This is the sequel to Divine Intervention. If you haven't read it, this story may be a little confusing, so check it out here. And don't forget, when I put "intermission" at the bottom, there's still more to the chapter that I will write. When it says "To Be Continued...", the chapter is over.



He stomped his hoof.

The heat was blistering. He watched the humans walk by, seperated only by twisting metal and a small line that would shock him if he got too close. He learned this the hard way, as he already had a scar forming around his chest from pressing on it by accident.

He stomped his hoof.

There was another in the pen with him - a doe. She mainly ignored him, sitting underneath a small structure the humans built for them. It sheltered them from the sunlight, but the heat was still getting to them. She watched as the stag paced the cage, watching the humans. The fence was high, and there was no roofing over their heads.

He stomped his hoof.

He hated the humans. They stood there, gawking at him. He watched them from the corner of his eye, pretending that he wasn't paying attention to them, but he could see their faces, their eyes glaring at him. They pointed at him, and he could hear them speak. He heard them say he was "in a rut" and others asked why he wasn't shot and mounted on a wall.

He shook his head and stomped his hoof.

The anger was growing in his belly. The doe watched him as he eyed a man who walked by the cage, someone who worked at the place he was captured at. The man wore a cowboy hat and was building a structure, another pen, for more animals to be caught and gawked at by the humans.

In the distance, he could see other animals. A hog snorted loudly, begging the humans for food and thanking them graciously when they threw peanuts at him. He could hear cranes walking around with the humans, making threats at them that they could not understand. He saw other deer, whitetails, that looked over to him on occasion. They mostly sat under their own human-made structure, avoiding the sunlight as well as they could. The humans scared them, and the deer watched the creatures walk around, fearful of their power.

In the distance, a tiger was glaring at him. He could hear the beast talking to him from so far away, telling him how he was going to escape and kill him. The tiger paced the cage like a convict, grinning after every threat he made.

He ignored the tiger and stomped his hoof.

The sun was slowly going down. As the workers threw grains at the animals to feed them, one last human walked around the place. He came alone, a short man with a little facial hair and dirty-blonde hair that was cut close to the scalp. He wore a light shirt with cargo pants and tennis shoes, and he visited with each of the animals, watching them eat and tossing in a few peanuts.

He came up to the stag's pen. The stag studied him. He was different from the others - this man seemed watched the deer with gentle, almost loving eyes. The human tossed a few of the peanuts in the cage, and the stag bent down and ate them from the ground. The doe was out, eating some of the grains the worker had thrown in. When the other human came up, she asked the man which of the animals was his favorite.

"This one, definately.", he said. "You know you can stick your hand in there and he'll lick your palm.", the worker told him as she walked off.

He poured the remaining peanuts into his hand and reached in. The stag was a little reluctant, but he ate the peanuts and licked his hand. The man rubbed the bottom of the stag's chin. The stag was suprised as to how soft his hand was.

Maybe they're not all bad..., the stag thought, as the man smiled and walked off. The zoo was closed for the day, and the sunlight was slowly fading. The doe, satisfied with her meal, was already resting under the small structure. The stag stayed up.

He didn't talk to her. He never did, but he wanted to thank her for keeping him sane for the month. He didn't tell her that he would be gone by morning. He would escape, because there was another life out there that waited for him.

When the darkness came, he looked at her one last time. He didn't say it, but he nodded his head to say 'good-bye' to her.

He stomped his hoof and slid off to the back of the pen, where the grass was overgrown and none could see. He backed into the grass, as far as he could, then leapt.

He reached the top, pulling himself over. The fence caught his back legs, but he wiggled free and fell to the ground. He landed with a thud, and although this awoke a few of the animals, none suspected what was going on, and all went back to sleep. He was on his feet, and he crept out of the area. The main building was easy to pass, since there was a small fence that was easy to leap over. None heard him run off.

He stopped, looking back at the zoo for the last time. He smiled, stomped his hoof, and darted away.

-=|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|=-

It was past midnight. The deer trotted along a dirt path, with two farms on either side of him. He could see horses in their barns, who were awake and could hear the footsteps of the deer but was unable to see him. He continued on, soon finding a forest line that he entered without hesitation.

After walking deep into the forest, he stopped and sneezed off his appearance. The stag wore a disguise that made him look like any other deer, and now he wore the flat "antelope" mask, a green pelt, and white antlers that vined and twisted over his head in an intricate pattern. The stag smiled, happy to have his old look back, as he pressed on. He passed many animals who slumbered past the trees. They never heard him slip past, and the forest slumbered in unison. He was silent, carefully watching his steps.

He heard other deer off in the distance. They chattered near a pond, and for a moment he was curious, but he decided to ignore it. He had to get back to his home. There was no reason to be sidetracked.

He pressed on. Though he only had a few more miles to go, the journey would feel like an eternity for him.

-=|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|=-

The Endless Forest was dimly lit when he arrived. He looked around. The deer were sleeping, and the stag walked past them all, examining their pictograms.

He made his way past an area the deer called The Nursery, what tends to be the first place fawns find themselves in the Forest. As he walked past, a soft voice came from the lilacs, "Creek?" The stag stopped, looking around. "I know that voice...", he replied. A young mini-fawn stood from the flowers - she was much different than the other deer as she was made of glass. "Hello, Porcelain.", Creek greeted her.

"Everyone has been worried about you. You've been gone a long time.", Porcelain told him. Creek nodded, "I know...the humans captured me, put me in a cage. Every day humans came and stared at me.", he shook his head here, "I don't understand them." He continued, "I waited until the moon was dark. It would be the best time to escape." Porcelain smiled, "Well you are back! You should go tell everyone!", she said.

Creek cracked a smile, "It's too early for that. I'll just wait until the morning.", he said. "By the way...", Porcelain began, "Did you hear about Quad?", she asked. "Quad? I don't recognize that name.", the stag admitted. "He went off with four others to see his mother. You know he's the son of Brooke, the Forest Shaman.", Porcelain told him.

"Is that so?", Creek questioned. The two spoke for a moment more before bowing to one another. Creek walked off toward the Twin Gods' statue. Porcelain watched him walk off before resting again in the lilacs.

-=|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|=-

The return of Quad, Auge, Dim, Scorn, and Mazey was a joyous occasion. The Twin Gods held an abiogenesis in celebration of their triumph. Creek participated in the event, but at a distance from the travelling crew of five. He watched them, studying their moves and behaviors.

A week had passed, and Creek did not get any sleep. He wandered around during the morning, speaking with some of the deer who were already awake. Most did not recognize him or his pictogram, but they were polite anyway. He soon spotted a deer moving toward the Pond. His heart pounded, but he was confident, and he approached the drinking stag.

"Hello...my son...", Creek said to him.

The stag's head rose. He had never heard this voice before, yet he knew it was the one. "Father!", Quad exclaimed, and he turned to see his father's face for the first time.

To Be Continued...