(A little spooky story written by me based on the picture I drew under the cut. enjoy, and don't read it before you go to sleep!)



It is cold.
This is the first thing you think, as you awaken, huddled by an aged Oak. The rough bark, already crumbling, is easily brushed off the trunk as you ease yourself to your cloven hooves.

You shudder; frost being thrown from your furry pelt into the brisk winter air. You watch as it falls again, perhaps you even stick out your tongue to taste the snowflakes, as they drift in front of your face. It sends a little shiver down your spine as it melts in your mouth.

The forest seems quiet today. Not a soul in sight. Perhaps everyone is still asleep? You let out a long, low bellow. No reply. This seems a little odd, usually at least one young fawn would call back, but not today it seems. Perhaps it is too cold, even for the young ones, to play today. A pity, you think. The forest is at its most beautiful when the frost has spread across the foliage. You love the way it seems to sparkle in the last remnants of autumn sunlight, which easily spreads across the land through the barren trees branches…

A sudden noise, quiet, but shrill at the same time, tears you out of your daydream. An injured fawn perhaps? You call back, and a reply follows almost immediately. You begin to trot towards the others voice, and after a while it follows into a canter. You bellow again. This time, the cry comes from behind you. You swerve on your hooves, slipping on an icy rock, only just managing to keep your footing: turning to face your new company. At last! Somebody to play with…?

The frost, thrown into the air by your skidding, clears, and…oh.

What stands before you, is indeed a fawn. But their appearance makes your ears droop.

It seems small, and thin. Their fur is ragged and pale, as if covered with dust and frost. Its legs are as thin as sticks, as is its neck. It looks as if it has not eaten in…weeks? Months? Years? Despite the sorry little things drooping ears, a smile is plastered across its face. If that’s what you could call it. You assumed the fawn was wearing some sort of mask, as its eyes were whiter than the snow beneath its hooves, and pupiless. The flesh..?, of its face was pale, almost as white as the eyes, which had dark circles around them, as if it hadn’t slept for weeks. Despite the awful condition , they began to leap and prance, giggling playfully. You decide to express your concern for the little thing. How could something so ragged looking have so much energy? You tilt your head, trotting a little closer to take a better look, but they just leap out of your way, prancing around in circles, then off into the forest.

You charge after them, throwing up snow and dirt beneath your hooves, you had to make sure they were alright! A poor creature in such a condition in such weather surely wouldn’t last long! You bellow after then, pleading with the fawn to slow down a little, but to no avail. They laugh and giggle at your attempts to catch up, as your frozen hooves slip on icy rocks.

Perhaps it wanted to play hide and seek. “Very well then” you thought, when you catch them, you can check on their condition. And they may continue to play.

And so you did. You laugh along with them, leaping over rocks, sliding all over the place. Dead leaves and dirt are tossed into the air as your hooves churn up the sleeping earth, your voices echoing into the forest.

After what seems like hours, the youngling finally stops, grinning as you try desperately to catch your breath. Where did all that energy come from? A long, low bellow is heard off in the distance, and the young fawn pricks up their ears, listening. They nod to you.


Their parents perhaps? They begin to leave, and you stumble to catch up with them, perhaps it would be best to escort the little thing back to their home.

You walk. And walk. And walk. The fawn seems to know where they are going, but it seems to be taking forever and a day to get there. You tilt your head, confused. You could’ve sworn that you had seen all the forest had to offer, yet this place was completely unfamiliar to you. You looked around, worried that the fawn had gotten you lost, but when you turn back, they were gone.

You bellow, hoping to get an answer. You don’t. Where could they have gone? You only looked away for a second, probably even less. The chilled air seems to almost close in around you, the frost in the breeze clouding your vision. Your legs feel weak, but heavy, as you drag your hooves through the deep, deep snow. You shudder, snow falling from your antlers. It seems odd, no snow is actually falling, yet somehow it’s becoming deeper and deeper, covering your antlers and pelt. Soon enough you’re stopping every minute or so just to shake it off, as it becomes too heavy to continue on.

You’re feeling weaker and weaker by the minute. The moment. The second. Until you cannot carry on, until you reach the edge of collapse and-

It’s gone. The snow. The ice. The cold. An empty clearing spreads around you. how did you get into the middle? The ground is clear, aside from…something. Buried just under a layer of dry earth and dust. You approach it, bowing your head and blowing heavily out of your nostrils, sending the dust flying. You snap your head back up, almost instantly recognising the bleached whiteness, that you wish had stayed hidden.

Bones. Deer’s bones, in fact. They were so small…like that of a fawn.

Thoughts of your young ex-companion came rushing back to your mind. What had become of them? The mysterious blizzard…surely they would not have made it through all that. Had they perished back there? You turned to head back, only to find that there was no need. The fawn stood before you, though, rather than that sickeningly sad smile, they wore a frown on their lips.

You jumped back in surprise, and a sickening cracking noice made you jolt upright, as you accidentally stood on the ancient carcass, snapping them like twigs beneath your hooves.

The fawn screamed. Not the bleating of a young fawn, as one may expect, but a disturbingly human scream, as if it was the fawns legs you had just crushed under your hooves. The fawns’ mouth was stretched open, almost to the point where it looked like the “Skin” could tear, the scream echoing around the clearing. You could not stand the noise. You tear your hooves from the ground, ripping through the forest, as far as you could go. You had to get away from that clearing, those broken bones, and that horrible, horrible scream that rattled through your body, almost tearing through your very being. Though the creature was far behind you, the noise never seemed to stop, as if it was running alongside you, no matter how hard you tried, you could not get away then with all the strength you could muster, you leapt from the tip of a huge rock, rolling painfully down a hill, away, away from the screaming.

Then all was silent.

You allow your body to rest and drift off, as the silence swallows you. almost.

As your heavy eyelids drop, you hear a hushed voice.

“Why?”





It is cold.
This is the first thing you think, as you awaken, huddled by an aged Oak.