"Officials report that a small group is going to venture into this forest to see what so many people have wondered about. They will be heavily armed, not only with weapons, but with cameras. There's very little chance they will be coming back alive, but if they do, they will hold so many answers. Our prayers go out to these brave people."

***

It was a very dull morning. Light, dusty clouds floated overhead, making everyone expect rain but then denying them the pleasure. Everyone went about their business. Skokey, Fenqua, and Fulu did what they always did. But something didn't seem right. Skokey was on edge, something was hanging there, waiting to happen. Something very unusual.

Skokey went off by himself, wanting the two does to get to know each other. But he also wanted some time to think. Vessel had told him to be wary of something the night before. Something dangerous. What did he mean? He couldn't help but think this was a sick joke of his. He did say he liked to scare deer at times. Perhaps it was all in his head... In his head. That's what started this whole mess with Vessel.

Something russled not too far away. Skokey swivled his ears, it was like nothing he had ever heared. He raised his nose to the air and sniffed carefully. There was an unknown scent. It was musty and bitter. His blood ran faster, trying to take Vessel's words into great consideration. He stood where he was, unmoving. A figure appeared before him. It was nothing he had expected.

This creature stood on only two legs, much like squirrels did when they stopped to nibble on something. It stood a little hunched over, holding something peculiar. A dull grey, shiny looking stick that seemed hollow on the inside. The creature held it with great care. He studied the stick but went back to this animal. What really struck him was that its face was extremely similar to his own. No mask, but it was flat like his. Flat and pale. It seemed to have a different look to it, less animalistic. The creature's dark brown eyes glared at Skokey, and Skokey glared in return.

The creature raised the stick to his shoulder. Skokey never left its eyes and still stood in his spot. It was about to do something before another creature called after it. Upon looking at the other one, he almost tilted his head. This one was much different from the first. It had longer hair, and a smoother face. It was also much shorter than the first, but it was carrying another peculiar object. It looked like a little black box, with a circle of water in the middle and a blinking red thing above it. The second creature held the black box up to one of its eyes.

Skokey was overwhelmed by all this. He didn't know what these creatures were and he didn't know what they were doing. The circle of water in the middle of the box was facing at him, and he could see his reflection. The shiny stick the first one was holding was being held below its shoulder. The second creature said something strange, but Skokey couldn't understand it. But by the sound of its voice, he figured out the second creature was female.

Skokey tilted his head. "Umm... What are you doing?" he tried to ask them.

The female started to squeal slightly and bounced, saying some more of that strange language. The other creature, it must have been a male, smiled and seemed just as excited as her.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" he asked again. This time the two of them were confused. Skokey lowered his ears, "You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?"

A distant call was heard by the three of them. Skokey pricked his ears and almost panicked, but the two other creatures left. Soon Skokey was alone again, in a blaze of confusion. He almost fell over from the scatterings of his mind, but soon he was called out to himself. Fenqua was calling in that familiar bellow of hers. Skokey turned, looked back to where the two creatures were, and then trotted off.

***

That evening, Fenqua and Skokey sat on top of the boulder, looking up at the clear sky. Skokey was still baffled by his experience, and wondered if she would know anything about it.

"Hey Fen," he started, "something really weird happened today. I met these two creatures, so unlike us. Do you think you would know anything about them?"

Fenqua shot him a look, "Describe them. Maybe I do know."

"Well.. They stood on only two legs, and they had faces like ours. One of them held a shiny looking stick, and another had a little box with water in the middle. And they were both bald, except for a patch of hair on their heads."

Fenqua sighed and looked down. "That sounds an awful lot like humans."

"Humans?"

"Yeah. I've seen a few of them myself, during the time you were missing. They're no good killers, Skokey. They only want to harm us." She blinked slowly, "How close were they to you?"

"A couple feet, I'd say. Not too close."

She looked at him, terrified, "Skokey, that's dangerous! That shiny stick you saw is a horrible thing! It spits fire and stones, and sounds like a clash of thunder. If you get hit with one of those stones, you're done for!" She sighed, and calmed herself down, "Please, if you see any more of those humans, run away, as fast as you can. You're no match against them, none of us are."

Skokey had been scared by her warning, and nuzzled her, "Of course I will. I'll never get that close ever again..."

***

The next morning, Skokey and Fulu went out on their own again. They had been talking for some time now, and they were getting to know each other more and more each day. Fulu had been growing at an alarming rate, which made Skokey question why he didn't grow up that fast. But then, he remembered he didn't eat at all, which probably slowed it down. He became frustrated at the thoughts of his past, but Fulu seemed to clear his mind of it.

Skokey noticed something though. By her age, he had already grown in his antlers, but Fulu had none. It worried him a little bit. And Fulu noticed as well.

Fulu looked up at her brother, "Skokey, why don't I have antlers yet?"

He looked around, "Well... Who knows. Maybe does weren't meant to have antlers, and you're the first one to get that privalege."

"But I thought having antlers was a privalege, even to does."

Skokey sighed, "Well, you must understand Fulu, I don't have all the answers. But I'm sure the Twin Gods have a reason for it."

Then he remembered his prayer to the Twin Gods for her blessing. He studied her head again furtively. There weren't antlers, but there were smaller buds starting to grow from her head. Skokey questioned those buds, and decided to keep an eye on her to see what they were.

Skokey gathered himself, and soon smiled warmly. "Tomorrow's your Doe Day."

She gave him a smirk, "How did you know?"

He chuckled, "Dumb luck I suppose..." It was far from dumb luck. He remembered that pictograms build up a brighter glow before the deer grows up. And hers was about as bright as it would ever be. He nuzzled her slightly, "Do you know what you want for a set-" He eyed her Magpie mask, "...Pelt?"

Fulu shrugged, "I dunno... It's definately going to be one of the bird pelts, but I just can't decide."

"Hmm... We'll see how you feel tomorrow."

***

Tomorrow finally came, and Fulu was finally an official doe. She got up and stretched, followed by Skokey, followed by... Skokey noticed that Fenqua never came back. She said she was going home, but she never said for how long. He wasn't worried about her though, she could take care of herself. He studied Fulu's head once more when she wasn't looking. The buds seemed to have grown significantly overnight. They weren't just buds anymore, they had more definition. They were a bright green, and were fluffy.

Skokey smiled immediately. He knew what it was. It was down. The Twin Gods had granted her feathers instead of antlers. She looked at him, catching him smilling. Skokey shrugged and took her to the Pond. There were a number of sleeping deer there. But Fulu already had a plan.

She soon sat down and went to sleep. Skokey understood, this would make things a lot easier. He sat down beside her and waited for the magic to enter him. He soon got up and instantly cast the spell, obviously going to her since she was the closest. Her pelt turned to a beautiful turquoise and green mix, with patterns to look like feathered wings. Skokey chuckled, the first pelt she gets and its a bird pelt.

Fulu told him that he was up to her set. Since she already had a mask and antlers, he only had to decide among pelts. He shook his head, Peacock pelt was out, it would match her antlers. She told him, "no matches". He rolled his eyes and repeated his previous process until he came to a Magpie pelt. He shook his head again, matching mask. There was only one more pelt left, and that would be the one she would have. He repeated his process until he finally came to the pelt he wanted.

He poked Fulu, and she woke up. She looked over what her pelt was. She smiled at the sight of the lovely white and black patterns, with the occasional red spots. She was overjoyed to see that she received a Secretary Bird pelt. She attacked Skokey with nuzzles like she usually did, but this time he didn't fight back.

Fulu ran over to the Pond to see what she looked like. She took one look at herself and then turned to her brother, "Skokey... Are these... feathers?"

Skokey smiled, but soon burst out laughing. She laughed with him, and chased him around the entire forest. They ran around, hopping and tumbling. Occasionally Skokey would fall, but he would get right back up and start romping around again. They soon found themselves at the Twin Gods statue.

Fulu and Skokey bowed down. Fulu thanked the Twin Gods for granting her adulthood, but Skokey thanked them for receiving his request gratefully. They both went back to the Playground and spoke with each other until the day ended. Fulu said she was going to sleep on her own, but she ended up falling asleep next to Skokey. He sighed with a smile, and soon fell asleep himself.

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Fenqua, im sorry if i keep controlling Fen, but i dont know what she would be doing while Skokey was out.

lol, stupid filler. and stupid me, i decided to put humans in here XD dont worry, its gonna get goooood >:3