Forever young, ever strong, ever brave

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Set immediately after this thread!

 After his run in with the strange doe, he rushed back home to tell Harper the news. It weighed heavy in his heart that he would be leaving, but he knew that this was what he needed to do. This would make him stronger, and make it so that he wouldn't have to fear predators. He was ready.

 He didn't go all the way into Ichorwood, it would be too difficult to leave if he did. Instead, he came just inside the woodlands so that he could look up at the trees one last time before he let out a loud whistling call for Harper. It was time.

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^^Harper had been scouting for the most direct path between the two nations, as to ensure that their travel home would be an easy one. And also to make sure that she picked up plenty of plants along the way; ones she wanted to take from Event Horizon to plant within Elysium. It was during this time that she heard the call, and pondered a moment if this was a calling for her - or someone else?

It sounded like screaming. She’d heard this type of call before, though she was unsure if Hawking had been calling another deerfolk, or herself, so she slowly followed the source and did not find nor smell any other deer or deer-like creatures nearby.

“Hawking? Are you well?”

What was he doing outside of Ichorwood?

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 After his haunting call, the young buck would stand and wait. Ears perked as he listened for his mother to come by. Steel gray gaze would watch the crimson woodland as time ticked by... and finally she would appear. The joy he felt was short-lived as he knew his real purpose for being here. He wanted to go but he also... also he knew that he would miss her and his father and everyone within these woodlands dearly.

 But he needed to be stronger. To get stronger. He had to do this.

 "I am, I... I just..." His strong assurance faltered away as he looked down at the ground and pawed the earth with a hoof. He'd practiced this in his head on the way over but now, everything just seemed to woosh away in the moment.

 Well... here went nothing.

 "I need to go, Ma. I met someone in the Stone Mountain, another deer. He said he would train me and teach me about being a wolf. Papa said that I should train, to become stronger, and I can feel it in my hooves that this is my opportunity. And ... well, I... I need to go." He finished lamely. He looked back up at her sadness in his gaze but also resolution. "Can I?" For they were still his caretakers even if he was a fast growing young buck.

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^^Who would have imagined that Harper, who had previously loved to eat deer, would have been so taken with her newly adopted son, Hawking, who was in fact, a deer? She had learned much from him from a different perspective; an eye opener, if you will, and the two had become family - like the missing piece of her that Harper didn’t realize that she was missing. Hawking had dulled her desire for children, because she had Hawking, and why could she ever desire another when she had him?

Yet, somehow, at the same time, she could see him playing and teaching her actual offspring, and it made her heart hurt in joyous ways. And now, like the shattering of glass, Harper was realizing that those dreams were just that - dreams of a life that would never be, because some other deer had coaxed Hawking into desiring a life away from them.

She should have foreseen this; should have taught Hawking to be less easily manipulated by others that looked like him, but alas, Harper had not, which would lead to the breaking and crumbling of her own heart. Like watching a grave mistake at the fault of none other than herself.

What if he didn’t come back? What if he had come to learn of a hatred of her kind, or worse, what if death found him and refused to let go? An ear flickered, as if hearing the crumbling of her own heart, as he spoke, desiring permission from her. And oh, how her heart screamed the answer that he would not enjoy, but what was to stop him from leaving? A pack of hungry wolves? He would learn to hate her sooner and quicker, then, wouldn’t he? That was not the desired outcome Harper had ever wanted.

“Oh, Hawking.. ” Harper whined, quietly as she turned towards him, approaching him gently like a young woman who was about to break up with her devoted boyfriend. “I could never keep you from what - or who - you desire. If you feel you must go, then be free, but no matter where you go, or what they may call you, you will always be my son.” Harper would say softly, pressing her forehead gently against his as she would come to inhale his scent for likely the last time.

“I love you, Hawking; please be safe and healthy, and above all else, happy in your travels. I hope to see you again someday.” And then she would cover his face in kisses and nuzzles for several moments, or until he begged her to stop; whichever would come first.

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 For a moment, he tensed, ready to for her to tell him no... but that didn't happen. Instead, she came forward and gave her blessing. Her kind words hit him deep in the chest and he nearly felt like crying. He sniffed and then inhaled, forcing himself to hold the tears at bay. No crying. Not now or he'd never be able to go. He looked into her sad eyes as she pressed her forehead against his, his own eyes glistened with unshed tears. "And you will always be my mother. No one can take that away from us." He promised her and then pushed forward to place his cheek against her neck in a hug.

 "I love you too... and I will. This isn't the end, you'll see me again." That was a promise. He'd come back to visit her and his Pa. One day.

 He stood and smiled into her goodbye kisses until he felt that he would cry and never would be able to leave if she kept going. So, finally, with a heavy heart, he pulled away. "I love you." He said again as he stepped back and turned away. He sighed and then began to walk into the woodlands. Looking back once before the undergrowth swallowed him up.

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^^

This isn’t the end. You’ll see me again.

With the loss of her husband, Hawking couldn’t have picked a worse time to tear an additional hole in Harper’s heart. She knew that it was wishful thinking, that she’d run into each other again, in this life. She knew this was goodbye, just as she knew that the only reason he’d made it to adulthood was because he lived in a pack of wolves that had somehow taken him in instead of making a meal of him.

And now, because of that, Harper was hurting, but she smiled and let him go. He whispered I loves you one final time, and she watched him go. She waited until he was out of sight, and then she, too, would leave.

Exit Harper

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^^Rahma had heard the calling from another hoofed beast, though she knew not who it was, but it called to her and there she was - though stopping in her tracks when she smelled a new wolf smell, and watching the duo from a safe distance away.

And she did not understand what she saw. She was too far away to listen in, regretfully, but she feared that if the wolf saw her, she would be gobbled up. And then Hawking left, without a scratch, and then the wolf left and Rahma was confused. How had he managed to still be alive? Why didn’t the wolf eat him? That was because he was one of them.

“Are you sure you’re not a wolf in disguise cus I just watched the wolf not eat you.” Rahma snorted with a shake of her head.

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 He was, distracted, holding back the tears that he felt. All around him, everything was blurry and clouded as the unshed tears threatened to fall. To betray him. Should he just cry? He felt like it would make him weak. Instead, he stood, silently... but he'd forgotten about her. About Rahma.

 He hadn't been listening and the sudden sound startled him. His head lifted sharply, eyes blinking as he looked at her through his clouded-gaze. He knew that he would have some sort of retort normally, but now, it was all he could do not to cry right then and there. He turned his head away as he felt one tear fall down his young face. He could keep them from flowing when Harper was there but he no longer had the willpower. "Please, Rahma... I... I need a moment." He said through clenched teeth and trembling words. He shut his eyes, trying to listen to the sound of the wind and his own beating heart.

[ident]Do not cry, do not cry...

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^^There were things that Momma had taught her about predators and their kind, but whatever these two had going on - was beyond her mother’s knowledge. She’d opened her mouth to judge before the scent had hit her, and immediately, almost, Rahma knew. The scent of the predator that Hawking carried was similar to that of the canine that had just departed, which meant that he had spent a good amount of time with that particular canine.

So why was he in tears? Why was she leaving him behind? Or rather, why had he walked away from her? So while Hawking was having his moment, she walked right up to him and leaned against him.

She would wait until he was ready.

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 Rahma, blessedly, did not pry. She knew to give him a moment and he very much appreciated it. Even more, she gave him her shoulder for a silent show of support. He leaned back into her, a small gesture to let her know that he was grateful for her understanding.

  It was a while before he was able to wrangle his emotions back under control. "Thank-you." He finally said at length. He looked over at her, eyes no longer glistening with unshed tears. He sighed sadly and shook his head and young antlers. "I'm leaving here. I found a buck that promised to train me to better be able to protect myself and others." He explained. "I... I think you should come with me. I'm sure he would train you too." And if she were alone then she would need all the help she could get. They'd have a herd of sorts except they'd be feared even by predators.

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^^Rahma didn’t care. She wouldn’t care. She could not afford to care. The loss of her family had very nearly crippled her, though she did her best not to let it show - and instead, she became this very angry little deer that didn’t see the light anymore.

There had been so much positivity; so much light before, and now there was nothing. Yet, she had come and supported some stranger, who told her of another stranger. She didn’t care about the stranger or training, but wondered if this buck had found her family and took them, too.

“Okay.” She had agreed. Having a herd was important. Feeling wanted was nice, too.

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