Inspired by the Celtic Blessing. I may add a little more but this was what I had in mind.



May your antlers never burden you.
May your hooves never break.
May your legs carry you to your goals.
May your mind keep all your treasures safe.
May the trees shelter you when you ask of them.
May their fruit be forever sweet.
And when Death comes to claim you,
May you greet him kindly,
For you have have conquered the world with your humility.

Under construction, let me know what needs to be added



Name - Xaldin (Played by Quad)
Pictogram - III
Set - Real Deer Antlers, Whistling Mask (Side Burns), Beluga Pelt

Personality - While he normally works alone, Xaldin will often be seen hanging out with other Org. XIII deer. He will often act impatient and stubborn if things don't seem to go according to plan. He is quick to support his fellow Org.

*vent writing again, plus it does have violence and gore, so be warned*

In a secluded meadow, a small group of three stags grazed, all three knowing one another but not being related in any way. The oldest had gray fur and his antlers were broken and worn. The second was a little younger but still was experienced in life, he had great antlers that were rarely ever used and dark brown fur. The final stag was much younger than the other two, his antlers only sported a few small points, and he had light brown fur. The two older stags were closer together while the younger had wandered a distance away.

The two older deer's ears perked up. They raised their heads and looked to the southeast. They could hear running...sounded like paws...wolves! "They're coming.", the brown stag said. "What should we do? We won't be able to get far if we ran now.", the older gray stag asked. The brown stag looked to the younger deer in the distance, "We'll let him deal with them."

The older stag tilted his head, "But he couldn't possibly fight them all.", he said. The brown stag nodded, "Exactly, he'll buy us time to escape. Quickly, but quietly, let's get out of here.", he replied.

The two older stags walked off into a nearby treeline. When they had gotten out of the meadow, they ran as fast as their legs could carry them. The younger stag would not hear them leave - his ears were not fully formed at birth, so he had a tougher time detecting movement than they did.

But then he smelled something in the air. Raising his head, he looked around for the other two. They had deserted him, and he started to smell something that wasn't right.

Wolves!, he realized, but it was too late to run. The predators had already found him. There were many of them, at least thirty, all different colors and ages, but all barking and howling at their potential meal.

Continuation of The Grotto of Sorrow, which is the tale of my baddie, Nekumbra. Also inspired by playing her earlier today.

Warning, may be disturbing to younger readers

Two fawns happily played at De Drinkplaats, splashing in the water, transforming into little animals and laughing with each croak and caw. The two had left their mother for the moment, who had wandered off to gossip with the other does about which stags they thought were the most handsome.

While the two little ones played, another doe came toward them. Her black eyes stared at the two with hungry thoughts, and she smiled, keeping herself from salivating. She spoke softly to them, standing just outside the ring of mushrooms as the words came from her lips, "Hello darlings. My, you two look lovely today." The two looked to her curiously, "Do you know our mother?", they asked.

The doe nodded, "Why yes, she told me to come gather you up. Come now, I will take you to her.", she replied.

One of the fawns looked to the other, "I don't like this...", she said to her brother. "Don't worry, she said she knows Mom.", the brother replied. The two started to walk to the doe. She didn't seem dangerous...

In the distance, the fawns' mother heard the screams coming from the fountain. She and a few others raced to see what the commotion was about. As they arrived, they were horrified to see a shadowy deer seeming to hover in the air.

They could not believe their eyes - eight spider legs held the doe up, four on each side of her body. They then saw that she was holding two fawns with her - the younger girl was wrapped up in spider silk and held pressed against the doe's white belly by her legs, while the boy was being gripped in her mouth.

**I know I'm probably crossing some boundaries writing this since I know not everyone in TEF believes in Heaven, but I wanted to write it for my Dad and for my family to read. If this story is offensive to you, tell me and I'll take it down. I don't intend it to be an attack on anyone with different religious beliefs**

The crisp sunlight broke through the white linens, Tommy opening his eyes and sitting up. He sat on a soft, comfortable bed, never having any aches and always having a full rest each night. He looked around at the room - a nice chalet-style house was all his (well, for now anyway), the walls were a lovely brown wood, with a ceiling that rose at an angle. Matching wood cabinets and things were there, and there were a few pictures on the walls from his childhood as well as of his family. The bedsheets had the distinct scent of saltwater to them, which was oddly out of place but made him happy regardless. He looked out the window, seeing a lovely scenic forest. Birds chirped and sang songs he had never heard before, and he also saw a variety of animals roaming around and enjoying the land. He saw an occasional rhino, elephant, zebra, or gazelle walk around - they didn't really fit the environment but it didn't matter to him, he loved watching them anyway.

Getting out of the bed, he put on some casual clothes and walked around in his chalet. He had a library of detective novels and other fiction he enjoyed, including a copy of every James Patterson book ever written. He would come back to that room later and sit in an oversized chair to read Patterson's Maximum Ride. He continued on into a kitchen that had everything from milk, satsuma juice, orange-flavored tea (that was already hot and sweet for him whenever he was ready for it), and even a bottle of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel whiskey that would never run out.

He bathed himself in red
To warn others to stay away.
He wore the poppies in his antlers
To remind himself why he cried.
He shivered and shuddered
To run from a cold embrace.
He wandered to the Ruins
To mourn at the gravestones.
He sat among them
To remember his burden.
He let out a lonely sigh
To ease his suffering.
He bathed himself in red
To warn others...

Just an idea inspired by a story I wrote and also from a comment by Redkora.

We all (or most all) are stressed in life, but there are little things that can help us not feel so stressed out. We need to enjoy the little things in our everyday lives. We each have our own simple pleasures, and if you guys don't mind, I think it would be great to share things you enjoy on this topic so that we all may benefit and relieve some stress.

It can be anything at all - a website you go to when you need inspiration or to relax; an online video game you like to play when you're stressed; a poem, story, photo, artwork, ect that calms you; a product you buy when you need a pick-me-up; something you enjoy doing in your free time that calms your mind. Or if you'd like, you can draw or write your own personal simple pleasure for yourself or the community. Don't feel limited to one thing, tell us anything and everything you enjoy!

And feel free to keep this bookmarked/tracked if you ever need to come back and get some ideas.

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So I guess I'll start then:

Whenever I have a few extra dollars to spend, I really enjoy buying Zola Acai Juice. I really love drinking them for several reasons - they taste really good; they are good for the body (loaded with antioxidants and other goodies); and the company gives part of their proceeds back to Brazilian communities, helping them with education funding and other things. So for me, it's a great product altogether.

**This is a little vent writing...but I know it can be interpreted a number of different ways. Let me know how you interpreted this if you don't mind. I'll tell you all later how this story relates to me.**

Each one of us has had our days where we felt like a prisoner: trapped, confined, caged. You wake up early in the day, dreading the day ahead as it will be long and tedious, much like a caged animal.

You awake and remember that you are a prisoner, metal fencing separates you from being able to do whatever you'd like. The fence is tall and there seems to be no way out. You get too close to the metal and feel a sharp sting in your skin as an electrified wire touches you. You back away quickly, remembering your mistakes from before. There's no way out of this place, and even to attempt an escape would be painful in itself.

You sit and think why you have to go through a life like this. You close your eyes and dream of being free. You dream of a vast plain for you to run, an endless sky full of birds and clouds, bountiful food and friends to share your freedom with. You dream about it every day.

And then you remember...

A young boy stands at the fence of the cage, smiling and waving to you. You approach the fence, not getting too close that you'd be shocked again, but enough for him to talk to you. He even reaches his hand in, holding treats for you to eat. You smile and accept his gift, the treats are delicious and you even amuse him by licking his palm. The boy gets to touch your face, a treat in his own way. He rarely has ever touched such soft fur.

The boy says goodbye and runs off. And you are glad for the day that you had been visited by such a nice human. But then you remember once again...

The promise of freedom, you remember that you would one day be set free.

The air is slowly becoming less humid, and I can smell it. It's an odd smell, musty but in a good way. I can smell a very faint cinnamon in the air. In fact I can nearly taste it, my tongue longing for the tastes of cinnamon and apple cider. I feel the Sun drawing away, not bearing down on the world as much as it had before. I feel the wind start to become chilly, cooling my body while I step out into the sunlight. I see the leaves begin their journey, preparing themselves for the long fall to the Earth by changing their color. It will take time but their trek must be done. I hear the wind brush upon the leaves, rustling them and creating the sound much like pom poms. It makes me long to watch Football once again. I hear another journey occurring above me, as geese fly overhead, making their own trip to warmer lands.

I sense all of these, and deep within I smile and realize...



Autumn is coming.

...Well, it would actually be a Wereantelope...

Clicky!