On a mild December afternoon, everything seemed to be quiet in the Endless Forest. The deer were going about their usual business, when from out of nowhere they heard a sound. It was distant but approaching, an interesting jingling that sounded like it was coming from the sky. Many deer raised their heads and perked their ears to the sound, looking upward to see if they could spot what was making it through the Forest canopy.

Zevi was drinking from the Pond when he raised his head to the sound as well. He was the first to spot what it was – an odd object trailing what appeared to be several flying deer. The deer tilted his head in confusion, he knew deer could fly but wasn’t sure what was chasing them. The jingling got louder and louder, until the flying object swooped overhead. It went off in another direction, and Zevi shrugged. He had seen odder things in the Forest, and assumed this was Michael and Auriea practicing another Abiogenesis. He was about to return to his drink when a splash sounded close by.

Jumping back a bit startled, the deer glared at the water, and slowly approached it. There was something floating for a moment, before starting to sink under the water. The deer approached and reached into the Pond water, pulling out the strange metallic object. He walked out of the water and sat the thing down on the shore, examining it as it made an interesting jingle sound. The bell was golden with a long red strap, much like it was tied into a necklace.

On a cold winter’s night, a doe walked alone
Past naked trees and where the moonlight shone
She was lost without direction, looking for the throne
Of the Forest Gods, the place she called home

The doe was tattered, unkempt and unclean
But she lived with purpose, her new life to bring
A lesson learned, a dream to achieve
A story that many would remember and sing

As Taya stopped and sniffed the fresh air
She caught vision of light, a glowing glare
It was faint and distant, but the doe did dare
To investigate and discover what was there

The village was all aglow and ready this night
Waiting patiently for Santa’s great flight
Bright glowing trees, and bows tied tight
The doe confused at seeing this sight

“What’s this?”, she asked with a tilt of her head
Though speaking to herself, misty words said
She descended to the town for her eyes to be fed
Not with fear but wonder instead

She stopped by a tree that was lit all aglow
She paced around it, leaving tracks in the snow
Poking the light with a cloven toe
Taya left still a confused doe

She then saw a window, and peeking to see
Another of those, another glowing tree
But inside the house, giving the house glee
A tree warm and regal and snow free

Taya turned and smelled the air, catching a whiff
A delicious scent filled each sniff
She ran to the source, a bakery on a cliff
That left gingerbread outside that was too stiff

The doe had a bite or two or three
And with each satisfied crunch she said to thee
“What is this?

She walked and walked, looking for something to inspire the next explosion of fashion in the Endless Forest. The doe would stop, glare at things, shake her head saying “tacky” or “uncool”, and would continue walking. Zephyr was in a bind, as there was nothing standing out that screamed ‘fashionable’, and plopping down under a tree, she sighed and shut her eyes.

Bonk!

The doe sat up, head pulsing as something hit her on the head. “Oww! Hey, what gives?”, she groaned, looking up at the tree. There she saw a pair of cardinals looking down at her, about the time another acorn fell and missed her snout. The doe stood and walked a few steps away from the tree, looking back at the pair with curiosity. One was a brilliant red male who kept chirping and carrying on, and the other was a brown female that kept tilting her head.

Zephyr stared at them for several minutes as they stood on the barren tree branch. Then, she blinked and gasped, “Oh my gods! That’s it!”, she shouted, and ran off. She nearly rammed into Redd, who was passing by. “W-whoa! W-w-what’s the r-rush?”, the timid male asked. Zephyr slid to a halt and turned to him, ”I found it! I finally found it! Come on, teehee!”, the doe bounced in excitement and kept running. Redd, unsure what she meant, started to follow the doe.

They stopped at that certain kind of tree, where the doe immediately started rubbing all onto it for a pinecone. One dropped, and she quickly ate it.

Quad was returning from his journey to visit Qana in the Arctic Circle. He had to make it to a certain place before he would reappear in the Endless Forest, but little did he know that there was one last thing he had to do in this frozen wilderness before he could return. As he was trying to go south to the warmer climates of Canada, a sound startled him. He heard a loud crack, and in the distance he saw a figure on the horizon. The hunter was firing on him, and when he heard the second gunshot pierce the snow close to him, he darted in the other direction. The antelope was still terribly unfit to the climate, so he kept slipping in the snow, his legs shivering both in fright and in cold. He was afraid to look back, he didn’t want to stop for a single second. He had been shot before, and never wanted to feel the awful pain again.

Once he rounded a hill and was out of the hunter’s sight, he slid down the snow on the other side, going farther away from his route as he had planned. Once the snow settled, he stumbled to his hooves, shaken and now shivering from the cold. He stopped a moment, looking around to try to get a bearing, when he noticed something hanging off of a tree limb. It was odd but there were a few berries growing from one of the trees. Quad’s grumbling stomach betrayed him when he saw the bright red berries in the tree, and the antelope could not resist approaching them, reaching up on his hind legs to grip the berries in his teeth.

I'll remove this once I've gotten what I need...XD

In my pursuit of awesome music, I've gotten to a point where I don't have enough relaxing, soft music for days I am in a mellow mood.

Could I ask for some suggestions for some relaxing music? It can really be anything - classical, orchestral, soft rock, ect...

I really wanted to listen to such the other night and realized my iPod mostly has post grunge and metal

An entire album would be great too. I'll most likely grab something off of iTunes so I may want a whole album.

Also I kind of was thinking about something with a female singer, but that's not mandatory.


Thanks guys. I know you all have an appreciation for music, especially ambient stuff to draw/write to, so I know you'll have some awesome suggestions

Well today was fun, I went with my aunt to the Pittsburgh Zoo! There were a few exhibits that were closed (I was very bummed that the whitetail deer exhibit was closed), but I got some great pictures and got to see some beautiful animals! So as always, I like to share my pics with you guys. It's all under the cut and I took 125 pics so it is image heavy.

Hey guys, just wanted to share some photos from some awesome alpacas in 84 Pennsylvania. Yes, the town is actually called 84.

So these are the 84 Alpacas. Enjoy

Some stories will be delayed, please pardon the wait

[center]


In celebration of the Christmas Spirit, I wanted to write 12 more stories for the community.

If you missed the first and second editions of Holly on the Old Oak, check them out here. There's also a lot of awesome artwork and writing from fellow TEF members!

Holly on the Old Oak 2010
Holly on the Old Oak 2011

This is my way of saying 'Thank You' for being a wonderful and supportive community for the past 5 years.

For Waning-Sun's Halloween Trades






The stag stood on a hill, looking across the Forest, taking in the scenery as the leaves started to change for the Autumn season. Zash sighed, feeling as if there was something to this time of the year that was bittersweet, something about a memory from a life lived before that involved the leaves changing color. He tried to remember, but it was such a distant glimpse of his past life that it continued to haunt him, not being able to remember it clearly.

He was about to go deep into thought when something caught his eye in the distance. A metallic flash of light, it was faint but coming from the old Ruins. He had heard stories of things being uncovered there, old trinkets, bones, things like that. His curiosity got the better of him, and he was at once walking toward the flash of light, keeping his eyes open to make sure no others saw it around.

He was alone, aside from a few sleeping deer in the distance. They wouldn't have seen it. He knew it would be safe for him to look on the thing. He approached the old tombstones, where the flash seemed to have come from. He at first thought he was just imagining things, but then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something unusual - it was just a slight piece of golden metal sticking out from the ground.

Zash reached down, and picking up the bit of metal in his maw, he pulled, now realizing this was much larger than it appeared. He would unearth a large golden object, in an odd shape that resembled a gourd or a squash. He set it on the stone ruins, the thing making a loud 'clank' sound as metal collided with stone.

He looked about, hoping nobody heard this, and then began to brush the dirt off the thing with his neck fur. Once it was clean, he stared at it, the unusual shape morphing his reflection, causing a hypnotic sensation where he would continue to stare and stare mindlessly.

You always get something awesome XD!!

This was her part of a Halloween Trade. I totally wasn't expecting what she sent, and to be honest, I'm both awed and scared at the same time.







When I was unwrapping it, I thought it was Quad at first, but then I realized it was Victor when I read the note.

So I still am scared XD...what's going to happen when it gets dark? I tried shining a flash light on him to see if he glows in the dark, but nothing happened there, unless I was doing it wrong. I'd also love to know what he's made out of. He's got kind of a waxy feel.

In any event, I was not expecting this, and it was an absolute surprise. Thanks for such an awesome little Victor, Pega! Oh and thanks for the Purity card too! That's one of the best MTG artworks ever



Edit -

Okay, I put the light on him and went into my bathroom, shutting the door so it's pitch black in there. And when I turned the light off, sure enough, he does glow in the dark! It's really dim but just enough for me to grin about. This is awesome!

I'll have to try him in direct sunlight for a while and see if he gets brighter.