Blood Forest

Upon entering the area, Khryseis knew immediately that this was one of her favorite areas. The wonder surrounding it called too much to her curiosity, the mystery which shrouded the forest was too shiny to resist. Light lavender eyes grew wide with awe, and a small grin dared to dance on the edges of her silvery lips. A pale nose wriggled at the numerous scents, and while the gathering of different colognes and perfumes should be bothersome to most, she simply ignored it. Who would run her off? None, by her concern. 

Khryseis walked at a soft pace, neither too rushed nor too slow. Her expression was filled with a sort of joy, as her mind began to reel. Her grandfather would like this place, she thought. Her father was too scatterbrained to really care, he would most likely call it a bloody mess and move on. But her grandfather, on the other hand, would also appreciate its beauty. He always did have an eye for it. The grin faded as her mind settled on thoughts and memories of her grandfather, unwilling to allow her heart to wallow in despair when she was in the presence of this natural phenomenon. 

As she continued into the forest, she found one larger tree amongst them. She moved to the base of it, and sat so that her back braced against the trunk. She wanted to settle in this a little while longer, and enjoy the scenery. Her tail curled around white tipped paws, ears swiveling to and fro to keep a half assed attempt at surveying her surroundings.
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 The young boy was alone, playing in a pile of leaves that had fallen to the ground. In fact, the whole area seemed like a flood of red falling to the ground. Not only because the fawn was jumping about in leaf piles, but because the wind was causing them to swirl to the ground from the high boughs above. It was all a fun game to the youngster as he let out childish shrieks of joy. He wished he had someone else to play with though... He was a bit too shy to ask anyone else back at the camp. Instead he would continue to hop from leaf pile to leaf pile.

 As a young boy, he wasn't exactly adept at keeping a watch on his surroundings. Especially not since he didn't have a deer mother to impart the wisdom of keeping watch at all times because he was a prey animal. No, he felt like this forest belonged to him. Especially since his Papa was a prince. That meant he could afford to run willy-nilly this way and that and make all the noise he wanted. Except, when he saw the silvery queen a good distance away through the trees... he stopped.

 He felt shyness overcome him as he didn't recognize her. He looked around briefly but knew that no one else that he did know was around. So, quickly, he tried to scurry behind a tree. Carefully he poked his head out, slate gray eyes peering out at her as she sat beneath the large tree. He was doing a poor job of hiding himself as his head and golden stub-antlers were clearly visible as he watched her.

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She was too lost in her own world to really hear that the fawn was playing nearby. It was like a static noise, pestering her ear while she did her best to tune it out. But subconsciously, she was aware of another’s presence. Even so, it wasn’t a dangerous presence. No, the young prey was frolicking about, before realizing her sitting there. 

A brow arched as he stopped and peeked at her, clearly startled by a predator. But she made no quick movements, and wasn’t even particularly in the mood for a chase. Her deep, powerful voice cooed in its velvety smooth tones: 
"Come, child. You are lucky this day. I am not peckish, I’ve already had my breakfast."
She was very generous, and he should be thankful. A reassuring nod was given so as to further solidify her claim. 
"Do you live here permanently?"
She might suspect as much seeing how the alone boy was a deer and this a forest. And when he grows, she assumed he would blend in perfectly with his surroundings. It was a wonder this orphan survived so long, truthfully, with all these wolf scents about. 

With that, she waited for his reaction. What would he do? Run, hide further, prattle on about something she hardly cared about, or surprise her entirely? As the fawn wasted her good patience, she hoped she wouldn’t get hungry any time soon.
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 The young fawn watched, large eyes blinking curiously as the she-wolf sat before him. He wasn't nearly as stealthy as he thought he was as the woman's voice soon boomed out. Despite the loudness of it, there was something about it that was reassuring and kind. It was like the softest silk on his ears and he felt like he could trust her. In any case she'd already eaten which was good... although no one here had ever tried to take a bite out of him before. He likely wouldn't even know when someone was trying to eat him. So, he stepped out from behind his tree hiding spot and began to walk towards her. 

 He felt his breath catch in his throat. She looked very pretty with silvery fur and accents of paler color. Her eyes were like nothing he'd ever seen. Purple. It was a sharp contrast to the colors around them. He thought she was quite lovely. His tail lifted and began to wiggle back and forth as he picked up a little speed, fearless, after having been around wolves for so long. 

 He came up to her and attempted to sit beside her with a small half-smile. He nodded his head in reply to her questions and then lifted a hoof to point eastward. That was the direction of the camp where Papa Crux lived. Although, he didn't enunciate that. Whether he couldn't or wouldn't was still left to be seen. 

 Now up close he took the time to study her features more closely. Slate gray eyes looked over her form and his smile spread a bit more.

@
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The fawn did not respond in words, but he nodded and pointed in a direction and her eyes followed leisurely. After a second's time, her attention returned to him as he sat sheepishly beside her, and he offered her a small grin. The boy was silent, could he speak? Why wouldn't he speak? Had she intimidated him into not speaking? Surely not or he wouldn't have heeded her call for him to come closer. Whatever the case was, Khryseis was curious about him. She observed him another silent moment longer before she'd speak.
"Do you have a family?"
Khryseis's deep voice questioned. She wasn't sure what type of family would let a young fawn out and about by himself, but maybe they had more faith in him than she did. 

The monochrome woman did not make an attempt to move or scooch over. And as he was near, she noted the scents of other wolves were upon his chestnut pelt. Was he protected? It was surely an enigma, and one she intended to pursue if not for just the morning's duration. She feared pelting him with too many questions at one time would cause confusion, and coax him into a relapsed state. And so, one at a time, slowly but surely. It was a test of her patience, most certainly, but she didn't think he feared her because she was a wolf - but merely because she was a stranger.
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 In silence they sat for a few moments, she watching him and he watching her. He didn't know what she was thinking nor did he have any way to tell. He supposed he could speak but... why? He usually only did so when he had to and he didn't feel the need to at the moment. Then, after the silence had passed she asked him a question again. Her voice was so deep and yet so sweet. He nodded his head in reply to her question and gestured with his head to the direction he'd pointed. That's where they were, his wolven pack. Although really who he meant was Papa Crux. His one and only family member in the world. The boy assumed that he was back at his den with the willow tree.

 He wondered where she lived. Near here? Did she have a family? Children? He didn't say these things aloud but instead blinked his large blue-tinted eyed and then gestured with his muzzle towards her, indicating her with the small dark thing. It was his attempt to reflect the question back to her, to have what he wanted to know answered without having to say a single word. There were ways around without speaking.

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She was still met with silence from the boy though he did not ignore her questions. She watched him intently, the way his eyes might glint and the way he pointed and gestured. He did not communicate verbally, but rather physically. His response was assumed that he meant in the specified direction was his home and family. It was no wonder he wasn’t afraid. She nodded slowly and subtly, but then caught his next form of communication. He moved with his little nose, perhaps asking her the same thing? She blinked once or twice, and her stoic face went blank. 

Family...? She felt as though yes, she had one. But where were they? The only one of note was her grandfather, but even he had disappeared. Or had she? A deep sense of longing bubbled to the surface and consumed her heart but she didn’t let a hint of her pain show - only confusion. And after a long moment’s pause, she finally turned her head to look at him. 

A click of the tongue before a powerful voice broke free. 
"I don’t know."
It was quite literally the best way to sum up almost everything about her right now. 
"I like these woods. They’re pretty."
She shifted the subject, having been unprepared for the fawn to fire back her own query. Clever deer. 
"I am Khryseis. How am I to know your name without words, dear boy?"
She asked in her melodic voice.
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 The woman seemed to understand or at least accept his non-verbal explanation. When he countered her question, she seemed to just... blank out? He'd never seen such a thing before because he was such a young and newly awakened fellow. His head tilted to the side as he watched her, not quite understanding the implications. Was she sad? She did say she didn't know where her family was... The young male scooted closer to her so that he could put his head on her arm, eyes looking up and blinking slowly at her. It's okay... I can't remember much either. He didn't say it aloud but his eyes were compassionate and sympathetic.

 His head lifted when she moved on, changing the subject. Something he didn't consciously note but was more than happy to go along with. He nodded his head in assent. The wood were pretty and fun to play in. With that, he stood up and walked a little bit away to find one of the leaves lying on the ground. The blood-red timeless thing was then grabbed by the boy as he walked back, offering it to her as a sort of present. She thought it was pretty, so he figured he could offer such a pretty prize to her.

 As for her next question...

 He shrugged, with a small smile, now even more intent to not say anything as a sort of challenge. He could have easily given his name for he was not mute and very much knew how to talk.

 Oh wait...

 He looked up towards the sky, as if searching for something that wasn't there.

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When she spoke, it was as if he was offering his compassion toward her. His head braced against her leg and instead of shying away, she stiffened. The warmth from his body, the way it felt to be touched. When was the last time she felt such a warm feeling? Her eyes widened a smidge and her mouth fell slightly ajar as it shook to her core. Her comatose state didn’t last long as the fawn stood up and walked only a few feet away. 

He retrieved one of the most beautiful leaves and brought it to her, she took it gingerly in her mouth and set it down before her, where a large white tipped paw placed one toe over a corner of it so it wouldn’t float away in the breeze. 
"This is a nice gift."
She cooed, her voice grateful. 

In response to her question regarding his name, he weirdly began searching the skies. Oh, another guessing game. Her lips pursed slightly as she watched him, then followed his eyes to the canopy. 
"Cloud?....Blue?.....Sun..sunny?...Sky?"
Her voice asked slowly one after the other, trying to catch his responses on if those were correct.
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 "This is a nice gift." His tail wiggled behind him, his small way of showing that he was happy that she liked the present. Sure, there were a thousand other fallen leaves here but that one, he thought that one was special. It was a little redder with a little more veins in it. It was perfect, a reminder of the woods if she were to leave it. Maybe it would make her feel better, he didn't know... but he sure hoped so.

 He circled around and around, eyes staring upwards as he tried to find that need in a haystack that he was searching for. Hmph! Where were the avians when you needed them? Khryseis made a valiant effort of guessing what he was trying to say but they were fruitless. He shook his head, a shallow frown forming on his face as he couldn't find what he was looking for.

 Scree He stopped, going stiff as his ears wiggled and twitched towards the sound. There! Overjoyed, he reared back on his rear legs and boxed the air. He gave a valiant "whoop" and began to run towards the sound, only stopping when he realized that the woman could not be following him. He turned towards her to make sure she understood then tilted his head towards the sound as he took off again.

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Khryseis observed in her failure and pursed her lips with confusion. She wasn’t reading to give up yet though. The more the fawn hung around the more she realized how much energy children required. How did parents do this? An ear twitched as the distant screech of a bird sounding and the boy reacted in some crazy way. She watched him, but without warning the fawn shot off like a rocket. What a display, she thought. She picked up her leaf and began at a brisk trot but when he stopped, turned and gestured, then took off again, her pace accelerated into an easy lope. 

Soon, overhead and through the bloodied canopy she could see what he was so excited about. A hawk flew above them. Hawk! That must be his name! 
"Ah-hah! Your name is hawk!"
Surprisingly she was actually enjoying this little game with him. And the more she was around him the least it was like he was prey. Maybe that’s why his wolf foster took him in. Within just a short time she began to feel a pull toward the fawn as well. Maybe, just maybe, if she had found him alone and afraid - she’d have enough heart to take him in too.
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 She got the hint and followed him along with the leaf in tow, much to the youngster's joy. The boy followed the sound of the hawk and finally broke into a small clearing where high above them the raptor circled. They were honestly very interesting creatures although he had no idea if he was actually named after one or not. Still, it conveyed the meaning nicely as Khryseis picked up the hint and hit exactly on what he meant. 

 Pleased, he turned to her with a broad smile and a wiggled tail to show that she was in fact correct. Or decently close. Hawk vs Hawking, who was going to argue the little details? Not he! 

 With that little mystery taken care of, he wandered over to Khryseis... or he would have, if he hadn't saw a lovely leaf pile to her left. With a joyous "woohoo" he ran over to it and leaped into it. Scattering leaves all around as he began to stomp around and frolick, throwing leaves here and there before, mischievously, turning and then kicking some leaves at the woman with a laugh.

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Finally, a name had been drawn from the silent fawn. Hawk! She filed it away for future use. He brimmed with happiness and joy as he confirmed with his body language that her guess was correct. She watched him as her own smile began to fade but then as he neared, she suddenly felt confused again. 

The brightness of a child being around felt familiar, but also painful. Her memory failed her and so she could not remember why she felt this way, but she did. As if she longed for his youthful presence, but it also made her so very sad. These feelings swirled into one big giant ball and rolled around inside her gut, but she tried to push it aside. It wasn’t the boy’s fault. Maybe she was just reacting to a bad dream she had once. 

It was then he pranced by and began jumping and playing in another pile of leaves. He was noisy, unafraid, and still, she was so shocked by that. She felt like he should feel afraid, but that didn’t quite make any sense now did it? She shoved this away, there was no need to dwell on this strange sensation. All that should matter is the here and now. 

Right? 

"It will be lunch soon. Your guardians do not miss you?"
Wouldn’t they worry more? Maybe they’re out looking for him. Maybe they weren’t. Maybe they were content with him galavanting out and about because they weren’t afraid and in turn neither was he. 

But what in the world was this overbearing sense of trepidation she kept feeling? It was there, and brewed more when certain things triggered it. She often ignored it and sometimes even wrote it off but ever since she found herself in this new world, she couldn’t remember why she felt it all the time. Nevertheless she gave Hawk a stoic expression to conceal this dreadful tsunami of emotions within her. 

Ivory dipped paws inched her closer to his leaf pile as some were flung in her direction. The crimson foliage fell gracefully about her monochromatic features and her lavender lenses looked up to follow them as they floated toward the sod. She gave the tiniest of grins, letting her nose boop one of the leaves as it fell.
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[narrow width=450] If only the young boy's attention hadn't been completely taken by the fun he was having in the leaves. If only he didn't have the dancing leaves around him, completely enamoring him. When he turned to look at Khryseis, he saw her with that stoic expression. Well, that didn't seem completely right... He stopped prancing about and kicking leaves everywhere for a moment as he watched her with his head tilted to the side. His small face was pulled into a slight thoughtful frown with one ear twitching.

 Was she not having fun?

 He watched as she tracked some of the leaves to the ground and then, just barely, he could see that small smile. He began prancing and frolicking again, kicking up a storm before he would stop and then look at her. Hawking bleated and then tossed his head backward in a clear "come here" gesture. Then he began dancing about in the leaves again, kicking up a storm. Clearly he would not be satisfied until she came over to gallivant in the life pile too. Or what was left of it... [narrow]
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He beckoned her, so how could she resist? She pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind, trying to remain in the present. She walked toward him, letting the leaves fall on her back and trickle down her shoulders, spilling over her stoic visage and corpulent skull. Crimson against blackened silver, lavender against cold steel. 

How long had it been since she played like a child? How long had it been since she felt joy? She watched him another moment longer as she pondered upon his jubilation, whether it be due to his youth or not, before letting a paw bat carelessly at the leaves. It was forever Fall in this forest, while the leaves did what nature intended there was always another bought of them on the tree limbs, a winter never coming. She liked that a lot, and while the phenomenon was uncanny, she didn’t wish it away. 

Her small smile grew a tad as she tried her best at playing, though she wasn’t one for such things. But Hawk was so innocently having fun, why did she have to try so hard to do the same? She also struggled to understand why leaves were so fun for him.  Kids. 

After a few minutes of attempting to play, and utterly failing, she looked up at the sky, peeking through the bloodied canopy. 
"It's well past lunch," she began. "You should go find your home again, and I will be on my way."
Her deep voice was a croon, a siren's call, soft and alluring. A pallid nose rotated back downward so that lavender lenses could observe the fawn. 
"I'll come back to visit you soon, Hawk." She smiled at him now, forcing it to be a little larger than it had been, so that he knew she was genuine. 

And with that, she turned slowly and began to walk away, but looked over her shoulder to see what he how he might react. Would he heed her suggestion, or would he continue to frolic? After the final glace back, she continued on.
"Until next time, Hawk."

exit khry<3
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 He finally pulled the woman into playing with him. It might have been awkward or strange for her, but the young fawn didn't care. He was not the sort to judge another on how they played. He was just happy to have the woman as a playmate. He was sad though, when it was time for them go their separate ways. He was sure that Papa Crux would be worried about him wherever he wandered.

 He watched her with large eyes, blinking sadly as she turned to go on her way. He let out a farewell bleat and then too turned to head out. He trotted away back towards the camp where he would have lunch and surely fall asleep in the Rearing Den after his lovely day of play and adventuring.

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