As the sun was going down, fireflies were shining, flying above the flowerpatches. I always loved this show since the first time I saw it. So beautiful to look at. Sometimes, I would go in the Forest just to watch it occurring, as there was no sun in my homeworld. Just darkness, fog, candles with flames of every color. All in the sky were just glowing stars around the red moon. But the Forest had the sunlight. All those orange colors through the sky.

"Goodbye, Sun. I hope to see you next time." I whispered.

I was at the Twin Statues glistening up on the hill. Many creatures were at the Pond, and I was watching them from afar. But I was not alone either. Some were lying down or sitting around the Shrine. I always wondered where this light around the statues was coming from. I guess it would always be a mystery. Godlike mystery.

I walked down the hill to the Ruins, hoping to find something to do or someone to hold some company to. The Forest was such a beauty tonight. With the fireflies, the rising moon reflecting on the water like a mirror, and the millions of stars - no, billions! - shining in the dark blue sea that was the sky. It might was pretty similar to my homeforest, it still had nothing to do with it. It was warmer. It was brighter. It was more reassuring. Almost like a dream.

The Ruins were ahead. I could see the graves, the tombstones, all around the collapsed building. As surprising as it was, not a single being was there. At least not that I could see from the distance. I was coming closer, however, and was hoping someone would be hiding behind those walls.

I almost got a start upon hearing an unfamiliar voice and seeing a very intriguing creature stepping out of the Ruins. It looks like I was right to hope.

"Oh, hello..." I shyly greeted back. I approached the stranger and looked at them with my completely black eyes. "Oh, are...are you hurt?" I asked, thinking the red marking on their shoulder was a bleeding injury. Although I was not sure because of the low light, I felt concerned about them. I was still having troubles with my sight, but I thought it was more because of the dark than of my own eyes.

I was relieved to hear that it was just a red marking and not blood. Even if there were the fireflies and the astral bodies, it was still not helping. But soon, my relief turned into anguish as the stranger was speaking about my eyes. Although they did not seem horrified while saying this, I still felt anxious.

"No...hum... Well...hum..." I mumbled, not knowing what to answer. "I... I guess I'm not...an...ordniary deer?" I released a laugh of discomfort.

"Well...I mean... Look at you... You...you are not a deer either...are you? I mean, you have horns and fangs and..." I was trying to express my arguments, despite the unknown one being calm. That was when I realized that they were completely different from a deer. They were not a deer. I had no idea of what there were, though I had seen many different and interesting creatures in the Forest.

"I am sorry... Are you alone in here? It is oddly quiet. I mean...the Ruins are usually quiet but...I do not see anyone else...except you." I was speaking in a complete different way from my usual. Anxiety was still striking, yet I attempted to remain as calm as possible.

"Oh, now I have an idea of what a goat might look like." I said with a smile. "I am not a 'deer' like you call it. I am rather a different species of cervidae." I explained without getting into details. I do not think telling him what I truly am would be a good idea, I thought.

"No, actually, I am not lost. I have no family anyway. I just wander around." I replied. After a pause, however, I added: "To say the truth, I do not live here. I live in another forest. But I was born here, near the Ruins. Well, kind of... I come back often because my homeforest is sunlightless. It's always dark and foggy, we can barely see the sky."

The more I was speaking, the more I was calming down as I was getting distracted. "I cannot really tell you more about it. It is just a dark and foggy forest with a red moon, and some candles with different flame colors pratically everywhere to help us see what is around us. But I have not met anyone like me. At least, I met one who is supposed to be my 'little brother'. But I have not seen him since our first encounter."

"Hum... Maybe we could sit somewhere?" I suggested. I walked to the spot between two walls, where there were tiny walls forming two rectangles - one in which I settled down - near the hole. "By the way, what is your name?"

I noticed the odd posture but did not question. They were not a deer after all. "Arkœrova. My name is Arkœrova." I answered. "And if you have troubles pronouncing, it is "Ar-kœ-ro-va. Nice to meet you, Morto." I started being curious about them, they sounded nice and they were not a creature I would usually see around here. "Do you live in the Forest?"

I got more and more curious as he talked. Other goats? Well, he was the first one I had seen so far. Although, I had been absent of the Forest for a couple of months or so.

"Well, like I told you, my homeforest is always dark and foggy. The Endless Forest is way more beautiful. It has the sun, there is no fog, you can see clouds, the stars, the pure moon, the fireflies... I love this place so much!" My smile quickly disappeared, however, when I thought about all the creatures that I had met but had not seen since a very long time.

"I...was absent for long time." I admitted, looking down. "I could not be in the Forest for a while. Yet, now that I am back, almost all the ones I bonded with disappeared. I recently met someone though, but I still feel lonely..."

Upon hearing their words, I looked at them. It was probable that they were right. I should have not been so worried. But still. It would take some time before I would fully recover from the seperation with the ones I loved. Especially with Comen. And yet, I slightly smiled. Giving it a ponder, perhaps I had already found a new friend.

"...like you?" I chuckled.

The small lantern was going to be helpful for me. "Oh, thank you. Yes, I am a bit tired of the darkness. And my candles do not seem to light right now. My Creator says it is because I am too young for now." I dragged the lantern a bit closer.

"Thank you."

"Someone that claims to be the one who created me. They say that they are the one who put me in my 'biological mother''s womb." I answered. "It is...difficult to explain. I am not sure you would like to hear such a tragic story like mine..."

I thought about it for a moment. Should I tell him?. I wanted to keep everything for myself. And I was surely going too fast. "Hum...maybe I should not." I said, answering to my own question in the process. "Perhaps I will tell you one day..."

I looked down. "Sadly, I will eventually have to. But right now, I can stay a little longer." I told him. I was sad at the idea of leaving Morto and the beautiful Forest, but I would have no choice.

"Say, what do you do everyday? Or rather, what do you like to do?"