moving entirely. It was only once the deer was sure the bird was taken care of that he turned towards Orion before flicking his eyes over to the half-emerged Hawk.

“That was awesome!” Orion said with his eyes sparkling as he looked at the older deer. “Orion!” His eyes lost its sparkle as his sister ran over with a concerned expression “What were you thinking?! Or were you thinking at all!” Hawk said as she came up to her brother’s side making him grumble. “I was going to prove I’m super tough thank you” Orion said as he looked away from the sharp stare his sister was giving him. “And besides this super cool deer saved me” He said as he redirected his gaze to look up at the older deer as the other two fawns emerged from the grass to stand next to Orion and Hawk.

“Who are you anyway?” Apollo asked as he walked to stand in front of the other fawns with a protective tone. “I’m Ruby” Ruby said as he swished his tail a few times and looked away to prove he wasn’t a threat. “But aren’t unknown deer dangerous?” Apollo asked as he dropped his ears which Ruby found mildly amusing but not wanting to scare the fawn he spoke “That’s a good mindset to have but I don’t really see the point of letting innocent fawns die”. Grain dragged his stick out from the tall grasses and only thought to speak once he set it down “Hi” he simply said making Ruby bite down a laugh at the one-word response to his presence.

“There you four are!” Hunter darted out from the grass with the rest of the herd in tow but her relief turned to hostility as she noticed the large male. She ran over and stood in front of the fawns before dropping her ears and brandishing her antlers towards Ruby. He let out a snort of distress as his tail raised in alarm at the display. “Mom wait!” Orion’s words made Hunter pause as she glanced towards his fawn but kept flicking her gaze over to Ruby “He saved me from a bird with some super cool fighting moves!” Hunter’s ears perked with curiosity and she turned to stare at Ruby who refused to make eye contact as to not agitate her further.

“Is this true?” Zephyr said as he walked to be in Ruby’s line of sight instead of surrounding him with the other herd members. “I saw that fawn” Ruby nodded his head at Orion “getting ready to try and fight a dive-bombing bird and I couldn’t just watch them try to fight it and get hurt or worse” he answered honestly as he looked at his hooves to avoid any stares. “Hmmm” Zephyr hummed as he considered his options while the other deer watched the unknown one and Orion thought about what Ruby had called him. Pollen was convinced this deer was telling the truth, why would he lie in front of so many when he would be easily overpowered? Solar was mildly skeptical but considering the dead bird was right there and the fawns weren’t known to be the lying type she was leaning towards believing the male.

“Would you like to join the herd?” Hunter’s head whipped towards Zephyr with shock and confusion in equal measure at his question. “Are you serious?” Ruby had to make sure this wasn’t a cruel joke or means to make him lower his guard but he felt his eyes widen as he saw the other male nod his head in confirmation “If you’re offering then I’d love to!” Ruby replied with excitement at the thought of being in a herd after being alone for what felt like forever. Solar’s jaw hung open in shock at Zephyr of all deer extending an offer like that considering his usual distrust towards unknown deer but Pollen was resisting the urge to bounce in excitement at the idea of having a brand new herd member to talk to and get to know. “You saved the life of one of my fawns, if you had malicious intent you could’ve left them or even killed them yourself” Zephyr explained after seeing the shocked expressions of his herd members, he wasn’t completely one hundred percent trusting of the other male but he was willing to give him a real chance to prove himself as a trustworthy ally.

Hunter opened her mouth to protest but shut it just as quickly as she saw the expressions of the rest of the herd, ranging from Solar’s acceptance to Orion’s excitement and awe. “We’re currently settled in a small clearing that’s only a small walk from here, follow me” Zephyr said while turning around before walking in the direction of the clearing. The herd followed behind with Ruby rushing to make sure he kept up while also trying to not step on the excited Orion that was darting back and forth between his front legs while excitedly chatting to the new member of the herd.
 

[Stranger]

Hawk is so pretty!!! 

Also nearly all of the fawns are male, are you thinking of exiling them when they grow up, or just making them move from the currently established territory?

[CosmicChaos21]

21 hours ago, Stranger said:

Hawk is so pretty!!! 

Also nearly all of the fawns are male, are you thinking of exiling them when they grow up, or just making them move from the currently established territory?

Agreed! I was both shocked and awed at her pattern when she was born.

Probably making them just leave the territory, besides I gotta keep extra deer around for story purposes hehe- Not to mention that I'd really rather not just completely get rid of 'em after establishing their personalities and stories so much!

[CosmicChaos21]

Not a super screenshot-filled update but I wanted to get something out :3

 

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The sound of grass rustling snapped Solar out of her thoughts as her ears shot up before looking toward the noise on high alert. The rustling got closer and closer until…a fawn popped out? Solar’s ears lowered to their previous position as the fawn walked over and started eating the grass without a single note of acknowledgment towards the older deer. Solar waited to see if the fawn would notice her but the fawn just continued grazing.

“Where’s your parents?” Solar decided to speak up to see how the fawn would react but the fawn’s ear only flicked in response. “You can hear me right?” Solar asked as she wondered if the fawn’s hearing wasn’t very sharp “Yeah” the fawn responded but that was all Solar got before the fawn went back to completely ignoring her existence. ‘Fawn’s got a bit of an attitude…’ Solar thought to herself at the pure audacity of this fawn, she guesses she could admire the confidence though. “Do you need help finding your herd?” Solar offered as she didn’t like the idea of a fawn wandering around by themselves but the fawn only lowered her ears at first. “I’m fine by myself” The fawn’s response made a feeling of dread grow in the older deer’s stomach “You do have a herd right?” Solar decided to see if her gut feeling was right despite wanting it to not be true. “I don’t need one” Solar’s stomach dropped as she realized her idea was true, so she did the first thing that came to mind.

“You could join the herd I’m in” Solar offered making the fawn whip her head towards the older deer “Why would you invite a random deer into your herd?!” the fawn said with shock at the mere idea of it. “I’m not leaving a fawn to die” Solar’s response was short and blunt as she felt no need to mince words. “...Do you have better food than dry grass?” The fawn asked as she thought about being able to eat something less disgusting. “Yeah, we’ve got fresh grass and even sometimes berries” Solar answered making the fawn’s interest piqued as she realized that she could get both good food and protection from this. “Alright I’ll join” The fawn felt a weight lift from her as she realized she could be living the easy life now with a whole herd to protect her. “Perfect! Follow me and I’ll introduce you to your herd members” Solar said as she turned around and started walking to the clearing with the newest member in tow.

-

“Hawk stop knocking over your brother!” Orion’s face grew smug at hearing his mom’s words “and Orion stop trying to take your sister’s berry!” Hawk laughed as her brother’s smug expression melted into a pout instead though he did give her the berry back. Apollo sighed at the two other fawn’s never ending antics as he took another bite of his own berry before looking over at Grain, who was rubbing his face in the grass to try and remove the berry juice that remained around his mouth.

“Got your hooves full with those two huh?” Pollen felt a snicker bubble out as she got a deadpan expression from Hunter at her comment. “At least Grain knows how to stay out of trouble” Pollen said as she gave a glance towards her own fawn before returning her gaze to the other adult deer of the group. “Didn’t he go on the little ‘adventure’ with the troublemakers though?” Zephyr remarked making Pollen bark out a laugh. “Maybe, but even the most well behaved fawn has their moments” The pink deer said with a fond smile before continuing “and you see that as if Apollo didn’t go with the others”. Zephyr just nodded “I suppose fawn-hood is nothing but figuring out how much you can get away with” making Hunter sigh “You got that right” she said with a sense of tiredness as she watched her fawns try to pester each other in a more subtle manner.

The entire herd stopped their activities at the sound of grass rustling and Solar was a bit startled to have all eyes on her as she emerged from the grass. “I found another member for the herd!” She decided to just announce it upfront and it had an effect as every herd member’s eyes widened with varying degrees of shock. “You can’t just invite another deer without permission! They could be dangerous or malicious or-” Hunter’s rant was cut off as the fawn emerged from the grass and the herd’s attention turned towards her instead. “The fawn doesn’t have a herd so I decided to invite her into ours” Solar said as the herd processed what just happened. “I mean I don’t want a fawn wandering all by themselves, do you?” Solar continued as she saw the older deer contemplate the idea.

“I…suppose one fawn wouldn’t hurt” Zephyr agreed after the other herd members looked to him for the decision making Solar beam at his agreement. “Great! Now you’re a member of the herd” She said as she turned towards the fawn who looked surprised herself at the easy acceptance. “What’s the fawn’s name anyways?” Pollen asked making Solar’s smile slowly fade as she thought about it. “...Did you not even ask for the fawn’s name before inviting them into the herd” Hunter sounded tired yet completely unsurprised at this turn of events and she let out a sigh before looking towards the fawn.

“What’s your name?” Hunter asked and the fawn’s ear flicked before answering “My name is Lily”. “Well welcome to the herd Lily, we have four other fawns in the herd” Hunter said as she nodded her head towards the small group of fawns who were staring at her. “Okay” Lily said as she walked over to the group to introduce herself as the older deer focused on their own conversation again.

“I said my name, what’s yours?” Lily asked as she stopped in front of the group. “I’m Hawk, that’s my brother Orion” Hawk nodded toward Orion who scowled “I can introduce myself thank you” he grumbled but Hawk ignored him to continue introductions instead “That’s Apollo, he’s basically the leader of the group” Hawk said as she nodded toward him “And that is Grain” she finished introductions with a nod towards Grain, who had gone back to idly staring into the distance.

“I heard you guys have berries, where are they?” Lily asked as she could smell them but hadn’t seen them yet. “Oh, they’re over there” Hawk nodded towards the berry bush which was nestled in the tall grass “but we can only have one on occasion, we need to ‘conserve them just in case’ or something” she said as she mocking repeated the words her mom and dad had told her a million times. “Do you think I could have one?” Lily asked as she resisted the urge to grab one without asking, she’d never be allowed to stay and eat their food or stay under the herd’s protection if she ate their best food source entirely. “It’s your first day so probably” Hawk said with an idle hum which Lily took as the go ahead and she ran over to grab one, eating it in only a few bites before going back to the other fawns who were staring shock. “Sheesh you ate that so quickly I barely even noticed!” Orion said with a laugh at the pure speed the new fawn ate at. “It’s good to eat fast so you’re not interrupted” Lily said as she recalled how she would sneak onto other herds territories and quickly eat the good food before bolting so she didn’t get caught.

“Oh with that much knowledge she’d be good to bring next time we sneak out” Orion said with a grin at the thought of the stuff the group could do with a fawn that knew that type of stuff. “We need to wait a little bit at least, mom’s been keeping a close eye on us since we snuck off last time” Hawk said as Apollo rolled his eyes at the fact those two were thinking of sneaking off already “Shouldn’t getting in trouble tell you not to try that again?” he asked as he looked at the troublemakers. “That just means we have to be sneakier about it” Hawk said with a grin as Orion nodded with agreement with a smile of his own as Grain just shook his head before zoning out again. Lily was a bit surprised to hear that this group had snuck away from their herd but mentally slipped that info away for if it was ever needed before idly chatting with the other fawns to pass the time.
 

[CosmicChaos21]

Grain had insisted on coming with Ruby on his walk for reasons that were beyond the older deer but he didn’t protest as the newly adolescent deer had never been rude to him. The grass swayed in the breeze while the two made their way through a small clearing that wasn’t far from the territory.

“So do you think you’re going to challenge your dad for his title when you’re older?” Ruby tried to spark a conversation as the silence had gotten a bit awkward after walking so long. The younger deer blinked a few times in surprise at being talked to before answering “Probably”. “Didn’t expect that from you honestly” Ruby said as he stepped over a branch that laid in the short grass. “Why?” Grain’s ears dropped with a glare that made Ruby stumble before recovering his footing from the sudden hostile tone “Nothing bad! I just thought Orion would be more of the type to do that” the older deer quickly cleared the air and it seemed to work as the younger deer’s ears raised back to a normal position again. “I’ll beat him too” Grain’s voice was lined with enough resolve to made Ruby’s ears stand more alert before returning to their normal position.

He shouldn’t be surprised really, deer this age tend to be more willing to fight than even mature deer sometimes. He looked away as he realized that most of the fawns here would be more aggressive now, the only one that seemed to not want to fight at any given time was Lily now. His line of thought was cut off as a small sound gave him pause. “What?” Grain asked with a flick of his ear as he noticed the older deer’s ears swiveling as if trying to hear something.

Ruby’s fur stood on end as a large figure appeared behind Grain, making the older deer stumble back a few steps. Grain was about to ask when he turned his head and froze upon seeing what was looming over him. The large stature and speckled brown fur gave him an idea but it was the beady black eyes that confirmed his fear. “BEARYENA!” Ruby let out a few loud snorts as he turned around and ran in the opposite direction with his tail raised straight up. The younger deer watched in horror as the older deer ran off while Grain felt as if his legs had turned to stone.

 

 

 

!!!!!!!!!!!BLOOD, INJURY, AND DEATH WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The feeling of a huge paw striking Grain’s side made him fall over and snapped him out of his stupor as he quickly tried to stand to his hooves and flee. Right before he got up the bearyena pinned him down with one of its paws making him let out a loud snort to try and get his herd’s attention as the beast’s jaws came closer.

He used his antlers to slice at its snout causing a large gash across its snout but that only served to make it angrier as it snarled at the adolescent deer. Grain desperately tried to kick and headbutt the beast but it used its other paw to hold down Grain’s head before sinking its teeth into his neck making him splutter and cough up blood before falling limp.

 

!!!!!!!!!!BLOOD AND DEATH WARNING OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

“Where’s Grain?!” Pollen rushed over to Ruby as soon as he had caught up to the rest of the herd making the male wince “He’s just hiding somewhere right?” Ruby couldn’t bear to even look in the doe’s direction as she looked at him with a pleading expression. “Please…” Pollen spoke with soft desperation but Ruby could give her nothing but silence that confirmed her worst fears causing her to shake her head before looking at Ruby. “Well at least you tried to defend him right?” Pollen’s sadness turned into something else as Ruby continued to be deathly silent, as he didn’t want to tell the truth but couldn’t lie either. The male refused to make eye contact and took a step back as Pollen’s ears dropped and she stared at him while lowering her neck.

“Pollen-” Zephyr’s attempts to speak were stopped by Solar standing in front of him. Zephyr noticed Hunter approaching Ruby as well before standing by her side. At first he hoped she would calm the other doe down but was horrified to see Hunter show the same body language and Ruby was feeling threatened if the way he stumbled back further indicated anything.

The younger deer watched everything with shock, even Hawk and Orion seemed to be stunned into silence at the display. “Grain…” The only one that seemed to have the ability to speak was Apollo as the reality of the situation sunk in. He would never get to chat with his half-brother again. Lily felt extremely awkward, she hadn’t been in the herd long enough to form any real attachments to anyone but did understand that it was a horrible situation.

Pollen reared up onto her hind-legs before lashing out with her front legs causing Ruby to snort and only barely manage to dodge getting a hoof to the snout with his ears raised straight up with a simple word “LEAVE!”. Ruby paused to look over at Zephyr but Zephyr couldn’t return the glance as he had realized the does were far too angry to call and the idea of loosing more fawns due to Ruby’s cowardice was unpleasant. Ruby snorted again as he dodged another kick from Pollen before truly realizing he wouldn’t be welcome here anymore, causing him to turn tail and flee from the clearing.

Apollo’s eyes narrowed before he suddenly bolted after Ruby surprising most of the herd. Hawk realized what he was doing and darted to catch up taking the herd by surprise. “APOLLO! HAWK! GET BACK HERE!” Hunter yelled as the two young deer continued without a single pause in their actions. Hunter groaned in agitation but before she could start running Zephyr stopped her. “You could hurt the fawn” He warned as his eyes darted to her stomach for a second making Hunter shake her head “But-” the lead deer interrupted her “But nothing, I’ll go after them, you stay here” Zephyr said and turned around to run after the two before Hunter could get a word in.

Ruby was shocked to see two young deer trailing him and at first he wondered if they were going to help him but that idea was erased the moment he saw Apollo’s expression and felt his blood go cold. The young deer managed to catch up to him and Apollo cursed the fact he had no antlers at this moment as he realized how close he was to Ruby. He made up for it by clamping his teeth down on the older deer’s leg making him snort with distress as he desperately tried to shake off the younger deer. It didn’t work and he lost his footing causing him to tumble and fall onto his side.

Hawk reared up on her hind-legs but before she could do any damage Hunter, who had caught up with the younger deer, pushed her back with one of her legs. “That’s enough” She said with a stern tone as she looked at the two “But-” Hawk’s words were interrupted by Hunter giving her a glare that made the young deer shut her mouth. “Oh thank you-” Ruby’s appreciation was cut off with a stomp of Hunter’s hoof only a little distance from his side “I’m not here to save you, leave” She warned making Ruby scramble to his hooves before turning around and quickly running off, not wanting to chance any more conflict.

“As for you two” Hawk and Apollo looked away as they knew they were in deep trouble “that was extremely reckless, if Ruby wasn’t such a coward he could’ve severely injured or even killed you two” Hunter scolded making the younger deer silently stare at the ground. “As punishment you two only get to eat grass until further notice” Hawk’s head shot up at that “But those taste good!” she said with a stomp of her hoof but the older deer shook her head “Then you should’ve thought about your actions first, you’ll get the nutrients you need from the grass and it’ll serve as a good lesson” Hunter said as she turned around and waited for the younger deer to follow before going back to the clearing.
 

[CosmicChaos21]

Sorry for the wait y'all the writers block got to me real bad, I have a short update today but I hope it suffices!

 

-

 

“C’mon, don’t you wanna eat a delicious berry?” Hawk said as she placed a berry near Apollo’s snout but he just let out an agitated huff before turning his head to the side. “You can’t just sit in your nest and rot” Hawk spoke again with a poke to the other adolescent deer’s side. Apollo didn’t say a word as he scooted away from Hawk’s prodding hooves. Hawk looked at him with empathy before rolling her eyes and stepping away from the grieving deer.

“Grain isn’t gonna magically reappear by sulking around” Orion’s words made Apollo’s eyes snap towards him though it was far more of a glare than anything else. “If you just lay in that nest all the time you’re gonna lose all your strength so at least get up and take a walk” Orion continued speaking as he went to poke at Apollo but the other deer just scooted out of the way in the nick of time. Apollo turned his head towards the small stream to try and block everything out.

Lily was tempted to just leave, she wasn’t exactly the closest to Apollo, but then a thought came to her. If she helped Apollo he might be friendlier towards her which was further cement her spot in the herd so she would never have to worry about being kicked out like Ruby was. With that thought in mind she carefully approached the grieving deer and made a small noise.

It was only once she saw a flick of an ear that Lily spoke up “I may not know you or Grain well but I know how it feels to lose someone close to you” she was spurred on by Apollo carefully tilting his head to glance towards her. “My older sister got killed and I remember it feeling horrible” Lily didn’t want to give any details and felt uncomfortable enough sharing that detail so she continued “It felt like nothing would ever get better and my thoughts kept circling back to her death and the empty space she left behind, I was convinced that I would never have the strength to do anything but mourn her” Apollo’s complete attention was on Lily at this point. “But as time passed and I started doing small tasks like getting up and eating a little bit I started to feel a little more alright” Lily looked at the sky to avoid any eye contact “I never healed completely but with every day I did a little more, stretching turned into small walks and eating a few bites turned into eating more, until I felt as close to normal as I could” Apollo hummed in thought as he considered Lily’s words.

“...Okay” Hawk and Orion were simply watching the whole thing with bated breath before relaxing at the single word that was uttered by Apollo. “Does that mean you’ll get up and eat?” Hawk asked as she stared at Apollo “Yeah you need to do something at least” Orion added to his sister’s statement. “Why don’t we start with a few bites of the berry?” Lily gently prodded the berry while interrupting the other fawn’s questioning to try and prevent the possibility of Apollo being overwhelmed. Apollo wordlessly reached his head over to take two bites of the berry before feeling like he couldn’t stomach more than that. “Why don’t you stand up? We don’t have to walk around but a few simple stretches would be good” Lily suggested and Apollo stared at the ground for a few moments before nodding and standing onto his hooves making Hawk smile while Orion let out a sigh of relief.

“Just stretch out your front hooves like this” Lily said as she stretched her front leg out as far as she could in front of her, Apollo followed the action and did the same with the other leg before looking at Lily again. “And then do the same with your back legs” She said before stretching a back leg out and waiting for Apollo to do the same before following the same motion with her other back leg. “And make sure to stretch out your neck as well” Lily stretched her neck to her right and then her left as she noticed Apollo copying her actions. “You can lay back down, we’ll do that again every day until you feel like doing more” Lily said making Apollo nod as he laid back down with a yawn before falling asleep.

“How did you do that? We’ve been trying to get him to do something other than sleep and it never worked, he just ignored us” Orion said as his sister nodded her agreement. “You have to be more gentle when someone’s grieving or else they’ll just shut you out worse” Lily said honestly. “But we were being more gentle” Hawk said with a tilt of her head making Lily resist the urge to laugh. “You two aren’t exactly the best examples of gentleness and that seems to be what he needed” Lily replied making Orion scowl while Hawk grumbled but neither could exactly dispute that claim. “Just keep him company without the prodding and give him time” Lily advised to try and make the two feel better as she realized her previous comment could sound insulting. “We can do that!” Hawk agreed her previous sour mood being wiped from her at the suggestion of how to help Apollo feel better. Orion just nodded though he still felt a bit bitter.
 

[Stranger]

20 hours ago, CosmicChaos21 said:

Sorry for the wait y'all the writers block got to me real bad, I have a short update today but I hope it suffices!

If you have writer's block please take your time to get your motivation back I know exactly how that feels and it ain't fun lmao

[CosmicChaos21]

1 hour ago, Stranger said:

If you have writer's block please take your time to get your motivation back I know exactly how that feels and it ain't fun lmao

Yea writer's block is, for me at least, the worst part of being a writer.

I have so many future plot points for my stories that I'm excited about and I really wanna get to them though-