Warning - has a little gore



"Having fun yet, Christine?", someone said. The young girl nodded and smiled, "This is so much fun!", she exclaimed.

The airplane flew over a canopy of trees. The pilot smiled back before returning to his job, glancing over to his co-pilot. They didn't want to tell the girl that they had lost their radar. The humans were lost, going in one direction aimlessly.

Christine was very happy. She couldn't wait to see her parents, and was returning from a vacation. She hugged a deer plush her father gave her, and watched out the window.

Clink!

The metal bird shook, slightly at first, and then violently. The two pilots were scrambling to figure out what happened, when the co-pilot exclaimed, "Engine 2 is on fire!" The girl's skin went cold upon hearing this, and she began to scream. "Mayday! Mayday! Engine Failure! We're going down!!", the pilot broadcast over the radio, but they were too far from civilization to be heard. The co-pilot unbucked and climbed into the back of the plane, grabbing a parachute and helping it onto the girl. "Your parents told you how to use this, right?", he asked. The girl nodded, and the co-pilot continued, "Good. You need to leave now, and we'll be right behind you. If we get lost, just stay put and we'll come find you."

The girl unbuckled her seatbelt and put the parachute on. The co-pilot opened the door to the airplane, which made a loud sound as the air began to suck out of the plane. "Go, go, go!", the co-pilot said to her, helping her to the door. The girl stepped back, grabbing her deer plush before leaping out.

She fell for a few seconds before pulling the cord and opening the parachute. She glided down safely, as she watched the plane fly off, the fire spreading down the wing and creating a trail of smoke behind it. She heard the plane make a whirrrrr sound before she heard a loud crash that deafened her for a moment. Several birds were startled and flew out of the trees, one puncturing her parachute.

"Aah!", she shrieked as she plummeted through the canopy. The tree limbs scratched at her, until one limb caught what was left of her parachute. She dangled just a few feet above the ground, breathing a sigh of relief before unbuckling herself and landing with a thud.

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

"And then they fell from airsitting!", Atiq exclaimed. The other two laughed, as they loved hearing stories of the strange things that happened in the Forest. The young stag smiled - he wore a blue pelt with strange yellow markings, a purple mask over his eyes, and purple flowers in his antlers. "I always wonder how they do that.", Yorres said, a stag who wore a masquerade mask with the magpie pelt. The third deer nodded, "It is quite difficult.", he said. Jen, who wore the crying mask, the pelt with the red stripe down his back, and the fan antlers, was quite wise on matters of oddities in the Forest.

Something was happening around them. Their fur began to stand up when they heard a strange sound coming from one direction. "What's tha...?", Yorres began to question when a large metal bird flew over them, streaking smoke and making a loud screeching sound as it went overhead. "Whoa!!", Atiq exclaimed, and Jen was silent but his eyes were wide open. The thing vanished past the treeline and a loud crash followed.

The trio was awestruck. "Come on!", Atiq said, running in the direction of the crash. Yorres and Jen followed close behind, all wanting to appease their curiosity.

The deer followed a trail of smoldering debris before finding the crash site. A large pile of twisted metal and broken glass sat before them, parts of it engulfed in flames and billowing smoke. Jen stepped forward to investigate the front of the metal bird, while Yorres and Atiq checked either side of it.

Jen stopped, his heart skipping a beat. The front of the thing was covered in blood, which was already beginning to pool and stain the soil below him. He stepped back for a moment before cautiously approaching and looking inside. Two lifeforms were mangled inside, both with horrified looks on their faces.

Atiq could not get too close without coughing. The smoke made his eyes water, and he backed off and looked from a distance. On the other side, Yorres took a deep breath and peeked inside the metal thing through the open door. The smoke filled the metal bird and there was little to be seen aside from the fabric that burned within.

Pulling out, Yorres looked over to Jen, who had a look of horror and disgust on his face. "What is it?", he asked. Jen didn't reply, but motioned for him to come look. Yorres came over and looked, stepping back and vomiting into the nearby foliage. Atiq came into view when this happened. "What did I miss?", he questioned.

After Atiq saw the two creatures within, the trio began to wonder what this was. "I've seen these things fly overhead.", Jen mentioned, "The Twin Gods always made them appear and disappear." "This is different, though.", Atiq said, "This has never happened before." "What are those things in there?", Yorres questioned. Jen lowered his head, "Humans.", he said.

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

Unable to make a conclusion about the situation, the trio decided to head back to the main part of the Forest. "Look, over there!", Yorres said, and the other two turned to see another strange thing. A piece of fabric fluttered on one of the tree limbs, with ropes that dangled below it. Upon their approach, they also saw strange tracks that moved away from the area.

"What are these hoofprints?", Atiq questioned. Yorres shook his head, "I don't think those are hoofprints. They're spaced too close together.", he said. "They're not - those are human prints.", Jen said.

"A human? In the Endless Forest?", Atiq asked. "It looks like a child, though.", Yorres pointed out. "Yes. The prints are small - much smaller than those we saw within that metal thing.", Atiq said. "We must let the others know.", Jen said, "There's something odd about this situation."

The other two nodded in agreement, and the trio darted off in seperate directions.

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

The sky began to darken. A storm rolled into the area, and dark clouds hovered over the canopy above. The girl walked on, stepping over undergrowth and looking around. She was alone, with only her deer plush as a friend. A twig caught her dress, holding her back as she tried to move forward. She realized her dress was caught, but before she could try to fix the problem, the twig tore into it. She fell forward, landing on her hands and laying there for a moment before picking herself up.

Rain began to fall. She instinctively ran, looking for cover. She saw an area with large boulders, but there wasn't much to shelter her there. She kept going, seeing an old building with a few walls that stood but little cover. She slipped, getting a little mud on her clothes. Standing, she saw a large tree. She ran to it, finding the inside hollowed out. She went in, startling a fawn who had been in there already. The deer raced out, bleeting for others to come protect it. The girl sat and watched as the rain became heavier.

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

The fawn ran toward the Ruins and found the first deer it could. The doe wore a strange black-and-white pelt in a blotched-looking pattern, as well as the real-deer mask and doe antlers. Her pictogram shone in the rain - Ammy. "Shh, shh, it's okay!", the doe nuzzled the fawn, "Now, tell me what happened." "There...was a human in the Old Oak!", the fawn said. "A human?", Ammy tilted her head, "Are you sure?" The fawn nodded, and started to cry. "Okay, shh, shh. We'll take care of it, won't we Shin?", Ammy turned to another deer who stood near the pillars of the Ruins. The other deer was similar in appearance to Ammy, though his antlers grew out more, and his pelt was the dark-blue and white one. The rain was slowly getting into his eyes through the real deer mask, and he shook his head to get the water out. "Yeah, we'll take care of the human. Don't you worry.", Shin said.

Ammy looked at her adoptive brother, "We don't know what kind of human it is yet. There's no need to get riled up.", she said. "It was a little small...", the fawn said. "Good, good. It shouldn't be a threat then, right Shin?", Ammy questioned. Shin stepped out of the Ruins and stood by the other two, "No human is a threat to me.", he said. The fawn, feeling relieved, ran to find somewhere else to take shelter. "Let's go, then.", Shin said, and the two made their way to the Old Oak.

When they got about halfway there, another deer approached them. The orange deer had candles in her antlers that, despite the weather, were lit with flames on each. She had intricate patterns on her body and legs that helped many deer identify her - Poet. "There's something in the Old Oak!", she called to the other two. Ammy nodded, "Yes, we know. It's a human." "A human? In the Forest?", Poet questioned. "Don't worry about it, Poet. I'll teach that human a thing or two!", Shin began, but Ammy nudged him and shook her head. "We were heading that way.", she said. "It could kill us!", Poet said aloud, but Shin shook his head, "I won't let that happen."

Reluctantly, Poet followed the other two to the Old Oak. She did want the problem resolved - after all, the Old Oak was her favorite sleeping spot, and she didn't like the rain.

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

The old stag sat on the bridge. He watched the other deer scamper for shelter. A few stuck around the Pond, unphased by the rain. The stag didn't move, observing the deer as they continued a conversation despite the weather.

Another deer came into view. His darkblue-and-white coat was soaked, but the rain didn't bother him. The old stag was soon only watching the new deer approach the pond and begin to drink, his large red antlers making him easily identifiable as his son. Quad knew his father was watching - he saw the green stag on the bridge out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't move his head to look at him. Quad stepped into the shallow water and drank. The pond water was a little more salty than normal, but he didn't think anything of it.

Afterwards, he walked off toward the Ruins. He didn't want to talk to Creek, and he didn't want another confrontation. He decided it was best not to bother his father. Quad had walked a distance when he noticed three deer approaching the Old Oak. Curious, he decided to see what was going on.

When he approached, the trio stopped and bowed to him. After bowing back, he asked, "Everyone getting tired of the rain?" "Not exactly. There's something in the Old Oak.", Ammy replied. "You might as well come with us, Quad.", Shin began, "We could use the extra muscle to dispose of it." Quad tilted his head, "What? What is it?", he questioned. "It's supposed to be a human...", Ammy said.

Quad's curiosity rose. "I'll come along. I might be able to communicate with it.", he said. "What do you mean?", Poet questioned. "Well...humans don't speak the same way we do. I was able to talk to them before.", Quad replied. "Good. Maybe there won't be reason to harm it after all.", Ammy said, relieved. Shin snorted, "We'll see.", he said.

The four approached the Old Oak. The girl was inside, sitting with her head covered by her arms. Quad shook his head, "This is only a child. There shouldn't be anything to worry about.", he assured the others. Poet and Ammy stepped into the Oak, and at once the girl was alarmed. Her head snapped up, only seeing dark silhouettes of creatures. "Go away!!", she screamed. Poet at once backed off. Shin came forward and stood by Ammy in the entrance. The girl shuddered, terrified of the creatures. "Get away from me!!", she shouted. Her voice was loud, and it seemed to amplify in the Oak. Shin's ears rung, and he began to get irritated. As he took another step into the Oak, Ammy stopped him. "No, let Quad talk to it.", she said. The stag snorted once more, stepping out and walking away. He stopped and looked at Quad, "It's all yours now. If you need any help, just call." Quad nodded, and watched Poet and Ammy follow the stag before he approached the Oak.

He stuck his head in. The girl, even more frightened of him due to his great antlers, screamed even louder, "Go away!!" Quad took a breath, and spoke to the girl in her own language, "As you wish..." He stepped out and walked off to the side, then stood and surveyed the area. The girl could still see him out there, and she slowly became less frightened that the thing spoke to her. She crawled closer to the entrance, looking out at the deer. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her, even if that meant standing in the rain.

"W...wait...", the girl studdered. The stag looked back. "You can speak English?", she asked. Quad gave a nod, "I can." She felt a little relieved, though the stag still frightened her a little, she asked of him, "Please, can you tell me where I am? I'm lost." The stag smiled, "Of course.", he said, and he approached the Oak. The girl moved back to the edge of the tree as Quad lowered his head to fit his antlers through the hole. He entered the Old Oak, flicking his hooves out into the rain to remove a little of the water before moving in and sitting down. He looked at the girl, smiling gently and trying his best not to alarm her. "What would you like to know?", he asked her.

And so the second meeting of Quad and human began. "Where am I?", the girl questioned. Quad smiled, "This is The Endless Forest, a sanctuary for deer...and I guess all creatures really. You're safe here." The girl, relaxing just a little, finally told him who she was and where she was from. "I've never heard of that place...", Quad admitted, "Is it nice?" "Oh, yes.", Christine replied.

The conversation lasted for a while. Quad understood most of what the girl spoke about - many of the things he remembered hearing from the other human, Victor. "So, what is your name?", Christine asked him. "My name is Quad.", the deer replied. "Quad...where do I know that word from?", the girl questioned herself.

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

The rain had stopped, and already the Endless Forest was dry, although the air was a little musty. The deer had led Christine out to the Pond, where she walked in and cleaned off the mud that had hardened on her clothes and legs. Quad noticed that Creek was still by the bridge, though his head was down. "Good. He's asleep.", Quad said to himself. He knew what might happen if his father saw a human in the Forest.

Christine stepped out of the water. "I'm a little hungry...", she said. Quad smiled, "Yes.", he replied, and raced to a nearby tree. The girl didn't understand what he was doing, but the deer rubbed against the tree. A pinecone fell, hitting the ground with a thud. "Here you go.", he said to her. The girl walked to the tree, looking at the pinecone. "I can't eat this!", she exclaimed. Quad tilted his head, "No?", he asked, bending down and eating the pinecone himself.

"Okay, how about...", the deer began, leading her farther into the Forest. He stopped at a tree that had mushrooms that grew from it. The girl looked at him, "Eww!", she said. The deer was a little confused, but he took her to the Ruins to look. "There's got to be something around here...", he began, when Christine exclaimed, "Blueberries!!" She ran to one of the walls of the Ruins, finding a blueberry bush with plenty of ripe berries. "I love blueberries!", she said, and began to eat. Quad was relieved, though he had never seen the bush there before. Still, he thanked the Twin Gods under his breath.

After eating her fill, the girl finally asked him, "Will you show me around?" Quad nodded, "Of course.", and he led the way. Christine followed eagerly, her fears gone. She wanted to meet the other deer of the Forest, and hoped they would be just like the one she followed. Quad held his head high, listening out for the other deer, before moving along.

He took her to the Twin Gods' statue. "These are the Twin Gods. They are our providers, and the creators of all of this.", Quad said. The girl smiled, walking forward and touching one of the statues. There was something about this place that seemed familar to her, and she finally said, "I saw these statues in a dream..." "Hmm...", Quad replied. The girl smiled, "I almost feel like I've been here before."

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

Some deer were already gossiping about seeing the human child. Quad led her to the Crying Idol, where the trio of deer he had met earlier was standing. They all watched him and the human approach, their hearts racing. Quad and Christine stopped before them. "Christine, this is Ammy, Shin, and Poet.", he introduced them to her, "And this is Christine, the human from the Old Oak."

"Christine...", Poet began, "That is a lovely name." The girl smiled for a moment before Shin approached her. She backed into Quad nervously, but the stag nudged her, "He won't hurt you.", he assured her. The girl stepped forward, and Shin walked around her, studying her. He looked at her once more before walking off. Ammy gave a slight smile, "Yeah, he won't bother you any more.", she said. The doe bowed and chased after her brother. Poet stayed for a moment, "So what brings you to the Endless Forest?", the doe questioned the girl. "I got lost out here, after my plane went down." "Plane?", the doe tilted her head. Quad explained, "That thing Yorres, Atiq, and Jen said they found. It was a big metal bird or something..." "Oh that thing!", Poet realized, turning to Christine, "You were in the belly of a metal bird?!" "Well...", she began, "yes, I guess you could say that."

Poet shook her head, "I'll never understand humans..." The doe finally bowed and was on her way. "I'd like to go back to the tree.", Christine said to Quad. The stag nodded and led her back to the Old Oak.

They passed by the Pond on the way. Quad saw Creek standing there, drinking from the water. "Come, we must hurry.", he told Christine, when the father stag lifted his head and spotted them. Quad's blood froze upon seeing this. The elder stag watched them as they darted off.

They went a ways toward the Old Oak before Quad said, "He saw us..." "Your father?", Christine asked, and the stag nodded. "Why don't you talk to him?", she questioned. Quad shook his head, "It wouldn't prove anything. He wouldn't listen." Christine petted his side, "You never know until you try.", she said.

The stag gave a slight sigh, "Okay, I'll talk to him again...", he said. The girl entered the Old Oak and rested. Quad watched her fall asleep before sitting near the entrance and resting his head.

His mind pondered what his father would say about the situation...

To Be Continued