"Forest Shamans?", Quad questioned Scorn.

"Yes, the Forest Shamans are some of the most revered deer known!", Scorn exclaimed. "Why is that?", Mazey asked. Scorn nodded, "Well, several reasons actually. Each Shaman has their own gift from the Twin Gods, some kind of power or ability, and all have used them for peace and harmony. Some could control nature, like the weather and the elements. Others could read minds, interpret dreams, and so on. Brooke...", Scorn paused here, "...was an extrordinary healer."

"I've heard of her!", Dim added, "She brought the trees back to life after a fire once!" Scorn nodded, "Yes that is true. She also could bring animals back to perfect health right before they died. She was really amazing." He looked over to Quad, "It's also been said that the Shamans brought luck to anyone near them." Mazey jokingly came close to Quad, smiling and looking up to him. The others chuckled a little.

Auge decided to speak here, "The Shamans were gifted, but at the same time they had to be responsible with their powers. They were anything but normal deer." She looked over to Quad, "Who knows what kind of power you'd have Quad, if you were one of the Shamans!"

Quad sighed and shook his head, walking off in the direction they were going. The other four tilted their heads. "What's up with him?", Scorn questioned. They ran after him, Auge going past and stopping him. "What's the matter? You're going to be some kind of hero, Quad!", she questioned him. "I...", Quad started, but he shook his head and tried to get past her. "Quad! Tell us!", Scorn snapped at him.

"Look, I don't want to be a hero. I don't want to be responsible for anyone's life but my own!", Quad stated as he started to become infuriated. He walked past Auge, stopping and turning his head to them, "I just wanted to live a normal life, and those damn creatures stole that from me when they killed my mother." "But Quad...", Dim began to say, but Quad interrupted him, "I didn't ask for any of you to come with me. You all almost died because of me."

Auge shook her head, "But we got through it, together. All of us." Quad didn't respond to her, but instead spoke to all of them, "Go home, all of you."

He walked off, the others staying behind. "What should we do?", Dim questioned. Scorn shrugged, "I don't really care...if we want to go after him, we can. If we want to go home, then we'll go home."

Auge looked over to Quad, who had walked a ways off. "He has been through a lot..."

Dim also looked at the distant deer. "We came to help him. I say we help, no matter what."

Mazey immediately responded, "Then let's go catch up with him!"

The four nodded in agreement and darted to regroup with Quad. When they caught up with him, he stopped and looked at them all. "Look, we came on this trip to protect you. Stop burdening yourself by thinking you've gotta worry about us!", Auge immediately said.

Scorn decided to speak next, "Quad, you know you're different than any other deer. But you know what, no deer that lives in the Endless Forest is normal. Every one of us has a background, a story, something special about us." Auge added something else, "You know, most deer would kill to be one of the Shamans."

Quad lowered his head, and sighed. "I guess you're all coming along, all the way, huh?"

Dim smiled, "Of course!" Mazey looked to Quad, "We're with you all the way!" Auge scoffed, "You've just gotta lighten up!"

Quad closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and raised his head. He smiled, "You're right. Sorry about all that."

The crew of five, regrouped, marched on. The four that accompanied Quad now knew his disposition about his legacy, and they all hoped that whatever they were looking for would come soon.

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

It was about midday, and the deer began to smell things in the air that were different. The odors were becoming stronger with each step, and the deer followed the smells, sniffing the air loudly as they pressed on.

They found an open area, and all five were shocked at what they saw.

Two strange fabric triangles, a red object that looked like a large sleeping beast, and two animals that walked on two legs. Quad gazed at the creatures and slowly became angry. "That's them.", he said. "What are they?", Dim asked.

Again, Quad did not know the answer, but the Twin Gods told him in his mind. He responded, "Man."

The one he recognized right off was an older man, who's head was bald and had a thick, bushy beard. He was heavyset and wore a reddish plaid shirt with jeans. The other man was shorter and smaller, with a little facial hair in a goatee and short dirty-blonde hair. He wore glasses and had on a green shirt and cargo pants.

"Victor, look! There's some deer! Hand me the rifle so I can kill one of them!", the larger man exclaimed anxiously. The younger, who sat on a log near one of the tents, shook his head, "You haven't learned anything from this, have you, Paul? We've been stuck out here for more than a month because we killed a doe and a fawn.", he stated, the rifle laying near him and away from the larger man.

Suprisingly, Quad and the others could understand what they were saying. They assumed, once again, that it was the Twin Gods' doing that they could hear the conversation. But could they communicate with the strange creatures?

The crew of deer revealed themselves and studied the humans carefully. Victor, the younger of the two, stood here. His eyes were fixed on Quad's, while Paul's eyes met with the other four. Quad decided to try speaking to the young man. "Are you the creatures that walked this forest when I was a fawn?", he asked. The man didn't reply. Quad asked a different question, "Can you understand me?" Victor nodded, "I can. I've learned to communicate with nature." "Good. There is much to discuss.", Quad said eagerly.

"What's going on? Why are you talking to a deer?", Paul questioned his fellow man. Victor put a finger to his mouth, warning Paul to be quiet. Quad immediately questioned Victor, "Why do you kill deer?" Victor hesitated. He did not want to say the truth, but he had no choice. "It was our job. We work for a taxidermy clinic, providing bodies of deer for our customers to buy.", he tried to explain. Quad did not understand what he just said. Victor tried to simplify it, "Humans like to have deer bodies in their homes."

Quad wanted to ask why this was, but instead he shook his head, becoming a little more irritated and angry. The other four deer kept silent, listening attentively as they did not know what was going to happen next. Quad then asked the man another question, "How do you kill the deer?" Victor lifted the rifle, which to Quad looked like a strange stick. "This thing does it.", the man confessed, "It shoots a small thing that pierces the deer's body and destroys it on the inside." Quad nodded slightly - he understood this as he experienced it first-hand.

"Which of you tried to kill me?", he moved to the next question. Victor pointed to the other man, "Paul did, that man." Paul looked over to the other man, curious as to why he was being pointed at. "Who killed my mother?", Quad immediately questioned. Victor hesitated, and then confessed, "I did."

This infuriated Quad, and he did something that none of the others expected - he leapt forward and tackled the man, throwing him to the ground. Paul stepped back, shocked, and the other deer seemed to gasp in unison. Quad stood ontop of him, his front hooves pressing down on the man's chest. "Why? Why did you kill my mother?", he asked angrily. The man was stunned by the attack, but answered the best he could, "She was the only deer we had found. We did not want to leave without at least one." Quad pressed down on the man even harder. "You destroyed her life and mine! You made us both suffer!!", he cried. Victor gave an honest answer, "I know...we were so stupid to be doing this. We did not know that what we were doing was cruel and horrible."

He went on, "I know there is no way you could forgive us, but...", he closed his eyes here, "...we've been punished for what we did by being stuck out here for so long." Quad shook his head, "That doesn't concern me! You will pay for what you did to my mother!!", he yelled. The man could not look at the deer, he kept his eyes shut. "Please, we have families that are worried about us! We just wanted to go home!", the man cried. This made Quad more furious, "Did you even think about my family when you killed my mother? Do you think we are just stupid deer that wander the forest waiting to die? Answer me!!", he spat.

"Please...", the man could not bear any more, "...if it will make it up to you, do what you want with me but let the other go! I deserve your punishment!"

It was the words Quad wanted to hear, his thirst for vengeance about to be satisfied. He stood on two legs, raising his front hooves high in the air. The man opened his eyes, and instantly shut them as the sunlight blinded him, he could not tell what the deer was about to do.

The world went in slow motion. Quad was focused only on what he was about to do. He could hear the group that accompanied him, their individual shouts at him. "Quad don't do it!", he heard Dim call. "Kill him already!", Auge shouted. "What's he doing?", Scorn questioned. "Oh no...", he could hear Mazey gasp.

And then he heard something else. Something that seemed to calm him, just slightly.

It's okay, my son. Let them go...

Was it his mother's voice? Was she there, watching him? He suddenly felt a little dizzy, his anger almost fully suppressed. Reality struck in, and Quad's hooves came crashing down.

STOMP!!

The man had shielded his face, though he lowered his arms and opened his eyes. Quad's legs were spread on either side of the man, missing his body by inches. Quad lowered his head and looked the man in the eye.

"Go home.", he said.

Quad rose and backed off, shaking his head as though to relieve his mind from a daze. All were stunned, man and deer. Victor let out a long breath of relief as he sat up, looking at the deer in astonishment.

"Let's go. There's nothing else that needs to be done here.", Quad instructed his crew. They turned and began to walk back into the forest. All the while Paul continued to stare at them. He whispered to Victor, "Quick, now's our chance. Hand me the rifle." Victor shook his head. Paul was more excited, "Do you know what their pelts would go for on the market? We'd make a fortune!", he said. "Paul, it's over. We're done with this job once we get back to the city."

Paul shook his head, and went over to the log. He took the rifle, cocking it. Quad's ears perked up - it was that sound again. He heard it when he was shot as a fawn, and he knew that following the sound was the loud explosion that kills the deer. He was not going to allow this man to kill another deer. Quad turned and ran towards the man, seeing the death stick pointed at Auge. Quad leapt at the man, blocking his view and knocking him down.

POW!!

The four deer were startled, their legs stiff as they caught themselves. All looked to the man and the deer.

Quad grunted, as he felt the bullet pierce his body and exit through his back. He could feel his belly slowly become numb and painful. However, rather than let the pain overtake him, an adrenaline rush surged through his body as he glared at the man. Quad gritted his teeth, and at once raised his hooves and struck the man. Paul dropped the rifle and shielded his face with his arms. Quad continued to strike him, each blow stronger than the last. His hooves bruised and cut the man's arms, leaving deep gashes that began to bleed. One of his hooves missed, stomping on the rifle instead and shattering it with a loud "crunch" sound.

Paul could not defend himself, and he desperately cried out to Victor to help him. Victor stood and watched - Paul did not listen to him, and he deserved the beating. Paul's arms slowly fell, leaving his face open. Quad at once pummeled the man's face with several blows until he stopped moving.

Paul was not dead, but he blacked out in agony. Quad stood over the man, breathing heavily. He raised his head in triumph and let out a loud roar that echoed through the forest. He walked over the man's shattered body, taking several steps before he noticed the blood dripping from his belly. He soon became lightheaded, stumbling and collapsing to the ground. "Quad!", Scorn called out, and the deer ran to him.

The sky became dark and at once began to rain, much like the first day Quad lived. He tried to move, but his body became heavy and stiff. The raindrops began to soak and cool his body, while getting into his eyes and making them burn a little.

He heard the voices of the deer, but could not understand what they were saying. Slowly his body began to lose it's warmth, until he could not feel his body anymore. He closed his eyes and could not see or hear the world around him anymore.

So this is how it ends..., he thought to himself. What a shame...I didn't even get to say goodbye...

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

He did not know what was waiting for him, or what happened to deer when they died. But he waited, finding himself still immersed in darkness. At least that was what he thought...

But then he could hear something. It was faint, but he listened carefully.

There was a distant sound of raindrops, falling heavy and making loud sounds as they crashed into the Earth. Was the world crying...because Quad was dead?

He heard something else. Something soft.

"Quad?"

He slowly opened his eyes. The world around him was blurry, but he could see again. He answered back, his speech a little slurred, "I guess I'm not dead..."

He felt a snout come close and nuzzle him. "We thought we lost you." It was Auge's voice. Dim, who sat close by, also spoke, "You were really lucky. The man knew how to fix your wounds." Quad's eyes began to focus. He was in a cave. They all were - Dim, Scorn, Auge, Mazey, and the man, Victor. He looked down and saw a long white bandage that wrapped around his body, stopping both wounds on his back and belly from bleeding anymore. He also saw Mazey was curled up by him, sleeping silently. Scorn stood near the entrance, watching the rain fall. Victor was near the wall of the cave, sitting crunched over and watching over the deer silently.

"What happened to the other man?", Quad asked. Victor answered, "He's tied up in one of the tents. He won't be going anywhere." Quad strangely understood what he meant by the word 'tent', and he nodded softly.

"Quad, there's something else you need to see...", Dim spoke to him. Quad sat up, and looked in the direction the other deer were looking. At the end of the cave sat another deer, an older doe, who had soft, gentle eyes that were fixed on Quad. "Hello, my son.", she spoke softly.

Quad could not believe his eyes. He wiped his eyes and looked again. There sat his mother, laying down the same way she was when she gave birth to him.

"Mother!!", Quad exclaimed, rising to his feet and darting towards her. He connected with her, resting his snout on her chest and rubbing her fur with his mask. The doe looked down at him, caressing his head with her snout. "I thought you were dead...", Quad said happily.

...But something wasn't quite right. She didn't feel the same. He could tell her body was much colder than it should have been. In fact, she almost had no warmth at all. Her fur also felt more coarse and ragged, unlike how soft it felt the first time they hugged. Quad also saw something else, something that sent a small shiver down his spine. The blood that she spilled on that day was still there on her body, though it had dried up and stained her fur going down her belly.

Quad looked up to her. "What has happened to you, mother?"

His mother closed her eyes, nuzzling him before revealing, "My son, I am already dead."

He wanted to speak. He wanted to reply to this, because he was so confused, but something held him back. He slowly broke his gaze upon her and looked down at his own body. The bandage that wrapped around his belly was slowly beginning to stain red. He panicked and cried, his body shivering. "Mothe...", he tried to speak, but was cut off when blood filled his mouth. He was bleeding on the inside.

"Shh...shh...be still...", his mother spoke softly, pressing his face back onto her chest with her snout. Mazey woke, looking around, and became shocked when she saw the sight of Quad dying on his mother's chest. The others didn't dare to speak. It was what Quad came for, what this whole journey was about - to find his mother.

"Relax...", his mother told him again. He slowly rested his body, enduring the pain within him. She gave a slight smile and began to hum. Quad's eyes slowly began to shut, he didn't know if he was falling asleep or on his last moments, but he could see reality drifting away. He heard his mother speak one last time, "Rest now. We'll talk when you feel better."

He closed his eyes and drifted into a deep slumber, cooing softly with each breath. Brooke's head began to glow a soft light-blue, and she released a spell upon them all. It hit Quad first, his fur becoming a brilliant white. His wound rapidly healed, the blood that spilt vanishing in an instant. Soon the spell spread to the other deer, making their fur glow and healing the cuts and gashes they endured from the coyote attack. Even Victor's hair became a glowing white, as several cuts and bruises he had on his arms and legs seemed to heal instantly. Within a few minutes, the spell wore off and their fur and hair returned to normal.

Brooke did not say a word, but she watched as one by one, the deer feel asleep. It was an unfortunate side affect of her spell, though the effect took a few moments to occur on the man. He took this opportunity to stand and walk over to her and her sleeping son.

"I'm so sorry...", he began to say, but the doe shook her head. "It's not your fault. The Twin Gods wanted this all to happen. It was the only way to get one of your kind to communicate with us - the first step in the process of intertwining our worlds. It was all their plan.", she replied. Victor, feeling as though a burden was lifted from his shoulders, asked the doe, "May I...?", and he began to reach out to them. She smiled and nodded.

The man caressed the doe's back. His hand was very calm and gentle, and the doe nuzzled his arm in a loving matter, being well aware that he was the one to cause her death and bring such grief to her and her fawn. It was all past her now. "To think that it was only a month ago...", she began to say, "...when he was born." She motioned for him to pet Quad. He was hesitant, but the doe assured him, "He will not stur, and would not mind."

Victor placed his hand over Quad's neck. His fur was much softer than his mother's, and he remained asleep as the man petted him. "You made a beautiful child.", Victor said. The doe gave a nod, "He's still only a fawn by heart. He has much to understand, but he will grow to be a kind stag.", she said.

All the while Quad could not feel their presence, but he dreamt a pleasant dream - the first he ever had in his life - of himself and his mother playing in a meadow. He would have many more dreams like this, that would make up for his past experience and ultimately make him very happy.

The man removed Quad's blood-soaked bandage before he yawned, and soon he was asleep as well. The doe watched over them all, as she nuzzled her slumbering son.

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

The rain stopped outside, but the daylight was already gone. It was late at night when Quad awoke. He looked around, seeing that the other deer and the man were asleep. He then looked to his mother, who kissed him. They kept silent for several moments before his mother spoke, "I know you have many questions." He sat up and replied, "Yes." The doe asked, "What would you like to know?"

Quad at once asked, "Where is Father at?" Brooke sighed, "He could not stay with us when it happened. He knew it was too dangerous, and he fled. But it is my understanding now that he lives in the Endless Forest." Quad's eyes widened, "He was there, living with me that whole time? Why didn't he speak to me?", he questioned anxiously. The doe responded, "He does not know you are alive. However, upon your return to the Endless Forest, it will be made known that my fawn lives, and he will present himself to you." She looked to him and continued, "I think it is interesting that you chose the pelt you wear. That was his first pelt, the one that made me fall in love with him." Quad was suprised - even the dark-blue and white pelt he wore had a connection to his family!

Quad asked something else, "What do you think about the men?" Brooke's face became a little more serious when she heard this question, "Not all of them are bad, but it is hard to tell the nice ones from the ones that want to kill us. You must be cautious when you see them." "What about this man?", Quad asked, looking over to the human who slept nearby, "He was the one that caused you so much pain." Brooke shook her head, "It's fine, he is very kind. I believe he was misled like so many are." She looked to the man, "He wants to talk to you when he wakes."

He asked another question, "How are you dead when you're talking to me right now?" This made the doe lower her head, "Oh...it is the Twin Gods' doing. They wanted me to be here for a while longer." "But you're here! You could come with us to the Endless Forest! We could live with Father, all together!", Quad assured her, but the doe shook her head. "No." "No? Why not?", Quad questioned her. His heart sunk, he couldn't understand why her mother would refuse to come back to the Forest. Brooke's eyes teared a little, when she told him, "This body of mine will soon be gone, but I won't. I'll always be with you."

"Mother, I don't under...", Quad began to say when she nuzzled him. Mazey, Auge, Dim, Scorn, and Victor all awoke at this moment. They all yawned and stretched before realizing what was happening. Very slowly, tiny specks of light began to leave Brooke's body and disappear into the air. None of them understood this process, but they all watched in awe as the doe's body began to fade. Quad could feel her presence start to vanish.

"No! You can't leave! Not like this!", he cried, pressing his face into her fur. His mother spoke softly to him, "Do not weep for me, my little one. I am not leaving you." Quad wanted to speak again, but his throat choked up. He could only sit and feel his mother's body fade away into particles of light.

"I love you...", she said to him, and the last bit of her body exploded into thousands of the light specks. Quad sat up, and watched in wonder as the light collected into one orb that hovered before him. The orb approached and connected with his body, warming him as it entered effortlessly past the fur and skin. He could feel it press against his heart, and at once the emptiness he felt was gone.

"I'll always be with you.", he heard her speak one last time.

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

The first rays of light peeked into the cavern. The deer all sat there, all awake and none speaking. Quad had reflected on it all for hours, when he stood and looked to Victor. "Come walk with me.", he said.

The stag and the man stepped out of the cavern. The other four deer began to chatter among themselves as to the phenomenon that just occured, but it was no concern to Quad. They walked for a moment before they began the conversation. The two spoke to one another, not as animal and man, but as person to person. They had much more respect for one another as they explained things from both of their worlds. Victor laughed as Quad told him the origin of his name. "That's funny, I didn't think things we said would affect things like that!", Victor exclaimed. He told Quad all about the vehicle in which he was named after, and it fascinated the deer. The deer told the man about the wonders the Twin Gods could perform, such as making flowers grow large, creating lighting and fire within an instant, and especially all the wonderous things he head heard about an event the Gods loved to perform for the deer called the Abiogenesis.

They spoke of civilization, nature, culture, and much more. Quad decided not to bring up the reasons the man hunted, and Victor dared not to ask the deer about the magic his kind could perform. The two had talked so long that it was already becoming warm outside. When they returned to the cavern, the other four deer were waiting on them. "Quad, we should be leaving soon if we want to make it back before nightfall.", Scorn instructed him. Victor looked to the deer. "Be careful if more of us show up around here. There will still be those that will try to kill you.", he warned them. Mazey grinned, "Well, I'm sure the Twin Gods will look over us if anything happens.", she replied.

"I should go. Thank you...", Victor said to all of them, "...for opening my eyes." He bowed and went on his way through the forest. The deer watched him leave, all hoping that he would help shape the future of relations between man and deer. They ate some foliage close to the cave before leaving on their own way back home.

Quad led the way, excited to find his father, and very pleased that he learned so much. His mind was always thinking of something throughout the trip home. Most of all, he thought of his mother, and of her endless love. He felt her close to his heart, and he knew she was watching over him.

To Be Continued...