|
|
Post by artemis on May 25, 2012 16:48:23 GMT -5
The brook sang quietly to itself as a doe stuck it's head out of the deep brush. After a quick look around, satisfied that there were no predators about, Artemis brought her whole body out of the brush, ambling down to the creek with a relaxed stride. The sun filtered down through the trees, casting a dappled pattern of light and dark. It was unusually hot today, but it was late spring, after all. Artemis lowered her head and drank, careful not to loose her footing on the shore. She wondered what manner of deer lived in this area. So far, she had yet to encounter anyone since coming here.
(Argh, I apologize for the horrible post. I have really low muse levels right now.)
|
|
|
|
Post by ranoch on May 27, 2012 10:29:38 GMT -5
I walked toward the river with my proud head raised. My seven tines slashed at the sky above. I had come from the valley of my residence to explore the land around my valley. My delicate looking nostrils flared and the scent of a doe tickled the edges of my sense of smell. My head swung toward the source of the scent and my slow and quiet hoof steps sped up. I had yet to encounter another deer in this land. A sweet little doe to add to my vision though. That held so many possibilities. A cold grin danced on my face as I got closer.
My proud head lifted and a bugle galloped out of my throat. I announced my presence before I pushed through the last few bushes at a normal pace. Hello there, Ma'am. I am Ranoch, lord of the valley near here. I spoke politely, none liked a bastard trying to force his presence on another.
|
|
|
|
Post by artemis on May 28, 2012 10:43:31 GMT -5
Artemis's head shot up at a nearby call. So, there were deer in the area. She watched as a sizable buck made himself visible. He carried a few scars, and his right antler looked strange, but she didn't base others on looks. His demeanor seemed pleasant enough, she thought, as he introduced himself. "Artemis." she replied. "A pleasure to meet you. So you live around here? I hope I'm not trespassing. I just arrived in this region, so please forgive me if I am." She was careful not to act entirely like a damsel in distress, as she most certainly was not one. She could fend for herself.
|
|
|
|
Post by ranoch on May 28, 2012 12:26:03 GMT -5
I gave a small smile and said politely to Artemis It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Artemis. I gave another small smile at the worry that she was trespassing and said I do not own this river, so you are fine. Had she been a stag I might have added a warning to watch for the border. I wasn't against stags, but I wanted to get a few in to my herd before I welcomed possible competition to my title in to my herd.
I considered asking her if she wanted to visit my domain, but decided that it was too early to start that. I would have to improve our knowledge of each other before I started that. She didn't look like one of those weak and pathetic does, she looked like a proud warrior. A female that was just my type.
|
|
|
|
Post by artemis on May 30, 2012 17:22:22 GMT -5
Glad to hear she wasn't trespassing, Artemis lowered her head to graze. "Well, that's good. It would be rather embarrassing if the first thing I did here was find myself on someone else's land." She allowed a few seconds to go by, idly cropping grass. She glanced up, noticing the stag was still there. "So, where'd you get those scars?" she asked, looking at him. He looked like a fighter, maybe he had gotten them in a duel, although you had to be a pretty frequent fighter to accumulate scars.
|
|
|
|
Post by ranoch on Jun 2, 2012 16:28:56 GMT -5
I smile once at her first words, then my smile slides off of my face at the mention of my scars. Well, no need to be impolite. I begin in a quiet tone since the past isn't pleasant My peculiar antler is because when I was young and stupid I got in a fight with my father. Our locked antlers slipped and my tine pierced his chest. My antlers still had velvet on them and were soft, so it broke off. It never grew back. One of his antlers also slipped and his my neck. That is how I got this. I point down to my neck slightly to show the pale scar that just missed my jugular. My eyes had never left her face as I began my tale. Would she be disgusted that I was a kinslayer?
My tale continued as I moved to the other few scars on my hide This scar on my shoulder was from a buck that didn't like me talking to his hind and he charged me. The scar I nodded to was short and arround the size of an antler's diameter. When i had first felt the pain I turned and kept the other antlers from following the first's path. Then, there is this long one on my side that was from a wolf when it tried to take me down. My gaze roved over the rest of my body and found no other scars of interest. The others had either healed or my fur hid them from view.
My small smile came back as I looked back at the doe. My tone had stayed level and not in the least boastful. Those that made their scars in to medals were dumber then the ground that my hooves trotted on. Scars were signs of mistakes. Mistakes were not medals of honor. I said then I have given a brief peek in to my past, what about yours/ Surely her's would be more interesting then my dark and twisted secrets? Well, not secrets. I was not ashamed of what I had done, nor was I scared of what others thought.
|
|
|
|
Post by artemis on Jun 3, 2012 7:56:57 GMT -5
As his smile disappeared, Artemis began to worry she had struck a nerve asking him about his scars. And it turned out she might have been right. He fought his father? She could understand if they had had an argument, every deer argued with their parents at some point, she certainly had, but to mortally wound your sire was entirely different. She decided to reserve judgement on Ranoch until she knew a little more about him.
His other two stories, about a jealous buck and a wolf attack, weren't quite as shocking. Stags could be rather protective of their harems, especially in rut. And while she respected wolves, as she did any other animal, she wasn't about to sit down and have tea with one.
She tilted her head as he inquired about her life. "Well, mine doesn't involve as much fighting, for one thing." she said with a small smile. "I was apparently a handful as a fawn. I was always following around the herd guards, convinced I was a mighty protector as well. I nearly got eaten by a mountain lion that way. I never liked just sitting around, I always had to be up and playing when I was young. Before the buck fawns hit their growth spurts I could actually outrun a couple of them." She shook out her pelt. "I'm not quite as hyper as I used to be, which I suppose is a good thing."
|
|
|
|
Post by ranoch on Jun 3, 2012 17:10:45 GMT -5
Well, she didn't seem horrified that he had killed his sire.That was one plus right? I listened with curiosity written across my face as her tale began to unfold. I chuckled quietly at the mention of her outrunning some of the young bucks. I could almost imagine how outraged their faces would be in the way that the young showed their hurt pride. That would have been entertaining to watch.
You childhood sounds a lot. . .Happier then mine. I commented shortly. I really didn't want to lay out my history to her, but I felt the need that I must. My expression grew stormy as I started to tell of my parents first to try and give this doe an idea on how my childhood had been nonexistent. My sire started training me to fight and be a "strong leader" right after I learned to walk. My dam worked my brain to the limit to prepare me for any situation that may happen. If I answered wrong then I was made to run around our herd until my legs were quivering with exhaustion. I mastered my expression and it slid back in to its cold, hard, mask. I didn't continue but looked away, ashamed slightly and furious towards my past. If only I had been raised by this doe's herd. Then, maybe things would have been easier and I would be a better stag. But alas, the strong must rule the weak.
|
|
|
|
Post by artemis on Jun 4, 2012 16:23:39 GMT -5
His story just seemed to get sadder and sadder. Maybe that was why we got into that fight with his father, she wondered, What a rough childhood. "My parents were just happy if they had a rough idea of where I was at any time." said Artemis. "If my parents had been taskmasters like that I would've split as soon as I could fend for myself." She thought for a moment. "How did you end up fighting your dad, if he was the one teaching you to be a leader?"
She noticed his face returning to the cold mask it had assumed when he was recounting his fights. She walked a few steps closer, and said quietly, "I'll stop prying, if you don't want to talk about it." She worried that she had crossed the line, and was asking about things she shouldn't have been.
|
|
|
|
Post by ranoch on Jun 4, 2012 16:38:32 GMT -5
I did not want to answer, but I felt like a string was pulling my story out of me. I wanted to cut the string, but it was impossible. I found myself answering He kicked me out of the herd to find a land of my own. I was too angry to think clearly and. . .I decided that I should get rid of any family that would know how to beat me if they came and challenged me later on. My cold mask cracked again and the slight regret I felt for that shined through. It seemed like it consumed my insides, but really my family had had it coming. That I hid from her though.
I shook my majestic head and replied No, its just habit to hide my emotions. I kept my mask cracked though. This doe made me feel strange. I didn't like it, but craved the feeling I got like a drug addict.
|
|
|
|
Post by artemis on Jun 6, 2012 10:46:54 GMT -5
That caused Artemis to pause. So, in a fit of anger, he had killed both his dam and his sire. She was torn between how she should feel about that. On one hoof, his parents sounded like awful people, and were responsible for how Ranoch was today.. On the other hoof, did they really deserve to die?
Eventually, she decided to trust him...for now. "Ranoch, although I don't entirely agree with what you've done, I do sympathize for you and what you went through. I think you're still a good deer, and you could've turned out much, much worse." She smiled, trying to lighten the mood of their conversation.
(Sappy post is sappy >_<)
|
|
|
|
Post by ranoch on Jun 7, 2012 15:52:59 GMT -5
I looked at her in surprise, my brow quirked slightly. Huh, here I expected revulsion, hate, and any of the other normal reactions. My head shook in disbelief at this doe. I never liked to reveal my past. It took away the mystery about me that others tended to pick up which I liked to use to my benefit. No moresecrets from me, i decided. My lips would stay sealed about anything relevant from my past.
Would you like to visit my little valley sometime, Miss Artemis? I asked politely. Maybe saying that I had killed my family before inviting a doe to my home was not the smartest path. Well, no secrets at least
(XD Sappy posts are fun sometimes.)
|
|
|
|
Post by artemis on Jun 9, 2012 16:09:01 GMT -5
Artemis chuckled. "Well, I suppose I'm just different from everyone else. I will admit, your past can be...shocking, but I try not to judge on background."
She blinked at his next request. Visit his home? She had been looking for a herd to join, but her sense of self-preservation kept telling her to be cautious. That was the most important thing to be as a lone deer: cautious. But still, she had been chatting with Ranoch for some time now and he seemed like a gentleman. "You know, Ranoch? I would like that very much. When should I call on you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by ranoch on Jun 9, 2012 21:51:56 GMT -5
I gave a small smile and said And for that I am very grateful, Lady Artemis. She was a strange deer. I was a definite monster and here she was not judging my background. I was my background though. Surely she knew that? What I had done reflected on my nature. Well, I wouldn't be the one to point that out.
I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully as I thought of a good time for her to come. I may need a day to patrol my land and see if there was
anything I would have to remove like a wolf or other predator. Any time the day after tomorrow would be fine with myself. I will be waiting. I said with a small smile. WHen should I call on you? That was a very formal phrase. Here I thought that we had gotten past the formal speech, well I had kept talking politely, so that may be why.
|
|
|
|
Post by artemis on Jun 10, 2012 17:45:59 GMT -5
Artemis chuckled. "No need for a title, Artemis will do just fine. And the day after tomorrow will work. See you there." Artemis glanced upwards, noticing the sky had darkened with sunset. "Hm. I'd better be heading back to the deep woods before it gets too dark. Don't want to be out in the open." She turned to leave, glancing over her shoulder at the stag. "Looking forward to it!" she called, before breaking into a trot, heading for the woods.
-Artemis exits-
|
|
