Chapter 7 - Zephyrnaut

Eva sat up, adjusting her body so she could see Zephyr better. The doe knelt by the bed so her face met the fawn's. Eva was surprisingly tiny compared to Zephyr, but the fawn was overjoyed to finally meet the deer.

"Things will begin to happen," Eva began, "And time is short. This prophecy I have for you will come true if you make it back to the Endless Forest in time." Zephyr nodded. She didn't question how Eva knew these things - there was no time to ask.

Eva cleared her throat. "There must be a union between innocence and guilt, and between life and death. When this is complete, a transformation will happen. Every deer in the Endless Forest will be forever changed.", the fawn said the prophecy.

Zephyr slowly nodded. The words didn't make sense, but Eva assured her, "You will know what to do when you return. I do not know what is to happen, but I do know I am to come with you. Now...", she climbed to her feet, "I have one favor to ask." Zephyr nodded, "Anything.", she said. The fawn smiled, and walked to the doe. She sat and rested her head on Zephyr's chest.

Zephyr, a little surprised, lowered her head and nuzzled the little white fawn. Eva closed her eyes, and said, "Your fur...you feel just like my mother."

The doe and the fawn sat there for a few moments, before Zephyr asked, "Eva?" The fawn didn't move, and Zephyr nudged her a little. Eva's body relaxed and came to rest on the bed.

She had died in Zephyr's arms.

Axie backed away from the door, as Zephyr nudged it open. She stepped into the dark hallway, looking to him for the moment. The two nuzzled, Zephyr began to cry on his shoulder. "How could I, Axie? How could I let her die?", she questioned herself.

"Shh...there was nothing you could have done.", Axie assured her.

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

The woman wrapped Eva in a blanket the next morning, and carried her to a pickup truck. She understood that the fawn's body had to go with the deer, and she led them to the vehicle. The two deer and the lioness barely fit in the truck's bed, and Eva rested in the passenger seat. When everyone was ready, they began the trip down the snowy mountain.

The wind blew at the animals' faces. They kept their eyes closed, and none spoke a word. When they had gotten farther down the mountain, the truck slowed to a halt. The woman rolled down a window and said, "Hello, Kurt."

Standing there was the hunter and his two dogs. The man asked, "Hello Brandy. Where are you heading off to?" Brandy smiled, "Just taking some of the animals back into the wild. They have a long way to go."

After a short chat, the truck began to move again. Zephyr and Jaclyn peeked and saw the man's face - the same hunter that shot at them earlier. The man noticed them, his face surprised as his targets were driven away.

Brandy soon had the truck on a highway. The air was a little warmer now, and the deer could see the old town they passed through in the distance. "I'm so glad we don't have to pass through there again.", Axie said. Zephyr and Jaclyn nodded. They had put the past behind them.

More time passed, and the highway became a bridge over the swampland. The area was much prettier than it was when Axie and Zephyr passed through. Jaclyn napped nearby, her head resting on Axie's back.

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

They had reached the forest. The deer knew this area well, and knew which way to go from here. Brandy wrapped a pouch around Axie's neck, containing Eva's body. The two deer and the lioness said their goodbyes to their human rescuer, and before long she had left them on her way back to her home.

The trio had walked for a few hours when Jaclyn's ears perked up. She stopped and looked nearby, "Could it be?", she questioned. At that moment, several other lions approached from the trees. Jaclyn's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Artemis! Dominique! You're alive!!"

The lion ran to greet her old friends. The other lions were surprised to see their old leader was alive as well. Dominique and Artemis were accompanied by a few other adult lions and some cubs, who all had escaped the fire earlier.

Dominique looked to the two deer, "Oh, you brought us dinner, too!", she exclaimed. The lions began to form an attack against Zephyr and Axie when Jaclyn stopped them, "No. They are not to be harmed." Artemis tilted her head, "Jac? What's gotten into you? You hate deer!" The leader shook her head, "They saved my life. From now on, we're not eating their kind."

The lions grumbled and stepped away from the two deer. One of the cubs cried, "So what are we supposed to eat?" Axie, chuckling, suggested, "How about alligator?" Jaclyn smiled and said, "Alligator it is!"

Artemis looked to Dominique and the others surprisingly, then said, "You heard the lady! We're going 'gator hunting!" The cubs jumped and laughed, yelling, "Yeah, let's eat an alligator!" The lions began to head in the direction of the swamp. Jaclyn stayed behind for a few moments with her deer friends.

"So this is it...", she said to them. "Yeah.", Zephyr said. "Listen, if you ever need us, we'll be around. I'd love to meet some more deer like you.", the lioness said to them. Axie smiled, "You bet!", he said happily.

The lioness nodded and chased after her pride. Axie and Zephyr turned and kept going. The trip wouldn't take too much longer.

To Be Continued...