Okay, so Orin drew my Alabaster and in return she wanted a short story of Aria's birth. Since she had already somewhat explained that, I decided to spice it up a bit by adding my demon turned angel Jester into the mix. She wasn't there(at least, recorded anyway) for Aria's birth, but since Jester is such an aloof character I thought that of any of my characters, Jester would have been the one who would have been there. So, in reality, Jester wasn't there. But if she was, given her current state this is probably what she would have done.

Another war story? Oh, no. It's a half rant/half explanation of Zash's past in a fairly better way than what I originally put down. Please note that this is Zash's perspective and opinions and they don't necessarily reflect my own.

Enjoy another side of him, the rant-y angry, bitter side. Mild cursing.




War has since lost its old romance. The romance you read about in the history books, the one where men ride forth of their valiant steeds to meet a death they may or may not conquer. The one where men clad themselves in armor, brandishing a bow or a sword that seems to fit them perfectly.

Yes, that old romance is gone.

Gone with the metallic blade, gone with even the crossbow, the axe, and the arrow. They even went so far as to pull the steed out from under them, to have them stabled; hobbled, waiting for the breath of war they will never see again.

The open battlefield of day is replaced with the relentless battering of day and night, with no place to hide, no place to run. Burrowed in the ground, waiting to be flushed out like a fox.

Waiting for the hunting hounds to come.

That was the game he was thrown into, whether he realized it or not. Deep down somewhere, he did. It was an underlying knowledge, a whispering thought hiding between the lines. Yet, like everything, he didn’t want to believe.

And why should he? War was glorious. Beautiful. Something that every young man wanted to be a part of simply to prove themselves. Who cared about all the little details? It didn’t matter when the glory of fighting for your country became such a grand thing, to rid the world of the evil that harmed it and its people.

They failed to mention the rats the size of small cats, the trenches, and the bombings well into the night. They failed to mention the chlorine gas that wandered the trenches and no man’s land, probing about the earth like some blind creature. They failed to mention the aircraft, easy to detect but hard to avoid.

Just kind of a mini explanation as to why Alabaster is acting how he is. Could it be better? Oh yes. This is unedited. I do like the ending though. I'll keep that, maybe edit the rest. If you come across him in forest, feel free to sit with him. He's sad, lonely, (probably sick by this point. He's been in the rain all day) and bitter towards everything. He probably won't have the energy to interact, but he will accept you sitting with him. Just a thought if you see his picto.



The rain poured down in sheets, soaking the young stag’s pelt. He stood in the midst of it, no longer caring just how wet he got. What did it matter anymore anyway? It wasn’t like his life was getting any better. Nothing was happening how it should.
The rain brought bitter memories, more so from the chilling, deathly cold it brought with it. He had almost died because his mother had a change of heart to leave him. What was worse was that she had been there. He knew she had been there. He had felt her warmth, her fur next to his. She was his universe, his world.
And then she was gone.
Simply gone.
How could she do that to her helpless newborn? How could she just leave him to die? The question had wandered through his mind for as long as he could remember. It was a constant question, like the ache in his heart or the pelt of ice he was wearing now. Not even his herd wanted him around.
The stag let out a ragged, pained breath. Auni hated him, or feared him, he wasn’t sure which. Jester was just…weird. Terrifying was a better way to put it, though her –was it a her?-interest was on Phoenix, so Alabaster had little time to speak with either of them. Then there was Alarica, the friend of Kerwin. The doe who was all right toward him until he started to grow in his antlers. The young hart took a few shaky steps, his joints stiff from standing. It’s not like it matters anyway, he thought bitterly. Only Kerwin and Zash seemed to care what he was doing, or where he was going.

Hopefully this'll be the completed version of Zash's letter. I like it, so it might stay. This is based off of a young soldier's opinions of World War I, specifically when and after the US entered the war. Poor Zash.



I know I should have told you. I know I shouldn’t have cowered; my tail tucked between my legs like a lowly dog and slunk off into the night. I should have told you, straight up front. I…just … I just couldn’t bear to see your face, Mother. I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting you. I am your son; I wanted to protect you just as much as you wanted to protect me. I wanted to wrap you up in my arms and shield you from the evils of this world, where everything doesn’t have a pot of gold, where every stranger can’t always be trusted. I wanted to let you keep your happy little bubble, just for you. Where you could flitter about, humming and dusting just like you used to when I was young.

Just as much as I wanted to protect you, I wanted to be free, to sever that leash holding me back. I was stupid enough to think that I could protect you from where I was… that I could protect both of us. So while you were crying at your table, mourning the disappearance of your only son, I was masquerading my way into the army, planning to show everyone just how strong I was.

Mother, no form of strength could drag me out of this Hell. This is not the glory I was told of. I thought that by going out here, to face the enemy, I would be protecting you, protecting those I love. I thought that by showing our military strength, the enemy would turn tail and run. They haven’t run. They bombard us with gas and bombs alike, keep us in our trenches. We are burrowed in the ground, forced into hiding like a hunter would a fox, just waiting to be forced out by the hint of smoke.

I do not want to be the fox, Mother. I want to be the hunting dog, braying victory to my master. This is a different fight.

Updates: New CSS.

I'm really new to this-when compared to everyone else- I've only been here since around August of last year. But I didn't come onto the site until a few weeks ago.

I have to play around with the coding and everything, so forgive me if I don't catch on right away.

Also, I have no idea how to post pictures and all the ways I did try, don't seem to work, so you'll have to use your imagination while I describe Kerwin, my crazy deer.
My symbol: http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/register/pictogram.php?usernam...



Kerwin will probably be my only deer and he doesn't like to change pelts, antlers or masks very often.


Name: Kerwin
Age: Young adult
Gender: Male
Appearance: Kerwin has the secretary bird pelt with the real deer mask and the default antlers with the red flowers on them.

Kerwin has an interesting personality. He's hyperactive, loves to run around and jump over everything from rocks to the stream and just run at random. You know you've met Kerwin if you spent twenty or so minutes just running around in circles with him. He doesn't back down from a challenge, and takes most taunts as aggression. Despite that, he does enjoy making friends with everyone(especially if you run around like a maniac for awhile) and is a natural leader. Kerwin has a tendency to be clumsy and he doesn't quite understand that he can't run through a tree. How he survived as a fawn is anyone's guess.
Kerwin doesn't catch on to lingo as quickly(whacking his head against a tree a few times maybe?) and has a tendency to just dart off in some random at a full run. He usually loops back to keep his buddy in check, though.

If you met Kerwin, let me know so I could find you again in the forest! Kerwin has made a few friends already(at least who he thinks to be his friend)!

See you in the forest!