The air was musty and damp. There was a huge canopy of leaves overhead that seemed to block out all sunlight, but yet there was still huge amounts of vegetation on the ground. The trees were thick in number, and solid. Coated in lush moss and homes to many different creatures.

This place was so much more different than the Endless Forest.

Skokey carefully walked through this strange forest, keeping all senses alert. Especially his nose. He kept looking for the scent of Fulu, and once or twice he had gotten it. But he feared that he had lost it. He searched everywhere, he even backtracked. He couldn't catch her scent again.

He searched nonstop for many hours, and soon he finally plopped down near a stream for a rest. This is harder than I thought, he thought. And even what I thought was hard. He heard a rustling behind him, and darted his head back. He scanned the area, but nothing seemed to appear. This made him nervous. He had to be extra alert while resting.

He sighed sorrowfully. How am I supposed to find her? He looked up at the sky, the canopy of leaves breaking just enough to let a beam of sunlight in. "I know it's wrong to ask of anymore... But... Can you please guide me to her? I just want her back..."

The wind blew through the trees, blustering everything in its path. Skokey let out a slow huff and smirked. "I guess I'm on my own out here... Thanks anyway."

He stood up and stretched, ready to take a drink. But he sniffed something familiar. His ears pricked in excitment. Fulu's scent! He looked up at the opening in the canopy again and smiled, nodding in thanks. He started to dash towards the scent, and on his journey, he came across something peculiar.

The forest seemed to clear into a strange path. The path was tremendously long, longer than Skokey could see. But it wasn't the length that perplexed him, it was the path itself. Two large pieces of metal, with separated boards of wood between them. These pieces went on for the entire clearing, it seemed. Skokey was intrigued, and almost followed the metal and wood. But another gust of wind, and another whiff of Fulu's scent drove him onwards passed the strange path.

The forest seemed to thin out a little, before coming to a clearing. The sun had already set, giving way to a dark night lit by a full moon. There were odd looking shelters in the forms of little triangles. There was fire, which made Skokey nervous. But he saw that the fire was well kept away from any grass or trees. There were other things, but Skokey didn't seem to care about them. Fulu's scent was strongest here, as if she was right in front of him.

In fact, she was. One of the strange things was a small tow trailer, which was normally used for cattle and horses. Skokey followed the scent all the way to the trailer, and peeked inside. There, he found green feathers, and a black and white pattern shaped like a wing. Skokey literally jumped a little when he saw her, obviously happy that he found her.

He whispered, "Fulu... Hey, Fulu!"

Fulu raised her head tiredly, expecting it to be more humans. She instantly perked up when she saw that it was her brother. "Skokey!"

Skokey hushed her, "Keep it down, I don't want them to wake up." He eyed the strange triangle shapes and heard a faint snoring inside. "I'm gonna find a way out, okay? Stay put."

Fulu nodded and Skokey went around to find the back door. He looked around and found some sort of lock. He sniffed, nibbled, kicked at it, but nothing seemed to work. He stared at it, thinking hard about how to get it off. Soon, he sighed, and went over to the side again. "I need to think for a little bit. Warn me if anything happens, okay?"

"Okay." Fulu nodded worriedly. She wondered if he was going to abandon her. She knew she was in a lot of trouble.

Skokey trotted off a little ways and sat down. He thought hard, imagining the locks shape and thinking of ways to open it. It was obviously made of metal, but it was the loop on top that made him curious. That was the thing keeping her inside, but he didn't know how to move it. It seemed to be a solid piece. Then he thought about what the lock was holding together. No way to move those, he thought. Those are definately solid.

What Skokey heard next almost gave him a heart attack. As soon as he got up to turn around, BOOM! A bolt of lightning came down from the sky, hitting right on the lock, and breaking it in two. Skokey looked at the sky to find no clouds. He smiled, and laughed out loud when he saw the trailer door open.

Fulu jumped out and darted over to her brother, nuzzling him hard. It almost hurt, but Skokey wasn't bothered. He nuzzled her back. He instantly stopped when he heard something from inside the tent. The thing was rustling and shapes were moving inside. Skokey and Fulu ran for their lives after the first human came out, but he already saw them.

Skokey and Fulu darted every which way, trying to find their way back. Skokey's mind was racing, but he couldn't recall where he came from. He saw that birds were flying in the same direction, and he decided to follow them. He finally saw a few familiar things, and came to the conclusion that the birds were guiding him home. His heart burst with joy, and he shouted out loud, "Thank the Twin Gods! Thank you!"

The two of them stopped at the strange path he saw earlier, trying to catch their breath. Fulu had already been feeding when she was found, but Skokey hadn't eaten anything since he got there. He pushed her along, "Keep following the birds, Fulu." He smiled warmly, "Follow your family home."

Fulu giggled slightly and nuzzled her brother. She darted off, following the birds. Skokey could've sword he saw wings on her as well. He wheeled around, to find three humans, each with guns, facing him a few yards off. They started to chase after him. Skokey decided to follow the strange path to lead them off.

Unfortunately, the path lead to a bridge. The bridge looked the same, but it was supported over a large river. He didn't really trust it, but he still approached it. He could hear the humans, but something was different. They were getting farther away. He stood in the middle of the path, perplexed once again, until he heard an awful noise.

He stood frozen in place, not daring to turn around. He heard it again. A fast paced marching sound, and a terrible scream. It rang through his ears, each time getting louder and louder. He finally mustered up his courage to turn around, and saw a huge beast bellowing towards him. The top of its head seemed to belch smoke and fire, and a single glowing eye was place in the middle, with huge smiling black teeth under it. The creature came at unimaginable speed.

Skokey was frozen with fear as the monster came closer and closer towards him. As soon as he thought he was done for, something pushed him out of the way. He landed on his stomach, but he was thankful he landed on dry ground. He stood and turned to see the rest of the beast. It seemed to have no end, as if it was as long as the path itself. It crawled over the bridge as if it were ground itself, making him feel a little silly for mistrusting it. Finally, he saw the creatures backside, and sighed with relief. But what pushed him out of the way? He could see something at the shores below the steep hill.

There was another deer, laying right where the water started. Skokey slid down the steep hill to see who it was laying there. The pelt was dark blue, with little yellow dashes and spots. His antlers were horizontal, and rounded at the end. And his face was pale, with hollowed out eyes, and ever-flowing blood trailing down his face, and some into the water. Skokey didn't recognize him, but he filled with dread as he read his pictogram.

It was Vessel who pushed him out of the way.

Water lapped onto Vessel's body as he lay there silently. Skokey poked at him with his hoof, "Vessel?... Are you alright?... Please, say something..." That was a foolish request, but he wasn't thinking. He just wanted to see if his friend was alive.

Vessel finally coughed after a long pause. He looked at the familiar monarch patterns and golden mask. He smiled in a way that seemed to instantly say, "Hello, Butterfly." when Skokey saw it.

Skokey sighed in relief again, and tried to help him get up. "The humans are gone, they decided to leave us be. I think we'll be safe."

Vessel tried his hardest to get up, but he soon fell back down again, and panted heavily. He shook his head. Skokey interpretted it as, "That thing hit me hard..."

Skokey nodded, looking back up at the bridge. What a monster, he thought. I can't imagine what it's like to live with that every day. He looked back down at Vessel, who was trying to get back up again. He shook his head, "Don't move, Vessel. You're obviously hurt. I'll help you home."

He wrestled around with the injured stag until he was on his back. It would be harder to get home with this extra weight, but he didn't have that much distance to cover anymore. He struggled and grunted, but managed to climb the steep hill again, and set off back for home. There was a single bird leading them. A dove. Skokey saw out of the corner of his eye that Vessel was smiling. He wanted to think that the smile was connected to the dove, but that didn't make much sense to him.

Soon they saw the trees thin out again, and give way to the familiar trees of the Endless Forest. Skokey was very tired, but he still pressed on. They weren't safe there, right by the edge. He carried the stag over to the Graveyard, setting him into one of the strange structures. It was a little square made of the same stone. It seemed like a good place for Vessel to stay, and besides that, Skokey was exhausted. He fell over right next to the stone structure with Vessel inside, and cuddled up next to the side.

***

When Skokey awoke, Fenqua was sitting right next to him. He lifted his head grudgingly, everything seemed to be sore. As soon as their eyes met, Fenqua nuzzled him.

"Skokey, don't ever do that again!" She ordered, rubbed up against his black and orange fur.

"I don't plan on it." He smiled, and rubbed back.

They finally stopped, seeing that they were both okay. Fenqua looked over to the place where Vessel was sleeping. "Is he okay?"

Skokey shook his head. "Afraid not, although I don't know what's hurt and what's not. A terrible beast charged at me, but he pushed me out of the way." He sighed, looking at him. "I would've been in a lot worse shape than him if he wasn't there."

"A brave thing to do, for someone like him."

***

After a while, another deer came and examined Vessel. Skokey seemed to recognize him, but he couldn't place the name. After finally asking, the stag told him that he was the son of Voko. Skokey nodded, remembering that crazy doe and her perfect medical knowlege. She was the one who cured the epidemic that happened so long ago...

"Well... I think he'll be fine in a few weeks. And, what did you say about his voice again?"

"He's been a mute all his life. You don't need to worry about that. But what exactly was injured?"

"Quite a few of his ribs have been cracked, along with a small fracture in his right hip. But if he keeps resting there and doesn't move much, he'll be back to normal in about three weeks."

Skokey nodded and Fenqua thanked him. The stag happily accepted her thanks and trotted off. Fenqua sighed, looking at Vessel, who was sleeping restlessly.

"What a mess." She huffed slowly.

"I agree." Skokey croaked.

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ah yes, ive been planning most of this one out. mostly the middle. but yay! Fulus back! but man, the next chapter... man...

well, better not make this a cliffhanger or anything XD