It had been a few days since the Abiogenesis. Chenaniah didn’t want to think about it. He spent his days singing with the birds of the Birch Forest… far away from other deer. And especially far away from the twin god statues. He still had his joy and his song. He was still bright and energetic… but only by himself. He preferred that other deer not see his face. Not even an especially playful fawn. Was he embarrassed? Maybe. How many had seen and heard his over-enthusiastic greeting to the gods during that explosion of excitement? The gods. The gods that had left without him. Was he depressed? Maybe. How long would it be until he stepped out of his comfort zone and played with the other deer of the forest? Was he lonely? Maybe. But then again… he always had the butterflies and the dragonflies. And he always had the birds.



“It’s okay, little one. I won’t hurt you…”

Chenaniah whispered almost silently. The robin cocked her head and hopped back an inch. She glared at him sideways.

Chenan smiled and chuckled to himself. The robin was wary… but curious. One of the few skittish birds in this forest.

“You have nothing to…” Chenaniah’s voice trailed off. His ears flicked and he raised his nose to the air… there was a deer nearby.



The bird flew away.

Chenan staired. Down at the bottom of the hill, a deer was watching him. A small brown skull-faced deer. His heart leapt. How long had it been there?

Well… it wasn’t doing anything. Maybe it hadn’t seen him. Maybe… maybe it was just resting there and happened to be in the same area Chenaniah was. It wasn’t that close, anyway…

Suddenly another deer ran up from behind Chenan. Lights flew into the air as he brushed Chenan’s side. That was enough. Chenaniah jumped and broke into a frantic run.



Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the other deer bow to the mini skull-face. Chenan continued to run. Why was he so scared? Neither had tried to hurt him. Neither had even spoke to him. But… but they were deer. They could hurt. They could kill.

Chenan ducked as he ran through a patch of purple flowers and under a swarm of butterflies. He was approaching a large hill covered with grass. Wait… hadn’t he just been here?

The stag sighed, realizing he had just run a full circle in his wandering thoughts. He glanced around… he was alone. The two deer must have left.

He trotted to his spot amidst the tall grass. Of course the robin was long gone… but a few sparrows flitted around in the weeds. He liked sparrows. They would fly straight to his antlers and sing without a care.

Suddenly...



The mini was there again. Had… had it been waiting here? Chenan began to back up…

No. Why was he doing this? What reason would that deer have to hurt him? And even if it tried, he was much bigger than it… not to mention his antlers. No. This time he wouldn’t run. He may be shy… but he could also be stubborn. He would wait the mini deer out.

He lay down.

The mini did as well.



Chenaniah cocked his head slightly. What the-

He decided to stand.

The mini stood too.



Behind his mask, Chenan’s eyes were widening. His heart began to beat rapidly. There was no doubt now that the deer could see him. But what did it want?

From the bottom of the hill, the mini bowed. Chen jerked in surprise. It was talking to him? He hesitated, then, not wanting to be rude, bowed back.

The mini began to slowly step up the hill. Chenaniah instinctively stepped back. The deer stopped. All was silent, and then the deer began to walk softly towards him again. Chenan stepped back a few more paces. The mini stopped its ascent.

They continued this strange dance for quite a while. The mini would walk towards him, looking as nonthreatening as it could, and Chenan would flinch and back away. But as time went on, Chenan’s backsteps would grow shorter and the mini would get gradually closer. And soon enough, Chenaniah’s steps backward turned into steps forward.



Chenaniah could see the mini’s antlers now. Two stubs between it’s ears. The mini was a doe?
The stag had been away from other deer for so long. He hadn’t seen his brother since the Festival of Lights. And his brother had never been exactly like the other deer. All he knew of other deer’s behavior was from those he saw in the distance and the fawns he played with when he was feeling happy. This was a doe. Perhaps a fully grown doe with friends and family. How could he talk to her?

“I’ll… I’ll tell her I’m nervous around other deer.” Chenaniah thought to himself. He backed away, antlers down and back raised.




The mini’s ears flicked back. She turned and put her head down. She was sad. Would she leave? No… don’t… don’t leave.

“No, no! I’ve offended her!” Chenan scolded himself.

She turned back and looked at him. Chenaniah would normally have run off by now. But this time… this time was different…

He walked towards her, his heart pounding in his chest. He leaned forward and sniffed her. It was as close to a nuzzle as he could get.

She seemed to immediately perk up. She turned around and…

…and nuzzled him.

Chenaniah stood still as the light from their touch faded. His heart screamed in his chest. He should run… this was too much. He didn’t like other deer. He didn’t want to make friends.

Did he?

The mini cocked her head. Chenan just stood there… conflicted. The mini sniffed his mask and the bone of her skull clattered softly against his beak.



Chenaniah snapped out of his trance. He walked to the other side of the hill and lay down. He didn’t know what else to do. Maybe when she saw him laying down she would get bored and leave. Did… did he want her to leave?

The mini walked behind him slowly and lay a safe distance away. She was respecting his space. Perhaps she had seen his discomfort when she nuzzled him.



They lay there for a few moments. Chenaniah pretended to be disinterested in her. He looked at the leaves falling from the trees. He watched a squirrel run across the ground. He watched as a bird flew from the trees and… landed next to the mini. A few birds hopped across the ground near her. Then he looked closely. One of the birds was a robin. That same wary robin that didn’t want to approach him before.

Ah, now he understood. He was the flighty robin and all she wanted was to enjoy his company and his song.

He stood. She stood too, ready to move out of his way if necessary. But he walked slowly around her and then approached her side. He lay down and the mini did too.



He couldn’t believe his own forwardness. He had just lay next to this skull-faced mini deer. And now they were sitting side by side watching the forest around them. There were birds chirping and squirrels running and the forest was laughing. And he was next to another deer.

“This isn’t so bad,” He thought, “Maybe it’s her size. I’m used to fawns so maybe… maybe it’s just because she’s like a fawn. That’s why this doesn’t feel so… wrong.”

Maybe…

The mini stood up. Chenaniah automatically stood up as well. She must be bored… not all the deer liked to sit and admire scenery all day. Of course. He must be so boring. She would have to leave. He should say goodbye…

Chenaniah nuzzled the mini deer.



Then he backed away. Had he really just nuzzled her?

He shivered, and then bolted into the forest. Away from that hill. Away from the skull-faced mini.
He ran and ran. But… as he ran his heart began to ache. Could… could he have just made a friend? Maybe she was offended by him leaving. He stopped and glanced back. She was following a distance away.

He allowed her to catch up… then dashed off again. Soon he realized that she couldn’t keep up because of her smaller legs. He slowed his stride to a trot and set off. He didn’t know where he was going. He just needed to walk. And… and today he had someone to walk with.



Chenaniah trotted through the forest, stopping now and then to allow the mini to catch up. Not sure if he should just sprint ahead and leave her behind. Not sure if he should stop and play with her. Just like he played with the birds.



The playground reared up in front of them suddenly. Chenaniah slid to a stop. There were a lot of deer on the playground today. A lot of deer.

Chenan stood still and looked at the deer jumping from rock to rock and bowing and dancing with one another. He shook his head sadly. No. I can’t.

The mini walked forward and then looked back at him. She nodded. Yes. You can.



Chenaniah wasn’t sure how, but somehow she eventually persuaded him up to a rock where two other deer were playing. A stag his size and another mini.

They exchanged their bows. The other two deer sniffed him cheerily and one even tried to nuzzle him. Chenaniah nervously backed away but the skull-faced mini led him back. Over and over the mini persuaded him. She was as stubborn as he.

Soon, Chenaniah found himself running and jumping with the other deer. It was amazing. He chased them and flew over rocks and even sleeping deer. Just like with the birds.



He climbed a large rock and watched as the other deer laughed and played. A fawn came over and cast a grey pelt on him. He started to dance. The skull-faced mini joined his dance. The other stag did as well.

The mini laughed as Chenan joyfully bobbed his head back and forth.

He had joined the dance.



Weariness eventually began to slow Chenaniah down. He bowed to his dancing partners and leapt off the rock. A short distance away, he lay down in some very tall flowers. The skull-faced mini deer followed and lay next to him. Her head could barely be seen above the flowers. The other stag followed and sat as well.

And they lay beside him until he was asleep.



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Well, it seems Chenaniah’s breaking out of his shell. Whoever that mini-deer was, I just need to say thank you. And I don't mean for this to sound all romantic either. I didn't even realize the mini was a doe until looking at the screenshots afterward. :[

And sorry for this uber long blog, lol. I was in the mood to write today.