<=To chapter 4 * To chapter 6=>

Author's Notes: Again, woah, I'm posting. o_o Though personally, I'm not too pleased with how this chapter came out. There's no dialogue, so it feels kinda...bland. Very little happens, though I wrote it cuz it's based on real events, interpreted a slight bit differently since I know more since then, and...I hardly remember what happened that day. ^^;
Oh, and...please don't kill me for what I did here either. XD;

I now present

Origins
Chapter 5

~*~
Golden sunlight streamed through the branches of the trees, warming the land below. Song birds twittered back and forth with one another, sharing news and gossip as they filled the air with music. A white dove would fly by occasionally, enjoying the pleasant weather of the forest. Only the squirrels seemed nervous as they scuttled through the leaf litter. They would pause, glance at a nearby clearing, and hurry off.

It became clear what had them on edge. A deer was in the clearing. A fawn with a flat face, fast asleep in a shaft of light.

There was a groan.

The fawn was stirring.

Heavy eyelids lifted to reveal bright gray, the young deer taking its first look at this place.

Everything was blurry. He blinked for a moment, clearing his vision as it adjusted to the new surroundings.

Everything was in warm shades, the trees being light beige and cream colors, and the ground red-toned with wheat-like grasses.

Blinking again in surprise, the young deer slowly rose to his hooves, shakily standing as if for the first time.

To him, it was.

He had no idea where he was, or how he may have gotten here.

He sniffed the air on instinct, searching for the musty scent of predators he somehow knew.

He found none. In fact, there wasn’t even a hint of a smell of beasts that ate deer. Tilting his head in curiosity at this, he focused on the other traces he’d scented in the air.

Other deer. This smell, unlike the predator ones, was high in abundance. Something in his mind told him to seek them out. This same source let him know he needed to go – he turned his head south, though he didn’t know it was south at the time – that way.

Taking a step, he almost stumbled, catching himself just in time. He had a feeling he’d walked before, but he wasn’t sure when. It was almost like he’d been reborn, if that didn’t sound too odd.

Shaking it off, he tried again. More steady this time. He found he could trot alright, too.

The forest seemed the same all around. Warm tones, light trees, and rocks, he noticed. Though there was some green grass with blue hints to it. The blue tones brought on a feeling of recognition, but he wasn’t sure why.

The forest soon changed around him, but he barely took notice. What caught his interest more was the strange stone structure that loomed before him. It looked to be in shambles, with weeds, vines, and moss overgrowing all over. Other stone things were around it, some with faces that stared back morosely. Red-colored flowers grew in patches, taking away some from the gloom.

There was a strong scent here—

What was that?!

He shrank back a bit.

There was something moving over there! Something huge, with even bigger antlers…

Wait.

Antlers?

A deer?

The fawn tentatively stepped closer.

It spotted him.

The fawn froze. Before he could even think of running away, the giant deer had run over, and before he knew it, there was a flash.

This seemed oddly familiar.

The flash soon faded, and his head suddenly felt heavier.

Just like in the warm-toned forest, he felt his mind gaining information from somewhere.

He had just gotten antlers cast on him, and the ones he was wearing were somewhat amusing. Feathery things. Not knowing what else to do, he settled for looking amazed.

Where had they gotten the spell from?

And now that the flash was gone, he could get a better view of the caster.

They had no face. Just a long skull, like a normal deer’s, but bigger. Their antlers were huge, bloody-looking things that looked like they must weight a ton, and their pelt was gray, missing some flesh in spots so bones showed through.

Zombie deer, that source in his mind told him.

One would think the fawn would be freaked out at seeing this.

Instead, he was amazed, actually thinking their appearance to be cool.

He watched as they rubbed a tree, causing a pine cone to fall, before going to eat it. Soon, the flash came again, and the fawn had gained another set of antlers.

Aha! So that’s how they were getting those spells!

With delight, the fawn rushed to the tree, joining in on what he would later learn was his first “spell party”.

Other deer joined in at some point, increasing the fun everyone had with the spells being passed around.

The young buck gazed in amazement at some of them. They had flat faces! He didn’t know why that was so important, but he just knew it was. He really wished he knew why.

Soon, a different spell was cast.

The deer who received its face just changed!

No. It was just covered up with something. The young deer looked on in awe at the strange object that now covered their face. He watched as they took in a breath, and released it, causing a strange sound to pass from their lips.

Another flash.

His face was covered, too.

Some red and gold one, his mind said.

Copying the other deer who’d received a face-changing spell – a mask, the voice supplied again – he took a deep breath, and called out.

What came out of his mouth was the strangest sound he’d ever heard. He couldn’t even begin to describe it. It both terrified and amused him. But mostly amused.

He fell on his back laughing, soon bellowing out again.

Everyone laughed, and the spell party switched to masks.

The party cleared out soon enough, and the young stag found himself growing tired from learning so much about this world.

Searching around for a bit, he settled down beneath an appealing tree, the peacefulness of the forest lulling him into a refreshing sleep.

That night, he had odd dreams filled with long-faced deer, a brook, and talking dragonflies, ending with a blinding flash. It was an interesting set of images.

He wished he knew what they meant.