A new face he'd not find, but perhaps an old one would do. She was walking with deliberate caution through the birch woods, careful to reach out her nose and make sure nothing was blocking her path before moving on. Her steps were ginger and silent as a result, and her beige pelt blended in with the tall grasses. The only thing that gave away her presence was the brilliant red crown of feathers that crested the back of her head and the string of curses she'd utter on the rare occasion she did bump into something.
Though for all the forays she made into the birch forest, she never expected to bump into Ikoll- which is exactly what she did. With her head down beneath the grasses as she searched the ground for something, her feathers were hidden from view. And with Ikoll being downwind, she hadn't scented him before they came upon each other- though it'd been so long since they'd seen each other, the buck was but a faint and fond memory.
Her head was to the ground as she sought the scent trails of rabbits, hoping to hunt some to bring back to Medusa and the rest of the family. And so engrossed in this task was she that she didn't notice her old friend trotting by until she ran into his side. Uttering an 'oof!' in surprise, she jerked her head up, ears flicking toward the stranger as she tried to reorient herself. "Sorry!" She said, her feathers a little ruffled in embarrassment. "Didn't mean to knock into you."

At being berated by the stranger for an honest mistake, her ears pinned back against her neck with nervousness, the doe taking a couple steps back. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but the fear of arising conflict was a bit too strong for her to remember. When she heard the change in his tone of voice, she narrowed her eyes, her ears rising a bit in curiosity. Who was this deer and why did they know her name? "Who's asking?" The doe replied, ready to run should the situation call for it. Her family was more fight than flight, but with her size and impairment she couldn't risk a battle with a stranger of unknown size and stature. "Look, I'm sorry I ran into ya, I wasn't watching where I was going, that's it. I mean nothing against ya and it's really no big deal."
Her mind was going a little too fast for her to keep up. If she'd only taken a moment to relax, the voice would have become clear to the doe, but with the tense air right now she'd need to hear his name for the connections to click.

The doe blinked, apparentally stunned by hearing him speak his name. "Ikoll?" She hesitantly reached her head forward, touching the fur of his shoulder with her nose as if he was a ghost that wouldn't be there to touch. "I thought... I-" she didn't know what she thought. That he had died? But his body had never turned up for her and her family to bury at the Ruins. That he'd run off? Up until recently, she had no knowledge of a world outside of the endless forest. Her ears lay gently back against the wilting crown of feathers, her head lowering slightly. "I thought you were gone."

(I do!!)

Pain. Like he hadn't felt in years. His golden eyes watched her feathers wilt, and with them his heart sank. Ikoll felt his own betrayal strike him. He had left without a word. Without a note. Nothing. Like a spectre, he'd disappeared without a trace. There was not a single afterthought in his mind to notify Cydae that he had left. For five years he was gone, playing family games back home--watching his sisters kid, being his his brother's wedding, caring for his ill father. All those years and not once had he ever thought: "Maybe I should've told her where I went." What if she spent a long time mourning the death he really didn't have? Or spent nights cold and alone without him? No, that was selfish thinking. She had a family of her own now. At least she turned out fine without him. He was happy knowing that. "Cydae" he sighed. "Cydae, I'm so sorry. I never told you. I-I... I left and I never said goodbye."