"Good morning!", Axie said with a smile on his face.

The other three - Mazey, Zephyr, and Quad - woke up, shaking some of the fallen leaves from their fur before standing and stretching. Quad had decided to sleep with them at the Crying Idol instead of his old pillar at the Ruins ever since the day he had wings. "Today's the big day!", Axie exclaimed.

"I bet you're excited.", Mazey replied, and the fawn shook his head eagerly. "Dad, can we go to the pond real quick?", Zephyr asked. Quad nodded, "As always.", he said. As the father and daughter made their way to the pond, Mazey started grooming her son. "Mom! My stag day is coming up, I can take care of myself!", Axie cried. "I know," Mazey replied, "but you don't want to look messy before you leave."

Quad and Zephyr drank the pond water, both almost looking like the same deer if it wasn't for their different antlers. Zephyr had taken up many of her father's qualities, and she couldn't have been happier to be his daughter. "So did you ever think about asking the Twin Gods if you could fly...?", she began, but caught herself. She wasn't supposed to talk about it. Quad eyed her as he drank. They were lucky no one else was around to hear it.

"Sorry.", she whispered, and the father smiled slightly, "It's okay...and yes, I have." Zephyr's face brightened, and she began to wonder if she and Axie would have wings.

The sun was just over the treetops on the particularly beautiful mid-October day. The air was beginning to cool, and the deer loved how the Forest was changing to fit the season. It had been a few weeks since the day Quad had the wings, and none of the deer suspected anything happened other than the fact that they had pleasant dreams.

"I'm going to go find Mom and Axie.", Zephyr said, trotting off. Quad saw her stop and look back at him, her smile still there, before she went back towards the Crying Idol. The father stag took one last sip before he moved on to the Twin Gods' hill.

A few deer had already been there, who prayed to the Gods before running off and casting the devout spell on unsuspecting deer. Quad chuckled as he looked at the statues. "How are the Talux doing?", he asked.

"Very well. They have fixed many of the world's problems already.", Auriea's voice replied. Quad nodded, "Wonderful!", he said, continuing with, "Did you know today is the day Axie and Zephyr are leaving to meet with the humans?"

"We did.", Michael replied this time. "I hope everything goes well.", Quad said. "There's no need to worry. Ever since the Talux' restoration, the humans have accepted us as honored creatures. They have strict rules now against harming Endless Forest deer.", Auriea said. Quad smiled, "That's a relief," he said, "I'd never want anything to happen to Axie and Zephyr, or any other deer."

He looked back toward the edge of the Forest. Already a group was gathering, those that were going to meet the humans. He saw his family there, and looking back at the Twin Gods' statue, he said, "It's time for me to go. I need to be there when they leave."

He began walking in the direction of the group, stopping and looking back at the Twin Gods. "See you later.", he said. "Goodbye...Quad.", the two spoke in unison.

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

"There you are!", Mazey said. Quad smiled, "I wasn't too far away. Have they already started?", he asked. "Just about to.", the doe replied.

Six deer stood there, looking into the depths of the Forest where they could exit. Lacey and Minion were standing in front, followed by Loop and Mitra. Finally, Zephyr and Axie stood behind them. Several other deer were around, encouraging the six travellers with words of advice and hope. They said that their prayers were with them, and that the Twin Gods would protect them every step of the way.

Mazey and Quad's two children kept looking back, who kept smiling at them. "We're all set?", Minion asked. "Looks like it.", Loop replied. Mitra and Lacey nodded. "Axie? Zephyr? You two ready?", Minion asked them. "Ready!", Axie called out. "Alright! Let's go!", Lacey said. The first two rows of deer started to move. The two children looked back at their parents. They then realized that it would mean not seeing them for a while.

Quad's heart felt heavy. He watched his two children start to walk away, and he also thought that it would be a long time before he saw them again. "Go on.", Mazey said. She knew he wanted to say goodbye to them. At once, Quad sprang toward them before they exited the Forest.

Axie and Zephyr looked back in time to stop, their father running to them with tears in his eyes. When he met them, he nuzzled them both. He loved them so much, and knew they would be safe, but he just had to talk to them one last time.

"I love you! I love you!", he cried. "I love you, Dad!", Axie said, nuzzling back. Zephyr couldn't speak, she was too touched to reply, but she nuzzled back as well. The other four stopped, looking back. "They're such a nice family.", Mitra said. "Yeah...", Loop replied.

Quad finally backed away, watching Zephyr and Axie rejoin the travellers. The six continued on until they disappeared. He saw his children look back one last time before then - their eyes full of tears as well.

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

Mazey spent the rest of the day having conversations with some of their friends. Quamar, Emiva, and Laruna joined her after the travelling deer had left, and many of the spectators went their seperate ways. Quad wandered off alone, heading toward the Playground.

He felt his legs become a little stiff. His body was suprisingly warm considering the climate, and he felt a little drowsy. "Hey Quad!", a voice called out to him. The stag looked over to see a doe standing by the boulders of the Playground. "Hello, Kana.", Quad called back. "A bunch of us are about to linedance, want to join?", Kana asked.

Quad yawned, "Maybe later. I'm a little sleepy right now.", he said. The doe nodded, walking back to the boulders and calling out to her friends.

Quad felt his eyes grow a little heavy. He didn't walk to his pillar at the Ruins, or the Crying Idol, but instead he found a soft patch of violet flowers. The stag slowly settled down among the flowers, looking around for a moment before slowly resting his head.

He listened to the Forest, the familiar sounds of crickets chirping, birds fluttering overhead, and the sound of water in the distance. He loved the Forest so much, and looking toward the sky, he watched the clouds drift past the canopy above. He smiled, "Such a beautiful day...", he said to himself.

The stag's eyes finally closed, and he could feel softness and warmth all around him. His body relaxed and settled, and he thought about all of his friends and his family...and where he would be without them.

Quad began to dream, he was a fawn again and he ran through a sunlit meadow with his parents. They were happy, and they laughed and played without worrying about anything else. He was finally with his parents, after so much time of seperation. They were finally together.

Quad's body slowly shut down. He didn't know, he felt no pain as he dreamed. He forgot what he said to the Twin Gods, about telling his children that he loved them.

"Such a beautiful day...", he said again, and his heart beat for the last time.

To Be Continued...